Mexico, 2002

Mexico wishes to welcome two new Member States.

Their presence buttresses the universal mission of the

United Nations. Our congratulations to the Democratic

Republic of Timor-Leste. This represents a further

expression of the right to self-determination and a

reflection of its people's resolve for independence.

Also, we welcome the decision of the people of the

Swiss Confederation to become a full Member of the

United Nations.

The international community is facing a defining

moment. A year after the attack on the United States, in

which men and women from more than 80 different

countries perished, we have the responsibility to decide

together the direction the international system should

take in the coming years.

Mexico is aware of the magnitude of the

challenges that the Organization faces today: the

urgency of returning a human focus to globalization, of

fighting the poverty that divides the world, of making

possible development that respects the environment, of

finding formulas for resolving the many conflicts and

wars that now affect millions of people, of effectively

fighting international terrorism and of guaranteeing

respect for the rights and fundamental freedoms of

every human being.

Responding to those challenges in a responsible

and visionary way is more important today than ever

before. At the present time, anger or the inevitable

difficulties of consensus-building may cloud judgement

or give rise to pressure to act precipitously or

unilaterally. Mexico is convinced that, at this time, the

only legitimate path of action is that based on a

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multilateral approach that favours agreement and

collective action, for the benefit of the international

community as a whole as well as of each our nations

individually. Therefore, Mexico reaffirms its

commitment to the system of international security that

gives the Security Council the responsibility of

maintaining world peace. In fulfilling that mandate, the

Council must base its actions on the principles

articulated in the Charter of the United Nations, such as

the peaceful settlement of disputes, which has been a

fundamental aspiration of the community of nations

since the middle of the last century and is one of my

country's most cherished ideals.

Mexico maintains that the Security Council is the

proper body to adopt the measures necessary to achieve

a lasting solution to the question of Iraq. Therefore, we

value the statement made yesterday by President

George Bush, which included a recognition of the

importance that debate and collective decision-making

will have in the coming days and weeks in determining

the path to be taken concerning Iraq. However, we

cannot fail to recognize that the scope of action open to

us will also involve complex challenges for Council

members and for the entire international community.

We unequivocally condemn as have most other

nations Iraq's continued non-compliance with

Council resolutions concerning disarmament and the

renunciation of weapons of mass destruction, and we

reaffirm the importance of that nation's immediate

compliance without preconditions with Council

resolutions concerning the return of United Nations

inspectors. Nevertheless, we must recognize that non-

compliance with United Nations resolutions has

occurred at other junctures, at other times and in other

places.

Today, we believe it is indispensable that the

Security Council have the necessary time and support

to seek the return of the inspectors, and we therefore

support President Jacques Chirac's recent proposal to

set a specific time frame for meeting that objective.

Moreover, as a responsible and committed Council

member, Mexico believes that any decision arising

from possible Iraqi non-compliance with the relevant

resolutions should be taken based on two indispensable

conditions. First, there must be a clearer evaluation of

Iraq's true weapons capacity including both

technology and delivery systems and of its intention

to use them or the capacity of terrorist groups to gain

access to them. It could be based on reports issued by

United Nations inspection mechanisms, with additional

information from individual countries. Secondly, there

must be agreement among Council member, as well as

other countries directly involved, on the steps that must

be taken in the light of the corroboration of those facts

or in the event of Iraq's refusal to permit the return of

inspectors to its territory.

Mexico believes that unilateral military action,

taken without prior consultation with the Security

Council, would undermine the foundations of the new

architecture of international security and could affect

the consensus in favour of the battle against

international terrorism that followed the attacks

perpetrated a year ago against the United States.

Mexico comes before the Assembly with the

determination to assume an active role in building a

new world order. Its willingness for dialogue with

other nations is a reflection of the democratic change

that has occurred in my country, which has also given

Mexico new confidence in its ability to contribute to

attaining the objectives of the international community.

The determination to play a more active role in the

world has led us to incorporate issues and perspectives

with global dimensions and impact as key elements of

our national interests. Fostering world economic

development, promoting and defending human rights

and strengthening democracy and sustainable

development are examples of our commitment, which

transcends borders and sovereignties. The efforts that

we undertake to make global ideals reality will also

enable us to promote more vigorously our national

values.

Mexico's redoubled international activity has

been reflected over the past months in a series of

actions that mark a milestone in the history of our

foreign relations. One of our projects with greatest

strategic vision is the Puebla-Panama Plan, whose

objective is to coordinate the efforts of the public,

social and private sectors of Mexico and of the Central

American countries in implementing joint development

and investment projects.

With the same determination, we are promoting a

sense of community in North America in order to

articulate shared values towards a common vision of

regional development that is coherent, wide-ranging

and long-term. In that context, we believe that the

gradual negotiation of an immigration agreement to

bring order and legality to the movement of labour in

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the region is an urgent priority. From Mexico's

standpoint, labour flows between countries must be

viewed as an opportunity to redirect the globalization

process and to reduce the gap that separates developed

nations from less-developed societies.

My country has also launched an extensive

campaign of cultural promotion abroad. In that way,

Mexico is seeking to present to the world the wealth,

diversity and vitality of its culture in order to build

bridges with other nations and regions. The

strengthening of cooperation and cultural ties among

our countries must be a priority for us all. That is why

we welcome the return of the United States to the

United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural

Organization.

The international activism displayed by Mexico

for almost two years now has been particularly evident

in more intense work within multilateral forums. In

carrying out that work, we have often been able to

build on the foundations established by previous

Administrations. But there is undoubtedly a new spirit

and a new purpose in the role that multilateral activism

plays in Mexico's international strategy.

Our most important task in the multilateral sphere

lies here within the United Nations. The Government

of Mexico is proud to have received the support of the

community of nations for our country's election as a

non-permanent member of the Security Council. In that

and other forums, we are actively participating in the

building of a new international architecture that will

govern relations among nations in the coming decades.

Mexico's participation in the Asia-Pacific

Economic Cooperation forum in which we have

participated since 1993 is another eloquent example

of our international activism. In October, our country

will host the tenth meeting of the leaders of that

mechanism, where we shall continue to promote

actions that foster greater prosperity for the peoples of

the Asia-Pacific region.

Mexico has also vigorously promoted the

relaunching of international economic negotiations.

The International Conference on Financing for

Development, held in March at Monterrey, promoted a

broad and inclusive alliance among States and

international organizations that should make possible a

higher level of financing for development, with a clear

balance between national responsibilities and

international cooperation. Today, the Monterrey

Consensus is the basis for redirecting globalization

towards growth and anti-poverty objectives, and it is

the ideal tool for placing development priorities at the

centre of the international agenda.

From Mexico's standpoint, the Monterrey

Conference forms part of a coherent series of

international summits devoted to promoting the agenda

of world development. That process began last year in

Doha with the Fourth Ministerial Meeting of the World

Trade Organization (WTO); it grew in strength by

incorporating the environmental dimension of

sustainable development in Johannesburg, and it will

continue with the holding of the Fifth Ministerial

Meeting of the WTO in Canc˙n, Mexico, next year.

The close interrelationship among all the issues related

to development was also apparent at the recent

Johannesburg Summit, where the positions that

President Vicente Fox put forward on behalf of Mexico

were widely supported and recognized.

Mindful of the new threats to international

security, the Mexican Government has also called for

the security arrangements of the Americas to be

updated. We have offered to host a special conference

on security to be convened at the third Summit of the

Americas, to take place in Mexico in May 2003.

Notwithstanding the importance of all these

actions, Mexico's new role at the international level is

particularly evident in our promotion of human rights

and democracy. My country has stated its conviction

that human rights represent absolute and universal

values and that, as such, the obligation to uphold them

is a duty shared by all Governments and peoples,

irrespective of borders and sovereignties. Moreover, we

have been consistent in these convictions. That is why,

despite the mixed reaction that it has generated in

Mexico, given the strong bonds of friendship that

Mexican society has always enjoyed with several

nations close to us, we have been compelled to express

our concern about the human rights situation in those

countries. One of the most far-reaching steps we have

taken to demonstrate our commitment to the cause of

human rights is the harmonization of Mexican

legislation with international instruments that protect

such rights. We have placed particular emphasis on the

protection of such vulnerable groups as women,

children, indigenous peoples and the disabled.

At the same time, we have abandoned the

defensive attitude that prevented us from entering into

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dialogue with other nations and multilateral

organizations dedicated to the protection of human

rights. Upon the invitation of the Mexican

Government, many representatives of international

human rights organizations have visited our country. In

the same spirit of openness, the Mexican Government

signed a framework agreement with the Office of the

United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights.

In the context of efforts of the Mexican

Government to strengthen the rule of law, the Mexican

Senate is currently considering a draft constitutional

amendment that would allow our country to ratify the

Rome Statute creating the International Criminal Court.

This amendment would involve recognition of the

jurisdiction of international courts created by treaties to

which Mexico is party and ensure compliance with

their resolutions and rulings. The amendment

represents a decisive step towards incorporating and

ensuring the effectiveness of the standards of

international law at the domestic level. Mexico

welcomes the recent entry into force of the

International Criminal Court, which reflects the resolve

of the community of nations to create an international

system based on universal standards.

We believe, however, that the signing of

agreements by those seeking to prevent a given

category of persons from being subject to the

jurisdiction of the International Criminal Court

represents a grave step backwards for international law.

It threatens the universal scope of the provisions of the

Rome Statute, distorts the spirit that led to its creation

and undermines the efforts of the community of States

to eliminate impunity in the cases of extremely serious

crimes. We appeal to the members of the international

community to assist in strengthening the authority of

the International Criminal Court, which it has spent so

much time and effort to build.

The defence of human rights necessarily involves

the promotion of democratic freedoms. Today, we are

seeing increasingly widespread recognition of the fact

that representative democracy, with its institutional

framework of parties, groups and civil society

organizations, as well as the legal framework

safeguarding the civil freedoms of association and

speech, constitutes the best way of reconciling the

legitimate exercise of authority with respect to those

freedoms that are essential to human beings. Mexico's

active part in drafting the Inter-American Democratic

Charter, which was signed by the nations of the

American continent in September 2001, is another

example of my country's commitment to democratic

principles. At the same, we are successfully promoting

democratic values in other regions, as demonstrated by

our work within the Community of Democracies,

whose second conference is scheduled to be held in

November.

The adherence of the Mexican Government and

Mexican society to human rights and democracy has

two mutually complementary aspects. On the one hand,

it means strengthening democratic practices and

institutions and human rights throughout the country, to

which end we are restoring the effectiveness of the rule

of law; on the other, it compels us to engage in more

vigorous activism in international forums so that we

may encourage full respect for human rights and

democracy throughout the world. This will enable us

more firmly to consolidate human rights and

democracy in Mexico, so that the democratic change

that we have experienced can become irreversible.

I am here today to state that my country has

returned with renewed energy to the international

scene. The Mexican Government has moved from

defensive aloofness to constructive dialogue, and from

limited international legitimacy to the exercise of

diplomacy based on democratic principles and

unqualified respect for human rights. The kind of world

we wish to create and the steps we are willing to

take or to refrain from taking in order to achieve

it are questions that we cannot evade at this critical

moment of international redefinition. Mexico reaffirms

its conviction that action based on principles and

agreements must take precedence over the temptations

of unilateralism and that universal standards must

prevail over short-term interests. Mexico's

international activism, in particular its commitment to

human rights and democracy, reflects the belief of the

Mexican nation in the essential equality of all human

beings and in the duties that it entails for all our

peoples and Governments.