I am
proud to represent a small but great nation, El Salvador,
before the Assembly. Our history has been full of
painful moments, but also times of hope and courage.
For years, we struggled to achieve democracy. We
marked a historic global milestone when we became
the first country in the region to end a painful civil war
through dialogue and reconciliation in order to begin to
build a democratic country.
Like most developing countries, we face the familiar
challenges of reducing poverty and social inequalities
and building the conditions needed for families to
have healthier and safer lives. Experience has shown
us that it is only through solidarity, respect, inclusion
and equity that we can overcome those challenges. In
recent years, we have made significant strides in human
development. In rural areas, we have reduced extreme
poverty to 13.6 per cent; we have allocated 14.8 per cent
of our gross domestic product to social spending; and
we have raised primary education coverage to 93.7 per
cent and reduced illiteracy by a little over 5 percentage
points. We have achieved an important reduction in
maternal mortality, and we have improved sanitation
services and access to drinking water for the population.
We have witnessed significant changes, and just
as we did 14 years ago at the Millennium Summit, we
are working on the parameters that will lead us to a
more just and equitable world. However, our debt to
humankind remains. We continue working to create
factors that can enhance our human development and
provide stronger social protection, which will allow us
to ensure universal access to basic social services on a
sustainable basis.
We are one year away from the most important
world summit in our history, where we will evaluate
the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), in
particular the goals that have been achieved, and
where we will define the new post-2015 development
agenda, based on a new comprehensive, transformative
and inclusive development paradigm. We believe in
a vision for development that meets the needs of our
peoples, in which all human beings have a full and
dignified life, living in democracy and enjoying the
right to sovereignty and determination and the right to
choose our path towards peace and development. The
new agenda must integrate universal issues, such as
migration, climate change, food security, education,
health, public safety and world peace. We must not keep
repeating the errors of the past. Based on the experience
of the MDGs, we must reduce the inequality gaps and
the structural causes of poverty and exclusion.
The new global agenda requires us to come to an
agreement on how to face the great threat of climate
change, which afflicts us with hardships and limits the
opportunities for families to live with dignity. The next
few months are key for the establishment of a road map
to implement the parameters of the new development
paradigm. We must work together, using an approach
based on shared but differentiated responsibilities.
It is urgent to amend the existing financial
architecture and international cooperation mechanisms
so that they meet the needs of our peoples with
effective institutions and transparent mechanisms.
We must renew the terms under which development
assistance is granted, review its amounts and ensure
the implementation of procedures that facilitate
the principles of sustainable development. The new
development indicators should make exclusion and
inequality visible. To that end, measurements must focus
on whether needs are met and opportunities provided.
The objectives and goals should address personal
fulfilment and our right to the pursuit of happiness as
much as the economic growth of countries.
I call upon the United Nations to maintain its
resources and programmes in Latin America, and
in particular in Central America, regardless of the
macroeconomic classification of our countries. To
reduce the United Nations presence would only
exacerbate the serious economic and social inequality
problems suffered by the region.
Financing for development is vital for the
implementation of the sustainable development goals
and the post-2015 development agenda. I reaffirm the
resolution adopted by the Council of Ministers of the
Central American Integration System (SICA), which
stresses that financing for development should be based
on the priorities of the countries concerned, making use
of innovative financing mechanisms. We must explore
new sources, such as the resources found in offshore
areas, a global asset to which only a handful of countries
now have access. El Salvador expresses its commitment
to the new global alliance for development, based on
the Monterrey Consensus, the Doha Declaration on
Financing for Development and the outcome document
of the United Nations Conference on Sustainable
Development (resolution 66/288, annex).
Much work still lies ahead. However, countries will
not be able to accomplish that work unilaterally, but
should rather take action within the framework of the
United Nations. We must also unite to advance the reform
process of the United Nations, especially since we need
a strengthened and renewed Organization. We need a
General Assembly, the main forum for global debate,
with an agenda focused on the most pressing issues of
the international community, and a Security Council
open to increased representation and participation
by all Member States. We call for the strong support
and political will of all Member States, so that we can
have an Organization that can provide timely support
in the face of the new challenges posed by history. In
the context of those global challenges, our Government
reaffirms its call for a comprehensive and inclusive
development agenda for social peace, capacity-building
and consensus-building across sectors.
In recent years, my country has launched a
transformation process that focuses on sustainable
development, the fight against poverty and the
reduction of inequality, exclusion and social injustice,
and that promotes an equality agenda with a focus on
gender and human rights. In our country, the Universal
Social Protection System Law is an invaluable tool that
integrates for the first time a network of social policies
and strategies that provides basic services to people, is
focused on the most vulnerable population groups and
is designed to address the main challenges we face.
El Salvador makes every effort to improve the quality
of life of the population and to build the conditions that
will help us to strengthen family unity, values and create
opportunities for new generations and raise awareness
about the risks of irregular migration, especially to the
United States. I call upon the international community
to support us in overcoming the situation generated
by the increased flow of unaccompanied migrant
children travelling to the United States. The United
Nations system, including the General Assembly,
must play a greater role in addressing the migration
issue and recognize that human mobility is a relevant
factor in the Organization’s work and include it in the
implementation of the post-2015 development agenda.
As we address that phenomenon, which has many
causes, we are convinced that we must act with a
comprehensive approach that provides protection
for the rights of our children, ensures respect for
the due process of law and provides support for the
reunification of children with their parents. We must
work with the communities of origin of the migrant
population to create better conditions and increase the
investment in education, health, safety and jobs — all
from a perspective of joint responsibility among the
countries of origin, transit and destination.
Threats to public safety represent another major
challenge faced by our country and others in the region
and throughout the world. We will not rest until we
ensure the necessary conditions for Salvadorans to live
safely and in peace. The various sectors of our society
are responding to the call of our Government, and we
hope that the international community will strengthen
its support for the titanic struggle that El Salvador and
Central America are waging against violence in all its
different forms.
We observe with concern the many conflicts and
threats to international peace and security. We deeply
regret the loss of lives, particularly of children, as
a result of the indiscriminate attacks in Gaza. We
welcome the peace plan presented by Egypt, and we
urge the parties involved to endeavour to ensure a firm
and lasting peace that achieves the coexistence of two
States, Israel and Palestine, within secure borders.
We are concerned about the recent attacks and
human rights violations committed by the self-
proclaimed Islamic State against the defenceless civilian
population. We call on the international community to
close ranks in United Nations bodies so as to put an end
to those brutal acts. Only the coordinated action of our
multilateral system can achieve the results to which we
all aspire.
We will always be committed to peace. All citizens
of the world must become peacemakers, as Saint
John Paul II himself said during one of his visits to
El Salvador. El Salvador, as a beneficiary of United
Nations support during our historic peace process,
cannot fail to strengthen its commitment to support
peacekeeping operations around the world. As a
country, we are providing support through our prompt
contribution to the United Nations Multidimensional
Integrated Stabilization Mission in Mali, and we are
standing with the Haitian people in their recovery
process, as part of a joint effort of the United Nations
system, which cannot be neglected.
I wish to stress that human rights is one of the
priority working areas of our foreign policy. In that
context, El Salvador has presented its candidacy to the
Human Rights Council, which will hold elections at
this session of the General Assembly. Our candidacy
represents an opportunity for us to continue to fulfil
our international commitments and to demonstrate the
importance of living under the rule of law in harmony
with our environment.
In our efforts in pursuit of peace and inclusive and
equitable development, there is no place for contempt
for fundamental principles and freedoms. I refer here
to the economic, trade and financial blockade against
the sister Republic of Cuba, which, in spite of that
unilateral action against its people, has overcome the
obstacles and adversity imposed on it with exemplary
perseverance and determination. Consequently,
El Salvador calls for an end to the blockade. We believe
that the inclusion of Cuba in the list of States sponsors
of international terrorism is unfounded. Cuba must be
removed from that mechanism, whose sole purpose is
to justify the blockade.
I want to highlight the contribution to multilateralism
made by the countries of Central and Latin America
and their regional organizations. Let me mention in
particular the Central American Integration System,
where we have be able to set out a multidimensional
regional agenda that guides our regional work through
five main pillars: economic integration, social
integration and the fight against poverty, comprehensive
disaster management and the adaptation to climate
change, institutional strengthening and democratic
security.
The Central and Latin American region needs
international support for the Central American
Security Strategy, which will allow our Governments
to complement national efforts and have a greater
impact on regional security. I reiterate the call for the
international community to give its full support to the
Strategy. The activities of regional bodies, such as SICA
and the Community of Latin American and Caribbean
States, are fundamental and are aimed at strengthening
solidarity and cooperation among all peoples of the
world.
As I have stated, we are witnessing an
unprecedented process of change in the world, which
brings with it both opportunities and challenges. If we
are to succeed, we must unite and integrate our peoples
and Governments in a global community — committed
to the values of democracy, peace, equality, progress
and development. I conclude by stating that, within
our modest possibilities, we are ready to meet that
challenge.