Our
goals at the national level are goals we also want to see
achieved in the international community. They are
goals that the international community must tackle as
priorities. They include eradicating indigence and
reducing and eliminating poverty and its root causes, as
well as ensuring a dignified life and favourable
working conditions for all. We also want an
international system that is more democratic and
efficient. We want the issues that I have mentioned to
be resolved through cross-cutting policies. We can
work to promote democracy in every country of the
system, but we are badly off indeed if the law of the
strongest prevails in the overall system.
Uruguay will always take a moral and ethical
approach to every issue, whether with regard to the
environment, human rights or international security. In
every instance, the ultimate guide is the human person.
We must in the end, therefore, always rely on our
conscience. However, the functioning of the system is
crucial, for that is what generates social, territorial and
gender inequality.
At the outset, we welcome the election of the
Argentine Republic as Chair of the Group of 77 and
China. Argentina is a brotherly country that shares
common principles and values with us.
Uruguay, in keeping with its historical path and
traditions, reaffirms its commitment to the principles of
international law. I would like to underscore in
particular our firm support for the peaceful solution of
conflicts; the sovereign equality of States; the
principles of non-intervention and of the self-
determination of peoples; respect for human rights;
international socio-economic cooperation; and
multilateralism. The maximum expression of those
principles is to be found in this Organization.
I would also like to express our rejection of the
use or the threat of use of force, of terrorism and of all
types of violence, and of the application of coercive
measures in contravention of the Charter of the United
Nations, such as the economic, financial and trade
embargo against Cuba by the United States, which we
firmly reject. That unilateral measure is contrary, not
only to the Charter but also to international law and to
one of the most dearly held principles of my country’s
foreign policy, namely, the peaceful settlements of
disputes.
Uruguay is party to the principal international
conventions relating to the environment and
sustainable development. Thus, we have reaffirmed our
responsibility for the protection of the environment as
a human right and a fundamental component for
achieving truly sustainable development.
Uruguay has a long history of defending,
promoting and protecting human rights and
international humanitarian law. Those principles are a
central priority of the State, enshrined in the traditional
pillars of the Republic’s foreign policy, which
constitute the political and institutional foundations of
the country. We welcome the progress made this year
in Kampala, Uganda, which has led to the
strengthening of the regime established under the
Statute of the International Criminal Court. Uruguay is
among the countries that have subscribed to the widest
range of conventions in the area of human rights and
international humanitarian law.
Uruguay’s long-standing tradition of defending
those principles has allowed us to take a leading role
in, among other areas, the protection and promotion of
the rights of children. We believe it is vitally important
that we continue to focus our efforts to promote the
defence and protection of children and to ensure their
well-being.
We also reaffirm our full support for the
integration of a gender perspective into all policies and
programmes of the United Nations system. In that
respect, we welcome the adoption of the resolution
(resolution 64/289) on the coherence of the United
Nations system, which, in particular, created the new
United Nations Entity for Gender Equality and the
Empowerment of Women. We would also like to
express our satisfaction with the appointment of
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Ms. Michelle Bachelet, former President of Chile, as
Under-Secretary-General for UN Women. We are
confident that her experience will serve as a vital asset
for the new Entity.
Uruguay has a steadfast commitment to the cause
of peace and our country’s foreign policy bears
testimony to that fact. We have given decisive support
to all measures aimed at the elimination of nuclear
arms and other weapons of mass destruction. We have
also advocated the control and reduction of
conventional weapons. We underscore, once again, the
importance of the swift universal implementation of
these agreements.
Likewise, and without prejudice to the
reaffirmation of our hope to see a Nuclear Weapons
Convention, we believe that the entry into force of the
Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty and a fissile
material cut-off treaty during the present year, would
constitute decisive steps in the consolidation and
deepening of the progress made in the area of
disarmament. We must not stop, because to stop is to
go backwards, and to go backwards is to expose
humanity to the horrendous and unacceptable risk of
nuclear holocaust.
It is our hope that, in 2012, a conference will be
held, without further delay or conditions, in which all
of the States of the Middle East will participate, with
the aim of establishing a nuclear-weapon-free zone,
free of all other weapons of mass destruction as well,
through freely agreed arrangements between the States
of the region, with the full support and commitment of
those States that possess nuclear weapons. Similarly,
Uruguay supports the Secretary-General’s five-point
initiative for a world free of nuclear weapons.
Uruguay actively participates in the United
Nations multilateral system of peacekeeping and
maintenance of international security, as well as in
efforts to defend human rights and uphold international
humanitarian law through peacekeeping operations,
based on our conviction that these are a solid testimony
to the collective commitment of the international
community as a whole. That commitment on the part of
my country can be seen both on the ground, through
our deployment of more than 2,500 Blue Helmets,
deployed principally in Haiti and the Democratic
Republic of the Congo, and in its work on the political
level here at Headquarters.
We recognize that the Security Council holds the
primary responsibility for the maintenance of
international peace and security. But we believe it is
extremely important to promote a closer relationship
between the Council and the General Assembly. The
greater the distance between them, the more difficult it
is for peacekeeping operations to achieve their
objectives and for their complex mandates to be
effectively implemented.
In this respect, the existing gap between the
complexity of the mandates and the resources available
poses a challenge that we must confront every day. We
are convinced that is of fundamental importance for us
to ensure that adequate consideration is given to the
allocation of the resources needed for the proper
functioning of those operations. The conditions offered
by the system also need to be updated, so that the
United Nations has at its disposal the equipment and
human resources that it needs. That subject affects
developing countries in particular, since it is they
which provide the large majority of the troops and thus
the viability of their participation in missions is at
stake.
The case of Haiti probably provides one of the
best illustrations of the need for a cross-cutting
political effort to lift a country out of a situation of
crisis and institutional and social stagnation.
Uruguay has never been indifferent to the
challenges that this brotherly country has had to
confront and continues to confront today. From 2004 to
date, we have deployed more than 10,000 military
personnel to the United Nations Stabilization Mission
in Haiti, who have faithfully carried out the mandate
approved by the Security Council for the stabilization
process in that country.
In its role as coordinator of the Group of Friends
of Haiti, Uruguay has for some years been advocating
for a mandate that, without neglecting the urgent
security needs, permits at the same time the
establishment of the conditions necessary for
strengthening the productive capacity of the country,
which was seriously affected by the earthquake of
12 January 2010.
In our view, greater emphasis should be placed on
providing teachers, doctors, engineers, agronomists,
experts in information technologies and volunteer
workers, who could contribute effectively to solving
the problems of the Haitian population. Investing in
7 10-55396
human resources in Haiti is of fundamental importance
for the future development of the country.
Over the past two years, there has been an open
process of restructuring the peacekeeping system,
which was necessary given the new reality that we are
facing. That process must be viewed as part of a larger
project of reform of the Organization, which, through
various initiatives, seeks to be more effective, to work
in a more coordinated manner and to enjoy greater
legitimacy.
Uruguay reiterates its adherence to that process
of reform of the United Nations. The process, begun
during the 2005 Summit, which gave rise to the creation
of two new structures within the Organization — the
Human Rights Council and the Peacebuilding
Commission — should be brought to completion
through the consideration of various outstanding
topics, including the reform of the Security Council.
The current international reality is such that that body
needs to be more representative and democratic. We
must therefore take steps to effect its expansion, while
guarding against an extension of the historical
obstacles that run contrary to the principle of the
sovereign equality of States, such as the right of veto.
A very clear example of Uruguay’s commitment
to the United Nations reform process, which seeks to
establish greater effectiveness and coordination within
the system, is its direct participation in the “Delivering
as One” programme. Three years after the pilot
programme was launched in Uruguay, we have recently
completed the country evaluation and can affirm that
the design, implementation, follow-up and evaluation
of the process have contributed to the national
Government’s efforts to strengthen the coordination
among the various State bodies through a joint
programming exercise, which made possible greater
interaction between agencies, the Government and the
United Nations system.
Uruguay has formally expressed its aspiration to
occupy a seat as a non-permanent member of the
Security Council for the period 2016-2017. We are the
only candidate country in the region at the present
time. Since its accession to the United Nations as a
founding Member and despite having pursued a foreign
policy inspired by the same purposes, principles and
ideals enshrined in the United Nations Charter,
Uruguay has occupied a seat in the Security Council
only once, which was during the period 1965-1966.
Presenting one’s candidacy to the body in which
the international community has entrusted the current
global collective security system constitutes the most
demanding test of a State’s foreign policy. In the
present context, which is profoundly marked by
multiple global crises, it is imperative that we work
jointly towards building long-term strategies and
solutions that will lead us to more just and equitable
societies.
In that regard, the role of the United Nations in
international economic and financial governance is
fundamental in terms of democratizing decision-
making and ensuring equal participation in global
decisions that affect us all and directly impact strategic
planning in the short, medium and long term.
Coordinated, transparent and harmonious decision-
making is essential for achieving tangible results that
improve the living conditions and situation of the
world’s citizens. Our country deems it important to
promote dialogue in order to foster bridge-building
among the various decision-making forums.
We must be aware that without a healthy natural
environment, all other development efforts will have a
limited effect. In that context, the global phenomenon
of climate change is perhaps the most urgent and
dramatic challenge currently facing humanity. It poses
additional challenges to development and forces us to
urgently consider the need to implement measures to
adapt to and mitigate its adverse effects. Such
measures require changes in production methods and
seriously compromise the distribution of domestic
resources.
Achieving sustainable development that takes
into account the economic, social and environmental
dimensions is fundamental to ensuring long-term
results and a healthy environment for present and
future generations as well as sustained economic
growth. That goal is also a necessary precondition for
reducing disparities between the developed world and
the developing world, particularly in the quality of life,
income distribution and human development
indicators.
In closing, Uruguay would like to reaffirm the
imperative necessity of renewed political commitment
aimed at achieving an open and equitable multilateral
trade system based on clear rules that would permit all
countries to benefit from the potential provided by
international trade as the engine of development.
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Hunger eradication, food production and agricultural
trade are closely related and must be strengthened
through a predictable multilateral system that provides
guarantees to producers and ensures food availability
to the most vulnerable sectors. In that context, the
elimination of subsidies and other non-tariff barriers
that hinder access to markets is essential, as is a
successful conclusion of the Doha Round based on a
development perspective.