Spain, 2012

Allow

me to begin by congratulating Mr. Vuk Jeremić on

his election as President of the General Assembly at

its sixty-seventh session. I am convinced that with

his leadership and drive, this lofty institution will be

capable of facing the numerous challenges that will

arise in the next 12 months.

I also wish to express my gratitude to his

predecessor, Mr. Nassir Abdulaziz Al-Nasser. I join

others in congratulating him on his work and wish him

all the best in his new endeavours.

Spain believes that the United Nations has a

fundamental role to play. That is why I wished to

participate in this general debate, the first since I took

the oath of office as President of the Government of

Spain. It is always an honour for a Head of Government

to address the General Assembly. I do so today on behalf

of a country that is committed to the international

community and to the pursuit of joint solutions to the

problems we face.

The result of that commitment is our desire to serve

once again in the Security Council for the period 2015-

2016. In my statement, I shall refer to the reasons for Spain’s resolve to work in the Council with an open and

constructive spirit, committed to peace and international

security, the promotion and protection of human rights,

and the search for sustainable development for all.

In addition to the serious economic and financial

situation, the international community is facing today

more numerous and more complicated challenges

than ever before. The Organization and its General

Assembly are key if we are to confront them. Year after

year, we discuss those problems here and their possible

solutions. For that reason, I believe that we should ask

ourselves today if we have improved since last year.

While it might seem otherwise, I believe we have.

In one year, we have witnessed the unbreakable

will of the Arab citizens to consolidate democratic

systems in their countries. In Spain, we went through a

difficult but successful transition to democracy. Hence,

we know that the road is not and will not be easy. Our

experience can be useful for all Arab countries that

are going through transition processes. I reaffirm our

commitment to building open, inclusive and democratic

societies whose institutions satisfy the yearnings for

dignity and for the development of its citizens. In those

processes, there is no room for movements that promote

violence, whatever its justification. Any attack or

aggression against people or institutions is unacceptable

and deserves our most full-throated condemnation.

Last year, we also dedicated our efforts to finding

solutions to the crisis in the Horn of Africa, and

especially to the situation in Somalia. The difficulties

persist, but Somalia is advancing towards normality.

Cooperation in the fight against piracy in the Indian

Ocean is stronger than ever, and during our recent

presidency of the Contact Group on Piracy off the

Coast of Somalia, we moved forward in the search of

an international response to that criminal phenomenon.

Similarly, humanitarian efforts in that region have

allowed for an improvement of the situation. Four

months ago, Spain and the World Food Programme

(WFP) signed an agreement to locate the largest food

storage facility in the world in the Canary Islands.

The WFP facility will allow faster and more efficient

responses to food emergencies on the African continent.

Afghanistan continues moving forward in the

direction of stability — a road that Spain has pursued

together with the Afghan people for more than a

decade. In that effort, we have bequeathed resources,

infrastructures and, unfortunately, the life of many of our fellow citizens. My country will continue to

contribute to the development of Afghanistan and its

search for much-needed stability and security.

This year, in Rio de Janeiro, we reaffirmed

our common vision in favour of an economically,

socially and environmentally sustainable future.

Since their conception, Spain has been committed to

the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) with

the largest cooperation programme in its history,

valued at almost $1 billion, implemented through the

Spain-United Nations Development Programme MDG

Achievement Fund. Negotiations are under way to set

new goals for sustainable development and to bring the

institutional structure in step with that commitment.

Spain will maintain an active and constructive presence

in the process.

The fight against international impunity has also

seen important advances this year. The International

Criminal Court initiated its first case against a Head of

State, demonstrating that the international community

is closer than ever to ending impunity for serious

crimes. I would like to reiterate today the call for the

universal ratification of the Rome Statute.

I would like to make special mention of the valuable

and increasing role that Latin America has played

in the development of the multilateral system. The

achievements and progress that the region has attained

in the consolidation of democracy, economic growth

and regional integration are reflected in its greater

international presence.

Latin America has shown its potential by

strengthening the multilateralism promoted by the

Organization. Spain is proud to share in that spirit at

the Ibero-American summits and will be hosting this

year’s summit in Cádiz, Spain. That forum reflects the

Ibero-American community’s wager on the promise of

dialogue, equality and mutual respect, with our eyes

firmly set on the future.

I believe that those steps forward, among others,

attest to an encouraging year, despite its difficulties. It

is proof that the multilateral system is responding to the

present crisis and promoting respect for and the active

protection of human rights, as well as the presence and

participation of women in all areas regions. But, of

course, there are problems on which there has been little

or no progress at all or that have emerged throughout

the present year. Those problems deserve as much if not

more of our attention in the 12 months that lie ahead. First of all, I would like to mention the crisis in

Syria. A year ago, in the General Assembly, an urgent

appeal was made to the Syrian regime to halt the abuses

and crimes against its people. Despite the international

community’s efforts, the situation has not ceased

to deteriorate. Thousands of innocent victims, the

unbearable suffering of the civilian population and the

serious risk of the conflict expanding to neighbouring

countries compel us to act. Today, I reiterate the call to

end all violence in Syria and urge President Al-Assad

to accept his responsibility and make way for a political

process that will allow a peaceful resolution to the

conflict. We support the efforts of the Joint Special

Representative, Mr. Lakhdar Brahimi, to reach this

goal. The international community, the United Nations,

the League of Arab States and the European Union

continue to be prepared, through different mechanisms,

to come to Syria’s aid.

In this uncertain regional scenario, Lebanon has so

far managed to keep itself on the margin of the spiral of

violence, an achievement that has been reached in good

measure thanks to the contingent of United Nations

Interim Force in Lebanon, in which Spain is an active

participant.

Another year has passed without progress in the

Middle East peace process. We defend the idea that

the solution to the conflict in the Middle East lies

in the existence of two States, the Israeli State and

the Palestinian State, living in peace and security.

Any delay in achieving that goal leads to growing

frustration that will affect the rest of the world. The

international community, and, above all, the actors

involved must have the courage to adopt the measures

and decisions needed to achieve that comprehensive,

just and durable peace that responds to the legitimate

yearnings of both peoples. My Government, committed

to the goal of peace, is convinced that the creation of a

viable Palestinian State is a key element in the solution

of the conflict. It will bring beneficial effects for the

security and welfare of Israel, for the normalization

of regional relations and, finally, for the international

community as a whole. Until then, the parties must

avoid endangering the viability of a two-State solution.

The situation in Mali and the entire Sahel region

is particularly serious. The humanitarian crisis has

been aggravated by political instability and an armed

revolt, which has deteriorated into terrorist movements

that have caused considerable harm to the population

in northern Mali. Spain unreservedly condemns violence and supports the efforts of the United Nations,

the African Union, and the Economic Community of

West African States to reach a solution to the crisis.

Those efforts must count on the decisive support of

the countries of the region, whose people also endure

insecurity caused by the situation. And above all, the

process must be led by the people of Mali themselves,

who need to overcome their institutional crisis and

re-establish the territorial integrity of their country.

On other matters, I would like to highlight the

efforts of the international community in general and of

the E3+3 Group in particular to relaunch conversations

with Iran with the goal of eliminating all doubts raised

by the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA)

regarding its nuclear enrichment programme. Those

conversations are sustained by the desire to reach a

political and diplomatic solution and are an opportunity

that we hope all actors involved will take advantage

of. We reiterate our appeal to Iran to comply with

the relevant resolutions without delay and to ratify

and observe the additional protocol of the IAEA’s

comprehensive safeguards agreement.

I would also like to express our support for the Six-

Party Talks as a framework for finding a diplomatic

solution to the crisis raised by the nuclear programme of

the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea. We consider

that the country must put a stop to its nuclear activities

with military aims in a complete and verifiable manner,

and it must comply with all Security Council resolutions

on the matter and respect its commitments to the Treaty

on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons.

This year we have moved towards a more peaceful,

just and sustainable world. However, as reflected in

the cases I have just mentioned, much remains to be

done. To achieve this, Spain will continue to work with

the United Nations, for we believe that only through

a concerted effort of the international community can

we find solutions. My country’s wish to serve on the

Security Council in 2015 and 2016 responds precisely

to the conviction that in the Council Spain can continue

playing an active role in the search for joint solutions

to common problems. That conviction is supported by

Spain’s accomplishments to date, by our demonstrated

commitment to multilateralism and by the initiatives

led by our country in the search for international

understanding and sustainable development.

Spain will continue to contribute, to the best of

its ability, to peacekeeping operations by providing troops and through the United Nations operational

field support base at Quart de Poblet, in Spain. Our

commitment to the United Nations will remain firm,

as we actively participate in those initiatives that we

have been supporting in the past few years because we

believe that they are key to achieving the future we

desire.

Disarmament and non-proliferation must be shared

objectives for the entire international community. We

believe that it is necessary to reactivate the Conference

on Disarmament with an ambitious programme of

work. Spain also supports renewing the General

Assembly mandate to proceed with the negotiations

of an arms trade treaty. We will continue to work for

a solid, effective and legally binding document that

reflects the defence of human rights and international

humanitarian rights.

As a member of the Human Rights Council, we will

continue to defend the undeniable link between respect

for human rights and peace and security in the world.

We will also continue to work towards a universal

moratorium on the death penalty.

My country will continue to support negotiations

within the United Nations of a comprehensive

convention on international terrorism. Terrorism is a

vicious trait that unfortunately Spain knows very well.

I would like to take a moment today to remember and

pay tribute to all the victims of terrorism. In July, a

High-Level Conference on Victims of Terrorism

was held in Madrid in the framework of the Global

Counterterrorism Forum. There we reiterated that

victims can plan an important role in the complete

delegitimization, in both social and moral terms, of

terrorism. I wish to acknowledge the support of the

Secretary-General and of the President of the General

Assembly in this task.

We will continue to promote the goals of

UN-Women, after a first year full of work and results.

In that regard, Spain, which has been the biggest

donor to this entity during its first year, maintains its

commitment to equality between men and women and

to the efforts to put an end to violence against women

and girls.

My country is a firm defender of dialogue and

the use of peaceful means to resolve controversies.

For that reason, next Friday, together with Morocco,

we will present an initiative to promote mediation

and to develop national and local capacities in the Mediterranean basin. The initiative will be the first

embodiment in that region of resolution 65/283 and of

the work of the Secretary-General and the Group of

Friends of Mediation.

Spain maintains its active commitment to a just,

enduring and mutually acceptable political solution to

the dispute in Western Sahara, a solution that provides

for the self-determination of the Saharan people in

accordance with the principles and objectives of the

Charter of the United Nations. As a member of the

Group of Friends, Spain firmly supports the work of the

Secretary-General, his Personal Envoy and the United

Nations Mission for the Referendum in Western Sahara.

Between countries that are friends and allies, as

is the case between Spain and the United Kingdom,

a direct and sincere dialogue should make it possible

to overcome any differences. Therefore, I would

like to call upon the United Kingdom to renew the

bilateral dialogue on the decolonization of Gibraltar in

accordance with the parameters indicated by the United

Nations and enshrined in the Brussels Declaration of

1984. We have already lost too many years.

The efforts of the Member States of the United

Nations will not be sufficient if they are not accompanied

by the necessary adaptation of the United Nations to the

current world. The Secretary-General has launched a

process aimed at reforming the Organization, which my

country is following closely. I would like to reiterate

that Spain supports his efforts, and we call upon the rest

of the Member States to continue their open dialogue on

his proposals, analysing them without any prejudices

and showing sufficient courage to break with the status

quo when necessary.

In that regard, I should like to reiterate our support

for the reforms of the Secretary-General in the area of

peacekeeping operations. Likewise, Spain is a strong

driving force behind the Delivering as One initiative,

which is an essential undertaking aimed at modernizing

the United Nations system, improving its effectiveness

and efficiency in the fight against poverty and

inequality, and thereby making it possible to do more

with less. Proof of Spain’s commitment to that initiative

is the fact that my country has been the largest donor

thereto, providing more than half of the total funding.

Lastly, the Security Council must also adapt,

as quickly as possible, to the realities of the twenty-

first century, which are very different from those that

existed when it was created. In the coming months, we will continue to be open to dialogue on this issue,

and we hope that, under the leadership of President

Jeremić, we will be able to find common ground among

the different positions on the issue on which we can

build a new Security Council that is more effective,

inclusive, representative and responsible to the General

Assembly.

We are facing many challenges. Spain is strongly

determined to contribute to those efforts so that in 12

months, when we meet here again, the list of problems

before us is shorter and we can have a United Nations

that is more effective and efficient than it was a year

previously. The United Nations will continue to be a

guarantor of international peace and security, and a

driving force for the protection of human rights and the

promotion of sustainable development for our future

and that of our children. The General Assembly can

count on Spain to participate in that endeavour with the

same determination as always.