Peru, 2012

At the outset, on behalf of President Ollanta

Humala Tasso and the Government and people of Peru,

I wish to congratulate the President of the General

Assembly on his election to lead this session, during

which we are very honoured to support him as one of

the Vice-Presidents. I would also like to congratulate

him on his initiative to make the pacific settlement of

disputes the central topic of our debate. The pacific

settlement of disputes is the fundamental way to

eradicate the scourge of war, which, in turn, is the

main objective of the Organization and its Charter. The

commitment not to resort to the threat or use of force

is the cornerstone of international peace and security.

Peru reaffi rms its ongoing and resolute commitment

to the principles that inspired the birth of the United Nations: multilateralism, the pursuit of international

peace and security, solidarity and cooperation. In

that context, Peru solemnly affirms its continuing

commitment to the pacific settlement of disputes.

In that task, the International Court of Justice, as

the main judicial organ of the United Nations system,

plays a fundamental and, fortunately, increasing role,

in particular in Latin America. Peru reaffirms its full

respect for the work of the Court and calls on States to

turn to it to resolve their differences and to respect and

comply with its decisions, pursuant to Chapter XIV of

the United Nations Charter.

The 123 disputes that had been submitted to the

Court as at December 2011 are proof of the fact that

the international community is actively committed to

the pacific settlement of disputes, to diplomacy and

not to war. Recourse to the Court, far from being an

unfriendly act, is an eloquent testimony to our desire

for peace.

We reiterate our faith in multilateralism and

deplore the existence of situations to which, to date, our

Organization has not been able to find solutions. The

latest and most painful one of these, due to the high toll

it is taking in human lives, is the crisis in Syria. Peru

condemns the use of force and violence in that country,

and calls once again on all parties to the conflict to

immediately cease hostilities and to initiate a genuine

process of dialogue and peacemaking, in the framework

of respect for the independence and sovereignty of that

country and for the fundamental rights and freedoms

of its citizens.

We support the efforts undertaken by the Secretary-

General and the Arab League to find a negotiated and

peaceful solution to the conflict. We would encourage

the mission of the Joint Special Representative, Lakhdar

Brahimi, to continue its efforts.

However, that is not the only outstanding issue. Peru

deems regrettable the fact that in more than 60 years

our Organization has not been able to find a solution

to the legitimate demand of the Palestinian people to

establish an independent State and to live in peace

within secure and internationally recognized borders.

Peru recognizes the Palestinian State, has established

diplomatic relations with it and, based on Peru’s

historical position since 1947 and on international law,

supports its admission as a full Member of the United

Nations, without detriment to Israel’s right to its own

security. Peru also condemns once again the unfair,

illegitimate and illegal economic, financial and

commercial blockade imposed against Cuba, to which

the Organization has been unable to put an end despite

the countless condemnations from the Assembly.

We also regret that it has not yet been possible

to find a solution to the nearly 200-year-old dispute

between Argentina and the United Kingdom regarding

the Malvinas Islands. We call upon the parties once

again to initiate a dialogue leading to a negotiated

solution.

To overcome these and other shortcomings and

deficiencies of the current international order, it is

urgent to adopt measures within our own Organization,

the most urgent one probably being a reform of the

Security Council aimed at making it a more efficient,

transparent, democratic and representative forum. The

United Nations must reflect the realities of the twenty-

first century and update the current architecture, which

remains best suited to the post-war world of 1945. The

current scenario requires that developing countries take

greater responsibility for preserving peace and security.

We deplore the limited progress made in negotiations on

this issue. We consider that the time is ripe to relaunch

the reform process, and we call upon Member States

to spare no effort in bringing this process to a speedy

conclusion.

As a concrete sign of Peru’s contribution to

strengthening the rule of law, it was my pleasure to

deposit yesterday the instruments of ratification of

the Convention for the Protection of All Persons from

Enforced Disappearance and the Convention on Cluster

Munitions, as well as the amendments to the Montreal

Protocol regarding ozone-depleting substances. We call

on all countries to accede to these instruments, which

are aimed at protecting the environment, ensuring

respect for human rights and fighting against all

forms of impunity. It is a moral duty to ensure that the

perpetrators of serious crimes against humanity are

duly tried and punished.

The rule of law also requires more inclusive

societies. Civil, political and social citizenship must

encompass everyone equally. Accordingly, Peru has

incorporated into its national legislation the provisions

of Convention 169 of the International Labour

Organization. Since Peru is the first country to adopt

these measures, its indigenous peoples will be able to

fully exercise their rights and ensure that all investors have obtained the requisite social licence, within the

framework of State powers.

In spite of all of those efforts, new and diverse

threats to the rule of law have emerged. Transnational

organized crime, funded mainly by drug trafficking,

today constitutes the main threat to democratic societies.

The magnitude of this problem requires, more than ever

before, combined efforts with an integrated vision of

shared responsibility at the global level.

It is for that reason that this past June Peru hosted

the International Conference of Ministers of Foreign

Affairs and Heads of Specialized National Agencies

against the World Drug Problem, in an attempt to resume

a political dialogue that had been interrupted for nearly

20 years. That valuable opportunity proved to us that

amid our diversity there are many more convergences

than discrepancies, and that the will exists to intensify

cooperation in this area.

We are confident that this first step will be further

complemented by new initiatives that will guarantee

greater exchange of information, a better allocation

of resources, and better results in reducing the supply

and demand of narcotic drugs as well as in the field of

alternative development, a topic that will be addressed

next November at an international conference to be

hosted by Peru.

That Peruvian initiative on the fight against

drugs is not the only ref lection of our commitment

to multilateralism and integration. Since June, Peru

has held the presidency pro tempore of the Union of

South American Nations (UNASUR). We want to see

democracy consolidated throughout South America.

Many lives have been lost during the long journey

towards consolidating democracy in our region. For that

reason, we will not be deterred by any circumstance

that may threaten that undertaking.

In our capacity as President Pro Tempore of

UNASUR, we reiterate that democracy will remain an

essential requirement for integration and cooperation

in South America. We also hope that South America

will become a zone of peace, without exclusions. It

is already a nuclear-weapon-free zone, and we will

work tirelessly so that it can soon be a zone free of

anti-personnel mines. The money currently spent on

arms must be redirected towards development and

overcoming poverty and inequality.

Peru is peace-loving country and a staunch defender

of disarmament. At the international level, we are party to the main disarmament and non-proliferation

treaties. Furthermore, Peru hosts the headquarters

of the Regional Centre for Peace, Disarmament and

Development in Latin America and the Caribbean.

We promote confidence-building measures with

neighbouring countries, especially measures aimed at

conventional disarmament to favour the development

of our peoples. In that context, we cannot but welcome

with enthusiasm and high expectations the efforts made

by the Government of President Santos Calderón of

Colombia to open the path of dialogue in order to end

long years of violence, as justly claimed by the people

of Colombia. Peru expresses its best wishes for the

success of that initiative.

From the South American perspective, we also

aspire to build bridges with all the regions of the world.

In such a spirit, Peru will in a few days welcome heads

of State and Government of South American and Arab

countries to the third Summit of South American and

Arab Countries. The Summit has become an important

instrument in bringing the two regions closer together

and, through it, its member countries have opened a

channel for dialogue and political understanding at

the highest level. That will afford us the opportunity

to develop common interests in areas such as trade,

investment and culture, all for the benefit of our peoples.

Thanks to appropriate macroeconomic policies,

Peru has continued to grow, reaching a growth rate in

2011 of 6.92 per cent and a 5.7 per cent average rate

over the past 10 years. Despite those good results, wide

sectors of the population do not fully participate in the

benefits of economic growth. Hence, it is time to ensure

growth with social inclusion, as President Ollanta

Humala Tasso has pointed out since the beginning of

his Administration. The new vision that Peru promotes

is oriented towards further economic growth and

democratic stability as it expands and maximizes

social well-being and harmonizes productive activities

with environmental preservation. In Peru’s view,

starting with the Rio+20 Conference on Sustainable

Development, the establishment of the post-2015

development agenda must achieve a convergence of the

processes of the Millennium Development Goals with

the processes of the sustainable development goals.

Peru’s commitment to the United Nations is

long-standing and deep. Allow me to conclude by

honouring here to three prominent Peruvian diplomats

who have held the highest responsibilities within the

Organization — Ambassador Javier Pérez de Cuellar, Secretary-General from 1982 to 1991; Ambassador

Victor Andrés Belaúnde, President of the General

Assembly at its fourteenth session, from 1959 to 1960;

and Ambassador José Luis Bustamante y Rivero,

President of the International Court of Justice from

1967 to 1969. The recognition and responsibilities

that those individuals received from the international

community show that Peru has always been committed

to peace and to the observance of international law. I

am pleased to see the Permanent Representative of Peru

presiding over the debate this evening.

As a co-founder of some of the main regional

forums, such as the Andean Community, the Union

of South American Nations and the Community of

Latin American and Caribbean States, Peru has always

been a standard-bearer for integration and for positive,

respectful relations with all countries of the world

and, in particular, with the countries of our region and

neighbouring countries. As a basis of that policy, Peru

has always trusted — and will continue to place its

trust — in the strength and primacy of international

law and in the peaceful settlement of disputes. It is

with that conviction that the Government of President

Ollanta Humala Tasso reiterates its staunch adherence

to the purposes and principles of the United Nations.