Permit me to express to you, Sir, my delegation’s warm
congratulations on your election to the presidency of
the General Assembly at its sixty-second session. We
are convinced that you will be able to skilfully guide
our efforts to attain the common objectives that we
have set for the session. I should also like to express
Mexico’s gratitude for the excellent work of your
predecessor, Sheikha Haya Rashed Al-Khalifa.
Likewise, I wish to express my gratitude to
Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon for the work
accomplished on major items on our agenda during the
first months of his mandate. I also wish to congratulate
him on the high-level event on climate change, held
last week, which undoubtedly helped to raise
awareness about an issue that deserves priority
attention.
At a time when the international community is
facing many challenges that test our capacity to fulfil
the purposes enshrined in the Charter of the United
Nations, it is essential to strengthen and make effective
use of multilateral institutions. In that connection, the
Organization must daily reaffirm itself as the
indisputable centre for coexistence among States and
the guarantor of compliance with international law.
Mexico, as a founding Member of this pre-eminent
universal forum, takes this opportunity to reaffirm its
firm and decisive commitment to multilateralism.
We are living in a complex world situation
characterized by armed conflicts of various sorts,
including inter-ethnic conflicts that are not confined by
borders; the commission of terrorist acts; the
destabilizing activities of transnational organized
crime; the proliferation of the arms race in all its
aspects; and environmental degradation, situations of
abject poverty, social exclusion and discrimination and
pandemics affecting broad sectors of the world
population. That is why, more than ever before, we
need an Organization capable of meeting the needs of
women and men throughout the world. In that context,
we must think about the role of the United Nations.
Mexico sees three fundamental approaches for
harmonizing relations among States and addressing the
great challenges of our time: shared responsibility in
the face of globalization, the promotion of human
security for development and the responsibility to
cooperate in the multilateral arena.
Every State is responsible, to its own society and
to the international community, for guaranteeing the
rule of law and the full enjoyment of human rights,
promoting development, protecting the environment
and countering new threats to security in order to
provide the best possible living conditions for its
people. The actions of the Government of Mexico at
the internal level are based on those pillars so as to
guarantee the rule of law throughout the national
territory, given the onslaught of organized crime, and
to reaffirm the authority of the State in the full exercise
of its responsibilities.
The security of the population is not limited to
the physical protection of individuals. That is why
human security must be understood as a broad and
integral concept that can meet the needs of society as a
whole. It is a concept that includes elements ranging
from strict respect for human rights and fundamental
freedoms to adequate preparation of the population to
deal with natural disasters or pandemics.
Mindful of the value of the individual, the
Government of Mexico bases its activities on the quest
for sustainable human development, which means
seeking to promote the comprehensive development of
individuals in all aspects social, economic, political,
cultural, human and environmental and to do it in
such a way as to ensure that future generations have
opportunities to achieve well-being.
Within the framework of multilateral institutions,
States have freely shouldered the obligation to
cooperate with others in addressing all problems in
areas such as, inter alia, combating drug trafficking and
terrorism and preserving the environment, in which
internal efforts alone are insufficient and concerted
action is required.
Shared responsibility in the face of globalization,
promoting human security for development and the
responsibility to cooperate in the multilateral arena are
among the main concerns of our Organization. A good
example of this is climate change. As the
Secretary-General himself has indicated, climate
change is among the most serious, complex and
multifaceted threats confronting the world. Mexico
favours the multilateral climate change regime
developed within the United Nations as an ideal
framework for shaping commitments to be adopted in
the near future. The United Nations Framework
Convention on Climate Change and the Kyoto Protocol
are the appropriate areas for negotiation.
Emerging and developing countries must consider
the fact that the costs of inaction of passivity in the
face of climate change will be to the detriment of their
own development efforts. We in Mexico have
understood this. The national development plan 2007-
2012 includes actions related to environmental
sustainability, with two specific objectives: reducing
emissions of greenhouse gases and promoting measures
to adapt to the effects of climate change. The inaction
of others must not be a pretext for failing to do our
part. We are convinced that shared but differentiated
responsibilities must motivate all countries to take
action to the best of their abilities and that developed
countries, without exception, must contribute
substantially to the collective effort in the
technological and financial sphere.
Mexico believes that we must break away from
the limitations of the Clean Development Mechanism
of the Kyoto Protocol, whereby the achievement of
developed countries’ goals depends on their
geographical location. What we need are positive
incentives to supplement, not replace, the national
efforts of developing countries. It is urgent that such
incentives reward the efforts of beneficiary countries
that make such efforts in their own interests.
Accordingly, those that do more should receive greater
support.
In recent years, the international community has
had to face a series of challenges in the fight against
terrorism. One of those challenges has been to
guarantee the maintenance of international peace and
security in the face of terrorism’s evil effects without
renouncing the universal and absolute values of human
rights. That is an essential condition for civilized
coexistence within and beyond our borders.
The United Nations has determined, in a number
of commitments, that measures adopted by States to
combat terrorism and to protect their citizens and
provide adequate security for them must respect
obligations undertaken in accordance with international
law, in particular human rights norms, the rights of
refugees and international humanitarian law.
Promoting and protecting human rights is one of
the highest priorities for the Government of Mexico.
We, the international community, have the
responsibility to ensure universal and indivisible
respect for human rights for all, regardless of the
circumstances. Today, the situation in Myanmar
demands our attention.
The creation of the Human Rights Council and
the adoption of the institutional reform package, which
includes the establishment of a universal periodic
review mechanism, have marked a watershed in
building a more just and equitable international system
for human rights. Double standards in this area can no
longer exist. With objectivity and in a spirit of
cooperation, we must promote the evaluation of human
rights in all Member States without any distinction.
That effort strengthens the essential role of the
Organization in developing international norms to
protect human rights and represents the most solid
foundation for achieving the well-being of our peoples.
In that regard, we welcome the recent adoption of
the Convention on the Rights of Persons with
Disabilities and the United Nations Declaration on the
Rights of Indigenous Peoples. Mexico remains open to
scrutiny by treaty bodies and to special procedures on
human rights, which have played an essential role in
identifying the challenges our country still faces.
Given the multidimensional nature of
international migration, Mexico believes that our
Organization is the most fitting forum for dealing with
these problems, on the basis of the principle of shared
responsibility and of strengthening cooperation among
States directly affected by that phenomenon. The issue
of migration can in no way be limited solely to its State
security aspects. We must have a comprehensive
understanding based on respect for the human rights of
all migrants, regardless of their legal status, taking into
account the economic, social and cultural implications
of the phenomenon.
We say this from our own experience. Mexico is
a country of origin, transit and destination for
migrants. For that reason, in addition to recognizing
our own responsibility domestically, we must adopt
effective measures to strengthen the international
framework for the protection of migrants. The
International Convention on the Protection of the
Rights of All Migrant Workers and Members of Their
Families is, without a doubt, a valuable reference
point. While we recognize the need to cooperate in that
area, Mexico is shouldering its own responsibility to
create conditions so that our compatriots are able to
find more and better opportunities within our country.
That is why the Government of President Felipe
Calderón is taking action on a number of fronts to
promote public and private investment in order to
develop programmes to create more jobs; to increase
access to secondary and post-secondary education; to
guarantee access to medical services, including in the
most isolated and marginalized areas of the country; to
ensure social security coverage; and to reduce
inequality among our citizens.
It is clear that the success of our development
policies requires a favourable international economic
environment and cooperation among States. The United
Nations is playing an essential role in providing
technical assistance and monitoring the implementation
of commitments undertaken by the international
community at the major conferences, summits and
forums sponsored by the Organization.
Seven years from the date set for the achievement
of the Millennium Development Goals, we note with
concern that while significant progress has been
achieved in some areas of the world, in other areas
there are still delays and even steps backward. We
recognize that each country is responsible for its own
development. However, national efforts must be
accompanied by international action based on the
global alliance forged at the International Conference
on Financing for Development, held in Monterrey,
Mexico. That will ensure complementarity between
national strategies and the development of the world
economy. Mexico hopes that the Economic and Social
Council’s new Development Cooperation Forum and
the international review conference on the Monterrey
Consensus to be held in Doha in 2008 will be steps in
that direction.
International security requires renewed
commitments. Although there has been a numerical
reduction in nuclear arsenals since the end of the cold
war, it is disturbing to see the growing sophistication
of related technology. Unfortunately, that points to a
new phase in the arms race. Mexico is convinced that
the only guarantee against the use of nuclear weapons
is a progressive reduction aimed at their complete
elimination and the certainty that they will never be
produced again. As one of the initial steps for
achieving nuclear disarmament, the Comprehensive
Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty must enter into force as soon
as possible. Mexico also believes that the vital
strengthening of the non-proliferation regime requires
the fulfilment of obligations undertaken by all States,
nuclear and non-nuclear, under the Treaty on the
Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons (NPT), with a
view to its universalization. If no progress is achieved
on non-proliferation or disarmament, fear, mistrust and
greater insecurity will prevail. In this regard, the NPT
review conference to be held in 2010 is a new
opportunity for safeguarding and strengthening these
objectives.
We welcome the agreements recently reached
with the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea. We
are convinced that the ongoing controversy over
nuclear matters in the case of the Islamic Republic of
Iran must be resolved through diplomacy and strict
compliance with commitments undertaken within the
framework of the International Atomic Energy Agency.
Mexico supports the resolution of conflicts in
various regions through dialogue, negotiations and full
respect for international law. That is particularly true in
dealing with the most critical items on the United
Nations agenda.
We are following with particular attention recent
developments on various aspects of the situation in the
Middle East and their impact on international stability.
We support efforts aimed at a new peace process
between Israel and Palestine, convinced that a final
solution can be achieved only through negotiation
between the parties with the active support of the
international community. We hope that in the very near
future the State of Israel and a politically and
economically viable Palestinian State can coexist
within secure and internationally recognized borders,
in accordance with the relevant Security Council
resolutions.
If multilateralism has returned, it is now up to
States to show the political will necessary to promote
concrete reform, ranging from adjusting the Security
Council to meet the needs of our time to ensuring
greater coherence in action to promote sustainable
development. The response to the institutional crisis of
recent years does not lie in alternative mechanisms or
unilateral or partial approaches, but rather, we must
give the Organization the necessary tools to carry out
its responsibilities effectively.
Mexico believes that expanding the Security
Council is an unavoidable necessity in order to make
that body more representative. In this regard, my
Government favours increasing the number of
non-permanent members, with the possibility of being
re-elected in order to promote accountability. We
believe that any other formula will highlight existing
inequalities.
Mexico is the tenth largest contributor to this
Organization and a country loyal to the cause of the
United Nations. We are committed to its reform and
ready to shoulder greater responsibilities on the
international scene. In line with this vision, Mexico has
submitted its candidacy for a non-permanent seat on
the Security Council for the 2009-2010 period.
The Government of Mexico has expressed its
political will to constructively participate in the work
of the Council in the areas of maintaining international
peace and security and dealing with questions on the
world agenda that are within the purview of the
Council.
On this basis, Mexico reaffirms its determination
to actively contribute to building a more secure,
democratic and equitable international society.