Statement
by
Mr. Ivan Nimac
Depuy Permanent Representative of the Republic of Croatia to the United Nations
General Assembly Fifty-ninth Session,
Informal thematic consultations on Cluster IV (The imperative for collective action: strengthening the United Nations) of the Report of the Secretary General "In larger freedom: towards development, security and human rights for all"
27 April 2005
Mr. Facilitator,
First of all, allow me to use this opportunity to thank the Secretary General and the Secretariat for their efforts in preparing the Report, and additional information and notes related to this cluster, as well as you, Mr. Facilitator, for convening today''s informal meeting.
As Croatia has aligned itself with the statement of the Permanent Representative of Luxembourg, delivered on behalf of the European Union, my delegation would like to express some brief additional comments on several issues contained in this chapter of the Secretary-General''s report.
Croatia agrees with the Secretary-General''s view that, if the United Nations is to be a useful instrument for its Member States and for the world''s peoples, it must be, in terms of its internal practice and organization, fully adapted to the needs and circumstances of the twenty-first century. In this regard, Croatia welcomes and agrees with the main ideas voiced in the title of our today''s meeting: the strengthening of the United Nations is, indeed, an imperative, which calls for a collective action. Croatia believes that member states will manage to reconcile their diverse interests and reach a common understanding on the proposed reforms.
Mr. Facilitator,
Croatia has on several occasions stressed the importance of increasing the transparency, representation and effectiveness of the UN Security Council. We fully embrace the Secretary General''s view that no reform of the United Nations would be complete without reform of the Security Council.
Croatia supports the enlargement of the Security Council in both categories of membership, based on the appropriate regional representation. As a member of the Eastern European Group, we would like to stress that under both models "A" and "B", proposed in the Report, the chances of the Eastern European States - predominately small countries - of becoming Security Council members, are seriously diminished. In this context, Croatia advocates retaining the existing regional group composition, and, in addition to that, my delegation supports the request for an additional non-permanent seat for the Eastern European Group. A new, enlarged Council, needs an appropriate number of representatives of developing countries of the South, as well as a better representation of small countries.
My delegation welcomes the support for preservation of all five regional groups, which gives our group an equal status and opportunity as other regional groups, and which now seems widely embraced within the UN membership, as well as by the Secretary General.
In terms of the working methods of the Security Council, Croatia is of opinion that the Council should be able to engage more actively in consultations with other principal organs of the United Nations, member states, regional organizations and civil society. In many ways, this is the key aspect of the Security Council reform, particularly for smaller states.
Mr. Facilitator,
Croatia fully supports the reforms aimed at strengthening ECOSOC, especially through creating a more focused agenda on current economic and social challenges, threats and crises, and convening timely meetings as and when they occur.
Welcoming the attempt to draw together security and development, Croatia supports the proposal that ECOSOC institutionalizes its work in post-conflict management by working with the proposed Peacebuilding Commission, as well as to reinforce its links with the Security Council. What we would like to emphasize and reiterate here is Croatia''s view that the role of the ECOSOC bureau should be further strengthened, and that the establishment of a new executive committee would actually represent a duplication of the structure that is already in place and regionally representative.
In relation to the Peacebuilding Commission, Croatia welcomes the proposal of the Secretary General, and believes it would fill an existing void in the United Nations system. We understand the considerations which have led to the suggestion that the Commission confine itself to the post-conflict scenarios. Further, as my delegation has already pointed out, we are concerned that the proposed structure of the Commission''s membership excludes small states, including those that have their own, in our view, most valuable experience of the process of transition from conflict to relief and, finally, development.
Finally, Croatia sees value in the idea of sequential reporting to the Security Council and the ECOSOC by the Commission, but is of the view that the details of this reporting will need to be carefully developed.
Thank you Mr. Facilitator.
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