Slovenia, 2005

Allow me at

the outset to congratulate you, Sir, on your election as

President of the General Assembly at its sixtieth

session. I would like to express to you the full support

of the Republic of Slovenia as you carry out that

extremely important and responsible task. May you

have much vision, courage and resolve as you preside

over the General Assembly during this anniversary year.

Mr. Sardenberg (Brazil), Vice-President, took the

Chair.

At the same time, Sir, I would like to express our

sincere recognition and gratitude for the efforts of your

predecessor, Mr. Jean Ping, President at the fifty-ninth

session of the General Assembly. His determined

leadership, his insight into the current issues of the

modern world and his enduring courage enabled him to

guide the General Assembly in its sixtieth year, which

promises to be a year of the greatest significance for

the future of the Organization.

We have assembled here to consider together in

good faith how we should respond to the challenges of

modern times and how our Organization should be

adapted to the needs of the twenty-first century. We are

here to act on the basis of our best understanding and

our belief in the achievements of creative development

for the well-being of the people of the modern world,

to quote, Sir, your illustrious compatriot, Dag

Hammarskjöld.

The outcome document contains numerous

meaningful and useful ideas. That document’s purpose

is to enhance the effectiveness of the United Nations

and consolidate its mission in the modern world. The

reform of the Organization is of the utmost importance

and was initiated at the right moment. This is a time of

change for several international organizations and

institutions. All are certainly aware of the current

transformation of the European Union and the

Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe.

Such changes are difficult. We encounter obstacles

such as the rejection of the European Constitutional

Treaty in two referendums.

The effectiveness of the machinery and the

mission of the United Nations should also be improved

through the creation of the Human Rights Council and

the fight against terrorism. There were many

discussions and diverging views on those two questions

in relation to the outcome document. However, we

cannot be successful if we have difficulty even

defining terrorism or establishing the Human Rights

Council. There is some indecisiveness in the outcome

document in that respect. With respect to terrorism, the

document speaks of dialogue and understanding among

civilizations. With respect to the Human Rights

Council, the outcome document proposes holding

further negotiations to establish, among other things,

its mandate and working methods.

In today’s world, change and certainty are closely

connected and interdependent. Attaining a balance

between them involves values, rules, laws and the

institutions of human dignity, equality and democracy —

in short, human rights.

The fact is, we live in a globalized and

interdependent world in which we all are responsible

for our security. It is significant that the outcome

document warns that there can be no development

without security and no security without development,

and that both development and security depend to a

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great degree on respect for human rights, the rule of

law and democracy.

Many efforts have been made to address the

sources of suffering in the world. United Nations

Member States must continue to support efforts to

attain the Millennium Development Goals. Twenty-five

European Union (EU) member States committed

themselves to the target of allocating 0.7 per cent of

their gross domestic product (GDP) to official

development assistance by 2015. In that context,

Slovenia, one of the 10 new EU members and a new

donor, committed itself to attaining the target of 0.33

per cent of GDP for development aid. We underline the

need for the long-term commitment and responsibility

of all countries in order to attain the Millennium

Development Goals.

We are continuously surprised at the changing

nature of the threats facing each and every country.

The concept of security includes both State security

and the security of the individual. Thus, it is important

to effectively address various issues, in particular

disarmament and the non-proliferation of weapons of

mass destruction, as well as the problem of the

proliferation of illegal small arms and light weapons,

which affects numerous countries. We are rather

disappointed that the outcome document does not

include provisions on non-proliferation and

disarmament, and we hope that work on those issues

will continue after the summit.

Terrorist attacks on innocent people

fundamentally contradict the value systems of modern

countries, in particular human rights, as formulated and

stated in international conventions and declarations.

Terrorist attacks are a violation of human rights, which

are the foundation of modern societies; they represent

an assault on the very essence of those societies and

thus negate their very modernity. This negation is

connected with the complex and paradoxical nature of

the concept of modernity. It seems that the fundamental

frustration caused by this complex and paradoxical

nature drives terrorists to commit radical actions.

Terrorism cannot tolerate the complex and paradoxical

character of modern societies.

Measures in the fight against terrorism are aimed

at those whose actions deny and reject human rights as

a fundamental value of modern societies. By

examining terrorists’ attitudes and the meaning of

terrorism, we should be able to define terrorism. An

agreed definition of terrorism would provide clarity

and help better ensure human rights. The more fully

human rights are protected, the more successful we

will be in our fight against terrorism. Human rights

will be more fully protected when terrorism is without

protection. Tolerating or justifying terrorism

undermines human rights.

That does not mean, however, that we can fail to

respect human rights in waging our fight against

terrorism. It is precisely universal respect for human

rights and fundamental freedoms, including in the fight

against terrorism, that will ensure the success of that

fight and preserve the democratic and free principles of

those societies which are being targeted by terrorists.

Slovenia welcomes the affirmation of the

principle of the responsibility to protect. By endorsing

that principle, world leaders have made a conceptual

breakthrough in the prevention of future tragedies like

those of Srebrenica, Rwanda and Darfur. For the first

time, we have recognized our national and collective

responsibility to act in cases of genocide and ethnic

cleansing, war crimes and crimes against humanity.

Slovenia considers the responsibility to protect to be an

integral part of national responsibility to protect a

country’s people against atrocities. It is our

understanding that the Security Council shares the

responsibility to protect and that the use of the veto in

the Council is fundamentally incompatible with that

responsibility.

We welcome the establishment of a Democracy

Fund and intend to contribute to it. We strongly support

a strengthened role for the Office of the High

Commissioner for Human Rights. The strengthened

role of the Office, to be financed from the United

Nations regular budget, is good news for the realization

of human rights on the ground.

The level of agreement on the Human Rights

Council is a disappointment. Numerous countries

wanted and expected more. Unfortunately, for the

moment, we are left without the necessary vision of a

new Council, even though, in the preparations for the

summit, we formulated good proposals for the

Council’s structure and mandate.

Slovenia wants a standing Council that is a

principal organ of the United Nations, able to deal with

all human rights concerns in all countries at all times.

We want a Council that better addresses rights and

freedoms, without double standards. We want a

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Council that could convene and act in every instance of

massive violation of human rights. We want a Council

able to make recommendations to other organs and

agencies of the United Nations system so that human

rights are truly integrated in all areas of the

Organization. Finally, we want a Council that reflects

the diversity of the modern world and that gives a

proper voice to civil society through non-governmental

organizations. In the course of the sixtieth session of

the General Assembly, Slovenia will continue to

actively support the establishment of a strong and

efficient new Human Rights Council.

I have already mentioned the dialogue of

civilizations. That dialogue should be based on

universal, fundamental values. No differentiation

between “us” and “them” should be tolerated. Human

rights and fundamental freedoms are the manifestation

of our common fundamental values. They are the best

answer for ensuring a dignified life in our globalized,

fast-paced and increasingly unsafe world. On the basis

of our wealth of traditions and history and creative

diversity, all individuals should be informed of and be

able to realize their rights and freedoms, as this is the

best long-term foundation for peace and development.

Educating people about human rights and dignity is a

prerequisite for this goal, and we are thrilled to see that

the need for such education is properly reflected in the

outcome document. As a member State of the Human

Security Network we are pleased that the issue of

human security has been included in the outcome

document of the High-level Plenary Meeting and will

continue to be discussed in the General Assembly.

Cooperation between the United Nations and

regional organizations deserves our priority attention in

future. As experiences from a variety of geographic

environments and conditions have shown — in

particular in South-Eastern Europe and Africa —

synergetic cooperation between the United Nations and

regional organizations can be very effective.

As Chairman-in-Office of the Organization for

Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE), I call for

the elaboration of a binding framework for permanent

cooperation between the United Nations and that

important regional organization as soon as possible.

For 30 years now, OSCE has proved effective in very

sensitive regions of the world. This year marks the

thirtieth anniversary of the Helsinki Final Act, which

established OSCE. Thirty years ago, the integration of

East and West began. Today, our main duty is to

integrate civilizations. One of the areas that should be

further developed is strengthening dialogue among

civilizations. It may be that the supreme importance of

our outcome document rests on that dialogue.