Panama

It is an honour for me to address the international community, first of all, to express the pleasure of the Government of the Republic of Panama at the election of His Excellency Mr. Nassir Abdulaziz Al-Nasser as President of the General Assembly at its sixty-sixth session. The delegation of Panama is gratified by the holding of the general debate in the presence of the Secretary-General and representatives of the different Member States, Observers and organizations. We would like to congratulate the President of the General Assembly at its sixty-fifth session for his excellent work. President Al-Nasser has invited us to focus this debate on strengthening the role of mediation in the peaceful settlement of disputes, conflict prevention and resolution. The importance of this theme invites us to deeply reflect on its multiple dimensions, given that mediation is an essential instrument in the preservation of international peace and security. Panama is a multi-ethnic country where people of different races, cultures, creeds and languages coexist in harmony and freedom, and where love of representative democracy, independence and respect for the sovereignty, ideology and territorial integrity of all countries are inalienable specific qualities that define us as a nation. In our view, and as a founding member of the United Nations, Panama will always advocate for international peace and security, the promotion of dialogue among Member States, the strengthening of multilateral dynamics and facilitating the mission of the United Nations. That is largely due to experiences accumulated during the course of the diplomatic history of our country. More than three decades ago, for a second and last time, the Security Council held an extraordinary session away from Headquarters, with the purpose of politically mediating the dispute over the sovereignty of Panama over its Canal and the territories adjacent to the Canal Zone, controlled at that time by the United States of America, which was the platform that launched the Panamanian cause onto the international stage. It was the joint will and intervention of the members of this illustrious General Assembly, demonstrated in its historic resolution 31/143, of 1976, which to a great extent inspired the signing of the Treaties between Panama and the United States in 1977. Nowadays, the Panama Canal, fully under our sovereign authority, is one of the most important axes of our economic development, supervised by a Panamanian administration, for the benefit of all nations. Panamanians will always be grateful to the United Nations for this noble success of multilateralism. In the 1980s, the Contadora Group was established in Panama as a mechanism for multilateral mediation. It forged a Latin American alliance committed to democracy, economic cooperation and regional security and led to the Esquipulas peace agreement — an overarching advance in the consolidation of peace in Central America. The Contadora Group was the predecessor of the Rio Group, which is today an important mechanism for consultation and coordination in Latin America. When our democracy was restored in the early 1990s, with the support of the United Nations Development Programme, we as a nation initiated sustained consultations among the principal actors of Government and civil society in order to strengthen our administrative institutions, secure the return of the Panama Canal to Panama, overcome asymmetries in our country, and identify strategies to accomplish our development priorities. During the past two decades, our culture of dialogue has given us the skills necessary to transform our country into a democratic and dynamic society that is progressing at a steady pace under the current Administration of the President of the Republic, Ricardo Martinelli Berrocal. As a result, Panama is now considered the second most competitive economy in Latin America, according to the World Economic Forum classification system, in 17 11-51681 view of our first-class financial system, our ports, our high-quality multimodal logistics infrastructure and our efficient technology — all of this in an environment that is open to business and generates global interest in foreign direct investment. Our robust prospects for economic growth and our effective management of public debt, in combination with continuous, adequate and careful financial discipline, have been the determining factors in our recently achieved investment grade with a stable outlook, according to the major rating agencies. Likewise, we have begun to implement an active cooperation agenda in the area of information exchange and fiscal transparency. We have adopted all of the measures suggested, which have enabled us to comply with the recommendations of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development in this respect. However, this journey to success has not been easy, and many future challenges remain. I believe that all of those here today will take on the main challenges faced by the international community in the process of achieving a coherent restructuring of the world economy and the reform of its institutions and oversight mechanisms. Panama is fully aware of this need, and our international agenda requires us to participate actively in the major multilateral mechanisms and economic and commercial integration forums in the areas of investment, tourism and technology, for the benefit of our citizens. Panama believes that such efforts must be promoted without delay by the major economies if we truly wish to overcome the turbulence in international markets. Our country also believes that to ensure a favourable economic climate, domestic conflicts must be prevented. This depends on, inter alia, the effectiveness of the democratic regime, public security, respect for human rights, the responsible management of natural resources, tolerance, access to health-care and sanitation services, the affordability of basic goods, good governance, and inclusive and balanced development. We in Panama, after living for 21 years under a military dictatorship — until 1989 — have made a strong commitment to democracy as a means of peacefully resolving the disputes that arise in our society. The experiences suffered under that dictatorship have led us to speak out unequivocally, in bilateral and multilateral forums, in favour of the strengthening or re-establishment of the effectiveness of democratic institutions wherever necessary. This has led us to clearly express our position in defence of democracy in cases such as those involving Honduras, the failed coup attempt in Ecuador, and the Arab Spring, which brought the winds of freedom to that region of the world. The duty to resolve disputes that give rise to international conflicts lies primarily with those States whose disagreements have generated the conflicts in question. Nevertheless, the United Nations, as the epicentre of global diplomacy, must increasingly perfect the art of mediation as a means of resolving international disputes. We can never forget that this is a fundamental principle of the Charter of the United Nations, enshrined in its Article 33 — a mandate that has resulted in many accomplishments around the world, where wisdom, mutual understanding and agreement have prevailed over aggression, hate and destruction. Mediation and dialogue have formed the basis of the stand that Panama has taken in connection with conflicts that have a bearing on peace and international political stability. Allow me to point out in that respect that the Government of the Republic of Panama believes that the Palestinian people have the right to be recognized as a State, but that they must first resolve their differences with their neighbour Israel, which also has the right to peaceful and harmonious coexistence with Palestine and the other States of the region. There could be no better solution than one that emerges from direct negotiations between Israel and the Palestinian National Authority. We also trust in the outcome of dialogue between the parties in the case of China. Panama, with full respect for the existing diplomatic truce, calls for greater participation by Taiwan in international forums and initiatives, in recognition of the fact that its people wish to contribute to the pursuit of global peace and well-being. For that reason, and given the relevance of this important provision of international law, we invite the Secretary-General and the President of the General Assembly to continue to promote and enhance the role of mediation as a viable strategy for the peaceful resolution of disputes. However, for the United Nations system to continue its effective peace mediation activities, each 11-51681 18 Member State must honour the commitments undertaken, so that the Organization can count on sufficient resources. This call for international cooperation is particularly relevant in these times of budgetary constraints in many countries, and given that aggressive competition for scarce resources is one of the primary causes of armed conflicts. Panama is a country with a lengthy and notable history of peace and conciliation. In our opinion, the best option when faced with the threat of armed conflict is comprehensive, transparent and unconditional diplomatic dialogue between the parties. We welcome the fact that in July 2011 the international community marked an important milestone along the path to a collective security architecture through the unanimous adoption of a resolution entitled “Strengthening the role of mediation in the peaceful settlement of disputes, conflict prevention and resolution” (resolution 65/283). That consensus represents the victory of reason over the absurd and harmful option of confrontation. The international community has seen clearly the major advantages of investing in a concerted effort to consolidate peace before it becomes necessary to contain the human tragedies resulting from violent conflicts, as we have witnessed and are witnessing in Somalia, for instance, where hunger, disease and destruction reign. Human history has taught us that hunger, poverty, ignorance, injustice and social inequality give rise to the greatest threats to peace and security. If we, the States Members of the United Nations, remain determined to save succeeding generations from the scourge of war, we must opt for proactively ensuring a peace that is based not on action taken in reaction to political or military acts of aggression, but on faith in and guarantees of universal and equal human rights in all corners of the world. As we believe in the valuable role that the United Nations should play, Panama is very proud to share with this Assembly the fact that the Government of President Ricardo Martinelli proposed the creation of a United Nations Regional Centre for Latin America and the Caribbean, with the aim of strengthening coordination and dialogue among regional agencies, in particular the 16 United Nations bodies already established in Panama. The national Government will finance the project, which will be a unique model of best practices in implementing sustainable development in Latin America and the world. In the past decade, our country’s privileged geographic position and the logistical infrastructure that Panama City offers has attracted various humanitarian aid organizations. That has also encouraged Panama to promote the construction of a regional humanitarian assistance logistics centre for the Americas. The regional centre will have the necessary agreements to expedite the entry and exit of humanitarian aid in order to help in the event of natural or other disasters, such as occurred last year in Haiti, where the international humanitarian agenda is still very necessary. With such projects, we reiterate our commitment to the multilateral system and to the United Nations Organization, and show that, as small lower-middle income developing countries, we also provide international cooperation, even in such times of economic difficulty for the large economies. Nor does Panama wish to miss the opportunity before the Assembly to call for reflection on the environmental, political and social challenges that all our societies face and that we must overcome, once again, through dialogue and cooperation among States in an effort to address those global challenges. Without a doubt, one of those great challenges is that posed by climate change and its effects. Climate change is a priority of my country’s foreign policy at the environmental level. We are committed to all efforts aimed at strengthening international environmental organizations and to the struggle to find joint solutions to the causes and effects of that phenomenon. As part of our support to the Organization’s own initiatives and for the benefit of the international community, we will host the meeting of the ad hoc working groups of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, soon to take place in Durban, South Africa. Those working groups will meet in Panama from 1 to 7 October in order to advance the modalities for a second commitment period of carbon emission reductions by developed countries and for stabilization of the global temperature so as to make progress in fully implementing the Framework Convention through long-term cooperation mechanisms. 19 11-51681 Panama hopes that the meeting will serve as a bridge between the results obtained in the Mexico meeting and those that may emerge in the one that will take place in South Africa, since it is necessary to set clear, transparent and ambitious goals. Also, the political will of developed countries in the matter must be reaffirmed, as they have the primary responsibility under the Convention. In conclusion, as the Secretary-General rightly stated in his opening address to the general debate: “Saving our planet, lifting people out of poverty and advancing economic growth — those are one and the same fight.” (, p. 1) That is why Panama, once again and before the General Assembly, renews its commitment to the community of nations to work for a world where war, sectarian hate, discrimination, intolerance and destruction waged under different flags and creeds that, without any justification, generate only poverty and misery, may finally be replaced by the dialogue, negotiation, cooperation and friendship stemming from differences that, on the contrary, have always been a source of wealth and well-being for the peoples of the world.