I
congratulate His Excellency Mr. Sam Kutesa, former
Minister for Foreign Affairs of Uganda, on his election
to the presidency of the General Assembly. We wish
him the greatest success in carrying out his duties.
Whirlwinds of oppression and violence, anxiety,
desperation and the systematic violation of human rights
affect many corners of the world. We are witnessing an
upsurge in violence and armed confrontations and an
increase in atrocious crimes and extremism with an ever
increasing number of displaced persons, humanitarian
crises and deplorable acts that remain unpunished.
We are also concerned in particular about the
universal dimension of the crisis caused by the Islamic
State in Iraq and the Sham (ISIS). That reality requires
the coordinated and forceful multilateral action of
the international community in accordance with the
relevant bodies of the Organization. We have seen
the images and heard the screams of pain and distress
rising out of Gaza, Iraq, Syria, Ukraine, Afghanistan,
Mali, Libya, the Sudan, South Sudan, Somalia and the
Central African Republic. The cries can also be heard
in Central America, where thousands of children and
young people cross borders alone heading towards the
United States of America, fleeing violence and a lack
of opportunities in pursuit of dreams that can turn into
nightmares. The Assembly can never put aside the
future of those children because, in many ways, the
girls and boys of Central America who travel alone are
also our sons and daughters.
Costa Ricans are not indifferent to the terror
of armed conflicts, less still to the suffering of the
millions of victims of its most abject manifestations. As
a nation, we have always stood with our sister nations
in our efforts to bring an end to war and to establish
peace. The conflicts that torment us often emerge from
the fragile situations of States and their institutions:
extreme poverty, corruption and impunity. In all of
them, serious human rights violations have occurred.
None of those conflicts broke out without prior
warning. Ther were clear warning signs. In some cases,
the threat was identified but no action was taken, as in
Syria. In other cases, the danger was not acknowledged
in time, as in South Sudan. However, in all such cases,
the victims are those who are most vulnerable and most
need our help but who cannot make their voice heard.
They are the reason that we are here today.
Faced with the loss of human lives, we have reason
to ask ourselves if we have kept the solemn promise
that accompanied the founding of the United Nations
69 years ago. Do all Members of the Organization refrain
from resorting to the threat or use of force against the
territorial integrity or political independence of other
States? In some cases, that is so, in others not, but the
failure to act is unacceptable. When States disregard
that promise, the system of the United Nations is called
to action. Otherwise, it becomes weak. It loses its
essence. It loses its spirit.
The greatest challenge facing the international
community, the United Nations and the Security
Council — the challenge I wish to talk about
today — is maintaining international peace and
security as essential common goods. If we want peace,
we must prepare for peace. Maintaining international
peace and security begins with a culture of peace. As
an unarmed democracy and home to the University for
Peace, the Inter-American Institute of Human Rights
and the Inter-American Court of Human Rights, Costa
Rica believes that the culture of peace and education for
peace must be an absolute priority. We are convinced
that peace, like war, is not the product of a human or an
historic destiny but is borne of the very freedom of the
human being.
Maintaining international peace and security is not
restricted to dealing with conflicts. The Organization
was founded on the ashes of two world wars precisely
in order to prevent them. Prevention begins at the
State level, with the strengthening of democracy and
its institutions, good governance and a social welfare
State founded of the rule of law as a basic prerequisite
for the promotion of development and fair and inclusive
societies. Prevention is also founded on a solid and
functioning multilateral system. Costa Rica values
and encourages the preventive diplomatic measures
provided for in Chapter VI of the Charter of the United
Nations, which include mediation, good offices and
early warning.
As part of the Group of Friends of Mediation,
I would like to highlight Costa Rica’s leadership in
negotiating General Assembly resolution 68/303,
which seeks to acknowledge the key role that regional
and subregional organizations play in mediating and
managing conflicts. To date, that is the first General
Assembly resolution on mediation to recognize that
role. Its inclusion is therefore a true achievement of the
General Assembly.
Maintaining international peace and security
requires all States to resolve our disputes peacefully in
line with the Charter of the United Nations and in strict
accordance with international law and agreements. Costa
Rica firmly believes in and implements all aspects of
international law. We therefore underscore in particular
the role of the International Court of Justice and the
International Criminal Court. Peace cannot take root
where there is impunity. When war crimes, genocide
and crimes against humanity have been committed,
those responsible must be investigated and put on trial,
including by the International Criminal Court when the
national jurisdiction proves insufficient.
Our country opposes the weakening of the Rome
Statute and any proposed reform that could promote
tolerance for impunity. Once again, we remind the
Security Council of its authority and responsibility
to refer to the International Criminal Court cases that
occur in non-States parties. That is the only approach
we recognize. Our only weapon is and will always be
international law.
Maintaining international peace and security
also necessitates strengthening the single global
Organization charged with defending them. The
Security Council must progress from a reaction
mentality towards one of action, and reaffirm its moral
and political commitment to all humankind. It must be
vigilant, strategic and proactive. It must be democratic,
efficient, transparent and inclusive. My country has
objected to the use of the veto to obstruct measures
aimed at preventing or resolving conflict. Costa Ricans
are amazed by the way some permanent Council
members have invoked the principal of sovereignty to
block intervention by the Council at a moment when it
should have acted to prevent rivers from turning red
with the blood of innocent victims.
We reiterate our call on the permanent members
to refrain from using the veto, especially in situations
of genocide, crimes against humanity, war crimes and
mass human rights violations. We therefore welcome
the French proposal for a code of conduct addressing
the use of the veto. In that spirit, Costa Rica supports
the Secretary-General’s Rights Up Front Action
Plan so as to place human rights at the centre of the
prevention activities of the United Nations. Given our
serious and unshakeable commitment to human rights,
I respectfully ask the Assembly to back Costa Rica’s
re-election to the Human Rights Council in October.
Our poet Jorge Debravo said that we Costa Ricans
“have the obligation to fight for a better future for
man, for a wonderful future. It is not an option for
us to remain silent. It is not an option for us to be
observers or simple witnesses to the struggles of
our nations. In a time like this, remaining neutral is
to betray humanity’s future”.
Because silence is not an option for us, we condemn
the indiscriminate rocket attacks on Israel by Hamas
and its use of human shields, just as we condemn the use
of disproportionate force in military operations carried
out by the Israel Defense Forces. We demand respect
for the ceasefire and the negotiation of a permanent
solution based on two States living side by side in peace
and harmony.
Because silence is not an option for us, we reject the
transfer of conventional weapons to existing conflict
zones. As one of the world leaders in the negotiations
that led to the Arms Trade Treaty — an idea originally
proposed by Nobel Peace Prize laureate and former-
President Óscar Arias Sánchez — we urge States to
reconsider their laws and policies regulating the transfer
and availability of arms and munitions, with a view
to preventing access by those who would use them in
violating human rights and international humanitarian
law. To trade in death is to become an accomplice to
atrocities. In that context, it would be appropriate to
ask the Assembly: What is the ethical — not legal or
regulatory — difference between trafficking arms
that kill young people in less-developed countries and
trafficking in drugs that lead to the same result in the
planet’s richest countries?
Because silence is not an option for us, Costa
Rica rejects the use of explosive weapons in densely
populated areas of Syria, Gaza and eastern Ukraine.
Costa Rica urgently calls on Member States to develop
stricter rules and commitments to prohibit and restrict
their use, not only because they violate international
humanitarian law, but also because taking action on that
issue, here and now, is critical to reducing incentives to
non-combatants to take up arms and join the extremists.
Because silence is not an option for us, we also
condemn the use of cluster munitions in Syria, South
Sudan and eastern Ukraine. As the host of the Fifth
Meeting of States Parties to the Convention on Cluster
Munitions, which took place in San Jose from 2 to
5 September, my country will continue to reject the
manufacture, use and trade of those weapons. We
rejoice that our beloved Central America has become
the first region of the world to be declared free of cluster
munitions, and reiterate our commitment to continuing
to promote the Convention’s universalization.
Because silence is not an option for us, we reiterate
our rejection of nuclear weapons. No State should
develop or possess nuclear weapons. Maintaining and
updating nuclear weapons requires immense economic
and human resources that are necessary for responding
to the key challenges of our time, such as achieving
the Millennium Development Goals and the sustainable
development goals. Costa Rica is ready to negotiate a
new, legally binding instrument on nuclear disarmament
and calls on States to honour their commitments in that
regard.
There can be no peace without sustainable
development. There can be no peace in the world so
long as there is poverty. There can be no peace in the
presence of extreme wealth disparity. There can be no
peace while we destroy humankind’s habitat. There
can be no peace while large sectors of humankind
lack guaranteed access to drinking water. There can
be no peace so long as we fail to understand that all
of humankind and Planet Earth’s biodiversity can and
must thrive and live together. There can be no peace
while we fail to guarantee all human rights — civil,
cultural, economic, political and social — and in
particular the right to development.
Because we yearn for peace, we call on the
nations of the world to join us in defining the post-
2015 development agenda. In just one year’s time,
the General Assembly will be tasked with adopting
the international framework for achieving sustainable
development. The challenge we will face is colossal;
we must therefore humbly acknowledge that, despite
progress, the implementation of the Millennium
Development Goals has been, at best, insufficient.
I am convinced that the new sustainable development
agenda must be a tool primed for action, with precise
objectives, clear targets and indicators that will allow us
to measure and monitor its success. In addition, it must
result from a broad international consensus, including
open and transparent negotiation processes that involve
not only the Member States, but also other international
actors and civil society organizations whose experience
will significantly enrich the final agreement.
We are facing the most serious threat in our
history — the very survival of our species. Actions
taken to confront it must not be timid. On the contrary,
every public policy, national and international alike,
must take climate change into account as a determining
factor. Costa Rica celebrates the vision of the Secretary-
General in convening the Climate Summit at the
opening of this session. Now is the time to demonstrate
our political commitment to achieving a legally binding
instrument on climate change by 2015. In addition, we
demand robust action on the part of those countries that
contribute most to global warming. Their production
and consumption methods must be completely revised
as their impact on the planet’s most impoverished
people — the ones most affected by climate change — is
undeniable. If humankind is to survive, we must reverse
the current trend.
Three years ago, 33 countries came together to
establish the Community of Latin American and
Caribbean States (CELAC). Its agenda is underpinned
by full respect for the purposes and principles of the
Charter of the United Nations and international law.
Its objective is to build diverse, equitable, fair and
egalitarian societies, where eradicating poverty and
hunger are given priority status. I salute the nations,
members of this community.
In an international context of increasing military
tension and armed conflict, and with the realization
that a region’s prosperity and stability can contribute
to international peace and security, CELAC member
States have declared Latin America and the Caribbean
a zone of peace. As President Pro Tempore of CELAC,
Costa Rica reiterates its commitment to preventive
diplomacy and the peaceful resolution of disputes,
with the aim of forever eradicating both the use and the
threat of force from our region.
Costa Rica trusts that the United Nations will
maintain international peace and security in order to
promote sustainable development and ensure genuine
respect for all human rights. At a time when we must
control the reflexive use of coercive measures as a
first course of action, when anxiety and despair are
unsettling many, it is essential to re-establish hope.
When faced with fear, we must have confidence. When
faced with conflict, we must turn to peace. When faced
with rejection and prejudice on the part of others, we
must offer a caring and fraternal embrace. When faced
with death, we must think of life.
With faith in dialogue and consultation, I have
come to the General Assembly to ask that we declare
peace — that we conscientiously and decisively work
together towards a culture and education for peace;
towards strengthening of the social State based on
the rule of law, as well as its institutions and our
economies; towards conflict prevention and resolution
of international controversies by peaceful means;
towards a renewed role for the Security Council;
towards an end to and a reversal of climate change; and
towards sustainable development from which not one
person in the world is excluded.
I have come to tell the Assembly that silence is
not an option for us. We must raise our voices when
confronted with actions and situations that go against
the universal principles enshrined in the Charter of
the United Nations. I have come to inspire us to work
together on new paradigms for sustainable development,
human security and peace for the whole world.
The Costa Rican poet Julieta Dobles Yzaguirre
wondered: “Will the Earth in the new millennium/
become that common home?” I would like to respond to
the poet with her own words: “No one is saved alone./
Perhaps in sharing words and actions/ peace will finally
break out.”