Allow me to begin by congratulating the
192nd Member State, Montenegro, upon its accession
to membership of the United Nations.
On 5 November, elections will be held in
Nicaragua to elect its new Government. This session is
therefore occurring at an appropriate moment for
taking stock, before our own people and before the
peoples of the United Nations, of the Nicaragua that
could be achieved if the work carried out during the
five-year term of the current President Enrique Bolaños
Geyer is continued.
It has been our lot to fight tirelessly for a value
which was recently consolidated in its universal
dimension: the defence of democracy, which includes
as essential components the rule of law, the balance of
powers, the strengthening of State institutions and
combating corruption.
Nicaragua has not travelled this difficult road
alone. A new collective spirit has been present which
has assisted its efforts, making it possible to overcome
and punish corruption. Thanks to this same collective
solidarity it was also possible to counter the partisan
division of the State and the still-latent attempts to
break with the cardinal rule of separation and
independence of the public authorities. I must mention
here that whenever anti-democratic forces sought to
break with the constitutional order, they encountered
the joint response of the people of Nicaragua, the
private business sector, organized civil society and the
international community.
Our first words of thanks go to all those
Governments and organizations that, through their
support, helped to protect in Nicaragua the principles
of freedom and democracy that have today emerged as
the new basic values of a renewed international society.
We thank our brother countries of the region and
the Secretary-General of the Central American
Integration System, the Secretary-General of the
Organization of American States (OAS) and his Special
Envoy in Nicaragua, the Member States of OAS, the
Rio Group, the Andean Community of Nations, the
Ibero-American Summit, the Caribbean Community
and Common Market, Japan, the United States of
America and the European Union.
But the time devoted to defending democracy has
not prevented us from working to achieve the goals of
development, law and order, security and stability.
Between 2002 and 2005, a period of barely four
years, tax revenues increased more than three-fold,
which clearly demonstrates the confidence of our
citizens in their Government and also reflects the
transparency of our public administration. This
increase is continuing at the same pace in 2006. At
their annual meeting concluded the day before
yesterday, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and
the World Bank stated that tax earnings in Nicaragua
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had been strong, with an increase in revenues that bore
witness to the success of the fiscal policy and reforms
implemented by the Government.
On the economic front, we have achieved radical
change: there is an economic upturn, and we are
regaining the confidence of the international
community.
Through transparency and good governance, the
completion point of the Heavily Indebted Poor
Countries (HIPC) Debt Initiative was reached. A year
ago, we were selected to receive the support of the
Group of Eight, as well as forgiveness of the
multilateral debt owed to the IMF, the World Bank and,
very shortly, the Inter-American Development Bank,
amounting to a reduction of approximately $800
million in our foreign debt. These two initiatives mean
that over 85 per cent of our foreign debt has been
forgiven. Nicaragua can now concentrate on reducing
its domestic debt, which resulted from the fraudulent
collapse of banks that occurred five and a half years
ago.
It was President Bolaños Geyer who, in
December 2001, spoke of the need for a trade
agreement, what turned into the Central American Free
Trade Agreement, between the countries of Central
America, the Dominican Republic and the United
States. This Agreement came into force in March 2006,
opening up a new era of opportunity for our region. As
a result of this treaty, the volume of exports from
Nicaragua to the United States has increased by 20 per
cent during the eight months it has been in existence.
We have achieved three consecutive years of
economic growth on the basis of private investment.
Since President Bolaños took office, direct foreign
investment has led to the opening of a new company
every month in the tax-free zones, and total exports
have increased by 100 per cent in less than five years.
We have succeeded in turning tourism into a new
engine of the economy on account of the revenues it
generates, and for the first time it has become the
greatest source of foreign currency earnings in our
trade balance. Nicaragua is ranked third among the 10
must-visit destinations, according to the prestigious
Lonely Planet travel guide. Similarly, Nicaragua has
been classified by the World Tourism Organization as
one of the best emerging markets at the world level and
the best kept secret for retirees and for real estate
development. We are considered to be the country that
has made the greatest progress on the economic
freedom front. For its part, the World Bank report,
“Doing Business”, places Nicaragua in 67th place
worldwide and states that it has the best business
climate in Central America and one of the best in the
hemisphere. We are one of the safest countries in the
hemisphere. Our murder rate is less than half the world
average.
I am proud to say that we are now experiencing a
new political, economic and social reality. Keeping his
campaign promise, President Bolaños has virtually
doubled the salary of primary and secondary school
teachers and has doubled in absolute terms the budget
allocated to post-secondary education.
In the area of health, the infant mortality rate fell
from 35 per 1,000 live births in 2001 to 31 in 2006.
The mortality rate for children under the age of 5 fell
from 45 in 2001 to 40 in 2006, and the maternal
mortality rate fell from 96.6 per 100,000 in 2003 to 83
in 2006. Immunization coverage increased between
2004 and 2006 by over 10 per cent.
We are developing a State policy for our
emigrants, with a view to guaranteeing that they have
full enjoyment of their political, social and civil rights,
providing them with legal advice and with the
protection to which the Constitution entitles them. We
are doing all we can to defend their rights in any
country where they may be found. That is the least we
can do to repay the sacrifice they make in sending back
remittances to improve the economic situation of their
families. These remittances are equivalent to almost
50 per cent of our goods exports.
The Assembly will recall that President Reagan,
when addressing the Soviet Premier on the subject of
the Berlin Wall, said: “Tear down that wall”. The
President of the Dominican Republic, Mr. Leonel
Fernández Reyna, once observed that in a globalized
world where there is free movement of capital, goods
and services, it is the human beings who do not enjoy
freedom of movement of labour.
Thanks to the special law on migratory incentives
for Nicaraguans living abroad, nationals who have
lived for at least five years outside the country can
come home with their household effects, their car and
their work tools.
The results we have achieved in protecting our
nationals abroad are substantial and have been
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recognized by the international community. At the
beginning of this month, the United States Under
Secretary for Democracy and Global Affairs brought to
the attention of the international community the efforts
made by Nicaragua through its diplomatic
establishment to protect, assist and repatriate
Nicaraguans who are the victims of human trafficking.
We have built the material, human and technological
infrastructure that will gradually generate a new
political culture strengthened by the values of
democracy.
Nicaragua does not see its future as being
separate from that of Central America. This is why we
are endeavouring to form a customs union and to
further the integration process in all directions and at
all levels, because this is the best way for a region
which deserves prosperity and development to move
forward.
Very soon, we shall start talks on an association
agreement between the European Union and Central
America, which will include a free trade agreement. It
is an initiative that embodies the vision of two regions
which, from different continents, view the future with
similar values and institutions and common aspirations.
The Nicaraguan proposal to limit arms at the
regional level has made substantial progress in matters
relating to the submission of inventories of weapons,
armed forces and public security personnel and in the
generation of confidence-building measures.
According to the International Institute for
Strategic Studies, per capita expenditure by Nicaragua
on defence is $5.2 per year. In the list of 132 countries
studied, Nicaragua is third among the countries which
spent least on defence.
Nicaragua was the first independent country in
the history of the United Nations to benefit from the
presence of electoral observers. This time, too,
Nicaragua will comply with the sacred duty of holding
free and transparent elections which reflect the
sovereign will of the people. On 5 November, the
Nicaraguan people will have to decide between the
caudillismo of the past and a future devoted to
development, between corruption and transparency. We
are sure that the international community will help us
through this process by extending to us unwavering
support at this critical moment of reaffirmation of
democracy by a nation which has defended its right to
freedom with its life.
The fate of our individual States is closely linked
with that of our international system. The current world
situation is testing the response capacity of our
international system as a whole.
The problems faced by mankind are increasingly
complex and tragic and call for our involvement to
ensure that they are promptly and effectively dealt
with. The recent crisis in the Middle East, the
situations in Iraq and Afghanistan, the tensions in Iran,
the problems arising in the Democratic People’s
Republic of Korea, the social and political conflicts
being experienced in Haiti, the situation in Darfur and
the threats of international terrorism demonstrate that
neither the appeals of Secretary-General Kofi Annan
nor the proposals to reform the United Nations system
can be put off.
The United Nations must be reformed to provide
a ready, efficient and effective response to the immense
threats to world peace that also extend to the
environment and health. Nicaragua maintains the
position that these reforms should be comprehensive in
nature since that is the only way of overcoming
bureaucratic problems that stand in the way of prompt
implementation of the resolutions of the General
Assembly.
The reform process should cover the Secretariat,
the General Assembly and the Economic and Social
Council, as well as the Security Council. The
membership of the Security Council should better
reflect current geopolitical realities, allowing for a
more equitable and democratic representation of
developing countries in both permanent and non-
permanent categories. This expansion should serve to
enhance multilateralism, strengthening the capacity to
respond to world threats and challenges with a Council
that has more authority, representativity and
effectiveness.
In 2003, the Government of Nicaragua arranged
the nomination and recognition of the Río San Juan —
Nicaragua Biosphere Reserve in the Programme on
Man and the Biosphere of the United Nations
Education, Scientific and Cultural Organization
(UNESCO) — recognition which was approved on
15 September of that year, when it became part of the
World Network of Biosphere Reserves. This reserve
was added to the Bosawas Biosphere Reserve, which,
at 2 million hectares, covers 14 per cent of our national
territory and is the largest continuous forested area in
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Central America. In early 2006, President Bolaños
established a preserve for 10 years, banning the export
of six forest species in danger of extinction.
Nicaragua also restates from this podium its
support for the cause of the Republic of China in
Taiwan, which should achieve the legitimate
representation of its 23 million inhabitants. It also calls
for renewed and proactive efforts by the United
Nations to maintain peace in East Asia.
We launch a humanitarian appeal for the freeing
of the kidnapped persons in the Far and Middle East,
and worldwide. The States Members of the United
Nations have a duty, both individually and collectively,
to protect the world population against any action that
seeks to harm the life or dignity of any human being,
from the time of conception to the time of death, or to
undermine his or her aspiration to live in a democratic
environment and to take advantage of opportunities for
development. We should devote our best efforts to
giving effect to this mandate.