Paraguay, 2002

First of all, I wish to express my thanks to the

Assembly for having come to hear Paraguay's position.

Secondly, I must apologize if I am interrupting your

luncheon.

Let me begin my statement in this general debate

by expressing my delegation's gratification at seeing

you, Sir, preside over the work of this Assembly. Your

personal and professional qualities will guarantee that

our work is successful, and you may rely on the

constant and resolute support of the Paraguayan

delegation. We also wish to take this opportunity to

express our thanks to Secretary-General Kofi Annan

for the report that he has presented on the work of our

Organization, which confirms how essential this work

is in the context of today's world. There is a need for

all States members not simply to support that work, but

also to make it even stronger and more flexible in

responding to fresh challenges.

Allow me also to welcome and express my

country's satisfaction at seeing the accession to this

Organization of the Swiss Confederation, as well as the

upcoming addition of Timor-Leste. With these new

Members we take an important step forward towards

achieving the universality to which the Organization

aspires.

The events of the last year, some auspicious,

others discouraging, have given us resounding proof of

the role of the United Nations and the fact that the

Organization's reform is now, more than ever before, a

pressing and urgent challenge. I am thinking of the

need for a thorough reform of its organs and structure,

as well as of its functions, and of changes that would

equip this Organization to respond more effectively to

the fresh challenges that are emerging with unexpected

speed on the international scene.

Who would have thought, when this Organization

was founded more than 50 years ago, that at this

current General Assembly session we would be

extending a welcome in the United Nations to two new

Member States: Switzerland, a State that has always

held its place and played its role in history and on the

international scene; and Timor-Leste, whose birth we

witnessed just a few months ago, thanks to a large

extent to United Nations intervention? Nor could we

have imagined just a few decades ago that this year we

would have witnessed one of the most important and

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anticipated events in the area of human rights that

is, the establishment of the International Criminal

Court. Who would have thought that one year ago, on

11 September 2001, we would have been eyewitnesses

to one of the most tragic and incomprehensible events

in history the history not only of the United States

of America, but also of the whole of humankind and

that immediately thereafter the international

community would unite and respond most decisively in

combating international terrorism?

Those events show us that today's world is not

the same as that of the Organization's founders. Among

other reasons, they determine and require reform of our

institution. That is why it is necessary that we give

priority to the work of the United Nations, not only so

that the Organization responds efficiently to political

events, but also to ensure sustainable development so

that its benefits reach every individual, wherever he

may live, work and have a home.

Undoubtedly, a renewed and reorganized United

Nations will ultimately respond to the well-being of

every one of our citizens. The decisions that we take in

that regard over the next months will define and guide

our countries and humanity in the future. Thus we

cannot limit ourselves to superficial or simply

procedural actions; we must achieve a genuine

transformation.

In that regard, we must reaffirm first of all the

central role to be played by the General Assembly as

the principal organ of the United Nations, since it is the

most representative, democratic, universal and

equitable deliberating organ. The Assembly should

become the world's parliament, in which all

countries regardless of their size or position can

expound, debate, dissent, express their views and share

positions on the most important current issues. It

cannot continue to be the arena where we come to

participate merely to carry out a routine function based

on a pre-established and repetitive agenda, and in

which our statements are mere rhetoric that is scarcely

listened to by any other delegation. Therefore, we

firmly support the process of revitalizing the Assembly,

which should continue and should focus in that

direction. The changes must be genuine and profound

so as to enhance the Assembly's effectiveness and

efficiency.

No reform of the United Nations will have the

effect that we all wish for without the much-awaited

reform of the Security Council. Until that body

responsible for maintaining international peace and

security is reformed, we will not be able to speak of

an Organization that is in accord with the time in which

we live. That is why we should expand both categories

of members permanent and non-permanent and

include both developed and developing countries,

taking into particular account that the latter are

currently under-represented in such an important body.

At the same time, reform should include the gradual

abolition of the right of veto for permanent members

until it disappears, making the Council fairer and more

democratic. We believe that the time has come to

assume our political responsibility in the settlement of

this matter.

One year after the tragic events of 11 September,

we need to ask ourselves what implications they have

had, as much for this Organization as for each country

domestically. Paraguay took a firm position of

condemning international terrorism, fully

implementing the measures imposed by the Security

Council and promoting the validity of the numerous

relevant international agreements. My Government

responded to the requirements of Security Council

resolution 1373 (2001), and to date it has presented two

reports to the Committee established pursuant to that

resolution. I here reaffirm our commitment to continue

to cooperate with the Committee in its efforts, as we

have been doing on the regional and subregional levels.

Moreover, I should like to report that Paraguay, in

keeping with its constitutional process, is becoming a

party to the 12 international agreements on terrorism

and was one of the first countries to sign the Inter-

American Convention against Terrorism, adopted in the

framework of the Organization of American States.

We firmly support the strengthening of an

international legal basis for combating terrorism. That

is why we hope that during this session of the General

Assembly, negotiations on the comprehensive

international convention against terrorism a

proposal presented by India will be concluded, as

well as the Russian Federation's proposal for an

international convention for the suppression of acts of

nuclear terrorism.

One achievement of far-reaching importance this

year was the entry into force of the Statute of the

International Criminal Court on 1 July, and we are

gratified to be one of the first 66 countries whose

ratification of the Rome Statute made this possible. We

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are convinced that the Court will be a deterrent to

unacceptable human rights abuses and crimes against

humanity. Likewise, we are certain that the work of the

Court will not be tarnished or manipulated by any

political influence and that its independence,

impartiality and purpose will be preserved. Paraguay

appeals to all countries that have not yet signed or

ratified the Statute to do so as soon as possible, since

the Court's universality is fundamental to its

effectiveness. My country has followed very closely

the recent debate on the Court's competence to judge

hypothetical offences, committed in the course of

United Nations peacekeeping operations, in which

personnel in the service of countries that have not

signed or ratified the Statute might be involved.

We welcome the Secretary-General's appointment

of the new High Commissioner for Human Rights. We

are certain that, as a Latin American, he will do honour

to that appointment, which was confirmed by the

Assembly. We share his desire to build a human rights

agenda that will not divide peoples and States, but

rather unite them more. Paraguay will provide all the

support necessary to ensure that his mission is

successful.

For the first time, Paraguay will become a

member of the United Nations Commission on Human

Rights, as of January 2003, and I should like to take

this opportunity to reaffirm my Government's

commitment to cooperate with and contribute to that

body's important and altruistic work. We are prepared

to work with the other members of the Commission as

well as with other States and entities.

Today we face a complex world that is still far

from forming a stable international order. We continue

to witness confrontations in various regions of the

world. That is why we must devote all our efforts and

resources to the reconciliation of humanity. The

Republic of Paraguay will always invoke and support

the peaceful settlement of conflicts through dialogue,

mutual understanding and international law.

In that regard, we see grounds for grave concern

in the serious worsening of the situation in the Middle

East: the spiral of violence, the alarming humanitarian

situation and the violation of the fundamental rights of

the civilian population as well as the loss of innocent

lives among both the Palestinian and Israeli peoples.

We resolutely support the work of the `quartet'

and of the international community in general in their

efforts to secure a resumption of negotiations and thus

bring about much-desired peace in the region. At the

same time, as a country that abides strictly by

international law, Paraguay regrets the fact that the

resolutions adopted by the Security Council on this

question this year, which contain clear terms and

references, have still not been implemented by the

parties.

Paraguay would underscore once again the urgent

need to achieve a just and lasting peace in the Middle

East on the basis of Security Council resolutions,

especially 242 (1967), 338 (1973) and 1397 (2002), in

order to pave the way for the peaceful coexistence of

two independent States, Israel and Palestine, within

secure and internationally recognized borders.

My country, Paraguay, has been following closely

the situation in Afghanistan. We welcome the presence

in this general debate of President Karzai, who

deserves our recognition and our firm support in his

efforts to fulfil his responsibilities and to carry out the

tasks that lie ahead of him. The international

community is committed to continuing to support

Afghanistan so as to enable it to achieve the stability

and development that its people so desire.

The Government of Paraguay, in keeping with the

position it has been maintaining and expressing

concerning the question of the Republic of China on

Taiwan, would once again reaffirm its strong wish that

this issue be considered within the framework of

universality embodied in our Charter and on the basis

of norms of international law, in order to achieve a

satisfactory solution through dialogue among the

parties concerned.

This year has been marked by important

conferences. The World Assembly on Ageing in

Madrid, the special session on children, the Monterrey

Conference, the Johannesburg Summit and the World

Food Summit took place in a context of increasing

deterioration in the socio-economic conditions

affecting many of our peoples, thus heightening

frustration and despair because of the lack of tangible

and concrete results. In order to prevent the situation

from persisting, what is needed on the one hand is

urgent political resolve on the part of all Member

States to implement and fulfil the commitments

undertaken at those conferences and, on the other hand,

an increase in the participation and integration of

developing countries in the process of global political

decision-making.

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Consequently, Paraguay has been striving to

channel the limited resources at its disposal into areas

of pressing priority in the social and economic fields,

particularly in the areas of education and health, to the

point where now they represent a majority of

Paraguay's national budget. We have also reduced

military expenditure to below 1 per cent of gross

domestic product, the lowest level in our history. We

have also been giving priority to State expenditure

directed at building road and energy infrastructure,

which will make it possible to integrate Paraguay into

the transport and energy corridors that will link the

Atlantic and Pacific oceans in South America.

Sustainable development in its broadest

definition, as we addressed it at Johannesburg,

increasingly requires shared solutions in a globalized

world as well as differentiated commitments. For this

reason, we deem it essential that the industrialized

countries share in and support our development plans.

Official development assistance should play only a

complementary role that will enable us to incorporate,

in a timely manner, the available financial resources

from both internal and external sources so as to

enable smaller countries to be properly incorporated

into a competitive and independent world.

One of the instruments that is constantly touted as

a producer of development is free trade. The

developing countries want to see free trade on a double

track. We want to have access to the markets of the

developed countries, and we wish to see the

elimination of measures that distort trade, such as

agricultural subsidies, domestic export assistance and

the abuse of anti-dumping measures.

If these protectionist practices persist, they will

delay our countries' participation in the supposed

benefits that, we believe, stem from free trade and will

also considerably worsen the social divide in all its

manifestations. Combating poverty is not just a

political commitment but, above all, a moral one.

Paraguay welcomes the General Assembly's plan

to devote a day 16 September to considering

ways and means of providing support to the New

Partnership for Africa's Development. High-level

plenary sessions and interactive round tables will be

held. We trust that the outcome will make a decisive

contribution to promoting renewed commitments to the

social and economic development of the whole of the

African continent.

The International Ministerial Meeting of

Landlocked Developing Countries and Transit

Developing Countries will be held next year. It will

address the problems that beset countries such as my

own, such as integration into international markets,

excessive costs related to transit transport, customs

delays, restrictions and technical barriers to trade, as

well as the need for financial support and the requisite

investment in infrastructure and capacity development

in order to overcome the disadvantages that stem from

being landlocked.

Paraguay has offered to host the subregional

Latin American preparatory meeting for the Ministerial

Meeting, with a view to defining clearly all of the

necessary measures to establish our country's

requirements, in particular with respect to the

differential treatment to be given to landlocked

countries, through tangible commitments in the areas

of transport, customs and duty-free zones and in the

area of opening markets through reduced customs

tariffs, the elimination of special excise duties and

other measures that hinder the competitive

participation in international trade of landlocked

developing countries.

Paraguay, in the context of its democratization

process, to which all citizens are committed at the

State, regional and municipal levels, will be holding

elections in April next year, which will once again

confirm the consolidation of our democracy.

Unfortunately, as in many other countries of the world,

and especially in Latin America today, the democratic

system is threatened by heightened poverty and the

serious economic situation, which has caused the living

conditions of our citizens to deteriorate. For that

reason, our country must also receive the consideration

that it deserves in the context of efforts to find

solutions to these problems.

I trust that the Organization and the financial

agencies and their principal members will respond

appropriately at the right time.

In concluding my last address to this plenary as

head of State of the Republic of Paraguay, my term

of office, according to the Constitution, ends on 15

August 2003, I wish to reaffirm my country's

commitment to this Organization and its trust that it, in

turn, will respond to the hopes and expectations of a

better future for our peoples.