Chile

I would like first of all to express to you, Sir, our warm congratulations on your election as President of the General Assembly at its fifty-fourth session. We join the earlier delegations in wishing you success in the important task of guiding our debates. I would like to express to your predecessor, the Minister for Foreign Affairs of the Eastern Republic of Uruguay, Mr. Didier Opertti, our gratitude for his outstanding leadership as President of the Assembly at its fifty-third session. I also wish to convey very special greetings to the Secretary-General, Mr. Kofi Annan, and to express our deep appreciation for the work that he has done and our firm support for his efforts to achieve peace in a year that has been of critical importance for the United Nations. Chile extends a hearty welcome to the new Member States of our Organization, Kiribati, Nauru and the 19 Kingdom of Tonga, fraternal countries of the Pacific community. Globalization and interdependence require new and stronger international institutions. As the international environment becomes increasingly complex and difficult, the United Nations, with all its limitations, remains the only global actor capable of addressing not only the problems of cooperation and global conflict, but also issues that, by their very nature, are no longer within the exclusive competence of States. The expansion of the international agenda and the need for collective management of the problems of interdependence are the impetus for this trend. The issue of democracy, or rather of the lack of democracy, has ceased to be exclusively a sovereign matter for countries to deal with; it has become a universal concern that no Government can ignore. Protection of the environment has an indisputable international dimension, inasmuch as issues of vital importance for our future, such as climate change, the pollution and over-exploitation of the oceans, the deterioration of the ozone layer and growing desertification, all require global remedies. Increasingly strict international regimes are being established for the regulation and prohibition of weapons of mass destruction and for the elimination of anti-personnel landmines. The fight against drug-trafficking can be truly effective only if it is waged within a framework of close regional and international cooperation, based on the principle of shared responsibility. Such moving issues as the treatment of refugees, the fight against hunger and major epidemics fall squarely within the scope of multilateral action. The Government of Chile enthusiastically supports this trend towards a new multilateralism. The crisis in Kosovo revealed one of the most serious weaknesses and contradictions of the United Nations. The policies of ethnic cleansing supported by the Serbian leadership in that region required an immediate and vigorous response by the international community. It was truly regrettable that our Organization was prevented from the outset from taking action with the vigour that the situation required. It was also regrettable that the solution to the crisis was found outside the appropriate framework of United Nations mechanisms and in contravention of the principles of the Charter. There is clearly a responsibility shared by all the permanent members of the Security Council for the inadequate functioning of the mechanisms of collective security. Once again, it was evident that the veto or the threat of its use can reduce to impotence the world's principal organ of collective security. Once again, it was evident that, when this occurs, a vacuum is created that can lead to the unilateral use of force without the prior authorization of the Security Council. More recently, the United Nations has had to face a new challenge, a fresh humanitarian tragedy that it had to stop at all costs. I refer to the crisis in East Timor. Chile supported with hope and enthusiasm the holding of the referendum on 30 August, which was made possible by the significant agreement reached between Indonesia and Portugal under United Nations auspices. A Chilean delegation of two distinguished parliamentarians was able to observe the successful organization of the electoral process and the admirable work of the United Nations volunteers and staff. They also witnessed the onset of the incidents that culminated in the massacre of which we are all aware. These acts are totally unacceptable. We are pleased that the Republic of Indonesia has requested the intervention of the United Nations to put an end to violence on the island. We are encouraged by the fact that, after so many unnecessary deaths, it has been possible to organize a multinational force under the efficient leadership of Australia. I wish to reiterate and reaffirm the commitment of Chile to the peacekeeping operations of the United Nations. Without interruption since 1949, my country has lent its cooperation to several of these operations. Today, we are expanding our participation in this field and have decided to contribute to the peacekeeping forces deployed in Kosovo and in East Timor. In February, Chile formally joined the reserve forces system. We have already identified the personnel to be kept at the ready in terms of military units, police monitors and civilian experts. I wish to stress the importance that we attach to the implementation of the Ottawa Convention on the Prohibition of the Use, Stockpiling, Production and Transfer of Anti-personnel Mines and on Their Destruction, which Chile has signed and for which it is completing the formalities required for its approval by our National Congress. In keeping with the spirit and purpose of that instrument, I reiterate my country's commitment not to produce, export, import or lay any new anti- personnel landmines, as we demonstrated last April in our official declaration of a unilateral moratorium. My country notes with optimism and hope the positive signs that have recently emerged with regard to 20 the long-awaited resumption of the peace process between Israel and the Palestinian people. Chile has resolutely supported this process from the very beginning and noted with great concern its virtual paralysis. We hope that the Israelis and the Palestinians alike will have the courage and resolve to opt unambiguously for dialogue and peace. Chile expresses its concern and frustration at the obstacles that continue to block the self-determination referendum provided for under the United Nations Settlement Plan for Western Sahara. We hope that the date that has been set will be honoured so that the Sahraoui people can have the opportunity to express their preference in a free, informed and transparent manner. Latin America has continued to make significant contributions to international peace and stability throughout the year. A final settlement has been achieved in the border conflict between two fraternal peoples on our continent: Ecuador and Peru. As one of the four guarantor countries of the 1941 treaty by which those two countries are bound, Chile is pleased to have contributed to the rapprochement between the parties and to have facilitated the dialogue that led this year to the settlement of their differences and the signing of a peace agreement. The border between Argentina and Chile is one of the longest in the world. Numerous disagreements have arisen in the past over its demarcation. Thanks to the political will of the two nations, it has been possible to find solutions to each one of these problems. I have the deep satisfaction of announcing to this Assembly that we have reached a settlement with Argentina on the last remaining border dispute between our peoples. Our Parliaments have adopted the Campo de Hielo Sur agreement and we can now concentrate without distraction on the task of developing a relationship of peace, friendship and cooperation and a true strategic alliance between our two countries. Four years have passed since, on the occasion of the commemoration of the fiftieth anniversary of the United Nations, the Member States undertook to intensify efforts to reform and democratize the Organization's structures in order to equip it to deal with the new and complex challenges that it faces in a constantly changing international environment. We must acknowledge, however, that little progress has been made. It has become a truism to point to the changes that have occurred in the international system set up after the Second World War. Less frequently mentioned is the fact that the institutions have not kept pace with these changes. Chile has stressed the need for due importance to be given to the process of reforming the General Assembly as the prime deliberative and decision-making body of the entire system. It is only here that all Member States are represented on an equal footing. On this occasion, we reaffirm our position that the reform of the Security Council must take into account such criteria and principles as the sovereign equality of States, equitable geographic representation and the need to create conditions for a functioning that would guarantee greater transparency and democracy in the working methods and procedures of that body. The persistence of the veto — which, moreover, can be exercised without any public justification — represents a serious obstacle to the achievement of substantive agreements. It is a fact that most of the obstacles to the admission of new permanent members are directly related to the right of veto that accompanies such membership. Clearly, the loosening of regulations that govern the free circulation across borders of the knowledge, goods and capital that are characteristic elements of globalization has entailed significant benefits for our societies. It is also true, however, that globalization has thrown up new challenges and, in some cases, new risks, particularly those associated with capital movement. The international financial crisis of recent years has demonstrated our ongoing vulnerability to events that we cannot control and for which we are not entirely responsible. Following the near collapse of the international financial system, the demand for structural reform has increased exponentially. Today, while the situation appears more hopeful, nothing has changed in substance. The systemic risks remain. We must relaunch, with fresh impetus and vigour, the necessary reform process to stabilize the international financial system in the future. Capital flows far exceed the value of world trade. It is ironic that, while we have devoted so much effort to establishing new trade regimes throughout the world, so little has been done in the field of international finance. The point is certainly not to impede the international flow of capital, but to establish an appropriate international framework to address the problems to which it may give rise. We cannot continue to be passive spectators as financial crises interrupt world growth and limit the development of our countries. 21 It is also essential that we put all our energies into the new round of multilateral trade negotiations that is just beginning. The multilateral trade system, reflected most accurately in the World Trade Organization, must be strengthened with a view to ensuring sustained and genuinely equitable growth for all countries. It is essential that the new round soon to start in Seattle be balanced so as to reflect the interests of developed and developing countries alike. We also hope that it will be comprehensive in its thematic coverage. We oppose a limited approach in the form of sectoral trade negotiations. In the framework of the agendas of United Nations summits and conferences, the closing decade has witnessed gatherings at the highest level to consider the urgent social problems that beset mankind. From Copenhagen to Rio de Janeiro, Beijing to Cairo, Vienna to New York, the United Nations has accomplished a superlative task in reviewing problems and adopting programmes of action in the most important social spheres. In this connection, we attach the greatest importance to the follow-up and implementation of agreements emanating from the World Summit for Social Development. A special session of the General Assembly, to be held in Geneva next June, should renew the international community's commitment to the process begun in Copenhagen. We welcome the recent Convention of the International Labour Organization (ILO) on the prohibition of the most severe forms of child labour. We are confident that that organization, under the leadership of our fellow Chilean, Mr. Juan Somav'a, will play an increasingly relevant role in the new international social agenda. Violations of the basic rights of individuals can no longer be considered an exclusively domestic problem of a country. Protection of these rights is the inescapable task of the international community. This has been recognized by Chile, which, since regaining democracy in 1990, has firmly and sincerely supported the establishment of effective universal and regional regimes for the protection of human rights. We must bear in mind that the international regime for the protection of human rights is fragmentary and evolving. It consists of a set of standards and institutions that are gradually beginning to be applied with many gaps and imperfections. It should also be noted that this regime is being applied within the context of a certain international reality characterized by important differences in the relative power of countries and by selective and sometimes paternalistic practices. Genocide and massive violations of human rights are destined to fall within the competence of international tribunals. Chile welcomes that tendency, but it also recognizes that we are now in a transitional stage of the process of globalization of justice. In this stage the norms of jurisdictions are not clear and are subject to various interpretations, including some that may be arbitrary and erroneous. Chile regained its democracy almost 10 years ago. My Government represents those who fought for nearly two decades to restore Chile's tradition of freedom. Our economy has experienced remarkable growth during this period. We scrupulously respect human rights. We participate avidly in furthering Latin American integration. We are adhering to the new regimes being established by the international community in very diverse spheres. We have also faced the dilemma of administering justice with respect to violations of human rights that occurred in the past in our country. This choice has led to considerable tension. Many countries that began the process of transition to democracy in more favourable conditions than Chile's preferred to circumvent such tensions by refraining from prosecuting very serious crimes that occurred during the previous regimes. In these circumstances, what grounds would exist for the judiciary of a third State to exercise jurisdiction with respect to acts that are currently the subject of proceedings in the court of the State in which those acts were committed? There is no denial of justice in Chile. We do not accept impunity for human rights violations. The Government has initiated a broad dialogue to deal with the consequences of the most serious human rights violations that occurred in our country, particularly the tragedy of those who were arrested and disappeared. At present nearly 300 cases relating to human rights violations committed during the authoritarian regime that governed our country between 1973 and 1990 are being tried in Chilean courts. In several cases, the Chilean courts have convicted the accused and have sentenced them to prison terms that are now being served in penitentiaries. We would understand if the organized international community attempted to administer justice in countries in which the rule of law did not prevail or where the most basic human rights continued to be trampled. But in a democratic State the task of administering justice must be undertaken by that State and its institutions. 22 The Government of Chile considers it highly undesirable that judges of other countries should claim jurisdiction to intervene directly in that process. This claim to jurisdiction, based on the principle of separation of powers, means plainly and simply ignoring the principle of the juridical equality of States. Interference in matters within our country's jurisdiction is inappropriate and misplaced and is tantamount to a lack of respect for our State of law and our democracy. Today this interference affects Chile and other fraternal countries of the Southern Cone of Latin America. Tomorrow it may extend to the rest of the international community, leading to juridical chaos and competing judicial claims that will end up damaging the international relations of many of our countries. But our reaction to these imperfections and discriminatory practices is not to seek refuge in outdated principles and notions. On the contrary: we must move forward towards a clear, orderly and non-discriminatory regime, such as the one envisaged in the Statute of the International Criminal Court. The establishment of a permanent organ designed to exercise criminal jurisdiction over persons accused of any of the crimes over which it has competence will have the virtue of discouraging both improper internal procedures that guarantee the impunity of the perpetrators and attempts by judges in other countries to make themselves the righteous of the world. I wish to conclude by expressing prudent optimism for the future of our Organization. Many States and other actors, such as non-governmental organizations that make up our increasingly vibrant international civil society, would like to raise the standing of the United Nations. We hope that the Millennium Assembly, to which we have given all our support, will become the symbol of a renewed and much stronger United Nations as it faces the new century.