Guatemala, 1992

Allow

me, Sir, to congratulate Mr. Ganev on his election to the presidency of the

General Assembly at its forty-seventh session and to assure him that he will

have the full cooperation of my delegation in the discharge of his important

task.

I should like also to congratulate Mr. Samir Shihabi of Saudi Arabia on

the efficient manner in which he discharged his duties as President of the

General Assembly at its forty-sixth session.

I extend fraternal and cordial greetings to Mr. Boutros Boutros-Ghali,

who, as Secretary-General, has headed the Organization since the beginning of

the year. We realize that during this initial stage he has had a difficult

task. He has undertaken the job of restructuring and reforming the system to

adapt the Organization to the new international context.

In this joint effort, in which mankind has placed its highest hopes for a

better and more just future, it is positive and comforting to have new friends

in our midst. In that spirit, I extend the warmest welcome to the nations

that joined the Organization this year. Guatemala offers them its friendship,

respect, solidarity and cooperation.

The nations of the world are gathered in this forum with mixed feelings

of uncertainty and hope uncertainty because, following the dramatic changes

in the international order, we find ourselves on the eve of a new era, whose

fundamental features have yet to be defined; hope because, despite a history

of sterile confrontations, an opportunity is opening up for a just and

equitable international order in which cooperation between nations would be

geared to the solution of the fundamental problems of the international

community: extreme poverty, sustainable development, peace, security and the

environment.

We Guatemalans view these changes with great hope, and we fully

understand their historic implications, as our country too is involved in a

far-reaching and ambitious process of transformation, which we trust will

positively change the course of our history. Guatemala is making great

efforts to overcome the confrontation that, for years, has riven our society

and afflicted thousands of Guatemalan families.

Others took advantage of the problems of our political and economic

development to transplant their hostilities to our soil. Therefore, for more

than 30 years our country was involved in foreign and alien confrontation that

left only suffering in its wake and led to neglect of the central problems of

our society.

As a small country, Guatemala suffered from the ups and downs of an

international system based on ideological confrontation. As was the case on a

world-wide scale, economic resources necessary to give impetus to the process

of our people's socio-economic well-being were earmarked to finance a sterile

and cruel confrontation. The attention of the various sectors of our society

was distracted from genuine questions of development and obfuscated by an

ideological polemic whose outcome was violence and stagnation. Problems of

hunger, education, social well-being, health and poverty are among those that

were left unattended and unsolved throughout these irretrievably lost

decades.

The whole Central American region found itself in a similar situation

so much so that it became the focus of international attention as a result of

internal armed clashes and military tensions. As a region, however, we have

been able to take our historic destiny in hand and, by an approach that we

ourselves designed, often in the face of the scepticism of people who thought

us unable to solve our problems other than on the basis of external formulas,

have managed to overcome the spiral of violence and, at the same time,

initiate a process of democratization and pacification, which is now bearing

fruit and is transforming our nations with the promise of a better future for

our peoples.

As Central Americans, we Guatemalans are aware that the challenge of our

future is entirely in our own hands. The process of democratization, begun

some years ago, is the start of a much broader process one aimed at

transforming our social, economic and cultural structures and at securing the

well-being of all Guatemalans. The effort that is needed to generate a

process of overall improvement in the standards of living of our people

requires that the funds used for armed confrontation be reallocated for social

investment.

President Serrano Elias Lanzo, at the beginning of his administration in

1991, launched a peace plan for the whole nation, conscious of the fact that

progress towards democratization of the country is the only means of achieving

even higher goals. Under this plan, peace is conceived of as a source of the

basic conditions that will allow for the harmonious development of the

individual in society and for peaceful and respectful coexistence between

people, rather than simply as the absence of violence or the ending of

internal armed confrontation.

In this framework, the Government of the Republic has begun a dialogue

with the URNG with the air.i of securing an end to the internal conflict and of

involving the groups taking part in it so that, within the constitutional

framework of the State's laws, they will renounce the use of arms and

participate in the political life of the country in a constructive rather than

a destructive manner.

Unfortunately, the pace of the initial talks was slowed by unconstructive

attitudes on the part of the representatives of the insurgents, attitudes that

can be understood only as an attempt artificially to delay the peace process

and thus to gain special benefits not justified by the realities on the

ground. The Government's goodwill has been shown by its acceptance of an

agreement on human rights proposed by the conciliator who presides over the

National Commission for the Reconciliation of Guatemala. The insurgents have

not accepted this proposal.

The Government of Guatemala deplores and rejects this delaying approach

which results in unnecessary prolongation of the sufferings of Guatemalans and

limits the possibilities of action by the Government to deal with the real

problems of the people who elected it. We appeal to the international

community to condemn these delaying tactics, support the continuation of

negotiations and appeal to the insurgents to adopt a positive and realistic

attitude.

The Government of the Republic trusts that in the next meetings with the

mediation of the Conciliator and the participation of the Personal

Representative of the Secretary-General of the United Nations, these obstacles

will be overcome and the talks will continue in order soon to reach the

complete peace for which all Guatemalans yearn.

The transformation of Guatemalan society, however, goes well beyond

putting an end to internal armed confrontation. For this reason my Government

has developed important initiatives aimed at substantively modifying some of

the structures of our society. Central to these efforts is the decision to

put on a solid footing a State where the rule of law is paramount,

guaranteeing the effective administration of justice for all citizens, without

discrimination.

A renewed and revitalized State under the rule of law, guaranteeing fully

effective human rights, is the central aim of the Administration of

President Serrano Elias. In that context, important achievements have been

made, perhaps the most important being the restoration, through a struggle

against impunity, of the individual's trust in democratic institutions.

The Government is aware that much remains to be done in order to ensure

fully effective human rights, but we believe that it must be recognized that

over the past two years important advances have been made in this respect.

At the same time, significant efforts are being made to create conditions

that will permit the return to their homeland of refugees who have gone to

other countries, fleeing the violence that affected their population groups in

the past. The National Peace Fund (FONAPAZ) and the National Land Fund

(FONATIERRA), both created by the present Government, are participating

jointly with the Special Commission for Refugees, Returnees and Displaced

Persons (CEAR) in creating conditions appropriate not only for the return of

refugees but also for the effective reintegration of returnees and displaced

persons into society, providing them with conditions to engage in productive

activity that will allow for their social and human development.

I have taken the liberty of drawing attention to some of the important

aspects of my country's internal politics in order to give the background to

the points that I shall now make concerning the international scene and our

foreign policy.

Guatemala has followed with close attention the important world

developments of recent years. We are certainly witnessing the formation of a

new international order, which springs from the ashes of a confrontational and

bipolar world. We should take advantage of the new international environment

to seek peaceful solutions to conflicts and confrontations that still persist,

and thus allow the Governments concerned to apply to development and peace

resources formerly earmarked for financing those confrontations.

At the same time the dividends of world peace should be channelled to

investment for the social well-being of peoples. Nuclear disarmament, a major

goal in itself, should also be used to generate a surplus with which to

finance programmes to resolve the most serious world problems hunger,

disease, illiteracy and poverty. The new climate of confidence among nations

and new patterns of global security should be based not only on an absence of

immediate military threats, but on real efforts to resolve the central

problems of mankind.

More than ever before, we have a historic opportunity today to make

significant advances towards the creation of a truly just world order, based

on cooperation, not domination. To achieve this, however, we need above all

to recognize the errors affecting the international system and to establish

new rules permitting truly harmonious coexistence.

It is necessary to carry out promptly an exhaustive, in-depth revision of

relations between the developed and the developing nations. There are

enormous imbalances which if present trends continue will lead to a deepening

gap between the two.

The industrialized countries and the developing countries must jointly

agree on an agenda of matters that should be given priority attention by the

international community and discuss and explore machinery and methods that

will allow us better to face the challenge of development in all its aspects.

The World Summit for Social Development gives us the opportunity to discuss

these problems at the highest level.

Multilateralism has taken on a renewed and vigorous impetus in the task

of building a new world order. The importance of multilateral forums as

centres of discussion, analysis and the adoption of generalized policies for

the international system is a significant opportunity for developing nations

to participate actively in the process of constituting the new rules of the

international system.

The experience gained in organizing approaches that allowed us to

formulate proposals and present our interests to the industrialized nations,

at a time when ideological confrontation relegated our countries' fundamental

problems to the background, should be used to advantage today to ensure that

the international agenda suitably reflects our interests and needs.

However, those interests and perspectives will be reflected in

international forums only to the degree that we fight for it. To that end,

South-South cooperation is a fundamental vehicle and the efforts to achieve

coordination between developing nations should be stepped up.

In Guatemala's view, the world order that emerges from the

transformations under way should be built upon deep respect for the norms and

principles of international law. The possibility of harmonious, stable

coexistence between the nations of the world depends on unconditional respect

for States' sovereignty, independence and equality before the law. Therefore,

the international community must reject any State's attempt to extend the

application of its own law5 beyond its own borders.

Within the context of the emerging world order, encouraging efforts are

now under way to reach a peaceful settlement of the Middle East conflict.

Those encouraging deeds are in contrast to the tragic events taking place in

the former Yugoslavia and the equally tragic situation prevailing in Somalia.

The international community must renew its efforts to find peaceful,

negotiated solutions in accordance with the Charter of the United Nations.

My country has viewed with great interest the measures taken by the

Secretary-General to adapt the United Nations for the better fulfilment of its

functions, and we support all efforts that enable the Organization to attain

the objectives of the Charter.

In particular, I wish to emphasize the active role the Organization has

taken in peace-keeping in various regions of the world. In the resolution of

conflicts that originated before the end of the cold war and in cases of new

tensions emerging from the geopolitical processes resulting from that historic

development, the peace-keeping forces under the flag of the United Nations

carry out a fundamental role by opening the way to truce, dialogue and

negotiation, thus preventing the prolongation of confrontations that can be

satisfactorily resolved by peaceful means.

We should, however, re-examine the criteria used in financing those

forces. The cost of peace-keeping operations could prove overwhelming for

both the Organization and its Member States, especially those, like Guatemala,

that have limited resources. In this regard, we welcome the

Secretary-General's report "An Agenda for Peace" as a contribution to those

efforts.

Along the same lines, there is no doubt about the need to reform

structures that emerged and functioned within the framework of a

confrontational order. Such reform should not be limited, however, to the

mere streamlining of the bureaucracy, but should aspire to the creation of a

system that ensures satisfactory representation for all its members. As part

of those efforts, we should deal without delay with the composition of the

Security Council of the Organization. The current structure and procedures of

the Council are the result of a political order that we have left far behind,

and we need to revise them, adapt them to the current situation and prevent

the creation of patterns of political tutelage that go against the principles

of equitable participation and juridical equality among States.

In fact, a new problem is beginning to take shape within the structure of

the Organization, and it is nothing more or less than the reflection of a

global issue: the privileged position enjoyed by some nations encourages

monopolistic structures in various multilateral forums.

The United Nations will be an effective and efficient forum to the extent

that each and every one of its Members can feel that its interests are

adequately represented in the policies and programmes of the various

departments of the Organization. Attitudes of political and economic tutelage

will be very unlikely to strengthen it; nor will they facilitate the

establishment of international patterns of cooperation.

We believe that in the protection and promotion of human rights we have a

clear example of such a situation. At this time Guatemala has the advisory

services of an expert adviser from the United Nations, who has received a

broad mandate from the Commission on Human Rights to assist my country in its

efforts to achieve the full realization of human rights. The mandate has been

accepted by my Government in the spirit of openness and cooperation that it

has maintained in dealing with the Commission.

In addition, my country also unreservedly supports the United Nations

objective of promoting those rights internationally and will continue to

cooperate with all its organs in that task.

At the same time, we feel we must express our concern at what we see as

the application of apparently selective criteria by some members of the

Commission on Human Rights in its work.

Nevertheless, disturbing phenomena such as xenophobia, racism,

discrimination against migrant workers and ethnic and religious

discrimination, which have become more acute in recent years in certain

nations as a result of the changing international system, have not been given

sufficient attention by the Committee during its recent deliberations.

From the work of the Commission on Human Rights and the Subcommission on

Prevention of Discrimination and Protection of Minorities, it would appear

that it is only in some developing countries that one finds obstacles to the

full application of human rights, disregarding the serious problems that exist

in other nations. In both of these forums, it would appear that the

credibility of democratic, freely elected Governments is being questioned,

giving greater validity to the arguments presented by politically compromised

organizations that favor sectarian movements which seek, through the use of

force and by causing suffering to peoples, to alter lawful democratic

institutions.

It is urgent and necessary that the Committee dealing with

Non-Governmental Organizations engage in a review of the non-governmental

organizations that cooperate in the work of the Economic and Social Council

(ECOSOC) and that participate in particular in the work of the Commission on

Human Rights, in order to ensure that their participation is positive and does

not answer to sectarian political interests that might tend to discredit them.

At the same time, it is necessary to review the working procedures of

both forums so that organizations that participate as observers will not

receive preferential treatment over that of members of the Organization who

are not on the Committee.

The Government of Guatemala will continue to cooperate with the United

Nations in the field of human rights, and we hope in this respect to continue

to receive the advisory services that enable the Government to fulfil the

commitment of President Serrano Elias to promote the full enjoyment of human

rights in our country. However, I appeal to the relevant organizations to

guard against abuse of this spirit of openness and cooperation by groups

seeking the destabilization of the State, an unjust and selective situation

that would ultimately oblige the Government to review, analyse and reformulate

its position on these matters.

The World Conference on Human Rights, to be held next year, should

provide an opportunity to examine the present situation and to plan the

Organization's future policies in a matter that is of pivotal importance to

the well-being of humankind.

We are in the process of analysing, proposing and establishing a new

world order based on cooperation and coexistence. The new role that falls to

the United Nations implies growing functions of coordination and discussion

between nations. To that end, the principle of universality should prevail

over other interests.

In this context, the Republic of China (Taiwan), one of the largest

economies in the world, is in a position to contribute significantly to

seeking solutions to problems that nations of the world must face. Its

presence in the United Nations would strengthen our Organization and permit

more appropriate treatment of topics with global implications, such as that of

the environment. Consequently, Guatemala appeals for consideration of the

need for participation by the Republic of China (Taiwan) as a Member of our

Organization, in addition to the People's Republic of China. We believe,

moreover, that this attitude would make a suitable contribution to the spirit

of cooperation and conciliation that should characterize the new world order.

The structural reform undertaken by my Government includes a strategy for

economic openness designed to bring our economy into the flow of international

commerce.

In addition to the effort at integration in the Central American region,

which we support with deep conviction and whose aim is to shape a community of

nations in the Central American isthmus, Guatemala at this time is also

negotiating its participation in various regional economic-integration

programmes.

This strategy is in line with our conviction that more active and open

participation in the international market is a central element in achieving

economic growth and development for our population. We have signed the

General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade in the belief that eliminating barriers

to international trade creates better opportunities for our economies.

However, we are concerned by the fact that the liberalizing theories

originating in the industrialized nations are giving way to clearly

protectionist attitudes precisely at a time when our products are becoming

competitive in their markets. Rules and regulations are emerging as an excuse

to prevent the inflow of commodities and manufactured products, upon which our

countries' economies largely depend.

These attitudes can hardly provide a stimulus to trust and understanding,

and they also give rise to questions about the sincerity of principles that

are publicly proclaimed but only partially practised. However, we should not

be thought of as ingenuous. We are aware of the fact that every country will

promote its particular interests to the extent allowed by other nations. We

are convinced, however, that for the sake of higher and more long-term

interests, nations must set aside some of their more immediate and narrow

interests. That concession should be general and reciprocal, however;

otherwise dialogue becomes but a theoretical and sterile exercise.

The activity of our Organization and the contribution that Member States

make to its work are aimed at improving the quality of life and promoting the

overall development of human beings. That makes it imperative that we

strengthen the mechanisms of cooperation among nations.

This session of the General Assembly is being held on the eve of a new

era in international relations, whose principal features are yet to be

defined. I express the hope that we, the participants in the Assembly, will

prove equal to the challenge posed by the future peaceful coexistence and

well-being for all mankind.