Mexico, 1994

It is a great pleasure to attend the beginning of

this forty-ninth session of the General Assembly of the

United Nations. Now that the threat of global war is

receding and local conflicts are proliferating, the untiring

efforts undertaken by Boutros Boutros-Ghali on behalf of

peace are increasingly arduous and deserve our deepest

appreciation.

My congratulations go also to the Minister for Foreign

Affairs of Côte d’Ivoire, Amara Essy, who is serving as

President of this important session of the Assembly.

During its first half-century, the United Nations

promoted highly important diplomatic negotiations,

prevented disputes between nations, fostered the

settlement of regional controversies and prevented global

conflicts. It also encountered serious limitations - and

was, at times, close to paralysis - in the attainment of its

ends. Its achievements and limitations alike have

reflected the world power structure prevailing since 1945,

as well as the efforts of its Members: countries that are

equal and sovereign but diverse in their beliefs, cultural

expressions, geographical endowments and levels of

development.

The United Nations is a child of its times, of the

period following the Second World War. It was born

with a mission to work for world peace and security and

for development. At that time, peace meant avoiding the

nuclear conflagration toward which the bipolar arms race

had been sweeping us since the 1950s. Global security

then meant avoiding the escalation of peripheral conflicts

into which the nuclear Powers could be drawn. At that

time also, world development depended on financing for

recovery and, therefore, on the recycling of resources by

the victorious Powers, which were net exporters of

capital, in the form, very often, of "international aid".

That peace, that security and that concept of development

are no longer with us.

Today, without the bipolar balance of power and

faced with the intense financial competition and the

regional ethnic and religious conflicts of recent years, we

recognize that there are other ways in which the United

Nations should promote peace, security and development,

as set forth in its founding Charter. Now, at the end of

another war - the cold war - it is time to recognize a new

content in the objectives of our world Organization and

new conditions for providing deep-rooted, lasting

responses to the aspirations for justice and well-being

shared by all mankind.

What kinds of peace, development and solidarity are

required at the end of this century? Today

internationalization of the economy is increasingly

pronounced and the cultural plurality of nations is being

manifested by the heightening of tensions in relations

between groups, countries and regions. The major

dilemmas of our times therefore stem from profound

complexities in the economic and political spheres and in

the opportunities open to all peoples to attain a decent

standard of living. Thus, it is essential to find and apply

new solutions to the problems resulting from the end of

the bipolar confrontation and from the new economic

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contests between powerful regions, whose effects

sometimes have an even greater impact on nations remote

from these centres of finance and trade. Today the answers

lie not in weapons, but in the will to build consensus; not

in interference, but in the ability to coordinate development

policies within a framework of fair competition, ruled by

standards recognized by all participants.

In building up new hope, we must unquestionably

persevere in our efforts to eradicate the nuclear threat and

the risks posed by chemical and biological weapons and the

arms race. Mexico has always taken part in contributing to

reducing those dangers. My country is pleased at the recent

accession by Argentina, Brazil and Chile to the Treaty of

Tlatelolco, and by the forthcoming accession announced by

Cuba, which fulfil the Latin American ideal of inhabiting

a nuclear-weapon-free region. We should now continue the

negotiations on, and put into effect, the comprehensive

nuclear-test-ban treaty and the Convention on chemical

weapons, signed in January 1993 and thus far ratified by a

mere 14 States.

But this is not sufficient. In the political sphere, we

face the challenge of keeping the peace while maintaining

respect for the sovereignty of nations and for their cultural

diversity and political plurality, which, far from succumbing

to interference or being diluted into uniformity, demand

their own spaces, both within our countries and within the

United Nations. Faced with a painful experience in

Chiapas, in the south of our country, Mexico turned the

armed challenge with which we were confronted on 1

January into political dialogue 10 days later; it listened

carefully to the voices of the neediest and committed itself

to finding a political way to solve their problems through

dialogue and in freedom, instead of attempting to crush the

uprising, as was the custom throughout the world during the

cold-war period. This is the spirit of political dialogue and

peace with honour required by the new era; this is the path

of new hope.

The world has certainly seen many achievements in

recent times. Mexico welcomes the progress made in

negotiations leading to lasting peace in various parts of the

world, especially in the Middle East. It would also like to

express, once again, its satisfaction at the end of apartheid

in South Africa and at the establishment of a democratic

Government in that country.

Mexico will continue its enthusiastic and unwavering

support for the peace processes in Central America and

congratulates the parties involved, which are making

progress along the path of dialogue and negotiation. As a

member of the group of countries that are friends of the

Secretary-General, Mexico has taken part in the efforts to

arrange direct talks to put an end to conflicts between

Latin American sister countries. That is precisely the

path that might be followed, through the dialogue

reopened regarding illegal migration, to put an end to the

longstanding differences in the hemisphere between the

United States and Cuba, within a framework of full

respect for the sovereignty and the right to

self-determination of the Cuban people.

With regard to the crisis in Haiti, Mexico reiterates

its commitment to the re-establishment of the

constitutional and democratic order. It also reiterates the

need to give preference to peaceful and diplomatic means

above all others, as well as to foster specific forms of

cooperation to ensure better living standards for the

Haitian people, for without them democratic institutions

will be weak and short-lived.

The use of force and the threat of its use, when

world peace is not in danger, are no longer valid means

for sovereign nations to achieve their goals. What are

needed instead are economic exchanges, political dialogue

and a common willingness to recognize and respect one

another, unconditionally and without exception. With that

willingness, which will benefit us all because it commits

us all, we can undertake thorough reforms of international

organizations, and in particular of the United Nations.

Recognition of plurality, respect for sovereignty and the

reaching of consensual accords are also bases on which

the United Nations can construct new forms of

cooperation and technical assistance aimed at

consolidating democracy and at achieving the effective

protection of human rights.

As a form of political organization of peoples,

democracy is certainly the best way to facilitate

development with justice; it is also the system which best

guarantees respect for human rights. For the civil and

political rights recognized by the vast majority of the

Members of our Organization to be fully effective,

economic conditions in which all individuals can develop

their potential are required. Hunger and unemployment,

drug-trafficking and the depletion of natural resources,

forced migrations and new forms of trade protectionism

impair development and the full exercise of human rights

and hinder the democratic participation of individuals in

shaping their own destinies. Therefore, coordinated

action by nations to deal with these grave problems of our

times can help to broaden political participation and

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ensure better conditions to improve well-being and provide

for the protection of human rights.

The efforts made thus far by the United Nations in

this field - such as the creation of the post of High

Commissioner for human rights - are notable but still

insufficient. Reconsidering the question of the defence of

human rights and the strengthening of democracy also

involves reconsidering the issue of development on the

basis of fair access to markets, capital and new technolo-

gies. It is not by chance that democratic stability flourishes

where there is economic stability and growth; nor is it by

chance that more human rights violations occur where the

population is prey to poverty, illiteracy and disease.

Making progress in democracy and respect for human rights

requires new efforts to eradicate inequalities between

individuals, groups, peoples and nations.

In the economic sphere, we are facing both the

challenges and the opportunities posed by interdependence

and globalization. We must now make progress in the

harmonization of financial, technological and production

policies within the world economy in order to achieve

generalized growth. We are well aware that the

development of the most industrialized nations may prove

to be insufficient without sustained growth in the

developing countries. In the coming years the most

important growth of markets for the products of

industrialized nations will occur in the developing countries.

We know, too, that aid may prove to be ineffective and

insufficient, when the basic need is to move toward equality

of opportunities worldwide by opening markets to the

products of developing countries.

In the past few years the world has undergone a

transition toward a liberalization of trade that is

unprecedented in modern history. This movement toward

true globalization, in which a large number of developing

countries are participating for the first time, is indicative of

the renewed confidence of nations in their capacity to

compete and gain integration into world markets. This new

liberalization is also a reason for us to feel optimistic that

freer trade will contribute to the eradication of poverty.

More trade will translate into more and better jobs.

Nevertheless, there are still obstacles that must be

overcome: we must be wary of new protectionist trends;

we must recognize that the new financial resources are still

insufficient for the needs of the developing countries and

that many of those countries continue to experience less

favourable terms of trade as well as instability in interest

rates. The challenge we face is to eliminate conditions that

impede the free circulation of goods and services, that

limit the creation of jobs and produce growing migration,

that exacerbate xenophobic attitudes and that stand in the

way of world recovery.

To that end, we must consolidate the present opening

of markets to competition. No instrument will be of

greater assistance in attaining that goal than the launching

of the World Trade Organization, which will complement

the Bretton Woods institutions. It is essential for us first

to guarantee that the results of the Uruguay Round are

ratified by countries that have not yet done so, and

subsequently to ensure the effective functioning of the

new world-trade system.

Today, it is essential to maintain and expand large

free-trade areas and, in the new organization of world

trade, to build new forms of coordination and cooperation

so that free-trade areas will act as an impetus rather than

an obstacle to world trade. As progress is made in trade

agreements and treaties, it is imperative to recognize the

asymmetries between nations and to avoid conditioning

trade on such matters as labour and environmental issues,

which, although legitimate aspects of trade, can be used

artificially to conceal new forms of protectionism. These

actions comprise the major tasks on our economic agenda

for the end of this century.

In the sphere of social justice - an element essential

to peace - there is in the world a long-standing social debt

still to be paid. If we fail to pay it, it will be utopian to

think of progress in democracy or any widespread and

enduring peace and security. To settle that debt, the

United Nations must grant clear priority to development

and cooperation within a framework of multilateral action,

rather than giving priority to actions backed by arms to

maintain security. We have before us the opportunity to

reorder our priorities as we deal at this forty-ninth session

of the General Assembly with the topic of a new Agenda

for Development, and thereby to move toward lasting

peace based on comprehensive, balanced worldwide de-

velopment.

Fully achieving development also presupposes the

sustainable use of natural resources and the maintenance

of the fragile balance of ecosystems that are frequently

overexploited, resulting in the impoverishment of those

living under such systems. Here, the Agenda drawn up

by the United Nations at the historic summit in Rio de

Janeiro continues to be more an aspiration than a reality.

It is imperative to move on from words to deeds. In next

year’s summit on social development, there will be a new

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opportunity to respond to this link between environment

and development, which is essentially one of justice.

In brief, we need a major cultural change based on a

simple truth: political pluralism within countries and

among nations is not a hypothesis; it is a reality that defines

and characterizes all human groups. Consequently, Mexico

stresses its opposition to illusory assumptions that

sovereignty is a vanishing concept. The globalization of

the economy, an undeniable fact in our times, must be

reconciled with the existence of diverse and sovereign

nations whose status and will to exist cannot be denied,

much less violated, without seriously jeopardizing peace.

Only on the basis of recognizing and respecting

pluralism will we be able to implant new and better world

mechanisms for coordinating economic matters to achieve

a better distribution of capital, technology and joint forms

of production. Only on the basis of respect for the

sovereignty of each nation and the right of all peoples to

self-determination will we be able to build a broader and

more enduring political consensus. Only on the basis of

this awareness and of renewed solidarity will we be able to

sustain action aimed at achieving effective justice in social

matters.

With this approach to the future, we will be able to

address existing imbalances by taking shared responsibility

for just and civilized coexistence. In brief, it is a question

of adopting and recognizing pluralism as an expression of

freedom, and justice as an essential prerequisite for security

in the coexistence of nations.

In Mexico, this approach is called social liberalism.

It has served as a guide for the changes that we have

undertaken to respond appropriately to the challenges of our

times. A product of our history and of our shared universal

aspiration to justice, social liberalism has led us to

undertake far-reaching democratic reform, changes in our

economic structures, a frontal attack on poverty, and a new

linkage between Mexico and the world. We are forging a

reformed State that depends not on its size but on its

effectiveness in achieving, with freedom, conditions of

greater justice.

In 1990 I spoke to this Assembly about the objectives

of Mexican change. Today we have results that strengthen

our hopes and give us a better understanding of world

challenges. From social liberalism comes the difficult but

gratifying task of building new forms of political consensus

to make progress in democracy; from it come the enormous

efforts made to correct our macroeconomic imbalances and

improve the competitiveness of our country; from it too

stems the consolidation of our Programme of Solidarity

to benefit those who have least; from it come our efforts

to make environmental protection a component of

development; and from it come our economic

diversification abroad, our entry into organizations such

as the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation Council, the

establishment of the North American Free Trade

Agreement and similar agreements within Latin America,

and our membership of the Organization for Economic

Cooperation and Development, in which new forms of

international agreement and cooperation are being

developed.

Recently, Mexico’s federal elections proved to be an

enriching democratic experience. More than 36 million

citizens participated in the elections, which is to say,

more than 77 per cent of registered voters. They were

the elections most closely monitored by political parties,

national observers and international visitors in our history.

The Mexican people opted for legality and peace. Here,

I wish to express my gratitude for the technical support

provided by the Secretariat of the United Nations, at the

request of the Mexican Government, in training and

advising groups of Mexican election observers.

Today it is no longer possible to pursue peace,

security and development as isolated goals, whether in the

international order or at the national level. The new

world balance calls for new mentalities and new

priorities: a reordering of international realities in

accordance with rules agreed upon on the basis of respect

for the sovereignty of each nation and recognition of the

pluralities of peoples. The new vision turns differences

into opportunities, opposing views into dialogue and

cooperation and demands for justice into a commitment

of solidarity among peoples.

Our times call for making development a priority for

world peace and security by encouraging global policies

of financial coordination and free trade with clear and

equitable rules; by recognizing nature as an ally in the

development of each nation, and the equally shared

responsibility of all nations in maintaining global

balances; and by deploying information networks to

effectively combat drug-trafficking and terrorism, which

constitute attacks on the security of all. Fundamentally,

our times call for the uniting of all our efforts, in

democracy and freedom, to reduce poverty in the world.

Otherwise there can be no possibility of peace and no

lasting security.

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These new imperatives express not only enormous

needs but also the aspiration for the equality of nations in

the building of a future that will hold promise only if it

belongs to all of us. That is the meaning of "international

community" as embodied in the Charter of San Francisco:

a future that no one has the right to deny to future

generations.

Today, as then, peace can be preserved only through

the observance of law; today, more than in the past,

security requires the greatest development of every nation,

every country, so that together we can make a reality of the

hope for a common future. The United Nations - our

Organization - continues to be the forum par excellence for

the achievement of those noble goals.