The delegation of the Republic of Hungary fully shares the positive assessment of the work of the Special Committee on the Charter of the United Nations and on the Strengthening of the Role of the Organization, as it has been reflected both in the general debate during its last session and in the statements made so far on this item in this Committee. This positive assessment is based on the recognition that the important changes which have taken place in the world during recent years - including the end of the cold war and the uncharted and difficult process of political as well as economic transformation in order to consolidate democracy and stabilize market economy in a number of countries, including mine - offer the United Nations an unprecedented opportunity to fulfill the dreams of the „Founding Fathers" as enshrined in the Charter. At the same time, we have to be aware of the political and economic environment full with dangers, complex problems, pitfalls and new challenges. That is why it is absolutely necessary that this Special Committee take advantage of the new possibilities and work out realistic recommendations and proposals which may help the Organization in its endeavours to promote the implementation of the provisions of the Charter.

While speaking about the positive assessment of the work of the Special Committee in general, the Hungarian delegation is particularly pleased with the results regarding the draft declaration on the enhancement of cooperation between the United Nations and regional organizations in the maintenance of international peace and security. It is indeed an important achievement that consensus has been reached on this very complex and timely question. There is no doubt that all members of the Special Committee should be commended for their spirit of understanding and compromise and furthermore a special credit should also be given to the delegation of the Russian Federation both for its initiative and for its successfully revised draft declaration which resulted in the adoption of the text by the Committee.

The Hungarian delegation would like to emphasize the following elements, which, in its view, should be taken into account when the General Assembly adopts, hopefully, this declaration on the enhancement of cooperation:

- It is undoubtedly true that the provisions of Chapter VIII of the Charter provide the legal framework for cooperation between the United Nations and regional organizations or arrangements. At the same time, it is equally true that, especially under the conditions of the cold war, these provisions could not have been successfully resorted to, with a few exceptions, during the last decades. Therefore, at a time when, as the report says: „the United Nations is over-stretched in areas of preventive diplomacy, peacemaking and peacekeeping" the regional organizations and arrangements should be more actively involved in dealing with conflicts at an early stage, and in trying to find solution already at regional level by using various methods, such as fact-finding, early warning, good offices, etc.

- It should equally be stressed that the efforts made by regional arrangements or agencies are complementary in nature to the activities of the United Nations and these efforts could in no way prejudice the competence of the Security Council under Chapter VI, VII and VIII of the Charter.

- We should all welcome the fact that, at the session of the Special Committee, seven regional intergovernmental organizations have participated upon the invitation issued in accordance with paragraph 5 of General Assembly resolution 48/36. The Hungarian delegation would like to single out the importance of the active participation of the Conference on Security and Cooperation in Europe. In connection with the possible contribution of CSCE to the maintenance of international peace and security I cannot but mention that Hungary is honoured to host this fall, from these very days, the Review Conference and in December the Summit Meeting of the Conference on Security and Cooperation in Europe. In this context, may I quote from the statement made by Mr. Laszlo Kovacs, Minister for Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Hungary in the general debate of the 49th Session of the General Assembly on 3rd of October: „In our expectations, the Conference and the Summit would not only contribute to the better functioning of this important regional arrangement, but will also serve as a useful vehicle in the efforts toward a democratic and integrated Europe where rationalism should prevail over nationalism. Furthermore, we are convinced that success within the CSCE is beneficial not only to the peoples living in the CSCE region, but can also underpin efforts at conflict prevention and crisis resolution in other parts of the world."

As on previous occasions, the Hungarian delegation wishes to express once again its major interest in the subject matter on the implementation of the provisions of the Charter of the United Nations related to assistance to third States affected by the application of sanctions under Chapter VII of the Charter.

It is widely known that due to our geographical proximity Hungary is directly affected both by the interruption of our traditionally close economic ties with most of the countries of the former Yugoslavia as well as by the burden of losses incurred due to the sanctions mandated by the Security Council on the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia. I have to add that due to the heavy reliance of the Hungarian economy on exports to third countries similar losses affected the Hungarian economy by the application of other sanctions regimes, as well. Let me, first of all, reiterate that Hungary has scrupulously implemented all the mandatory sanctions under its Charter obligations. At the same time, it is clear from the foregoing that mere consultations with the Security Council under Article 50 do not offer adequate solution to the countries concerned relating to alleviating their burdens of losses suffered as a result of various sanctions regimes. While acknowledging the valuable assistance rendered to Hungary in this regard by some of the international financial institutions and regional organizations, above all by the European Union, we think that a more general approach should be elaborated regarding the application of Article 50 of the United Nations Charter.

That is why we are convinced that some agreed solution should be found between the conflicting views concerning the interpretation of the relevant Charter provisions and the proposed remedies. The Hungarian delegation is ready to consider any new proposals which may bridge the gap between the opposing views. In this connection we do appreciate those views according to which „the most productive approach does not necessarily lie in the creation of new institutions or mechanisms". as was stated yesterday by the distinguished representative of Germany speaking on behalf of the European Union and the acceding State of Austria. We support, therefore, the recommendation of the Special Committee. i.e. to invite the Secretary-General to submit, before the 1995 session of the Committee, a report on the question of the implementation of the provisions of the Charter, including Article 50 related to the special problems confronting States and arising from the carrying out of sanctions mandated under Chapter VII of the Charter. In our view, Mr. Chairman, this report should not be a simple „catalogue" of issues discussed in the Special Committee and elsewhere, but rather it should contain practical aspects of implementation of the relevant provisions of the Charter.

Let me turn now to the document containing the proposed United Nations Model Rules for the Conciliation of Disputes between States, which was originally submitted by the distinguished representative of Guatemala. The Hungarian delegation has, on previous occasions, supported the idea of the adoption of such document. We feel that those parts of the draft, which are still in square brackets, could be finalized, without too much difficulty, during the next session of the Special Committee. Let me emphasize, Mr. Chairman, that, in the view of the Hungarian delegation, the real difficulty does lie not in the very wording of this document, but in the absence or presence of the political will of the States concerned i.e. whether they are ready to apply the provisions of this or other document or instrument. In this connection, it is worth-while to recall that there are many other blueprints in the field of the peaceful settlement of disputes. Apart from a number of important declarations and instruments which have been elaborated and adopted within the United Nations mention should be made, e.g. about other instruments, such as the model arbitration rules elaborated by the Permanent Court of Arbitration at the Hague, the Convention on the peaceful settlement of disputes within the Conference on European Security and Cooperation and other instruments, which contain a very broad plethora of rules and provisions in the field of peaceful settlement of disputes. It is indeed high time, Mr. Chairman, that in preparation of the fiftieth anniversary of the United Nations these provisions would finally be applied and resorted to by all States Members of the United Nations.

The Hungarian delegation listened with great interest to the statement made by the distinguished representative of Poland, Ambassador Zbigniew Wlosowicz, and especially to the proposal of Poland to remove the clauses from the Charter of the United Nations concerning „enemy states". May I recall, Mr. Chairman, that, along with other delegations, the Hungarian delegation has also raised this same issue during the forty-eighth session of the General Assembly last year. That is why my delegation fully supports the Polish initiative that the „enemy State" clauses should be deleted from the Charter by next year and also lends its support to the proposal that this question is to be considered by the Special Committee at its session in 1995.

Finally, I would like to say a few words on the issue of the future work of the Special Committee. We agree with those delegations, among them with the distinguished representative of Algeria, who consider that the overall balance of the Special Committee is rather modest concerning its achievements. I can all the more attest to this assessment, because, if I may strike a personal note, I happened to be here as a delegate in the Sixth Committee when the Special Committee was established and „launched" nineteen years ago. At the same time I do believe that, in retrospective, even this modest achievement should be positively assessed, in the backdrop of decades of bloc-antagonism and cold war. That is why, in conclusion, may I sound more optimistic concerning the continuation of the work of the Special Committee. In this regard I fully share the views expressed by the distinguished representative of France in his statement yesterday, when he spoke about the report of the Committee and I quote: "Ce document met en valeur la richesse des réflexions du Comité et leur nécessité qui se confirme au moment ou les tâches de l'Organisation s'accroissent sans cesse. Les travaux du Comité montrent quelles ressources offre encore la Charte, dont la rédaction s'est révélée appropriée à des situations successives très differentes et dont les équilibres fondamentaux conservent toute leur valeur pour affronter les nouveaux défis auxquels sont confrontées les Nations Unies."

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