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.
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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
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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.