Nicaragua, 2001

Before I

proceed, allow me, on behalf of the people and the

Government of Nicaragua, to express our sorrow to the

people and the Government of the Dominican Republic

for yesterday’s event. Allow me also, Mr. President, to

join those who have come before me in congratulating

you on your well-deserved election as President of the

fifty-sixth session of the General Assembly, and to

express my confidence that under your competent

direction this session will conclude its work

successfully. I also wish to express our most profound

appreciation for the praiseworthy work achieved by the

outgoing President, Mr. Harri Holkeri of Finland.

Likewise, I wish to pay tribute to the Secretary-

General, Mr. Kofi Annan, not only for having been re-

elected to a second mandate with the consensus of the

entire international community, but also for the recent,

well-deserved, high distinction of being awarded,

together with the United Nations, the Nobel Peace

Prize.

The people and the Government of Nicaragua

received with great concern the news of the criminal

terrorist attacks against the people and the Government

of the United States on 11 September. Since then, we

have offered our solidarity and cooperation to the

people and the Government of the United States for the

capture and punishment of all those involved in those

abhorrent acts. The magnitude of those terrorist acts

brings new and diverse challenges in the political,

economic and security areas. The enemies of peace and

democracy have attempted to create a widespread

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climate of uncertainty and fear. For this reason, our

first challenge is not to allow ourselves to be

intimidated or paralysed by their criminal threats and

actions.

At the Central American level, on 19 September

in Honduras, the Presidents of the isthmus adopted a

Declaration entitled “Central America united against

terrorism”, in which we strongly condemned any ties

between groups or sectors in the Central American

region and international terrorism. As of that date, we

began to undertake concrete initiatives aimed at

improving information systems between neighbouring

countries; increasing coordination between air and

naval forces to deal with illicit traffic; ensuring better

border monitoring; enabling the exchange of

information between specialized public security

agencies; increasing control over travel documents; and

strengthening security for airports and civil aviation.

Nicaragua is a party to those measures and

provisions that promote and safeguard international

and regional peace and security through the prevention

and peaceful resolution of disputes between States and

the non-proliferation of nuclear and conventional

weapons of mass destruction, which contravene the

principles of international humanitarian law.

Our firm commitment to world peace and security

led my country to host the Third Meeting of the States

Parties to the Ottawa Convention, despite the fact that

that meeting took place soon after the events of 11

September. The Managua Conference allowed the

States parties to renew their commitment and to note

with satisfaction the important progress that has been

made in the crusade to eliminate anti-personnel

landmines. The ratification of the Convention by more

than 120 States; the strengthening of the mechanisms

for its implementation; the progress in mine removal;

the destruction of mines stockpiled in different parts of

the world; and the virtual embargo on the international

trade in these weapons are concrete steps in our effort

to end the suffering brought about by antipersonnel

mines.

I would like to earnestly appeal to the States that

have not yet done so to ratify the Comprehensive

Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty, as well as the Convention for

the Prohibition of Anti-Personnel Mines. Nicaragua

also welcomes with satisfaction the Programme of

Action to prevent, combat and eradicate the illicit trade

in small arms and light weapons in all its aspects,

adopted on 21 July.

Just one year ago, we convened the Millennium

Summit, at which we made commitments designed to

meet the challenges of the twenty-first century and

reaffirmed our faith in the United Nations as the central

instrument for promoting peace, security, prosperity

and justice.

In order to respond effectively to the challenges

that the new millennium imposes on us — challenges

that cannot be ignored — it is crucial that we take

resolute steps to reform the United Nations, ensuring

that its policies and structures are commensurate with

the realities and aspirations of contemporary

international society. Nicaragua shares the interest of

all Member States in strengthening our Organization so

as to optimize its work in the maintenance of

international peace and security, conflict prevention,

the promotion of sustainable development and the

battle against poverty.

In this context, it is crucial to move forward with

reform of the Security Council so that that body can

respond fully and effectively to current needs and to

future challenges to our peoples.

Furthermore, the profound changes experienced

by societies throughout the world since 1945 require

the United Nations urgently to reaffirm its universal

vocation as a fundamental prerequisite for confronting

new challenges through the full and effective

participation of all peoples, without distinction and

excluding no one.

However, this universal vocation cannot be fully

realized as long as a democratic State and signatory of

the San Francisco Charter is unable to participate as a

full-fledged Member within the United Nations system.

As is well known, the Republic of China is a

democratic country, and its freely and transparently

elected Government is the only one that can

legitimately represent the interests and desires of the

people of Taiwan at the United Nations. We should not

continue to deny the 23 million people who live in the

Republic of China the right to be represented in the

United Nations and to share with us the efforts to

promote peace and development for future generations.

Let us recall that the Republic of China has

played a positive role in the promotion of world trade,

the eradication of poverty and the advancement of

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human rights. These laudable efforts at the national and

international levels must be recognized by the United

Nations; the Republic of China should be given the

right to integrate itself into the international order of

the United Nations, having fulfilled the basic

conditions in accordance with international law.

Since the beginning of my mandate in 1997, we

Nicaraguans have taken significant steps in the

important task of consolidating democracy and guiding

our country along the path of development. The

Nicaraguan people have made great sacrifices in laying

the foundations of sustainable human development by

strengthening the rule of law; stabilizing the economy

through the implementation of responsible financial

and fiscal policies; providing for the effective

participation of civil society in national decision-

making; and formulating a long-term strategy in the

battle against poverty and for reducing economic,

social and environmental vulnerability. That process,

however, has not been easy, because of the heavy

burden of our external national debt, international

financial crises, the fall in the price of our main export

products and natural disasters.

The elections held in my country on 4 November

will go down in national history as an example of

transparency, public spirit and profound democratic

conviction. The orderly and transparent way in which

the process unfolded, broad citizen participation, with

fewer than 10 per cent of the population failing to take

part, and the attitude of the people of Nicaragua reflect

of the degree to which my country has progressed in

strengthening its democratic institutions.

We strongly support the convening of the World

Summit on Sustainable Development to take place in

Johannesburg, South Africa, in September 2002, the

task of which will be to determine the current status of

the implementation of the commitments undertaken at

the Earth Summit. As a reflection of that will, we note

our ratification of the Conventions on Climate Change

and Biological Diversity, the efforts carried out by the

National Council for Sustainable Development and

Nicaragua’s participation in major projects for the

preservation of the rich ecosystems of the region, such

as the Meso-American Biological Corridor and the

Atlantic Biological Corridor.

The new problems and challenges that humanity

faces greatly exceed our individual capabilities as

States. For that reason, it is imperative that we renew

our commitment to the goals and principles of the

United Nations, which will allow us to continue to

advance in the building of a world that is more just,

peaceful and secure for future generations.