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Mr. Secretary General,
 Mr. President,
 Excellencies,
 Ladies and Gentlemen,

  First of all, I would like to express my sincere thanks to President Jan Kavan of the previous General Assembly. Mr. President, we do appreciate your knowledge and skilful leadership. I wish the incoming President, Mr. Julian R. Hunte of Saint Lucia, a year of constructive dialogue and co-operation.

  Last year was full of shocking news and human tragedies. We lost a noble man and a distinguished diplomat, our friend Sergio Vierra de Mello of Brazil, and many others who happened to be on duty at the UN premises on that tragic day in Baghdad. And quite recently we paid a final tribute to Ms. Anna Lindh, Swedish Foreign Minister and my good friend, who fell victim to another act of human insanity. We grieve for those lost, but we also remember their works and uncompleted missions.

Iraq is one such unfinished business. Restoration of sovereignty and implementation of a political process leading to the establishment of a fully representative government through democratic elections is our primary goal. Yet state building is not an overnight process. Only through a co-ordinated effort and close international co-operation can we expect to rebuild a free and peaceful Iraq. International support is indispensable and sometimes even critical to the people coping with the legacies of a fallen dictatorship. In Iraq, the first signs of recovery are already visible, as demonstrated by the appointment of an interim cabinet and by the formation of a preparatory constitutional committee. These positive developments should be supported and encouraged. Thus, we look forward to the upcoming Madrid conference, which will address many issues important to Iraq’s future.

Ladies and Gentlemen,

Regrettably, the threat of terrorism and proliferation of weapons of mass destruction continues to be on the list of our greatest security concerns. These threats must be responded to through expansion of the rule of international law and reform of major international institutions. In this context, I would like to note with satisfaction that next year Lithuania and some other Central and Eastern European countries will join the European Union and NATO, thus expanding the zone of stability and democracy in Europe. Moreover, our accession will have important positive effects on the nations that will appear at the EU and NATO’s borders. Lithuania is determined to continue its good neighbourly policies and develop closer relations with the new EU neighbours. I should also draw your attention to the Baltic-Caucasus regional co-operation, where a number of successful initiatives are already developing.

The real strength of our power as an international community continues to lie in the strength of our resolve to deal collectively with critical issues. We firmly support the United Nations in pursuit of the goals enshrined in the UN Charter. Therefore I would like to welcome the Secretary General’s recent report on the implementation of UN Millennium Goals. We share the view that multilateral institutions must be updated and reinforced. Lithuania is ready to contribute to the goal of building an international order based on effective multilateral institutions and on the fundamental goals of the United Nations Charter. Lasting peace is our collective responsibility The Security Council must be able to take the lead in dealing with crises and threats to peace. May I repeat on this occasion that Lithuania supports substantial reform for better, equitable representation in both categories, permanent or non-permanent [through the inclusion of Germany and Japan, as well as certain other leading countries from the other regions].

Mr. President,

We are witnessing the willingness to adopt more effective measures to combat terrorism, weapons of mass destruction and organised crime. Therefore the strengthening of disarmament and non-proliferation regimes is of essential importance. We join those who put efforts into encouraging nuclear powers to be more transparent and highly responsibility in implementing international instruments in the field of non-proliferation and disarmament. In this regard we highly appreciate and join the position of the European Union and welcome the Declaration on Arms Proliferation and Weapons of Mass Destruction, which was adopted by the European Council at Thessaloniki.  This document clearly underlines the increasing threat to international peace and security and the risk of acquisition of such weapons by terrorists.

Global stability also requires regional efforts, where more conventional challenges can be dealt with by transparency and confidence building activities.

This year, after consecutive and hard work in carrying the compatibility exercise of national law with the provisions of the Rome Statute of International Criminal Court, Lithuania has become its State Party. Lithuania, among the first signatories of the Statute, joins the efforts of the international community in fighting impunity for the commission of serious crimes through ad hoc criminal tribunals and the newly launched International Criminal Court.

Democracy, rule of law and respect of human rights and fundamental freedoms undoubtedly takes the most important position within the system of values. It is a great challenge to secure this system with the view to the process of globalisation. Global harm such as poverty, climate change, unsustainable or not sustainable enough development, disastrous massive pandemics such as HIV/AIDS, grave violations of human rights, and terrorism raises before us the vital task of standing together in order to secure the future of our children. Stable conditions for peace cannot be created without addressing poverty and eradicating social exclusion. Therefore we should put all our effort into achieving the goals that we ourselves agreed in the Millennium Declaration.