Spain

In a few weeks’ time, it will be 60 years since the proclamation of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. And here we find ourselves at the midpoint in the application of our strategies for the attainment of the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs). The Universal Declaration of Human Rights bears witness to the determination to leave us a better world than the one known by our fathers’ generation — a generation that suffered, struggled, defeated totalitarianism and condensed its aspirations for freedom and prosperity in that text. The Millennium Development Goals reflect the will, no less determined, of our generation to confront extreme poverty once and for all, so that we may leave to our 08-51851 24 children a world without millions of human beings suffering from hunger and poverty on a daily basis. Together, the observance of human rights and the attainment of the Millennium Development Goals are perhaps the most noble aspirations ever envisioned by humanity, and the most devoted to the dignity of individuals. Just by that fact alone, we can say that, despite all of the suffering deliberately caused by human beings over the last decades, during that time we have learned and we have made progress. We can feel satisfied that we have identified and broadened the horizons of human beings on our planet. We can feel satisfied by that, but by no means should we be complacent. There is no room for complacency because if we look at the horizon for the MDGs, as we have for human rights, the conclusion would be the same: the results are still far from fulfilling our aspirations, precisely because those aspirations retain all of their value, and even grow in value, with the passage of time. Ten years ago, at the commemoration of the fiftieth anniversary of the adoption of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, President Nelson Mandela recalled that poverty is an offence against the Declaration and is the result not of any force of nature, but rather of the action or non-action by human beings, in particular those in leadership positions in politics, the economy and other areas of human activity. Aware of that responsibility, eight years ago Member States undertook the unique effort, in historic terms, to alleviate poverty for millions of people worldwide. I wish to make my opinion clear that we have not progressed as we should have or as we planned. However, the needs are the same or even greater than they were when we agreed the Millennium Development Goals eight years ago. Mr. Tanin (Afghanistan), Vice-President, took the Chair. If we are to attain the Millennium Development Goals by 2015, we cannot just sit back. We cannot blame our failure to meet our obligations on the economic situation. We cannot use any circumstance as an excuse to avoid honouring our commitments. It is a question not only of adhering to irreplaceable ethical standards, but of making responsible efforts towards stability and international equality. We must also work urgently to establish a new world financial order that would prevent the recurrence of situations like that we are currently experiencing. It is also urgent that we continue to fight with determination against the hunger and poverty that cause millions of people to suffer unacceptably and continue to be a source of conflict and migratory pressures that are difficult to control. I am speaking on behalf of a country — Spain — that is making great efforts of solidarity in its cooperation policies. Over the past four years, Spain has been the State with the highest increase in its official development assistance; our goal is to reach 0.7 per cent of our gross national income by 2012. Spanish society offers that commitment in response to the current food crisis. My country believes that the best way to reaffirm the full value of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and to keep 2015 firmly in view is to strengthen the historical connotation of each. That connotation is nothing less than the exaltation of human dignity as both an impregnable wall against arbitrariness and despotism and as a curb against extreme poverty. A few weeks ago, on behalf of the Government of Spain, I made a proposal that I would like to reiterate today. The year 2015 should be designated as the year of a universal moratorium on the death penalty. That would be a first step towards its abolition. I call upon representatives of countries that still include capital punishment in their legal system to support the measure and to participate in a process of reflection on the meaning of that punishment inflicted by States. It might seen utopian to aspire to achieve the full enjoyment and universal recognition of human rights and the eradication of extreme poverty in the course of a single generation, but those goals are not utopian and never will be. Utopias are often simply premature truths. We must not delay or dismiss them with resignation or blind selfishness. Moreover, it is only by setting off down that road that we can work towards the just, secure and cooperative international order that we all wish to see. The effects of the international financial crisis that began one year ago are spreading throughout most developed and less developed economies, and could affect the achievement of the Millennium Development Goals. There is a risk that the poorest countries will end up suffering even more because of improper 25 08-51851 practices in the richer countries. The financial crisis has conclusively demonstrated the need to reconsider economic environments that are immune to regulation and governmental supervision. We already know what speculation in the crucible of deregulation can lead to. Today, it is more important than ever to stress the role of institutions and Government in rationalizing the markets and their instrumentality in serving the real needs of families, the well-being of individuals and their education, health care and social cohesion. At the national level, the State protects markets from their own excesses. The global market lacks similar institutions to develop control and supervision functions. We need to revise the rules and institutions of the world economy. We need a common vision for the establishment of a new international financial legal system. We have to learn from our mistakes, and do so quickly and in a spirit of cooperation. My Government would like to contribute actively to forging that new international financial order. We will promote and support an agreement that contains definite commitments to supervision, transparency and early warning by national institutions; ensures the flexible capacity of those institutions to provide liquidity and countercyclical reserves of capital to the markets in moments of need; and strengthens the role of international financial bodies. Prosperity for our peoples is possible only if there is international peace and security. Peace and security will be possible only through effective multilateralism based on respect for and the safeguarding of international law. For my country, there is no other way to imagine international order. Four years ago in this very same Hall, I proposed an alliance of civilizations with the objective of building bridges between different cultures and breaking down the walls of misunderstanding. Today, I am satisfied to note that the initiative promoted by Spain and Turkey has been fully endorsed by the United Nations, and enjoys the support of a Group of Friends made up of 90 States and international organizations. The world can hope for peace only when dialogue and understanding of basic values that respect diversity are elevated above intolerance and fundamentalism. Spain will continue to assert this conviction in all forums where our contribution is or can be relevant — including, first and foremost, at the United Nations. We will do so not only because it is the best way to stress the key desires of Spanish society, but also because we want to shoulder our responsibility for bringing about the just, secure, caring international order in which we believe. The capacity for human progress cannot be questioned. The thirst for discovery and innovation, the desire to go beyond ourselves, opens the door for meeting human needs every day in all areas. It is a question of placing this immense creative force in the service of those values on which human dignity is based, eliminating arbitrariness, injustice and all forms of discrimination, starting with those that women have so unfairly endured throughout history. We cannot stop; we cannot give up. In the United Nations, with a rational attitude, with the hope engendered by our common values, we can launch an era of world prosperity and unity. For that, we need coordination, not unilateral action. Development must be sustainable and not uncontrolled. We need permanent political dialogue. We should not give in to old temptations or new cold wars. We have to eradicate extreme poverty and denounce the selfishness of the richest. We need the United Nations. We need all men and women to know that their dignity is dependent on the dignity of their peers. Above all, hundreds of millions of people in Africa, Latin America and Asia need us: that must be the basic purpose of our endeavours. Spain is committed to those endeavours and will fulfil its historic duty to eradicate extreme poverty around the world. This generation can do it; this generation must do it.