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Wed, Sept 29, 2010 | UN TV

Vitaly I. Churkin, Permanent Representative of the Russian Federation to the United Nations. (UN Photo/Rick Bajornas)

Permanent Representative of the Russian Federation Churkin Addresses the General Debate of the 65th Session of the General Assembly

Address by His Excellency Mr. Vitaly Churkin, Chairman of the Delegation, at the General Debate of the 65th Session of the General Assembly of the United Nations (New York, 23-25 and 27-30 September 2010).

Russian Federation, General Debate, 65th Session

STATEMENT

by H.E. Mr. Vitaly I. Churkin, Permanent Representative

of the Russian Federation to the United Nations,

at the 65th Session of the UN General Assembly

29 September 2010

Transcript:

Mr. President,

The current 65th session of the General Assembly has started with an unprecedented number of events covering the full range of the most topical issues of international life. It is encouraging that in the light of numerous challenges facing mankind, a positive unifying platform for collective actions is taking shape with the central role played by the United Nations. Learning from the dramatic events of recent decades and having fully realized that attempts to cut “the Gordian knots” with the use of force in violation of the UN Charter only push the problems to a deadlock, the international community has come to a conclusion that there is no alternative to addressing any problems in the political, economic and other fields by joint efforts and on the basis of international law.

The UN provides a universal “platform” to consolidate this positive trend in international relations. The Security Council is a key instrument of this organization for the maintenance of international peace and security. The high-level Security Council meeting held on 23 September, has reaffirmed the intent of its members to enhance further the efficiency of this body not only through its direct involvement in the settlement of conflicts but also through their prevention and the creation of prerequisites for non-recurrence of crises. This proves that the comprehensive approach to ensuring international security is gaining ground as a reflection of modern realities based on principles and provisions of the UN Charter.

As never before, the United Nations is facing serious and multifaceted tasks in the key area of peacekeeping. Paying tribute to the efforts and sacrifice of thousands of men and women in blue helmets, joint efforts should continue to refine the theory and practice of peacekeeping under the UN auspices and to improve the quality of planning and conducting peacekeeping operations with adequate political control of the Security Council.

It is encouraging that the UN is working toward this goal on a truly collective basis. The member-states have quite a few constructive ideas “on their table”. They include Russia’s initiative to make the Military Staff Committee more active so as to improve military expertise of the Security Council decisions.

This year has been marked by progress in the field of nuclear disarmament. The Treaty signed by the Presidents of Russia and the USA in Prague on Measures for the Further Reduction and Limitation of Strategic Offensive Arms is a real contribution of our two countries to the strengthening of international security and strategic stability. This is also a result of positive changes in the relations between Russia and the USA allowing us to bring the Russian-American interaction in world affairs to a qualitatively new level. We hope that the strong impetus given by Moscow and Washington to the process of nuclear disarmament will be followed by all nations, first of all, by nuclear-weapon states.

Pursuant to Russia’s policy toward the strengthening of the UN role in issues of global security, disarmament and confidence-building, we intend to table three draft resolutions during the current UN GA session: on Transparency and Confidence-Building Measures in Outer Space Activities co-sponsored with China; a draft resolution on Information and Telecommunications Achievements in the Context of International Security; and Russia-US co-sponsored draft resolution on Bilateral Strategic Offensive Arms Reductions and the New Framework for Strategic Relations. We call for their adoption by consensus.

Making the NPT universal and ensuring its strict implementation is a cornerstone of the consolidation of the international non-proliferation regimes.

In this context, search must continue for an effective solution to the Iranian nuclear problem on the basis of NPT provisions and the norms of international Law. The Iranian side must ensure the required level of transparency and cooperation with the IAEA which is acting on behalf of the international community with the support by the UN Security Council. Clarification of the outstanding questions regarding the Iranian nuclear program would meet not only the goals of strengthening the non-proliferation regime but quite obviously the interests of Iran as well. Russia sees no reasonable alternative to a political and diplomatic settlement of the Iranian nuclear problem through a constructive dialogue between Tehran and the Six. The meeting of the foreign ministers of six countries in New York helped consolidate the common intent to ensure the earliest resumption of such a dialogue. We will continue to do our utmost to achieve this goal.

As far as the instrument of sanctions is concerned, the sanctions are not a goal in itself. The objective of the sanctions regime established by the Security Council is to send a signal to Iran about the need for full cooperation with IAEA, and to give an impetus to the negotiating process.

All members of the international community must act in solidarity and on the basis of mutual responsibility. We strongly reject a situation when, parallel to collective efforts in the UN Security Council, unilateral decisions on sanctions are made, including the ex-territorial ones, which undermine the very foundation of further joint efforts. We must put an end to this practice that runs counter to international law and is negatively politically charged.

Even more obvious, the measures of trade, economic and financial blockade of Cuba – the lifting of which the General Assembly has been demanding for a number of years – look as a clear anachronism.

Mr. President,

The codification of the principle of equal and indivisible security is an indispensable prerequisite for productive international efforts in this field. This is exactly the goal of the initiative by President Medvedev to conclude a treaty on European security. This proposal aspires to complete the transition of the EuroAtlantic policy from its old Cold War agenda to a new one, and to lay a firm legal foundation for the principle of indivisible security for all in the Euro-Atlantic area, proclaimed in the 1990-s. We welcome the substantive dialogue on this important Russian initiative, which started in various international formats.

A comprehensive settlement in the Middle East is called upon to make a crucial contribution to the strengthening of global stability. During the resumed direct Palestinian-Israeli talks the parties must demonstrate political will and do their utmost for their success. The results of the ministerial “Quartet” meeting of major international mediators held on 21 September manifested that appropriate support to the Israelis and Palestinians will continue to be provided, but the ultimate responsibility for the successful outcome rests with them.

In this connection, the decision by the Israeli authorities not to extend the moratorium on Israeli settlement activities raises serious concern. A way out should be found from the resulting situation to make sure that the negotiations continue.

Our proposal that an intemational conference on the Middle East be held in Moscow is aimed at advancing the Middle East settlement. This initiative has gained support by all interested parties and the UN Security Council. If the direct Palestinian-Israeli dialogue becomes stable, the preparation of the Moscow forum can get underway, which should also substantively examine the Syrian and Lebanese tracks as well as the prospects of the multilateral aspects of the Middle East settlement.

The development of a comprehensive strategy to address the interconnected problems of the Middle East is on the agenda. It is necessary to continue efforts towards an international conference in 2012 on the establishment of a zone free of nuclear weapons and other WMDs and their means of delivery in the Middle East pursuant to the decision of the NPT Review Conference.

Russia supports the international strategy of comprehensive settlement and post-conflict rehabilitation of Afghanistan adopted by the Kabul Conference, which envisages stage-by-stage transfer of responsibility for the situation in that country to the Afghan authorities as effective governing structures are established in the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan. The future of Afghanistan must be determined by the Afghan people themselves. The international community must continue to provide its assistance with an important role ofthe United Nations.

A lasting stabilization in Afghanistan and throughout the region is impossible without resolving the drug problem. The dimension of narcotic danger emanating from Afghanistan represents a clear threat to international peace and stability and requires more resolute actions throughout the entire chain of production and proliferation of narcotics – from destruction of drug crops to suppression of supplies of precursors and inclusion of drug traffickers in the sanction lists of the UN Security Council. It is also necessary to move to a new level of international cooperation. Russia’s initiative to establish financial and counter-narcotics security belts along the perimeter of Afghan borders is consistent with these goals.

The regional dimension of long-term stabilization in Afghanistan becomes ever more topical. To this effect, we must fully engage the potential of relevant organizations who are actively working in close contact with Kabul on Afghan issues, including the CSTO and SCO.

The settlement process in Sudan is approaching an important milestone. As the date of referendum on the self-determination of the South of that country is getting closer, the parties to the Comprehensive Peace Agreement must redouble their efforts to overcome the problems that still divide them. We should also give new dynamics to the process of the Darfur settlement. At stake is the stability in Sudan and throughout the vast African continent. We welcome the constructive attitude demonstrated by the Sudanese and other participants in the high-level meeting on Sudan which was held here.

In Somalia the confrontation continues between the Transitional Federal Government supported by the international community and extremists and terrorist groups linked with Al-Qaeda. The lack of settlement “on land” is fuelling the problem of piracy off the coast of Somalia. A more resolute pursuit of political process, stronger assistance to the peacekeeping operation of the African Union, further counter-piracy efforts, including criminal prosecution of pirates – these are the priorities of international efforts on the Somali track reiterated during the recent “mini-Summit” on Somalia, which are fully supported by Russia.

The results of the Millennium Development Goals Summit have reaffirmed the important role of the UN on the matters of development and must help mobilize
political support and financial resources for the timely achievement of MDGs. This requires joint efforts from governments, international financial and trade institutions, private sector and civil society on the principles of global partnership and shared responsibility.

It is obvious that most global problems, including the achievement of MDGs, cannot be resolved without engaging innovations, advanced technologies and modernization solutions. The same is valid for such challenges as climate change, energy, food security and fight against diseases. The engagement of enormous potential of the UN, the UN family system and specialized agencies in this area will let the organization become a catalyst in the establishment and development of multilateral modernization alliances. Russia is prepared to participate actively in this work.

To live up to expectations the UN must continuously renew itself. The reform of the Organization is progressively moving forward. This year the negotiations on strengthening the system-wide coherence have been completed successfully. In particular, a new important UN Entity for Gender Equality and the Empowerment of Women has been established.

At the current UN GA session negotiations will continue on the expansion of the composition of the UN Security Council. This is an extremely important issue in the reform agenda of the Organization, involving the interests of the overwhelming majority of states. For this reason, the final formula of the Security Council reform should be based on compromise and the broadest possible agreement in the UN. This requirement is also fully applicable to all other aspects of the United Nations reform.

This year marks the 65th anniversary of the United Nations, and also of the end of the World War II, from the ashes of which this World Organization was born. For the sake of the memory of millions of victims and in order to prevent a repetition of such scourges, we must suppress attempts to falsify the events associated with this historic calamity. This is the aim of a well-known Russian initiative in the UN. We count on the broadest support of a relevant draft resolution.

Dear colleagues,

The UN is our common and unique organization. It depends on us all how productive and really useful its future activity will be for mankind. By pulling our efforts together we will be able to renew the United Nations effectively and provide it with all necessary resources. We are convinced that reasonable resources spent on this goal will bring tangible dividends to all members of the international community in the form of durable peace, security, cooperation and prosperity all over the globe.

Thank you.