Peru

First, allow me to express to you, Madam President, our congratulations on your election to the presidency of the General Assembly at this session. I should also like to convey to you the best wishes of the people and Government of Peru for a successful stewardship. We are ready to work with you for the benefit of the international community. When the Government of President Alan García took office on 28 July it found a particularly serious social deficit in the country. More than 13 million Peruvians, half our population, live in poverty; 5 million of them, or 20 per cent of our population, live in extreme poverty. Peru is therefore experiencing a 21 06-53609 situation of deep inequity for a medium-income country. In order to tackle this reality, the new Government has placed major emphasis on responsible State action, designing an agenda of social inclusion based on promoting investment for job creation. That agenda requires that we learn to act with greater solidarity, on the basis of civic values, with due attention given to the most vulnerable groups, so that they may fully participate in drawing up public policies. Initial action is aimed at restoring confidence in our society as a factor crucial for promoting long- term development and shared growth. In this respect, my Government is working with the social sectors to develop a culture of duty as one of the main pillars supporting Government policies and the relationship between society and the State. The Government of Peru has made the fight against poverty a central priority of its Administration. It has also set the guidelines for its external action, in which it aims to join the other nations of the Latin American region in drawing up a development agenda to achieve growth with equity and social inclusion. In this context, we reaffirm our conviction of the need to promote Latin American integration. For this purpose we are working on strengthening the Andean Community and building the South American Community of Nations. That is the goal that inspires us, because in order to express the common interests of our continent in a world such as today’s we must act together to better tackle the challenges of globalization. A Latin America with a united voice will be better placed to tackle its common problems, such as the marginalization of wide sectors of the population, internal imbalances and social divisions. A more united Latin America can also better project the values of democracy and pluralism that characterize it today. In this framework, tolerance and respect for differences will make it possible to strengthen projects of common interest offering all our citizens true opportunities for development and well- being. One of the challenges that our continent, and in particular the Andean region, must face decisively is the fight against drug trafficking. Peru reaffirms its firm position of combating forcefully and comprehensively the illicit trafficking of drugs, emphasizing the principles of multilateralism and shared responsibility. To that end, we have been carrying out a careful evaluation of the current state of cooperation in the fight against illegal drug trafficking. Following the principle of shared responsibility, Peru has expressed an interest in holding an anti-drug summit, so that in the Andean area we can give new impetus to the dialogue on cooperation and agree with the United States and the European Union on a single consensus strategy, which would be mutually beneficial for the Andean producer countries and the large consumer markets. Another universal scourge that the international community must fight unrelentingly is terrorism. Peru reiterates that terrorism, whatever its form or manifestation, or its motivation, is unacceptable and accordingly must be condemned and fought. States must show an unequivocal attitude towards terrorism. Peru therefore supports the efforts being made in the United Nations to fight terrorism. Among them, we note the approval of the Global Counter-Terrorism Strategy. We reaffirm our conviction that this struggle can and must be carried out with respect for human rights and fundamental freedoms. In the Millennium Declaration we set ourselves the target of attaining by 2015 various goals in the fight against poverty and in the partnership for development, goals which summarize the challenges that countries such as Peru must tackle and overcome and the cooperation that developed countries must give in assisting development, trade and financing. However, at the 2005 World Summit we noted that progress in compliance with the Millennium Development Goals is somewhat modest, and some goals seem unattainable. In order to comply with the Millennium Development Goals, the Government of Peru has taken immediate action, including, first, reform of the State and the political system to give it more austerity, through decentralization, administrative simplification and moral initiatives; secondly, job creation through investment and the opportunities that the State must promote; thirdly, restoration of labour and social rights in order to have a more modern and just society; fourthly, policies in favour of women, youth and children; and, fifthly, civic security to give the population tranquillity and confidence. None of that will be enough if the markets of developed countries remain closed to our products through restrictions. In 06-53609 22 this context, we call for the prompt resumption of the Doha Round talks in a spirit of compromise. My Government’s social policy initiatives will make possible a broader exercise of human rights. I refer in particular to economic, social and cultural rights, where shortcomings are evident, and to paying particular attention to the most vulnerable groups. In this respect, during the current session we will be called upon to consider and possibly adopt three important international instruments on promoting and protecting human rights. The first two are the draft declaration on the rights of indigenous peoples and the draft international convention on the rights of persons with disabilities. Peru urges every Member State to consider adopting these two instruments, which would give greater protection to millions of people who today are victims of marginalization. The third instrument is the draft convention on forced disappearance, which will make it possible to more effectively combat that reprehensible practice. We are aware of the importance of multilateralism as the ideal context for low- and medium-income countries to take part in the international arena, as well as helping to find solutions to the challenges that the globalized world must face. These challenges result from the current characteristics of the international system, in which two opposing processes coexist. Thus, while the world integrates globally it is becoming more fragmented because of an increase in social inequality, the proliferation of civil conflicts and the disintegration of States, so-called ethnic cleansing, massive violations of human rights, the trafficking of people and arms, environmental degradation, terrorism and international organized crime. These contradictory trends between globalization and fragmentation often call into question both the ability of States to govern and international stability, the major challenges that the international community, and in particular the Security Council, must face. Therefore, we need a comprehensive and strategic vision to make it possible to deal with problems affecting international peace and security. It is not only military aspects that cause crises. There are also structural factors, such as poverty, social exclusion and environmental degradation, which are the triggers of national and international instability. If the Council does not take this reality into account it will be very difficult to prevent or resolve conflicts in a sustainable way, because it will mean putting to one side the most important variables. We therefore acknowledge the need to make the multilateral system more flexible, comprehensive and effective, in order to tackle the global challenges and threats. But, at the same time, the Security Council’s actions must be based on legitimacy, which accords the strictest respect for the values, purposes and principles of the Charter and international law. With this conviction, Peru is taking part in the Security Council in a coherent way and with a constructive spirit. Given this premise, it is crucial to strengthen the disarmament and non-proliferation regimes and to find a peaceful solution to disputes. We supported the peacekeeping interventions authorized by the Security Council, and we will continue those efforts to ensure a renewed collective security system supported and respected by all Member States, in order to tackle threats to international peace and security. It is in this context that we see Peru’s participation in peacekeeping operations in Haiti, Sudan, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Liberia, Côte d’Ivoire, Burundi and Cyprus. This involves very sensitive matters and arduous responsibilities, but we assume them as a natural corollary to the commitment to international peace and security that we made when signing the Charter. We affirm our confidence that the Peacebuilding Commission will achieve the objective of supporting the reconstruction of countries emerging from conflict. At the same time, we believe that we must step up our prevention efforts at the regional and subregional levels, which is why Peru promotes cooperative security through mechanisms to strengthen peace and security structures, whose development includes the need to prevent arms races between neighbouring countries. Peru supports reform of the Security Council to make it more effective, transparent and representative. In this process, we favour increasing the number of members through dialogue and consensus, as part of a comprehensive process of United Nations reform, in which we have already seen some progress. The road ahead must be tackled with greater responsibility and in a spirit of dialogue and openness. 23 06-53609 I wanted to share these concerns and ideas in order to reaffirm that Peru, on the basis of its own economic and social reality and its regional outreach, as well as its profound multilateral vocation, wishes to continue to contribute constructively to security, development and respect for human rights in the world. We are convinced that the United Nations system can, with the help of all, strengthen its central role of promoting social progress and raising the standard of living within the broadest concept of freedom, as stipulated in the Preamble to the Charter.