Jeremić sees UNGA as "moral guarantor" of agreements

NEW YORK Vuk Jeremic has proposed that the UN General Assembly "be a moral and political guarantor of respect for settlements among the belligerent parties". The former Serbian foreign minister this week took over as president of the 67th Session of the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA). Jeremic sees UNGA as "moral guarantor" of agreements In his first address to the assembly, Jeremic advocated the strengthening of the UNGA's role in political and economic terms, and also the strengthening of cooperation with the UN's other principal organs, including the Security Council. He also pointed out that the Organization remains critical to addressing the growing needs of mankind. "As I stand before this greatest of parliaments, I pledge to faithfully serve the cause of the United Nations, and to exercise my authority in a forthright and even-handed manner-with the utmost respect for the sovereign equality of the Member States," Jeremic stressed. As he put it, one simply cannot imagine a world in which peace and the dignity of all could flourish without the United Nations. "Having consulted widely on the matter, I have chosen bringing about adjustment or settlement of international disputes or situations by peaceful means as the overarching theme for our work over the next twelve months." Jeremic underlined that the key priorities include meeting the Millennium Development Goals, identifying and implementing the Sustainable Development Goals, strengthening of the UNGA's role in resolving the world's economic crisis and its social consequences, a more active process of disarmament, the fight against terrorism and strengthening the role of UN peacekeeping. "Close to eight hundred years after the Magna Carta was promulgated, many people around the world still do not enjoy the fundamental rights enshrined in that seminal document-rights that protect individuals, while enabling countries to develop in peace and security, as sovereign equals," he pointed out. "That is why I believe the Rule of Law should remain high on the agenda of the 67th Session." In his speech followed by heads of delegations of all UN member countries, Jeremic quoted Ivo Andric, Serbian Nobel Literature Prize laureate, who said that one should not be afraid of human beings, but of what is inhuman in them. "Assuaging this fear, by consciously seeking to tame our most primeval impulses, has been a critical task of legislators and statesmen for millennia. Such reasoning has informed the drafting of every just law, great constitution and lasting treaty," Jeremic said, and added that this also stands at the foundation of the UN Charter, "a document which aims first and foremost to obviate the recourse to war." In coming to the end of his address, Jeremic quoted Dag Hammarskjöld, a well-known Swedish diplomat and former UN secretary-general whose life came to an abrupt end in a plane crash exactly fifty one years ago today. "Never measure the height of a mountain until you have reached the top. Then you will see how low it was. Never look down to test the ground before taking your next step; only he who keeps his eye fixed on the far horizon will find the right road. And, never 'for the sake of peace and quiet,' deny your own experience and convictions," Jeremic cited Hammarskjöld's words. Tanjug

Jeremić sees UNGA as "moral guarantor" of agreements

In his first address to the assembly, Jeremić advocated the strengthening of the UNGA's role in political and economic terms, and also the strengthening of cooperation with the UN's other principal organs, including the Security Council.

He also pointed out that the Organization remains critical to addressing the growing needs of mankind.

"As I stand before this greatest of parliaments, I pledge to faithfully serve the cause of the United Nations, and to exercise my authority in a forthright and even-handed manner-with the utmost respect for the sovereign equality of the Member States," Jeremić stressed.

As he put it, one simply cannot imagine a world in which peace and the dignity of all could flourish without the United Nations.

"Having consulted widely on the matter, I have chosen bringing about adjustment or settlement of international disputes or situations by peaceful means as the overarching theme for our work over the next twelve months."

Jeremić underlined that the key priorities include meeting the Millennium Development Goals, identifying and implementing the Sustainable Development Goals, strengthening of the UNGA's role in resolving the world's economic crisis and its social consequences, a more active process of disarmament, the fight against terrorism and strengthening the role of UN peacekeeping.

"Close to eight hundred years after the Magna Carta was promulgated, many people around the world still do not enjoy the fundamental rights enshrined in that seminal document-rights that protect individuals, while enabling countries to develop in peace and security, as sovereign equals," he pointed out.

"That is why I believe the Rule of Law should remain high on the agenda of the 67th Session."

In his speech followed by heads of delegations of all UN member countries, Jeremić quoted Ivo Andric, Serbian Nobel Literature Prize laureate, who said that one should not be afraid of human beings, but of what is inhuman in them.

"Assuaging this fear, by consciously seeking to tame our most primeval impulses, has been a critical task of legislators and statesmen for millennia. Such reasoning has informed the drafting of every just law, great constitution and lasting treaty," Jeremić said, and added that this also stands at the foundation of the UN Charter, "a document which aims first and foremost to obviate the recourse to war."

In coming to the end of his address, Jeremić quoted Dag Hammarskjöld, a well-known Swedish diplomat and former UN secretary-general whose life came to an abrupt end in a plane crash exactly fifty one years ago today.

"Never measure the height of a mountain until you have reached the top. Then you will see how low it was. Never look down to test the ground before taking your next step; only he who keeps his eye fixed on the far horizon will find the right road. And, never 'for the sake of peace and quiet,' deny your own experience and convictions," Jeremić cited Hammarskjöld's words.