Panama

The Republic of Panama welcomes with particular pleasure the election of Mr. Han Seung-soo as President of the fifty-sixth session of the General Assembly, and wishes to assure him of our fullest cooperation in the sensitive work with which he is entrusted. It is also a pleasure for us to express the deep satisfaction of the Government of Panama at the well-deserved honour of the award of the Nobel Peace Prize jointly to the Secretary-General of the United Nations, Mr. Kofi Annan, and to the Organization itself. As we participate today in this forum, we are still reeling from the impact of the terrifying terrorist acts carried out on 11 September in New York, Washington, D.C., and Pennsylvania. These crimes against humanity will never be forgotten, and, as a tribute to the thousands of innocent victims of these senseless attacks, the United Nations must take whatever measures are necessary to legitimize any multilateral action that will have to be taken in future to neutralize the threat of international terrorism. The Republic of Panama, as a State Member of the United Nations, fully respects the mandates issued by the Organization, and, therefore, we are pleased to state here unambiguously that every resource available to us has been directed to fulfil our responsibilities in the war against terrorism. Similarly, we support the Security Council Committee set up under resolution 1373 (2001), chaired by the Ambassador of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, Sir Jeremy Greenstock. We propose to remain in communication with him on an ongoing basis. The Government of Panama, under the leadership of President Mireya Moscoso, is prepared vigorously to implement the provisions contained in all United Nations instruments on international terrorism. To that end, we will soon submit to our Legislative Assembly the four United Nations instruments that have not yet been ratified by our country, together with the International Convention for the Suppression of the Financing of Terrorism of December 1999, which we have just signed here. Likewise, we will ratify, as soon as possible, the Rome Statute creating the International Criminal Court. In parallel with the joint actions taken against terrorism in conformity with the many relevant United Nations Conventions and resolutions of the General Assembly and the Security Council, and in order to address terrorist activities, we respectfully appeal to all to set aside any differences that may have arisen in July in respect of the problem of massive illegal trade in small arms and light weapons. It is well known that the ultimate beneficiaries of this deadly traffic are not only rebel movements — sometimes sponsored by other nations — but also notorious terrorist groups. That is why Panama reiterates the position it maintained during the Conference: that no State has the right to promote this deadly traffic by claiming its own national interests are at stake. This issue must be re-examined in the light of recent events. The Republic of Panama is particularly concerned at the social, political and economic implications of the illicit trade in small arms and light weapons and wishes to declare its commitment to promoting an American convention on this question, with a view to creating a legal framework that will enable the countries of the hemisphere to completely suppress this traffic and thus strengthen regional security. We are caught up in a vortex of bloodshed that brings us ever closer to generalized conflagrations. The States represented here, when we became Members of this Organization, undertook formally to promote peace and human rights; to meet the food, health care and educational needs of our peoples; to preserve the environment; and to bring about overall social, economic and political development. However, for this commitment to have a real effect, we must secure the support of those States that, due to pure fanaticism, particularly in the Middle East, have not been able to come to terms with the purposes and principles of the United Nations. My country believes that the intolerance and intransigence demonstrated in that part of the world are the result of ancient ways of thinking and injustices that can be easily discerned and which constitute flagrant violations of the United Nations Charter. The Republic 4 of Panama has repeatedly urged the parties in conflict to renounce the use of force, re-establish cooperation on security and adopt measures to restore mutual trust, which enable a return to the peace process based on the norms of international law. In recent days, the international community has witnessed with deep sadness the intensification of violence in that region. Because of the brutality occurring in the Middle East, Panama considers that it is the responsibility of the United Nations to vigorously strengthen its mediating role in order to put an end to the unfortunate bloodshed that has grieved the international community for decades. In particular, Panama calls on the Security Council to assume a more active role in the efforts to apply the recommendations of the Mitchell report, which proposes using constructive dialogue and mutual concessions to move beyond the violence. An indispensable step is recognizing the right of the Palestinian people to create a sovereign State and the right of the State of Israel to live in peace and security. We must make our best effort, employ our most outstanding human resources and put ourselves to the task of reconciling all humankind. The Republic of Panama will persist in this task and will always advocate peaceful solutions to conflicts through dialogue and the rejection of violence as the means to resolve internal or international disputes. Other examples of situations that cause unnecessary friction and that could be resolved through dialogue are the issues of the Saharan people’s right to self-determination, the Argentine Republic’s claim to the Falkland Islands, and the representation of the Republic of China on Taiwan in the United Nations system while the internal situation of that fraternal people is being resolved. Panama defends human rights without reservation and will never accept acts which violate them, wherever the violations occur and whatever the circumstances used to try to justify those violations. Let us add to this very clear position of ours our sincere commitment to the universal campaign for the rights of the child and to the fight against HIV/AIDS, as these are an essential part of human rights. On this latter issue, Panama considers that the key to any future success lies in everyone’s acceptance of their economic and social responsibilities with respect to this terrible disease and in developing good community planning at the local and provincial levels to prevent the spread of HIV/AIDS and other sexually transmitted diseases. Human rights are clearly defined in the political and civil spheres as much as in the economic, social and cultural spheres. Since the proclamation of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights on 10 December 1948, much progress has been made. However, the principles proclaimed on that occasion are being challenged by the inequalities of globalization and financing for development, by unpayable foreign debts and by the indiscriminate destruction of the environment. All these factors of extreme poverty require acts of profound solidarity on behalf of the richer nations. We firmly believe that the eradication of poverty and inequality will prevent the erosion of human rights and halt the social upheavals that generate violence and cause the loss of the political, social and economic rights of the citizens of the world. The United Nations Conference on Environment and Development, held in Rio de Janeiro in June 1992, was a tremendous effort towards sustainable world development. The most important outcome of the Conference was the adoption of Agenda 21, which covers in depth the topics of poverty, hunger, disease, illiteracy and the progressive deterioration of ecosystems. Agenda 21 also encourages us to focus our attention on the financial resources required to promote sustainable development at the national level, with the goal of creating a corresponding measurement system for it that can be easily interpreted. This is an ongoing and important task that we cannot neglect. The United Nations Conference on Financing for Development will be held in Monterrey, Mexico, in March 2002. We believe that the Conference offers a magnificent opportunity to reduce the abyss between the rich countries of the North and the poor countries of the South in both the practical and conceptual aspects of this issue. In the course of last month’s meetings of the Conference’s Preparatory Committee, opinions with substantial differences were expressed, and these must be reconciled. As a result of these disagreements, there have been pessimistic predictions that it will be impossible to formulate a plan of action at Monterrey. I believe, on the contrary, that since we already know the objections that will be made by those who assume the 5 risks of financing, we cannot delay revising our arguments, in order — creatively and responsibly — to define parameters for financing for development that are more in tune with the realities of today’s world. The current realities are pressing and encompass, among other things, the need to provide financing at discounted rates to developing countries; to vigorously attack the problem of foreign debt; to design measures to raise the depressed prices of our raw materials and other export products; and to agree collectively on mechanisms to prevent financial crises. Following this line of thought, and because we consider it of interest to the General Assembly, we will mention that in June of this year the Central American countries and the United States signed a joint declaration under the Alliance for the Sustainable Development of Central America (ALIDES). This alliance is a regional strategy to make the Central American isthmus a region of peace, freedom, democracy and development. Its general objectives include the sustainable management of biodiversity, the strengthening and modernization of institutional structures, the promotion of trade and the mitigation of natural disasters. Specifically, ALIDES works for regional economic integration and the region’s integration in the international economy; the harmonization of macroeconomic policies and the modernization of infrastructure in the areas of energy, transportation and telecommunications; the creation of protected biological corridors, river basins and other areas; the strengthening of democracy and the rule of law in the region; the improvement of the levels of education, health and security of the population of Central America; and the restoration and preservation of national values. Central America’s desire for development has been strengthened by the launching of the Puebla- Panama Plan. We created for the region a mechanism for ongoing and permanent consultation to perfect an integral strategy for long-term development. While we are making great efforts to mitigate the social problems that afflict us in some regions, in the United Nations we continue to debate structural problems that limit to some extent the ability of many of our countries to have an effect on the administration of the Organization. Among the different debates relating to United Nations reform, we would like to refer to the one held on 30 October on agenda item 49, entitled “Question of equitable representation on and increase in the membership of the Security Council and related matters”. Last year the delegation of Panama, both at the Millennium Summit and the General Assembly, supported the aspiration of many years to bring about the reform of the Security Council. We have said — and we wish to repeat today — that we agree it must have a more equitable and more representative composition, but in order to achieve this fundamental objective it is indispensable that the permanent members accept that the power structure of 1945 has ceased to exist. Now, looking at the new and vital interdependence of all nations around the world, we see a genuine opportunity opening before us to get rid of the obsessions that no longer suit the structure of our Organization. In conclusion, we would like to restate our conviction that, as we have seen after the horrendous terrorist acts of 11 September, the legitimacy and effectiveness of future Security Council actions will depend on all Member States feeling the absence of unilateral measures and of the usual marginalization in decision-making on matters affecting all of us. It is in this direction that we should guide our work.