Honduras

First of all, I am happy to express to you, Sir, my personal congratulations on your unanimous election to the responsible post of President of the General Assembly. We are all the more pleased because your human qualities and professional skills are certain to make a valuable contribution to the success of this session of the General Assembly and because you represent Côte d’Ivoire and Africa, a brother continent of Latin America, whose hopes and aspirations we share. Our thanks go as well to your distinguished predecessor, the representative of Guyana, Samuel Insanally, who so skilfully presided over the General Assembly at its forty-eighth session. From this rostrum, the rostrum of world peace, which has seen a succession of the most notable representatives of all the nations, I address the peoples of the globe on behalf of 5.5 million Hondurans. Honduras has emerged from the remarkable culture of the Mayas, who, in centuries past, invented the zero and developed mathematics, cultivated architecture, predicted eclipses, and produced an extraordinarily accurate calendar. The ruins of Copán bear eloquent and beautiful testimony to the greatness of a civilization that strove to keep a written record of all that it did. Today, on the eve of the twenty-first century, we can barely decipher the wisdom contained in their petroglyphs. I am speaking, then, on behalf of a people whose roots go deep down into history, a people that after some centuries brought forth such world-class Central Americanists and pan-Americanists as Francisco Morazán and José Cecilio del Valle. Like the Maya, the people of Honduras are deeply peace-loving, and their democratic calling has evolved unblemished. In the midst of the Central American war, Honduras remained at peace. None the less, it was not spared the harsh consequences of the great Central American crisis that devastated the region during the last two decades and from whose aftermath we still suffer. Notwithstanding the many virtues of the Honduran people, we are still afflicted by economic, social, cultural and health problems that hamper development, obstruct the full exercise of human rights and immerse many families in dire poverty. Exactly eight months ago today, I took on the leadership of the destiny of Honduras through the freely expressed will of our people. We are preparing the country for the titanic struggle against corruption, the hard battle against poverty and the fight against illiteracy, for stabilization of the economy and for conservation of the environment. Peace and development require, above all, shelter, sustenance, land and jobs for all. They require universal justice, hope for everyone and promising prospects for every woman, man, girl and boy. In the face of all the challenges of the present, we have opted to implement a moral revolution capable of straightening out the administration of the State and of transforming the country peacefully and democratically. The driving principles and values behind that moral revolution are larger than my people and Honduras’s geographical dimensions. The moral revolution, behind which I throw myself wholeheartedly, permeates our links with other States and the international legal community. The moral revolution means good government, economic growth with equity, transparency in the administration of the State and decency in the taking of important decisions and in daily work; it is political democracy, national identity, lush forests and healthy children; it is economics with a human face, the theory and practice of integration with the fraternal countries of Central America, international solidarity and support for the peaceful settlement of conflicts; it is, in short, a clear and resolute step towards mankind’s next millennium. On the global level we are witnessing the last rites of the cold war. We have seen the last of the after-effects of the Second World War, effects that lingered on into this decade. We are witnessing the globalization of markets and the resurgence of ethnic groups crying out for their own identity. We are seeing the unilateral actions of some States give way to multilateral operations framed by the legislation of this great world gathering. We see that colonialism has come crashing down like, in the words of our national anthem, a black-feathered bird, and that cooperation among free, sovereign and independent nations is growing day by day. We are participants in the historic transformation of democracy from a national value into a universal one, from something practised intermittently in certain countries into a standard form of behaviour for States. All this heralds a new dawn for mankind. But all these triumphs, however grand, are still not enough. The differences between North and South necessitate a far-reaching dialogue in order that mankind may not be torn asunder yet again. International cooperation for peaceful development must take place soon and to a greater degree than that seen during times of war or conflict. Central America is emerging, still licking its wounds, from the savage blows of two decades of deep crisis and bloodshed. A quarter of a million dead is the huge and tragic price that Central Americans paid for the cold war. Billions of dollars were poured into destruction and military confrontation between brothers. Now, unfortunately, only scant resources are being invested in building new democracies and new economies. This is a challenge for Central Americans and the international community alike. Our region is replacing the agenda of war with that of peace and sustainable development. Our region - and in this respect my country is a trail-blazer - is bringing down the curtain on an era of confrontation and bringing it back up on one of unity and solidarity. In the era just past we had a lot of help; but for the one that is opening up we can see very little. Although our own efforts are the engine of our development, international cooperation can strengthen us and speed up our progress. For this reason we call the attention of the international community to the fact that all those who contributed to our destruction have a moral obligation to cooperate in our reconstruction and to help undo the reversals the region suffered because of the two decades of crisis. My Government and people view with profound optimism the positive turn of events that has taken place in the conduct of Governments. Louis XIV considered himself the State: "L’état, c’est moi." Hegel envisaged the State as God’s path towards the Earth, perfect reason which never errs. That led to the doctrine of raison d’état as the motivating force behind the conduct of Governments. Now, in the post-cold-war period, a new motivating force is emerging: humanitarian reason. This change is symbolized by our passage not only from one 2 century to the next, but, indeed, from one millennium to the next. It is, in effect, a thousand-year leap: from governmental policy based on the interests of the State to international relations inspired by humanitarian concerns. In this period of radical transition for mankind, there are lights at the end of the tunnel: the collapse of various barriers, the weakening of racial segregation, the casting off of shackles that had kept different nationalities artificially bound together, the worldwide spread of democracy, and the emergence of détente as a feature of inter-State relations. These trends augur well for the building of a new world order based on peace, mutual support and broad tolerance. The growing realization that reason must prevail over force should prompt our national leaders to convert those rays of hope into great beacons for the maintenance of peace, security, democracy and, hence, sustainable development. My country and people regard the development of the new international economic order with stoicism as the world becomes divided into blocs based on economic and strategic interests. The nation-State is suffering a crisis of identity and threats to its sovereignty. We are witnessing new geopolitical formations in which power is being transnationalized and the struggle for hegemony is passing into another dimension. The new structure of the world economy is marked by the supranational nature of decision- making in the field of finance and international trade. If this emerging new international economic order is not managed prudently, if we do not infuse it with humanism and morality, we run the risk that in the short term the already-existing rift in the world between poor nations and rich nations - what we used to call the North and the South - will widen further. The following words of a Honduran poet speak eloquently to this: "The poor are so many that it is hard to forget them - so many that they could be the pallbearers of a celestial body." It is vital to have a more equitable new international order. Now more than ever, justice in the South is a prerequisite for peace in the North. The industrialized States need to demonstrate their readiness to respond to the economic proposals of the developing countries, which represent two thirds of the Earth’s people. These thoughts should serve merely to stimulate our imagination in the quest for solutions to prevent the deterioration of our political, economic and social systems. In the process of globalization, under the banner of democracy in the political field and the market economy in the economic field, we have been making intense efforts at the regional and subregional levels to reduce political and economic differences among countries and regions on the basis of the norms and institutions that should guide our collective life towards a basic model, one fashioned in accordance with the principles that underpin this world Organization. The United Nations must therefore pursue the analysis and discussion of the major issues that call for thorough reflection in this process of political, economic and social globalization. Indeed, there has been a marked increase in recourse to the United Nations as an instrument to prevent, avert or halt international conflicts, and in order to legitimize the right of intervention in the case of conflict between a State and its population or a State and the international community - but always in search of peace, freedom and democracy. The manifest resolve of the States Members of this Organization to work in concert towards this objective has been remarkable and vigorous, but it should be borne in mind that good intentions are of little use unless supported by the political will to take the difficult decisions required by situations such as this. Let the apologists of violence and those who are nostalgic for power have no doubt that our political will to avert regional conflicts is unswerving, and that our political action is designed to promote stability, legitimacy and the development of effective democracies. We share the concern and the distress at the events occurring in the sister country of Haiti. There is a pressing need to put an end to this grave situation, which is an affront to human dignity and to the self- determination of peoples. My Government supports a peaceful settlement of the problem and is ready, within its limitations, to take part in a United Nations peace-keeping mission once democracy is restored to that fraternal country. Just as we felt great satisfaction at the signing, last year, of the historic mutual recognition agreement between the State of Israel and the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO), we are gratified by the decision of the State of Israel and the Kingdom of Jordan to sign the Washington Declaration of 25 July 1994. It reflects the aspirations of the two peoples and Governments and seeks to find formulas for mutual understanding that will put an end to their substantial differences. 3 My Government was particularly pleased to see a bleak chapter of human history in South Africa end with the coming to office of a new Government led by President Nelson Mandela. Today we look forward to seeing the aspirations to freedom, peace, democracy and development whose fulfilment that great leader desires for his people become a reality. Similarly, though with a sadness that I cannot conceal, I must say that events in Bosnia and Herzegovina and the tragedy of Rwanda cause us considerable distress and anguish. These fratricidal conflicts should impel us to act urgently to eliminate armed aggression, genocide and the practice of "ethnic cleansing" once and for all. We cannot continue to waver in implementing Security Council resolutions. Although this Organization has never played as big a leadership role as it is playing now, it is also true that compliance with its resolutions in the framework of operations to maintain international peace and security has been put into question. My Government deeply regrets the resulting tragic events that have claimed hundreds of thousands of lives and caused a massive exodus of refugees. We therefore urge parties in conflict to act in a spirit of reconciliation, certain that the international community will continue to extend humanitarian assistance to them. In the case of Cuba, the Government of Honduras agrees with the overall objective of restoring democracy to that country, in the framework of the inter-American system. However, we believe that the policy pursued by the Government of the United States of America is not consistent with the need to remedy the critical political, economic and social conditions prevailing in that brotherly country, and we sincerely hope that dialogue between the parties will prevail in this dispute. The countries of the Central American region have continued to pursue policies based on resolutions adopted at presidential Summits, with a view to creating a new economic, social and political structure for the benefit of Central Americans. In this regard, at the recent fifteenth meeting of Central American Presidents, held in the brotherly Republic of Costa Rica, new circumstances prompted us to adopt an integral strategy for sustainable development in the region, a national and regional strategy which we call the "Alliance for Sustainable Development". This is a Central American initiative in the political, moral, economic, social and ecological fields, whose agenda will be further enriched with the holding of the environmental Summit in Managua, Nicaragua, on 12 and 13 October, and the International Conference for Peace and Development in Central America, to be held on 24 and 25 October this year in Tegucigalpa, Honduras. The International Conference will be a good opportunity for the international community, as it did a decade ago in the midst of a tragic confrontation, to express its solidarity with a region that has turned war into reconciliation, conflict into human progress and totalitarianism into democracy. It would be terrible indeed if the world that extended its hand to us in those difficult times were to fail now to help us enjoy the dividends of peace. We participated with similar enthusiasm and optimism in the Fourth Ibero-American Summit of Heads of State and Government in Cartagena de Indias, Republic of Colombia. As everyone present knows, there was broad discussion there of aspects of trade and integration as elements in Ibero-American development. We attended that important meeting with the political resolve to tackle the problems that are besetting our countries and causing dangerous economic and social imbalances, thus requiring a search for concerted responses that will enable us to develop machinery to tackle the challenges of the future more effectively. In accordance with this commitment, my Government believes that, although dialogue has been strengthened, it is even more important to pursue the policies adopted at that forum. In this context, we reaffirm our fullest support for the joint initiatives, which are based on the principles of representative democracy, the defence and promotion of human rights, respect for sovereignty and the principles of non-intervention and the self-determination of peoples. On a different tack, I should like to inform this world forum that the degradation of the environment is a matter of constant concern to us. In this regard, my Government attaches the highest priority to the search for a solution to this problem. Mechanisms have been established to implement the resolutions adopted at the Earth Summit held in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, in June 1992. We reaffirm our commitment to promoting a balanced and integrated approach to sustainable development, as set forth in the Rio Declaration on Environment and Development. It is important that the Assembly expand on that idea and build an awareness of the world’s environmental unity so that a new relationship between mankind and nature can emerge, allowing us to work together for its conservation and survival. 4 Regarding this sensitive matter, our National Congress is currently seized with the Conventions on Biological Diversity and on Climate Change, with a view to translating our words into deeds through their speedy debate and adoption. My Government wishes to raise one other issue today, with a sense of full responsibility and an awareness of the gravity of the effects of the crisis faced by developing countries and the risks involved for the stability of the world economy. We must acknowledge the importance of the signing of the Final Act of the Uruguay Round of the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade, as well as the agreement creating the World Trade Organization, with a view to strengthening the multilateral trade system. We trust that these instruments will help to ensure the liberalization and expansion of international trade for the benefit of the developing countries. But if in pursuing this goal the industrialized nations do not act in accordance with the changes taking place in international economic relations, efforts within the framework of South-South cooperation will have to be stepped up. This is becoming not merely an alternative, but a fundamental challenge to our capacity to act in these negotiations, which can stem only from the coordination and support that impart resolution, continuity and effectiveness to the actions of the group of developing countries. In the context of what the United Nations means to all of us, my Government has attached the greatest importance to and has followed with great interest the process of reform of the Charter of the United Nations, particularly with respect to the Security Council. In the prevailing international circumstances and given the role the Security Council has been called upon to play in the maintenance of international peace and security, the reforms that the membership is calling for, in accordance with the purposes and principles of the Organization, should be studied thoroughly and adopted with meticulous care. Any reform in the membership of the Security Council needs to take into account the criteria established in the relevant Articles of the Charter. It is essential to respect the principle of equitable geographical representation, which would permit us to increase the number of permanent and non-permanent members democratically and to consider whether or not it would be desirable to create a new category - that of semi-permanent member - as has been suggested in the open-ended working group on the restructuring of the Security Council established by the Secretary-General. In this process of change, in addition to the principles that I have outlined we need to consider what basic indicators would enable us to set the number of members at the right level. This is also true of the study on the veto right, currently enjoyed by the five permanent members; my Government feels that this right should not be granted to any category, whether permanent or semi- permanent. Thus, Honduras is not opposed to the establishment of new categories provided this is done in accordance with the principle of the sovereign equality of States and equitable geographical distribution. With faith in God, in truth and in justice, I shall now return to my country to continue building the society we have chosen and contributing to the attainment of the kind of world to which we all aspire. May everything work to the good of mankind.