Mexico

The session of the General Assembly over which you will preside, Sir, will be one of the most important in the history of the United Nations. It will be a session characterized by the necessary renewal of the United Nations. The year 2005 will be decisive for the future of multilateralism and of our global Organization. The debate on Iraq and the spreading wave of international terrorism have raised a series of questions about the future of our collective security system. At this session, the General Assembly has before it the task of beginning an unprecedented reflection on the changes our societies require of multilateral diplomacy. Our efforts must result in new tools that will enable the United Nations to find effective solutions to carry out the lofty mission of tackling anew the tasks of development, maintaining world peace and security, promoting human rights and democracy and protecting the environment — all under the rule of international law. As a result of recent debates, some have raised their voices to assert that the international community is fractured and even in conflict. It is curious that that is happening at a time in the life of the world when threats and challenges are more clearly shared by all nations. The tasks that should unite us focus on the fight against abject poverty, international terrorism, organized crime syndicates, major epidemics, the proliferation of arsenals of weapons of mass destruction and the deterioration of the environment. In order to put an end to those ills, concerted action and commitment are required from all States. The reason is obvious: the most complex threats we face do not have any specific national origin, but they affect us all and have ultimately worsened the quality of life in the world and damaged the peace and well-being of our citizens. The United Nations was designed to put an end to the scourge of wars between nations and to promote the economic and social development of peoples. We face phenomena of such magnitude and complexity that the 35 delegates who attended the San Francisco Conference — despite their outstanding talent and vision — could not have anticipated at the time. The diplomats of our generation have the obligation of envisioning a second phase, inaugurating a new chapter of collective action to eradicate these dangerous modern-day evils. In Mexico’s view, the goal to which we should aspire is not to rebuild the Organization from scratch or to discard the United Nations Charter, with its rich heritage of agreements and concepts. It would not be responsible to abandon such essential tools as legitimate individual or collective self-defence, as set out in Article 51, and the establishment of a collective security system. The only viable, rational and necessary approach is to update the multilateral system of cooperation and understanding that we have built together. It was on the basis of those considerations that President Vicente Fox of Mexico, when he addressed the General Assembly last year, made a robust appeal for comprehensive reform of the United Nations. Furthermore, in many meetings that he has held since then with other heads of State or Government, he has expressed considerable interest in moving forward — with the urgency that the situation requires — towards strengthening and revitalizing the United Nations. That is why we have undertaken an effort of active coordination aimed at reforming the United Nations and strengthening multilateralism. Mexico, together with 14 other countries, has begun an effort of joint reflection to analyse the various components of reform and to devise a diplomatic strategy to guide the steady progress of United Nations reform. We envision reform with an evolutionary approach that would enable the United Nations to tackle the most delicate challenges and threats of each historical cycle, drawing on the resources and strengths of all Member States in order to overcome the most disturbing international phenomena. That exercise should begin to bear fruit in the next 18 months. Two thousand and five will be an appropriate year to promote this ambitious project: there will be a convergence of events that will enable us to revitalize multilateral dialogue and interaction. First, in December 2004, we will receive the report and the recommendations of the Secretary-General’s High- level Panel on Threats, Challenges and Change, which will be of valuable assistance in guiding our deliberations on reform of the system. It will be very important that we examine those recommendations in minute detail and that the General Assembly be the central forum for discussing and adopting the new mandates and changes that must be implemented in the Organization. Likewise, next year we will have to assess the progress made in implementing the Millennium Declaration and the steps taken to follow up the Monterrey Consensus on financing for development. That series of events in 2005 will give us an up- to-date view of the state of the multilateral system and of the issues that reform should address. With that broad perspective, and so that we can live up to the commitment and interest of all Member States, we will need to ensure a balance between the security and development agendas and their respective institutions within the system. The General Assembly, the Security Council and the Economic and Social Council must work as part of an organic whole, not as entities that are disconnected and sometimes even at odds in their tasks, priorities and working methods. The predominance of the Security Council has resulted in growing disregard for the work of other principal organs and has diminished their effectiveness. This causes certain issues to be marginalized; then, when they reach crisis level, they become matters for which the Security Council becomes responsible. We also must acknowledge that the overall process of United Nations reform has been dominated — in fact, paralysed — by the debate on restructuring the Security Council. Mexico believes that any Security Council reform process should be governed by a set of common objectives and criteria. After more than a decade of work, we should ask ourselves why Security Council reform has not succeeded. The debate has focused on the number of seats, how they should be allocated to each region and whether or not they should be permanent seats. Mexico does not share that approach because, paradoxically, the fundamental question that has largely been ignored — which came to the fore during the critical discussion on Iraq — is not how many members there should be on the Security Council and how many should be permanent; rather, it is what kind of collective security system does the international community need today, and what 36 mechanisms should be used to face new challenges and, above all, to prevent conflicts. The Security Council must create conditions that will prevent the emergence of conflicts, particularly through building and consolidating national institutions and upholding the rule of law and respect for human rights. The Council should also enhance its capacity to consistently identify situations likely to endanger peace and security. As a logical outcome of such an analysis, we can then identify the changes needed in the Security Council. Mexico acknowledges the contributions of Member States to the cause of peace, all of them necessary. Our Organization, based on the legal equality of States, requires the commitment and support of all its Members, through their involvement in decision-making. The creation of new permanent seats would lead to greater concentration of the international decision-making process than is now the case. We cannot ignore the fact that permanent members of the Council already have more influence than the rest of the membership. Mexico considers that this should be restricted and not further increased. Mexico supports collective decision-making as the source of the legitimacy and effectiveness of our actions in favour of peace and security. In that regard, we favour a regionally equitable and balanced enlargement of the number of elected members, based on modalities determined within the regional groups. That would stimulate wider participation in the decision-making process and would ensure that more countries, not fewer, can contribute their views in the Council. Thus, Mexico would support an increase in the number of elected members and an extension of their term of office, with the option of immediate re-election for those States that have demonstrated, through their performance, a strong commitment to the purposes of the Organization. That would help us to create a genuine mechanism for accountability, founded on Article 24 of the Charter. As part of this integral vision of reform, it is crucial also to strengthen the role of the Economic and Social Council, which supports the Security Council and the General Assembly in the decision-making process. Conflict prevention depends upon timely attention to and action on problems that lead to a lack of access to development. It is undeniable that peace and security are anchored on the well-being of our peoples. Therefore, we believe that the Economic and Social Council should work as a coordinating body to steer the financing of development and to articulate the follow-up of commitments stemming from United Nations summits and conferences on social and economic development. It is essential to have a more committed involvement of the international financial institutions in the development process. In that regard, the Economic and Social Council should play a pivotal role linking the Bretton Woods institutions, the World Trade Organization (WTO), the private sector and civil society. Another issue that is worth our attention in the reform process is the Commission on Human Rights, which has essential responsibilities regarding universal respect for individual rights and fundamental freedoms. Mexico considers that the work of the Commission is vital, although its procedural weakness in advancing its objectives is clear. For this reason, its methods must be urgently reformulated. Mexico is fostering regional dialogue on this issue. The ongoing effort in favour of United Nations reform requires a vision of collective well-being and enhanced political understanding, in order to prevent “threats without a passport” from plunging the world into a spiral of confrontation, violence and despair. Here, we should recognize that the United Nations has already taken some first steps in the right direction, particularly in the fight against terrorism and the non- proliferation of weapons of mass destruction. As part of the reform, it will be necessary to carry these actions further. In this context, Mexico is ready to continue working with the institutional structures of the Organization, particularly the Counter-Terrorism Committee and the non-proliferation machinery. We will continue to promote the protection of human rights and fundamental freedoms in the fight against terrorism as the only way to guarantee the legitimacy and efficacy of that fight. My country will also follow closely the cooperation initiatives and regimes geared to control the export of nuclear materials; and we will stress the need to strengthen efforts in the urgent cause of disarmament. Other positive steps have been taken in recent years to confront the grave challenges resulting from 37 humanitarian crises and genocide. In this context, Mexico concurs with the concept of the responsibility to protect, in the sense that sovereignty entails a State’s obligation towards its population, and that, when it fails to fulfil it, the international community has the duty to collectively assist in the protection of individuals from serious human rights violations. In the light of recent regrettable humanitarian tragedies, it is of the utmost importance for the General Assembly to discuss this concept thoroughly, in order to elaborate guidelines for its practical application within the Organization. Bearing in mind the scope of the reform challenge facing us, Mexico would favour the convening of a general conference with the aim of updating and strengthening our Organization. In contrast to the consideration that has been given to other issues of international relevance, such as trade, population and the environment, we have not held any open-ended rounds of negotiations in the last six decades on issues pertaining to international politics and the progressive development of diplomacy. The changes that have taken place in the world in that period demand a comprehensive exercise that should encompass the renewal of our commitments, review of collective security structures and their performance, above all, promotion of economic development. Throughout President Fox’s administration, Mexico has clearly shown its commitment to the strengthening of multilateralism. We have done so as an elected member of the Security Council, as a promoter of international conventions on topics such as corruption, persons with disabilities and migrants, by furthering initiatives to foster the equitable and sustainable development of global areas and by hosting high-level conferences such as the Monterrey Conference on Financing for Development and the Summit of the Americas. Furthermore, as an unequivocal sign of our interest, our concerns and our commitment, Mexico is decisively promoting the revitalization of the multilateral system through the Group of Friends for the Reform of the United Nations. It is in that constructive spirit that Mexico is taking part in this session of the General Assembly. We are certain that under your able leadership, Mr. President, this session will be remembered as the catalyst for one of the most important and dominant chapters in the life of our Organization.