At the beginning of the speech, he said it was the pleasure and privilege to have the opportunity to address the General Assembly of the UN.
“Today, we are paving a new path together. I hope that it is in the best interest of the world”, Luksic said at the beginning of the speech.
He also presented Montenegro, saying that he came from a small but proud country with a turbulent history.
“As an integral part of socialist Yugoslavia under Tito’s leadership, Montenegro shared commitment to establish the UN. Many people do not know this, but Montenegro sent its peacekeepers for the first time at the end 19th century to the island of Crete. Thus it took part in the first modern peacekeeping operation”, Luksic said, adding that Montenegro restored its independence 10 years ago after the peaceful democratic referendum, broking the established practice in the region.
He also said that the country invested in preserving the multicultural, multi-religious and multi-ethnic identity.
Luksic pointed out he was aware of the challenges of our time.
“Are those who are under 25, and they make up half the world’s population, happy with what the life has to offer? People tend to be pessimists. Many of them go to bed or wake up in fear. The year 2015 was crucial for the conclusion of several multilateral agreements. There is no better way to achieve peace and security, encourage the development and protection of the human rights then the joint implementation of agenda through global effort supported by an integrated approach. Therefore, there is a reason for optimism”, Luksic believes.
According to him, the first task should be boosting optimism.
“We must show our youth that we deserve this chance”, Luksic said.
A state of peace and security is a cause for concern
As Luksic said, the current state of international peace and security is a cause for deep concern.
“There are too many places where the international community has not been able to prevent and stop the bloodshed and stop the suffering of millions of people. The complex challenges, such as advanced and long lasting conflicts, serious humanitarian challenges, waves of migrants/refugees, the spread of international terrorism and violent extremism are testing our ability to protect the UN Charter and ensure the effective protection of civilians, particularly those most vulnerable. Respect for international law and the strengthening of collective efforts on giving primacy to political solutions for bridging differences, calming tensions and achieving sustainable peace and stability, including renewed efforts towards disarmament, should play a central role. I strongly believe that we can do more to strengthen the capacity and resources for prevention and mediation throughout the UN. In order to achieve that, more significant participation of women and youth in addressing the problems and causes of conflicts and extremism, as well as in the sphere of improvement of humanitarian activities, must be ensured. One of the obvious, hitherto underutilised ways for this is creating partnerships with regional and sub-regional organisations. This also means strengthening regional cooperation”, Luksic said.
He said certain changes must be implemented in the UN team way of work.
“More efficiency and effectiveness could be ensured through the establishment of a UN Group on peacekeeping operations (Peace Operations Group), which would be closely monitored by the Secretary General and Deputy Secretary General, as presented in the vision statement. This innovation could make a difference by providing the Security Council and the Peace Building Commission a necessary and improved insight that will help them make better decisions and improve coordination. In addition, the Deputy Secretary General should have a more prominent role in dealing with regional and sub-regional arrangements, as well as in the field of mediation and prevention”, Luksic said.
As further added, Agenda 2030, in addition to the Action Agenda of the Addis Ababa, Sendai Framework and Climate Agreement, provides an answer to face the challenges in the framework of all three pillars in a sustainable way.
“But now we need to ensure their effectiveness. We need more relevant UN in providing support to countries to successfully implement all the agreements. In order to avoid duplication, it is essential to define an agency, fund or programme of the UN (AFPs) for each objective of the sustainable development in the structure that includes several so-called clusters. Cooperation with other multilateral partners, as well as with the private sector should be strengthened. In this regard, the establishment of an efficient Follow-Up and Review Process from the bottom upwards, under the auspices of the UN and based on good statistics, is crucial to accelerate the implementation of sustainable development goals. We need to learn from existing concepts – for example, the Universal Periodic Review. In my opinion, inclusive United Nations regional economic commissions should be important factors in establishing regional fora for sustainable development, which would gather the various interested parties. This will play a key role in ensuring the implementation of the global development agreement”, said Luksic.
He firmly believes that the United Nations Development Group should be transformed into a UN Sustainable Development Group – UNSD group, which would be co-chaired by the main admin of UNDP and the High Commissioner for Human Rights, as pointed out in the vision statement.
In order to achieve a greater impact on the ground, cooperation with governments, civil society and regional organisations is essential, Luksic said.
“The Human Rights Council has proved its relevance in improving the human rights agenda and fully deserves a debate on the need of its growing into one of the main bodies. Reducing inequality and combating discrimination require a systemic co-ordination and involvement, as well as the further strengthening of cooperation among the UN bodies. This also includes raise awareness about the existing international legal instruments and standards, as well as the development of capacities to achieve them. In the 21st century, the UN must have a results-oriented, modern, efficient and truly global secretariat. Therefore, in appointing Deputy Secretary the next Secretary General should follow the principle of gender equality and the principle of equal representation of the northern and southern hemispheres”, Luksic said.
In addition, he firmly believes that Nairobi should be discussed as a headquarters of the next Deputy Secretary General.
Nine candidates in the race for UN chief
In addition to Luksic, eight candidates are in the race for the head of the United Nations.
Other candidates include former president of the UN General Assembly and former foreign minister in the Government of Serbia Vuk Jeremic, the former Slovenian president Danilo Turk, the former Croatian foreign minister Vesna Pusic and former foreign minister of Moldova Natalya German.
Irina Bokova, a former foreign minister of Bulgaria, Srdjan Kerim, a former head of the Macedonian Foreign Ministry, Antonio Guterres, former PM of Portugal and Helen Clark, former PM of New Zealand are also nominated.
