It is a distinct honour for me to address the General Assembly for the first time in my capacity as President of Ecuador. I am here, fully aware of the expectations that a new Government creates, not only for the citizens who elected me, but also among the nations of the world whose representatives I now address.
That is for good reason. Ecuador’s current experience constitutes much more than just the start of a new Administration. We were elected on a promise of change and to create new opportunities, restore full democracy and join the rest of the world. That vision is markedly different from the one held by those who governed for the past 14 years. During that time, I am sure that members all heard statements by my predecessors, as well as those by other respectable Latin American leaders, in which they complained of asymmetries and so-called empires. They even used this podium to launch personal diatribes against the leaders of other countries.
Although it is true that Ecuador and our region alike have endured historic challenges that we are yet to overcome, I am not here to speak about that. When we stand before the world, it is best to ensure that our actions speak louder than words. I want members to get to know me, not because of incendiary statements, but through concrete results. I want members to have a very clear idea of the citizens’ movement now being led by Ecuador to usher in a new era of understanding with the rest of the planet.
As members all know, the Organization, where we find ourselves today, was born after a protracted period of conflict. Humankind realized that global issues needed global responses. We realized that, each day, we became somewhat more responsible for all that occurred in every corner of the world. The coronavirus disease pandemic has made those ideas even more relevant now. We are now compelled to put them to the test.
For that reason, I am pleased to report to everyone present at today’s Assembly that, fewer than four months after inaugurating a new Government, Ecuador has met with success concerning its vaccine record. Believe me, I do not say that to boast about my country;
1 say it because I genuinely believe that that success was not solely the result of Ecuadorian efforts. To a large extent, that success is also a credit to global diplomacy. In a recent telephone conversation with the President of the People’s Republic of China, he surprised me by saying, “President, you have said it before; health has no ideology”. Indeed, I had used those words when I delivered my inaugural speech. That confirms for me the power of international cooperation when we simply stop and listen to each other.
That is the spirit in which my Government has led Ecuador since its first day in office. That is why 62 per cent of the total number of vaccines that arrived in Ecuador since I took office come from China. However, not just China; we also received a large donation of
2 million doses from the Government of the United States of America — our main trading partner. Not just the United States; we started talks with Russia, which, if productive, could lead to us building, on Ecuadorian soil, the first Latin American laboratory to produce Sputnik V vaccines. We can also mention our talks with Spain, Canada, Chile and Mexico. Most important in that whole range of actions is not just the number of Governments involved, but the number of lives that have been saved in Ecuador.
Indeed, there are those here who recall the horrifying images out of Ecuador in the first few days of the pandemic — bodies in the streets, hospitals overwhelmed and hastily dug mass graves. Those days demonstrated all that was wrong with our management of the health crisis. Those images were a graphic representation of the fact that we had hit rock bottom
after 14 years of isolationist policies, buttressed by a warped and small-minded concept of sovereignty.
Today, just three months and a few days after taking office, I would like to share the following specific information so that members can draw their own conclusions. First, we met our most pressing commitment — ensuring that 9 million Ecuadorians were fully vaccinated, with two doses, within the first 100 days’ of our Government. Allow me to state that in even clearer terms. In 100 days, the percentage of those vaccinated in Ecuador increased from a mere 3 per cent to 52 per cent — in other words, more than half of the population was vaccinated. According to statistics from the Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean, 81 per cent of Ecuadorians over the age of 18 have been vaccinated. Among Latin American nations, we rose from the bottom of the rankings to third place with regard to the percentage of vaccinated populations. Only Chile and Uruguay rank higher. In just a few days in July, our daily vaccination rate was equivalent to 2.5 per cent of our overall population. That placed us among global vaccination leaders, based on the number of doses administered for every 100,000 inhabitants.
Without diatribes, complaints or whims, we were able to meet the Organization’s goals, namely harmony and cooperation among Governments to provide wellbeing to our peoples. It is very easy to complain but challenging to take action. It is very easy to divide the world into blocs or clubs but challenging to unite it into a solid edifice of peace and cooperation. Nonetheless, faced with a global threat, such as the pandemic, what other option do we have? What other option is there in our attempt to save humankind itself?
Perhaps some delegations have already heard me say, more than once, “more Ecuador in the world, and more world in Ecuador”. That phrase summarizes our ideal of a more competitive and outward-focused country that seeks opportunities. However, those who believe that that phrase refers only to economic benefits are mistaken. On the contrary, that phrase encompasses a deep commitment to all causes that humankind, as a whole, must address, and that are the raison d’etre of the Organization. Ecuador reaffirms its firm commitment to those basic principles. I would like to again make it clear that our actions speak for us in each and every one of those areas.
In our first few days in office, our Government sent to the National Assembly a draft organic law on free expression and communication. There was an overarching need for us to have a body of law that would guarantee and protect the enjoyment of that human right. To fight corruption, we signed a memorandum of understanding with United Nations. It is a document that will enable us to establish mechanisms for integrity, transparency and accountability.
With respect to climate change, we are the first Latin American country and the fourth in the world to place our ecological transition under the responsibility of a Ministry. Ecuador is one of the most biodiverse territories on the planet. Our interest in implementing policies to cut carbon emissions, as well as in any mechanism that addresses accelerated environmental degradation, is quite natural. We take this opportunity to reaffirm our commitment to the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. We continue to have great expectations of the Conference of the Parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, which will take place in Glasgow in October.
Concerning asylum and international protection, Ecuador will continue to serve as an example to others. In the light of the serious situation that took place in Afghanistan, we endorsed the joint declaration, signed by more than 70 countries, which urges the parties involved to provide safe departure for foreign and Afghan citizens alike, who wish to leave the country. We are one of the first countries in the world to establish a Subsecretariat for Diversity, which seeks to eliminate sexual discrimination of all kinds. No one in Ecuador will fear discrimination, regardless of who they are or whom they love. Our Human Rights Secretariat works tirelessly to eradicate gender violence — a reprehensible phenomenon that, regrettably, continues to exist in our society.
With regard to legal certainty, we rejoined the Convention on the Settlement of Investment Disputes between States and Nationals of Other States to provide guarantees for foreign investment. We are again stimulating private sector activity, but without ever losing sight of the crucial balance with social investment. To that end, we are developing new programmes that will reduce poverty and eliminate child malnutrition, which, regrettably, after years of neglect, remain a problem for our most vulnerable communities.
We restored the balance of power by strengthening democratic dialogue and governance among the various levels of the State. We achieved all of that in just a few
months in office. In short, we were able to re-establish democratic institutions and the freedoms and rights of our citizens, which had been undermined by a Government that placed all powers of the State under its authority.
In that regard, I would like to convey my willingness to ensure similar retribution in Latin American countries where constitutional elements of the rule of law, enshrined in the Inter-American Democratic Charter, have disappeared. All peoples of Latin America are fighting to restore democracy and freedom, and everyone who does so will receive my Government’s unwavering solidarity.
Lastly, I wish to say a few words about the tragedy of forced migration. The sad truth today is that the migrants of the world no longer seek only a better life, now they seek to survive. Regrettably, that human tragedy is nothing new for those of us living on the Latin American continent. However, it does not mean that we have remained indifferent to the exodus of Venezuelan nationals from their homeland. Ecuador has provided a brotherly response. We welcomed approximately 433,000 Venezuelan citizens, who have benefited from a solidarity-based process of regularization, which will enable them to receive work and social security benefits.
We in Ecuador, too, have witnessed an increase in our own migrating population — those exposed to unimaginable risks in their attempts to reach other countries, such as the United States. It is precisely for that reason that I am so passionate about and committed to trade integration as a driver of opportunity creation. Migration is a clear sign that the citizens of the world want more integration, not less. When they migrate, citizens demonstrate, in practice, the integration that their authorities have not dared to provide for them. They are prepared to cross continents to join new societies that provide them with more and better opportunities. They want access to global job markets and education and to a whole world that is increasingly connected by technology, but separated by misplaced protectionist policies. For that reason, I call on all countries that wish to deepen their trade relations with Ecuador to embrace a solution to that problem, which is precisely bringing together markets closer to our citizens, instead of forcing citizens to migrate to those markets.
Let us ensure that opportunities seek out our citizens and not have our citizens migrate in search of opportunities. It is better for us to be connected through free trade than through forced migration, caused by practices that isolate us, lock us in and only limit the number of spaces for shared prosperity. Sooner or later, our citizens will seek their economic freedom. Human beings will seek opportunities. We believe that we must facilitate that natural impulse; not obstruct it. The only result of blocking it is precisely the tragedies we now witness. I believe that what I am saying is just common sense. But let us ask ourselves, why do we not do it? What are we waiting for to advocate global integration policy?
In conclusion, I would like end with the words I used at the beginning of my statement. I would like all I have said to be a satisfactory response to the curiosity and expectations created by my new Government. Nonetheless, in addition to all I have said, I must utter two simple words that transcend all cultural barriers. They are words that are never out of place in relations among peoples. In recent years, however, we have not heard them enough from Ecuador. Those words are “thank you”.
We thank the entire community of nations for their cooperation in the first few months of our successful vaccination programme. We were able to restore calm to Ecuador. With this message, we begin a new era of Ecuadorian diplomacy and a new way of relating to all countries of the world, regardless of their location, size or beliefs. Let today be a new beginning. Let the lessons of the pandemic be forever etched in our memory. Let all the difficulties we have overcome lay the firm foundation for a new understanding among peoples. During this period of recovery and renewal of global harmony, members can always count on the faithful friendship and abiding gratitude of the people of Ecuador. I thank all members and may God bless humankind.