Honduras

The recognized leadership of Mr. Jan Kavan will guarantee the success of our debates. Together with congratulating him on his election to the presidency, I should like to assure him that he can count on my Government's full cooperation in his work. I come to this universal forum on behalf of a people which last November renewed its commitment to democracy. Representing the constitutional Government headed by Mr. Ricardo Maduro Joest, who has made the welfare of his people the essence of his mandate, I come with a message of peace and friendship from Honduras addressed to all the nations gathered here. My country's Government, born of the will of the people through a free and transparent election regarded as a model, has in a few months brought about changes that have strengthened Honduran democracy. It has implemented historic institutional reforms, such as the depoliticization of the Supreme Court of Justice, the disallowing of participation in the presidential election from positions of political advantage, the creation of a higher accounting tribunal to exercise overall monetary control, and the depoliticization of the national electoral tribunal. Moreover, it has developed civil security schemes and measures that are effective and respectful of human rights, all within a context of transparency in administrative management and a head- on campaign against corruption and extreme poverty. As a Government, we are doing what we responsibly must do, and in that work we wish to continue to rely on the friendly and respectful assistance of the international community, to which we likewise offer our solidarity and cooperation. Moreover, I come to the Assembly with the firm 37 resolve to associate my country with the efforts of all Member States to realize fully the purposes and principles of the San Francisco Charter. I come to the Organization also to offer my Government's cooperation in the building of peace, in the maintenance of international security and in the forging of a global alliance for human development. The day 11 September 2001 is an indelible date in the history of humanity. The unprecedented terrorist attacks changed for ever the face of New York, the iron Babel', which, despite its great sorrow and grief, continues to offer us its hospitality. Thousands of families belonging to many peoples of the United Nations, including mine, were plunged into grief and pain on that fateful day. Our condolences and solidarity are with them. As it did on that tragic occasion, the Government of Honduras condemns terrorism in all its forms and manifestations. Accordingly, I take this opportunity to reaffirm in this world forum our unswerving commitment to use all our skill and energy to combat this scourge that threatens civilized coexistence among nations. With the same conviction, Honduras reaffirms its resolve to cooperate with other democratic nations in the common undertaking to eradicate this evil, thus building a better and less violent world. Since 11 September 2001, many things have changed. However, other threats persist and continue to loom over our peoples, making increasingly imperative the quest for new consensus and greater commitments. Following the Millennium Summit, three conferences at the highest level and of the most far-reaching importance have been held in recent months. Our heads of State or Government met first in Monterrey to consider the issues of financing for development, later in Rome to address the problem of world hunger and, most recently, in Johannesburg to debate the great challenges of sustainable development. From each of those conferences, we have emerged moderately satisfied in terms of concrete results. However, we recognize that the dialogue must continue so that we can together seek new forms of cooperation to alleviate the hunger and pain of a large part of humanity, whose very survival is in danger as a result of the vortex of economic development taking place at the cost of the planet's destruction. All of those commitments demand a United Nations revitalized in its action and strengthened in its internal structure. The time has come to reconsider creatively and with greater determination the organizational structure of the Security Council, an organ that cannot continue to turn its back on a reality is very different from that of 1945. Honduras will not rest in its insistence on the need to abolish or restrict the right of veto enjoyed by some Members of the Organization. Likewise, my country believes that the States contributing to development should have a seat and participate in the debate and work of that important United Nations organ. The time has come to join in our resolve to seek mechanisms and decisions that will secure the full participation of all the peoples and nations of the Earth. It is time for those who have been Members of the Organization to return. For that reason, Honduras believes that we should not continue the practice of excluding from our debates and our work concrete realities such as Taiwan, a country whose participation could offer new opportunities for cooperation for the benefit of many peoples, and which, in turn could benefit from our activity and decisions. In essence, Honduras pleads for a new United Nations in which all peoples and nations enjoy full representation and in which there is more just and balanced representativity in the discussions and in the resultant resolutions. In this context, Honduras welcomes the accession of Switzerland and the incorporation of Timor-Leste into our world Organization. I take this opportunity to wish them the warmest of welcomes. In the broad and comprehensive vision of what, in my Government's opinion, this Organization should be, special mention must be made of the International Court of Justice, since it is the jurisdictional organ of the United Nations system and all States Members have committed themselves to complying with its decisions in the cases to which they are party. Just as Honduras endorses the principles and practices of international law that promote human solidarity, respect for the self-determination of peoples, non-interference and the safeguarding of universal peace and democracy, we also proclaim the validity and compulsory application of international arbitration and judicial rulings to be irrevocable. Consistent with this state philosophy, my country is absolutely convinced that compliance with international rulings handed down by a competent international court, as 38 well as good-faith compliance with the commitments undertaken by means of treaty, will guarantee peace, harmony and security among peoples and Governments. Honduras feels that the very credibility of a country is at stake when it complies or fails to comply with the obligations arising from an international ruling. As for Honduras, the resolution of a competent international court has constitutional weight and its effects require immediate execution, for we believe that law and legality are unshirkable imperatives of the new international order. Moreover, in my Government's opinion, they are the cornerstone of international society in this century. Prompted by this conviction, in January my country turned to the Security Council, in its capacity as guarantor of the implementation of the rulings of the International Court of Justice, in seeking the requisite cooperation to ensure compliance with the ruling that the Court handed down 10 years ago in the dispute which, by common agreement with the Republic of El Salvador, we submitted to it for consideration and decision. Recent events in our countries have led us to believe that the implementation of the ruling will begin very soon as a result of talks between the Presidents of the two nations. We sincerely hope that this may be the case, both because we do not wish to distract the Security Council's attention from this matter, which is of importance to our peoples and to the validity of international public law itself, and because we wish to promote the process of integration to which the whole of Central America is now committed. The Central American isthmus is going through a special moment in its history. There is a resolve among our Governments to grasp the future together and, accordingly, we have agreed to promote the creation of a customs union among the partners of the regional integration system, which should be established by December 2003. This renewed integration, as we call it, offers opportunities both for our collectivity and for our neighbours and partners in development, as in the case of Mexico with the Puebla-Panam· plan. Important challenges are also being met in concert, such as the negotiation of a free-trade treaty with the United States of America. We intend later to repeat the experience with the European Union. Despite the significant progress that has been made, and as in other regional systems of States, practices persist that impede the full development of our trade relations. Fortunately, we are striving to overcome these obstacles through dialogue and solutions appropriate to civilized nations which understand that, given our common past, we share a common future. At the present time, there are grounds for grave concern in the face of events and realities that threaten international peace and security. The situation in the Middle East has been a constant cause of concern to all. Honduras appeals to the men and women of that region to repudiate and renounce violence and thus give peace a chance for the sake of a generation of children who see and experience nothing but violence as they grow. This and other bloody conflicts require us to rethink and reformulate new ideas for prompt action. We need to globalize solidarity and human development. The great challenges of this century require us to increase the worldwide presence of the United Nations Development Programme, the World Food Programme, the World Health Organization, the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization, the United Nations Environment Programme and other entities and agencies of our system, whose work effectively contributes to establishing the conditions to ensure that all boys, girls, men and women of all ages, regardless of their ethnic origin, colour or religious creed, may live in an environment conducive to the full exercise of their rights. In this context, the peoples of the world are calling for concerted action on the part of our Governments to make the United Nations the world's most efficient Organization for addressing the challenges posed by the millions of men, women and children infected by the HIV virus; by others, suffering unemployment, who have entered the most destitute sectors of society; and by the more than 40 million boys and girls who wander or simply live on the streets. Over time, crimes against humanity have motivated concerted action on the part of all peoples to develop new and advanced schemes for international protection. That is the case with the new International Criminal Court, to which Honduras is honoured to be party. We applaud this revolutionary effort in the administration of criminal justice and hope that, sooner 39 rather than later, all the States Members of the United Nations will join it. I wish to conclude my statement by emphasizing that the great challenges we face in today's world demand concerted and global action. If we truly wish to see the planet survive and, with it, the human race, the time has come to work together responsibly to forge real partnerships for human development and sustainable development for all the peoples of the United Nations.