Bolivia

Allow me to convey the congratulations of the Government and the people of Bolivia, President Razali Ismail, on your unanimous election, which is a token of the admiration and esteem in which the peoples of the world hold Malaysia and constitutes just recognition of your merits. My delegation is grateful to the President of the Assembly at its previous session, Ambassador Diogo Freitas do Amaral, for the remarkable job he did. For the delegation of Bolivia, it was a distinct honour to serve as Vice-President of the Assembly under his able guidance. I wish also to congratulate Secretary-General Boutros Boutros-Ghali and extend to him our most sincere appreciation for his valuable contributions to international peace and cooperation, as well as for his insightful and untiring dedication to the cause of the United Nations. Allow me first to refer to some aspects of the far- reaching structural reform in my country. Domestically, since 1993, the Administration of President Gonzalo Sánchez de Lozada has been simultaneously transforming the State and the system of social participation, while also adapting the productive base of society to enable Bolivia to dynamically meet the demands inherent to the changes in contemporary international life. The Government of Bolivia’s current efforts are essentially based on the consolidation of participatory democratic institutions and on the conviction that economic development must be compatible with care for nature and the environment — in other words, that this must take place within the framework of sustainable development and of respect for ethnic and cultural diversity, in order to make unity in diversity possible. My Government’s national plan confers the highest priority on the struggle against poverty. It strives vigorously to increase work opportunities and seeks a better quality of life for all Bolivians, aiming to enter the twenty-first century with a modern, decentralized, participatory State. This perspective guides our policies of grass-roots participation, educational reform, and capitalization of major public enterprises. Part and parcel of this landscape of change are our initiatives in support of children, women and the elderly. We are working hard to reduce infant and maternal mortality, to improve levels of nutrition and to provide assistance to those who most urgently need it. These tasks are an essential aspect of our effort to improve the lot of poor families. My country is proud of its pluri-cultural and multi-ethnic character, and it is therefore taking important initiatives for the advancement of indigenous peoples. The Vice-President of the Republic, Victor Hugo Cárdenas, is a distinguished representative of Bolivia’s Aymará people. In the international arena, we are actively pursuing peaceful coexistence among States and trying to make international justice a reality. Our position is based on the principles of equal rights of States, non-intervention in internal affairs, non-recognition of territorial acquisitions by force, respect for human rights and the other fundamental principles of international law. The support we give to intergovernmental organizations, particularly the United Nations and the Organization of American States (OAS), reflects our confidence in the potential of multilateral cooperation in a world that is growing ever more complex and interdependent. At the regional level, we are seeking the economic integration of Latin America and the Caribbean with the aim of establishing optimal conditions for forging a hemispheric community and establishing a united presence as the world opens up and markets expand. We are seeking the closest possible ties with countries that share our subregional realities, and we are committed to merging the various integration processes. That policy has prompted Bolivia to sign an agreement forming a free- trade area with the members of the Southern Cone Common Market (MERCOSUR) — Argentina, Brazil, Paraguay, and Uruguay — to sign agreements aimed at updating and reinvigorating the Andean Common Market, made up of Bolivia, Colombia, Ecuador, Peru and Venezuela, and to give effect to numerous bilateral treaties to enhance mutual complementarity on the basis of our experiences and the need to foster material and spiritual exchanges between nations. The physical integration of the countries of the region constitutes another central issue deserving priority attention. We are working actively on the definition of inter-oceanic corridors, and we attach great importance to the future of the Plata Basin and the Treaty for Amazonian Cooperation. With regard to Bolivia’s maritime question, I must inform the international community, as we have done every year, that Bolivia has reiterated in various forums its political willingness to begin negotiations that take proper account of the interests of all the parties involved and ensure Bolivia’s sovereign presence with regard to the Pacific Ocean. No clear willingness to engage in dialogue can yet be seen. However, on the basis of contacts on this matter we can say that, despite historical difficulties and ultranationalist suspicions, minds are opening and objective foundations are being laid with a view to encouraging a timely solution to old problems through the exchange of ideas, the nurturing of mutual trust, mutual interest and hemispheric understanding, in the hope that, before long, brotherhood, equality, justice and the requirements of international peace and cooperation will truly prevail. This year Bolivia had the honour to act as pro tempore secretariat of the Rio Group, a high-level forum of consultation and political coordination for an important group of Latin American and Caribbean States. In that capacity, Bolivia was the venue of the sixth regular meeting of Ministers for Foreign Affairs of the Rio Group and the European Union, held last April in the city of Cochabamba. On that occasion we reaffirmed our readiness for joint endeavours between Latin America, the Caribbean and Western Europe. The meeting strengthened ties between the two regions, based on respect for human rights, the fundamental rights of citizens and the principles of democracy and political pluralism. The Ministers highlighted, inter alia, the danger of drugs and related problems, recognizing the importance of maintaining political dialogue on this issue at the highest level and agreeing on the need to strengthen the United Nations International Drug Control Programme (UNDCP). The meeting called upon the international community to deal with the phenomenon of drugs through joint action based on the principle of global, shared responsibility. To that end, consideration and support were given to the proposal to hold a special session of the General Assembly in 1998 to address this crucial issue. Worldwide awareness of the need for joint action is reaching its peak, and Bolivia hopes that the proposed meeting will lay down positive guidelines to put an end to the scourge of drugs. I am also pleased to inform representatives that on 3 and 4 September 1996, again in the Bolivian city of Cochabamba, the Meeting of Heads of State of the Rio Group took place, on the occasion of the tenth anniversary of the creation of that standing body. It was 2 a great honour for my country to welcome such illustrious guests. The Presidents and Prime Minister gathered there noted with satisfaction that our region had made significant headway in fighting international crime. As evidence of this, they pointed to the signing in Caracas of the Inter- American Convention against Corruption, the results of the Specialized Inter-American Conference on Terrorism, held in Lima, and advances in the development of a hemispheric strategy against drugs and related crimes in the framework of the Inter-American Commission against Drug Abuse. The Heads of State and Government expressed their satisfaction at the fact that our region had become the first nuclear-weapon-free zone through the adoption of the Treaty for the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons in Latin America and the Caribbean. The Final Declaration of the tenth summit expressed the joint position of the Governments of the region on the issues of representative democracy and the eradication of poverty. It placed on record their deep conviction with regard to sustainable development; it set forth precise guidelines on regional integration and trade; it expressed a firm resolve to press ahead in the fight against drugs and related crimes; it emphasized, in particular, the importance of the Inter-American Convention against Corruption; and it reiterated emphatically the crucial importance Governments, from their position of lofty responsibility, attached to cultural integration. My delegation has requested that the Secretariat of the United Nations circulate the final document of the Cochabamba meeting to all delegations in the General Assembly. With regard to the matter of the extraterritoriality of national laws, a most sensitive issue for peoples and Governments the world over, the Rio Group summit meeting expressed its rejection of any attempt to use a country’s domestic legislation to impose unilateral sanctions of an extraterritorial character, as this contravenes the standards governing coexistence between States, disregards the fundamental principle of respect for sovereignty and is a clear violation of international law. Bolivia is confident that intelligence and fairness will prevail on this delicate matter and that a solution will soon be found, in the interest of international coexistence and economic and commercial freedom for all peoples of the world. One of the most outstanding international developments of our time was undoubtedly the United Nations Conference on Environment and Development, in Rio de Janeiro in 1992. With the aim of laying the groundwork for a hemispheric agenda for sustainable development, several international meetings, starting with the Summit held in Miami in 1994, have expressed support for the decision to hold a hemispheric meeting at the level of Heads of State and Government in the Bolivian city of Santa Cruz de la Sierra, scheduled for 7 and 8 December of this year. That meeting will be a new opportunity to set the course of national and international endeavours for sustainable development in the light of economic, social and environmental goals and in reaffirmation of the importance of obtaining new and additional resources to finance the plan of action to be adopted. Bolivia has offered to work its hardest alongside its sister nations to ensure the success of this major hemispheric event and is certain that inter-American solidarity will lead to positive results. The agenda of the fifty-first session of the General Assembly contains more than 160 items of particular interest to the international community. My Government is prepared to participate constructively in the consideration and resolution of each of them. We are concerned with problems of international peace and security and trust that the United Nations system will contribute effectively to finding solutions for the many parts of the world beset by conflicts and war. As I stated on a previous occasion, Bolivia is of the view that many conflict situations can be explained by the persistence of unresolved social and national problems, as well as by the accumulation of age-old injustices and resentments; by geopolitical and economic interests that for decades have been fuelling confrontation from without and from within; and, above all, by Governments’ inability to cooperate effectively so as to provide timely and peaceful solutions to the problems of greatest national concern. We have participated in the debates on reforms of the United Nations Charter, and we believe that it is of the utmost importance to reach consensus in order to strengthen the multilateral system in the interests of the world community. We support the positions set forth by the Non-Aligned Movement in this regard. 3 Difficult international circumstances are making it increasingly clear that the United Nations needs to be strengthened, to adapt its structures and strengthen the Organization as a legitimate forum for the study, coordination, follow-up and implementation of universally accepted policies. Accordingly, Bolivia considers it essential to strengthen the General Assembly, the Security Council and the role of the International Court of Justice. With regard to the expansion of the Security Council, we consider it necessary that Germany and Japan be present as new permanent members and that three other permanent members from Asia, Africa, and Latin America and the Caribbean be selected. The expansion should be complemented by an appropriate number of non-permanent members from the developing world. Of course, if consensus could be reached on other formulas, then other proposals, such as the one presented by Italy, would need to be considered. With regard to the veto, Bolivia shares the view that, ideally, the international community should move towards eliminating this device — and, one would hope, in the not- too-distant future. In the meantime, use of this device should be strictly limited to actions relating to cases of threats to the peace, breach of the peace or acts of aggression referred to in Chapter VII of the United Nations Charter. Bolivia is greatly concerned about the political and social situation in many African countries. We express our solidarity with these countries, as we did to fraternal South Africa during its times of trial, and we urge the international community, especially the rich countries of the world, to cooperate generously and resolutely in order to cope with the grave economic problems of this continent. We also express our solidarity with our brothers in the Middle East. We believe that the time has come to heal old wounds and frame the terms of a just and lasting peace, taking into account the need for secure borders for all and definitively resolving the situation through the creation of a Palestinian state. A solution must also be found to the questions of Jerusalem and the Golan Heights, and the territorial integrity and full sovereignty of all States of the region must be preserved. We rejoice in the fact that Bosnia and Herzegovina has embarked upon a new road to understanding, unity and construction of new democratic institutions. The brotherly nations of Asia offer us remarkable examples of the possibilities and opportunities for accelerated economic development. Their successes fill us with confidence, and we are certain that they will apply the same wisdom to finding solutions to the social and political problems that some of them still face. We are convinced that the Comprehensive Nuclear- Test-Ban Treaty, adopted by the General Assembly on 10 September of this year, represents a landmark along the road to the total elimination of nuclear weapons. Bolivia has signed the papers of accession to the new Treaty and hopes to complete the constitutional procedures for its approval and ratification in a relatively short time. We stress just as emphatically the need to ban the use and production of anti-personnel mines, which have been leaving a trail of blood among the peoples of the world. The economic and social items before the Assembly also deserve our keenest interest, since they are among the essential tasks of the United Nations and of international cooperation. From our view of the international scene, questions pertaining to respect for human rights and democratic development in all countries are also matters of very high priority. As representatives are aware, Bolivia has put forward its candidacy for a non-permanent seat on the Security Council for the period 1997-1998, the elections for which will be held during the present session of the General Assembly. As a founding member of the United Nations, Bolivia carries the principles of the Charter deep within its national spirit and has maintained a policy of recognition of and support for this universal Organization. In recent years my country has contributed to the forces of United Nations Operation in Mozambique (ONUMOZ), as well as to the election-monitoring processes in El Salvador and Mozambique. We are also prepared to participate in United Nations standby arrangements. With regard to Haiti, Bolivia had the privilege of presiding over the ad hoc group of the Ministers for Foreign Affairs of the Organization of American States and contributed police personnel during the first stage of the democratic normalization of that sister nation. Bolivia intends to continue participating in United Nations activities to foster international peace and cooperation. In this regard, I am pleased to note that my country enjoys excellent, long-standing diplomatic relations with the five permanent members of the Security Council and 4 that it plays an active part in the Non-Aligned Movement, whose thirty-fifth anniversary we have just celebrated in an expression of steadfastness in our convictions and in continued political cooperation. We share common problems with developing countries, land-locked States and small States the world over. Our established friendship with all the countries of America, Africa, Asia, Europe and Oceania has enabled us to learn from their important experiences and better to understand their many problems.If our brother nations represented here see fit to honour us with their trust, Bolivia undertakes to place its particular dedication at the service of the international community in the Security Council. As we move towards the end of the twentieth century and make preparations to welcome a new century and a new millennium, peoples and nations cannot ignore deep- rooted trends towards new and untrodden systems of human coexistence. In that connection, we must ensure that small States participate actively in the international arena in promoting mankind’s dream of making one out of many. That can occur only if the rules of the game are clearly defined and implemented and if effective worldwide instruments are created. It is here, in the existence of and respect for international law and justice and the institutions that embody them, that peoples, nations and States can find the only possible lodestar to guide them. Otherwise, they will be condemned to new and ominous forms of modern slavery. That is why Bolivia believes, today more than ever, in the validity of the United Nations and will work to the utmost to defending and strengthening it.