Address by H.E. Mr. János Martonyi, Minister for Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Hungary,

at the Fifty-fifth session of the General Assembly of the United Nations

(New York, September 16, 2000)

Mr. President,

Allow me to warmly congratulate you on your election as President of the 55^th session of the General Assembly - which falls on the Millennium - and to assure you of the full co-operation of the Hungarian delegation. I would also like to pay tribute to your predecessor, Mr. Théo-Ben Gurirab, for his contribution to the work of this Assembly as well as to the preparations of the Millennium Summit.

Less than a week ago the Heads of State and Government of the Member States of the United Nations adopted a Declaration at their Millennium Summit. The commitments and concrete objectives contained therein represent a complex challenge. Their realization requires perseverant efforts from each and every member of the international community. In the process, we all, small and big, poor and rich, must be aware that we bear a shared responsibility for the future of our civilization.

The Millennium Report of the Secretary-General and the Declaration prepared on its basis reflect most eloquently the tasks and the needs - and also the anxieties and fears – that our globe is facing, and they do it at an appropriate moment, i.e. at the threshold of a new Millennium. While working to implement this vast action plan, we can set in motion a process that is indispensable for the treatment of the global problems which are emerging with ever greater urgency.

One of the great lessons of the last decade, and, indeed, of the Millennium Summit, is that, with the bipolar world gone, East-West confrontation has given way to North-South problems. We believe that everything must be done to ensure that this division does not become fossilized and that the concomitant problems and difficulties do not remain with us indefinitely. The Secretary-General’s Millennium Report, the document adopted at the Summit of the Heads of State and Government, and the numerous speeches delivered at that meeting all testify that the international community recognizes and appropriately assesses the challenges it has to meet in the framework of globalization, that it is seeking solutions to the urgent questions in order to reduce the dramatic disparities in the world. And these problems abound, such as poverty, the growing economic and social gap between developed and developing countries, issues related to the environment protection, organized crime, international terrorism, AIDS and other diseases, drug, human migration, the dissemination via the Internet of intolerance and extremist ideas, etc. It can be stated without exaggeration that in order to assure a stable, just and prosperous future for the whole of mankind, we must start, without delay, to implement the decisions adopted and, if needed, to establish necessary international legal norms. These should also cover the areas related to trade and finance, as well as human rights, particularly the rights of ethnic, linguistic and religious minorities. In this enterprise, good governance but also solidarity should be once again given sense.

Mr. President,

The great political, security, social, economic and scientific transformations unfolding in the world are accompanied by a remarkable evolution: the return of the human being to the central place he/she rightly deserves in the international arena and the rediscovery of the ultimate purpose and meaning of the governmental activity both at the national and international level. Namely, that the point at issue is not the safeguarding of States and governments, but the protection of peoples, communities, the human being, men and women who make up our societies. Political and legislative practice, and our future activities in the field of international law codification must therefore adequately reflect the welcome re-emergence of this fundamental truth.

In this context, the millions of victims of the conflicts that shock the world and the daily tragedies we are witnessing demand from us not to sit idly by, but try to find an early answer to a practical and theoretical dilemma that has been haunting us for some time. It concerns conflicts that happen within States and are accompanied by grave violations of human rights, by genuine humanitarian crises. It should not be allowed that national authorities, wherever they may be, could expose their own population to systematic and massive persecution with impunity, using certain principles of the UN Charter as a cover. The international community must deal with situations of this kind with a new vision and a philosophy reflecting the realities and spirit of our present-day world.

Mr. President,

By reason of its proximity to the former Yugoslavia, my country, Hungary, did experience the full weight of these problems in the past decade. We witnessed how, in handling this conflict, the international community was often woefully slow to act. In Bosnia, but also in Rwanda and elsewhere, severe deficiencies prevented it from acting in time, with the proper means, relying on a mandate corresponding to the specificities of the given situation, and with the requisite political will. That is precisely why we welcome the report by Mr. Brahimi on peacekeeping activities, and are ready without delay to start the work to discuss and implement the recommendations contained therein.

As regards the Balkans region, the Stability Pact for South-Eastern Europe, established a year ago, is an initiative of prevention as much as of reconstruction that offers the countries and peoples of this part of the Old Continent the opportunity to transcend their conflicts, to settle their differences and to open up new prospects for co-operation. Hungary attaches great importance to making its own contribution to this vital undertaking, among others, in the field of strengthening the democratic forces in the region and the respect of human rights, including the rights of minorities. In this respect, a democratic evolution in the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia would unquestionably have a stabilizing impact on the entire region, and would make possible to put an end to the isolation of Serbia from the mainstream of European and international developments. The elections at the end of September do offer this land the opportunity to embark on just such a process. Such an evolution would also allow regularizing the relations between Serbia and Montenegro.

Mr. President,

One of the global problems we face is undoubtedly related to the issue of conventional weapons and weapons of mass destruction. We call for further progress in the field of small arms and anti-personnel landmines which are claiming victims primarily among the innocent civilian population. The review conference of the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons, held this year, has made an important step in the quest for a safer future for mankind. The document adopted there confirms the central role of the Treaty in the field of non-proliferation and the need for international co-operation to this end. We hope that before the next review conference in 2005, we will have been able to set in motion a process for the implementation of the action plan that was drawn up to promote non-proliferation and nuclear disarmament. From this point of view, we attach special significance to commencing the work for the conclusion of a treaty on banning the production of fissile materials for military purposes.

Likewise, we follow closely the negotiations to work out the Verification Protocol to the Biological Weapons Convention. On the eve of the review conference to be convened in 2001, these negotiations have entered into a crucial stage. Hungary, as Chair of the ad hoc group mandated to elaborate the mechanism of the Protocol, will do her utmost to ensure that this objective can be attained in the course of next year.

Mr. President,

Hungary considers the adoption of the Statute of the International Criminal Court as the most important achievement in international law in the recent period. The purpose of the Statute is to enforce the norms of international humanitarian law and to put an end to a period of impunity. The document has already been ratified by 19 States, and the signatories currently number 112. Hungary welcomes this process and continues the preparations for her own ratification. Hungary intends to continue to actively participate in the negotiations aimed at promoting the universal acceptance of the Court, while preserving the integrity of the Statute.

Mr. President,

The reform of our world organization has been on the agenda of the UN for some time now. Recent events in the world, notably, the unprecedented political and military changes, economic processes, progress in the area of science and information technology, and, finally, the coming of the end of the century itself which tangibly symbolizes the dawn of a new era full of so many promises, but also of many uncertainties, did transform the desire that the United Nations adapt to the realities of our age into an absolute imperative which does not allow any further hesitation or indecision. Consequently, we have before us the paramount task to face up, without complacency, to the gigantic challenges of the 21^st century. And the Member States must not fail in their political will if they sincerely wish to assist the Secretary-General in his praiseworthy efforts to carry through this process of adaptation. This means, among others, the reforms of the Security Council and the budgetary system of the UN, which are essential for strengthening the credibility and efficiency of our world organization. The more swiftly we manage to reform the UN according to the exigencies of the present critical period, the more assured people may feel in their homes all around the world regarding the future of our planet.

Thank you, Mr. President.