Guatemala, 2004

I would

like to begin by expressing our appreciation to

Mr. Julian Hunte, Minister for Foreign Affairs of Saint

Lucia, for his accomplished and skilful leadership of

the General Assembly during its previous session.

I would also like to congratulate you, Sir, on your

election to the presidency of the General Assembly at

its fifty-ninth session.

I would also like to commend the Secretary-

General, Mr. Kofi Annan, for the great wisdom that he

has shown in the discharge of his functions. He

deserves our respect and appreciation, and we extend

to him our support and solidarity.

My country has reached a crucial point in its

history. It faces the challenge of living up to the

expectations raised by the end of the internal armed

conflict. Since January, when I assumed office, the

frustrated hopes of all of our people have been

rekindled.

My plan of government is predicated on the peace

agreements and defines their implementation as a

commitment of the whole nation. As President of

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Guatemala, I endorse fully the principle that a firm and

lasting peace must be based on participatory socio-

economic development, aimed at achieving the

common good and responding to the needs of all of our

people, particularly those still living in extreme

poverty.

Since I took office, I have made a point of

listening to the opinions of all of our citizens. That has

enabled me to identify the constraints facing

Guatemala, which it must overcome if it is to deal

adequately with the many legitimate social demands

and expectations.

The actions that my Government intends to take

in the period 2004 to 2008 will focus on four areas:

social investment; conditions of production;

environmental sustainability; and security for all.

Those policies are being carried out within the

framework of the principles of solidarity and

inclusiveness; decentralization and participation; and

transparency in public actions. Those areas of action

and principles accord fully with the Millennium

Development Goals.

I would like to single out a number of

achievements resulting from our new approach to

government. We have reduced our troop strength by

43 per cent and have begun to modernize the armed

forces and to make them more professional, consistent

with the functions that they are required to perform in

time of peace. This includes, at the international level,

greater participation by the Guatemalan army in United

Nations peace operations, for example in Haiti.

In terms of public spending, we are according

priority to education, health, security, citizenship and

infrastructure.

We are fighting petty crime, gang-related crime

and organized crime, focusing in particular on

combating drug trafficking, terrorism, smuggling,

money laundering, trafficking in persons and the illegal

arms trade, all of which represent a huge challenge that

cannot be overcome without the support of the

international community.

We are waging an all-out war against corruption,

and creating mechanisms to ensure transparency in

public procurement and contracting. For the first time

in the history of our country, charges of corruption are

being investigated, and those found guilty will be

prosecuted.

We have adopted a series of measures aimed at

elaborating and implementing a fiscal pact. Sustained

efforts are being made to meet the taxation goals set

out in the peace agreements, within the framework of

my Government’s objectives for economic growth.

We have, as a matter of priority, established a

national front against hunger and malnutrition.

Working with civil society, we have elaborated a policy

on food and nutritional security.

We have consolidated our responsible approach

to macroeconomic management; that is necessary if we

are to promote competitiveness and productive

investment and ensure the well-being of all

Guatemalans. In this context, we launched a

programme for economic and social recovery, entitled

Vamos Guatemala.

We have taken firm measures to eliminate

extreme poverty and reduce social exclusion, while

fully respecting our diversity — for Guatemala is a

multi-ethnic, multicultural and multilingual country.

My Government is committed to full respect for

human rights. We believe that every Guatemalan

should enjoy basic rights and fundamental freedoms,

and that the right to development must be ensured. In

this context, Guatemala will cooperate with

international bodies that promote and protect human

rights.

My Government’s foreign policy is consistent

with its national interests. Our guiding principle is the

need to ensure that Guatemala can take its proper place

in today’s globalized world, as well as to strengthen

multilateralism and regional integration.

The presidents of the Central American countries

have given greater impetus to our integration process.

This year, we took the decisions required to bring to

fruition a customs union between El Salvador,

Honduras, Nicaragua and Guatemala.

My Government is proposing a new beginning in

its bilateral relationship with Belize. We must reach a

permanent, just, equitable and honourable settlement of

the territorial dispute between the two countries, while

at the same time making a constructive effort to resolve

the socio-economic problems afflicting our peoples.

That is why my Government is promoting joint

projects relating to production, a trade agreement,

greater flexibility in the transit of persons, goods and

services, full observance of human rights and the

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conclusion of agreements for mutual legal assistance,

all of which will contribute to the progress of our

peoples and to the security of the region.

The Central American countries have just

concluded trade negotiations with the United States.

Last May, at the Guadalajara Summit, an

announcement was made regarding the initiation of a

process leading up to an association agreement

between Central America and the European Union, to

include a free trade agreement. We will shortly be

signing a trade agreement with Colombia, and we hope

to conclude free trade agreements with Taiwan,

MERCOSUR, the Andean Group and the Caribbean

Community.

Looking after the interests of Guatemalan

emigrants is also a priority issue for my Government.

We provide support for them as they seek solutions to

their problems and respect for their fundamental rights.

We are in contact with the receiving countries,

particularly the United States of America, with a view

to regularizing the situation of emigrants, who make a

substantial contribution to the well-being of their

communities.

All the efforts that Guatemala is making to

overcome poverty and achieve socio-economic

development necessarily depend on the progress being

made in multilateral trade negotiations. Guatemala

appeals to the international community to fulfil its

longstanding commitments to eliminate all the

measures and practices that distort markets, to

liberalize trade in our products and, more generally, to

adopt measures enabling a country like Guatemala,

which has been striving to open its economy, to obtain

better opportunities for access to markets for its

exports.

May I take this opportunity to pay tribute to the

United Nations Verification Mission in Guatemala

(MINUGUA), which, after 10 years of fruitful work, is

reaching the end of its mandate. MINUGUA has left an

important legacy in our country.

I would like to turn now to our agenda at this

session. We are convinced of the need to adapt the

Organization to the new challenges, threats and

changes that humanity faces. We trust that 2005 will

offer us an opportunity to react to them in a responsible

manner.

One of the most timely issues is the reform of the

Security Council. Our position thereon has been

evolving, reflecting the imperative need to make that

organ more representative, transparent and effective.

We advocate the expansion of its membership and

could agree to such an expansion being applied to both

categories of members — permanent and non-

permanent — so long as the need to ensure adequate

geographic representation is taken into account. The

reform of the Security Council would be the point of

departure for the adaptation of all the organs of the

United Nations to the new circumstances. We favour

the strengthening of the General Assembly and the

Economic and Social Council.

We reiterate our complete repudiation of all

forms of terrorism. We are taking all feasible measures

at the national level against the scourge and support the

collective action of the international community to

combat it, inter alia, through the implementation of

Security Council resolutions 1373 (2001) and 1390

(2002), as well as participation in the relevant treaties.

We are convinced of the need for a stronger

collective capacity to prevent and resolve conflicts. We

believe that the United Nations should continue to

address the imperative of development, including such

emerging issues as transnational migrations. We also

feel that our Organization should play a vital role in

seeking to ensure that the benefits of globalization are

widely distributed among all countries. In that

connection, we wish to highlight the significance we

attach to the Monterrey Consensus and the

Johannesburg Plan of Action.

Guatemala is conscious of the divisions that

persist in the Middle East, Asia and Africa among

neighbouring countries. We earnestly hope that the

disputes between them can be resolved through

dialogue and other peaceful means, thus enabling all

peoples of the world to be represented here without

rejection or discrimination.

I wish to note in particular our concern over the

situation of the 23 million inhabitants of the Republic

of China on Taiwan, whose aspirations to

representation in international bodies remain

unfulfilled. We also wish to voice our earnest hope that

the difficult situation prevailing in the Middle East,

which has deteriorated of late, will be resolved in

conformity with Security Council resolutions 242

(1967), 338 (1973), 1397 (2002) and 1402 (2002).

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Under your guidance, Sir, this Assembly will

have to address issues of the greatest significance for

humankind and the United Nations. Guatemala

undertakes to participate actively in this year’s debates

and in the special event to be held just before our next

regular session. We hasten to offer our cooperation

with a view to the success of your endeavours.