Allow me at the outset to extend to you our sincere appreciation for the effective manner in which you conducted the work of the Third Committee. We have full confidence that under your able guidance and efforts of the Bureau our deliberations will come to a fruitful conclusion.
I would also like to take this opportunity to congratulate Mr. de Mello on his appointment as High Commissioner for Human Rights. We warmly welcome his appointment and are confident that the worldwide promotion and protection of human rights will be further advanced under his experienced leadership. My delegation offers him full support in his endeavors to meet this challenging task.
Mr. Chairman,
As the HCHR has pointed out in his report, this has been a challenging year for human rights, with both positive developments and worrisome trends. The tragic events of September 11 have faced the international community with an ultimate challenge; the devastating consequences of the international terrorism have made the crucial influence in the international relations. Taking the advantage of the current climate, some states have introduced the policies that could lead to the suppression of the fundamental rights and freedoms. This is an extremely dangerous approach.
No doubt, terrorism is the most serious threat to national and international peace and security and should be combated vigorously. Acts of terrorism do not only constitute human rights violations, but, under any circumstances, are unjustifiable crimes. No political, philosophical, ideological, ethnic, racial, or any other cause can justify terror; therefore, the fight against terrorism and ensuring our security is a top priority for all of us.
However, the fight against terrorism must be fought with regard to human rights. Promotion and protection of human rights are central to an effective strategy to counter terrorism, but we should not promote security at their expense: the principles of proportionality and necessity must apply under all circumstances. Furthermore, no double standards must exist when dealing with political extremism and terrorism, because the Republic of Macedonia has proven there is no issue that cannot be politically determined.
We are convinced, more than ever, that the protection of human rights forms the most solid foundation for our security. In that context, we fully support, and our policy will be guided by, the recently adopted Council of Europe’s Guidelines on human rights and fight against terrorism, aimed to help member states combine resolute action against terrorism with respect to fundamental values of democracy.
Mr. Chairman,
While our goal is to achieve the universal ratification of the six, core United Nations human rights treaties, more importantly, we need a full and effective implementation of the agreed standards. In this context, the de lege ferenda intent should be upon creating and strengthening the monitoring mechanisms for the implementation of accepted obligations. The future human rights instruments should be “new generation” instruments, seeking more transparency and cooperation, rather than declaration and commitment. The adoption of the Optional Protocol to Torture Convention by the Third Committee last week is a significant step forward. The Republic of Macedonia is a longstanding supporter of the idea of the Optional Protocol to CAT and maintains its most firm commitment with regard to the fight against torture.
Although the prohibition of torture is absolute, and all states have the obligation to prevent acts of torture under any circumstances, the most abhorrent practice of torture has yet to be eradicated. Therefore, bearing in mind the positive experiences of the European Committee Against Torture, the control mechanisms established under the European Convention Against Torture, we strongly support the establishment of a control system to ensure regular visits to places of detention at the global level. This Protocol will make an essential contribution to the prevention of torture worldwide, and The Republic of Macedonia will support the adoption of the Optional Protocol in the General Assembly. We also urge the other states to do so.
Mr. Chairman,
We would like to take this opportunity to welcome the Report of the Secretary- General, “Strengthening of the UN: an agenda for further change,” in particular, part II (B), “Strengthening of Human Rights.” As the Secretary-General accurately points out, “the promotion and protection of human rights is a bedrock requirement for the realization of the Charter’s vision of a just and peaceful world.” Therefore, the mainstreaming of human rights and promoting, strengthening, and revising the system of UN human rights bodies are of utmost importance.
The Commission for Human Rights is a core body in this field; we have to reform and improve its existing mechanisms in order to make the Commission more effective, and to reaffirm and emphasize its crucial role in the promotion and protection of human rights. Unfortunately, the present preoccupation is the bloc voting by groups and avoiding action if consensus is not possible, especially with regard to situations of countries. Furthermore, the limited number of members of the Commission causes additional frustration—all countries participate in the work, but not all can influence the decisions. Session by session, the work of the Commission becomes more and more politicized, which defiantly damages the role of the Commission.
Having all of these challenges in mind, the Republic of Macedonia fully supports the proposed actions by the Secretary-General for strengthening the human rights system within the Organization. With great interest, we expect the forthcoming reports of the HCHR on the new streamlined reporting procedure and on the effectiveness and improvement of the special procedures of the Commission. At the same time, we would like to support the HCHR’s request to increase resources from the regular budget for the activities of his Office by 1.54%.
Mr. Chairman,
The principle of rule of law is essential to human rights, both nationally and internationally, and Mr. de Mello’s commitment to emphasize this principle as a centerpiece of his approach as HCHR, is welcomed. Nevertheless, the rule of law is threatened by conflict, poverty, and isolation, and nothing threatens it as much as impunity. Impunity cynically undermines the rule of law and our dedication to human rights, and we are convinced that the establishment of the ICC is a real victory against impunity and a symbolic turning point from a misconception of state sovereignty in the face of radical violations of human rights—a triumph for the rule of law in international relations.
My country is one of the first sixty states that have ratified the Rome Statute. The Republic of Macedonia, guided by the principles of the Rome Statute, is determined to cooperate in order to prevent crimes under the Court’s jurisdiction and to put an end to the impunity of the perpetrators thereof. The preparation of the necessary domestic laws for the implementation of the obligations derived from the Rome Statute is ongoing.
We need the ICC to become a truly universal Court; however, we are still far from that objective; therefore, we must intensify our efforts to promote it. In this context, we cannot afford to create situations in which precedents will prevail, neither on the bilateral, nor on the international level.
Mr. Chairman,
Securing the rule of law requires full commitment at the national level; it should not be underestimated that the primary responsibility for the effective implementation of human rights belongs to the states. A strong, national human-rights policy, and human rights institutions, are essential for sustained protection and advancement.
These are my country’s guided principles. We are proud to have resolved the armed conflict we faced a year ago, which threatened the values of democracy and inter-ethnic coexistence. Although the principle of rule of law has been put on probation, we have managed to defeat those threats and are strongly committed, more vigorously than ever, to the principles we have always shared and treasured.
Great progress has been made in the implementation of the Framework Agreement. Besides the Constitutional amendments, sixteen very important laws witch derived from the Framework Agreement, the Law on amnesty, and the Rules of Procedure of the Parliament, were adopted.
The recently conducted parliamentary elections were another test for the democratic maturity of my country. As the international monitors pointed out, the elections were organized and conducted in accordance with international standards and democratic values. The Macedonian Foreign Minister emphasized in his statement to the General Assembly in September, that they benchmarked the achieved progress over the past year and reaffirmed our commitment to democracy and the rule of law. They also reaffirmed the maturity of the Macedonian society, Government, and its citizens; thus, once again, establishing its position as an equal and respected member of the European family.
Our full dedication to the consolidation of the rule of law and the respect of human rights has been proven with the signing, as the first country in the region, of the Stabilization and Association Agreement between the Republic of Macedonia and the EU. We are pleased that its ratification is progressing successfully.
The principle of rule of law and the protection and the protection of human rights has been also reaffirmed and emphasized in the Working Program of the newly appointed Government.
Education is a key element in the promotion of the democratic values of human rights and the rule of law. We are in the process of implementing the Technical Cooperation Project with the Office of the HCHR in the area of education, envisaged as an additional cooperation with the international experts in the educational reforms already commenced, aimed to introduce the democratic values in the curricula for primary and secondary education.
Development of gender perspective at the national level is of no less significance, and we are pleased to inform that with the last parliamentary election, the percentage of women MPs has increased from 7.5% to 17.5%. As an active contributor to the regional projects of the Council of Europe, the Republic of Macedonia will host the European ministerial conference for equality in the course of next year.
Traditionally, multiculturalism has been a great value to the Macedonian society; we consider it an advantage and are committed to protect and maintain the common heritage and shared values of different cultures in our colorful society. In this spirit, and being firmly convinced that dialog and mutual understanding are crucial contributions within the UN Year of Dialog among Civilizations, the President of the Republic of Macedonia, in cooperation with UNESCO, will host a regional Forum on dialog among civilizations in 2003.
Thank you.