Costa Rica took great pleasure in supporting the election of Mr. Stoyan Ganev
to the presidency of the General Assembly at its forty-seventh session. His
election bears witness to a new era in the history of Bulgaria, an era of
freedom and pluralistic democracy.
My delegation sincerely congratulates the Secretary-General on his
masterful guidance of the work of the United Nations. Under his leadership
the Organization is with ever greater vigour assuming the central role that it
should play in international affairs.
Costa Rica warmly welcomes all the new Members of the United Nations.
Their presence in this Hall symbolizes the birth of a new era in international
relations based on the ideals of peace and freedom and cooperation between all
peoples.
Mankind has seen the threat of nuclear holocaust lifted; it has seen the
East-West ideological and military confrontation fade. But super-Power
confrontation has been replaced, quickly and bloodily, by conflicts whose
seemingly lesser magnitude does not make them any the less dangerous to world
peace.
The outbreak for the most absurd reasons of a number of conventional
wars confirms our belief that it is more important than ever to make progress
in the field of disarmament. The end of the East-West conflict provides a
unique opportunity to make decisive advances in that sphere and to impose
strict controls on the arms trade. The fading of the nuclear threat must not
take us back to the era of continuous war.
Old sins cast long shadows. Today, as in 1914, we look with dismay
at events in the Balkans. A State Member of the United Nations, Bosnia and
Herzegovina, is fighting for survival in the midst of a bloody and
unjustifiable war. Peace initiatives fail one after the other. A final
solution to this senseless holocaust is not yet in sight.
Costa Rica is deeply concerned at the dimensions this regional European
conflict is taking on, and at the number of innocent victims, which grows
daily. The international community reacts tepidly, and, incomprehensibly, is
reluctant to take the firm and vigorous stand that returned sovereignty to
Kuwait.
How many thousands of deaths must there be for a conflict to be worthy of
international interest? The case of Somalia reveals how far we still have to
go before we can truly speak of a family of united nations. The conflict in
Somalia did not command our interest until 2 million people were about to die
of hunger and our consciences were struck by the terrible images of Somali
children begging for food. Regrettably the tragedy of Somalia is only the
most terrible aspect of the tragedy of sub-Saharan Africa, which is suffering
a slow death of despair, hunger, poverty and underdevelopment and is met with
the indifference of the community of nations.
The end of the cold war has not decreased the depth of the abyss between
north and south; indeed, it increases daily with technological advances.
Third world countries not only do not receive an adequate response to their
needs and expectations, but are witnessing a reduction in outlets for their
products and in financial aid for development. The stagnation of the Uruguay
Round, the increase in protective measures adopted by industrialized nations,
and the reductions in development programmes are, oddly, occurring at a time
when Latin America has become a continent of democracies and when many African
and Asian countries have again taken the road to civil and political liberty.
Some regrettable steps backwards have already been taken. Latin American
democracy has suffered severe setbacks in Peru and Haiti. In Peru there seems
to be movement towards a solution, despite the fact that the country is still
overrun by the irrationality of terrorism and the worst economic situation in
its history. In contrast, the problem in Haiti, the poorest and most
underdeveloped country in the Americas, grows worse every day. Because Costa
Rica belongs to the Caribbean, Haiti's tragedy is of special concern to us.
My country believes that both the United Nations and the regional
organizations should pay more attention to this matter and strive harder for a
prompt solution to the crisis. We are not talking about the legitimacy of a
president or a government, but about the right of a sister nation to live in
freedom and receive the cooperation it desperately needs for its development.
I have mentioned only two examples, but I believe they are dramatically
representative. An overwhelming majority of third world democracies are still
on the road to consolidation. This consolidation will be difficult, however,
without a substantial improvement in their economic and social conditions,
which in turn requires that developed countries change their attitude in
respect to opening their markets and increasing their cooperation. It need
hardly be said that the worse the conditions become in third world countries,
the greater will be the number of legal or illegal immigrants to developed
countries, despite the ethnocentric, racist movements which, shamefully in
this era, are again on the rise.
Needless to say, the third world countries must do their part too.
International cooperation, regardless of its magnitude, will not change the
situation of the receiving country if it does not exert a disciplined and
determined effort to make progress.
It is no secret that in many cases financial aid intended for development
has been misspent on unproductive and grandiose projects. It has been used to
pay salaries and has even been placed in personal bank accounts. Meanwhile,
the people continue to suffer hunger and poverty. Therefore if cooperation
with the underdeveloped countries is to increase, those countries must fight
harder against bureaucracy and administrative corruption and must redouble
their efforts to ensure that international aid truly fulfils its objectives.
At a time when the economic situation is difficult even for many
industrialized nations, and when the European Community is undergoing one of
the worst monetary crises of its history, priority should also be given to
increasing South-South cooperation. Each of us has something to give and
something to receive. The common condition of third world countries does not
prevent us from recognizing that there are many stages of development and many
possibilities for cooperation. Moreover, the growing importance of
integration institutions offers a great opportunity to intensify the levels of
interregional cooperation by means of effective and coordinated actions which
will contribute to fortifying the democratic system through economic and
social progress.
Costa Rica wishes to stress the efforts to ensure coordination and
cooperation being made by the countries of Latin America; they clearly show
the region's determination to resolve differences through the use of machinery
for peaceful settlement established in international law. In this connection,
my Government congratulates El Salvador and Honduras on completing their case
before the International Court of Justice, making it possible to settle their
border conflict. At the same time, we express our satisfaction with the
efforts being made by Ecuador and Peru to find a just and final solution to
the bilateral border dispute which for so many years has existed between these
two fraternal countries.
Democracy can flourish only if electoral pluralism is combined with
respect for human rights. Costa Rica assigns primary importance to these
rights, which for many years now we have made the foundation for both our
internal life and our external policies. Consequently, my country takes a
great interest in the World Conference on Human Rights, scheduled to be held
in Vienna next year, and we are very happy to serve as the site of the
preparatory meeting for the Latin American and Caribbean region. We are also
pleased to know that during the Vienna Conference some countries will discuss
the possibility of creating the post of United Nations High Commissioner for
Human Rights. Costa Rica has submitted this idea to the General Assembly
repeatedly since the 1970s, and we firmly hope that it will finally take shape
at the World Conference.
My delegation also wishes to express Costa Rica's firm support for the
mechanism established by the Economic and Social Council in 1991 to allow the
Commission on Human Rights to hold special sessions to take up serious
violations of fundamental rights. We deem it necessary to continue the search
for flexible machinery which will stop and prevent massive violations of human
rights in a timely manner. We should like to recall here the Costa Rican
proposal - approved by the Human Rights Committee at the beginning of this
year for a treaty on prevention of torture.
The negotiations on the complex problems of South Africa and the Middle
East are doubtless of great importance to the cause of human rights.
In this and other forums my country has rigorously condemned the
apartheid regime, an offensive and unjustifiable anachronism that deprives the
majority of the South African people of their fundamental rights. We have
welcomed, with optimism, the beginning of negotiations between the Pretoria
regime and the African National Congress, and we firmly hope that, leaving
aside the reprehensible acts that have occurred in Ciskei and other parts of
South Africa, the renewed peace talks will soon lead to the construction of a
new, democratic and peace-loving South Africa that will work towards the
development of the entire continent. Costa Rica urges that resolute steps be
taken in that direction.
The need for long-lasting peace in the Middle East has been a matter of
constant concern to the United Nations almost ever since it was established.
Now, for the first time in the eventful history of this region, effective
peace talks are taking place with the participation of all interested
parties. Nevertheless, it is my Government's opinion that this process should
move faster and should be accompanied by a substantial improvement in the
human rights situation in the Middle East without distinction as to race,
nationality or religious creed. It is important that in this case, as in many
other cases, the international community should contribute, in a vigilant
manner, to promoting peace and assuring respect for the fundamental rights of
individuals and communities.
Peace is possible regardless of the number of human lives lost in a
conflict or of how much damage has been caused. Human beings are capable of
forgetting extremism and of talking with their opponents when the future of
their children is at stake. The recent history of Central America is vivid
Proof that a cruel and lengthy conflict can be stopped by means of negotiation.
During the 1980s, Central America suffered an unprecedented political and
security crisis marked by intimations of totalitarism and by guerrilla
activity, flows of refugees, an arms buildup, the destruction of
infrastructure and an alarming extension of the East-West confrontation.
Fortunately, today most of these features belong to the past. Democracy and
political freedom reign in all the Central American countries, several
national reconciliation processes are at present under way, arms limitation
talks are moving ahead and a vigorous effort for integration is in progress.
Nevertheless, the experience of Central America also shows the
international community that it is very difficult to consolidate advances
achieved in matters relating to peace and democracy if the underlying reality
of underdevelopment and poverty continues to exist. The democratic and
peaceful Central America of today has seen the world lose interest in its
problems. It has witnessed a decline in the cooperation that existed when it
was in turmoil. The Latin American peoples' effort to change their destiny
has collided with the increasing indifference of the developed nations.
Financial aid is being reduced. Coffee and bananas, our leading export
products, are encountering more and more obstacles. We are being urged to
diversify our production, but international markets are not opening up to us.
Central America is being urged to advance towards democracy without our being
given the tools that will lead us to development. Political democracy alone,
regrettably, is not a panacea for the social problems of our countries. It is
true that it is possible to live in democracy even with poverty, but in
countries that have just started to experience democracy, democracy will not
sink its roots very deep if it is not accompanied by improvements in
nutrition, housing and public health.
It is not possible to approach most of the subjects being discussed here,
including international cooperation, from one point of view alone. The
present international situation is an especially promising opportunity for all
nations, regardless of their resources, to work in a coordinated manner to
combat common enemies and to build a better world for our children. This
plurality of vision is, for example, the only way to confront, with any
prospect of success, the problem of drug trafficking and production, which is
harmful to producing and consumer countries alike, and is aggravated by the
accompanying terrorism and guerrilla warfare.
Unquestionably, the most important problem we must face as a species is
that of saving the planet's ecological, economic and social integrity, for
ourselves and for future generations. Costa Rica, which has been a victim,
like many other countries, of the irrational destruction and exploitation of
its national resources, has reconsidered and now emphasizes the need for a new
international ecological order that will save mankind from its progressive
environmental suicide and reorient the course of its development.
I am very pleased to announce to this Assembly that, in accordance with
Costa Rica's offer of 3 September to set up, in the capital city of my
country, the organizing committee of the Earth Council, a non-governmental
organization that will supplement and support governmental follow-up of the
Rio agreements.
The Rio Conference, regardless of all its limitations, is a magnificent
landmark in the fight against environmental degradation and unsustainable
development patterns. But how much has really been done to put into effect
what was agreed there? Will we limit ourselves to regarding the Rio
Conference as a kind of community of ecological nations packed with
fine-sounding words and good intentions but lacking results?
The triumph of ecological degradation creates only losers. Safeguarding
the environment, sustainable development and the struggle against poverty are
joint responsibilities of both the industrialized and the underdeveloped
world. Hence the United Nations is an ideal forum for making efforts in that
direction, for demanding compliance with the Rio resolutions and for imposing
sanctions on those Members that disregard them. While there are mechanisms
for collective international action to combat threats to international peace
and security, there should also be, within the United Nations, procedures for
acting against those who endanger human survival, the planet's resources and
social justice, and for imposing sanctions against them.
As the Secretary-General has stated, the question of world peace,
stability and security should include subjects other than military matters.
It is logical, then, that the changes that have taken place in the world and
the new realities being encountered by mankind today make it imperative for
the United Nations, a pillar of the joint efforts of nations, to reorganize in
order to fulfil its important mission more effectively. From this
perspective, my country considers it indispensable that the United Nations
should comply fully with the principle of universality and open its doors to
those who, for various reasons, have been forced to remain outside it.
Of special concern to us is the case of the Republic of China in Taiwan,
a democratic community of 21 million people with a brilliant economic
development record whose reality cannot continue to be ignored by an
Organization that takes pride in having gone beyond the patterns of the cold
war.
In addition, it is imperative that the structures and procedures of the
United Nations be revised to conform with the realities of our times. The
Secretary-General, in his outstanding report, "An Agenda for Peace", has
written with commendable accuracy about the most important aspects which need
to be modified in a relatively short period of time. Costa Rica wishes today
to declare that it shares most of the concerns stated in that document and
urges all Member States to begin a vigorous effort for institutional renewal.
One of the most important areas that should be revised is the Security
Council, in terms of its make-up and objectives. We believe that the number
of permanent members should be increased, in accordance with the new realities
of the international scene, and based on better and greater geographical
representation. We also deem it necessary to reconsider the institution of
the veto and reflect upon the corresponding role of the Council in maintaining
world peace and security, as well as its relationship to the General
Assembly. Some thought should also be given to strengthening, modernizing and
reducing bureaucracy in the Economic and Social Council.
This is a good time also to mention the importance of coordination
between the United Nations and other international forums. Regardless of the
inevitable difficulties, the integration movement continues apace in Europe,
Asia, South America and Central America. We the Central Americans, joined by
democracy in all our countries, have reconsidered our outmoded system of
integration to adapt it to the new regional realities, and only a few months
ago the Treaty that establishes, on a new basis, the Central American
Integration System came into force. Costa Rica is confident that this new
organization will become the arena for persistent efforts towards our shared
future and in keeping with the Secretary-General's proposal, it will shortly
be in a position to request observer status in the United Nations.
In a few days the anniversary of the meeting of two hemispheres the
meeting of the whole world with itself - will be celebrated. Since the dawn
of that day, a Friday in October, mankind was able to start thinking with a
sense of family and of inevitable common destiny. Now, on the threshold of
the third millennium, that unavoidable mission of mankind is stronger than
ever before, and the United Nations is its most important embodiment.
Here at the United Nations, and in everyone's country and in everyone's
home, the wise words of sura XXVIII of the Holy Koran hold true:
"... [Do not] forget thy portion in this
World: but do thou good.
As God has been good
To thee ...
"That Home of the Hereafter
We shall give to those
Who intend not high-handedness
Or mischief on earth:
And the End is (best)
For the righteous." (The Holy Koran. XXVIII:77.83)