Peru

Through you, Sir, I would like to congratulate the President of the General Assembly on his election, which was so richly deserved because of his vast experience in international affairs and his well-known personal qualities. Uruguay, a friend to Peru, represents the authentic aspiration to peace and respect for international law that are standards of conduct for Latin America and for Peru. I hereby reaffirm my countryâs unwavering adherence to the purposes, principles and standards enshrined in the Charter of the United Nations, which provide a guarantee of harmonious relations among States and of the full applicability of international law, as well as a foundation for the worldwide promotion of human rights, economic and social development and cooperation for development — all touchstones of international peace and security. Only 10 years ago, the community of nations was moved by the dream of building a peaceful, democratic, equitable and multilateral new world order. Today, while we appreciate the continuing extension throughout the world of those positive tendencies, we note as well an accumulation of negative developments that threaten to initiate a period of uncertainty and change posing unprecedented challenges to our multilateral institutions and urgently demanding analyses and strategies to confront them. The world financial crisis is affecting the very foundations of the international system. The provision of emergency financial relief may help individual countries, but it does not contribute to the health of the system as a whole, and it highlights the imperfections of the existing supervisory mechanisms. There is thus a need for a review of the Bretton Woods institutions and a revision of their policies so as to adapt them to current reality. The growing imbalance among countries in the economic and social areas is another deeply troubling element. The 1998 Human Development Report indicates that 20 per cent of the inhabitants of high-income countries consume 86 per cent of the worldâs goods and services. In contrast, the poorest 20 per cent consume less than 2 per cent. This reality underscores the urgent need to foster real sustainable human development throughout the world, as well as within our countries, which are confronting the challenge of relieving excruciating poverty. Not only is it urgently necessary to strengthen multilateral institutions and achieve friendly cooperation, but it actually can be done. A few indications of current positive trends are the worldwide consolidation of democracy, the recognition of the central value of individuals and their inherent rights, the participation of civil society, the need to modify patterns of consumption and production for the advancement of sustainable development, the development and dissemination of technology and the significant though as yet insufficient progress in the fight against drug-trafficking and the struggle against poverty. Understanding continues to grow among States regarding the concept of sustainable human development. For the past eight years, we Peruvians have been engaged in a process of national reconstruction and structural reform, the overriding aim of which is the eradication of poverty. 31 The Peruvian Government, under the leadership of President Alberto Fujimori, continues to implement a series of policies and programmes to improve the quality of life of all our citizens. The fundamental element of these efforts is the strategy for the fight against poverty. Our firm commitment to eradicating poverty is reflected in the national budget, which allocates more than 40 per cent to social spending. The national priority is the reduction of extreme poverty by 50 per cent — from 19 per cent to 10 per cent of the population — by the year 2000. Along the same lines, the Peruvian Government accords great importance to policies aimed at achieving gender equality and the full participation of women, population policies and policies for the protection of the most vulnerable: children, the elderly, the handicapped and internally displaced persons. In the year of the fiftieth anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, Peru remains committed to giving substantive meaning to its content, incorporating its principles in legislation and putting them into practice through education and information and by including them in policies of development. The protection and fostering of human rights is a priority and a duty for Peruvians, which is why we defend the universality, indivisibility, comprehensiveness and non-discriminatory application of human rights. My country has signed and ratified almost all the international instruments concerning human rights, both universal and regional. Consequently, we call upon those countries that still are not parties to the two International Covenants on human rights and to the American Convention on Human Rights to ratify them, not only in honour of the fiftieth anniversary but also so that they will be consistent with the principles they continually espouse in the international arena. The persistence of new non-military global threats — such as international terrorism, the intensification of organized crime, corruption and the problem of drugs — adds to the gravity of the present international situation. Peru, which has suffered from terrorist violence, knows that this barbarism constitutes an assault on the individual and on society as a whole. It aims to destroy democracy and fundamental freedoms, in addition to threatening the peace and security of nations. In consequence, we consider all terrorist acts a systematic and deliberate violation of human rights that cannot be justified by any ideology or for any other reason, and that they should therefore be treated only as criminal acts. Peru categorically condemns terrorism in all its forms and manifestations and urges the international community to combat it vigorously. With the same determination, Peru reiterates that cases of international terrorism should be resolutely combated within the framework of international law. In 1990 there were 120 thousand hectares of coca in Peru. Today, in a spectacular decline, this has been reduced by half, and with it the number of peasant families linked to the coca economy. Through programmes of alternative development it is possible to avoid a resurgence in the supply of coca leaves. We therefore need to combine national efforts with international support to overcome a complex problem that is a matter of shared responsibility. In this regard, we are promoting debt-swap programmes for alternative development projects. We have also convened a donor consulting group, which will meet next November, sponsored by the Inter-American Bank, the Inter- American Commission for the Control of Drug Abuse and the European Union. As President Alberto Fujimori stated during the special session of the General Assembly devoted to the drug problem, “The purpose of the meeting is to secure the complementary financial resources required to implement alternative development, prevention and rehabilitation programmes within the framework of anti-poverty policies and the sustainable management of natural resources.” (A/S-20/PV.2, p. 2) I strongly reaffirm that my country is committed to fighting drug-trafficking and its related effects until they are eradicated. The criminal structures of drug-trafficking cannot be given any respite during which they might reconstitute themselves. For this reason the international community must intensify its joint efforts to put an end to this scourge that affects humanity. Because Peru has recently experienced a crisis situation, we face major difficulties resulting from internally displaced communities. Throughout the world there has been a dramatic increase in the number of the internally displaced in recent years, which makes it essential to strengthen United Nations action in this sphere. Consequently, we declare before the General Assembly the urgent need to further deepen and expand the mandates, programmes and sources of funding for the systemâs specialized agencies and bodies, with the aim of 32 prioritizing assistance to those countries affected by this problem. Peru is a peace-loving nation which works for peace and rejects conflict; which aspires to strengthen political and economic cooperation with all countries and groups of countries in different regions, on the basis of common interests and mutual benefit. In the realm of peace and security, the international community must now unite against new tendencies towards nuclear proliferation and a growing number of internal conflicts and conflicts between States in various parts of the world. To this must be added conventional arms races and the hundreds of thousands of anti-personnel mines that are still deployed in the world, whose shocking and unjust consequences we all know. These facts together threaten to overwhelm the existing capacities of our countries and our international institutions. Peru vigorously supports general and complete disarmament under strict international control. This is both a necessary condition for peace and an ongoing task of our Organization. Deplorable recent developments in the sphere of nuclear proliferation underscore the urgency of perfecting the existing non-proliferation regimes and the imperative need for negotiations on nuclear disarmament to go forward. The proposed fourth special session of the General Assembly devoted to disarmament will have to consider these questions on a priority basis. We Latin Americans now appreciate all the more the Treaty of Tlatelolco, which created in our region the first inhabited zone of the planet to be free of nuclear weapons, and we are continuing to develop ties of cooperation with other nuclear-weapon-free zones. My country was the first Latin American State to ratify the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty, and consequently rejects any kind of nuclear test anywhere in the world. The Convention on anti-personnel landmines is a positive sign of change on the international scene. This makes plain the humanitarian concerns that inspire the conscience of the world. We are pleased that it will enter into force in March 1999, and are particularly interested in its full implementation after that date. Accordingly, the international community will have to give its active cooperation and make the utmost effort to remove or destroy the mines already planted in every region of the world. Peru was one of the first countries to ratify the Ottawa Convention and it already begun to adopt its applicable provisions. We call upon all countries which have not yet done so to ratify or adhere to the Ottawa Convention as soon as possible, as a contribution to peace, security, human coexistence and the development of our peoples. We trust that those States which have already signed it but have not yet ratified it will comply with article 18 of the Vienna Convention on the Law of Treaties, under which signatory nations must abstain from acts which would frustrate the purpose of the Ottawa Convention. We believe that the United Nations Regional Centre for Peace, Disarmament and Development in Latin American and the Caribbean, which has its headquarters in Lima, can contribute to promoting a culture of peace and strengthening the efforts towards disarmament in the region, including dealing with the problem of mines. In the foregoing scenario, the reform and strengthening of the United Nations system take on even greater importance. Change and adjustment lead to greater efficiency. The process of structural and functional reform of the United Nations, rendered imperative by globalization and changes on the international scene, makes it necessary to ensure the coherence of its programmes and activities and to transform the Organization into an agent of sustainable human development. We believe that it is appropriate and timely to continue our efforts to define the criteria that should guide reform of the Security Council. Decisions on this fundamental matter should necessarily be adopted on the basis of the broadest possible agreement and in the spirit and letter of the Charter of the United Nations, which would itself be revised. The modifications we desire aim towards a more representative and efficient world Organization. In that regard, this effort must not give way to confrontation and discord. Let us rather support all efforts directed towards allowing the Organization to respond to the real needs of all its Member States. 33 Peru pays tribute to the peacekeeping operations of the United Nations on their fiftieth anniversary and honours the memory of the men and women, soldiers, police and civilians, including Peruvian nationals, who have sacrificed their lives in this noble mission. The peacekeeping operations, in some of which my country took part, are emblematic of the responsibility that the Charter assigns to our Organization. We wish to reiterate, Mr. President, our best wishes to you and to the Assembly in this new period we are entering, which will surely have important implications for the international community.