Statement of the Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Slovak Republic, Mr. Mikuláš Dzurinda at the opening ceremony of the Bratislava Model United Nations Conference (BratMUN) 2010, Bratislava, Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Slovak Republic – 5 November 2010
Mr. Secretary-General,
Excellencies, distinguished delegates, dear young friends,
It gives me great pleasure to address you this morning on the occasion of the Bratislava Model United Nations Conference 2010. It is very promising to see that so many young people are interested in global issues and in the work of the United Nations. I would like to congratulate the organisers of this project on its 10th anniversary. I especially thank the students for preparing the positions of the countries that they will be representing. It is impressive to see the wide scope of topics this year, such as Piracy in Somalia, North Korea, Women‘s Rights, Global Warming, Refugees and others.
I am also glad that the conference is held close to 24 October, which is the United Nations Day, celebrating the entry into force of the United Nations Charter on 24 October 1945.
For Slovakia and for the new Slovak Government, in which I have the honour to serve as Minister of Foreign Affairs, the United Nations is in the centre of our attention as we seek effective and timely solutions of global problems. As reflected in the Programme Manifesto of our Government, we support effective multilateralism. We are determined to promote and build effective multilateralism based on fundamental democratic values, rights and freedoms, as well as on respect of international law. It cannot be limited only to the mere achieving of the global consensus.
Slovakia as a smaller country attaches great importance to its firm anchoring in the existing multilateral system, especially to its membership in the European Union, NATO, the United Nations, the Council of Europe, the Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) and the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD). It may be quite easy to say it today but we should not forget how much work it required, especially between 1998 and 2004, before Slovakia was able to join the EU, NATO and OECD. It is something that far exceeds the horizon of one or several generations. It is a matter of truly strategic importance for Slovakia. It completely changed to a higher qualitative level the international standing of our country and its role in the global and European context. The beneficiaries are our citizens, especially young people like you.
If you asked me to briefly summarise how Slovakia sees its role in the United Nations and how it actually contributes to its global goals and purposes, I would reply with the following six points:
- Slovakia is a responsible and predictable member of the international community. We are deeply committed to the UN goals and purposes in all three main UN pillars: international peace and security, human rights and socio-economic development. We fully respect the UN Charter and international law.
- Slovakia has been a long-term contributor to the UN peacekeeping efforts in places like Western Balkans, Ethiopia and Eritrea, East Timor or the Middle East. Today our soldiers are deployed mostly in Afghanistan, but also in Cyprus and Kosovo. So far we have served in 40 foreign missions. Today there is a total of 575 soldiers deployed in them.
- Slovakia has for over 20 years been providing its good offices in facilitating the bi-communal dialogue in the divided island of Cyprus.
- Slovakia currently serves as Vice President of the Human Rights Council, Chairman of the General Assembly First Committee and as a member of the Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC). We are also members of Executive Boards of UNESCO and the Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO).
- A prominent Slovak legal expert, Dr. Peter Tomka, has since 2003 served as Judge of the International Court of Justice (ICJ). Since February 2009 he has been Vice-President of the Court and is now running for his second term as judge.
- We have offered our best experts to serve in the UN system. Let me just mention three most significant ones: Eduard Kukan was Special Envoy of the Secretary-General for the Balkans from 1999 to 2001, Ján Kubiš has since 2009 served as Executive Secretary of the UN Economic Commission for Europe in Geneva and Miroslav Jenča has since 2008 been Special Representative of the Secretary-General for Central Asia.
Dear friends,
You may also ask me: Can a smaller country like Slovakia make a difference among all the 192 United Nations Member States? Let me provide you with three more specific facts and you can then make a conclusion for yourselves.
First, in 2006 and 2007 Slovakia was a successful and respected non-permanent member of the Security Council, the organ which under the UN Charter has primary responsibility for the maintenance of international peace and security. We carried out the mandate with high professionalism, responsibility, but also with engagement. For example, we held four chairmanships of the Council subsidiary bodies (committees and working groups), while other non-permanent members usually hold no more than two chairmanships. Among them, there were crucial committees, such as non-proliferation of weapons of mass destruction or sanctions against North Korea. This is how we assumed our share of responsibility. Also, based on our own transformation experience, we introduced the issue of Security Sector Reform (SSR) to
the Security Council agenda. And up till now we act as Chairman of the UN Group of Friends of SSR.
Secondly, some 20 years ago, after the breakdown of the communist regime, our economy was in a poor shape. As a result, we needed financial and economic assistance from abroad. Today, we have a stable economy with the common European currency (Euro). We no longer need financial and economic assistance. On the contrary, we are able to provide development aid to developing countries, such as Serbia, Afghanistan and Kenya. It was made possible mostly thanks to fundamental reforms that we carried out between 1998 and 2006. The reforms were not an easy process but it was the only responsible alternative we had. And it definitely paid off, in all respects. It is also our tangible contribution to fulfilling the UN Millennium Development Goals (MDGs).
Thirdly, we do not stand in the UN alone. As members of the European Union and NATO we work very closely with our allies and partners. It is a very different “ball game” than just a decade ago.
In conclusion, I would like to emphasize that in the future Slovakia wants to see the United Nations be more effective, more efficient and with increased authority. We believe this can be achieved by carrying out in full and in a timely manner the on-going UN reforms. This should include areas such as revitalisation of the General Assembly, improving the internal management of the UN Secretariat, or ensuring a better coherence among the various UN agencies, funds and programmes.
A comprehensive reform of the UN Security Council needs to be an integral part of this reform process; otherwise it would not be complete. Slovakia supports such a reform of the Security Council that would make it more representative in order to better reflect the new geo-political reality. We support the enlargement of the Security Council in both its categories of membership. We believe the countries of the so-called G4 (Germany, Japan, India and Brazil) and one or two African states should become new permanent members. The countries of the Eastern European Group should be given an additional non-permanent seat. But the Security Council reform cannot be only about enlargement and about satisfying the ambitions of some important countries. Enlargement needs to go hand in hand with increased legitimacy and efficiency.
This was my look at the present and future of the United Nations from the point of view of Slovakia.
I wish your conference fruitful and interesting deliberations and the whole Bratislava Model United Nations project much further success!
Thank you for your attention.
