During the past year we have witnessed events and
popular uprisings that are changing the face of the
planet, both politically and economically. As President
of a country that firmly believes in multilateralism, I
come to the General Assembly today to emphasize how
important it is for the United Nations to assume the
fundamental role that belongs to it in the face of such
crises. Crises in and of themselves are neither good nor
bad; their results depend on how we manage them.
They can often become genuine opportunities.
The political transformations we are seeing in
North Africa and in the Middle East, for example, if
they lead to a strengthening of democracy and the rule
of law in the affected countries, can be a factor in
global stability. What the peoples request, what the
peoples seek, is freedom, respect for their rights, the
ability to choose their leaders and democracy. The duty
of the international community is to support them. If
we do not, if we turn our back on them, we may see a
protracted period of civil wars and conflict, which we
should avoid at all cost.
Therefore, we must commit ourselves to
strengthening and applying the methods of peaceful
conflict resolution described in Chapter VI of the
United Nations Charter. The more efficient we are in
the use of preventive diplomacy, the less need there
will be for intervention.
We should advocate effective mediation with
conviction, mediation that does not seek the leading
role but one that is given the time and tools required to
establish trust and to reach solutions that are
advantageous to all parties.
I am pleased to be able to affirm today that
Colombia does not just believe in mediation and
peaceful solutions; we have successfully put them into
practice. My Government succeeded in normalizing
relations with two countries: Venezuela and Ecuador.
We did this on the basis of conciliation and respectful,
direct dialogue.
The former President of Argentina, Mr. Néstor
Kirchner, then Secretary General of the Union of South
American Nations, lent his good offices to the
rapprochement between Venezuela and Colombia. His
management was extremely effective, a great legacy he
left to our region.
In Latin America we have learned that
Governments and States may have differing, even at
times opposing, political concepts, but that this does
not mean they cannot live together and cooperate in
peace. We have also made important contributions to
the search for dialogue, negotiation and mediation in
our region. Honduras is an example of that effort.
Venezuela and Colombia joined forces to support the
Honduran parties in their reconciliation through
dialogue and rebuilding trust. This succeeded in
bringing Honduras back into the Union of South
American Nations.
What I have said so far can also be applied to
long-standing conflicts, such as that between Israel and
Palestine. Advances can be achieved if, and only if,
direct dialogue and effective mediation are employed.
Along with the rest of the international community, we
are concerned by the suspension of peace negotiations,
and we urge — in fact, we implore — both parties to
return to the negotiating table as soon as possible. That
is the only — I repeat, the only — path that leads to
what we all wish to see: two States living in peace and
security.
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On a positive note, we can offer as an example of
appropriate cooperation and negotiation the efforts that
led to the creation of the Republic of South Sudan, the
most recent Member of the United Nations, to which
we give the most effusive welcome.
As a current member of the Security Council,
Colombia has brought to the agenda the situation of
Haiti, a country struck by natural phenomena and
affected by unacceptable poverty. The solution there
must remain a priority for all of us. Peace in Haiti will
be the fruit not just of peacekeeping operations, but of
the empowerment of Haitians themselves in handling
their own problems and solutions, with sufficient
international support for their economic and social
development.
By virtue of its place as the country with the
greatest biodiversity per square kilometre in the world,
which makes it highly vulnerable, Colombia is
committed to measures that mitigate the effects of
climate change and enable us to adapt to them.
We are participating in the preparations for the
upcoming United Nations Conference on Sustainable
Development, Rio+20, which will take place in July
2012, with a proposal we have been developing in
consultation with other countries. We believe that one
of the main results of Rio+20 should be the
establishment of a set of sustainable development goals
based on the agenda that was approved in the first
conference and echoing the Millennium Development
Goals.
The guiding principles were established in Rio in
1992, and an implementation plan was agreed on in
Johannesburg in 2002. Today, 20 years later, we need
to define a set of goals that allow us to measure
achievements, identify shortcomings and determine the
opportunities for advancement. The planet and its
future demand that we work with goals, with specific
indicators of results that ensure the efficacy of our
efforts.
A year ago I said that thanks to advances in
economic and social security, Colombia was at the
threshold of a new dawn. Today I can state with
realism and well-founded optimism that the first rays
of that new dawn are beginning to warm us and light
our way.
My Government is one of national unity, in which
the main political parties have converged around the
fundamental objectives of the nation. This unity has
afforded us a significant measure of governability and
has enabled us to have historic laws and reforms
approved in our Congress that will help us to have a
more prosperous and safer nation, one that is more
equitable and more egalitarian.
Among the initiatives that have been approved, I
wish to point to a law concerning victims and the
return of land that guarantees that the State and society
work to make reparations and to return stolen lands to
hundreds of thousands of farmers affected by the
violence of the past several decades. We are paying a
moral debt to the victims. This is the first time in the
history of the world that this is happening before the
end of an internal armed conflict. We have decided that
justice, truth and reparations must not have to wait.
It is worth pointing out that Secretary-General
Ban-Ki Moon joined us in Bogotá the day that law was
passed. He emphasized the advance it represented and
offered the assistance of the United Nations in ensuring
its proper application.
Also thanks to the governability guaranteed by
our new national unity, we were able to establish a
more equitable distribution of resources originating
from oil and mining to ensure that they reach our
neediest population and regions.
In addition, at this time of global financial and
economic volatility, we have introduced into our
Constitution the element of fiscal sustainability, and
have enacted a law to ensure that the State maintains
discipline in its management of public finances. Such
responsible initiatives have increased investor
confidence, had a positive impact on our country’s risk
rating and will lead to a more stable economic future in
which we believe we will be able to focus on reducing
unemployment and poverty, my Government’s two
main priorities.
Colombia, to a degree unlike any other country in
the world, has had to deal with the global drug
problem. We have had much success, but a great many
challenges remain. We know how terrorists benefit
from drug-trafficking, and there can be no doubt that
drugs and terrorism threaten democracies and the rule
of law. Colombia will continue to combat these
scourges, because for us they represent a national
security problem. We are actively cooperating in the
region, and will continue to do so, to combat
transnational crime. We can only succeed if we
43 11-50692
cooperate and work together in this struggle, which
affects every country equally.
A year ago, from this rostrum (see A/65/PV.15), I
said that we should call the decade that was then just
beginning the decade of Latin America and the
Caribbean. I reaffirm that prediction now. Our region is
an area of political and economic stability that is firmly
determined to move forward with social policy. We
have both the capability and the willingness to provide
the world with solutions in the areas of the
environment, water, energy, food and labour. But our
region cannot grow or progress in isolation. We want to
advance hand in hand with the world, sharing the
principles of respect and tolerance. We welcome
progress in prosperity wherever it occurs in the world.
That is why I would like to conclude by calling
on the nations of the world and on the Organization
that brings us together here to continue to work
together to make use of the peaceful means at our
disposal, with a new goal: to turn the crises we are
experiencing today into opportunities for a better
tomorrow. The future, as has always been the case,
depends on us. With determination and positive
leadership, we can convert these storms into winds
favourable to the whole of humankind.