El Salvador, 1994

I wish, on behalf of the people and the

Government of El Salvador, to express sincerest

congratulations to you, Sir, on your election to the

presidency of the General Assembly at its current session.

It will certainly result in a positive outcome to the

international community’s efforts to find a solution to the

major challenges of today’s world. We are certain that

your skills and your diplomatic experience will enable us

to realize the noble principles and objectives enshrined in

the Charter of the United Nations.

We wish to express our appreciation to the

Ambassador of Guyana, Mr. Samuel Insanally, for the

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dynamic and successful work that he accomplished during

his term as President of the Assembly at its forty-eighth

session.

It is with particular pleasure that we reiterate our

gratitude to the Secretary-General, Mr. Boutros Boutros-

Ghali, for his work at the head of the Organization, and

especially for his efforts to cooperate with and to assist the

people and the Government of El Salvador in the process

of consolidating peace.

May I begin with a brief personal reference. This is

not the first time that I have had the honour of being here

at the United Nations. We had the privilege of

participating in the difficult and fruitful negotiations that

culminated in the New York Accord at midnight on 31

December 1991 which cleared the way for the signing of

the Peace Accords in Mexico on 16 January 1992. Later,

in May of this year, as President Elect I had the opportunity

to reiterate to the Secretary-General our total political will

and firm commitment to complying strictly with all the

peace agreements before us. Today for the first time I am

addressing the General Assembly as President of the

Republic of El Salvador, pursuant to the mandate given by

the people of El Salvador, and this fills us with satisfaction

and pride.

In the field of international policy in recent years with

the profound changes that have taken place in Eastern

Europe and the end of East-West confrontation we are

beginning to structure a new international order which has

not yet been consolidated. None the less, new trends have

taken shape at the global level in the political, economic

and social spheres permitting great progress to take place

which, in spite of the grave problems that persist, allow us

to look to the future of mankind with optimism.

With the end of the cold war the concept of security

ceased to rest primarily on the arms build-up, and that has

curbed the rise in military expenditures. Democracy as a

political system has been strengthened and continues to

expand and gain strength at the world level. The global

concept of development has also been closely linked to

democracy, peace, respect for human rights, the protection

of the environment, development and human security.

In the economic sphere changes have been geared

towards the liberalization and globalization of the economy,

generating a trend towards privatization which will reduce

state interference in the activities of society and will foster

the efficient use of resources for the collective benefit.

In the social sphere policies are being geared

towards the training of human resources to foster personal

fulfilment and combat the marginality in which a large

part of the world’s population lives. This situation is

clearly reflected in the Human Development Report 1994.

We consider it appropriate to make a brief reference

to the efforts being made by the world Organization in

the quest for solutions and in the establishment of

mechanisms to resolve problems of a general nature,

creating greater opportunities for integral development

which can promote the greater well-being of the human

person.

In this respect the following are all events of

profound significance and broad scope: the holding of

the World Summit for Children, dealing with the rights of

the child; the United Nations Conference on Environment

and Development; the World Conference on Human

Rights; the recent World Conference on Population and

Development; and the decision to hold in 1995 the Fourth

World Conference on Women and the World Summit for

Social Development.

We support and are following with interest these

international gatherings because the subjects that have

been examined in the past and will be examined focus on

a profound analysis of the variables and concepts related

to human development; their interrelationships; the

obstacles in the way of the desired objectives; and the

agreement of Governments to meet those objectives in

accordance with legislation, domestic programmes and

national resources.

We cannot fail to mention the successes won by the

United Nations in the search for international peace and

security. The dynamic participation in conflict

resolution - resolution of conflicts of an internal nature,

including those related to the process of decolonization,

as well as conflicts of an international nature - constitutes

clear evidence of the fact that when States have the

political will it is possible to arrive at rational solutions to

existing problems.

In this respect we wish to affirm that, with a view to

democratic plurality and the principle of universality that

inspired the Charter of the United Nations, we reiterate

our support for the admission of those emerging States

that accept and comply with the norms of this

Organization.

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As an example of the successful work of the United

Nations it is possible to mention South Africa, which is in

the process of consolidating democracy under a multiracial

Government; the solution of the conflict in our own

country, El Salvador, which for a long time lived the

tragedy of armed confrontation; the process of peacemaking

in the fraternal Republic of Guatemala and the

establishment of the United Nations mission to supervise

the process that will restore harmony to the Guatemalan

people; the fact that Mozambique is approaching the

holding of free elections to choose, democratically, its

authorities under the monitoring of the United Nations; the

fact that Cambodia is now in a difficult period of transition

towards the consolidation of democracy and reconstruction;

and, in general, all those cases where the presence of the

United Nations through peace-keeping forces means that the

work of monitoring, observation and separation is being

done to avoid military confrontation.

We note with concern that in spite of the effort made

and resources devoted to promoting development at the

world level the situation in most countries has not improved

in the economic and social spheres and, in particular, in

developing countries where extreme poverty, marginality,

deficiencies in health services and education, unemployment

and inequalities in income are, inter alia, the characteristics

that prevail.

We believe that the objective of universal peace to

achieve a more human world will be possible only if we

have the conviction and the political will to establish a new

model of development in which the ultimate goal must be

the improvement of the living conditions of the human

person: a new concept of cooperation, based on the

democratization of international relations, without

preconditions of any type, but with shared responsibilities

for the reduction of poverty, the generation of opportunities,

the creation of jobs, social integration and the openness of

markets.

We are sincerely pleased by the continued compliance

with peace commitments signed by the Government of

Israel and the Palestine Liberation Organization, and the

signing of the Washington declaration by Israel and Jordan,

which constitute vital advances in the peace process in the

Middle East.

We hope that these events will constitute

encouragement so that other States that are directly

involved and have interests in that region will become fully

involved in the peace process that has begun, in order to

establish a just, lasting and permanent peace for the

benefit of the peoples of the region.

We wish to express our concern at the conflict that

has caused so much bloodshed to the people of Bosnia

and Herzegovina and we sincerely hope that a negotiated

solution will be found, involving respect for human rights

and peaceful coexistence among the different ethnic

groups of that important region.

The grave situation in Rwanda is also of concern to

us and we hope that the struggle of that people will soon

find a solution. We hope that that nation will find

solutions to the problems afflicting it and we urge the

international community to give its priority attention to

that conflict.

In Latin America and the Caribbean, we cannot fail

to make reference to the situations in Haiti and Cuba.

Our Government welcomes the last-minute solution

reached by the United States and the de facto government

of Haiti, which made it possible to avoid a major armed

intervention that would have greatly harmed the Haitian

people. Once more it has been demonstrated that

negotiation remains the right way to resolve differences,

to ensure peaceful coexistence among peoples and to

preserve international peace and security.

In respect to the situation in Cuba, El Salvador

considers that it is the responsibility of that country’s

Government to create the proper conditions so that the

Cuban people can freely exercise their individual political

and economic rights. None the less, as a contribution

towards avoiding the deepening of the economic and

social crisis and the increase in tension resulting from

immigration, as well as making it viable for Cuba to be

reintegrated into the American community of nations, we

believe that a frank and open dialogue between the Cuban

Government and the countries of the region that are

interested in helping resolve differences through political

means should be encouraged.

We welcome with interest the Cuban Government’s

decision to invite the United Nations High Commissioner

for Human Rights to visit the country, as well as the

announcement of its adherence to the Treaty the

Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons in Latin America.

We would like to mention two important conferences

in the Central American regional sphere. As developing

countries, we understand social problems, especially those

of us who have experienced armed conflicts, the result, in

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part, of the lack of social opportunities and appropriate

programmes to create them. We know that the dimensions

and the scope of sustainable development imply major

responsibilities and make it necessary that there be greater

solidarity, cooperation and harmonization among the

countries of the Central American subregion.

For this reason, next October, in Nicaragua, we will

hold a Central American ecological summit in which

environment problems and the relationship between

environment and development in our countries will be taken

up. At the end of that month, we will hold, in Honduras,

an international conference on peace and development, at

which we will evaluate the progress made and the obstacles

remaining in promoting the economic and social

development of our peoples. We are also considering the

need for the material and financial resources that are

indispensable if we are to improve the economic and social

conditions of our peoples.

In this connection, we are working to enhance and

strengthen our democratic institutions in order to guarantee

civil, political, economic and social rights, promoting the

creative participation of civil society in the development

process. We are committed to promoting human

development to meet the basic needs of our population and

overcome critical poverty. The efforts are based on a

strategy of sustainable development that gives priority to

investment in the social sphere.

In the Central American region, our fundamental

interest is to raise the standard of living of our peoples in

order to consolidate the progress we have made in the

fields of democratization and peacemaking. We are

confident that the international community, which is united

in support of the peacemaking process in Central America,

will not fail to attend the conference and give us its support

and resolute cooperation so that Central America can be a

region of peace, freedom, democracy and development.

Permit me to provide a summary of the specific

situation in our own country, El Salvador, to describe the

advances, the obstacles and the new challenges on the

difficult path towards consolidating peace and democracy.

It is important to emphasize that our Government’s

endeavours are firmly directed towards the implementation

of the last stage of the agreements aimed at definitely

consolidating peace, national reconciliation, the

strengthening of the democratic model and the

reconstruction of our country.

At the same time, we are focusing on resolving the

new challenges confronting Salvadorian society in the

post-war period, particularly with regard to public safety,

the struggle against drug trafficking and organized crime,

the eradication of corruption, improving and strengthening

the judicial system in order to achieve prompt and

complete justice, and full respect for human rights. We

are also adopting measures aimed at reducing extreme

poverty, improving the education and health systems,

improving protection of the individual, protecting the

environment and creating new opportunities. All this is

being done in order to achieve greater well-being for the

Salvadorian people as part of our major objective:

achieving social peace.

With regard to implementation of the peace

agreements, significant progress has been made this year

in the area of public safety. We have given resolute

support to the national civil police, and we will continue

to do so in order to strengthen its efficiency and

effectiveness by providing the necessary resources. We

have also deployed the national civil police in all the

country’s departments, and we need to increase the

number of police in order to confront post-war problems

of public safety.

In the field of human rights, we are able to point

with satisfaction to a considerable improvement in the

respect and enjoyment of the fundamental rights and

freedoms of Salvadorians. None the less, we must

recognize in all honesty that, although some occurrences

may be felt to have political underpinnings, most

incidents have been linked to common crime. This is a

social phenomenon that is on the rise in the post-war

period.

In connection with those cases that allegedly have

political motivation, we reiterate our Government’s

political will to support resolutely the strengthening of our

national institutions that protect human rights, especially

the attorney general for the defence of human rights, in

order that, before the mandate of the United Nations

Observer Mission in El Salvador comes to an end, it will

be fully able to play its proper role in this field.

During a recent visit of the independent expert of the

United Nations Human Rights Commission, our

Government submitted to him a proposal on the needs

and requirements of the various national institutions, in

order to improve the way they function in promoting and

protecting human rights. We hope that this proposal will

be supported by the members of that Commission.

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In the field of the administration of justice, we would

like to underscore the election, by consensus among the

different political forces represented in the legislative

assembly, of the new Supreme Court, which is composed

of judges who have nothing to do with or answer to any

partisan politics, thus ensuring its independence and

impartiality.

The implementation of the commitments relating to the

transfer of land, for programmes to reintegrate former

combatants and for human settlements has not been brought

to a standstill, although there have been some delays owing

to the lack of documentation and information on the

potential beneficiaries, as well as to financial constraints.

I take this opportunity to recall that the international

community’s offer of assistance in support of the peace

agreements gave rise to great expectations in our country.

A portion of the assistance has been provided, for which we

are very grateful. But some of it has not yet materialized,

and this puts the Government in a difficult situation and

could cause unnecessary social tension.

The Secretary-General is aware of this situation and in

his most recent report (S/1994/1000) to the Security

Council on the situation in El Salvador observed that it was

imperative that the Government and the international

community find ways to finance the deficit of over $80

million as soon as possible, in order to implement certain

programmes stemming from the peace agreements and to

carry out outstanding commitments. Because of the delays,

the Government of the Republic and the FMLN agreed on

19 May 1994 on rescheduling the most important

outstanding agreements. This shows that the political will

exists to continue and complete the fulfilment of the peace

agreements.

In the social sphere, our objective as a Government is

to create conditions that provide equal opportunities for all,

from the time of conception, to enable everyone to achieve

a higher level and quality of life. The strategy of our social

programme is simultaneous implementation of short- and

long-term programmes, combined with an economic policy

that stimulates investment and job-creation. This stems

from our conviction that there can be no economic

development without social development, and vice versa,

going hand in hand with steady progress in the fields of

politics, justice and public safety.

Hence, in order to improve the living conditions of the

neediest, we are carrying out social-support programmes for

human development that include arrangements for rapidly

bringing people into productive jobs. These programmes

cover training, production incentives, care for mothers,

children and the elderly, basic infrastructure,

environmental health, recreation and sports.

We know that only long-term programmes can tackle

the root causes of poverty. The Government has decided

to undertake vast, profound reforms in the areas of health

and education, to make them primary sources of

investment in sustainable human development and social

mobility.

We believe that these reforms, backed by greater

budgetary appropriations for health and education, will

make it possible drastically to reduce infant mortality,

bring quality education to the remotest corners of our

country and reduce illiteracy to the minimum by the year

2000.

We are convinced that one cannot speak of health

comprehensively without considering the environment;

most of the diseases that affect the poorest people are

caused by contamination of the soil, aquifers and the air.

Our Government is committed to the protection and

recovery of the environment, for there can be no

sustainable development if we do not protect our natural

resources and halt the destruction of our environment.

The Government’s social reforms include reform of

the social security system; this seeks to create conditions

for private participation in order to broaden coverage

rapidly, with mechanisms by which individuals can pay

into the system. We are improving social security to

avert the suffering felt by many workers, who are doomed

in their old age to being a burden on their families after

a lifetime of work.

Since 1989 El Salvador has been making major

changes to free and stabilize the economy, with notable

results. Economic growth has been more than 5 per cent

for each of the last three years. Inflation will stand at

about 10 per cent this year and is estimated to fall into

single digits next year. In the external sector, our current

international reserves equal more than four months of

imports, and the fiscal deficit, despite the demands

imposed by the peace agreements, will be around

2 per cent of the gross domestic product in 1994.

These encouraging results enable us to look to the

future with optimism. Our goal as a Government is

equitably to transform growth into economic development,

maintaining stability and generating trust in the productive

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sector. Hence, through sound economic policy we are

seeking to stimulate domestic savings; here, reforms in the

social security system will play a crucial role in the

mobilization of resources.

We firmly believe that our country is rapidly

becoming an attractive place for foreign investment. An

important element in this connection was the adoption of a

new labour code, agreed by workers and management and

endorsed by the International Labour Organization. This

represents fundamental progress.

It is clear, then, that El Salvador enjoys peace and

democracy and is engaged in dizzying change. Although

the progress has been great, we cannot deny that the road

ahead of us is greater still. Progress makes us work even

harder to broaden our opportunities and create social well-

being.

This is an appropriate time to reiterate to the

Secretary-General the gratitude of the Government and the

people of El Salvador for the careful attention he has given

to consolidating the process of peace in El Salvador. We

wish also to express our thanks to the international

community, which continues to stand by our side to bolster

our democracy and the process of reconciliation of the

Salvadorian people.

We can affirm with great satisfaction that our

country’s peace agreements are being implemented

satisfactorily in accordance with the aspirations of the

Salvadorian people, and that they can be an example for the

solution of other conflicts. The achievement of peace

among Salvadorians was the result of the unshakable

resolve of our people, the support of the international

community and the effective work of the United Nations

and the Secretary-General.

In conclusion, we want to express our confidence that

by the end of this forty-ninth session of the General

Assembly the world’s peoples will have found formulas for

understanding and cooperation, so that mankind, under the

banner of solidarity, will be successful in meeting the great

challenges of the coming millennium.