The people of Ecuador wish to express their deepest condolences and fraternal solidarity to the South-East Asian nations affected by the tsunami, as well as to all our brothers and sisters living in the southern United States who were so severely affected by Hurricane Katrina. Faced with the danger of natural disasters, Ecuador is committed to the implementation of the Hyogo Framework for Action and to support the International El Niño Research Centre, based in Guayaquil. Today, the nations of the globe have come together to celebrate 60 years of human hopes, 60 years after the proclamation of the founding Charter of the Organization that represents every man, every woman, and every child. Six decades have passed since we inaugurated this institution and its essential objectives of human coexistence, peace and the international rule of law. After six decades we can rejoice with old Neruda, who lives on in our hearts, along with Stravinsky, Garcia Marquez and Mother Teresa. Let us celebrate, but let us also take stock of the dream yet to be fulfilled. Sleeplessly, we face threats and challenges that affect the survival of our species. When the second millennium ended — quite unlike the first — our world was not threatened by the terror-filled visions of the apocalypse and the seven trumpets that would transform a third of the world into blood, darkness, smoke and locusts. However, our new millennium faces the reality of increasing poverty in two thirds of the planet. Water is becoming scarce, there are holes in the ozone layer and, along with biodiversity, the Amazon is being destroyed. Entire nations are being disinherited and condemned to roam the earth, mortal illnesses hover over humanity and terrorism lurks in every corner. I have come from the middle of the world to speak of faith in the renewal of the dream. Ecuador is a small nation in South America sharing an identity with almost 400 million human beings living in an area of 8 million square kilometres. We have more than one fourth of the fresh water of the world and immense energy, mineral and food resources; we boast the greatest tropical rain forest in the world and colossal mountains, deserts and prairies. Yet, our region remains a realm of social injustice. 2 05-51226 The world order that governs us is not the one we want. It is unjust, inefficient and inhuman. We must therefore set in motion factors that were unimaginable in the middle of the twentieth century. The economy, international law and biology constitute a fundamental triangle from which the future of the human being can be projected. I set out for the Assembly the idea of building a new world order based on this trilogy. First, with regard to international law, Ecuador reaffirms its commitment to the San Francisco Charter and the principles of non-intervention and the self- determination of peoples, the peaceful settlement of disputes, and the rejection of all forms of colonialism, discrimination or segregation. In accordance with these principles my country believes in the need to strengthen the Organization, transform it and democratize it. The United Nations must develop new mechanisms to protect the survival of our species and of all forms of life. Secondly, the economy must eliminate marginalization and redress the unequal nature of opportunities, among both nations and individuals. This is the conflict. In 1945, the vital need to establish policies to promote a just and progressive distribution of surpluses was proclaimed. Nevertheless, 60 years later we see ever more regressive patterns of distribution and growing gaps at all levels, basically produced by the tragedy inherent in the accumulation of foreign debt, which represents such a heavy burden for developing nations. The burden of the debt has pauperized our peoples. It has put a brake on productive development and cancelled out the aspiration of all to have access to food, health, shelter, safety and education. The ethical mandate of our time demands a change in the collective conscience of social welfare. Heavily indebted middle-income countries must organize their efforts to arrive at joint agreements with the world’s creditors. Thirdly, the incorporation of biology into the new international order obliges the United Nations to transfer its focus from man to biology. The presence of this new factor — biology — brings with it the need to raise the level of ethics and international law to the highest degree of respect for biodiversity and the preservation of all forms of life. Ecuador attaches particular importance to this topic and is therefore concerned at the controversial spraying of glyphosate as a herbicide to eliminate illegal crops along border areas between Colombia and Ecuador. Studies on this substance suffer from technical and methodological shortcomings. Ecuador therefore calls upon the United Nations system to promote a comprehensive, reliable and credible study on the actual impact of this spraying. Ecuador considers that it is essential to apply the precautionary principle that has been recognized in many international agreements and other instruments, in particular the Rio Declaration on Environment and Development. Consequently, Ecuador has asked its neighbouring Government of Colombia to suspend aerial-spraying activities in a 10-kilometre strip north of our border. As I said in my statement during the High-level Plenary Meeting (see A/60/PV.5), in my country’s opinion the Millennium Development Goals constitute a well-honed and effective tool for this century to carve out a path towards a more just humankind. I am firmly convinced that ethical regulations to preserve the biological heritage of the planet constitute the paramount goal for this third millennium. With conviction and resolve, my country has adopted a date for its future: 2015. Copies of the reports on my Government endeavours to attain the Millennium Development Goals are available in the General Assembly Hall. I should now like to talk about migrants. Globalization is creating urgent demands for the new century. One of these arises from the pain that is giving rise to a new exodus. Today the United Nations must take over the role of a new Moses. It must lead the people to their homeland and provide the bread to calm the hunger of the wretched of the world. More than 175 million human beings have been forced to leave their homeland in search of better days. Today migrants are treated worse than capital or commercial goods: we are always looking to provide freedom of transit for these. The mere existence of this fact forces us to recognize that for the hungry of the third world there is no liberty and even less the equality and fraternity symbolized two centuries ago by the French revolution. The link between the migrant issue and development is undeniable and must be handled in a transparent manner based on a vision of shared responsibility on the part of all nations involved. On migration routes we must overcome the police stigmatization of the undocumented. Regularization requires that the rights of migrants be viewed as a fundamental human right and must be reflected in every State’s population policy. The Government of 05-51226 3 Ecuador calls upon this forum to address the problem of migrants in terms of equality for all nationals. We propose that this problem be addressed at the high- level dialogue on international migration and development, to be held in 2006. We in the Government of Ecuador, aware of the need for migration and its consequences to be treated in an integral and responsible manner, have approved a law revising our criminal code to define crimes of the sexual exploitation of minors and the trafficking of persons. In addition, we have placed before our National Congress a new proposal to punish all forms of trafficking in human beings. I should like to talk about indigenous peoples and peoples of African descent. The International Decades of the World’s Indigenous People, proclaimed by the General Assembly, have been a valuable opportunity to increase awareness of the situation of our brothers and to promote respect for their identity and the chance to find viable solutions to their problems. The biology of the new world order requires recognition of their rights as protagonists of history and as leading actors in society. In the Ecuador of the last decade, indigenous peoples have been significant components of our social and political life. That is recognized in our Constitution and in International Labour Organization (ILO) Agreement 169. In recent years, Ecuador has witnessed a serious deterioration in its democratic institutions. Faced with that situation, my Government has pledged to restore the rule of law by means of profound political reform legitimized through a referendum of the Ecuadorian people. We are determined to firmly fight the corruption that erodes democratic structures. Only three days ago, on 15 September, my Government deposited its instrument of ratification as the thirtieth State party to the United Nations Convention against Corruption, which made it possible for the Convention to enter into force. The voice of my people, the people of Ecuador, echoes the deep-throated clamour of Latin America. We want to be part of a greater nation, South America, a human assembly that can make its voice heard and follow the path to genuine, just development accompanied by greater solidarity on behalf of the principles that we have recalled here.