During the 70th session of the UN General Assembly focusing on the post-2015 development agenda, the Croatian president raised the question of whether "we can truly say that we are doing enough to ensure peace, security and human rights? Are we doing enough to protect our Planet, the only one we have? Member States, all 193 of us, should not forget how important membership is, nor how important the commitments that we have made are, to ensuring global peace and security."
"We live in a world so rich with potential and beauties, natural and man-made alike, yet we have witnessed atrocity after atrocity," she said, pointing out that "too often, we have to deal with the consequences of our inaction. Too often, instead of solving problems at their source and addressing root causes in their early stages, we spend more time and resources on the crises that we have allowed to spin out of control. This is because we ignored the early signs or we just didn’t have the time or the courage to get involved."
Warning that "the current migrants crisis that has over-flooded many European states is a textbook example of the consequences of inaction," Grabar-Kitarovic said that countries were exposed to a wave of migrants, who have fled conflicts in the Middle East and are trying to reach the West.
"The challenge of the migrants crisis has somehow triggered a connection of geography and peoples’ destinies, and has reminded us of the tragic consequences of unresolved conflicts."
"We urgently need to stand together in the face of this huge challenge and mobilise all our efforts to fight ISIL/Da’esh and all forms of intolerance and discrimination. At the same time, we have to bring prospects for a peaceful resolution of these conflicts and pave the way for better life. It is not enough only to end human suffering – it is equally important to provide hope and opportunities," the Croatian president said in her address.
As for education, she appealed for education of children and for promotion of tolerance.
"The first thing that always comes to mind is to educate our children, our future generations – to work harder at achieving global citizenship – to build on the UN idea of a global classroom, such as the Global Education Initiative, in which Croatia is proud to be a Champion country."
"We must promote education about tolerance, trust, compassion, integrity, truth and respect for the dignity of the individual and gender equality."
Concerning the situation in Ukraine, she said that Croatia remains committed to Ukraine’s sovereignty, independence and territorial integrity as well as to assisting and supporting Ukraine on its reformist path towards its peaceful and prosperous future.
Croatia is also committed to the completion of processes of Euro-Atlantic integration of South-East Europe.
"Particularly, as we approach the 20th anniversary of the Dayton Peace Accords, we all should support Bosnia and Herzegovina as a politically emancipated state, taking decisions for the benefit and prosperity of its three equal constituent peoples and other communities and individuals."
She said that her country "welcomes the work of the High-level Independent Panel on Peace Operations and their review of UN peacekeeping operations. We hope that the delivered report will provide guidance in the future for increasing the effectiveness of UN peace operations as one of the key mechanisms for ensuring global peace and stability."
Grabar-Kitarovic said that "Croatia is proud to preside over the First Review Conference to the Convention on Cluster Munitions, which are among the most insidious types of weapons that continue to be a threat long after the conflict ends. It is no coincidence that the Conference took place in Dubrovnik, a city that suffered attacks from these kinds of weapons in the Homeland War."
"Size wise, Croatia is at the 124th place in the world, but we are determined that our international presence and relevance go way beyond our size."
She called on world leaders to accept solidarity and "find a dialogue with your adversaries".