Your Royal Majesties,
Your Excellency, the Prime Minister of Sweden,
Mister Chairman,
Mr. Secretary General,
Ladies and Gentlemen,

At the outset, allow me to express my highest appreciation and thanks to the host country – the Kingdom of Sweden and to the Prime Minister Mr. Göran Persson, for the excellent organization of this meeting.

We live in a society in which conflicts dominate. Throughout the history, they have shaped our destinies, our lives, and our social environment. Although conflicts can carry an immense potential for change and be an engine for building a better future, their dark and devastating potential has prevailed in the minds of generations. It is mainly reflected through the use of force in resolving problems, which very often end in bloodshed, massacres, ethnic cleansing, and ultimately, genocide. Let us be honest, political history of mankind is mainly history of wars.

The first, as well as the last part of past century, was marked by killing, atrocities and genocide. The international community reacted with confusion and reluctance on the rising of Hitler. Instead of taking pro-active stand, it responded with the policy of appeasement. What followed is well known.

When everybody thought that democracy had taken root in Europe and its principles had triumphed in the conduct of world affairs, terrible violations of human rights, including ethnic cleansing and genocide, were committed. The international community was astonished, but its swift reaction in order to prevent such crimes was missing. Rwanda, Bosnia, Srebrenica, Kosovo, followed. Being a witness to the horrors of the dissolution of former Yugoslavia, I must stress that if the international community hadn't failed to acknowledge and to react to Miloševiæ's intentions in the case of Vukovar, Srebrenica would have most probably never happened.

We should therefore spear no effort in finding and establishing a mechanism for early warning and prevention of armed conflicts, ethnic cleansing and genocide. In this respect, political will and full commitment of all governments and the international community as a whole is crucial. We should be ready to use this mechanism in all situations, under all circumstances, and regardless of the actors involved. Therefore, I must particularly congratulate the Secretary General Kofi Annan on his courageous efforts to lead and organize he United Nations toward preventing such atrocities from ever taking place again.

Once genocide has been committed, the international community must do it utmost in pursuing and bringing its culprits to justice. The establishment of ad hoc tribunals was the first step in this direction. Nevertheless, it, in itself, raises the question of “selective justice”. Therefore, Croatia welcomes the newest step – the establishment of the International Criminal Court with universal jurisdiction, which will operate in a more consistent way towards all members of the international community, and in accordance with the fundamental principle of sovereign equality of all states. However, we cannot ignore the fact that the ICC has created a number of political disputes even before it has begun to fulfil its function.

Since taking office as the Foreign Minister of Croatia only a month ago, I have had a number of bilateral and multilateral meetings, and at each of those, I have reiterated the dedication of my government to full cooperation with the International Criminal Tribunal for Former Yugoslavia, and I am committing to that promise now, in front of all you.

The gross violations of human rights should no longer be considered an exclusive, internal affair of a state. States have primary responsibility for preventing ethnic cleansing and genocide, but when States fail to do so, or when a State itself is the perpetrator of such acts, the international community should and must intervene. However, I find it of great concern that, in some states, the political parties of indicted criminals, who face prosecution for crimes against humanity by the international courts, are able to receive a significant number of popular votes in parliamentary elections.

I would like to end by addressing you as a psychologist, rather than a politician. There is a disagreement among members of the scientific community on whether humans are more violent in nature now than 200, or 2000 years ago. However, there is no disagreement that our culture is becoming more violent, that the means of that violence are becoming more sophisticated and destructive, and that the world is becoming more and more dangerous. There should be no disagreement that violence and war originate in human minds, the very place where peace itself should begin. So let me join those who applaud the beautiful book by Samantha Power by paraphrasing her quotation of George Bernard Shaw; let us be unreasonable, and let us try to change the world around us, instead of adjusting to it as it is. Let us start building a culture of peace instead of accepting the culture of violence.
Thank you.