STATEMENT
by
H.E. MR. ANATOLIY
ZLENKO
MINISTER FOR FOREIGN AFFAIRS OF UKRAINE
GENERAL DEBATE OF THE 56TH SESSION OF THE UNITED NATIONS GENERAL ASSEMBLY
New York
10 November 2001
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Distinguished Mr. President, Distinguished Mr. Secretary-General,
Allow me at the outset to congratulate the President of the 56th General
Assembly session Dr. Iran Seung-soo on his election to this important and
responsible post.
On behalf of the Ukrainian delegation, I would like to assure you of
our full support and to wish you every success in your work.
Taking this opportunity, I would also like to express our appreciation
to your predecessor, Mr. Harri Holkeri, whose political wisdom and diplomatic
skills allowed the 55th General Assembly session to achieve important results.
Mr. President,
A year ago, at the Millennium Summit, we, the representatives of the
nations of the world, were perceived as heralds of a new age.
At that memorable meeting, the United Nations heard the words that
gave humanity hope for a new and just model of international relations
in the new century.
Freedom. Equality. Solidarity. Tolerance. Mutual responsibility.
These fundamental values enshrined in the Millennium Declaration outlined
the path, which the peoples of the world will follow in the new era.
However, while striving to breathe the fresh air of the future, we instead
swallowed a mouthful of ashes and dust.
On September ll the modern world was brutally wounded.
Death of innocent people shocked all those who cherish the universal
values of life and freedom.
The terrorist acts in the United States demonstrated that the philosophy
of hatred, which has no religious, ethnic or linguistic affiliation, became
one of the key challenges of the contemporary world.
This threat requires an urgent and clear international reaction.
While sharing the pain of the American people, Ukraine fully supports
the resolve of the United States to give an effective rebuff to perpetrators,
patrons and instigators of the terrorist acts.
Without any hesitation, we joined the global anti-terrorist coalition,
because we recognize the need to unite the efforts of the international
community to counter new threats. The military campaign in Afghanistan
targeting the core of world terrorism is the first stage and a necessary
element of these efforts.
At the same time, it is evident that the Afghan people, who live in
a state of permanent humanitarian crisis, became a hostage of terrorists.
As a result, this crisis cannot be brought to an end without consistent
political and diplomatic efforts aimed at finding a solution.
Ukraine welcomes the activities of the Secretary-General and his Special
Representative, Lakhdar Brahimi, and supports their constructive contribution
to the stabilization of the situation in Afghanistan.
We are convinced that efforts to further strengthen and improve international
legal mechanisms for combating terrorism should be also given a powerful
political impetus.
In this context, speedy conclusion of the work on the draft comprehensive
convention on terrorism gains special importance.
I am also pleased to mention that the proposal of my country
to convene a Ministerial meeting of- the Security Council to discuss further
steps in the global response to international terrorism was unanimously
supported by the members of the Council.
There, is no doubt that in the course of such a meeting vital steps will be made to identify key means and methods of combating terrorism.
We also continue to maintain that there is a need for proper institutional
arrangements to coordinate and complement individual efforts of Member
States in combating international terrorism and to ensure that the legal
instruments we elaborated are implemented in the most efficient manner.
This entity should not become another bureaucratic body, but rather
an effective mechanism to contribute to the consolidation of international
efforts in this area.
To honor the memory of thousands who perished in terrorist attacks
and to further unite our efforts in fighting the scourge of terrorism,
I would like to propose, on behalf of the Government of Ukraine, to declare
September 11 a United Nations Day to Combat International Terrorism.
I hope that this proposal will find support of the General Assembly,
which would establish this Day as a symbol of our remembrance, unity and
resolve.
Mr. President,
Ukraine welcomes this year decision by the Norwegian Nobel Committee
to award the Peace Prize to the United Nations and to its Secretary-General,
Kofi Annan.
He is exactly the kind of leader that the United Nations needs today
as it faces new global challenges.
Are we ready to stand up to these new challenges?
Do we fully realize that the aggravation of the situation in the world
is determined by deeply rooted causes of the existing international inequality?
And, finally, how will the 56th session of the UN General Assembly be remembered - as a session that put an end to the age of illusions, or as a forum that consolidated the UN family?
The United Nations enters a new period of its history.
Ukraine is strongly convinced that, on a strategic plane, the strengthening
of the UN's status as the core of the modern system of international relations
should become the primary task of this Organization.
The terrorist acts in the United States have united and consolidated
the international community.
Why does it have to take the tragic loss of thousands of innocent lives
to realize that there is a vital need for unity of its actions?
From our standpoint, the essence of United Nations leadership lies
in ensuring an effective response to the new challenges to security, both
at global and regional levels.
This role, however, cannot be played effectively without improving the existing model of making and implementing decisions at the international level.
That is why my country actively supports the reform of the United Nations
Security Council.
We see this reform not as weakening of the foundations of the Council's
work, but, on the contrary, as their strengthening by making sure that
they better reflect the realities of the modern world.
This year, Ukraine is completing its term as a member of the
Security Council.
I believe that the experience we gained will contribute to the advancement
of the process of change.
We will consistently advocate the need to improve the Security Council's
methods of work and to enlarge its membership.
As a Central European nation, Ukraine will actively lobby for an additional
seat on the Council for this region.
In our view, special attention should also be paid to the philosophy
of the United Nations peacekeeping activities and to the problem of sanctions.
For many years Ukraine, which is today among the 10 largest troop-contributors
to the United Nations peacekeeping missions, has been consistently supporting
the development of effective preventive mechanisms of the UN.
At the Millennium and Security Council Summits last year, the President
of Ukraine, Leonid Kuchma, emphasized the need for the elaboration of a
United Nations strategy for comprehensive conflict prevention based on
a wide use of preventive diplomacy.
I am pleased to note that the recommendations on conflict prevention
put forward by Secretary-General Kofi Annan in his June report echo the
proposal made by the President of Ukraine.
We believe that the United Nations possesses the necessary experience
and resources for enhancement of its role in this field, in particular
through the establishment of regional centers to monitor potential areas
of conflict, as well as through more active use of preventive deployment
operations.
As for the issue of sanctions, we stand for the elaboration of a well-balanced
methodology of their imposition, implementation and lifting.
This critical lever of influence should not be turned into a political
boomerang.
We are also confident in the overriding necessity to further consolidate
international efforts of arms control, disarmament and non-proliferation
of weapons of mass destruction. Realistically assessing the capabilities
of the Conference on the CTBT we hope it will result in the extension of
the number of participants of this Treaty, which has been ratified by Ukraine
last year.
I would also like to mention that next month Ukraine will complete
the implementation of the third and last phase of strategic weapons destruction
under the START Treaty.
On October 30 Ukraine destroyed the last intercontinental ballistic
missile silo. In that way we turned one of the important pages in the history
of nuclear disarmament.
We are ready to continue to make our contribution to secure effectiveness
of the system of strategic stability in the world.
Mr. President,
Ukraine stands for further elaboration by the UN of a universal approach
to the issues of ensuring sustainable development and eradication of poverty
in the world.
We hope that the outcome of the International Conference on Financing
of Development will be a practical step in mobilizing national and international
resources to solve these problems.
We also intend to take practical steps in resolving a complex of environment
protection issues.
As a country that still suffers the pain of the Chernobyl tragedy,
Ukraine counts on further active involvement of the UN Development Program
and other operational bodies of the Organization in the process of eliminating
the long-term consequences of this disaster.
Ukraine considers that cultural and spiritual disasters are no less
destructive than natural ones.
The cultural mosaic of the world is the most precious and delicate
treasure granted to humanity.
Ukraine has the honor to be the co-sponsor of the UN General Assembly
draft resolution on the proclamation of the Year 2002 as the UN year of
protection of the world cultural heritage and calls on the international
community to support this initiative.
Vigorous work to protect humanity's historical and cultural heritage is not only-a vital necessity; it is also our moral responsibility before the past and future generations.
Mr. President,
The year 2001 is an anniversary year for our country. On 24 August,
Ukraine celebrated the first decade of its independence.
These were 10 years of complex processes.
The main result has been the consolidation of Ukraine as a peaceful
independent European state.
We achieved sustainable economic growth as a result of consistent reforms.
My country is an active participant of the European regional processes.
Ukraine contributes to the settlement of the so-called frozen conflicts,
specifically in Abkhazia (Georgia) and Transdniestria (Moldova).
As a member of Group of Friends of the Secretary-General for Georgia,
Ukraine is concerned over the slow pace of the Georgia-Abkhaz peace process.
Ukraine takes an active stand concerning the settlement of the situation
in the Republic of Macedonia. Resolution of the centuries old Balkan problem
is an ambitious and urgent task for Europe of the new century.
We also note with concern the escalation of tensions in the Middle
East during the past year.
The entire history of the conflict in the Middle East proves that its
vicious circle can only be broken through renouncing violence and reviving
mutual trust and tolerance between the sides of the conflict.
Mr. President,
The United Nations begins a new and complicated period of its activities.
It is up to us to see how the UN comes out of its encounter with the
new challenges - united or divided.
I believe that the wisdom of this forum that has been nurtured through
decades of hard and responsible work should serve as a guarantee of the
optimistic scenario.
Thank you for your attention.