Croatia
H.E. Mr. Ivo Sanader, Prime Minister
26 September 2008
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Statement Summary
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IVO SANADER, Prime Minister of Croatia, said that, over the past decade, his country had emerged as an anchor of stability, security and cooperation in South-Eastern Europe, and was now addressing the world’s most pressing and relevant issues as an elected, first-time member of the Security Council. Croatia’s membership on the Security Council was an opportunity to work as a dedicated partner in advancing effective multilateralism. He was confident that the negotiations for Croatia’s accession to the European Union would be concluded in 2009.
Turning to recent events in Georgia, he welcomed the six-point accord brokered by the European Union presidency in August, and said that a failure to address outstanding issues effectively could lead to old paradigms of confrontation and endanger the democratic gains since the end of the cold war. Flagrant violations of international humanitarian law and human rights should be addressed through established mechanisms like the International Criminal Court, which would provide a vital recourse to justice in situations where national Governments could not, or would not, address such issues themselves.
Additionally, he expressed support for the Security Council’s adoption of a strong and action-oriented resolution that addressed the disturbing practices of sexual violence as a method of warfare, and would continue to work on preventing the use of children in armed conflict. On-the-ground realities required stronger Security Council involvement and, for that reason, Croatia would present its candidature for membership in the Human Rights Council for the period of 2010-2013.
He went on to say that Governments needed to support the delivery of commitments made, and mobilize the financial resources needed, to achieve the Millennium Development Goals, particularly targets for health and education, environment and the eradication of poverty in developing countries to help the world’s bottom billion. The 2002 Monterrey Consensus on development financing remained the foundation of the global partnership for development, and he hoped for a positive outcome of the Review Conference set to take place in Doha, Qatar, later this year.
Croatia had redoubled its efforts to preserve regional stability with initiatives such as the Regional Cooperation Council, headquartered in Sarajevo. The foundations of stability in Bosnia and Herzegovina rested on respect for the human rights for Croats, Bosniaks and Serbs, and Croatia stood ready, with the international community, to support and assist through an active policy of cooperation.
[Source: GA/10756]
