Time for Joint Action to Solve World Conflicts, Bulgaria's President Says

Photo by BGNESRosen Plevneliev, President of Bulgaria, delivers his address at United Nations General Assembly at UN headquarters in New York, US, September 27, 2015.

Present-day challenges trascend national borders and require action with "with resolve on a global scale", Bulgarian President Rosen Plevneliev said on Wednesday.

Speaking at the United Nations General Assembly in New York, he described "poverty, inequalities and environmental degradation" as "issues that require are attention" and voiced Bulgaira's commitment to the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, which was adopted last week.

As a "key obstacle to political settlement in SYria and a serious risk to the stability and territorial integrity of Iraq", he also mentioned "Da'esh", an Arabic acronym for the Islamic State (IS) group used by some governments and media outlet to refer to it.

In his words, joint action is needed, for which the UN "is the best platform".

"The ongoing conflicts in Syria, the Middle East, and Northern Africa are threatening the lives of millions. The rising extremism that no borders can contain is a serious challenge to the international community. The degrading humanitarian situation in several conflict zones has forced millions of people to leave their homes, pack their whole lives in a suitcase and embark on a perilous, sometimes even deadly journey to safety," the President has reminded, adding the developments fuel the rise of nationalist parties "that feed on people's fears."

Referring to migration, he also noted that "[a]s Long as there is conflict in Syria, the refugee crisis will not go away".

While praising Europe for establishing a solidarity scheme allowing fair relocaiton of migrants across the bloc, he warned that a mechanism is needed "in order to distinghuish those in need from those just looking for better life." He argued that, along with the fear of infiltration of extremists, it "raised the issues of illegal human trafficking" again.

Passing on to the Middle East Peace Prosses, he added that "Bulgaria fully supports the Special Coordinator for the Middle East Peace Process, Mr. Nickolay Mladenov, in his challenging mission" and reaffirmed Sofia's position on a "two-state solution formula" as "a realistic, just and lasting way to settle the Israeli-Palestinian conflict".

President Plevneliev also took the occasion to condemn "the annexation of Crimea", calling it "a blatant violation of international law and its principles" and stating again that Bulgaria fully backs "Ukraine's sovereignty and territorial integrity", urging the full implementation of the Minsk agreements.

At the end of his speech, Plevneliev also called on the United Nations to elect "a national from the Group of Eastern European States" as the UN's next Secretary General in 2016.

"Time has come that a woman from Eastern Europe be entrusted with the highest position in the UN Secretariat... Bulgaria stands ready to nominate the candidate that will be the best fit for the post," Plevneliev added.

He did not mention the name of UNESCO head Irina Bokova, whose candidacy has been embraced by the current and former administration and whom another recent article described as "the frontrunner" to take over from Ban Ki-moon.

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