North Macedonia, 1999

Allow me first of all to congratulate

Mr. Theo-Ben Gurirab, Minister for Foreign Affairs of

the Republic of Namibia, for having been elected

President of the General Assembly at its fifty-fourth

session. At the same time, I would like to express my

appreciation of and respect for the President of the

General Assembly at its fifty-third session, Mr. Didier

Opertti, for the results achieved during his presidency.

Let me also express my deep respect for Secretary-

General Kofi Annan, for his excellent leadership of the

Organization. I wish to assure him that the Republic of

Macedonia is ready to continue to closely cooperate with

him.

The Republic of Macedonia welcomes the admission

of the new Members — the Republic of Kiribati, the

Republic of Nauru and the Kingdom of Tonga — and

wishes them success in their contribution to United

Nations activities, and at the same time expresses its

41

readiness to establish diplomatic relations with them. Also,

I hope that we shall continue the process of establishing

diplomatic relations between the Republic of Macedonia —

of course, using the constitutional name — and Member

States with which we have not yet done so.

On this occasion, I would like to express my deepest

condolences to the people of Taiwan on the earthquake that

hit the Republic of China on Taiwan, with which the

Republic of Macedonia has recently established diplomatic

relations.

It is with regret that we have to note that one of the

main characteristics of the past year was flagrant and highly

risky disrespect for the fundamental values of democratic

society. In addition to the major tragedies the world was

faced with, we witnessed a growing trend of armed

conflicts and internal and external tensions. Concerning the

area surrounding the Republic of Macedonia, I would focus

on the huge humanitarian crisis that took place in South-

Eastern Europe and the heavy consequences which

jeopardized the stability and security of the Balkans and

beyond in Europe.

The Kosovo crisis had particularly adverse effects on

my country. We had to cope with an enormous influx of

refugees, numbering more than 360,000, or 18 per cent of

the total population. The Republic of Macedonia entered a

rather difficult economic, social and political situation that

tended to destabilize it, particularly against the background

that the international community reacted with insufficient

speed and agility. The damage which the Macedonian

economy suffered is enormous, amounting to approximately

$660 million. A large number of workers were dismissed as

a result of lost markets and increased transportation costs.

The unemployment rate reached 40 per cent. All of this has

negatively affected the already poor economic and social

situation. In these circumstances, the citizens of the

Republic of Macedonia have demonstrated great

humaneness towards the refugees, tolerance and solidarity,

but also restraint in the conditions of enormous social,

political and economic pressure they were exposed to and

whose consequences could have been more dramatic.

Finally, we should not forget that there are still 30,000

refugees in the Republic of Macedonia. I urge the

Assembly to continue the joint efforts for their safe return

to their homes.

At the same time, the peace forces of the North

Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) for Kosovo were

deployed in the Republic of Macedonia in support of the

international efforts for a political resolution of the crisis,

as were a large number of international governmental and

non-governmental organizations.

Macedonia has managed to overcome these

hardships, but the consequences are still being felt in the

national economy. Financial assistance and support from

the international community are indispensable for the

recovery of the national economy. It is beyond doubt that

compensation for the damage we suffered by making our

national capacities available for the resolution of the

Kosovo crisis should be an obligation of the international

community.

The Macedonian Government highly appreciates the

assistance provided by the international community thus

far through certain financial institutions or on a bilateral

basis. The assistance should continue, which is to say, we

expect States to fully carry out the commitments they

have undertaken. This is the right moment to write off

parts of our external debts as a recognition of the efforts

we are making to overcome the crisis. Today, the only

thing that the Republic of Macedonia requests is the

fulfilment of the promises made by the international

community during the crisis.

Even prior to the outbreak of the crisis and the

adoption of Security Council resolution 1244 (1999), my

country had consistently supported a peaceful and

political solution to the Kosovo crisis that would include

substantial autonomy within the framework of the Federal

Republic of Yugoslavia; respect for the human rights of

all living in Kosovo; respect for the inviolability of

existing borders; the cessation of hostilities and of

repression; the deployment of peace forces; the safe and

free return of refugees; the demilitarization of the Kosovo

Liberation Army (KLA) and other paramilitary forces;

and the economic reconstruction of Kosovo and the

region.

I would like to take this opportunity to commend the

efforts made fully to implement Security Council

resolution 1244 (1999). The Republic of Macedonia, in

this respect, will continue to support the United Nations

Interim Administration Mission in Kosovo (UNMIK), the

European Union, the Organization for Security and

Cooperation in Europe, the Council of Europe and all

other international governmental and non-governmental

organizations. In this context, I would like to recall that

on many occasions the Macedonian Government has

demonstrated its readiness closely to cooperate with the

Secretary-General, Mr. Kofi Annan, with his Special

42

Representative, Mr. Kouchner, and with UNMIK, and that

it has offered its good offices.

The Republic of Macedonia strongly supports the

Stability Pact for South-Eastern Europe as one of the most

important adopted documents for the wider region and for

Europe. Furthermore, it is prepared to take an active part in

its implementation and to contribute to the reconstruction

and stabilization of the region and its speedy integration

into European structures. The Stability Pact, through its

three pillars, or “working tables”, and through the relevant

international global and regional institutions, is expected to

contribute to a lasting stabilization of the region and to its

final integration into European and Euro-Atlantic structures.

To this effect, I would like to call upon all of the parties to

this extremely important document to mutually reinforce

their activities and to enhance their coordination.

I would here like to underscore the strong interest of

the Republic of Macedonia in the prompt implementation

of the second pillar for economic development and

reconstruction. The most important issue linked with its

unimpeded functioning and the realization of the desired

results — greater inclusion of the Balkans in European

economic, political and democratic trends — is the setting

up of lasting mechanisms for the necessary fund-raising and

the securing of funds to this end. Many United Nations

programmes and activities could be used for this purpose.

The Republic of Macedonia is interested in seeing the

United Nations play a role in this sphere.

The Republic of Macedonia will propose a pertinent

draft resolution at this session of the General Assembly that

stresses the importance of the prompt consolidation and

development of South-Eastern Europe, the importance of

the Stability Pact and the need for the full implementation

of Security Council resolution 1244 (1999). We are

convinced that the draft will be supported by all States

Members of the United Nations.

Let us hope that this will be the last crisis in the

Balkans or South-Eastern Europe. But to prevent any

recurrence of this kind of situation, we will have to defend

more successfully democratic principles and values and

develop long-term preventive strategies.

I am convinced that the beginning of the next

millennium will mark a new era in the history of this area,

which has been overburdened with conflicts and therefore

needs to focus primarily on its own development and

prosperity. In the long run, regional stability can be

provided by economic development, democracy, respect of

human rights and the rights of national minorities, and

bilateral and regional cooperation. However, the best way

to guarantee the security of the region and transform it

into an area of democracy, development, stability and

cooperation is for the countries of the region to join the

European Union and the North Atlantic Treaty

Organization (NATO) and become fully fledged members.

The Republic of Macedonia is among the countries

most affected by the crisis — economically, socially and

politically. This has hampered our efforts to build a

society that meets the expectations of our people.

Despite the major challenges it has confronted in the

past, my country has managed to implement and advance

the strategic commitments set out in its foreign policy:

integration in the European Union, inclusion in

Euro-Atlantic security structures and development of

good-neighbourliness.

The success of that policy is reflected in the fact that

the Republic of Macedonia was able to stay out of the

four armed conflicts which have taken place in the last

decade on the territory of the former Yugoslavia. For the

first time in the history of the Republic of Macedonia as

an independent country, we have been faced with a war

on our borders. In such circumstances, the contribution of

the peaceful and constructive Macedonian policy to

conflict resolution is highly significant. The Republic of

Macedonia is fully committed to carrying out the reforms

that have been initiated, based on European standards, in

the political, economic and democracy fields, with

maximum respect for human rights, including minority

rights.

That commitment by the Macedonian Government

and the results of the reforms have been commended by

the international community. That is precisely why the

European Union has decided that the Republic of

Macedonia should be the first partner in the

commencement of negotiations for the conclusion of the

Stability and Association Agreement.

The Republic of Macedonia has a long-term

commitment to the continuing improvement of its

relations with all of its neighbours. The advancement and

development of these relations, as well as of bilateral

cooperation with all of its neighbours, is evidenced by

intensive cooperation in the framework of a number of

regional initiatives. Two trilateral meetings have taken

place among the Ministers of Foreign Affairs of

Macedonia, Albania, Bulgaria and Greece, the aim of

43

which was to coordinate and promote activities aimed at a

more successful implementation of the Stability Pact.

I would like to emphasize that the policy of the

Government of the Republic of Macedonia, elected less

than a year ago, is aimed in particular at improving, as

soon as possible, the situation in the region. To this effect,

many practical steps have been taken, which to our mutual

satisfaction are yielding results.

As we approach the new millennium, the last session

of the General Assembly for this century is undoubtedly the

forum best suited to evaluating what has been achieved in

the area of the promotion and protection of human rights

and freedoms. Over the last 50 years, impressive progress

has been made in international humanitarian law. Today, we

are proud to note that the United Nations, having adopted

the fundamental Universal Declaration of Human Rights,

has managed to affirm the international consensus on the

basic postulates of human dignity and to promote them as

a basic standard and objective to be attained by all

individuals and nations.

Of no less importance is the promotion and

strengthening of all United Nations human rights bodies

engaged in the protection and promotion of human rights,

including minority rights. In this regard, the Republic of

Macedonia supports the reform of the mechanisms and

functioning of the United Nations bodies in this area.

This year we mark the tenth anniversary of the

adoption of the Convention on the Rights of the Child.

Although this Convention has been ratified by almost all

States, its genuine implementation is still a desired aim. A

large number of children are still victims of disrespect for

their fundamental rights. We therefore fully and firmly

support the efforts made at this year's session of the

Commission on Human Rights to undertake concrete

measures for the protection of the rights of the child, the

aim of which is to promote the next century as the century

of the universal protection of the rights of the child.

The role and efforts of the international community in

the full implementation of currently accepted standards and

principles are important, but the primary role and

responsibility lies with the States themselves. As is evident

from the democratic development of my country, the

Republic of Macedonia completely associates itself with the

endeavours of the international community for the

observance and promotion of human rights.

In the twenty-first century the maintenance of

international peace and security all over the world should

be the priority aim of our Organization. As the Secretary-

General stated in his report, the world, and our

Organization in particular, will be faced with the need to

be fully involved in the prevention and peaceful

resolution of conflicts and with the development of the

affected States. The elimination of poverty and reducing

the gap between the developed and developing countries

should be our priorities, as my colleagues have already

said. In the next century the Republic of Macedonia

would like to see an improvement in economic

development and international economic cooperation, as

well as an enhancement of efforts being made within the

disarmament process and greater support for them.

We may note that the global community has

achieved significant improvements with regard to living

standards and the reduction of poverty. The global

economy is showing modest but constant growth of 2 per

cent annually, while the volume of trade is continuing to

increase. However, it seems that, irrespective of the

important accomplishments, the world community is

confronted with a series of alarming problems that must

be resolved.

Increased world poverty and unemployment are key

problems, which should be the main preoccupation of the

international community, the aim being to eliminate them.

Half the population of the world lives on less than $3 per

capita per day, while the unemployment rate is increasing

continuously; the international community has to face the

challenge of overcoming that situation. Decisions of the

international community regarding international economic

policies are most frequently made in the United Nations

framework. The Governments of the developed countries

have a leading role to play and the primary responsibility

in this domain.

The indebtedness of the developing countries and

countries in transition is mainly a result of inappropriate

political circumstances, in the form of armed conflicts;

different types of embargoes and factors make it

impossible for them to market their goods; and natural

disasters. Writing off the debts, or part of the debts, of

the countries affected by objective external factors would

have a very positive impact on diminishing global poverty

and unemployment and on economic development. Only

the economically developed and independent State can be

truly politically independent and sovereign and have a

role to play in the international community.

44

Globalization of the world economy and liberalization

of world trade are necessary preconditions for the

improvement of living standards and the reduction of

existing differences in countries' development relative to

global development. The role of the United Nations in this

area is of great importance. The increased globalization and

liberalization of the world economy should be accompanied

by a lowering of existing barriers and by facilitating the

free transfer of goods and services and of the work force.

This would create a unified world economy in its true

meaning.

In the next century more attention will be placed on

the observance of the United Nations Charter. In the

interests of the maintenance of international peace and

collective security, it is extremely important that Security

Council decisions be made on behalf of all the Member

States of our Organization, without its being possible for

them to abuse the right of veto. The contribution of the

Republic of Macedonia to the promotion of peace and

security is well known, and this was confirmed by the

deployment on its territory of the United Nations Preventive

Deployment Force (UNPREDEP), which was unfortunately

terminated at the moment when the region may have been

most in need of it.

The importance of the leading role played by this

single universal Organization is reflected in its skill in

adapting to real situations and practical problems. I am

deeply convinced that the new challenges are already

reflected in the manner of operation of our Organization

and in its structure. I would like to salute the firm

determination to continue to implement United Nations

reforms, which have already produced results, as stated in

the Secretary-General's report. The Republic of Macedonia

is of the opinion that the reform of the United Nations

system will be successful only if reform of the Security

Council is followed by reform of the General Assembly and

the Economic and Social Council.

We expect the fifty-fourth session of the General

Assembly to successfully conclude preparations for the

organization of the Millennium Assembly in the year 2000.

In this context, we are anticipating with great interest the

Secretary-General's report. At the same time, we join the

appeal for all Member States to be represented by heads of

State or Government at that event.

United Nations Member States must constantly

contribute to the strengthening of the basic democratic

values of peace, security, stability, social and economic

development, respect for international law and respect for

human and minority rights. The United Nations is the true

place for the improvement of these basic values. The

resolution of each country to persist in that way is of

crucial importance in determining whether we will jointly

manage to fully implement these commitments and enjoy

the fruits of development.

I would like to assure the Assembly that the

Republic of Macedonia has already embarked on that road

and will continue to make its contribution to the full

implementation of those values.