Colombia, 2000

Allow me to congratulate you, Sir, on your

election as President of the General Assembly at the

current session. I am confident that under your able

guidance our deliberations will yield success. I also

wish to thank your predecessor for his leadership and

for the his exemplary work as President of the

Assembly during the fifty-fourth session. I also have

the honour to extend convey my greetings to the

Secretary-General and to acknowledge his firm

leadership and his continuing interest in the search for

practical and innovative solutions.

For Colombia, this session represents a historic

challenge: the challenge to forge new relationships

aimed at carrying out the mission agreed upon by heads

of State or Government at the Millennium Summit.

They have defined the parameters of the world in

which we wish to live and the conditions for creating a

new international political and economic order. My

country had the honour to submit the Cartagena de

Indias Declaration (A/54/929), a commitment adopted

by heads of State of the Rio Group, which enunciates

the aspirations of our region and is an exceptional

contribution to the future of the United Nations. We

will now undertake a careful follow-up of these

initiatives so as to translate them into realities for the

benefit of humankind.

Perhaps the dawn of the new millennium will

enable us to face this challenge with optimism, to

signal a break with the legacy of half a century and

with the many proposals that have so often met with

indifference. It represents an opportunity to translate

our collective aspirations into tangible reality.

In large part, our expectations relate to the

meaning and scope of globalization. Sweeping

revolutions are taking place in the fields of

transportation, communication and the electronic

media. Every day we are astonished by advances in

technology and by the discoveries of applied science.

The main purpose of the United Nations and of its

various forums and agencies is to channel this

enormous store of technological and scientific

knowledge towards the poorest and most vulnerable

sectors of the population.

Information technology is bringing structural

change to the international economy and unprecedented

opportunities to promote creative cultural interaction

among peoples. But the information revolution can also

become a source of exclusion. We face the risk of

creating a new form of illiteracy: cyber-illiteracy. We

must bridge the digital divide and convert information

technology into a positive factor for education and

poverty-reduction so that the information revolution

may become truly global. Failure to do so will increase

the gap between rich and poor.

One of our principal challenges is therefore to

globalize globalization and to make it an imperative for

the twenty-first century. It is, in other words, to bring

the benefits of this process to more regions, nations

and individuals by democratizing access to new

technologies, eliminating barriers to trade and

investment and recognizing that the resources with

which nature provides us are the common heritage of

future generations.

Here, preservation of the environment is a key

element. We have an obligation to respect nature and to

build a sustainable future. We must put an end to the

destruction being caused by the irrational use of natural

resources and by unsound patterns of consumption and

production. This requires greater political commitment

to control climate change, eliminate sources of water

pollution and put an end to the loss of our forests. The

provision of financial resources and transfer of

environmentally safe technologies are issues still to be

resolved. The international community must honour the

commitments it has assumed in this field before it is

too late.

For their part, the United Nations and the

multilateral financial institutions must develop a new

framework to prevent and respond to risks and

economic crises. We need a stable, ordered, transparent

and predictable financial system, one in which we can

strengthen our early warning capacity, effectively

control the volatility of capital flows and ensure

sufficient liquidity to provide timely support to

countries affected by crisis. Another urgent priority is

to create social protection networks that can be used in

times of financial crisis.

The beginning of the millennium is marked also

by new concerns and threats to peace and security. The

proliferation and illicit trade in small arms is one of

these. The illegal traffic in such arms has reached

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unacceptable proportions; its impact has been even

more devastating than that of weapons of mass

destruction. Despite this, the international community

is not giving it the importance and priority which this

grave problem demands. Urgent and effective measures

are needed to halt and completely eliminate this illegal

trade.

Countries affected by this phenomenon must not

remain exposed to the criminal activities of the

networks of arms traffickers who, taking advantage of

the absence of monitoring and oversight mechanisms,

are causing irreparable damage to our societies.

Governments have the political and moral

responsibility to act decisively against illicit arms

exports and to bring all the force of the law to bear

against the merchants of death and violence who profit

from this nefarious trade. My country, Colombia, has

paid a very high price in human lives as a consequence

of this criminal activity.

Countries that are exporters of small arms must

establish controls on intermediaries and refrain from

authorizing sales if there is a risk of improper use.

There is a need for greater transparency and for the

exchange of information on the modalities and routes

of this trade. We must urgently create mechanisms to

provide financial and technical assistance so that

affected countries will be better able to implement

effective controls. We have a responsibility to ensure

that the United Nations Conference on the Illicit Trade

in Small Arms and Light Weapons in all its Aspects, to

be held in 2001, results in concrete commitments and

effective action.

The global problem of illicit drugs, for its part,

continues to be one of the most serious threats of our

time. It is a factor for violence and corruption,

economic disruption and impoverishment, erosion of

the social fabric and instability in democracies. It is

also a cause of alarming environmental disasters.

No nation has suffered as tragically as Colombia

from the consequences of this global problem. Every

day, lives are lost in Colombia through the action of

outlaw groups whose activities are financed from

resources obtained from the traffic in drugs. Now,

when all our efforts are focused on the difficult battle

against this problem, we need increased support and

the effective solidarity of the international community.

Only by accepting and fully implementing the

principle of shared responsibility will humankind be

able to free itself from the scourge of illicit drugs. We

ask for no more. Let us all assume the cost that is our

share to bear in order to wipe this illegal activity from

the face of the earth.

Colombia is making extraordinary efforts to

advance towards a solution to its internal conflict. It is

a fundamental objective that we will never renounce.

We are aware that the building of peace takes time, but

we are making steady progress. In the midst of the

complexities of our situation in Colombia, and despite

the cruelty of the present conflict, we have made

progress in confidence-building, in the dialogue, in the

discussion of the thematic agendas and in the

participation of civil society. We know full well that

the achievement of peace requires in-depth action in

the economic and social fields that could give real and

lasting content to these efforts.

A number of countries have joined in this

process, at the request of the Government. Today,

peace in Colombia is important for the world. I appeal

to the international community to reaffirm its solidarity

and offer its material support to our peace process.

One of the most important developments of the

last two decades has been the increasing commitment

to respect for human rights. We have made some

progress in defining economic and social rights as an

indivisible component of so-called traditional rights or

individual freedoms. The old objections that prevented

us from proclaiming the universal validity and

application of human rights are gradually losing way

and States have accepted their responsibility for

ensuring compliance.

In recent years, civil conflicts have become a

major expression of violence. International

humanitarian law is essential to deal with the

consequences of these confrontations. Its enforcement,

however, requires agreement on the minimum rules of

respect for the civil population and the interests of

States. The key to that enforcement is that

humanitarian law its postulates, norms and

mechanisms should be equally applied by all parties

in conflict.

The movements of people, including refugees or

migrants, must also be recognized as a priority issue.

They are protected by a concrete framework of human

rights. In a world that promotes the free movement of

capital and free trade, it is unacceptable that unjustified

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restrictions continue to be applied to the movement of

people.

The solution to concrete problems on the

international agenda necessarily requires concerted

action and multilateralism; Colombia has always been

and will continue to be firmly committed to it. We

believe that this multilateralism can be supplemented

by convergent regional initiatives and bilateralism as

part of an approach to reduce distances and

imbalances in other words, a multilateralism that

serves as a bridge for rapprochement, solidarity and

shared responsibility, concepts upon which the entire

building of the contemporary international order must

be constructed.

Our peoples, in whose name the Charter of the

United Nations was conceived, yearn to see how the

fulfilment of the purposes and functions of the United

Nations can be reflected in the satisfaction of their

hopes and aspirations. Even though in many respects

we are still far from this objective, we must preserve

the gains achieved. An attitude of passivity is not

convenient for the Organization. This Assembly must

adopt decisions to reactivate the process of United

Nations reform, on realistic grounds, but without

further delaying the measures that require urgent

implementation. There are many initiatives that can be

realized without the need for reform of the Charter. The

only thing required is the will to show solidarity and to

make timely political decisions.

The United Nations acts as the world's

conscience, requiring greater priority in order to meet

the needs of the poor countries. Strategies must be

urgently developed to mobilize funds to remove the

causes of underdevelopment. The growing gap between

the wealth of the prosperous and the poverty of those

who are marginalized from progress is in itself an

appeal for attention which should be listened to and

should lead to the translation of words into deeds.

In this connection, we welcome the growing role

being played by non-governmental organizations,

whose activities should be accompanied by a proper

definition of their responsibilities. For their part, the

transnational corporations, which play such an

important function in the global economy, should give

serious consideration to the United Nations through

financial support to the Organization, which is in

urgent need of additional resources. This support could

well be channelled towards United Nations poverty-

reduction programmes.

The reform of the Security Council continues to

be one of the principal reforms anticipated from the

expected adjustment of multilateral political

institutions. But in this area we need a gradual, less

maximalist approach. Formulas must be explored to

ensure greater participation of developing countries.

We must take effective steps to promote greater

representativity in the Council, on the understanding

that this does not constitute a privilege, but rather a

responsibility. Broader regional representation,

restrictions on the use of the veto and greater

transparency in the decision-making process could

bring the Security Council closer to a reality that is not

the same now in the twenty-first century as it was in

1945.

The election of new members to the Council will

take place in a few weeks. Colombia has the support of

Latin America and the Caribbean to be elected as a

non-Permanent Member of this important organ. Once

our entry is approved by the General Assembly, we will

assume this responsibility as of 1 January. It will be an

opportunity to reaffirm Colombia's commitment to, and

confidence in, multilateralism and its resolute and

unconditional commitment to the norms and principles

of international law. We will also reaffirm our

conviction that peaceful and negotiated solutions to

disputes and respect for international humanitarian law

by all parties to a conflict are essential in order to build

firm and lasting foundations for peace and security. We

will promote better functioning of the Council,

especially in terms of information and consultation

with States that are not part of that organ, and we will

foster a more permanent and closer relationship with

the General Assembly as the supreme organ of the

United Nations.

Never before has humankind had the prospect

like the one now afforded at the beginning of the new

millennium to make steady progress towards peace,

progress and international stability. It is an opportunity

for the leaders of the world to make a decisive political

step in that direction. Let us give our peoples new hope

that the change in the millennium will signify not

merely a chronological change but also the beginning

of a true political and social transformation. Only thus

will future generations recognize that we had the

courage to assume our obligations with responsibility.