Chile

I am pleased to commend the President, and the other 29 members of the Bureau on their election. We assure them of our full willingness to cooperate in the tasks facing us. We arrived at this session of the General Assembly with the same conviction and resolve that we had 60 years ago. We still believe that this is the place where we can collectively promote human rights, development, solidarity and peace. The political agreement reached last week, although it did not meet all our expectations, enables us to embark on the path towards comprehensive and balanced renewal of the United Nations system. We have the necessary mandates to begin renewal during this session. That must be possible, because our interest is the interest of humanity. We have here an exceptional opportunity to strengthen multilateralism and to build it within the genuine framework of international coexistence. Multilateralism is the very cornerstone of our foreign policy. In the multilateral system, negotiation and consensus are the tools to create international regimes that promote globalization in a legitimate and effective manner. The United Nations is a unique forum in that process, and we must strengthen it in order to achieve those goals. Hence, the urgent need to implement United Nations reform. We believe that multilateralism can furnish us both with more and better instruments to allow every country, large or small, to participate in the elaboration of rules and in the allocation of the benefits of globalization. We are convinced that globalization is more of an opportunity than a threat. For that reason we must assure the management of globalization, which can be achieved only through institutions that conform to clear, stable and equitable rules of the game within the context of international law. Economic forces do not act in a political vacuum, which is why we need both a new architecture and new working methods in the United Nations system. It is in that spirit that Chile has taken an active part in various meetings concerned with the revitalization of the United Nations, promoting comprehensive reform in the major areas of development, security, democracy and human rights. I would like to touch briefly on each of those areas. Protection of human rights is, in our opinion, the central issue of globalization and a continuing preoccupation in the recent history of Chile and Latin America. That history has been written by the citizens and their struggles to restore respect for the dignity and rights of the individual. Indeed, human rights are a legitimate concern of the international community. Examination of human rights issues by the United Nations does not constitute undue interference. On the contrary, it is the exercise of a shared responsibility, from a standpoint of cooperation and not of confrontation. When States are unable or unwilling to act, the Organization cannot remain indifferent in the face of genocide, ethnic cleansing, war crimes and crimes against humanity. The responsibility to protect is an international moral obligation that we cannot shirk. For Chile, the decision to establish the Human Rights Council is a significant step towards universal protection of human rights. We hope that before the end of the session, its characteristics, including its status as a permanent organ, will have been defined. The election of its members by a two-thirds majority of the Assembly, as we propose, will strengthen that organ’s legitimacy. Comprehensive reporting by the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner would also enhance the credibility of the multilateral human rights system. In order to avoid the politicization and selectivity that are harming United Nations human rights work, a peer review system would promote greater cooperation, with all countries subject to objective evaluations — particularly for those that aspire to seats on the Human Rights Council. Democratic values are cross-cutting: they apply to the citizens who participate in the life of a community, they underlie the organization of government and public institutions, and they are also the linchpin of international coexistence. Democratic values are a priority on the multilateral agenda and should be reflected in the active commitment of Member States to promote and defend democracy. It was that interest that has motivated Chile’s efforts within the Community of Democracies. While some peoples and regions are part of global society and participate in decision-making and in the distribution of global output, others are marginalized and lack access to those benefits. That situation raises important questions about democratic participation. It is therefore essential, if we wish to consolidate democracy in the world, to move 30 decisively to eliminate inequality and to abolish exclusion. A better quality of democracy is linked to social integration and poverty relief. In that connection, the Millennium Development Goals represent a global commitment to fundamental rights, with social underpinnings, that must be achieved in order to effectively consolidate democracy and uproot moral indifference towards the unprotected of the world. The deepening of democracy must aim at institutional capacity-building in order to meet the demands of society in an effective and transparent manner. We have been working along those lines in the Organization of American States, in particular through the Inter-American Democratic Charter, seeking formulas and instruments to improve democratic governance. Chile believes that that is an area in which there should be close cooperation between the United Nations and regional organizations. The reaffirmation of democracy as a universal value by heads of State and Government in the outcome document represents concrete progress in the consolidation of a new international regime for the promotion and protection of democracy and the rule of law. The creation of the United Nations Democracy Fund gives us a new forum for cooperation to help strengthen and consolidate democracy around the world. In April, 108 countries from all continents agreed on the “Santiago commitment: Cooperating for Democracy”, which contains guidelines for action. We have fully endorsed the concept of multidimensional security in order to meet old and new threats. Indeed, the incorporation of the concept of human security at the United Nations is an important contribution to the process of renewal. The definition to be formulated by the General Assembly should incorporate the progress achieved by the Human Security Network, in which Chile has actively participated from the outset. We were greatly discouraged that no agreement was reached to include the topic of disarmament and non-proliferation in the reform process. That is a topic that must not be dropped from the United Nations agenda. We therefore supported the Norwegian initiative, which succeeded in bridging the gap between opposing positions. Unfortunately, despite receiving the support of nearly 80 countries, the initiative did not find a place in the outcome document. We will continue to work for its adoption. In addition, we are convinced that terrorism must be tackled through a global and sustained strategy, with the cooperation of all States and international and regional organizations, in accordance with the Charter of the United Nations and international law and with full respect for human rights. We must therefore channel our strong condemnation of terrorism in all its forms and manifestations into the political will to conclude an international convention against terrorism before the end of the session. The decision to establish a Peacebuilding Commission is one of the major successes of the reform agenda, as it will enable the Organization to provide an institutional and integrated response in post-conflict situations. United Nations activities should not cease as soon as a crisis ends but — to build a durable peace — should continue until institutions are rebuilt and peaceful coexistence is restored. As Latin Americans, and aware of our global responsibilities, we are actively participating in the United Nations Stabilization Mission in Haiti. We are convinced that that joint commitment, which is strongly regional in nature in Latin America and the Caribbean, has been helpful in enabling Haiti to recover its ability to control its own destiny. This will undoubtedly require the continuing presence of the international community. The elections are an important step, which Haiti should take on schedule. Voting, however, is only the basis for self- determination: we must continue helping to create the prerequisites for a worthier future for the Haitian people. Moreover, Haiti could be the first trial run for the Peacebuilding Commission. Overcoming poverty, hunger and social inequality is the great challenge facing our peoples today. Economic development with equity is essential in order to achieve a world truly at peace and to guarantee individual rights and stable democracies. A few days ago, heads of State or Government reviewed the implementation of the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), adopted in 2000. Our country met over one third of the Goals and hope to achieve them all by 2015. 31 In order to achieve economic development with equity, each country has a responsibility to be assumed domestically and tasks to be performed internationally. In this connection, it is essential to work to implement the Monterrey Consensus on financing for development, so that in its domestic efforts each country can enjoy the benefits of an international economic environment facilitating poverty relief and permitting sustained development. We were among the sponsors of the Action against Hunger and Poverty, which seeks to devise innovative financing arrangements to combat this problem within the framework of the international community’s endeavours to attain the Millennium Development Goals. We need responses now, and the Action is a definite option recognized in the Summit Outcome. Chile considers it essential to bolster overall efforts to liberalize international trade for the exports of developing countries and to achieve stable financial flows to their economies. We urge the speedy conclusion of the Doha round, to which we are committed, and a remodelling of the international financial architecture to promote international conditions favourable to the sustained growth of the developing countries and to the elimination of poverty. Development, security and human rights for all are three interdependent concepts that dominate our existence as societies and that must be adequately reflected in a comprehensive reform process. We have embarked on the decisive stage of the road to renewal; we are all responsible for reaching the end. We must make progress towards consensus on Security Council reform so that that organ can more democratically represent the new realities of the twenty-first century. It is also essential to renew the Secretariat’s managerial capacity to administer effective and responsibly the resources that we all contribute in order to achieve the purposes of the United Nations. Over and above the legitimate differences that are part of the richness of our diversity, we must build universal agreements reflecting common concerns to ensure the dignity of peoples and the right to live in a more secure world. Let me conclude by saying that this session of the General Assembly is a historic opportunity to promote change. If we do not implement the agreements achieved, hiding behind national interests or narrow cultural visions, we shall be failing to respond to the feelings and expectations of millions of human beings who aspire to understanding among civilizations, a global alliance for development and a reaffirmation of the underlying values of the United Nations. Let us not miss this opportunity. If we do not act collectively today, tomorrow may be too late.