Mexico

The election of the Minister for Foreign Affairs of Uruguay as President of the General Assembly at its fifty-third session is a source of pride for Latin America and the Caribbean. I am personally familiar with the talent, experience and diplomatic skill of Minister Opertti and I am convinced that these qualities will help to guide, motivate and strengthen our work. My delegation would also like to express its appreciation to Hennadiy Udovenko for the outstanding work that he accomplished as President at the session that just closed. Last July, we had the honour of welcoming our Secretary-General to Mexico. On that occasion we observed anew his firm and resolute commitment to strengthen the United Nations, adapting it to confront the challenges of the end of the century. We recognize in Kofi Annan a man with a clear vision of the future of the Organization, and we are confident that he will know how to guide it in this transition stage towards a new millennium. Mexico is a country with a profound multilateral calling. Our desire to seek international agreement finds fertile ground for development in this forum. It is for this reason that we are convinced of the urgent need to strengthen it and to seek within it shared answers to the challenges that the new global agenda presents. Mexicoâs commitment to the United Nations does not consist of words alone. A week ago, the Government of President Ernesto Zedillo reconfirmed this by sending the International Convention on the Protection of the Rights of All Migrant Workers and Members of Their Families to the Mexican Senate for approval. From the very beginning of negotiations on that Convention, over which Mexico had the honour of presiding, we insisted on the importance of having legal instruments to ensure respect for and protection of the rights of migrant workers. By taking that step, Mexico is showing its unswerving commitment to the norms of international law and is making progress in consolidating itself as a State of law. Convinced of the need to strengthen the international system that makes it possible for us to have the will and the necessary instruments to confront together the challenges of the end of the century, President Zedillo promoted the convening of the special session of the General Assembly devoted to the problem of drugs. As of that meeting, principles of responsibility shared among States and of strict respect for sovereignty, territorial integrity and non-interference in the internal affairs of States replaced the scenario of mutual recrimination and unilateral evaluations. We now have the bases for a global consensus regarding the policies that must be adopted by 8 States in order to consolidate an unprecedented effort at cooperation based on this new global, integral and balanced strategy. Mexico will not regress in its efforts to implement the commitments that we adopted last June. The international agenda today, as reflected in the agenda of the General Assembly, is very broad and complex. I would like to refer on this occasion to only three questions which I consider to be of particular relevance: disarmament, which has been a constant issue in Mexicoâs foreign policy; the reform of our Organization, which will help to shape the community of nations in the next century; and the international financial crisis, which greatly jeopardizes the efforts of our countries to attain full development, as well as our ability to advance towards the future. As far as the subject of disarmament is concerned, there is no doubt that the existence of nuclear arsenals remains one of the central problems in international relations. The threat of an atomic conflagration cannot be disregarded, and we must reiterate our commitment to fashioning a world which is free of nuclear weapons. For Mexico, the objective of eliminating these instruments of mass destruction is realistic and viable. It is time to set aside arguments that, for strategic reasons, have served to conceal the efforts of those who either do not want to give up their present nuclear capacity or else want to join the group of countries that possess this destructive ability. One can contribute to nuclear disarmament only by eliminating nuclear weapons. This is why we seek to broaden and strengthen international commitments in this respect. Our political conviction is that we must achieve new agreements that remove this scourge from humankind. Mexico condemns all nuclear testing from principle and out of conviction. We affirmed this recently in the light of the tests conducted by India and Pakistan. Far from contributing to stability and regional balance, such actions promote the proliferation of uncertainty and fear. They also contribute to a climate conducive to the nuclear arms race. I would like on this occasion to reiterate Mexicoâs conviction that dialogue and negotiation are and will remain the irreplaceable means of resolving disputes. It was in that spirit that last 9 July we supported a ministerial statement that sought to define a new agenda for the elimination of weapons of mass destruction. We co-sponsors of that declaration introduced a draft resolution that we hope will receive the resolute support of Member States so that we can in that way demonstrate the resolve of the community of nations to move towards a world free of nuclear weapons. We are also committed to a new, integral approach to the subject of disarmament and the prohibition of weapons of mass destruction or weapons with excessively cruel and inhuman effects. There has been progress recently in the Conference on Disarmament related to security guarantees and the prohibition on the production of fissionable materials destined to be used for such weapons. We are likewise pleased at the growing support being given to the treaties on anti-personnel landmines and on chemical and bacteriological weapons. In particular, we are gratified at the entry into force on 1 March 1999 of the Convention on the Prohibition of the Use, Stockpiling, Production and Transfer of Anti- personnel Mines and on Their Destruction. Once again we urge the countries that have not yet done so to ratify as soon as possible these conventions that seek to eliminate such weapons from the face of the Earth. The proliferation of small arms and its link with criminal organizations and drug-trafficking constitute a significant challenge to the majority of nations. Combating this is a priority of the Government of Mexico. The Inter-American Convention against the Illicit Manufacturing of and Trafficking in Firearms, Ammunition, Explosives and Other Related Materials, which was the result of a Mexican initiative, is of crucial importance and should therefore be taken into account in further negotiations on transnational crime. In the present situation, which demands that we clearly define the framework for international relations and adapt it in a timely way, the initiatives for reforming our Organization presented by the Secretary-General acquire special significance. The United Nations must reform itself if it is to remain a central force in our collective lives. We must recognize that traditional mechanisms for harmonization and negotiation are showing clear signs of exhaustion. We must rethink these strategies in order to deal with old and new problems. The consolidation of a structure which is truly democratic, transparent and well balanced, and which is consistent with the purpose and principles of the San Francisco Charter must be our common goal. 9 In this context, I wish to stress the importance of achieving a better balance between the principal organs of the United Nations. The Security Council needs to be reformed in order to strengthen its legitimacy, representativeness, effectiveness, democracy and transparency. In considering its structure, we must correct the deficiencies in its present composition. It is not a matter of size; rather, the problem is the lack of balance in its representativeness. The Security Council must reflect the plurality and diversity of the membership of the United Nations, taking into account the profound changes in political geography experienced in the last decade. Likewise, we must avoid repeating or even broadening existing inequalities. For this reason, Mexico is against increasing the number of permanent members. Let us not fall into the fallacy of believing that the Councilâs effectiveness resides in the right of veto. All rights bear responsibilities and these must not be abused. Otherwise, the necessary legitimacy which makes the Security Council efficient and effective is eroded. This is why I wish to reiterate our appeal to the permanent members to join in an open-minded way in designing a system to regulate the sphere of application of that privilege. Nonetheless, we recognize that structural reform of the Security Council will not in itself guarantee its effectiveness. Hence, we insist on the need to progress towards a thorough revision of its working methods and of the decision-making process. The community of nations has given that organ the high responsibility of ensuring international peace and security. Under paragraph 1 of Article 24 of the Charter, the members of the Organization recognize that the Council acts in our name in carrying out these functions. It is therefore clear that the Security Councilâs attitude must be profoundly democratic and one of respect towards the General Assembly, in accordance with paragraph 3 of the same Article. Anything else would be a violation of the letter and spirit of the Charter, and would mean an erosion of the Councilâs legitimacy and its capacity to fulfil the responsibilities that we have entrusted to it. We must break this vicious circle and make serious progress in the design and implementation of the needed reforms. My country will continue to participate actively in the Working Group charged with reform of the Security Council. We hope to be able to submit to the Assembly recommendations that can receive widespread support, genuinely reflecting the collective aspirations of all the members of the United Nations. Our concerns about international security and the capacity of our multilateral forums to respond effectively to new challenges are compounded today by the uncertainty caused by the international financial crisis. It is obvious that the Bretton Woods system has shown its inability to respond adequately to the challenges of the current international financial crisis. We are undoubtedly faced with a situation of high risk which threatens to erode the important development attainments of our emerging economies. Given the vicissitudes of the international financial situation, we, the countries of Latin America, have endeavoured to maintain our economic strength through profound and sometimes difficult processes of structural reform. We reaffirm our commitment to continue to manage in a responsible way the economic policy mechanisms that ensure our stability and growth. It is clear that this is not enough and that concerted action is needed on the part of all countries and international financial organs. Heads of State and Government of the Rio Group meeting in Panama on 4-5 September urged the countries in which the financial crisis originated to adopt the measures needed to correct their imbalances. They made an appeal to the countries of the Group of 7 to immediately take the necessary measures to restore stability to financial markets and to ensure the growth of the world economy. The Rio Group also appealed to international financial institutions to be involved more quickly and effectively in finding solutions to the international financial crisis. Overcoming the present situation must be our priority. We must be creative in order to find formulas that make it possible for us to avoid recurring financial crises and banish the spectre of global recession. Just as the community of nations has recognized the wisdom of preventive action to protect international peace and security, it is now necessary to take that same course in order to prevent cracks in the fabric of the world economy. We must consider ways of implementing an early warning system that will allow us to detect financial crises in time and thus avoid their harmful effects. In the recent past, there have been warning signs which in isolation were not identified as a prelude to more serious problems. We must collect such experiences, learn from them and prepare ourselves better for the future. 10 No country is free from responsibilities, just as no country is free of the effects of international financial imbalances. It is therefore up to us together and with a clear sense of direction to seek the proper mechanisms to respond early to signs that larger problems are imminent. In this universal forum, I reiterate our conviction that we must act resolutely in the short term. We need to define an agenda for international economic stability. We appeal to the Secretary-General so that, under his leadership and guidance, we can share experiences and proposals that will help us work toward global financial security. By attaining that goal of preventive diplomacy, we will be contributing to the development and well-being of millions of persons who are victims of the financial uncertainty that today afflicts all economies, particularly those of a relatively lower level of development, and endangers the stability of all nations. In the face of an uncertain political and economic panorama, the role of the United Nations takes on new relevance. Recent changes on the international scene yield unprecedented opportunities but at the same time present challenges for which there are no easy answers. We must act together in order to encourage the necessary consensus as that will allow us to take advantage of the benefits of globalization and confront its challenges. We must fortify our individual and collective capacity in order to take advantage of the positive trends towards peace, stability, development and respect for law. Likewise, we must strengthen our ability to banish confrontation, violence, terror and inequality. The United Nations is the necessary forum for facing international problems and finding solutions to them. As we reaffirm our commitment to the purposes of the San Francisco Charter, we shall continue to promote the participation of the United Nations in the definition of the parameters of international coexistence.