Ukraine, 2004

Mr. President, first

of all I would like to congratulate you on your

assumption of the important post of President of the

General Assembly at its fifty-ninth session. Let me also

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pay tribute to His Excellency Mr. Julian Hunte for his

highly professional and fruitful work accomplished at

the helm of the General Assembly.

A year ago the Secretary-General stressed in this

Hall that the United Nations had reached a fork in the

road. This is still true today. We have a long list of

problems, but we do not have a clear vision of how to

deal with them. To choose the right way, to solve a

conflict between wishes and resources, between

desirable and achievable, we should concentrate on

priorities.

Let me outline Ukraine’s vision of the most

important issues on which the United Nations should

focus. The tragedy in the Russian city of Beslan and

other recent terrorist attacks leave no doubt that fight

against terrorism is truly the major priority. We express

our sympathy to the victims and strongly condemn

terrorism in all its forms and manifestations.

The underlying reason for terrorism is to create

chaos, to disrupt the global system of peace and

security established and promoted by our Organization.

Thus, we have to act collectively. We have to overcome

old prejudices and to establish a spirit of confidence

and a new culture of international cooperation, which

would embrace the whole spectrum of political, law

enforcement and security instruments.

Creation of a new and efficient system of

information exchange on terrorism will help prevent

new attacks and save priceless human lives. We

support the views expressed by previous speakers on

the need for a broader approach to address the complex

and interdependent nature of security. To prevent

terrorist acts and to eliminate the roots of terrorism, the

United Nations must promote better understanding, a

global rapprochement between various civilizations

and religions. There are universal values of peace and

security which are a cornerstone of our Organization

and which can serve as a basis for a new atmosphere of

tolerance in the world.

Ukraine, as a country actively participating in the

stabilization forces in Iraq, is concerned by the terrorist

insurgency and continuing violence there. Although the

situation in Iraq remains difficult, there are some

positive trends. Ukraine welcomes the transition of

power to the Iraqi people and the formation of the

interim government. It is important to ensure effective

implementation of the timetable for a comprehensive

political transition process in the country, particularly

through the holding of free and fair elections, with the

highest standards possible under the current

circumstances.

Security Council resolution 1546 (2004) clearly

envisages a central role for the United Nations in a

comprehensive political transition in the country and in

the reconstruction process. However, the Iraqi crisis

and the international fight against terrorism have

revealed the need to strengthen the United Nations as a

key instrument for safeguarding international peace

and security.

Institutional reform of the United Nations,

including the Security Council, which should become

truly representative and balanced, is an important task.

We understand the reasons behind the suggestions to

enlarge the Council in both its permanent and non-

permanent membership, and we are ready to carefully

consider relevant proposals. In this respect, Ukraine

attaches primary importance to the allocation of an

additional non-permanent seat to the Group of Eastern

European States.

But reform must not only involve some structural

changes. We should not have to embark on reform

every 20 years when a new balance of power emerges

in the international arena. Universal criteria and a

common understanding of threats and challenges are

necessary to ensure the effectiveness and efficiency of

our Organization in the twenty-first century.

We fully share the view expressed by the

Secretary-General at the beginning of the general

debate that the rule of law should be a priority both at

home and in international affairs. We look forward to

the outcome of the deliberations of the High-level

Panel on Threats, Challenges and Change. United

Nations authority should be increased, particularly

through its greater involvement in conflict prevention

and resolution. As President Leonid Kuchma of

Ukraine emphasized, conflict prevention should be

pivotal to the philosophy of United Nations work in the

new millennium.

In our region, frozen conflicts in Abkhazia, South

Ossetia, Nagorny-Karabakh and Transdnistria need to

be solved as soon as possible.

As one of the major contributors to United

Nations peacekeeping operations and the largest in

Europe, Ukraine is deeply concerned by the increasing

danger to the lives of peacekeeping personnel. We

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stand for the universal application of the Convention

on the Safety of United Nations and Associated

Personnel and call upon all Member States to abide

strictly by its provisions.

The role of the United Nations in the field of non-

proliferation and disarmament should also be

strengthened. This year Ukraine will mark the tenth

anniversary of its accession to the Treaty on Non-

Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons. Its landmark

decision to eliminate the third largest nuclear arsenal

and to relinquish nuclear capability has significantly

enhanced the international non-proliferation regime

and global security. We hope that Ukraine’s positive

example will be followed by other countries that now

entertain the erroneous idea that they can protect their

security through access to nuclear weapons.

All achievements by the international community

may come to naught if our populations succumb to

HIV/AIDS. This disease has killed more people

annually than have all armed conflicts on the planet

added together. We highly appreciate the work carried

out by the United Nations, its specialized agencies and

by the Secretary-General personally to combat this

pandemic.

Ukraine supports the initiative to hold a high-

level meeting in June next year to review progress in

the implementation of the Declaration of Commitment

on HIV/AIDS. At the same time, we believe that

millions of our infected fellow citizens need concrete

action. We are convinced that HIV/AIDS poses a

fundamental challenge, not only to human health and

well-being, but also to the very security of our world.

In this regard, we attach particular significance to the

Organization’s declaration of a global emergency alert

in the fight against HIV/AIDS. The main focus must be

placed on prevention and treatment of the disease. As

Ukraine President Kuchma stressed last year at the

high-level meeting on HIV/AIDS, we need to elaborate

a clear system to encourage sponsorship of medical

projects as well as to expand the educational campaign

on preventing the pandemic.

In the same vein, a leading role should be played

by the mass media. Ukraine has launched an active

mass media campaign with the involvement of all

social groups, and we are ready to lead a regional

media movement in the prevention of HIV/AIDS.

Another pressing problem is trafficking in

persons, especially women and children. Ukraine

spares no effort in addressing this issue. This year

Ukraine became a party to the United Nations

Convention against Transnational Organized Crime and

its two Optional Protocols. However, tackling those

issues requires a comprehensive approach and the close

cooperation of the international community. We need

to create a truly functioning and efficient mechanism to

combine the efforts of the countries of origin, transit

and destination.

Effective strategies to combat human trafficking

should be based on both law enforcement measures and

improvement of the economic and social conditions of

potential victims. Ukraine welcomes the appointment

of the Commission on Human Rights Special

Rapporteur on trafficking in persons, especially in

women and children, and stands ready to render every

support in implementing the respective mandates.

Last year the world observed the seventieth

anniversary of the horrible genocidal famine, which

took the lives of over 7 million Ukrainian people.

Taking this opportunity I wish once again to express

our gratitude to all States that signed the joint

statement on the seventieth anniversary of the great

famine of 1932-1933 in Ukraine — Holodomor — or

whose parliaments adopted acts of condemnation and

sympathy, and to all organizations and individuals that

took part in the events to honour the victims of the

great famine.

The international community must thoroughly

study that phenomenon in order to prevent its

recurrence. We hope that the newly appointed Special

Adviser to the Secretary-General on the Prevention of

Genocide will also duly focus on this issue.

Almost two decades have passed since Ukraine

was struck by another tragedy — the Chernobyl

disaster. Ukraine together with other interested

delegations put forth an initiative to hold, within the

framework of the sixtieth session of United Nations

General Assembly in spring 2006, a special plenary

meeting to commemorate the victims of the Chernobyl

disaster.

Ukraine has fulfilled its commitments related to

the closure of the Chernobyl nuclear power plant. What

needs to be done today is to construct a new safe

confinement. We expect that funds for this purpose

promised by the Group of Seven in 1995 will be fully

provided.

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Chernobyl remains a searing wound, which

proves every day how fragile our world is and how

easily nature can be damaged. No one should doubt our

commitment to the preservation of our environment.

That is why Ukraine is so sensitive to environmental

protection, whether it concerns building of roads,

construction of new power plants or the reopening of a

navigable waterway.

It was fashionable some years ago to criticize the

United Nations for its inability to solve the most

important problems. Today we all come to this

Assembly with the ever-stronger conviction that there

is no alternative to our Organization.

I am confident that despite all obstacles and

doubts of the past, we can act for the attainment of the

United Nations goals that are common to all of us. We

can act swiftly, collectively and with a vision.