FOR THE RECORD: President Kuchma addresses the U.N. (10/05/97)

FOR THE RECORD

President Kuchma addresses the U.N.

Following are excerpts of the statement by President Leonid Kuchma of Ukraine delivered on September 22 during the general debate of the 52nd session of the United Nations General Assembly.

Mr. President:

It is with a feeling of pride that I congratulate you, the representative of Ukraine, on being elected to the highest political post of the international community. I am confident that you will use in full your rich political experience and internationally recognized diplomatic skills, as well as deep knowledge of the U.N. system, to which you have devoted more than 20 years of your life, to the benefit of mankind.

I also want to address my words of gratitude to the delegates from all U.N. member-states for supporting the candidacy of the minister to foreign affairs of Ukraine to the honorary and responsible position of president of the 52nd session of the U.N. General Assembly. We interpret this act as a manifestation of a high level of confidence in Ukraine's foreign policy, its peaceful initiatives, and commitment to the ideas and the objective of revival and strengthening of the U.N. At the same time, we regard this as a recognition of Ukraine's contribution to the maintenance of international peace and security, nuclear disarmament and non-proliferation, to promoting the noble principles of democracy in international life, respect for basic human rights and freedoms. ...

The recent history of the United Nations and the history of development of independent Ukraine have much in common. First of all, the common feature is that both my state and the United Nations now experience the complicated process of internal reform.

Profound and comprehensive changes prove to be an extremely difficult matter. But the choice is final and irreversible: Ukraine has become a democratic state with its policy oriented to ensuring the citizens' needs and rights, to establishing a civil society. ...

We are aware that we still have to pay a high price for the transition from the command administrative system to a market economy. And we try first of all to alleviate the situation of the most vulnerable groups of our population, to ensure that the assistance reaches its addressee. ...

I believe that next year we will, for sure, witness gradual economic growth in Ukraine and the forging of a socially oriented market economy. ...

Ukraine has consistently conducted and is determined to continue a policy directed at strengthening security and stability in the whole world.

May I recall that last year we removed the last nuclear warhead from our territory and, for the first time in history, transformed from a nuclear state to a non-nuclear one. Having done that, Ukraine had demonstrated its good will and the real possibility of nuclear disarmament as such, made a substantial contribution to the realization of an idea "The World of the 21st Century - Without Nuclear Weapons."

Of no less significance is the contribution of our country to radical positive changes in the region of Central and Eastern Europe, which stipulate the creation of favorable conditions for a new, more stable and secure geopolitical situation on the continent as a whole.

Ukraine's conclusion of basic political treaties with the Russian Federation and Romania, as well as of the agreement on state borders with the Republic of Belarus, the first such in the history of the newly independent states, have become important steps in this direction.

The signing of the Joint Statement by the Presidents of Ukraine and Poland on Reconciliation and Unity was of exceptional significance for the improvement of the situation in Central and Eastern Europe. We consider this document an example of a balanced and unbiased approach to the evaluation of complicated pages of history, as a deliverance from the burden of the past for the sake of development of a mutually beneficial cooperation today and in the future.

The resolution of the problem of the division of the Black Sea Fleet has contributed to enhancing security in the Black Sea region as well as on the European continent as a whole.

Among the latest important events I would like to single out is the signing in Madrid of the Charter on a Special Partnership between Ukraine and NATO. The establishment of relations of a special partnership with the alliance has substantially strengthened confidence in Europe and has become one of the important elements in establishing a new European security system.

It is generally acknowledged that the future of European security architecture, as an important component of global security, should be based upon principles of comprehensiveness, indivisibility and partnership and, in the long run, on collective rather than unilateral actions. It is in this context that Ukraine is developing its active cooperation with European and trans-Atlantic structures.

In the system of Ukraine's foreign policy priorities, an important place is allocated to the development of mutually beneficial relations with the countries of Asia, Africa and Latin America.

Ukraine pays special attention to the Non-Aligned Movement, which is one of the influential factors in contemporary international relations. Our observer status in the movement testifies to the fact that Ukraine today remains a non-bloc country.

All the above can be summarized in a single conclusion: due to its persistent efforts, Ukraine's borders are now peaceful and its neighborhood is open to partnership. The multidimensional foreign policy of our country has promoted the image of Ukraine as a reliable and predictable partner. ...

Events on the European continent after the end of the Cold War have persuasively proven that, from now on, threats to security on the continent emanate not from confrontation between military-political blocs, but rather from regional and local conflicts. A good reminder of this is the series of tragic events in recent years in the Balkans, Transdniestria, the Caucasus, etc. At the same time, discussions on the future of European security have been so far focused mainly on the issues of NATO and European Union enlargement, the role of the OSCE, etc. Having no intention to negate the importance of these problems, we are certain that all-European stability is impossible without strengthening regional security and without establishing mutually beneficial and good-neighborly relations between individual nations. It is in this direction that European countries, and foremost those of Central and Eastern Europe, including Ukraine, should exert the best of their efforts. It was for this very reason that we proposed to hold the 1999 summit meeting of the Baltic and Black Sea states in Ukraine.

By the will of destiny, we happen to live on the threshold of two millenniums that has coincided with a turning point in the development of mankind. The United Nations, which is a unique instrument of maintaining and strengthening international peace and security, should be well-prepared to meet these changes and be ready to respond to the challenges of today and the 21st century.

It is difficult to overestimate positive changes in the world in which the United Nations has played a key role. It is true that the organization has not been able to completely cure all social evils. However, it is equally true that the United Nations has always sent a timely signal about the emergence of new hazards and united the world community to address urgent global problems. ...

At the same time we must admit that the United Nations has not always been able to adequately respond to a number of problems it faced. This makes it necessary to further improve its structure and internal organization, and to increase the effectiveness of its work. ... I believe that no one has any doubts today that changes in the United Nations are urgent and objectively required. I hope that the current session will make a weighty contribution to this important cause, and we will have all reasons to refer to it as "The Session of Reforms." ...

Ukraine actively supports the measures aimed at bringing the structure and tasks of the organization into line with new realities.

It is from this point of view that we consider a package of proposals of the secretary-general aimed at the wide-scale reorganization of the U.N. structure and its program activities. These proposals, perhaps, do not completely coincide with the interests of some countries or regions. But at the same time these proposals, elaborated on the basis of compromises, constitute, in fact, the first real attempt to overcome the standstill in reforming the organization. Therefore, we have to be pragmatic and try to avoid drowning this issue in endless discussions and appeals, as has repeatedly been the case in the past.

We should begin without delay concrete work on the proposals of the secretary-general, without dividing the package into separate fragments. Furthermore, we have to keep in mind that the implementation of these proposals after their final approval and endorsement by the General Assembly will be only an initial stage in the process of the U.N.'s radical transformation, which will have to embrace its most important components, first of all, the Security Council, and its budgetary and financial system.

In this context, equitable geographical representation on the Security Council and the increase of its membership acquire special importance. It would not be a mistake if I say that this problem is considered by the majority of U.N. member-states as a priority issue, and its resolution, to a greater extent, will determine the results and the success of U.N. reform. ...

At the same time, I believe that the solution to the problem of the enlargement of the Security Council should be based on the following general principles:

first, all regional groups, including the Eastern European one, should enlarge their representation in the Security Council;
second, the enlargement should not negatively affect the efficiency of the work of the Security Council;
third, the process of enlargement should not be subject to strict time limits, although the decision on this issue should preferably be adopted in the nearest future.

The elaboration and practical implementation of an over-all concept of peacekeeping activity is one of the most pressing issues, which can be settled only within the framework of the U.N. Two years ago, at the commemorative meeting of the General Assembly on the occasion of the 50th anniversary of the organization, I proposed to gradually reorient U.N. peacekeeping activities toward preventive diplomacy. The experience of "blue helmet" operations in hot spots on the globe during recent years convinces us more and more of the need to strengthen this preventive component. ...

The improvement of the efficiency of peacekeeping operations is not an abstract notion for our country. It is worth recalling that the first Ukrainian peacekeeping unit was deployed five years ago to the U.N. peacekeeping force in the former Yugoslavia. Since then Ukraine has participated in more than 10 U.N. peacekeeping operations. In addition our military contingent takes part in operations of the multinational Stabilization Force in Bosnia.

From this high rostrum I reaffirm Ukraine's readiness to directly participate in the settlement of the Georgian-Abkhazian conflict, to join the activities of the group of countries called "Friends of the Secretary-General on Georgia," as well as to dispatch its personnel for the U.N. peacekeeping mission in this country.

Ukraine will also continue to make efforts to bring about the final settlement of the conflict in Transdniestria, acting together with Russia and with the participation of the OSCE as a guarantor of the special status of Transdniestria as an integral part of the Republic of Moldova. ...

For Ukraine, environmental problems are not just an abstract theory. The Chornobyl nuclear power plant accident has become a real national tragedy for my country. Every year, up to 15 percent of the state budget is spent to reimburse the losses caused by it and to social protection to the affected people.

Ukraine undertook a political commitment to decommission the Chornobyl NPP by the end of the current millennium and consistently takes measures toward its fulfillment. We expect that other countries also will meet their commitments in this regard.

At the same time, the problem of Chornobyl cannot be limited only to the decommissioning of the nuclear power plant. This accident brought about a number of problems of global character that could scarcely be overcome alone even by the most developed nations.

Chornobyl today is not the problem of Ukraine alone. Paying tribute to U.N. efforts aimed at eliminating the consequences of the Chornobyl NPP accident, I wish to emphasize that the over-all solution to this global problem is simply impossible without large-scale international assistance.

At present, the United Nations lives through difficult but very crucial times of its renewal. The same can be said about Ukraine, which is now more than ever conscious of its dependence on world order and relies on the support of the international community. That is why the question of what the world order has to be in the future - and this session is expected to provide an answer - is of particular, and without exaggeration, fateful character for us. ...

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