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President Iohannis addressing the 72nd Regular Session of the UN General Assembly (UNGA 72)
Addressing the 72nd Regular Session of the UN General Assembly (UNGA 72) on Wednesday, Romania's President Klaus Iohannis said Romania remains committed to the common initiative developed with Spain for the future possible establishment of an International Court against Terrorism.
"Indeed, people across the globe still suffer from the brutal effects of war, poverty, inequality and injustice. Tensions over cultural identity and faith are rising even within traditionally open and tolerant societies. Natural disasters cause increasing damage every season. Terrorist attacks deepen the sense of insecurity. Even if there are some perceptions that the United Nations did not manage well the multitude and complexity of the new crises, it is clear that no other path serves us better than multilateralism in finding viable solutions for the current global changes. More than ever, a rule-based international system - the International Rule of Law - is paramount for our success. The UN has to be equipped with the essential tools to perform as an efficient organization that reflects the will of its Members and enjoys the trust of all the people of the globe. At the same time, we, the Member States, need to increase our commitment towards the Organization," said Iohannis.
He underscored that working on education, ensuring prosperity of our people are the most efficient ways to prevent instability and crises.
"Focusing our actions on people should remain the ultimate goal," added Iohannis.
He said the UN has to drive the implementation of the ambitious global Agenda for Development forward, including in relation with conflict prevention and sustaining peace, as well as its Sustainable Development Goals.
"Romania has assumed the necessary development policies with real impact on advancing the implementation of the 2030 Agenda. We have chosen to involve in this process all political actors, the civil society, the private sector, and the scientific community. To share our experience in coordinating the national process of implementation of the 2030 Agenda and to speak about our progress, Romania will submit its Voluntary National Review during the High Level Political Forum for Sustainable Development in July 2018," said Iohannis.
He also pointed out that the member states cannot lose sight of the stabilising role the United Nations is playing in setting the broad parameters of contemporary international relations. That is why their effort to improve the effectiveness of the UN should remain strong.
"At the end of the day, no matter how a future reformed Security Council will look like, we need a UN with robust policy planning capabilities, able to project visions for the global peace and well-being beyond the crises of the day," said Iohannis.
He added that Romania supports the UN Secretary General's focus on the creation of an integrated institutional structure for supporting a holistic approach to crisis management, while also strongly advocating for modernising and increasing the effectiveness of peace operations.
"We support the Secretary General in his efforts to pursue a meaningful reform on three priorities: conflict prevention; sustainable development; management reform and reshaping the Secretariat for making the UN more efficient."
Iohannis went on to say that Romania also welcomes the reform of the United Nations counter-terrorism architecture and the UN demarches of making counter-terrorism a key element of its prevention agenda.
"As no country can fight alone this terrible scourge, we trust that the newly established UN Office of Counter-Terrorism will increase our efficiency in combating terrorism in all its forms and manifestations. In this respect, Romania remains committed to the common initiative developed with Spain for the future possible establishment of an International Court against Terrorism," said Iohannis.
He mentioned that Romania also supports the reinforcement of the human rights dimension within all relevant sectors of the UN activity.