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THE REFORM OF THE UN SHOULD CONTRIBUTE TO THE ACCOMPLISHMENT OF THE MISSION OF THE UN ALSO FOR THE COMING CENTURY
THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE UNITED NATIONS - Plenary session -
Speech by the President of the Republic of Slovenia Milan Kucan
New York, UN (USA), 24 September 1997
 "Slovenia agrees with the suggestion of the Secretary-General to integrate human rights into all principal activities of the UN such as peace and security, economic and social affairs, development cooperation, and humanitarian affairs. This approach promises a significant improvement in the activities of the United Nations in these areas. It also promises more comprehensive activities of the United Nations in the field of human rights. Implementation of human rights is effected not only through the functioning of instruments to monitor compliance with international treaties but also through political, social and economic measures allowing for human rights to become an integral part of social development, and a part of the everyday life of each individual," said the President, pointing out that: "Slovenia has confirmed its role as a state that has been successfully coping with the issues of development and of neighbourly relations; within the scope of its possibilities, it has also been striving for long-term stabilisation of the situation in Bosnia and Herzegovina and in the region at large."
Mr President,
Please allow me at the outset to express my sincere congratulations on your election as President of the 52nd Session of the General Assembly. The expectations before this session are great and the tasks demanding; however, your experience and political wisdom are a guarantee that they will be fulfilled.
I would like to take this opportunity to thank His Excellency Razali Ismail, Ambassador of Malaysia, for his energetic and successful presiding over the 51st Session.
Mr President,
Almost two years have passed since we, Heads of States and Governments of UN Member States, confirmed our commitment to the idea of reform. This reform should contribute to the accomplishment of the mission of the United Nations in the international situation of the present day, as well as to greater efficiency of the Organisation. Today, we have before us a comprehensive set of proposals by the Secretary-General, the programme for reform and renewal of the UN. This document proves that the discussions held within the last two years, and the experience gained in recent decades, have helped the new Secretary-General to prepare - within a few months - concrete proposals providing a basis for further decisions.
Slovenia joins those expressing their appreciation to the Secretary-General for his impressive work performed in the first months of his mandate. This work has involved concrete measures for the functioning of the Secretariat, and proposals for reforms. At the same time, however, we are well aware that the responsibility now lies with us: we - the representatives of the UN Member States and the peoples of the United Nations - are responsible for decisions that will provide the necessary reforms and enable the Organisation to deal with the tasks of the coming century.
Our approach should not be based primarily on calculations as to what individual UN Member States might gain from the reform. It should, above all, be based on an assessment of how the Organisation may be reformed in such a way that it will better serve all of us. This will only be possible if the Organisation improves the ability to deal with its basic tasks - maintenance of international peace and security, comprehensive economic and social development - particularly in developing countries, and to attain a high degree of promotion and protection of individual as well as collective human rights.
Another important requirement for the success of this programme for reform is that the United Nations takes its decisions promptly and on time. The past years have rendered possible all-round discussion about reforms. And now is the time for decisions: Slovenia believes that the major decisions should be adopted in the first part of the present Session of the General Assembly.
The President of the General Assembly will play a significant role regarding those decisions that cannot be postponed. We lend him our full support and encouragement towards assuming an active role and determined managing of the decision-making process.
Mr President,
Slovenia supports the proposals contained in the Secretary-General's report "Programme for Reform". This is a project deserving all our attention and assistance. Its main value is that it offers the possibility of concrete decisions; and at the same time it remains open to new ideas and proposals.
The proposals for promoting sustainable development - defined as a priority task by the Secretary-General himself - deserve careful examination. The impression is that these proposals go in the right direction, although clearer answers to questions on development financing will be required. The "development dividend" created by the streamlining of the Secretariat, will not be able to provide all the answers we need.
Concrete proposals will be needed to define more accurately the tasks of the proposed Office for the Development Financing which would encourage innovative means of mobilizing new financial resources for development.
Slovenia agrees with the suggestion of the Secretary-General to integrate human rights into all principal activities of the UN such as peace and security, economic and social affairs, development cooperation, and humanitarian affairs. This approach promises a significant improvement in the activities of the United Nations in these areas. It also promises more comprehensive activities of the United Nations in the field of human rights. Implementation of human rights is effected not only through the functioning of instruments to monitor compliance with international treaties but also through political, social and economic measures allowing for human rights to become an integral part of social development, and a part of the everyday life of each individual. Implementation of human rights has to be closely linked with the promotion of social progress and eradication of poverty in order to secure human dignity, essential social security and development. Furthermore, this would substantially contribute to elimination of political tensions and root causes of threats to international peace. Should the United Nations fail to ensure respect for human dignity and the protection of human rights, its basic mission will not be fulfilled.
The new High Commissioner for Human Rights will certainly assume an important role in the search for solutions to salient issues. We note with pleasure that it is Mrs. Mary Robinson, until recently the President of Ireland, who has been appointed to this post. Mrs. Robinson has already won worldwide recognition thanks to her activities. We wish her every success and look forward to her proposals for improvements in the field of human rights.
Mr President,
Reform of the Security Council constitutes an important part of the reform of the United Nations. The period following the end of the cold war only reconfirms the importance of effective functioning of the mechanisms of collective security, at the same time however, it calls for changes in the composition of the Security Council and for the improvement of its working methods. Slovenia is committed to a reasonable and balanced increase in the number of permanent as well as non-permanent members of the Security Council, to a restriction on the use of the veto and to greater transparency in the functioning of the Security Council. It is our hope that the discussions on the Security Council reform will lead to adequate decisions, genuinely supported by the membership of the United Nations.
Slovenia also endorses the approach taken by the Secretary-General in the field of disarmament. Disarmament has been one of the UN priority goals ever since its foundation. We have good reason for satisfaction since the disarmament efforts yielded considerable progress concerning weapons of mass destruction. The Chemical Weapons Convention, signed four years ago, entered into force this year. We expect it to be implemented effectively, although this will only be feasible if the Convention is ratified by all the remaining countries, particularly those disposing of large stockpiles of chemical weapons, or resources for their production.
The indefinite extension of the Non-proliferation Treaty and the conclusion of the Comprehensive Test-Ban Treaty last year have considerably reduced the dangers created by nuclear weapons. Time has come to take further steps. We need to ensure the universal adherence to the ban on nuclear tests and to accelerate negotiations for the ban on the production of fissile material for nuclear weapons. Endeavours towards the reduction of nuclear weapons arsenals should be intensified in order to ensure their gradual elimination.
I wish to place special emphasis on the importance of early adoption of the international convention on a comprehensive ban on anti-personnel landmines and their destruction. Slovenia has joined those countries that have already renounced their use, transfer and production, and has been taking an active part in the Ottawa process ever since its beginning. Negotiations concerning these issues have just been brought to a successful conclusion at the diplomatic conference in Oslo. Early in December this year Slovenia will join those who intend - in the presence of the Secretary-General - to sign the Convention on the Prohibition of Anti-Personnel Landmines.
Disarmament efforts constitute an important element in strengthening international security. Formation and implementation of the regional arms control and disarmament regimes represent an effective mechanism in strengthening security. Experience gained during the Balkan crisis, which posed the most serious threat to peace in Europe since the foundation of the UN, strengthens our belief that lower armament thresholds should be imposed. More weapons can only present a greater temptation and danger.
Mr President,
All the endeavours for the modernisation of the Organisation by providing relevant answers to global issues will have no guarantee of success if the United Nations proves unable to contribute to the solution of those crisis situations that pose a threat to international peace and which generate humanitarian problems. These situations are now assuming larger dimensions than in any other period of the activity of the UN so far. The credibility of the Organisation and the functioning of its main bodies must be repeatedly proven. Special importance in this respect must be attached to the activity of the Security Council which, in accordance with the Charter bears primary responsibility for the maintenance of international peace and security.
Today expectations regarding action by the Security Council are more realistic than they were several years ago. However, they are no less demanding. The Security Council is taking an active part in issues concerning international peace on the African continent. It has proved its ability to apply a variety of methods at its disposal, in accordance with the Charter. They include preventive diplomacy and cooperation with the Organisation of African Unity, classic peace-keeping operations and the use of measured and focused economic sanctions. The appropriate selection of these methods has enabled the Security Council to formulate relevant approaches to the situations in Liberia, Angola and Burundi. As for some other crisis areas, including the Republic of the Congo, the most appropriate approach still remains to be found.
The Security Council is also participating in settling issues which arise after the military conflicts. The situation in Bosnia and Herzegovina in Europe provides an example of such involvement.
Following the conclusion of the Dayton Agreement which halted the war, the situation in Bosnia and Herzegovina has stabilised to a certain extent. Yet peace in Bosnia and Herzegovina is still far from secure. The return of refugees is proceeding slowly, to a limited extent, and is facing hindrances. The authorities in Bosnia and Herzegovina have not been functioning in such a way as stipulated in the peace accord, and the principal war crime suspects have not yet been transferred to stand trial at the International Criminal Tribunal. The United Nations has been performing a number of important tasks in that country, particularly in the area of humanitarian aid, civil unarmed police activity and in the field of criminal prosecution. The scope of the present engagement of the United Nations in Bosnia and Herzegovina lies within realistic limits; its effectiveness, however, is proportional to the increased coordination of action taken in Bosnia and Herzegovina by international organisations. At the same time, success in those fields falling within the competence of the United Nations is of critical importance for the establishment of lasting peace.
May I take this opportunity to stress that the inevitable starting point for solving the crisis in Bosnia and Herzegovina is the precise identification of the nature of that devastating war, which has not been completely stopped. If there is a lack of willingness to identify the reasons for and the nature of the war, its aims and protagonists, then the healing will inevitably be a lengthy and expensive process, with many risks to human life and property. One must even envisage the possibility that the search for peace may prove unsuccessful.
Mr President,
The activities underway in Bosnia and Herzegovina have assumed the character of a post-conflict action, but their aim is also a preventive one. Experience gained in recent years has shown that conflicts often re-emerge in the absence of appropriate preventive action of diplomatic, economic and, if necessary, military character. The time to withdraw the international forces from Bosnia and Herzegovina will have to be considered very carefully. Withdrawing too early could lead to recurrence of the initial situation of instability or even that of armed conflict.
An example of successful preventive action representing an important lesson for the future has been provided by the international operation in Albania this year. Operation "Alba" was conducted on the initiative and under the leadership of Italy in agreement with the Albanian Government and with the authorisation of the Security Council. This operation has shown how quick and determined action taken by a group of countries in the vicinity of the emerging crisis situation, and under the authorisation of the Security Council, can prevent armed conflict and potential destabilisation in the region. Slovenia took part in this successful operation, and is ready to participate in other preventive actions, as well as in other peace-keeping operations - a fact which has been confirmed by the decision of the Security Council to include a Slovenian contingent in the peace-keeping operation in Cyprus.
The recent international action in Bosnia and Herzegovina and Albania - as examples of regional crises - demonstrates the importance of the participation of regional organisations, and such a role has been played by the OSCE.
Mr President,
Slovenia's readiness to contribute towards implementing the objectives of the United Nations has also been manifested by the candidature of Slovenia for a non-permanent seat on the United Nations Security Council for the period 1998-99, in the elections to be held at the General Assembly in a few weeks' time. Slovenia has confirmed its role as a state that has been successfully coping with the issues of development and of neighbourly relations; within the scope of its possibilities, it has also been striving for long-term stabilisation of the situation in Bosnia and Herzegovina and in the region at large. Through this action and its international activity, Slovenia has proved to be a factor of peace and stability in Europe. As a member of the United Nations, Slovenia is actively participating in the discussion on reform, including the issue of reform of the Security Council. Our readiness to contribute in practice to the work of the Security Council has been manifested by our cooperation in the peace-keeping operations in Albania and Cyprus. And last but certainly not least, Slovenia has been paying its membership contributions to the regular budget and to the peace-keeping budgets in full and on time.
As a candidate for a non-permanent seat in the Security Council, we undertake to observe - in the event of our election - the principles of openness and transparency of action, and will strive to strengthen the ties between the Security Council and membership of the United Nations.
Mr President,
May I, in conclusion, reiterate again the importance of this session of the General Assembly and of the decisions to be taken. We have arrived at a stage where we may see the crystallisation of those solutions that will prepare the United Nations to cope with the tasks of the next century. It is our responsibility to formulate these solutions in a sufficiently clear and comprehensive manner, and in this way provide for the viable future of our common organisation. I firmly believe that we, the present generation, are able to preserve it as it was created by our forefathers in the turbulent time at the end of World War II, committed to the principles of peace, cooperation, development and respect for human dignity.
Thank you, Mr President.
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