Argentina, 1996

May I first extend to Mr. Razali Ismail my

warmest and most sincere congratulations on his

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unanimous election as President of this important session of

the General Assembly.

I recently accompanied President Carlos Saul Menem

on a visit to his country, and I have the most pleasant

memories of his countrymen’s hospitality, of the vitality of

his culture and of the extraordinary strength of his

country’s economy.

To Ambassador Freitas do Amaral, who presided over

the Assembly at the last session, we express our most

sincere admiration. His term was a year full of difficulties

and challenges, and he left us a positive vision of the

questions of the future.

I have had the privilege of participating in the general

debate for the last six years. During that period, significant

changes have come about and profound contrasts have

arisen in the world. The scepticism of some

notwithstanding, allow me to recall some of the progress

made on the international scene: we have improved

mechanisms for international peace and security; we have

advanced in the universal consolidation of democracy and

tolerance; we have created institutions to prevent very

serious crimes that offend the world’s conscience from

going unpunished, which clearly reflects the concept that

justice and the law are inseparable components of a stable

peace; we have successfully stepped up intense collective

work towards non-proliferation of nuclear and conventional

weapons, including anti-personnel mines. The adoption of

the Comprehensive Nuclear Test-Ban-Treaty will

undoubtedly contribute to greater progress, as will the entry

into force of the Convention on the Prohibition of the

Development, Production, Stockpiling and Use of Chemical

Weapons and on Their Destruction. We have also begun to

articulate the concept of sustainable development to ensure

progress for current generations without compromising the

viability of such progress for those of the future. We have

opened new paths to free trade, eliminating barriers which,

until yesterday, were regarded as normal instruments of

national policy.

All this has happened in recent years, and it is only

fitting to recognize that the Secretary-General has

anticipated, promoted and reflected all this in his annual

reports, in his Agenda for Peace and in his Agenda for

Development, documents that are essential for the

interpretation of the process begun at the end of the cold

war.

Allow me to take this opportunity to state how my

country has dealt with all these transformations. Argentina

has actively promoted the new agenda. It has adapted

itself domestically and internationally to fulfil the

objectives and principles of the Charter, both in its letter

and its new spirit.

Argentina has consolidated democracy and has taken

a very active role in the defence of fundamental rights

and freedoms. It has given constitutional status to the

Universal Declaration of Human Rights and to the main

human rights treaties to which it is a party.

Argentina has got its economy in order and opened

up new possibilities and potential for its people by

promoting good governance, fiscal discipline,

accountability in the management of public funds,

equality before the law for domestic and foreign investors

and the fight against corruption.

In particular, Argentina has presented and promoted

in the Organization of American States (OAS), as well as

in this Assembly and other international organizations,

initiatives to combat the curse of corruption, which is an

enemy to development, investment and charity in society.

In Argentina, sustainable development goes beyond

academic discussions. The growing deterioration of the

ozone layer in the southern hemisphere has affected the

daily life and health of the population of southern

Patagonia. Argentina, in cooperation with other countries

in the region and the United Nations system, has assumed

a leading role in reducing the risk level for the affected

populations by establishing five ozone-layer monitoring

stations in our national territory, incorporating them into

the world multilateral environmental monitoring system.

We strongly hope that the international community will

join us in this effort by taking the necessary actions to

cooperate in protecting the atmosphere.

In our subregion, the southern cone of the Americas,

Argentina, together with its neighbours, has played a

significant role in eradicating distrust, in resolving border

problems, in promoting physical and economic integration

and in fostering political cooperation, all of which have

generated an exemplary framework for cooperation and

convergence.

On the basis of political and economic stability, we

have designed ambitious mechanisms for integration, and

we have made the Southern Cone Common Market

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(MERCOSUR) and the Rio Group important channels for

our foreign policy.

In the agreements signed at the last MERCOSUR

presidential summit, the States parties — Brazil, Paraguay,

Uruguay and Argentina — ratified their commitment to

democratic institutions. As our country sees it, this should

be a prerequisite for full membership in MERCOSUR. The

States parties established a mechanism for consultation and

political cooperation aimed at reviewing international

activities of special interest to them.

At that time, agreements were also signed between

MERCOSUR and Chile and Bolivia, which will

significantly broaden MERCOSUR and launch our

economies into an ever more globalized system. Clear

evidence of this is the adoption of the interregional

framework agreement between MERCOSUR and the

European Union, which has given rise to positive

expectations and created opportunities for strengthening

links between the two regions in the economic, political and

cultural fields.

Argentina has promoted common activities on issues

of growing importance, such as protection of the

environment, preservation of natural resources and social

and human development, within the framework of regional

mechanisms for dialogue and political cooperation, as well

as bilaterally, in regional forums and at the United Nations.

Argentina participated in the adoption of concrete decisions

to fight terrorism, drug trafficking and corruption, which

are the new threats to international peace and security.

Argentina’s natural interest in the South Atlantic is

reflected in our participation in the zone of peace and

cooperation in the South Atlantic, which embraces countries

from both sides of the ocean in constituting an area to

which we attach special significance.

Member States of the zone are committed to

respecting sovereignty and territorial integrity, promoting

democracy, human rights and civil liberties, joining efforts

for nuclear non-proliferation and de-nuclearization, and to

cooperating in the struggle against drug trafficking. We are

very pleased with our contribution to maintaining, together

with other coastal States, the political balance and economic

potential of the South Atlantic.

However, there is still an important unresolved issue:

the persistent sovereignty dispute over the Malvinas, South

Georgia and South Sandwich Islands and their surrounding

maritime spaces.

During these last six years, I have come to this

forum to voice the claims of the Government and people

of Argentina in the sovereignty dispute over the Malvinas

Islands.

It is incomprehensible that while Argentina and the

United Kingdom have overcome the sorrow and have left

behind their mutual disagreements and distrust and built

up a harmonious and constructive relationship — and we

see the positive results of this day by day — they have

not so far been able to comply with the resolutions of the

General Assembly and of the Decolonization Committee

and to progress in the dialogue towards a definitive

solution to this dispute. We have not even been able to sit

down together around a table to talk, even if only to

express our disagreement.

In the same spirit that encouraged our two countries

to cooperate in the South Atlantic for the protection of its

renewable and non-renewable resources, we should

advance in our search for a peaceful solution to this

dispute.

In spite of our efforts, the lack of direct links with

the Malvinas impedes human contacts, trade and tourism,

among other possible exchanges, and has slowed down

the economic and cultural development of the South

Atlantic. The lack of relations between the two areas is

inconceivable in today’s world.

Argentina is proud of its great cultural diversity.

Since the birth of our nation, our laws have preserved and

guaranteed such cultural heritage. Our national

Constitution establishes the objective of recovering the

Malvinas Islands and the full exercise of sovereignty, and

ensures respect for its inhabitants’ way of life. The only

thing lacking is the will to start a new phase together.

Argentina is firmly convinced that a new era should

begin in the South Atlantic, as an area free from

tensions — a place where different cultures committed to

humanistic ideals and with a common wish for progress

and well-being may come together.

What in the past has been a negative factor in our

relations should become a positive factor and a starting

point for a new relationship.

My country has shown its vocation for constructive

participation in the areas created by the international

system, fostering tolerance and preserving peace. In that

respect, we avidly support all efforts to resolve situations

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of serious instability and conflict still existing in various

parts of the world.

In the Middle East, we welcome the progress made in

the peace process, especially regarding the question of

Palestine. We add our voice to those calling for the parties

involved to maximize their efforts to achieve a just, lasting

and comprehensive peace. We renew our offer of full

cooperation to contribute to the attainment of that objective.

The peace process, fostered by this General Assembly, has

borne fruits that should not go to waste.

United Nations peacekeeping operations are one of the

most effective tools for preventing violence around the

world. This explains our full support for peace missions.

We have responded promptly and unconditionally to

requests of the Security Council, agreeing to participate in

operations in our hemisphere and in various other parts of

the world by providing large amounts of financial

resources.

We deem it vital to ensure an orderly transition

between peace-keeping operations and the work of

reconstruction aimed at reversing the economic, political

and social damage caused by conflicts and to offer effective

humanitarian assistance so as to reduce the suffering of the

populations affected.

With the objective of complementing United Nations

emergency humanitarian assistance, Argentina, inspired by

President Carlos Saul Menem, proposed the “White

Helmets” initiative. The effective deployment of the “White

Helmets” in many humanitarian assistance operations is

already proving their political and technical viability.

The United Nations is called upon to play a significant

role in the international system of the twenty-first century.

Everything indicates that this system will be marked by

growing globalization and that problems such as poverty,

unemployment, corruption and the lack of education can be

more effectively dealt with at a global level. For the United

Nations to respond effectively to this increasingly broad and

complex mandate, it will be imperative for Member States

to renew their political commitment to the organization’s

political future. At the same time, it will be necessary to

strengthen the United Nations through the in-depth

streamlining and reform process that has already begun.

With respect to the Security Council, we continue to

favour a mechanism that, without affecting its efficiency,

reflects new realities, of which Argentina is an active part,

and ensures the participation of those who have clearly

demonstrated their commitment to and respect for the

purposes and principles of the Charter. It is equally

important to ensure that the working methods of the

Council guarantee transparency in the debates and in

decision-making processes. Only in this way will the

Organization become a special forum for nations to

channel their resources effectively and successfully face

the challenges of a globalized world.