Nicaragua, 2006

Allow me to begin by congratulating the

192nd Member State, Montenegro, upon its accession

to membership of the United Nations.

On 5 November, elections will be held in

Nicaragua to elect its new Government. This session is

therefore occurring at an appropriate moment for

taking stock, before our own people and before the

peoples of the United Nations, of the Nicaragua that

could be achieved if the work carried out during the

five-year term of the current President Enrique Bolaños

Geyer is continued.

It has been our lot to fight tirelessly for a value

which was recently consolidated in its universal

dimension: the defence of democracy, which includes

as essential components the rule of law, the balance of

powers, the strengthening of State institutions and

combating corruption.

Nicaragua has not travelled this difficult road

alone. A new collective spirit has been present which

has assisted its efforts, making it possible to overcome

and punish corruption. Thanks to this same collective

solidarity it was also possible to counter the partisan

division of the State and the still-latent attempts to

break with the cardinal rule of separation and

independence of the public authorities. I must mention

here that whenever anti-democratic forces sought to

break with the constitutional order, they encountered

the joint response of the people of Nicaragua, the

private business sector, organized civil society and the

international community.

Our first words of thanks go to all those

Governments and organizations that, through their

support, helped to protect in Nicaragua the principles

of freedom and democracy that have today emerged as

the new basic values of a renewed international society.

We thank our brother countries of the region and

the Secretary-General of the Central American

Integration System, the Secretary-General of the

Organization of American States (OAS) and his Special

Envoy in Nicaragua, the Member States of OAS, the

Rio Group, the Andean Community of Nations, the

Ibero-American Summit, the Caribbean Community

and Common Market, Japan, the United States of

America and the European Union.

But the time devoted to defending democracy has

not prevented us from working to achieve the goals of

development, law and order, security and stability.

Between 2002 and 2005, a period of barely four

years, tax revenues increased more than three-fold,

which clearly demonstrates the confidence of our

citizens in their Government and also reflects the

transparency of our public administration. This

increase is continuing at the same pace in 2006. At

their annual meeting concluded the day before

yesterday, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and

the World Bank stated that tax earnings in Nicaragua

43 06-53323

had been strong, with an increase in revenues that bore

witness to the success of the fiscal policy and reforms

implemented by the Government.

On the economic front, we have achieved radical

change: there is an economic upturn, and we are

regaining the confidence of the international

community.

Through transparency and good governance, the

completion point of the Heavily Indebted Poor

Countries (HIPC) Debt Initiative was reached. A year

ago, we were selected to receive the support of the

Group of Eight, as well as forgiveness of the

multilateral debt owed to the IMF, the World Bank and,

very shortly, the Inter-American Development Bank,

amounting to a reduction of approximately $800

million in our foreign debt. These two initiatives mean

that over 85 per cent of our foreign debt has been

forgiven. Nicaragua can now concentrate on reducing

its domestic debt, which resulted from the fraudulent

collapse of banks that occurred five and a half years

ago.

It was President Bolaños Geyer who, in

December 2001, spoke of the need for a trade

agreement, what turned into the Central American Free

Trade Agreement, between the countries of Central

America, the Dominican Republic and the United

States. This Agreement came into force in March 2006,

opening up a new era of opportunity for our region. As

a result of this treaty, the volume of exports from

Nicaragua to the United States has increased by 20 per

cent during the eight months it has been in existence.

We have achieved three consecutive years of

economic growth on the basis of private investment.

Since President Bolaños took office, direct foreign

investment has led to the opening of a new company

every month in the tax-free zones, and total exports

have increased by 100 per cent in less than five years.

We have succeeded in turning tourism into a new

engine of the economy on account of the revenues it

generates, and for the first time it has become the

greatest source of foreign currency earnings in our

trade balance. Nicaragua is ranked third among the 10

must-visit destinations, according to the prestigious

Lonely Planet travel guide. Similarly, Nicaragua has

been classified by the World Tourism Organization as

one of the best emerging markets at the world level and

the best kept secret for retirees and for real estate

development. We are considered to be the country that

has made the greatest progress on the economic

freedom front. For its part, the World Bank report,

“Doing Business”, places Nicaragua in 67th place

worldwide and states that it has the best business

climate in Central America and one of the best in the

hemisphere. We are one of the safest countries in the

hemisphere. Our murder rate is less than half the world

average.

I am proud to say that we are now experiencing a

new political, economic and social reality. Keeping his

campaign promise, President Bolaños has virtually

doubled the salary of primary and secondary school

teachers and has doubled in absolute terms the budget

allocated to post-secondary education.

In the area of health, the infant mortality rate fell

from 35 per 1,000 live births in 2001 to 31 in 2006.

The mortality rate for children under the age of 5 fell

from 45 in 2001 to 40 in 2006, and the maternal

mortality rate fell from 96.6 per 100,000 in 2003 to 83

in 2006. Immunization coverage increased between

2004 and 2006 by over 10 per cent.

We are developing a State policy for our

emigrants, with a view to guaranteeing that they have

full enjoyment of their political, social and civil rights,

providing them with legal advice and with the

protection to which the Constitution entitles them. We

are doing all we can to defend their rights in any

country where they may be found. That is the least we

can do to repay the sacrifice they make in sending back

remittances to improve the economic situation of their

families. These remittances are equivalent to almost

50 per cent of our goods exports.

The Assembly will recall that President Reagan,

when addressing the Soviet Premier on the subject of

the Berlin Wall, said: “Tear down that wall”. The

President of the Dominican Republic, Mr. Leonel

Fernández Reyna, once observed that in a globalized

world where there is free movement of capital, goods

and services, it is the human beings who do not enjoy

freedom of movement of labour.

Thanks to the special law on migratory incentives

for Nicaraguans living abroad, nationals who have

lived for at least five years outside the country can

come home with their household effects, their car and

their work tools.

The results we have achieved in protecting our

nationals abroad are substantial and have been

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recognized by the international community. At the

beginning of this month, the United States Under

Secretary for Democracy and Global Affairs brought to

the attention of the international community the efforts

made by Nicaragua through its diplomatic

establishment to protect, assist and repatriate

Nicaraguans who are the victims of human trafficking.

We have built the material, human and technological

infrastructure that will gradually generate a new

political culture strengthened by the values of

democracy.

Nicaragua does not see its future as being

separate from that of Central America. This is why we

are endeavouring to form a customs union and to

further the integration process in all directions and at

all levels, because this is the best way for a region

which deserves prosperity and development to move

forward.

Very soon, we shall start talks on an association

agreement between the European Union and Central

America, which will include a free trade agreement. It

is an initiative that embodies the vision of two regions

which, from different continents, view the future with

similar values and institutions and common aspirations.

The Nicaraguan proposal to limit arms at the

regional level has made substantial progress in matters

relating to the submission of inventories of weapons,

armed forces and public security personnel and in the

generation of confidence-building measures.

According to the International Institute for

Strategic Studies, per capita expenditure by Nicaragua

on defence is $5.2 per year. In the list of 132 countries

studied, Nicaragua is third among the countries which

spent least on defence.

Nicaragua was the first independent country in

the history of the United Nations to benefit from the

presence of electoral observers. This time, too,

Nicaragua will comply with the sacred duty of holding

free and transparent elections which reflect the

sovereign will of the people. On 5 November, the

Nicaraguan people will have to decide between the

caudillismo of the past and a future devoted to

development, between corruption and transparency. We

are sure that the international community will help us

through this process by extending to us unwavering

support at this critical moment of reaffirmation of

democracy by a nation which has defended its right to

freedom with its life.

The fate of our individual States is closely linked

with that of our international system. The current world

situation is testing the response capacity of our

international system as a whole.

The problems faced by mankind are increasingly

complex and tragic and call for our involvement to

ensure that they are promptly and effectively dealt

with. The recent crisis in the Middle East, the

situations in Iraq and Afghanistan, the tensions in Iran,

the problems arising in the Democratic People’s

Republic of Korea, the social and political conflicts

being experienced in Haiti, the situation in Darfur and

the threats of international terrorism demonstrate that

neither the appeals of Secretary-General Kofi Annan

nor the proposals to reform the United Nations system

can be put off.

The United Nations must be reformed to provide

a ready, efficient and effective response to the immense

threats to world peace that also extend to the

environment and health. Nicaragua maintains the

position that these reforms should be comprehensive in

nature since that is the only way of overcoming

bureaucratic problems that stand in the way of prompt

implementation of the resolutions of the General

Assembly.

The reform process should cover the Secretariat,

the General Assembly and the Economic and Social

Council, as well as the Security Council. The

membership of the Security Council should better

reflect current geopolitical realities, allowing for a

more equitable and democratic representation of

developing countries in both permanent and non-

permanent categories. This expansion should serve to

enhance multilateralism, strengthening the capacity to

respond to world threats and challenges with a Council

that has more authority, representativity and

effectiveness.

In 2003, the Government of Nicaragua arranged

the nomination and recognition of the Río San Juan —

Nicaragua Biosphere Reserve in the Programme on

Man and the Biosphere of the United Nations

Education, Scientific and Cultural Organization

(UNESCO) — recognition which was approved on

15 September of that year, when it became part of the

World Network of Biosphere Reserves. This reserve

was added to the Bosawas Biosphere Reserve, which,

at 2 million hectares, covers 14 per cent of our national

territory and is the largest continuous forested area in

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Central America. In early 2006, President Bolaños

established a preserve for 10 years, banning the export

of six forest species in danger of extinction.

Nicaragua also restates from this podium its

support for the cause of the Republic of China in

Taiwan, which should achieve the legitimate

representation of its 23 million inhabitants. It also calls

for renewed and proactive efforts by the United

Nations to maintain peace in East Asia.

We launch a humanitarian appeal for the freeing

of the kidnapped persons in the Far and Middle East,

and worldwide. The States Members of the United

Nations have a duty, both individually and collectively,

to protect the world population against any action that

seeks to harm the life or dignity of any human being,

from the time of conception to the time of death, or to

undermine his or her aspiration to live in a democratic

environment and to take advantage of opportunities for

development. We should devote our best efforts to

giving effect to this mandate.