Speech by the President of the Republic
Mr Nicos Anastasiades
at the General Debate of the
70th Session of the General Assembly of the
UN
Mr President,
I wish to congratulate you on your
election as President of the 70 th session of the UN General Assembly
and I would like to convey my Government’s full support in the exercise of your
duties.
Mr
President,
This year marks the 70th
anniversary of the creation of the United Nations. This provides us with the
opportunity to take stock of the past seven decades, as well as to jointly
discuss and exchange ideas for further improvement and enhancement of the
Organization’s effectiveness and the collaboration between its members, always
to the benefit of humankind.
In order to assess our collective
efforts we should first recall the guiding principles that led to the
establishment of this Organization in the aftermath of the death and destruction
of World War II.
The preamble to the founding Charter
enumerates the eradication of the scourge of war and the promotion of human
rights as the cornerstones of our edifice.
The UN has
succeeded in preventing another World War and has mediated in ending conflicts.
Currently, more than a 100,000 UN peacekeepers are deployed in 16 countries.
Yet, numerous armed conflicts throughout the planet attest to the fact that
global peace still evades us.
On human
rights, the UN has indeed undertaken inspiring initiatives, through the
Universal Declaration of Human Rights adopted in 1948, followed by numerous
international Agreements and Treaties, which have set universal standards on
civil, political, social and economic rights.
Yet, in a
world challenged by poverty, hunger, child mortality, social and economic
inequalities, it is evident that we have a long way to go.
At the same
time, leaving aside the UN strengths and weaknesses, successes and failures, we
should not underestimate the fact that in an interdependent World it provides
the only international forum, in which nations can interact, deliberate and
negotiate so as to resolve not only their differences, but also pressing
regional and international challenges that are not country-specific and call
international order into question.
Mr President,
The UN has
evolved in order to enhance its added value and influence in a globalized era,
by recently adopting the “2030 Agenda of Sustainable Development”. The Agenda
seeks to address the needs of a developing global population, through our
commonly agreed 17 goals and 169 targets.
Cyprus, a country that has been
actively involved in this process since its very beginning, feels proud of this
achievement as it reflects the high principles of effective multilateralism and
close cooperation of the nations of the world.
Nonetheless, whereas on the one hand we
are adopting such an ambitious agenda, on the other hand we have been witnessing
ongoing turmoil, extremism, sectarianism, civil war and terrorism taking place
in Middle East, North Africa and other regions of the World.
The effects of the above are becoming a
defining feature of the daily lives of those affected: Death, persecution,
property dispossession, displacement, destruction of cultural heritage and
forced migration.
As such, we have to be vigilant:
- While we establish the fundamental principles of peace, stability and sustainable development for the future to come, in practice we observe increasing migratory flows from people who involuntarily flee their homes in search of a better future.
- While we set-up noble long-term objectives and goals, events that are now unfolding might render them either irrelevant or unattainable.
- While we assume that only Jordan, Turkey, Lebanon and subsequently Europe have been affected by the current refugee crisis, we fail to acknowledge that, if this crisis is to persist, other countries and continents are to be affected as well.
Therefore, in order to reverse these
worrying developments we should direct our efforts so that all those countries
and regions in the conflict zones, and in particular the Middle East and North
Africa, are turned into places in which sustainable development is a reality.
This can only be achieved through
tackling the root causes that have led to this unprecedented situation:
Political instability and economic insecurity.
We should address this phenomenon
collectively and in a comprehensive way:
- It is not enough to take action against those individuals responsible for terrorist attacks. We should direct our efforts towards the enablers of terrorism.
- It is not enough to rescue people from sinking boats. We should direct our efforts against human traffickers.
- It is not enough to financially support the economic immigrants. We should direct our efforts in creating those political and socio-economic conditions so that all those people do not migrate from their countries.
In view of
this horrific humanitarian crisis, one might wonder the following:
- Were we negligent to take the necessary measures to avert this crisis?
- Was our strategy adequate?
- Did we fail to predict the events that were to unfold?
Considering
Cyprus’ close geographical proximity to the Middle East and North Africa, as
well as our historical, political, social and cultural links, I have the strong
conviction that the international community has failed to sufficiently
appreciate the complexities of the said region.
At the same
time, the effects of foreign interventions and interests did not bring about the
results that they aspired due to the fact that they both failed to take into
account and apprehend the internal characteristics and particular sensitivities
of those nations.
Mr President,
I will quote the UN Secretary General remarks at the ceremony commemorating the 70th anniversary of the adoption
of the Charter in San Francisco, on 26 June: “ Today, we take the idea of the United Nations for granted, but
bringing it to life required huge leaps of statecraft to bridge differences”.
And while we
recognize how valuable and necessary the United Nations is today, we also
diagnose that it is in need of reform and modernization to tackle today’s
realities.
International
order and the perspectives of 1945 are not the same as the ones of 2015.
Traditional security orientations have changed due to newly emerging
geopolitical circumstances. We can no longer confine peace and stability issues
to differences between and within nations, as non-state actors, such as
terrorists, have challenged the established international order, leading to
religious fundamentalism, violent extremism, forcible displacement of people and
forced migration.
At the same time, new global threats
have also emerged, such as climate change and environmental degradation.
Seventy years later, it is once more
required for world Leaders to demonstrate statesmanship and vision, so as to
rebuild new broken societies, to find a path to a new renewal.
In this regard, we welcome the recently
adopted UN General Assembly resolution on its revitalization, as well as the
ongoing dialogue towards increasing the effectiveness of the UN Security
Council.
Further, we lend our full support to
various highly important meetings at the UN level that are to follow with the
aim of contributing to the resolution of various global challenges: The Paris
Climate Summit in December 2015, the UN Special Session of the General Assembly
on the World Drug Problem in April 2016 and the Habitat III Conference in Quito
in November 2016.
Mr President,
Peacekeeping constitutes one of the
main pillars and accomplishments of UN activities. Nonetheless, the UN is not
only about peacekeeping. It is also about conflict prevention and
peace-building, with Article 33 of the UN Charter providing a wide gamme of
options for the peaceful settlement of issues.
We look forward to concrete proposals
for adapting UN peace operations to the changing nature of conflict and for
increasing their effectiveness and ability to contribute in supporting political
solutions. In this respect, we greatly welcome the 2015 Peacebuilding Review and
we compliment the Secretary General for undertaking this initiative.
Mr
President,
Cyprus through its own experience of
hosting the UN Peacekeeping Force in Cyprus greatly values the UN contribution
to maintenance of peace and security.
And we also express our appreciation
for a plethora of UN Resolutions and UN Security Council decisions, which
condemn the unacceptable status quo and the violent ongoing division of Cyprus,
calling for its re-unification and the withdrawal of occupation forces.
Resolutions and decisions, which unfortunately have yet to be implemented.
Mr President,
Following the non-renewal of actions
which violated the exercise by the Republic of Cyprus of its sovereign rights
within its Exclusive Economic Zone, and the change in the leadership of the
Turkish Cypriot community, a window of opportunity opened that revived our hope
that the new round of negotiations which resumed this past May will lead to the
final settlement of the Cyprus problem.
A hope that is based in my conviction
that both I and the Turkish Cypriot leader, Mr Mustafa Akinci, share the same
political courage and resolve to decisively move forward, in order to
materialize the joint vision of our people, who desire the solution of the
Cyprus problem through a viable, lasting and functional settlement.
A settlement, in full conformity with
the values and principles of both the Charter of the United Nations and the EU
acquis, the High Level Agreements between the leaders of the two communities of
1977, and 1979, as well as the Joint Declaration of February 11, 2014.
A settlement that will lead to the
evolution of the Republic of Cyprus to a federal state, in a bizonal, bicommunal
federation with political equality, a single sovereignty, a single international
legal personality and a single citizenship.
A state that is and will continue to be
a member of the UN, the EU, and numerous other international organizations and
whose sovereignty, territorial integrity and constitutional order will not be
constrained by anachronistic systems of guarantees by third countries and the
presence of foreign troops in the
island.
Distinguished Friends,
What we aspire to achieve through this
new round of negotiations is to reach a settlement that will:
· Leave neither
winners nor losers.
· Take into account the sensitivities and concerns of both
communities.
· Respect the fundamental freedoms and human rights of all
Cypriots, whether Greek or Turkish.
· Reunite our country, its people, the economy and
institutions.
· Create a homeland of peaceful co-existence and
prosperous collaboration between all of its citizens, to the benefit of the
younger generations.
· Allow Cyprus to utilize its full potential by removing all the political
barriers that prevent the full exploitation of our unique geographical position
at the crossroads of Europe, North Africa, the Middle East and Asia.
· Transform Cyprus into a shining example of the ethnic,
cultural, religious and linguistic cooperation between Christian and Muslim
communities.
· Turn Cyprus into a model-country of reliability,
stability and security in what is now a very turbulent and volatile region,
characterized by protracted conflicts and instability.
Mr President,
It is with satisfaction that I can
inform this august body that during this new negotiating round, progress has
been achieved in a number of issues on almost all chapters of the Cyprus
Problem.
However, on other substantive issues
there are significant differences that need to be resolved.
Differences that, in order to be
resolved, would also require Turkey’s active and determined contribution,
considering that its occupation forces still remain in the northern part of our
country.
I do hope that rhetoric assurances of
Turkey’s desire to reaching a settlement will be at last tested in practice,
through the adoption of concrete steps that will positively underpin the
negotiating process and correspond to the climate of hope prevailing in the
island.
Mr President,
I strongly
believe that reaching a solution on the Cyprus problem can become a paradigm of
how diplomacy and the adoption of a reconciliatory stance can contribute to the
resolution of even the most difficult international issues, prevailing over
mistrust.
Further, the
discovery of hydrocarbon reserves in Eastern Mediterranean has the potential to
create synergies and a grid of alliances for broader cooperation between
hydrocarbon-producing and hydrocarbon-consuming countries of that area and
beyond, to the benefit of their socio-economic development and the welfare of
our people.
Such positive developments can foster
the achievement and maintenance of a much needed environment of stability and
peace in our immediate neighborhood.
Distinguished Friends,
I am certain that you share the view
that the settlement of the Cyprus problem will create a win-win situation not
only for its people, but also for the region, the interested parties and the
international community at large.
Thank you for your attention.
