Ecuador, 2012

Mr. President, I would like to extend to you the

congratulations of the Government of Ecuador on your

election to the presidency of the General Assembly at

its sixty-seventh session, for which we will provide

whatever support you need to help achieve the

international agenda’s commitments, especially those

that have to do with revitalization of the Assembly.

We are participating in this important forum with

the clear purpose of sharing our ideas and proposals for

the international system that governs us. We are well

aware that the United Nations system was conceived

in the middle of the last century and that its structure

is based on, among other things, the principles of humanism, multilateralism and the equality of States

before the law. Since then, the great majority of

countries have fought to see those principles complied

with, but there have also been countries whose power

has wrongfully enabled them to fail to live up to the

principles and to their obligations within the system.

The world has changed substantially since the

road map for the United Nations was designed, and its

functions must adapt to the new demands of international

relations, characterized by exchanges of information

and communications and by interdependent economies.

We believe the time has come to end the illegitimate

political exploitation of United Nations bodies by

certain Powers, which continue to exert political and

economic pressure and even to intervene militarily

in sovereign States whose Governments criticize the

international status quo or focus on different ideologies

from those promoted by some Powers, or whose public

policies are opposed to the economic interests of large

transnational companies. Such pressure delegitimizes

the system and distorts multilateralism itself.

In the five years of President Rafael Correa’s

Government, Ecuador has regained sovereignty in

decision-making on its internal and international

policies, pursuing decisions that promote a horizontal

relationship between countries with the same rights and

obligations. In those five years Ecuador has supported

peace. That is why we have expressed our concern

about the terrible consequences for human beings that

result from military interventions conducted by the

Powers, and why we are calling loudly for dialogue

and for respect for human rights and the people’s self-

determination in all countries in conflict. We have

had enough of geopolitical visions that are imposed by

force, destroying human rights. In that regard, Ecuador

welcomes with great hope and enthusiasm the dialogue

process in the sister Republic of Colombia, which is

the bravest step that the Government of that fraternal

country could have taken.

Today the world is experiencing constant changes

in the distribution of power. New regional Powers have

emerged in the past 20 years and have begun to play

a decisive role in international politics and security.

Russia, China, India, Brazil, Mexico, South Africa,

Argentina, Indonesia, Venezuela and the developing

world, in general, are now the drivers of the global

economy. It is therefore a political imperative that

multilateralism be strengthened and promoted with

regard to respect and equality among States. It is important to point out that Latin American

countries committed to multilateralism, in response

to unilateral actions that undermine international

stability, have established regional institutions, such

as the Bolivarian Alliance for the Peoples of Our

America — Peoples’ Trade Agreement (ALBA), the

Union of South American Nations (UNASUR) and the

Community of Latin American and Caribbean States.

Such bodies are restoring the principle of universal

representation in global governance and endowing it with

new characteristics so as to adjust it to today’s political

and social reality. However, while such countries and

organizations seek to keep the institution of inter-State

work alive, the continuing unilateral actions of certain

Powers without consultation jeopardize the ability of

multilateral bodies to provide legitimate and valid

responses to international needs and problems.

In that context, Ecuador believes that the

weakening of the decision-making system in the United

Nations undermines international law. Open dialogue

is therefore needed in order to effectively reform our

Organization. We believe that it is time to begin a

structural reform of the United Nations that makes it

more democratic and up to date and that prevents the

political and illegal use of its bodies. The system will

be truly democratic, as it claims to be, when everyone

accepts that each country has a vote and that the

majority decides in a democratic, free and sovereign

way, without a small group of States that represents

2.5 per cent of the Organization’s membership being

able to veto the remaining 97.5 per cent.

We must of course restore the fundamental principles

of the United Nations, namely, the legal equality of

States, international social justice, unconditional

respect for international law, the protection and defence

of all human rights, cooperation and the promotion

of the mutual interests of nations, respect for the

sovereignty of States, the free self-determination of

peoples, non-intervention in the internal affairs of

other States, the elimination of wars of aggression and

the peaceful settlement of disputes through dialogue,

without recourse to the threat or, worse still, the use of

force. But, above all, we must restore the principle of

collective action. As a result, we must give it values,

such as democracy, universality and supranationality.

In order to be effective and efficient in its work

to maintain international peace and stability, the new

multilateralism should not uphold the veto power or

the existence of an exclusive club, whose members are a small group of countries that decide the system’s

future and other measures that affect the remaining

countries. The new system would require all countries,

as equals, to be equally represented in decision-making

that affected the international system. It should not

allow non-compliance with international standards by

some States, but must rather demand strict adherence

to international law and full respect for international

judicial authority as the only way of promoting peaceful

coexistence among nations.

Ecuador supports the comprehensive reform of the

United Nations system and the democratization of the

international decision-making bodies. We advocate

a comprehensive reform of the Security Council that

includes decisions on membership categories, the veto

issue, regional representation, the size of an expanded

Security Council and its working methods, and its

relationship with the General Assembly — in other

words, a comprehensive change in its composition

and operation. The idea is to make the Council

representative, democratic and effective to enable

the international community to have an appropriate

collective security system. We believe that we must

work on that proposal, study it, discuss it and decide

on it together.

Our country also calls for a comprehensive

revitalization of the General Assembly. We propose

that its role as the main depositary of global sovereignty

be fully recognized within the United Nations system

since it is only there that all members are represented.

The General Assembly should therefore have the

ability to discuss and take binding decisions on all

significant issues on the international agenda, including

international peace and security.

An example of the imbalance and lack of democracy

of the current United Nations system that clearly reflects

the urgent need for its reform is the situation in which

the abhorrent blockade on the sisterly Republic of Cuba

continues because an economic and military Power is

able to impose its will and political view despite the

contrary decision of 186 countries. Then again, the

United States cannot continue to include Cuba on its

spurious list of countries that sponsor terrorism simply

because of an ideological unwillingness to accept that

the island has survived its forced isolation. Arbitrariness

has played a great part in that issue.

Cuba has declared that its territory has never been

used nor ever will be used to organize, finance or

carry out terrorist acts against any country, including the United States. Similarly, the prominent former

United States President, Jimmy Carter, has stated that

the role of Havana as a guarantor in the peace talks

between the Fuerzas Armadas Revolucionarias de

Colombia and the Colombian Government refutes any

argument about the need for Cuba to remain on that

list. The former President, whom we consider a friend

of the Latin American cause, said that a more sincere

dialogue could take place between the two countries if

the United States were to remove Cuba from its list of

State sponsors of terrorism. We share and support that

view.

Consistent with Ecuador’s recognition of the

Palestinian State within the 1967 borders and with

East Jerusalem as its capital, my country supports

the inclusion of Palestine as a full Member of the

Organization. Likewise, Ecuador reiterates its support

for the historic rights of the Argentine Republic over

the Malvinas Islands. The specific and anachronistic

situation of those Islands should pave the way for

renewed direct negotiations with the United Kingdom,

as called for by Argentina. That appeal has been

reiterated in several resolutions of the relevant United

Nations bodies.

For Ecuador, it is essential that disputes, including

those related to borders, be resolved peacefully.

Ecuador has successfully achieved that.

Ecuador has also worked to strengthen the

fundamental institutions of international law, such as

the inviolability of diplomatic missions, as provided

for in the 1961 Vienna Convention on Diplomatic

Relations. I wish to recall that, a few weeks ago, the

Government of Ecuador had an unexpected diplomatic

dispute with the Government of the United Kingdom

on exactly that issue. In response, Ecuador advocated

that various multilateral forums adopt resolutions

affirming that principle of international law. We must

say with deep gratitude that Ecuador received the

resolute support of the Governments of States members

of UNASUR, ALBA and the Organization of American

States and of other Governments, such as that of

Russia, condemning any attempt at forced entry into or

violation of diplomatic premises.

The Government of Ecuador accordingly

condemned the terrible events of 11 September, when

the United States diplomatic mission and consulate in

Cairo and Benghazi were attacked by armed groups

with a tragic loss of life, including that of the United States Ambassador to Libya, Christopher Stevens.

Ecuador stands in solidarity with the people of the

United States and reaffirms its condemnation of those

violent acts against United States personnel in Libya

and Egypt. Once again, we declare our respect for the

inviolability of the premises of diplomatic missions.

My country believes that it is essential for

international organizations to support and promote the

observance and development of all human rights. That

should be their ultimate objective, not just a politically

correct way to make a discussion attractive or to justify

implementing a geopolitical outlook on different

cultural realities. Human rights are a principle that is

lived every day and that is constantly developed and

upheld. It is a principle including all of humankind

with no exception, no discrimination, no categories and

no prioritization. The principle admits no reservations

or double standards. It is either completely defended

and we submit to it, or it is rejected. But conditioned,

partial compliance is not admissible. We are, of course,

speaking of the progressive development of international

and national instruments governing human rights and

the legal international bodies that ensure compliance

with those instruments.

To write on paper that all men and women around

the world are equal without applying it in practice is

nothing but hypocrisy. Human rights, as a whole, can

be summarized in the right to life. The question is:

how many thousands of human beings must continue

to be sacrificed in the name of the abstract principle

without understanding, without really feeling what the

concept is. When will humanity ask, for example, if

the defence of democracy in its Western version or the

accumulation of transnational capital and the expansion

of organized crime constitute sufficient justification

for the sacrifice of tens of thousands of human lives or

for the destruction of the planet.

In order to guarantee the rights of human beings,

deepen their social and economic development, and

achieve the harmony of nature while being fully

responsible towards all generations, Ecuador has

changed some traditional policies since the adoption

of the new Ecuadorian Constitution in 2008. We

understand that we must overcome the archaic concept

that the rule of law consists of laws carved in stone

that were approved at some time in history but are

obsolete and out of date today. The law cannot be

abstract, because in essence it is a living thing needed

to give security to human beings, and it cannot be divorced from reality. That is why we also advocate

that the standards that are part of international legal

coexistence should be discussed and updated, because

their forced application leads to chaos and weakens the

rule of international law.

From that point of view, our Constitution calls

on us to live in a constitutional State of rights and

guarantees. The fundamental objective is what is called

in the Quechua language sumak kawsay, or “the right

to a good life” of people and nature, knowing how to

live fully, without any discrimination. It is based on

dignity, solidarity, equality and the complementarity

of people, cultures, nationalities, people’s social groups

and countries in general.

It is the commitment to being human that calls on

us to encourage tolerance, respect and full support for

everybody, especially those afflicted with disabilities.

Ecuador has been nationally recognized on that front,

because, in the last five years, it has maintained

the highest ratings for effectiveness in programme

support and reintegration into daily life of our brothers

and sisters with disabilities. The strength of our

Vice-President Lenín Moreno Garcés in his battle

against discrimination against people with disabilities

has made it possible for him to be globally recognized.

Admiration of his programmes has led to his being

nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize.

Since human beings are at the centre of the

covenant of the popular revolution, we have given full

support to those who suffer persecution because of

their political ideas and sexual preferences. My country

has the largest number of refugees in Latin America

and one of the largest numbers in the entire Western

hemisphere. Almost 60,000 people living in Ecuador

are refugees. We also have around 500,000 economic

migrants. That has led to recognition and expressions

of gratitude by United Nations bodies. Because people

in the situation of being refugees and asylum-seekers

have been incorporated into Ecuadorian society, they

receive political and social protection as well as an

economic subsidy from the Ecuadorian State.

Social groups that traditionally were discriminated

against in Ecuador for ethnic or cultural reasons have

also seen a substantial improvement in their situation.

That is shown by the indicators for education, health

and housing. But above all, President Rafael Correa has

stressed that action to benefit the poorest is the main

objective of State policy. The incorporation of social

groups into the active life of the country has taken place, with full respect for their ancestral culture and

their traditions, customs, beliefs and political views.

We are also one of the countries that has

strengthened gender equality, the development of the

rights of women, and the application of affirmative

action measures that cut across public policies in all

the functions of our Government. However, those

successful changes have led to a reaction from sectors

of traditional power, both inside and outside Ecuador.

Just yesterday, we noted the second anniversary of an

attempted coup d’état and assassination. But things

have changed. The empowerment of citizens fully

identified with the Government has made it possible to

overcome this year’s crisis as well as an international

media campaign of criticism and misinformation on the

activities and achievements of our country.

I would like to highlight from this rostrum that

Ecuador is the first country in the world to have

recognized the rights of nature in its Constitution.

Nature stops being a passive object and becomes an

active subject. In that connection, the Constitution

of Ecuador states that Mother Earth, or Pachamama,

where life reproduces and flourishes, has a right to

full respect for its existence and the maintenance and

regeneration of its vital cycles, structure, functions and

developmental processes. By recognizing those rights,

we close the circle of the complementary relationship

with the rights of human beings. The Constitution

of Ecuador has led to major progress in legal and

environmental areas. It overcomes the human-centred

vision of law prevailing in the world. We aspire to

open a discussion in this forum aimed at preparing a

universal declaration on the rights of nature.

In the environment, Ecuador is one of the leading

promoters at the international level of environmental

sustainability policies. We have developed new

initiatives in the fight against climate change, such

as the “net avoided emissions” mechanism. That has

made the Yasuní-ITT initiative an innovative sovereign

decision. We have also planned to protect natural

resources and the cultures of several ethnic groups in

the Amazon region and have accepted the responsibility

to reduce greenhouse-gas emissions.

In that context, Ecuador has been a leader in the

regional debate on a model for domestic sustainable

development. At the same time, together with the

regional Bolivarian Alliance for the Americas bloc, we

have played a critical role within the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, and we

have noted the scant political will, especially in the

countries in the North, to let themselves be subject to

legally binding commitments to reduce greenhouse-gas

emissions. Ecuador has proposed, on the international

level, an alternative sustainable participatory

development model.

When it comes to promoting human rights and the

freedom of expression, the Government of Ecuador

has been faithful to its tradition, which is to protect

those who seek refuge in its territory or its diplomatic

missions because they are victims of political

persecution, and has granted diplomatic asylum to the

Australian citizen Julian Assange in response to his

request to the President of the Republic of Ecuador and

after an exhaustive judicial assessment. That has been a

unique opportunity for the world community to debate

the process of asylum in that context and to observe

the political, legal and human repercussions of its

application within the framework of the strict respect

for international law. Ecuador is proud of having taken

a sovereign decision in a legal procedure that protects

human beings anywhere in the world.

Our country promotes the reform of the multilateral

United Nations system through example and not just

in words. We have also undertaken an unprecedented

institutional reform of our own. The results have been

highly satisfactory, with outstanding levels of growth

and poverty reduction. I want to mention just a few

figures, so that members can have a clear idea of our

achievements. Under the Government of the Citizens’

Revolution, the poverty rate has been reduced from

36.7 per cent to 25.3 per cent, a reduction of more than

11 per cent. Extreme poverty, that is, abject poverty,

has come down from 16.5 per cent to 9.4 per cent. We

have reduced the Gini coefficient from 0.55 per cent

to 0.47 per cent. For the first time in our two centuries

as a republic, the extreme poverty rate for Ecuador’s

population is below 10 per cent. An annual education

budget of $858 million has now grown by a factor of

5.1, to $4.366 billion. Payment of external debt is not

more than 4.2 per cent of gross domestic product, while

our spending on public social services stands at 11 per

cent of gross domestic product.

Every international agency that has reviewed

our macroeconomic numbers and social spending

agree that the changes in our country are drastically

improving the lives of our citizens. We have not settled

for mere words, but, rather, our country’s success story is written in concrete, practical actions as part of a

national development plan, overseen and managed by

the President of the Republic himself, that is bringing

rapid change to our country — and without the usual

social ills that result from the prescriptions of the

international financial institutions. On the contrary,

ours is a participatory model founded in solidarity.

We have not neglected foreign direct investment,

which we believe essential to our development strategy,

so long as it complements our national initiatives,

including our national development plan. I state with

pride that the Constitution of the Republic of Ecuador

is the first in the world to define legal security as a

human right in itself, respect for which and the direct

application of which are guaranteed by judicial,

administrative and constitutional authorities.

Nevertheless, we believe that progress for Ecuador

or for any other country is at risk if the international

system, either because of general indifference or

because of interests that run contrary to global well-

being, feeds a new era of anarchy in which unilateral

actions or geopolitical conflicts predominate. For that

reason, we would like to take this opportunity to reiterate

the need to rehabilitate and revitalize multilateralism,

to upgrade international mechanisms and strengthen

international law, so as to safeguard international peace

and security and a healthy environment, which are the

necessary ingredients for worldwide development and

prosperity. We want to use this platform to urge the

international community and the representatives of all

the countries of the world to join in demonstrating the

resolve, bravery and political will to drive the creation

of a new international order — new in being more just,

more open, more participatory and more democratic.