Uruguay, 2011

I come

to speak before the Assembly representing a country

that is celebrating the two-hundredth anniversary of the

endeavour that led to its birth as an independent and

sovereign State, and that has preserved its aspiration to

continue offering the international community its long-

standing tradition of respect for the principles of

international law and its ongoing commitment to the

cause of peace and peaceful coexistence among

nations.

Uruguay takes pride in its calling to serve the

international community in promoting dialogue,

understanding and the tireless search for consensus as

the most appropriate ways for interaction among its

members. It was through the application of those

principles that we recognized and welcomed this year

the 193rd Member of this Organization, the Republic

of South Sudan.

Likewise, in March we recognized the State of

Palestine. We believe that all of the necessary

conditions have been met for this recognition to

become universal and for the realization of a two-State

solution, which Uruguay has supported since 1947, as

well as for a path that reaffirms the right of Israel and

Palestine to coexist in peace, within secure and

recognized borders, in a environment of renewed

cooperation and free from any threats or actions that

could jeopardize peace.

The Palestinian people have a legitimate and full

right to statehood. But the Jewish people also have the

undeniable right to live in peace in a safe country, free

of terrorist attacks — attacks that Uruguay has always

rejected and condemned.

Uruguay is proud to have made a decisive

contribution to the creation of the State of Israel,

whose hard-working people have lived up to the

historic vision of the men and women who made its

creation possible. We are convinced also that the time

has come for the Palestinian people to show the world

their decisive contribution to peace, development and

international cooperation.

Once again, in keeping with our adherence to

international law, we cannot but express our utmost

rejection of coercive measures that violate the

principles of the Charter of the United Nations, such as

the economic, trade and financial blockade imposed by

the United States against Cuba — a unilateral measure

that contravenes not only the Charter but also

international law as well as one of the most important

principles of my country’s foreign policy, namely, the

peaceful settlement of disputes.

We reject all manner of violence and all threat or

use of illegal force, including terrorism — an unjust

and unjustified crime, a cruel scourge that 10 years ago

most painfully affected New York City. We express our

condolences and solidarity to the victims’ families and

the American people, as well as our desire and

commitment to ensure that these kinds of acts never

happen again, here or anywhere else.

While we are guided by the principles of

international law, the promotion and protection of

human rights and international humanitarian law also

figure among the priorities of Uruguayan foreign

policy. This a reflection of the country’s political and

institutional heritage, that of deep-seated democracy

and the solid rule of law.

Allow me to express in that respect my gratitude

in connection with the honour conferred on us when

Uruguay was elected to chair the Human Rights

Council. We will strive to honour this vote of

confidence by working every day to strengthen the

multilateral system for the protection and promotion of

human rights.

Uruguay has an outstanding record in this area,

not only because it is one of the countries that has

signed the widest array of conventions, but also

because it has made specific contributions in diverse

fields, including the defence of the rights of the child;

the mainstreaming of a gender perspective into all

United Nations system policies and programmes, as

reflected in the establishment and implementation of

the United Nations Entity for Gender Equality and the

Empowerment of Women; and the promotion of

fundamental freedoms, including, inter alia, freedom of

expression.

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During the course of its mandate, our country

intends to promote a new culture of dialogue on human

rights — a culture that favours the cooperation of

countries with the system, but also of the system with

those countries that need assistance to improve their

internal human rights situation. We would also like to

enhance the Council’s working methods and promote

the implementation of its instruments in a non-selective

manner, avoiding double standards. We would also like

to strengthen the role of the Office of the United

Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, as a

key element of promotion and protection mechanisms,

by providing the resources necessary so that it can

effectively discharge the mandates that Member States

are increasingly assigning to it.

Uruguay is not indifferent to situations of armed

conflict. That is why we have made tremendous efforts

in that respect and will continue to do so in order to

maintain and strengthen the applicable norms of

international humanitarian law.

In keeping with this, we believe that we cannot

ignore mass atrocities such as genocide, war crimes,

crimes against humanity and ethnic cleansing. Bearing

in mind at all times the principle of non-intervention in

the internal affairs of other States — a principle that

our country and region holds dear — we recognize the

State’s primary responsibility to protect its population,

as well as the importance of fostering cooperation with

States that might require international assistance to

fulfil that obligation. The aim is not to weaken their

sovereignty but, rather, to strengthen it.

A few months ago, we welcomed the Secretary-

General to our country, and we congratulated him once

again on his re-election, which Uruguay

enthusiastically supported from the outset. Mr. Ban

Ki-moon expressed the recognition of the international

community of one of the most relevant aspects of our

foreign policy over the past several decades: our

unwavering and committed participation in United

Nations peacekeeping operations. With approximately

30 per cent of its operational defence forces devoted to

these operations, Uruguay is the main troop contributor

as a proportion of its population and ranks 10th in

absolute terms. Uruguay thus places at the disposal of

the United Nations valuable human and material

resources in the context of work that is the flagship of

this Organization, deploying in situations and

discharging mandates of increasingly complexity.

Given the complexity of current international

affairs, together we have begun an in-depth discussion

of the United Nations peacekeeping system. We are

convinced that these missions will be sustainable only

if we seriously reconsider the resources needed for

their proper functioning and update the conditions

offered by the system so as to ensure that the United

Nations is supplied with both equipment and human

resources.

Today peacekeeping operations are the most

important and visible aspect of United Nations

missions and the one that most exposes the United

Nations to international scrutiny, often positive but

sometimes negative.

Uruguay reaffirms its commitment to

peacekeeping operations and to the strictest

enforcement of the mandates and standards regulating

the conduct of field personnel. That is why, in cases of

shameful and unacceptable misconduct — such as that

perpetrated by five members of our military deployed

in Haiti, where since the beginning of the United

Nations Stabilization Mission in Haiti we have

contributed tens of thousands of men and women, some

of whom have offered their lives to help that brother

country consolidate peace and stability — we have not

hesitated to act with the utmost severity and rigor as

the circumstances demanded. Under my country’s

military justice, those five individuals accused of

military crimes have now been sentenced to prison and

the case has been referred to the civil justice system to

initiate the corresponding criminal case. Thus, within

the framework of respect for due process and in the

utmost transparency and cooperation with the relevant

United Nations entities, we will stop at nothing to

uncover the truth and punish those responsible.

Our commitment to international peace and

security has also driven our country to play an active

role in the field of disarmament. Like many countries,

Uruguay has firmly promoted all initiatives aimed at

eliminating nuclear weapons and other weapons of

mass destruction and at regulating the control and

reduction of conventional weapons, which every year

cause thousands of innocent civilian casualties.

As a signatory of the Treaty of Tlatelolco, by

virtue of which Latin America and the Caribbean

became the first nuclear-weapon-free zone, Uruguay

has decisively contributed to strengthening both the

regional regime and the Treaty on the

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Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons, which is

considered the cornerstone of the disarmament and

non-proliferation regime. Uruguay has adhered fully to

the five points identified by the Secretary-General. We

believe that the international community must make

the most of progress to date to advance firmly towards

a world free from nuclear weapons.

The topic of this year’s general debate is linked

to the international peace and security agenda. We

therefore welcome the selection of a topic that

underlines the pressing need to strengthen the political

capacities of the United Nations. Professional and

accurate prevention and mediation efforts could save

thousands of human lives and billions of dollars of

material damage, thereby avoiding the loss of

generations, growing resentment and despair, and a

vicious cycle of violence can be broken only by

reconciliation.

That is why we welcome efforts to strengthen the

role of mediation and preventive diplomacy as

mechanisms for dispute settlement. Such efforts can be

carried out at several levels. There can be no doubt that

the United Nations is the natural forum for such

efforts, given its intrinsic legitimacy and impartiality.

However, it cannot be denied that in practice such

efforts must be complemented by the actions of

regional entities and even individual countries, which

can be very effective, as has been shown in several

instances. In addition to the strengthening of the

aforementioned capacities, confronting global issues

requires the development of community spirit that

requires more than combined political will. A systemic

approach is fundamental.

Climate change is probably the most obvious

example of an urgent global challenge. It is essential to

immediately start enforcing adaptation and mitigation

measures against its adverse effects, since a

compromised environment will limit any development

effort. We are aware that necessary measures require

changes in modes of production to avoid seriously

compromising resource distribution within our

countries.

The Uruguayan Government strongly supports

negotiations on climate change under the United

Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change

(UNFCCC). We take this opportunity to call for

accelerated efforts to ensure a second stage of

commitments on reducing greenhouse gas emissions in

the outcome of the next Conference of Parties to the

UNFCCC. Furthermore, it is essential that progress be

made in the negotiations on chemicals, especially in

the context of the current exercise on mercury. The

sensitivity and importance of this matter, which has

greatly potential to harm the environment, requires the

commitment of all countries in order to successfully

conclude the current negotiations.

Another priority of our country is the particular

situation of agriculture as it relates to the climate

change phenomenon. A huge number of developing

countries, including my own, depend on that sector,

which is especially vulnerable to its negative

consequences. That is why agriculture requires a

special chapter in the framework of the UNFCC

negotiations.

A new balance among many centres of power, the

emergence of new States and intra-State conflicts have

called for a reformulation of peace missions. Global

threats include climate change and terrorism, and an

international criminal justice entity has been

established. Profound political changes have taken

place in many countries. We now live in a different

world. But the changes do not affect only political and

security matters. Enormous transformations are taking

place in the global economy and development issues.

Developed countries are facing serious difficulties in

their efforts to recover from a deep economic crisis.

New, so-called emerging economies are playing a

growing role in setting the direction of the world

economy. In recent years, the need to establish new

regulations and global agreements has become ever

more apparent. We are entering a new era in

international economic relations.

In that context, we must remember that peace and

stability will not be achieved without sustainable

development. This year, the United Nations has taken

very significant steps in recognizing the link between

security and development, which is born not from

political declarations, but from empirical evidence, and

is a sine qua non of capacity-building at the national

level.

The United Nations Conference on Sustainable

Development (Rio+20) will provide us with a unique

opportunity to renew the will to achieve the goals and

commitments contained in Agenda 21 and the

Johannesburg Plan of Implementation. The quest for

long-term development must be based on a

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comprehensive development concept that takes

economic, social and environmental dimensions into

account. We believe it essential that Rio+20 achieve

tangible results that benefit our citizens. For that to

happen, issues related to technology transfer, technical

training and financing for developing countries must be

taken into account.

Food security is a fundamental component of

Uruguay’s development agenda, as well as one of its

national priorities. We remain convinced that the

current critical situation is caused by structural causes

that must be resolved collectively and urgently. We are

particularly concerned by the paralysis in the

negotiations of the Doha Round of the World Trade

Organization. That ambitious exercise, one of whose

objectives is the reduction or elimination of trade

distortions, could, by strengthening trade, promote the

development of the most disadvantaged countries of

the world.

It is essential to eliminate agricultural subsidies.

Countries that until a few decades ago were self-

sufficient for their food needs now need to import a

large part of what they consume, and they do so from

countries that subsidize their agricultural production.

The artificially low prices of agriculture exports,

sustained for decades by some countries through

subsidies and other trade-distorting measures and

limitations on market access, are mainly responsible of

the food security problems.

Stimulating investment to increase production

and improve productivity, a successful conclusion of

the Doha Round, as well as the transfer of adequate

technology to developing countries, capable of

achieving efficient agricultural economies, are

fundamental to obtaining food security.

As a middle-income country, Uruguay still faces

serious development challenges, particularly in

eradicating poverty, diversifying production,

introducing technological innovation and promoting

renewable energy, to name but a few. The progress

achieved must be consolidated, and to that end it is

vital for us to be able to count on the support of the

international community, and of the United Nations

system in particular. I must reiterate the urgent need to

consider in depth a new cooperation modality or

scheme that takes into account the specific

development needs of middle-income countries like

Uruguay.

Uruguay is committed to the reform process of

the Organization. Through the Global Governance

Group, we have maintained a proactive attitude in

order to promote a strong bond between the United

Nations and informal discussion forums outside the

system. However, it is critical to lead by example. For

that reason, we believe that improving global

governance is first an internal task of the United

Nations system. In this regard, my country is very

satisfied with the results obtained in the pilot

programme of Delivering as One, whose next

intergovernmental conference will be held in

November in Montevideo.

For all these reason, but above all because of its

firm commitment to the cause of peace and

multilateralism, Uruguay is seeking a seat as a

non-permanent member of the Security Council in

2016-2017. That would be our country’s second time in

the past 66 years, after having served in 1965-1966.

In conclusion, consolidating multilateralism is

one of the most challenging international tasks.

Multiple ongoing crises demand immediate response

and action. The rise of new informal forums with a

limited number of members but a growing influence in

international governance requires an additional

collective effort to strengthen the role of the United

Nations as a forum for political discussion in which all

States are able to participate in decision-making.

A permanent effort is required to combine

effectiveness with legitimacy — a challenge that has

become increasingly more significant as globalization

deepens. We need a new United Nations for the twenty-

first century. The first decade of the century has

already run its course. History is harsh with those who

cannot adapt to its challenges, and its consequences are

bitter. At the United Nations, we are responsible for

putting forward appropriate answers to the

international community. There is still time.