Peru, 2025

Assembly will hear an address by Her Excellency Dina Achelea Boluwate Chegara, President of the Republic of Peru. I request protocol to escort Her Excellency and invite her to address the Assembly. Madam President of the General Assembly Annalena Baerbock, Secretary General of the United Nations Antonio Guterres, Ladies and Gentlemen, Heads of State, Ladies and Gentlemen present here in this August Forum. Peru is the center and cradle of great millennial civilizations, the last of which was the Inca Empire, which left us a legacy of greatness. We are also heirs of the vice royalty of Peru, which encompassed two-thirds of South America. We are a mestizo nation, a fundamental mix between Hispanic and Andean peoples, proud to be the heirs of the two greatest empires of Europe and America of the 16th century. The Peruvian people today are resilient, entrepreneurial, supportive and lovers of peace, freedom and democracy. Our great writers Mario Vargas Llosa and Jose Maria Aguedas shared the idea that Peru is a country of all bloods. Our identity creatively expresses that we are the unity of the diverse, united under the same red and white Peruvian flag. In our country, native peoples and peoples of the world live together in peace and unity as a great synthesis of Peru, the country in which Pope Leo XIV lived and worked in for 40 years, a naturalized Peruvian because of his deep love for our people, both for his supportive as well as his peaceful disposition and his Catholic and Christian faith. All studies indicate that we are the most entrepreneurial country in the world, which is why after the COVID-19 pandemic, that due to poor government administration claimed more than 2 million lives, but we have begun to recover. And today we look back on more than 17 months of consecutive economic growth. We have overcome the recession and inflation caused by political violence and by corruption, a failed coup d'etat and the flight of more than $20 billion. That was between 2021 and 2023. We have regained the trust of national but also of foreign investment and we have embraced freedom. We are a solvent and a stable country. Because of the coup attempt of December 2022, which sought to establish a dictatorship by forcing all branches of the state into submission, I had to constitutionally assume the presidency of the republic. Since that date, a narrative was established by which the coup plotter became a victim and the president who constitutionally and legally assumed the presidency was accused by some quarters of being a coup plotter and usurper. Lies turned into truth and truth turned into lies. This is one of the issues of our time. The building of false narratives to attempt to defend anti-democratic political projects. The thinking goes that ideologies of hatred, where there are projects of failed states that grow into all-powerful states, require in order to impose their will a false narrative in order to achieve their objectives through violence and who, once in power, crush freedoms, silence the press and democratic opposition, violate human rights and begin to control, to confiscate and to expropriate private companies, creating a corrupt bureaucracy that destroys the economy, society and public morality. The first step for achieving all of this is to build a narrative in order to lie, to deceive and to manipulate. The ideology of class hatred is very skillful at distorting reality and building false narratives because it uses the totalitarian method of repeating a lie ad infinitum, as was done in the world before the Second World War and as is happening again today, because totalitarianism renews itself, presents itself with other faces, but it remains a serious threat to countries and to the world. The cynical narrative is reinforced by interventionism in the internal affairs of countries, supporting and spreading falsehoods to destroy democracy and eliminate freedom. In Peru, we have overcome strong, organized and persistent political violence that sought the return of the coup plotter's government and, since 2024, progress has been made in restoring stability and confidence, and this is why the Peruvian economy managed to grow this year by 3.3%, and in the current year, 2025, is exceeding 3.5% growth, with forecasts that in 2026 the trend of economic growth will continue. The government guarantees 3 years of economic growth, being the leader in South America. Inflation is below 2% annually, international reserves amount to more than $88 billion and our currency remains stable and it's getting stronger every day. Our external debt is less than 32.2% of GDP, one of the lowest in the Americas and in the world, and our fiscal deficit this year will be 2.2% annually. Madam President of this magnificent General Assembly, on October 24th, the UN was created after World War II, when one of the greatest totalitarian political projects built on an ideology of hatred, leading to the most serious genocide in human history, the Holocaust, was defeated. And this is something that we must never, I say never, forget. That dreadful war caused the death of 60 million human beings. All ideologies of hate, class hatred and its elevation as a principle and driver of history, racial hatred, nationalist hatred, religious hatred, ethnic hatred, hatred against women, amongst others, are the causes for the worst crimes committed in human history. Ideologies of hatred build narratives as absolute truths that instrumentalise people and nations. The political constitution of my homeland, Peru, affirms that the defence of the individual and their dignity is the supreme goal of society and of the state. Peru, therefore, rejects the two principal hate narratives in the world, namely class hatred and religious hatred. These are the origins of wars and inhumane violence. In Peru, we suffered for more than 20 years from a messianic, dogmatic, violent and genocidal terrorism that cost the lives of more than 70,000 Peruvians. The terrorist hates elections and the citizens' right to choose and to stand for election. When they participate, they do so to destroy democracy from within. However, the narrative that they wanted to impose is a flagrant lie. The armed forces and the police who defended the life and the freedom of Peruvians are now accused of violating human rights. Thus, the heroes who defended life, democracy and freedom are turned into victimisers and the terrorists are turned into victims. In this way, the heroes who defended democracy are being persecuted in trials that drag on for decades, while the terrorists are compensated and considered victims. This is the world in reverse. The UN was a fundamental milestone in the 20th century, but in the 21st century, we must be more vigilant. It is our duty to prevent the world from plunging into new genocides and new violence. It is not acceptable in a civilised world that one country invade another using a false narrative to justify a war, a war that first and foremost attacks the civilian population. It is not acceptable to slaughter civilians, to capture hundreds of young people, women and even children and use them as hostages. We live under the threat of international organised crime. In Peru, international crime based on extortion uses terrorist methods such as bomb attacks to submit citizens to its will. These criminal organisations that use weapons of war have created financial mechanisms to launder blood-stained money, sending large sums back to their countries of origin. They seek to normalise this violence, which requires, in order to be defeated, recognition by the UN as terrorist organisations and new national and international legislation to stop them being a threat to the democratic system and to the development of peoples. It is also imperative that we act against drug trafficking and illegal mining that destroys the environment, pollutes rivers and condemns peoples and individuals to slavery. International crime has subjected thousands of women taken from their home countries through violence and deception and being exploited and deprived of their freedom. Ladies and gentlemen, we are living through times that recall the darkest chapters of our modern history, and Peru is convinced that the world does not need less UN but more and a better UN, one that is in tune with the times, in times in which ideologies of hatred that cause and cause so much damage to humanity have taken refuge in lies, in misinformation and which have penetrated democratic societies. Peru, as a founding member, is committed to an open multilateral system based on international law and the principles of the UN Charter. And we see in the UN the pillar of the model that has brought peace and prosperity, but we have to look at what's happening around us in the world. At this time, as we're meeting here, in other parts of the world, they are killing children, girls, boys, innocent people. Prosperity will only come if we are united and work together, and we have to adapt to new threats. Each of our countries has the duty to make their contribution towards finding solutions to the problems that we all face together, and my country is striving to do this. But the interconnection of our societies and economies means that it is only through international cooperation that we can resolve the crises which we face. If we do not reform the United Nations, our common future will be ruined. If we do not reform the United Nations, our common home, to restore representativeness and effectiveness to its action, then we run the very serious risk of seeing one of the most precious instruments that the international community has for world stability disappearing. For this reason, Peru supports the work of the UN80 Initiative, launched by the Secretary General, placing particular emphasis on the need to refocus the organization on its fundamental functions, bringing it closer to the needs of peoples, and at the same time making it more efficient. UN80 must be an opportunity to strengthen multilateralism and ensure that the organization is better prepared to achieve its essential goals. This reform can only truly become fully effective if it is complemented by a transformation in UN governance that prevents institutional stalemates when it comes to decision-making, while ensuring its suitability. In Peru, our government is working to meet its commitments, both to our citizens as well as to the international community, facing the threat of organized crime resulting from the collapse of tyrannical governments that led to migration to other countries. This is true of our country. From day one, my government has fought to restore governance in the country and to defeat polarization and violence. In Peru, there is full separation of powers, the rule of law, respect for freedom, and human rights. My government is the most stable of the last five years, during which five presidents have succeeded one another. We are fighting for citizen security, facing crime that takes advantage of the rise in the price of gold and drug trafficking. We have achieved positive, verifiable results in these areas. We are working to strengthen human capital. We are fighting child malnutrition and anemia. And we are building schools and hospitals throughout the country, which has not been done in recent years. The priority is children, women, and the Peruvian family. We are modernizing the country's infrastructure, ports, airports, roads, bridges, designing an economy that is better connected to the world, as well as a firm policy for fighting corruption. Our goal is to guarantee free and impartial elections, defeating the attempt of a violent minority that seeks their failure. Ladies and gentlemen, the United Nations Organization has always been present in the modern history of my country, particularly in its most difficult moments. Similarly to what is happening elsewhere in the world, and despite our efforts, Peru today finds its democratic institutions and the rule of law under attack by the polarization of politics, the cause and consequence of the return of extremist violence. We suffer from the scourge of transnational organized terrorist crime, which causes deaths, attacks, insecurity, and drug trafficking that destroys the social fabric. We face the threat of climate change that is destroying our Amazon, causing the melting of our glaciers, and putting our biodiversity at risk. We promote inclusive and sustainable growth in the context of opposing powers. But none of these problems is merely national, but global. This is why we need the United Nations to once again be a forum for dialogue and cooperation. I wish to recall the legacy of Ambassador Javier Pérez de Cuella, who managed to do relevant work in the organization despite the Cold War. With that example in mind, and in view of our region's adherence to the purposes of the Charter, and in order to ensure better representation, we believe it is time for the next Secretary General to come from Latin America. Ladies and gentlemen, Peru is committed to ensuring that this General Assembly this year is not a mere commemoration, but the reaffirmation of our commitment to collective action that will revitalize the United Nations as a tool that supports peace and global unity, as well as development. We must stand firm in the truth, in the face of narratives that try to conceal it, pervert it, or openly lie in order to hide agendas that do not correspond to our time, much less to the destiny of humanity. For this reason, it is essential that we strengthen truth against narratives that are based on hatred, the lie repeated that seeks to impose itself and only leads to destruction. But despite all of these obstacles, truth will find a way, and truth will set us free. Peace and unity for Peru and for the world, for all those on the planet. Let us seek the development of our peoples, presidents of the world. Together, let us work together, let us work together without hating one another. Let us work for the development of our peoples. Yes to life, no to violence, and no to war. Thank you very much. On behalf of the General Assembly, I wish to thank the President of the Republic of Peru. Thank you.