Ukraine, 2002

It is a great honour and

pleasure to congratulate the representative of the Group

of Eastern European States on his election to the high

post of President of the General Assembly at its fifty-

seventh session. On behalf of the delegation of

Ukraine, let me wish him success and assure him of our

support. I would like to address words of respect and

gratitude to his predecessor, Mr. Han Seung-soo.

I would like to take this opportunity to convey

cordial congratulations to a new, welcome Member of

the United Nations, the Swiss Confederation. We look

forward also to welcoming the Democratic Republic of

East Timor as a Member of the United Nations shortly.

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We consider the joining of the United Nations by those

States a truly historic event which testifies to the

viability of our great family of nations.

The first days of the fifty-seventh session of the

General Assembly began with a commemoration of the

victims of the horrible terrorist acts of 11 September

2001. Over the past year we have repeatedly reflected

on whether those events would remain a tragic moment

in history, or whether they would prove to be a turning

point. We have been searching for an answer to a

question representing the most difficult challenge to

humankind: how to preserve the fundamental right of

every person — the right to life.

For Ukraine, “terror” and “terrorism” are not just

words. For decades, the Ukrainian people lived under

the oppression of terror, which was raised to the rank

of State policy. Next year Ukraine will commemorate

the seventieth anniversary of the induced famine which

in 1932 and 1933 took the lives of over 7 million

Ukrainians. That most tragic event in our modern

history, caused by the totalitarian regime, was a brutal

act of genocide against the Ukrainian nation. At that

time the world failed to respond to our tragedy. Nor did

it recognize early enough the face of fascism: certain

politicians and certain States thought that that evil

would bypass them. The consequences of that inaction

turned out to be enormous.

Today, at the beginning of a new millennium, I

am confident that each of us would like to rely upon

the encouraging momentum of change which has taken

place in the international arena, and to rely upon the

unifying force with which the world responded to the

events of 11 September 2001. In the face of the

challenge of terrorism, the international community

demonstrated its determination and resolve. Tangible

results have been achieved by the antiterrorism

coalition.

We regard the fight against terrorism as one of the

aspect of a broad and long-term process of

comprehensive international action aimed at abolishing

the philosophy of hatred and intolerance, which is

exacerbated by conflicts in various regions of the

world.

The need for a new philosophy is particularly

acute on the security front: success of the international

presence in Afghanistan, the completion of the

peacekeeping mission in East Timor and normalization

in the Balkans are taking place alongside the dramatic

developments in the Middle East, the so-called frozen

conflicts in the post-Soviet space, which remain

unresolved, and persistent security problems in Africa.

In this context, the United Nations has no right to limit

itself to passive observation and uninvolved analysis.

At the Millennium Summit, the President of

Ukraine, Leonid Kuchma, put forward an initiative on

developing a comprehensive United Nations strategy

for conflict prevention. We hope that ongoing

discussions in the United Nations on the

recommendations made by the Secretary-General on

this issue will contribute to a real shift from a culture

of reaction to a culture of prevention.

The United Nations is capable of utilizing its

consolidating force to strengthen the legal basis of

international relations. We highly value the United

Nations contribution to this process that brought into

force the Rome Statute and led to the establishment of

the International Criminal Court. Today, it is highly

important to ensure the effectiveness of the Court and

to preserve the integrity of its Statute.

Another priority task in this sphere is to conclude

the elaboration of a comprehensive convention on

international terrorism. This year Ukraine became a

party to the International Convention for the

Suppression of Terrorist Bombings and the European

Convention on the Suppression of Terrorism. Upon the

completion of relevant domestic procedures on the

International Convention for the Suppression of the

Financing of Terrorism, Ukraine will be a party to all

12 universal instruments against terrorism.

A number of tasks facing the international

community in the social and economic spheres are

further defining the role of the United Nations as a

unique forum for dialogue among developed countries,

countries with economies in transition and developing

nations.

As a member of the Economic and Social

Council, Ukraine stresses the need for reform of the

Council and for strengthening its coordinating role.

That process would, inter alia, significantly strengthen

the Organization's potential to ensure consistent and

effective implementation of the provisions of the

Millennium Declaration, the Monterrey Consensus and

the outcome of the World Summit on Sustainable

Development, held in Johannesburg.

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At the Johannesburg Summit, the President of

Ukraine proposed the formulation of innovative

financial stimulation mechanisms for developing

countries and countries with economies in transition, in

particular through debt-for-sustainable-development

swaps. In our view, such steps would have a positive

impact on nations' rates of economic growth and

ecologically responsible development.

On 31 December 2001 Ukraine concluded its

two-year term of membership of the Security Council.

As a member of the Council, our country strived to

make practical contributions towards finding solutions

to critical security problems in many regions of today's

world. Our country's position of principle is still that

the Security Council is the only organ with the

legitimate right to decide on the use of force, in

accordance with the United Nations Charter. At the

same time we consistently stand for increased

transparency in the Council's work, and we hope that

progress on internal changes will allow the process of

comprehensive and long-awaited reform to start.

An important element of Ukraine's participation

in United Nations efforts in the sphere of peace and

security will continue to be its contribution to

peacekeeping activities of the Organization. We believe

that the key role played by United Nations

peacekeeping operations and the personal contribution

made by each peacekeeper deserve adequate

recognition by the international community. I am

confident that everybody present in this Hall will share

our view. At the current session of the General

Assembly, Ukraine will present a draft resolution

proposing annual observance of an International Day of

United Nations Peacekeepers as a way to pay tribute to

the memory of fallen peacekeepers and to honour the

participants in ongoing and past missions. We hope this

will be unanimously supported.

Ukraine views positively the advancement of the

stabilization process in the Balkans, in particular in

Bosnia and Herzegovina and in Kosovo. Ukraine holds

to a consistent position concerning the territorial

integrity and inviolability of the borders of the Balkan

States, and it fully supports the active involvement of

European actors in an effort to further normalize the

security situation in the region.

In contrast to a promising assessment of the

situation in the Balkans, we are compelled to voice our

regret over the absence of progress in the settlement of

other problems which are of particular interest to

Ukraine. Among them is the Georgian-Abkhaz conflict.

The absence of confidence between the Georgian and

the Abkhaz sides stands in the way of a renewal of

political dialogue. As host country to the third meeting

of the sides on confidence-building measures, which

was held in Yalta in March 2001, Ukraine stands ready

to take practical steps, in cooperation with the United

Nations and other interested States, in order to renew

the spirit of Yalta.

Speaking of the situation in Georgia, I cannot fail

to mention that Ukraine is deeply concerned at the

situation related to developments in the Pankisi valley.

Ukraine believes that the existing misunderstandings

can be resolved only through peaceful means, in

compliance with the norms and principles of

international law. We call upon the parties to employ

all available political and diplomatic mechanisms to

arrive at a mutual understanding and to take advantage

of every opportunity to achieve détente in the current

situation. Ukraine unconditionally supports the

sovereignty and territorial integrity of Georgia.

The situation in the Middle East also remains a

source of deep concern for Ukraine. It is quite obvious

today that the parties have become trapped in a cycle of

violence, which contradicts the true aspirations of both

peoples and breeds yet more hatred and desperation.

We fully support the efforts of the international

community, in particular the Quartet and the countries

of the region, aimed at assisting the parties in finding

peaceful ways to settle the conflict. Ukraine, for its

part, strives to contribute in every possible way to a

peaceful settlement. In April this year, during his visit

to the region, President Leonid Kuchma presented

Ukrainian proposals in the framework of international

diplomatic efforts aimed at a peaceful settlement of the

Middle East conflict; these envisage a range of parallel

steps in the security, economic and political spheres. I

should like to take this opportunity to confirm

Ukraine's readiness to offer a venue on its territory and

to provide all appropriate conditions for the conduct of

talks on this issue. The achievement of a final, just and

durable peace in the Middle East is not possible

without the resumption of peace negotiations on the

Israeli-Syrian and Israeli-Lebanese tracks.

The development of the situation concerning Iraq

cannot fail to cause serious concern. We rely on the

potential of the United Nations to solve this problem.

The resolutions of the Security Council should be fully

implemented. We expect that the new round of

negotiations between the United Nations and Iraq will

help to find ways to resolve this issue.

Today, the world looks with hope to the

unprecedented integration process on the African

continent. We hope that the birth of the African Union

will strengthen the spirit of African brotherhood and

unity in responding to the numerous challenges that

confront the continent: armed conflict, poverty and the

HIV/AIDS pandemic. Ukraine welcomes the African

Union's establishment and its far-reaching plans to

revitalize the continent. We hope that the New

Partnership for Africa's Development will unite the

nations of the world in a global partnership in support

of peace, stability and development on the African

continent. For its part, Ukraine is ready to continue to

strengthen its cooperation and expand its economic ties

with the countries of a united Africa, including in the

framework of the new global partnership for the

development of the continent.

Ensuring the proper implementation of the

principles of the supremacy of law, the creation of

conditions for economic growth and the effective

functioning of the institutions of an open society are

goals that remain fundamental in Ukraine's national

policy. The President of Ukraine has launched a

programme of political reforms to ensure a transition to

a parliamentary-presidential form of governance. That

process should bring about the further democratization

of our society and should lead to consolidation of all

domestic resources in order to achieve European

standards and to strengthen concord in Ukrainian

society. Our determined strategic goal is to become a

member of the European Union and of the North

Atlantic Treaty Organization, which should finally

ensure the indivisibility of the European political,

economic and security space. Our course of action is

aimed at making Ukraine a pillar of political stability,

economic prosperity and cultural renaissance.

Here, I cannot fail to mention a tragic problem for

Ukraine that is related to the consequences of the

Chernobyl disaster. Our country must address —

virtually on its own — a complex set of technological,

social and economic problems connected to the

mitigation of that disaster's consequences as well as to

the closure of the Chernobyl nuclear power plant in

2000. We expect that our efforts will be supported by

concrete action on the part of the international

community, in particular through the implementation of

the new United Nations strategy for Chernobyl.

Guided by the aspiration to achieve practical

results, we are also determined to solve a broad range

of other problems that have an important place on the

agenda of the world forum. Undoubtedly, the fight

against the HIV/AIDS pandemic is one of the most

challenging of these. I should like to inform the

Assembly that a regional conference for the countries

of Eastern Europe and Central Asia will be held in

Ukraine in November this year with the support of the

United Nations and of other international partners.

I am confident that, a year after the 11 September

tragedy in the United States, each of us realizes the

particular significance of the tasks facing the United

Nations. Looking ahead to the new challenges, we hope

that, in the cause of protecting civilization's values, we

shall be guided by our wisdom, which will allow us to

avoid tragic scenarios and to protect the rights of every

inhabitant of the planet, including every new human

being who comes into the world even as we speak in

this debate: the right to life, the right to dignity, the

right to this world.