Costa Rica congratulates the President of the General Assembly on his election and reiterates its commitment to work to achieve the goals we have set for this session. We face old and new challenges, in the form of conflict
that is spreading like wildfire throughout every corner of the globe.
With regard to the war against Ukraine. Costa Rica urgently calls for concrete and immediate steps to be taken to establish a ceasefire and draw up a peace plan under which the Russian Federation is to withdraw its troops and be held accountable under international law for its actions. My country regrets Russia’s suspension of the Black Sea Grain Initiative. It is clear to Costa Ricans that this conflict has implications beyond Ukraine’s borders, including food insecurity for States that rely on Ukrainian wheat and Russian fertilizers.
In such an interconnected world, it is imperative to recognize that there are no longer geographical boundaries when it comes to both the consequences of conflict and climate catastrophe. And the poorest and most vulnerable bear the heaviest burden. Nevertheless, there is still time to correct the course of our inaction. I have therefore come to propose that we use this new session to promote actions in four areas. The first is strengthening our collective security architecture. The second is a new global social compact. The third is the reform of the international financial system. And the fourth is to reframe our relationship to the planet.
Exceptional circumstances require courage and leadership to prevent our collective security architecture from collapsing before us like a house of cards. Courage is needed to reach compromises to enable us to overcome the status quo and undertake positive reforms. We are faced not only with the paralysis of the Security Council but also with the clear violation of the Charter of the United Nations itself by one of the permanent members and the almost generalized non-compliance with international treaties on disarmament, non-proliferation and arms control by those who are supposed to guarantee our security.
In addition, we urgently need new governance frameworks on cybersecurity, cybercrime and artificial intelligence. The militarization of new technologies poses specific problems. Therefore, in accordance with what was agreed in the Belem communique and. together with Austria and Mexico, we will submit a draft resolution to the General Assembly that addresses the issue of autonomous weapons systems.
For Costa Rica, it is clear that the responsibility for the sustainability of the financing of peace should be mostly borne by those who violate it. And I say that because almost 15 years ago military spending was slightly over $1 trillion. Ten years later, global military spending has more than doubled, exceeding $2 trillion, despite the fact that Article 26 of the Charter of the United Nations prescribes the pursuit of international peace and security with minimum spending on arms. Costa Rica calls for the mandate of Article 26 to be honoured and calls on all Member States to commit to the intentional and sustained reduction of military spending. Our only weapon should be international law. Therefore. Costa Rica welcomes the fact that the General Assembly is assuming the functions granted to it by the Charter with a more active role in international peace and security. My country is also proud to be at the forefront of that trend and is committed to continuing on that path, because we cannot afford to wait for a dysfunctional Security Council to fulfil its obligations.
Human security is the foundation of a new global social compact, a compact that refocuses our development efforts and international cooperation on the needs of people. That means a concerted effort must be made to address transnational challenges such as migration, organized crime and policies and patterns that are at the root of inequality and environmental degradation. Solidarity, shared responsibility and respect for human rights must be our compass.
In Costa Rica. 11 per cent of our inhabitants are migrants. We are the Latin American country with the greatest proportion of migrants in relation to its total population. And according to data from the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, we are the third country in the world in receiving asylum applications, reaching more than 270.000 as of September of this year. But. as a middle-income country, our resources are limited and our current and emerging needs have been rendered invisible. In that regard. Costa Rica calls on the international community to take immediate action so that it can manage migratory flows in a safe and orderly manner. We require financial support for the effective integration of those people into our social fabric. Multilateral organizations and international financial institutions must recognize that middle- and upper-income countries cannot be excluded from international cooperation and a fair distribution of resources based on the countries’ needs.
My third call to action must be the reform of the international financial system. The redesign of the international financial system must be aimed at peace, human security and sustainable development, beyond geopolitical reorganization. And that change
must occur in each and every international financial institution, including regional and global development banks, which must be aligned with that common goal. This is nothing less than a systemic reform. There can be no reform without a radical rethinking of the criteria for access to official development assistance, under which sustainability and peace would be given priority, alongside new mechanisms aimed at closing gaps and asymmetries. We need countercyclical solutions to the systemic failure that forces us to choose between our human security and the payment of our debts. We need more investment, more cooperation and more financing now. when we can still make transformative decisions and generate safety nets for those most affected.
Fourthly, we are running out of time to save our home. We need to rethink our relationship with the planet. Costa Rica is an example showing that it is possible to promote development while protecting the environment. Its commitment to urgently addressing the interconnected environmental crises is beyond doubt. That requires action, ambition and resolve to reach our 30x30 conservation goal of no more than 1.5°C of global warming.
We continue to lead the way in reversing deforestation through our protected areas programme and payments for environmental services programme, in which through new modalities, resources are made available and agreements are put in place under the reducing emissions from deforestation and forest degradation programme to recognize all of our 22 indigenous territories for their guardianship of our forests.
However, because of our geographic location in one of the regions most vulnerable to the impacts of extreme weather, we have focused on prevention and preparedness to ensure that natural disasters have the lowest human cost. But their economic impact, in particular on infrastructure, continues to be devastating and disproportionately affects the poorest and most vulnerable, including rural and coastal communities. That is why. for Costa Rica, resilience has always been a smart investment when it is based on prevention, preparedness and a rapid and inclusive response. That must be our compass in renewing our relationship with the planet.
As a major ocean State, we also call for a wake-up on the health of the ocean and better governance. The ocean is being affected by global warming, sea level rise, an alarming increase in marine pollution, the overexploitation of fish stocks, decreasing biodiversity and the loss of coral.
It is therefore a genuine honour to be the next co-hosts, along with France, of the United Nations Conference to Support the Implementation of Sustainable Development Goal 14: Conserve and sustainably use the oceans, seas and marine resources for sustainable development, to be held in June 2025 in Nice. Costa Rica, for its part, will host a high-level event, on 7 and 8 June 2024. to increase our level of ambition and. above all. implementation and action for the ocean. It will be a space for integration, in which countries and other stakeholders can share good practices and successful examples of conservation and sustainable use. We are proud to be the second country to sign the agreement on the conservation and sustainable use of marine biological diversity of areas beyond national jurisdiction. We will continue to vehemently lead the application of a precautionary extension to the commencement of deep seabed mineral exploitation in international areas, pursuant to article 145 of the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea.
Costa Rica is an example that dialogue can be more powerful than guns, that the criteria of inclusion and fair competition are stronger than the obsessive race driven by spurious and selfish criteria. Our people have no fear from dissociating themselves from the principle that might makes right. It is we who depend on the international system that understand the urgency of having a global system in place that meets the needs of the most vulnerable. The proposals that Costa Rica has made seek to accelerate the decision-making process so that we can get out of the stupor that our Organization has fallen into.
We find ourselves at a turning point. If ever there was a time for a call to action, it is now.