50 years Bulgaria in UN

Our country is an active and responsible participant in international politics

Mr. Emil Yalnazov, Director of the UN and Security Council Directorate at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs

Emil Yalnazov was born in 1958. He graduated the English Language Secondary School in Sofia and in International Relations in Moscow. He has a Ph.D. in International Relations.

Mr. Yalnazov has worked as Head of the CSCE/OSCE desk and Deputy Director of International Security Directorate; Head of the OSCE and Regional Security Issues Department at the MFA – Sofia, at the Embassy of Bulgaria in Havana, at the Permanent Mission of Bulgaria to the UN (First Secretary), OSCE and other international organizations, Deputy Head of the Bulgarian Delegation to the OSCE. Minister-Counsellor and Deputy Chief of Mission in Washington D.C., USA.

Author of articles and case-studies in the field of international relations, conflict resolution and regional security and co-operation in SEE.

Since October 2004 he is Director, UN and Security Council Directorate, MFA.

Speaks English, Spanish, French and Russian.

Married, two sons.

Mr. Yalnazov, what initiatives has the Ministry of Foreign Affairs foreseen to mark the 60th anniversary of the establishment of the UNO and the 50th anniversary of Bulgaria’s admittance to membership?
The following year is of great importance for the organization. The celebration of the 60th anniversary of its establishment concurs with the preparation of key decisions for its reformation, which is imposed by the changing international situation and the pressing necessity for it to work more effectively and more dynamically so that it can react adequately to the challenges of the 20th century. It is a fact that lately the authority of the UNO with of the world public was seriously impaired in consequence of the publications on corruption, bad resource management, indecent behavior and even crimes committed by its representatives on different levels. This situation additionally increases the ambition and expectations of the member countries, including Bulgaria, for the adoption, possibly this autumn, of bold and responsible decisions, which will strengthen the central stabilizing role of the organization in the international security system.

I would like to remind you that the UNO was officially established on the 24th of October 1945 – right after the end of the Second World War. Four months before that, on the 26th of June, in San Francisco 50 founding countries signed the UN Charter, led by the noble goal to reject once and for all violence and war in international relations and to create a new, maximally democratic and just system for peace, security and development, based on equipollent cooperation.

The upcoming 60th anniversary is a good occasion for the member countries again to confirm responsibly and solemnly their attachment to the initial values of the United Nations, of course, in their contemporary meaning adequate to the realities of today’s globalizing world. With this aim, in September this year in New York during the 60th jubilee session of the UN General Assembly a meeting of state and government leaders will be held, in which a Bulgarian delegation of the highest rank will take part as well.

On December 14, we will mark the 50th anniversary of the entry of Bulgaria as a member of the world organization. This event, that happened half a century ago, marked the end of the international isolation of our country after the Second World War and cleared the path for the restoration of her authority and full participation in the international relations. Today when democratic Bulgaria is an approved and respected member of the United Nations and the organization consists of 191 countries, perhaps many do not fully appreciate that fact. But if only for a moment we mentally travel back to the middle of the last century – in the conditions of the “early” cold war and the forming of the block confrontation – we will understand the meaning of our membership in the UNO to our new history. A parallel could be made with our integration in the European and Euro-Atlantic structures, implemented 50 years later.

The desire of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and our partners from other engaged departments as well as the non-government sector is that the two dates were celebrated with the proper attention from the Bulgarian public. The diverse activities of the UNO, as well as Bulgaria’s contribution to it, deserve a wider popularization in the country and abroad. Among the propositions that the Ministry of Foreign Affairs has submitted for approval on government level, I would loom the carrying out of a practical scientific conference with international participation in Sofia, the organization of an exhibition of archive documents and photographic materials in the National Library “St. St. Cyril and Methodius”, the publication of a jubilee collection, the fabrication of a honorary medal, postal stamp and others. We hope that during this jubilee year the Secretary General of the organization Koffi Anan will make an official visit, as well as other high-ranking employees of the UNO and its organs and specialized agencies. For the realization of these ideas we are working in tight cooperation with the UN Association in Bulgaria and its president Lyuben Kulishev.

We are pleasantly impressed by the youth section of the association which plans several interesting activities, especially aimed at the young people. It is not possible that I list all the ideas and initiatives. Our expectation is that the state institutions that work with UN, the science institutions, educational facilities and the non-government organizations will be active as well. An active supporting role for the projects and initiatives aimed at the popularization of the UN play the representative agency of the UNDP in Sofia, lead by Mr. Neil Buhne, and the UNCR Representation, lead by Mrs. Luise Druke.

Who are the partners of the UN Directorate in its work?
The UN activity is very diverse. There isn’t an aspect of the public life or a current issue for which there isn’t a resolution, decision, report or any other document of the organization, on which aren’t held forums, conferences, etc. That is because the agenda of the UN and of the specialized agencies, organizations and forums in its system in fact ranges over all fields of international development and cooperation – over 200 themes, varying from supporting the world peace and security and issues concerning disarmament, the battle with the natural disasters and terrorism to the protection of human rights, the eradication of poverty, hunger and illnesses, the battle with AIDS, the insurance of a steady development and environmental protection. In connection with that almost every department and section in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs have a relation to the system of the UN. From a purely operational aspect however the participation of Bulgaria is supervised and guided by four directorates of the ministry, among which the UN Directorate has a leading and coordinative role. In a national plan regarding the UN issues there is an active interaction and coordination of efforts between all ministries and state institutions according to their specific competence.

The directorate works in full synchrony with our colleagues from the permanent missions of Bulgaria to the UN in New York, Geneva and Vienna, and with our missions to other international organizations. All Bulgarian diplomatic representative agencies abroad are involved in one way or another in the versatile diplomacy and cooperation with organizations, funds and specialized agencies within the UN system.
We maintain an excellent cooperation with the representative agencies of the UNDP and the UN High Commissioner for Refugees in Sofia. This high evaluation applies also to our work with the recently founded UNESCO representative agency in Sofia, as well as with all other representatives of specialized organizations and agencies in the system of the UN, accredited in Sofia. We strive to aid and facilitate their work, above all the contacts and joint development of projects with Bulgarian partners. It is pleasing that the UN House in Sofia, which was officially opened with the assistance of the Bulgarian side last year, has a growing popularity among the public of the capital.

Our close partners are also the embassies and diplomatic missions of the UN member countries, accredited in our country.
In a global scale the tendency of the active involvement of non-government organizations and voluntary civil associations in the activities of the UNO is more and more imposed. The global goal, which the organization sets for itself, cannot be achieved without the active participation and support of the civil society. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs strives for the active involvement and stimulation of the interest of the youth.