The Global Challenges of the 21st Century

The conference The UN’s 60th Anniversary: Global Challenges of the 21st Century, organized by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Bulgarian Association for the UN and held at the National Palace of Culture on May 30, was dedicated to the 60th anniversary of the UN and the 50th anniversary of Bulgaria’s accession to the UN.

In his address to the participants in the conference on behalf of President Georgi Parvanov, Vice President Angel Marin stated that “the UN would manage to find the right approaches and counteractions against the asymmetric threat posed by terror, for securing peace and development, for eradicating extreme poverty and incorporating all the peoples into modern achievements and universal values.”

In his greeting speech, read by Governmental Spokesperson Dimiter Tsonev, Premier Simeon Saxe-Coburg-Gotha underscores that Bulgaria has been sharing the UN’s major priorities and working for meeting the goals of the Millennium for 50 years now. “The Cabinet is pursuing a consistent and predictable foreign policy with an accent on the regional security and development. This country proved to be a responsible international factor, both as a non-standing member of the UN Security Council in the period 2002-2003, and a chairman-in-office of the OSCE in 2004. It contributed to the reputation of Bulgaria as a stable international partner.” Sixty years after the end of the WWII, we are pleased to observe that the UN fulfilled to a great extent the ideas of its founders: to be a collective instrument for sustaining peace and encouraging the dialogue and the multilateral cooperation between the countries, the Premier says further, stating his conviction that Bulgaria would further pursue its constructive and active policy within the membership and activities of the UN. A public consensus has been reached in Bulgaria on the other topics on the agenda of the Organization: tackling organized crime, corruption, terror, proliferation of weapons for mass destruction and protection of environment.

After a brief review of the UN’s development and Bulgaria’s participation, Foreign Minister Solomon Passy underscored the paramount importance Bulgarian foreign policy attributes to the cooperation with the UN: “Though we are more frequently talking about Bulgaria’s European and Euro-Atlantic policy,” he said before the participants in the conference, “I’d like to underscore that we have always deemed the latter to be in addition and application of the universal and global mission of the UN.” In conclusion, quoting the UN Secretary General, Minister Passy stated his confidence that the decisions pending to be taken at the jubilee conference, would reach beyond rhetoric and stilted declarations, so that we to be able to leave a better world to our children.

Mr. Neil Buhne, UN resident coordinator and UNDP resident representative, delivered a greeting speech on behalf of Secretary General Kofi Annan, expressing a high appreciation of our country, “the history and cultural tradition of which allows it to evaluate the real-term threats in the world and to make its contribution to avert them.” As the UN has both to keep the peace and avert conflicts,” Mr. Buhne underscored in his speech.

Baroness Henriette van Lynden, Ambassador of the Netherlands to Bulgaria, made a statement in support of the development and perfection of the Organization as a means of prevention concerning security, on behalf of the Secretary General of the Council of Europe. The notion of security, as it has been pointed out, includes both state and personal security. The European Council supports the reform of the UN, so that the Organization to be able to cope with the new world challenges more effectively. In their statements and reports, most of the participants backed the proposals for reforming of the UN, made by the Secretary General. Some of the representatives came up with different considerations, which triggered an animated discussion.

Dr. Peter Wittig, deputy director general of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Germany, delivered a report on the topic “Germany’s Concept of the Reform of the UN Security Council”, in support of the reform. No hierarchy or asymmetry of the threats is admissible. No country, however powerful it is, is able to defend itself all alone – we are in want of collective security. We are in want of a new concept of security, which has to include personal security. In case a country fails to guarantee its citizens against ethnic cleansing, the responsibility is assumed by the international community.

Mr. Giulio Terzi, senior official at the Ministry for Foreign Affairs of Italy, presented Italy’s views of the reform of the UN.

In the reports and statements of many of the guests and participants from Bulgaria it was pointed out that Bulgaria is a very active and devoted member of the UN family, playing an important role in the war on terror. Bulgaria contributed to focus the attention on civil persons in times of war. In his report “The UN Reform: The Bulgarian View”, Ambassador Stefan Tafrov, resident representative of Bulgaria to the UN, stated the country’s stand on the reform. To the question whether a solution by compromise was possible, our country answered that it was well possible and that it was working on the solution. H.E. Mr. Tafrov promoted also the philosophical aspect of Bulgaria’s approach, the essence of which is that multilaterality is the core value of Bulgarian foreign policy-making and of the European vision of the world, especially in the era of globalization. Bulgaria is a staunch supporter of the reform within the UN, which reform has to be overall and successful and the consensus to be reached has to be widely accepted. Bulgaria recommends the role of the Human Rights Commission to be stepped up. This country backs the proposal the Human Rights Council to become as independent as the Security Council.

The conference held in Sofia gave yet another impetus to the dialogue on the UN reform in view of improving the efficiency of the Organization. The ever growing role of Bulgaria came to the fore, as the country takes constructive stands on controversial issues and actively works in the different structures and levels of this world organization.

Stoyan Raichevsky