Ecuador, 1995

First of all I should like to extend my warmest

congratulations to you, Mr. Diogo Freitas do Amaral, a

renowned and distinguished academician and

internationalist, on your well-deserved election as

President of this historic session of the General Assembly

marked by the commemoration of the fiftieth anniversary

of the United Nations. I should also like to pay a tribute

to Mr. Amara Essy in recognition of the admirable work

he performed as President of the forty-ninth session of the

Assembly.

At the end of the twentieth century and the dawn of

a new millennium, in a world characterized by a

globalization of the economy and the dynamics of

international relations, our reality is conditioned by factors

such as the substantial progress of science, the

transcendence of the technological revolution, the decisive

influence of communications and information, the

expansion of trade and the consequences of cultural and

religious interaction. However, an acute imbalance of

social and economic aspects coexists with these factors,

mainly in the developing world, whose inhabitants

account for three quarters of mankind.

We are faced with problems that were not foreseen

at the beginning of this century, including the

internationalization of environmental problems,

fragmentation and the revival of violent nationalisms,

political and social instability, and the decrease in the

transfer of international resources for development.

In many third world countries social problems are

increasingly becoming more acute. Extreme poverty,

accompanied by hunger, malnutrition, abandonment,

unemployment, disease and ignorance, has been combined

in many regions with guerrilla movements and armed

insurrection. Several countries face the consequences of

the foreign debt crisis, associated with the lack of

international political solidarity to relieve it. In many

regions corruption has become an endemic disease. The

production, consumption of and trafficking in narcotic

drugs devastate our traditional social structures. Violence,

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rural and urban, is on the increase, and the brutal means

frequently used to suppress it actually promote its growth.

Thus, in my capacity as Secretary pro tempore of the Rio

Group, and as Ecuador’s representative in the Group, I

should like, on its behalf, to call for the convening of a

second international conference on narcotic drugs to

examine appropriate mechanisms to foster the world fight

against drug trafficking and its dire consequences.

Keeping this perspective in mind, Ecuador will

continue to favour the adoption of urgent measures within

the international community to fight vigorously against all

these social problems, which affect so many countries. The

General Assembly proclaimed 1996 as the International

Year for the Eradication of Poverty. My country hopes that,

with this proclamation, international public opinion will

become more conscious of the complexity of this grave

problem and will try to find measures for its solution.

Since the end of the cold war, international tensions

have eased, and the intensification of trust between States

has fostered the adoption of measures concerning nuclear

disarmament. However, the danger implied by the

proliferation and use of nuclear weapons prevails. For this

reason, Ecuador strongly condemned the nuclear tests by

China and France. We hope that the general appeal to cease

all such tests will receive a positive response from these

two countries.

Ecuador favoured the consensus for an indefinite

extension of the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear

Weapons, and, at the same time, considered that this

historic decision formed part of an integral unity with the

principles and objectives adopted on that occasion for the

non-proliferation of nuclear weapons and also with

disarmament. In this regard, Ecuador recalls that the

negotiations concerning a comprehensive nuclear-test-ban

treaty should conclude in 1996, at the latest, and that

negotiations to ban fissionable materials for nuclear

weapons should be scheduled shortly, with a view to

achieving general and complete disarmament, pursuant the

provisions of article VI of the Non-Proliferation Treaty.

In this context, the full enforcement of the Treaty of

Tlatelolco has made Latin America a nuclear-weapon-free

zone. Our region offers this example as an incentive for the

establishment of nuclear-weapon-free zones, especially in

areas of greater tension.

My country applauds the agreements reached by Israel

and the national Palestinian Authority, which will

undoubtedly contribute to the consolidation of peace in one

of the regions most stricken by insecurity, violence and

armed confrontations — the Middle East. We consider

that these efforts and the measures to be taken in

accordance with agreements already concluded will

contribute to the total pacification of this region.

Consequently, Ecuador expresses to the two parties its

encouragement and its confidence that, with international

support, they will continue along the path of peace that

they have, happily, taken.

On the other hand, we must express our deep

concern about the ongoing armed actions in the former

Yugoslavia, in spite of the Security Council’s frequent

appeals and resolutions. We believe that the Powers with

higher international responsibilities should resolutely take

the necessary steps to end this regrettable situation. At the

same time, Ecuador wishes to join in appeals concerning

the dangerous situation in Burundi, which could result in

bloody events comparable to those in Rwanda.

The main purpose of the United Nations, its very

reason for being, is the maintenance of international peace

and security. It has been pointed out that since 1989 more

than a hundred armed conflicts have erupted around the

world — most of them due to domestic problems. Such

situations have endangered the maintenance of

international world peace and security — even world

peace in some cases — showing the increasingly clear

interrelationship between domestic and international

affairs. That is why Ecuador believes that peace does not

simply mean the absence of armed conflicts; it also

comprises the political, economic and social conditions in

which our peoples evolve. It should therefore be

recognized that the non-military issues of human security

and sustainable development have been added to the

traditional security concepts.

Ecuador believes, therefore, that the United Nations,

with its 50 years’ experience of successes and failures,

must be prepared to face the new challenges appearing

throughout the world. Furthermore, it should be pointed

out that the international community today has more trust

in the world Organization and is more often seeking more

direct, more effective, intervention to reduce or resolve

political, economic or social conflicts. This situation

demands that the United Nations should be strengthened

and restructured.

My country believes that the Security Council should

be restructured to reflect adequately not only the new

international world order but also the current membership

of the United Nations. It should also become more

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capable — through the adoption of early-warning

measures — of taking prompt and effective action in the

fields of conflict-prevention and the continued deployment

of peace-keeping operations to re-establish and consolidate

peace. We do not believe that this urgent need to

restructure the Council will be met by the mere inclusion of

two major industrial Powers as new permanent members.

When the question of increased membership is being

discussed, we maintain that if the current imbalance is to be

prevented from continuing to deteriorate, all geographical

regions should be appropriately represented.

We disagree with the extension of the veto privilege

to additional members. Since this is a mechanism created

to respond to world political realities that no longer exist,

the Powers possessing this privilege should willingly agree

to restrict its practice exclusively to issues related to

Chapter VII of the Charter. The whole world would

welcome such a decision by the five permanent members

as an effective step towards a more democratic United

Nations.

The General Assembly, too, should be thoroughly

revitalized to enable it to carry out its duties under Article

11 of the Charter in an effective and responsible manner,

and so that its resolutions — in particular, those concerning

issues related to the maintenance of international peace and

security — may, duly observed and enforced, exercise the

influence we would hope to see of resolutions of the

highest political organ of the United Nations. The

Economic and Social Council should also respond more

adequately to the broad requirements set forth in the

Charter. The Trusteeship Council has lost its significance,

and should be entirely restructured. Similarly, the broad

functions assigned to the Secretary-General in Article 99 of

the Charter should be exercised to the fullest.

Ecuador believes it is necessary to review the structure

and functions of the Bretton Woods institutions and their

relations with the United Nations. In order to obtain optimal

results and fully utilize existing resources, it is essential to

coordinate international efforts with regard to the

international monetary system and economic and social

progress.

The severe financial crisis facing the United Nations

could be alleviated were the Member States that are most

in arrears, for various reasons, to make a sincere effort to

meet their obligations. It is unacceptable to transfer the

burden of resolving this crisis to the developing countries,

whose weak economies cannot satisfy such demands.

Having made respect for all human rights the motto

of its Government, Ecuador attaches particular importance

to United Nations actions in favour of the protection and

promotion of such rights. It views with great concern the

massive violations of human rights and the recrudescence

of what were thought to be extinct practices, such as

“ethnic cleansing”, which in some cases — as in the

former Yugoslavia — have reached genocidal proportions,

all of which constitute an unequivocal threat to

international peace. Ecuador expresses its revulsion at,

and condemns, attacks against civilians, especially the

elderly, women and children, which are creating a

growing number of refugees. Such violations are a

challenge not only to the United Nations and the many

valid international instruments, but to the moral

conscience of all mankind.

Ecuador promotes and supports all measures

designed to put a stop to this deplorable situation, to

punish the guilty and to re-establish a climate of trust,

harmony and peace. It believes that the international

community has a clear and unavoidable responsibility in

this regard. We hope that the General Assembly, and

particularly the Security Council, will take the necessary

steps to deal effectively with the dangerous breaches of

international peace and security such violations represent.

We express our confidence in and support for the United

Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, and hopes

that the Assembly will provide the administrative and

financial resources necessary for him to carry out his

important tasks to the full.

Ecuador believes that democratic systems are the

proper response to peoples’ yearning for freedom and

fraternal coexistence and for cultural expression.

To attain the objectives of the International Decade

of the World’s Indigenous People, Ecuador, a multi-ethnic

country, has submitted various concrete programmes and

initiatives, in consultation with national indigenous

organizations, designed to improve the economic, social

and cultural status of those groups while fully respecting

their distinctive characteristics. It hopes to be able to rely

on international cooperation in bringing these initiatives

and programmes to fruition.

In previous decades the United Nations led the

struggle for the self-determination of peoples, which

resulted in an end to the shameful colonial system. From

the earliest years of its existence the Organization

condemned the apartheid system, and it continued to do

so until apartheid was abolished. The time has now come

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for the United Nations to fight for the realization of the

right to development, based on solid economic and social

foundations, implying a promise of better living conditions

for millions of human beings. Stable and lasting peace can

be achieved only through a sustainable and harmonious

development.

That development must go hand in hand with urgent

solutions to the problem of preserving the great heritage of

mankind — the environment. Agenda 21, resulting from the

“Earth Summit”, must be complied with. To play its part,

Ecuador will continue to seek international cooperation to

preserve its immense ecological wealth, not only of its

continental territory, but also — and particularly — in the

Amazonian region and the Galapagos Islands.

In keeping with its policy of opening its economy,

Ecuador has become the first new member of the World

Trade Organization (WTO), which enables it, inter alia, to

benefit from the guaranteed application of the principle of

non-discrimination in its trade relations with all other

members, to negotiate better terms for trade in Ecuadorian

goods and services, to obtain technical support and

assistance and to enjoy the favourable terms of trade

accorded developing countries.

My country considers that a stable relationship should

be established between the World Trade Organization and

the United Nations, and we therefore actively support the

drafting of an agreement between these two Organizations

in keeping with the Marrakech Accord and the San

Francisco Charter. That could be the basis for the

establishment of a new, more just and efficient international

order, in which respect for the human person is guaranteed,

people’s welfare is fostered, economic development is

shared and the balance and fairness of international trade

are guaranteed, so as to create a society based on

international cooperation, solidarity and interdependence.

The United Nations is called upon to perform an

important task in realizing this new order. To that end, not

only must the Organization as a whole be restructured, but

all Member States, great and small, must offer their total

political support to the United Nations.

Ecuador has always upheld its historical, Amazonian

and peaceful tradition and its respect for the rule of law. It

has adhered to the purposes and principles of the Charter,

including non-recourse to the threat or use of force against

the territorial integrity of any other State and the obligation

to resolve international disputes exclusively through

peaceful means.

Problems created by breaches of the peace occur in

every part of the globe. Thus, early this year Ecuador was

involuntarily involved in an unsought armed conflict of

unpredictable consequences with its southern neighbour,

Peru. The Secretary- General of the United Nations and

the Organization’s Member States were informed of this

unfortunate conflict, which arose out of the territorial

problem that has for decades soured relations between our

two countries. A peaceful, just and definitive solution of

this controversy is a necessity not only for our two

nations, but also for peaceful coexistence in Latin

America. My Government has always sought to avoid

such conflict through diplomatic channels. The actions

taken by the guarantor countries under the Rio Protocol

of 1942 were extremely important in arriving at a

cease-fire during the military confrontation and in leading

to the pacification process agreed to in the Itamaraty

Peace Declaration of 17 February 1995 and ratified in the

Montevideo Declaration of 28 February. This process has

gradually led to the restoration of peace. We trust that,

with the assistance of Argentina, Brazil, Chile and the

United States, and their military observers still deployed

in the conflict area, the aspirations of the Ecuadorian and

Peruvian peoples will be fulfilled and that a definitive

solution to the problem on the terms that I have

mentioned will be achieved.

The action taken by the guarantor countries

regarding the conflict between Ecuador and Peru has

proved particularly effective, and we are certain it will

lead to a total normalization of relations between Ecuador

and Peru. At the recent meeting of the Heads of State and

Government of the countries of the Rio Group, held last

4 and 5 September, there were important signs of

relaxation of tension in the statements made by the Heads

of State of both countries as well as in the encouraging

positions of the other countries, which we believe,

provide not only a clear orientation towards peace but

also support for complete peaceful coexistence, while at

the same time creating a space for dialogue, constructive

negotiations and a resumption of the integrationist

processes that serve to consolidate peace. All this,

moreover, will clear a sure path towards cooperation, in

various spheres of our relations with our neighbours and

with other countries, with mutual respect and

understanding. I believe we have begun to move towards

a better understanding, and if we prepare a framework of

good will we will be able not only to bring our divergent

positions closer together but also to reach agreements for

lasting solutions.

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The problems threatening international peace — which

arouse natural fears, create anxiety, work against the

people’s well-being, cause enormous losses of human life

and bring about an immense deterioration of social and

economic development — are no doubt the gravest

problems, and they call for action for peace by all means

possible. They are deep-rooted problems that require a

positive response from international organizations, both

global and regional, when their assistance is needed to

solve such problems.