Slovakia, 2001

At the outset, I wish to

join other speakers in warmly congratulating you, Sir,

on your election as President of the fifty-sixth session

of the General Assembly. It is my deep conviction that

in this difficult situation we will, under your

experienced leadership, materialize the expectations of

the international community, which has always desired

to view the United Nations as a reliable guarantor of

world peace. I recall our recent meeting in Seoul, and it

is a pleasure for me to see you, Sir, presiding over the

General Assembly this year. I also wish to thank your

predecessor, Mr. Harri Holkeri, for his hard work,

dedication and leadership in presiding over the fifty-

fifth session of the General Assembly.

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The recent brutal terrorist attack against our host

country, which has left all of us in deep shock, was

undoubtedly also directed against the United Nations

and its principles and values, which we as Member

States share. This inhuman act was an attack on all of

us. However, it has united the international community,

which realized the potential danger and threat of

terrorism to the existence of human civilization. The

international community has responded in the only way

appropriate: international terrorism cannot be tolerated;

all the nations of the world must stand united in the

battle against this evil; and they have to search

vigorously for ways to effectively respond to it.

We were relieved to see the United Nations acting

promptly and in a very determined way, adopting the

very next day General Assembly and Security Council

resolutions urging the international community to

redouble its efforts to prevent and suppress terrorist

acts by increased cooperation and full implementation

of the relevant international anti-terrorist conventions

and Security Council resolutions. In particular,

Security Council resolution 1373 (2001) is of a great

importance and must be fully implemented.

We appreciate that after the terrorist attacks,

countries and international organizations have

manifested moral maturity and their capacity to closely

cooperate and coordinate their actions in the fight

against world terrorism. We welcome the active and

irreplaceable role the United Nations plays in this fight.

As United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan

explicitly stated in his response to the arrogant and

disdainful words of bin Laden addressed to the United

Nations, people will understand that the position of the

United Nations is the expression of the will of all its

Members.

A year ago, many of my colleagues and I

elaborated on the role of the United Nations in

combating international terrorism. The Slovak

Republic joined the anti-terrorist coalition swiftly,

effectively and without any hesitation. It will remain a

firm part of the coalition of nations and people

resolved to fight terrorism and determined to face this

threat to peace and security on our planet. The Slovak

Republic is a party to 11 of the 12 universal anti-

terrorist conventions. Shortly, we hope to ratify the

International Convention for the Suppression of the

Financing of Terrorism, which we signed last January.

We call on all other countries to redouble their efforts

in order to achieve a speedy conclusion of a

comprehensive convention against terrorism.

The terrorist attack has certainly changed our

perception of the world. A re-assessment of

international arrangements is a necessity in this

context. After a period of mostly emotional reactions,

we now need more qualified answers, supported by

resolve and responsibility. I am convinced that the

resolve and responsibility will be translated into

executive actions and systemic steps by the United

Nations.

The legal instruments devised here at the United

Nations constitute an especially good basis for

deepening the effectiveness of the fight against

terrorism. Using the words of the aphorist Blaise

Pascal, I want to emphasize that the only thing that

remains to be done is to implement all the good

principles that have already been laid down. It is

encouraging that the words of comfort and the ideas

and commitments uttered by high representatives of the

Member States of this, the most universal international

community, overwhelmingly share that spirit. Slovakia

fully associates itself with those views. In that context,

we wish to express our hope that the Rome Statute of

the International Criminal Court will enter into force

sometime next year. With that the international

community will be establishing a body that will end

impunity for crimes of the greatest seriousness,

including crimes against humanity.

The world has a unique opportunity to achieve

progress in tackling long-lasting conflicts through joint

efforts. Slovakia considers United Nations

peacekeeping operations to be one of the key and most

visible aspects of the Organization’s activities. We

view all United Nations activities in conflict

prevention, peacekeeping, peace support and peace-

building as particularly important. It is the people in

the regions suffering from conflict who look to our

Organization with hope, and we must not let them

down.

As a country that is materially and personally

involved, we welcome with great attention and

devotion and participate actively in the discussions

aimed at reforming and improving the efficiency of

United Nations peacekeeping. We are ready to continue

contributing our share in every possible way to this

noble endeavour. The participation of the Slovak

Republic in United Nations peacekeeping operations

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has grown almost six-fold since the beginning of the

year 2000. This year we took part in the United Nations

mission in East Timor, where we deployed a level II

hospital. In Cyprus the Slovak contingent has replaced

Austria and has become the lead nation in Sector 4. We

have sent our demining experts and other personnel to

the United Nations Mission in Ethiopia and Eritrea.

I would also like to add my personal note to this

description of my country’s engagement. For the past

two years, the Secretary-General has entrusted me with

an exceptionally demanding and responsible task,

namely, to serve as his Special Envoy for the Balkans

and to oversee the peaceful resolution of the still-

smouldering conflict in Kosovo. I am aware of the

critical importance of the coming elections to be held

in Kosovo under the supervision of the United Nations

Interim Administration Mission in Kosovo (UNMIK). I

am now therefore in a position to state a single critical

thesis: that area must stay multi-ethnic and the

international community must continue to be consistent

in its policies on the matter.

As a country that is experiencing dynamic

development and one that shares a great interest in

stable international development and the prosperity of

the international community, Slovakia also has an

ambition to play a more visible role in the United

Nations. Our Prime Minister, Mikuláš Dzurinda, also

clearly expressed our position on many other topics

and challenges at last year’s Millennium Summit. The

spirit of the commendable initiatives adopted at the

Summit will produce the best results only through their

unrestricted practical implementation, although new

and unprecedented barriers have emerged on the way.

Our position on the issue of Security Council

reform is linked to the importance of making the

Organization more effective. Let us be honest and

admit that we have not been fully successful in

achieving this goal for years, and that we will now

have to cope with new and unprecedented challenges.

In my letter to the previous President of the General

Assembly I emphasized that, in addition to maintaining

sufficient representativeness, the Security Council

should also preserve sufficient operational flexibility.

We also believe that the Security Council should base

its decision-making on majority voting, and that the

right of veto should only be reserved for decisions

taken under Chapter VII of the Charter.

Slovakia supports the enlargement of the Security

Council in both the non-permanent and the permanent

categories of membership. However, the failure to

achieve consensus on the enlargement of one category

should not result in blocking enlargement in another

category. I avail myself of this opportunity to confirm

that while increasing the number of Security Council

members in the category of elected non-permanent

members, we consider it fully justified to allocate one

additional seat to the Group of Eastern European

States. Its membership has doubled in the last decade.

Exceptionally urgent current challenges have cast

a malicious shadow of destruction over this year’s

agenda of the General Assembly, which I have not

commented on in detail. I would like, however, to

assure the Assembly that Slovakia believes in the need

for a universal world organization — which the United

Nations is — as a source of hope for a better and more

just world. We have no doubts about the irreplaceable

role of the United Nations in tackling global issues, be

it the protection of human rights, the eradication of

famine, poverty, diseases and illiteracy or the

prevention of drug and arms proliferation or

guaranteeing sustainable development. A life of dignity

for all of us is really unthinkable without the enduring

involvement of the United Nations. However, it

requires universal respect of its paramount place in

international life, and joint cooperation in intensifying

its activities.

In conclusion, I would like to underline the

feeling of deep satisfaction of my country, and me

personally, with the appointment of Mr. Kofi Annan to

serve a second term as the United Nations Secretary-

General. I also wish to voice our recognition of the

honour given to him personally and to our universal

world Organization through the prestigious and well-

deserved award of the centenary Nobel Peace Prize,

and to congratulate him wholeheartedly on this

achievement