Venezuela

Just over a year ago, we were here, attending the Millennium Summit, some 100 days before the dawn of the twenty-first century. At that time, I made a statement on behalf of Venezuela and its Bolivarian people, referring to the supreme example of Christ and his struggle for justice, peace and life. In the brief span of time since then, having embarked on the new century — albeit with very painful steps, I should say — we have suffered the abominable terrorist attack of 11 September. In opposition to the culture of peace, to the dialogue among civilizations declared by the United Nations in 2001 and to the good will of the peoples of the world, the drums of war are suddenly thundering again and we say, louder and more passionately than we have in the past, that this struggle for peace is of fundamental importance. From the outset, Venezuela and its people, Government and institutions have joined in the chorus of voices that first rose to reject these heinous acts. At this meeting in New York, in this incredible city, in this nation of North America, we take this opportunity to reiterate our grief and sympathy for the people and Government of the United States and its institutions over the attacks and the pain they have caused. We say, as we have said from the very day of the tragedy that has plunged the world into mourning and peril, that the fight against terrorism should become a war against war — a fight to achieve peace. At the Millennium Summit, we also said, like Simón Bolívar, the liberator of South America, remembering his dream of the summit of Chimborazo: Let us speak the truth to all men and women. And precisely on the basis of the horrible and frightful truths that we are experiencing today in the world, let us call for a new world pact in the United Nations. We said in that speech just over one year ago that at the present time in our world human beings continue to die each day, but now the figures have doubled, and not because of a world war. No, now the principal causes of the horrible truth affecting the world’s people are poverty, marginalization and hunger. What is foremost in this dramatic and tragic moment is that we must recognize the truth and then build a new global pact in the United Nations without delay. Now, at the beginning of the twenty-first century and the third millennium, we at the United Nations should concentrate our greatest possible efforts on the moral, intellectual, scientific, social, cultural, economic and financial order in the fight against the demons of hunger, poverty and death that afflict the planet. This is what we said a year ago in this beautiful setting. I believe we are fulfilling the mandate of Bolívar to state the truth to all men and women. Venezuela recognized the validity, the necessity, the great vision and the truth that our Secretary- General launched as a challenge to all of us in the preparatory document that subsequently became the Millennium Declaration. Today, our dear friend Kofi Annan reminded us of that challenge in his comments opening this session of debates, when he recalled, for example, that last year we committed ourselves to reducing poverty 50 per cent by the year 2015, having set quantifiable and precise goals, such as reducing by half the number of human beings who survive on incomes of less than one dollar per day. At the Millennium Summit, great truths were stated and we heard the appeals of our peoples. We said then and continue to say that all of the world’s children must have access to a full education by the year 2015. As the Secretary-General also reminded us, all human beings should have access to potable water. We are not talking about the Internet — we are talking about drinking water, the water basic to life. The goals set last year were discussed over the following weeks in hundreds of marvellous speeches. But today, one year later, we must continue to ask ourselves how we are going to achieve them. What are the successful strategies that can be employed to achieve these lofty goals? The answer is justice, the only path to true peace. We said that we had come to uncover truths; that for the honour, dignity and life of our peoples, we must come here to speak without fear. We said that here, in this setting, we must speak without the double standard that sometimes invades our discussions. As I see our brothers from India here, I think of the Hindu philosopher Jiddu Krishnamurti, who spoke of truth as a basic dynamic in understanding the secrets of life. Truth, truth, truth. We want truths. If we do not recognize truths, it will be difficult for us to 24 find true solutions to the horrible tragedies that the world is living through. On behalf of the people of Venezuela, I return here today to contribute ideas to the effort to seek truths and to speak true words that spring from a combination of reason and passion. They are not just cold words on paper but come from the heart, and they must not remain on paper as cold discourse but must touch the wound of real truth. Today, truth is an open wound and it is our ultimate challenge to heal it. We come, then, without fear, in good faith and with much optimism about life, brotherhood, unity and the possibility that we, as the leaders of our countries, can seek, grasp and build together real solutions to real problems in the quest for justice and peace. We in Venezuela believe that the world must be examined under a great and powerful magnifying glass, because it has gone to bad to worse, stumbling and struggling from error to error. At the end of the Second World War, the United Nations was born to struggle for peace and prevent new horrors from happening. We have not avoided those horrors. The Berlin Wall and the Soviet Union fell at the end of the twentieth century, and voices were raised saying history has come to an end: we have arrived at the end of our path, the final era, one of technology, of the global village, of globalization, of the new world order. This is the triumph of a model — the triumph of one philosophy as the result of the collapse of another. But that claim was a lie. Who can claim victory in today’s world, which is filled with poverty and tears, pain and death? What model could claim victory? Venezuela would like to make a fervent and passionate appeal, hopeful that we will be properly understood — indeed, we are sure that we will be, because we are speaking with love, faith and hope, calling on the Lord God, invoking life and peace and respect for brotherhood. Let our words be properly understood. We must undertake a thorough examination of and review the political models that exist in our countries today. In America we speak of democracy — yes, democracy. But in Venezuela we ask what kind of democracy we are talking about. A democracy such as Venezuela had for 40 years, from 1958 to 1998, which ended up destroying a people, taking away their sovereignty and causing them to live in poverty in a fertile land rich with resources such as oil and gold? That was no more than an ornamental flourish that mimicked democracy, and it ended in tyranny. We never again want such a democracy in Venezuela, and we are certain that we will never have it again. Democracy must be based on popular participation, ethics, justice and equality. We in Venezuela have been saying that we must also review the economic models that some tried to put in place among our peoples. Is neoliberalism the way? Yes — it is the way to hell. Let us traverse the streets and cities of Latin America and we will see the consequences of neoliberal policies run wild, as His Holiness John Paul II has said. We must review our economies, our ethics, our policies — everything must be re-examined today if we want the world to be a viable place and if we want peace to reign on earth. Is globalization the path to development? It could be, if it were based on justice, equality and respectful relations among all. We need to re-examine everything. As Viviane Forrester said, using the phrase “economic horror”, the world is undergoing a process of change, and that should also be cause for optimism. The world is changing; it is moving on. New developments are taking place; let us move with them, peacefully and democratically, while searching for justice. As Ignacio Ramonet said in his reflections in Le Monde Diplomatique, alternative paths are appearing all over the world. Venezuela is making its humble contribution through a peaceful and democratic revolution. We are committed to the human being, to an international policy of peace, friendship, respect and multipolarity. And we are here today to reaffirm that commitment. Venezuela is speaking out in condemning terrorism. Venezuela is speaking out — and taking action — in expressing its solidarity in the struggle against terrorism. At the same time, in speaking out we are giving voice to the mandate of the United Nations to ensure respect for international law and human rights. Any action taken against any crime must be legitimate. It must be based on respect for human rights and international law. No one should understand Venezuela’s words to be a condemnation of anything or anyone. We are calling for reflection so as to ensure that we act within the norms of international law and the mandates of the United Nations. We cannot throw that overboard. Venezuela has also shouldered its responsibility in various forums and international arenas. Within the Organization of American States, we are proposing that a social charter be adopted, in addition to the 25 Democratic Charter, to give more weight to our continent’s struggles to place the human being at the forefront of our endeavours. Within the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries, of which we hold the presidency of the conference of heads of State, we proposed — and achieved consensus among all — to ensure balance and dialogue between the producers and consumers of oil, aware as we are of the need to guarantee supplies and a fair price for all for that vital resource for development and for life. Within the Group of Fifteen, Venezuela, which holds the chairmanship, is promoting the North-South dialogue, in particular the need to revitalize it. It should not be a dialogue of the deaf, but a dialogue of equals who are seeking solutions — dialogue and cooperation of South with South and of Latin American and the Caribbean with Africa, Asia and all the peoples of the world. Within the Group of 77, Venezuela is working for the same strategic consensus, dialogue and unity. We are very optimistic, as everyone should be. Despite everything, however, we need great political will — greater political will — to bring about all of those changes and transformations. To use the vocabulary of the theory of war, we must put the cavalry on the front line. The cavalry is policy; the cavalry is ethics and the will for change, which we must promote. Finally, I believe that, over and above the pain, the condemnation and the struggle against terrorism and against the savages who perpetrated those horrific attacks, the greatest honour must go to the fallen — the innocent victims of those acts, and the many other victims throughout the world, those who have suffered and for whom we have wept: the innocent children who have fallen, the men and the women. The British Prime Minister, Tony Blair, said something that I thought was wonderful in response to a comment that I made during a conversation we had in Downing Street a few days ago. He said that if anything good can come from this crisis and this pain, it is a global alliance to combat the causes of violence throughout the world. Those who have spoken before me have pointed out many of these causes. The Emir of Qatar and Chairman of the Organization of the Islamic Conference also made a very important point. He said that our words should not once again remain empty. As we say in our part of the world, there is a big difference between words and action. Now is the time to move towards concrete action. We want to see a Palestinian State become a reality. Let us not come here day after day, month after month and year after year just to repeat the same old words. Let us move on towards reality. We want to see the transformation of the Bretton Woods institutions. We want to see the transformation of the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank. We want justice for the wretched of the Earth, as Frantz Fanon said. But we want it now, not tomorrow; tomorrow may be too late. In conclusion, as I said during the debate on 7 September last year, quoting from the Bible, “To everything there is a season, and a time to every purpose under the heaven”. (The Holy Bible, Ecclesiastes 3:1) Sisters and brothers of this planet in sorrow, of this our world, let us do all that we can. Truly, we must transform this difficult time in which we are living into a time of the people, a time of justice; that is the only way to achieve genuine peace. As I ended by saying last year, let us save the world!