Nicaragua, 2005

The struggle for democracy being waged by

Nicaragua has transcended our borders, arousing

feelings of solidarity and support in different parts of

the world. The Nicaraguan people raised their voice

and they were heard by Central America. From there,

with the added strength of the seven fraternal countries

that joined it, that voice resounded throughout the

Andean Community, Mexico, the United States of

America, Canada, the Rio Group, the Organization of

American States (OAS), the European Union and

Japan, to mention only the most recent cases. Indeed,

the echo of that voice has reverberated at the United

Nations in various reports and resolutions.

From this rostrum in the General Assembly Hall,

I would like to convey to Member States the deep

gratitude of the Nicaraguan people for the solidarity

they have shown to us.

We come to the sixtieth session of the General

Assembly at a turning point for our future, for we are

in the throes of a struggle for democracy, a struggle to

keep us from returning to our dark days and make them

a thing of the past. Like the peoples of other United

Nations Members who have fought for their freedom,

thousands of Nicaraguans have died for it, victims of a

perverse pendulum that swung from authoritarianism to

totalitarianism. The lessons learned in those years left

us a legacy that acknowledges the supreme value of

freedom, democracy and, above all, peace.

Over the past four years, we have been striving

for national revitalization and institutional overhaul

based on transparency, freedom, the rule of law, social

equality and individual initiative.

To carry out that Herculean task, we needed to

overcome the errors of the past. That is why, with

support from the rest of our continent, we have

engaged in a frontal attack on corruption and impunity.

We have also attempted to restore independence and

integrity to our institutions, held hostage by private and

partisan interests. Those efforts include the legal

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sphere, where the absolute impartiality and objectivity

of judges and magistrates, as well as an inclusive

electoral system capable of ensuring respect for a

popular vote cast in freedom, are imperative. It also

requires that institutions act in the service of the higher

interests of the nation and do not become weapons in

political vendettas, used in campaigns to intimidate

public officials in the executive branch.

The forces conniving to oppose democracy

responded by escalating the breakdown in the

constitutional order and the legitimate exercise of

power. They then attempted to upset the balance of

power, an essential principal of representative

democracy in the inter-American system. The

opposition attempted to execute a new type of coup

d’état, corrupting State institutions by using them as

instruments of political coercion. Instead of accepting

the separation of powers, they appropriated the

distribution of power, attempting to modify the powers

of the President retroactively without consulting the

Nicaraguan people. Only the Nicaraguan people can

confer national sovereignty and presidential power, as

they did at the polls in November 2001.

In the light of those threats to democracy, we

have harnessed all our available resources under

national legislation and international law. The Central

American Court of Justice, the judicial arm of the

Central American Integration System and rooted in

democratic values, handed down a far-reaching

decision on 29 March 2005 recognizing the separation

of powers as a democratic principle. Under the Inter-

American Democratic Charter, we also turned to the

Organization of American States, which affirmed that

the disturbing turn of events in Nicaragua was

compromising the balance of power and the

Government’s legitimate exercise of power.

To overcome that situation, President Enrique

Bolaños has expressed his continuing willingness to

launch a broad national dialogue with all sectors. This

does not mean, however — as the forces attempting to

destroy our institutions have claimed — a dialogue

aimed at surrendering democracy. Nor should it be a

dialogue in which a gun is held to the President’s head

to force him to make concessions that would lead to a

new type of dictatorship in Nicaragua — one never

before seen in the history of Latin America — one that

would bring back the trials and tribulations of earlier

years and put an end to freedom and dash the

democratic hopes of the Nicaraguan people and all

nations. On the contrary, as the Organization of

American States itself has said in its resolutions, it is a

dialogue aimed at seeking democratic solutions, free

from pressure, threats and coercion, and aimed at the

cessation of any actions that could exacerbate the crisis

and prevent the restoration of the balance of power.

We deplore the murder of journalists in any part

of the world. In particular, we are concerned by the

murders of three Nicaraguan journalists that took place

over the past three years. We are concerned not only

because the criminals cut short precious human lives,

but also because the murders came at the height of the

electoral campaign and constituted an attempt to

terrorize our journalists and suppress freedom of

expression in our young democracy. By attacking

freedom of expression, they are harming the

democratic processes. Those forces are well aware that

freedom of expression is the voice of democracy.

Freedom of expression protects all the other

fundamental rights; without it, freedom loses its

sustenance and democracy is orphaned.

We will continue doing our utmost to punish the

guilty and break up all networks of terror and

intimidation.

We are aware of the importance of the upcoming

electoral processes for democracy in Nicaragua. Under

the present circumstances, we must guarantee the

Nicaraguan people that every vote will be duly

registered, counted and respected, and that their sacred

right to elect their authorities in conditions of absolute

freedom will not be violated. As a result, we have

asked the Secretary-General for technical assistance

from the United Nations specialized agencies to help

us hold elections and strengthen our democracy,

complementing the work being carried out by the

Organization of American States with assistance of the

European Union.

Despite the energy, resources and efforts diverted

from development in order to preserve democracy,

Nicaragua has made major strides towards fulfilling the

Millennium Development Goals. Destabilizing actions

have not stopped the Nicaraguan people from

beginning to enjoy the first fruits of the war against

corruption and to benefit from an honest and

transparent civil service that has succeeded in

attracting foreign investment and winning the

confidence of the international community.

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The latest gauge of President Bolaños’s success

in enabling more and more Nicaraguans to lead a

decent life can be found in the Human Development

Report 2005, which states that we have progressed

from the 118th to the 112th position. The best medium-

term strategy for sustainable poverty reduction is to

gain access to new markets and make international

trade the driving force of growth, combining economic

growth with social development in order to develop our

human capital.

The Government of Nicaragua is promoting

ratification of the Central American Free Trade

Agreement between Central America, the Dominican

Republic and the United States of America, which

seeks to strengthen our economy, integrate us into the

world and raise our population’s standard of living,

particularly that of the poorest sectors.

We welcomed with hope the words of President

Bush in his statement to this Assembly:

“A successful Doha Round will reduce and

eliminate tariffs and other barriers on farm and

industrial goods. It will end unfair agricultural

subsidies ... Under Doha, every nation will gain —

and the developing world stands to gain the

most.” (A/60/PV.2, p. 8)

May that be the case.

I am pleased to announce that in accordance with

the request made by the heads of State and Government

of the Central American Integration System to

President Vicente Fox of Mexico on 12 September, we

are today sending his Government the information that

will make it possible to explore innovative finance

mechanisms to help our countries deal with the crisis

caused by the international price of oil.

Poverty is a multi-dimensional phenomenon

associated with economic and structural problems. The

reduction of unemployment and social inequality and

the expansion of social investment are determining

factors for human development: in other words,

sustainable economic growth within a democratic

framework based on social and gender equality.

The Government of Nicaragua is carrying out

social programmes to protect the rights and satisfy the

basic needs of the most vulnerable sectors of

Nicaraguan society — women, children, young people,

the elderly and persons with disabilities. This

protection extends to Nicaraguans abroad.

We reaffirm our priority commitment to

promoting respect for the dignity of all our migrants,

who, with their work and their efforts, contribute to

socio-economic development, that of their host country

and that of their home country.

A duty of justice and solidarity moves Nicaragua

to raise its voice in support of the just and legitimate

aspiration of the Republic of China on Taiwan to

become a member of the universal forum of the United

Nations. The more than 20 million nationals of that

country deserve to be regarded as an integral part of

the peoples of the United Nations.

Nicaragua is grateful to the Central American

Integration System for endorsing our candidacy for a

non-permanent seat on the Security Council for the

2006-2007 term, reflecting the right of countries with

small economies to be represented on an equal footing.

At a time of reform of the Organization, Nicaragua is

also grateful for the significant support it has received

thus far and affirms its resolve to continue seeking the

support of all Member States.

We hope to be elected and to share our experience

in areas such as peacekeeping and peacebuilding and to

support the just aspiration of developing countries to

participate fully in decisions concerning security, with

all the responsibility, benefits and consequences that

that implies.