Costa Rica, 1992

Costa Rica took great pleasure in supporting the election of Mr. Stoyan Ganev

to the presidency of the General Assembly at its forty-seventh session. His

election bears witness to a new era in the history of Bulgaria, an era of

freedom and pluralistic democracy.

My delegation sincerely congratulates the Secretary-General on his

masterful guidance of the work of the United Nations. Under his leadership

the Organization is with ever greater vigour assuming the central role that it

should play in international affairs.

Costa Rica warmly welcomes all the new Members of the United Nations.

Their presence in this Hall symbolizes the birth of a new era in international

relations based on the ideals of peace and freedom and cooperation between all

peoples.

Mankind has seen the threat of nuclear holocaust lifted; it has seen the

East-West ideological and military confrontation fade. But super-Power

confrontation has been replaced, quickly and bloodily, by conflicts whose

seemingly lesser magnitude does not make them any the less dangerous to world

peace.

The outbreak for the most absurd reasons of a number of conventional

wars confirms our belief that it is more important than ever to make progress

in the field of disarmament. The end of the East-West conflict provides a

unique opportunity to make decisive advances in that sphere and to impose

strict controls on the arms trade. The fading of the nuclear threat must not

take us back to the era of continuous war.

Old sins cast long shadows. Today, as in 1914, we look with dismay

at events in the Balkans. A State Member of the United Nations, Bosnia and

Herzegovina, is fighting for survival in the midst of a bloody and

unjustifiable war. Peace initiatives fail one after the other. A final

solution to this senseless holocaust is not yet in sight.

Costa Rica is deeply concerned at the dimensions this regional European

conflict is taking on, and at the number of innocent victims, which grows

daily. The international community reacts tepidly, and, incomprehensibly, is

reluctant to take the firm and vigorous stand that returned sovereignty to

Kuwait.

How many thousands of deaths must there be for a conflict to be worthy of

international interest? The case of Somalia reveals how far we still have to

go before we can truly speak of a family of united nations. The conflict in

Somalia did not command our interest until 2 million people were about to die

of hunger and our consciences were struck by the terrible images of Somali

children begging for food. Regrettably the tragedy of Somalia is only the

most terrible aspect of the tragedy of sub-Saharan Africa, which is suffering

a slow death of despair, hunger, poverty and underdevelopment and is met with

the indifference of the community of nations.

The end of the cold war has not decreased the depth of the abyss between

north and south; indeed, it increases daily with technological advances.

Third world countries not only do not receive an adequate response to their

needs and expectations, but are witnessing a reduction in outlets for their

products and in financial aid for development. The stagnation of the Uruguay

Round, the increase in protective measures adopted by industrialized nations,

and the reductions in development programmes are, oddly, occurring at a time

when Latin America has become a continent of democracies and when many African

and Asian countries have again taken the road to civil and political liberty.

Some regrettable steps backwards have already been taken. Latin American

democracy has suffered severe setbacks in Peru and Haiti. In Peru there seems

to be movement towards a solution, despite the fact that the country is still

overrun by the irrationality of terrorism and the worst economic situation in

its history. In contrast, the problem in Haiti, the poorest and most

underdeveloped country in the Americas, grows worse every day. Because Costa

Rica belongs to the Caribbean, Haiti's tragedy is of special concern to us.

My country believes that both the United Nations and the regional

organizations should pay more attention to this matter and strive harder for a

prompt solution to the crisis. We are not talking about the legitimacy of a

president or a government, but about the right of a sister nation to live in

freedom and receive the cooperation it desperately needs for its development.

I have mentioned only two examples, but I believe they are dramatically

representative. An overwhelming majority of third world democracies are still

on the road to consolidation. This consolidation will be difficult, however,

without a substantial improvement in their economic and social conditions,

which in turn requires that developed countries change their attitude in

respect to opening their markets and increasing their cooperation. It need

hardly be said that the worse the conditions become in third world countries,

the greater will be the number of legal or illegal immigrants to developed

countries, despite the ethnocentric, racist movements which, shamefully in

this era, are again on the rise.

Needless to say, the third world countries must do their part too.

International cooperation, regardless of its magnitude, will not change the

situation of the receiving country if it does not exert a disciplined and

determined effort to make progress.

It is no secret that in many cases financial aid intended for development

has been misspent on unproductive and grandiose projects. It has been used to

pay salaries and has even been placed in personal bank accounts. Meanwhile,

the people continue to suffer hunger and poverty. Therefore if cooperation

with the underdeveloped countries is to increase, those countries must fight

harder against bureaucracy and administrative corruption and must redouble

their efforts to ensure that international aid truly fulfils its objectives.

At a time when the economic situation is difficult even for many

industrialized nations, and when the European Community is undergoing one of

the worst monetary crises of its history, priority should also be given to

increasing South-South cooperation. Each of us has something to give and

something to receive. The common condition of third world countries does not

prevent us from recognizing that there are many stages of development and many

possibilities for cooperation. Moreover, the growing importance of

integration institutions offers a great opportunity to intensify the levels of

interregional cooperation by means of effective and coordinated actions which

will contribute to fortifying the democratic system through economic and

social progress.

Costa Rica wishes to stress the efforts to ensure coordination and

cooperation being made by the countries of Latin America; they clearly show

the region's determination to resolve differences through the use of machinery

for peaceful settlement established in international law. In this connection,

my Government congratulates El Salvador and Honduras on completing their case

before the International Court of Justice, making it possible to settle their

border conflict. At the same time, we express our satisfaction with the

efforts being made by Ecuador and Peru to find a just and final solution to

the bilateral border dispute which for so many years has existed between these

two fraternal countries.

Democracy can flourish only if electoral pluralism is combined with

respect for human rights. Costa Rica assigns primary importance to these

rights, which for many years now we have made the foundation for both our

internal life and our external policies. Consequently, my country takes a

great interest in the World Conference on Human Rights, scheduled to be held

in Vienna next year, and we are very happy to serve as the site of the

preparatory meeting for the Latin American and Caribbean region. We are also

pleased to know that during the Vienna Conference some countries will discuss

the possibility of creating the post of United Nations High Commissioner for

Human Rights. Costa Rica has submitted this idea to the General Assembly

repeatedly since the 1970s, and we firmly hope that it will finally take shape

at the World Conference.

My delegation also wishes to express Costa Rica's firm support for the

mechanism established by the Economic and Social Council in 1991 to allow the

Commission on Human Rights to hold special sessions to take up serious

violations of fundamental rights. We deem it necessary to continue the search

for flexible machinery which will stop and prevent massive violations of human

rights in a timely manner. We should like to recall here the Costa Rican

proposal - approved by the Human Rights Committee at the beginning of this

year for a treaty on prevention of torture.

The negotiations on the complex problems of South Africa and the Middle

East are doubtless of great importance to the cause of human rights.

In this and other forums my country has rigorously condemned the

apartheid regime, an offensive and unjustifiable anachronism that deprives the

majority of the South African people of their fundamental rights. We have

welcomed, with optimism, the beginning of negotiations between the Pretoria

regime and the African National Congress, and we firmly hope that, leaving

aside the reprehensible acts that have occurred in Ciskei and other parts of

South Africa, the renewed peace talks will soon lead to the construction of a

new, democratic and peace-loving South Africa that will work towards the

development of the entire continent. Costa Rica urges that resolute steps be

taken in that direction.

The need for long-lasting peace in the Middle East has been a matter of

constant concern to the United Nations almost ever since it was established.

Now, for the first time in the eventful history of this region, effective

peace talks are taking place with the participation of all interested

parties. Nevertheless, it is my Government's opinion that this process should

move faster and should be accompanied by a substantial improvement in the

human rights situation in the Middle East without distinction as to race,

nationality or religious creed. It is important that in this case, as in many

other cases, the international community should contribute, in a vigilant

manner, to promoting peace and assuring respect for the fundamental rights of

individuals and communities.

Peace is possible regardless of the number of human lives lost in a

conflict or of how much damage has been caused. Human beings are capable of

forgetting extremism and of talking with their opponents when the future of

their children is at stake. The recent history of Central America is vivid

Proof that a cruel and lengthy conflict can be stopped by means of negotiation.

During the 1980s, Central America suffered an unprecedented political and

security crisis marked by intimations of totalitarism and by guerrilla

activity, flows of refugees, an arms buildup, the destruction of

infrastructure and an alarming extension of the East-West confrontation.

Fortunately, today most of these features belong to the past. Democracy and

political freedom reign in all the Central American countries, several

national reconciliation processes are at present under way, arms limitation

talks are moving ahead and a vigorous effort for integration is in progress.

Nevertheless, the experience of Central America also shows the

international community that it is very difficult to consolidate advances

achieved in matters relating to peace and democracy if the underlying reality

of underdevelopment and poverty continues to exist. The democratic and

peaceful Central America of today has seen the world lose interest in its

problems. It has witnessed a decline in the cooperation that existed when it

was in turmoil. The Latin American peoples' effort to change their destiny

has collided with the increasing indifference of the developed nations.

Financial aid is being reduced. Coffee and bananas, our leading export

products, are encountering more and more obstacles. We are being urged to

diversify our production, but international markets are not opening up to us.

Central America is being urged to advance towards democracy without our being

given the tools that will lead us to development. Political democracy alone,

regrettably, is not a panacea for the social problems of our countries. It is

true that it is possible to live in democracy even with poverty, but in

countries that have just started to experience democracy, democracy will not

sink its roots very deep if it is not accompanied by improvements in

nutrition, housing and public health.

It is not possible to approach most of the subjects being discussed here,

including international cooperation, from one point of view alone. The

present international situation is an especially promising opportunity for all

nations, regardless of their resources, to work in a coordinated manner to

combat common enemies and to build a better world for our children. This

plurality of vision is, for example, the only way to confront, with any

prospect of success, the problem of drug trafficking and production, which is

harmful to producing and consumer countries alike, and is aggravated by the

accompanying terrorism and guerrilla warfare.

Unquestionably, the most important problem we must face as a species is

that of saving the planet's ecological, economic and social integrity, for

ourselves and for future generations. Costa Rica, which has been a victim,

like many other countries, of the irrational destruction and exploitation of

its national resources, has reconsidered and now emphasizes the need for a new

international ecological order that will save mankind from its progressive

environmental suicide and reorient the course of its development.

I am very pleased to announce to this Assembly that, in accordance with

Costa Rica's offer of 3 September to set up, in the capital city of my

country, the organizing committee of the Earth Council, a non-governmental

organization that will supplement and support governmental follow-up of the

Rio agreements.

The Rio Conference, regardless of all its limitations, is a magnificent

landmark in the fight against environmental degradation and unsustainable

development patterns. But how much has really been done to put into effect

what was agreed there? Will we limit ourselves to regarding the Rio

Conference as a kind of community of ecological nations packed with

fine-sounding words and good intentions but lacking results?

The triumph of ecological degradation creates only losers. Safeguarding

the environment, sustainable development and the struggle against poverty are

joint responsibilities of both the industrialized and the underdeveloped

world. Hence the United Nations is an ideal forum for making efforts in that

direction, for demanding compliance with the Rio resolutions and for imposing

sanctions on those Members that disregard them. While there are mechanisms

for collective international action to combat threats to international peace

and security, there should also be, within the United Nations, procedures for

acting against those who endanger human survival, the planet's resources and

social justice, and for imposing sanctions against them.

As the Secretary-General has stated, the question of world peace,

stability and security should include subjects other than military matters.

It is logical, then, that the changes that have taken place in the world and

the new realities being encountered by mankind today make it imperative for

the United Nations, a pillar of the joint efforts of nations, to reorganize in

order to fulfil its important mission more effectively. From this

perspective, my country considers it indispensable that the United Nations

should comply fully with the principle of universality and open its doors to

those who, for various reasons, have been forced to remain outside it.

Of special concern to us is the case of the Republic of China in Taiwan,

a democratic community of 21 million people with a brilliant economic

development record whose reality cannot continue to be ignored by an

Organization that takes pride in having gone beyond the patterns of the cold

war.

In addition, it is imperative that the structures and procedures of the

United Nations be revised to conform with the realities of our times. The

Secretary-General, in his outstanding report, "An Agenda for Peace", has

written with commendable accuracy about the most important aspects which need

to be modified in a relatively short period of time. Costa Rica wishes today

to declare that it shares most of the concerns stated in that document and

urges all Member States to begin a vigorous effort for institutional renewal.

One of the most important areas that should be revised is the Security

Council, in terms of its make-up and objectives. We believe that the number

of permanent members should be increased, in accordance with the new realities

of the international scene, and based on better and greater geographical

representation. We also deem it necessary to reconsider the institution of

the veto and reflect upon the corresponding role of the Council in maintaining

world peace and security, as well as its relationship to the General

Assembly. Some thought should also be given to strengthening, modernizing and

reducing bureaucracy in the Economic and Social Council.

This is a good time also to mention the importance of coordination

between the United Nations and other international forums. Regardless of the

inevitable difficulties, the integration movement continues apace in Europe,

Asia, South America and Central America. We the Central Americans, joined by

democracy in all our countries, have reconsidered our outmoded system of

integration to adapt it to the new regional realities, and only a few months

ago the Treaty that establishes, on a new basis, the Central American

Integration System came into force. Costa Rica is confident that this new

organization will become the arena for persistent efforts towards our shared

future and in keeping with the Secretary-General's proposal, it will shortly

be in a position to request observer status in the United Nations.

In a few days the anniversary of the meeting of two hemispheres the

meeting of the whole world with itself - will be celebrated. Since the dawn

of that day, a Friday in October, mankind was able to start thinking with a

sense of family and of inevitable common destiny. Now, on the threshold of

the third millennium, that unavoidable mission of mankind is stronger than

ever before, and the United Nations is its most important embodiment.

Here at the United Nations, and in everyone's country and in everyone's

home, the wise words of sura XXVIII of the Holy Koran hold true:

"... [Do not] forget thy portion in this

World: but do thou good.

As God has been good

To thee ...

"That Home of the Hereafter

We shall give to those

Who intend not high-handedness

Or mischief on earth:

And the End is (best)

For the righteous." (The Holy Koran. XXVIII:77.83)