In his speech at the 2nd World Conference of Speakers of Parliaments at the UN headquarters on Thursday, Croatian Parliament Speaker Vladimir Seks advocated a stronger role of national parliaments in
the prevention of burning problems of today such as terrorism, poverty, security and unbalanced development, which pose the greatest challenge to global security.
Seks supported efforts made by the Interparliamentary Union, whose members gathered in New York, to strengthen the role of parliamentarians in monitoring the adoption and implementation of decisions by international organisations such as the U.N.
He said Croatia supported the implementation of all U.N. Millennium Goals, as well as the protection of human rights, the right to life and human dignity, conflict prevention and disarmament.
Seks called for stepping up activities and cooperation between national parliaments on one side and the U.N. on the other.
"The United Nations must remain the centre of the joint work of all countries of the world and a place for all debates about the most important global topics, in particular global security," Seks said.
Supporting the key role of the U.N. in international affairs, Croatia has decided to take a more active role by submitting its candidacy for a nonpermanent member of the Security Council in the 2008-2009 mandate, Seks said.
On Friday, the last day of his three-day visit to the United States, the Croatian parliament speaker will meet representatives of Croatian Americans from New York.