Ecuador, 2008

I am

highly honoured to address the Assembly on behalf of

the Government of the citizen revolution, of the

President of Ecuador, Rafael Correa Delgado, and of

the people of Ecuador at these paradoxical times of

both crisis and hope.

Allow me to convey the fraternal greetings of the

people and the Government of Ecuador to you, Sir —

President of the Assembly and former Minister of

Foreign Affairs of Nicaragua, Father Miguel d’Escoto

Brockmann — on your election to such an important

position. We agree with you on the need to attach the

highest priority to the fight to eradicate poverty and to

pay special attention to relevant issues such as climate

change, the energy and food crises, human rights,

disarmament, the rights of women and children and the

preservation of cultural and biodiversity.

With the end of the cold war, we believed, not

without reason, that the confrontation between two

ways of life and two great Powers would give way to

the solution of the planet’s pressing economic and

social problems. Two decades have elapsed since that

historic date, and we see with concern that that crisis

has deepened, that social cohesion is harder to obtain,

that new threats to security have intensified, and that

the use of force and the number of conflicts have

increased.

My country is convinced that the strengthening of

the multilateral system is an imperative in the world of

today. We have no other option to guarantee peace and

security in the world than to renew our political

decision to progress in the reform of the United

Nations system, and in particular of the Security

Council. This year, we have taken a significant step in

that direction with the General Assembly’s adoption of

decision 62/557, which provides a general framework

to advance these negotiations. Let us hope that we

make progress.

The debate on the need to increase membership

of the Security Council and to democratize the Council

and make its working methods more transparent and

inclusive is undoubtedly one of the fundamental

elements of the reform process. However, at the same

time, we should not forget that another of the central

points required to give back to the United Nations the

role that it should have is to strengthen its democratic

and representative organ par excellence, namely the

General Assembly.

Nor should we forget that any process of reform

will be incomplete if it does not include the

democratization of the organizations that make up the

United Nations system. In the twenty-first century we

cannot continue working with a system in which most

countries cannot access the decision-making bodies

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because of structures that respond to the special

circumstances that prevailed when those bodies were

created. We need to urgently build a multilateral

system that responds promptly and effectively to

today’s challenges and that recognizes the fundamental

principles of international law, such as the sovereign

equality of States. Only with thorough-going reform

can the United Nations regain the lead role that it

should play in international affairs.

We cannot understand that States Members of this

Organization continue supporting peacekeeping

budgets of billions of dollars and yet have serious

concerns about increasing budgets for development

programmes, especially fundamentally important

programmes to fight poverty, HIV/AIDS, malaria and

the effects of climate change. Our citizens are

beginning to call us to account with regard to the

resources that we contribute annually to this

Organization and the results that we obtain. That is

why we consider positive the proposal stressed by the

President of the General Assembly to commence a

truly thorough and democratic reform of this

Organization.

To work for development and the reduction of

poverty and to deal adequately with the needs of

millions of human beings who are struggling today in

misery, disease and despair, is an absolute requirement

in order to guarantee peace and security. Therefore, my

country assigns high priority to economic and social

policies aimed at overcoming unequal distribution of

income and employment, and at guaranteeing the right

of its population to health, education and social

security. These efforts must be accompanied by

decisive and effective support from developed

countries, through a substantial increase in official

development assistance (ODA) — cooperation that

cannot be subject to conditions of any kind and that

must supplement national efforts based on sovereign

development policies.

There is still much to do, however, if we are to

achieve the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs).

As we have stated in several forums, Ecuador

considers that the MDGs are basic minima for survival

and that we should go beyond them. In our country, we

have left behind an outdated concept based on market

growth indices and are currently working actively and

with impressive results on increasing the quality of life

of the citizens of Ecuador. We call this concept of

“buen vivir” — “living well” — which means living

with dignity and in accordance with our cultural values

and in harmony with nature.

Ecuador and, I am sure, all developing countries

hope that the Doha Conference on Financing for

Development will produce positive results for our

countries, such as access to external financing for

development, relief of the external debt servicing

burden, the reform of international financial

institutions and the effective alignment of official

development assistance with the national strategies and

policies adopted by sovereign countries, together with

the strong commitment of donor countries to allocate at

least 0.7 per cent of their gross domestic product

(GDP) to official development assistance. Middle-

income countries deserve special attention since they

account for more than 41 per cent of the poor of the

planet.

The United Nations should actively promote

South-South cooperation. We believe that the High-

level United Nations Conference on South-South

Cooperation to be convened by the General Assembly

in 2009 is evidence of the role which the Organization

should play in this area. It will constitute an excellent

opportunity to strengthen and enhance this important

cooperation.

Likewise, it is necessary that there be a special

place for economic and social development in the work

of the United Nations. Without a total fulfilment of the

commitments that have been undertaken and without a

true inclusion of our needs based on our own agendas

for development, we cannot talk of international peace

and security.

Ecuador wishes to highlight, at this juncture, the

vital role that the Group of 77 and China and the

Non-Aligned Movement (NAM) have to play on these

and other issues. During the last NAM ministerial

meeting, held in Tehran, Iran, in July, we reiterated our

conviction that this important mechanism of political

agreement is central in ensuring that our countries’

interests are fully taken into account.

Ecuador also assigns importance to the role of the

United Nations in establishing a world order based on

respect for international law, the norms and principles

set out in the Charter, and the promotion of and respect

for human rights international humanitarian Law.

My country supports the actions the United

Nations is taking to address the serious security

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problems we face, such as the fight against terrorism,

the worldwide drug problem and the fight against

transnational organized crime. Accordingly, we

welcomed the recent positive outcome of the first

review of progress in the implementation of the Global

Counter-Terrorism Strategy. My country will continue

to give its support to these important initiatives.

Ecuador also supports negotiations aimed at the

eventual adoption of a legally binding convention on

terrorism. However, we believe that, given the vitally

important implications of the issue, such a convention

should expressly and unequivocally cover the

obligations of all States to fight terrorism in the

framework of international law, human rights,

international humanitarian law and the principles and

norms established in the Charter of the United Nations.

The fight against terrorism cannot be an excuse

for some States to feel released from their obligation to

respect fundamental norms of international law, such as

respect for the sovereignty and the territorial integrity

of other States and non-intervention in their internal

affairs. Likewise, the violation of the human rights of

alleged terrorists — who have been tortured,

incarcerated in clandestine military prisons and

deprived of the basic right to defend themselves —

also constitutes a very serious precedent. These

practices must be condemned by the international

community. Sovereignty, the inviolability of territory,

the non-use of force and non-intervention in the affairs

of other States are the only guarantee for peaceful

coexistence among the peoples of the world.

Ecuador assigns high priority to the actions of the

international community to ensure that States comply

in good faith with their human rights obligations. We

believe that the Human Rights Council, which is

consolidating its position as the best mechanism for the

preservation and protection of human rights, has

substantially improved its working methods. But all

countries must make an effort to set aside their

political objectives to allow the Council to effectively

fulfil the purposes for which it was created.

Ecuador feels that the Universal Periodic Review

system established by the Council is a good step in that

direction. For this reason, my country was glad to be

the second country in the world to submit its review, in

April 2008. On that occasion, we reiterated our

unfailing commitment to respect for and protection of

human rights. We were able to share with the

international community the substantial advances made

in the implementation of our national human rights

plan, and we voluntarily made additional

commitments.

The adoption of the United Nations Declaration

on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples was a milestone.

My country was actively involved in the negotiation of

that important instrument and is now committed to its

implementation and follow-up in order to contribute to

national policies aimed at consolidating the identity,

culture and effective exercise of the political, economic

and cultural rights of the indigenous peoples and

nationalities of Ecuador.

The issue of migration is of singular importance

to my country. The Government of Ecuador is therefore

implementing a comprehensive immigration policy,

contained in the National Human Development Plan

for Migration, that includes programmes, projects and

actions aimed at guaranteeing the protection and a

comprehensive approach to migration issues and of

migrant persons, regardless of their origin or

administrative status within the territory of a State.

The free movement of persons is a right that must

be protected, and I believe that no Government

represented here is opposed to that. However, the

regulation of such movement must be in strict

accordance with the principles of international

humanitarian law and the human rights of migrants. In

the words of the President of my country, Rafael

Correa Delgado, “there are no illegal human beings,

only practices that violate the rights of persons”. In

that respect, we are deeply disturbed by the return

directive issued by the European Union. We believe

that, today more than ever before, our countries must

join together to demand effective compliance with the

obligations arising from international human rights and

on migration agreements. Emigration and return must

both be an expression of freedom.

The new Constitution of Ecuador establishes the

principle of universal citizenship, the free movement of

all peoples on Earth, and a progressive end to the

concept of “foreignness” in order to transform unequal

relations between countries, especially between the

North and the South. We must not forget that migration

is often a direct consequence of economic models

based on exclusion, in which the market, the

accumulation of wealth and selfishness paper over the

true needs of human beings.

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As I said, humanism and solidarity are

fundamental principles that guide the actions of the

Government of Ecuador. That is why my country

adopted a State policy on refugees on 16 September of

this year. That policy is aimed at providing

comprehensive assistance to persons placed under the

protection of Ecuador.

We will honour all our national and international

commitments regarding refuge seekers, but we need

the determined cooperation of the international

community. We must not forget that Ecuador is

currently the country with the largest number of

persons in need of international protection in the entire

western hemisphere. According to studies conducted by

the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner

for Refugees, there are approximately 200,000

Colombian citizens in need of international protection

within the territory of Ecuador. Ecuador is now

implementing a process of extended registration, which

will benefit thousands of Colombian brothers in urgent

need of international protection.

The severity of the world food crisis is an issue

that our countries must address in a comprehensive

manner while taking all of its dimensions into account.

In that respect, Ecuador believes that subsidies and

other trade distortions have a serious impact on the

agricultural sectors of developing countries. For that

reason, Ecuador firmly supports the proposal to hold a

special session on that issue during the sixty-third

session of the General Assembly.

In addition, Ecuador is compelled to highlight the

current financial crisis, which also deserves our

Organization’s particular attention. The crisis is further

proof of the decline of our current economic system,

which prioritizes speculative capital over productive

capital, threatens the common good and endangers the

development prospects of the majority of world. It is

not a country-specific crisis, but a systemic crisis of

capitalism that calls for profound and comprehensive

responses.

Ecuador’s foreign policy reflects its firm

commitment to disarmament and the non-proliferation

of weapons of mass destruction. Ecuador has not only

adhered to international instruments in that field, but

also supports and carries out all the obligations

emanating from those instruments in order to achieve

their effective implementation. We are concerned by

the fact that there are countries that, regrettably, have

not adhered to the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of

Nuclear Weapons, while others that have adhered to it

are not meeting their obligations, especially in terms of

disarmament and the destruction of their arsenals. With

regard to that policy issue, Ecuador welcomes the

adoption, in Dublin in July, of the Convention on

Cluster Munitions. My country will sign the

Convention in a ceremony to be held in Oslo on

3 December 2008.

Other issues of great concern to my country

include the fight against transnational organized crime

and its ramifications, the production and illicit traffic

of narcotics, corruption, the manufacturing and illicit

traffic in small arms and light weapons, and human

trafficking. We believe that the United Nations has

taken decisive steps on those issues by adopting

international conventions that allow for cooperation

between our countries in the fight against those

scourges. We believe that adequate and equitable

international cooperation is essential. Such

cooperation, as I said, must respond to the needs of our

countries and be aimed at supporting national policies.

Ecuador is convinced that a strong and effective

multilateral system is the only means for the world to

overcome the problems it faces and, above all, to

guarantee the well-being of peoples and international

peace and security. It is therefore incumbent upon us to

transform the United Nations.

To conclude, I have the pleasure of announcing to

the world that Ecuador has made a new step towards

the strengthening of our democracy. Yesterday, the

Ecuadorian nation approved by an ample majority a

new political Constitution — a new social pact based

on a transformed relationship between the State, the

economy and politics, creating a new model of

development aimed at human welfare and harmony

with nature.