Annual Report Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Slovak Republic 2008

Slovakia in International Organizations
In 2008, Slovakia worked effectively within the
platform of international organizations, especially
the UN and the specialized agencies of
the UN system. The Slovak Republic promoted
its foreign policy priorities as well as the principles,
values and interests of the EU in the areas
of strengthening the instruments of multilateralism
and the effective system of international
relations, with the UN playing a key role. Slovakia
actively participated in solving urgent issues and
long-term global challenges, which have considerable
security, economic and social implications,
such as the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction,
climate change, the world food and energy
crisis, poverty, sustainable development, and
human rights.
Within the UN, Slovakia continued to build
on the credit and position it had gained thanks
to its successful performance as a UN Security
Council member (UN SC) in 2006-2007, i.e. as a
respected UN member capable of helping find
session. Minister Ján Kubiš also appeared at the
high-level side-events of the UN GA where he, in
the presence of heads of states and prime ministers
outlined the position of the Slovak Republic
on the current global challenges, which the UN
and entire international community must face.
Events and negotiations dominating the agenda
were: the fulfilment of the Millennium Development
Goals; sustainable development; the world
food and energy crisis; global warming; development
financing; conflicts and security crises especially
in relation to the situations in Georgia,
the Balkans and the Middle East; the Iranian
nuclear programme; as well as the prevention
of conflict, peace-making, the war on terrorism,
and the non-proliferation of weapons of mass
destruction.
In 2008, Slovakia was particularly involved in
the reform of UN SC working methods, which the
Slovak Republic considers integral to the complex
reforms the UN is undergoing. The overall goal is
Ceremonial line-up on the
occasion of the departure
of members of the Armed
Forces of the Slovak
Republic for service in the
UNFICYP Peace Mission in
Cyprus, Trebišov,
March 2008
solutions to the most complex global and regional
problems.
This approach was expressed by the active
participation of the Slovak Foreign Minister, Ján
Kubiš, who headed the Slovak delegation at the
63 rd session of the UN General Assembly (UN
GA) in New York (21-27 September 2008). At the
session, he delivered a speech as part of the general
debate and met the UN Secretary General,
the Under-Secretary General for Political Affairs,
the Under-Secretary General for Peacekeeping
Operations, and the President of the 63 rd UN GA
to achieve a higher level of efficiency, openness
and transparency in its work. As former Chairman
of the Informal UN SC Working Group on
Documentation and Other Procedural Questions
(2007), Slovakia gained unique knowledge and
experience, which it was able to utilize in 2008. In
this area, it closely cooperated with the Small Five
(S5) countries (Switzerland, Liechtenstein, Singapore,
Costa Rica, and Jordan), with Panama and
Japan (an informal group of S5 friends), and also
with relevant nongovernmental and academic
institutions.
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