Venezuela, 2012

We would like to

congratulate Mr. Vuk Jeremić on his election as

President of the General Assembly at its sixty-seventh

session.

Our world is afflicted by new political, economic

and social turmoil that has disrupted the peaceful

coexistence of the peoples of the world and reduced

the quality of life for millions of human beings. New

neocolonial wars have been launched aimed at seizing

the natural resources of developing countries.

The proponents of capitalism, while attempting to

overcome the deep economic crisis that has affected

the global financial system, have been resorting to new

imperialistic strategies and overexploiting workers,

including those in developing countries. The social

welfare State and the social achievements attained

after the Second World War are now in the process of

being dismantled. The new imperialists have sought

to transfer responsibility for the crisis to those born in

other countries and to immigrants, whereas the current

economic crisis was caused primarily by financial

speculators. Social policies are gradually being reduced

or eliminated. The middle class has been growing poor.

Hunger, poverty and unemployment are reappearing in

the developed countries and are spreading around the

world. Suffering and despair are increasing.

Meanwhile, Latin America and the Caribbean have

managed to tackle, with relative success, the impact

of those global economic and financial imbalances.

The United Nations Economic Commission for Latin

America and the Caribbean reports that the economies

in our region have had a significant rebound beginning

in 2010, which enabled our region to mitigate the

effects of the 2008 to 2009 crisis. Latin America and

the Caribbean are well positioned on the world stage,

thanks to the strengthening of initiatives in the area of

regional integration, designed to strengthen political

and economic autonomy. Therefore, the domination

that the imperial Powers and their multinationals have

imposed on developing countries is gradually being

overcome.

The Bolivarian Alliance for the Peoples of Our

America is a new coordination mechanism for dialogue

guided by cooperation, complementarity and solidarity

among sovereign nations. It represents an alternative

for the liberation and independence of our countries.

The Community of Latin American and Caribbean

States (CELAC) and the Union of South American

Nations (UNASUR) are regional spaces of multilateral

cooperation aimed at strengthening the unity of Latin

America and the Caribbean and are constructing

a multipolar, balanced and just world in which the sovereign equality of States will prevail as well as a

culture of peace in a world free of nuclear weapons and

of weapons of mass destruction. CELAC and UNASUR

have inspired social and human development, with

equity and inclusion, and seek to eradicate poverty

and overcome inequalities in the region. In Latin

America and the Caribbean, we are seeing a new type

of regionalism that is being promoted by diplomatic

solidarity.

Today, the unipolar system of imperial domination

is in crisis. A pluripolar and multi-centred system has

been coming into being, in which emerging countries

and new regional blocs are able to contribute to the

democratization of international relations. Meanwhile,

the imperial Powers have been promoting, within the

United Nations, a new regulatory framework enabling

foreign intervention in the internal affairs of States,

trying to get States to give up their sovereignty, political

independence and self-determination. Those Powers

have become the judges, jurors and administrators of

internal conflicts in the countries of the South, resorting

to interventionist initiatives that are conceived here

at the United Nations and implemented through the

Security Council.

A new international order, truly based on the legal

equality of States, is an imperative demand. Reform of

the United Nations is necessary. The Security Council

must become more democratic if it wishes to express

the will of all nations. The General Assembly is

begging for revitalization, and the Secretary-General

should be elected democratically, by all Member States.

International peace and security cannot be built on the

basis of privileges for a few.

The international financial architecture that

emerged at Bretton Woods is anti-democratic. The

General Assembly and the Economic and Social

Council are never taken into account when decisions

are made on vital economic and financial matters that

affect all of humankind. Reform of the global economic

and financial system must be addressed in the United

Nations, and all countries should have an equal voice

in the search for solutions to problems related to

development.

In Syria we are following the same interventionist

script that was applied in Libya. Imperial Powers are

fomenting ethnic, political and religious divisions

between Syrians and between Syria and its neighbours.

They are shamelessly supplying weapons to the rebel forces in an attempt to overthrow the Government of

that Arab country. Venezuela supports the peace efforts

being made by the Joint Special Representative of the

United Nations and the League of Arab States for Syria,

Mr. Lakhdar Brahimi. We should encourage political

dialogue between Syrians, but we reject foreign

intervention and the deadly policy of regime change.

We support the positions of Russia, China and other

countries on the issue; they demand that the Security

Council respect the territorial unity and integrity of the

Syrian State. The Non-Aligned Movement can play a

proactive role in helping to solve that crisis.

The Bolivarian Government reaffirms its support

for the existence of a Palestinian State, independent

and sovereign, within internationally recognized

borders, in accordance with the relevant resolutions of

the Security Council and the General Assembly. We

also reiterate our support for Palestine’s admission as

a State Member of the United Nations with full rights.

We are concerned about the warmongering threats

of the Governments of Israel and the United States

against Iran. A military attack on that Persian nation

would have fatal consequences for world peace. We

recognize the sovereign right of the Islamic Republic of

Iran to develop nuclear energy for peaceful purposes.

Respect for cultures and religions ensures the

peaceful coexistence of the human beings who populate

our planet. Within the crisis of capitalism, we have

once again seen a resurgence in Western countries of

racial hatred, xenophobia and hostility to other cultures

and religions. The reprehensible video against the great

Prophet Muhammad and Islam has naturally provoked

protests among Muslim peoples. Such anti-Islamic

expressions are not random; they are part of a political

and ideological climate that fosters hatred against those

who are different.

We deplore the fact that freedom of speech is being

used to offend religions and denigrate religious prophets.

What are the limits of the freedom of expression? Is it an

absolute freedom that allows one to besmirch people’s

deepest beliefs and religious feelings? Venezuela

rejects exhibitions of xenophobia against Muslims and

supports dialogue between cultures and civilizations

aimed at promoting peace and brotherhood among

human beings. At the same time, we call for respect for

the inviolability of diplomatic premises and the dignity

of human life. The United States continues to maintain its criminal

economic and financial blockade of the fraternal people

of Cuba. Venezuela emphasizes its solidarity with the

Government of the Republic of Cuba and demands an

end to that unilateral coercive measure. It is ironic that

a country that practices State terrorism and shelters

the well-known terrorist Luís Posada Carriles includes

Cuba on its list of countries that support terrorism.

We demand that Cuba be removed from that arbitrary

classification, whose sole purpose is to justify the

economic, commercial and financial embargo against

its people.

Venezuela appreciates all efforts on the part of the

United Nations to improve its mediation capabilities in

crisis situations that could have negative consequences

for international peace and stability. The United Nations

should act in a neutral and impartial fashion, with a

view to strengthening its ability to mediate in cases in

which it is voluntarily and expressly requested to do so

by the parties involved in international conflicts. The

countries of Latin America and the Caribbean have

very valuable experience in the use of dialogue and

mediation for the settlement of disputes. The Rio Group

made a major contribution in helping to end the terrible

armed conflicts in Central America in recent years, and

UNASUR has also helped to prevent and settle disputes

in our region.

Venezuela welcomes the announcement made by

the President of Colombia, Mr. Juan Manuel Santos,

that negotiations will begin between his Government

and the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia

(FARC), with a view to achieving stable and lasting

peace. Venezuela, Cuba, Chile and Norway are

taking part in the dialogue process as supporters, by

agreement between the Colombian authorities and

FARC. The Bolivarian Government is backing peace

and reconciliation for the Colombian people.

Venezuela supports the Republic of Argentina’s

right of sovereignty over the Malvinas Islands, the

South Georgia Islands and the South Sandwich Islands,

and the surrounding maritime areas. We reiterate our

call to the United Kingdom to begin talks with that

fraternal South American country in order to arrive at

a negotiated and peaceful solution to that dispute.

On Sunday, 7 October, democratic elections will be

held in Venezuela to elect the President of the Republic.

They will be transparent and credible, because, as

former United States President Jimmy Carter said

a few days ago, we have the most modern electoral system in the world. Between 1999 and 2012 we have

held 14 clean national elections, a world record in

political participation. We should issue a warning, here

in this forum, that anti-democratic national elements,

in alliance with foreign interests, are attempting to

use violence in order to subvert the will of the people.

The Venezuelan people are prepared, however, once

again to defend their democratic and revolutionary

achievements.

Venezuela needs a democratic opposition. Pluralism

and diversity coexist in democracy. And peace is the

only path for the homeland of Simón Bolívar. President

Hugo Chávez Frías is guaranteeing the continuity of

our sovereign and supportive foreign policy, focused

on improving Latin American and Caribbean unity,

enhancing cooperation with the peoples of the South, and

building a multicentric and multipolar world, without

imperial hegemonies. Similarly, he is guaranteeing the

continuity of a national policy based on social justice.

The successes of the Bolivarian Revolution are

evident. Venezuela has met the targets set by the

Millennium Development Goals before 2015. The

number of households in extreme poverty has fallen

dramatically, from 21 per cent in 1998 to 7 per cent

in 2010. Social investment in my country is among

the highest in the world. Venezuela has the highest

minimum wage in Latin America and the Caribbean.

According to the Gini coefficient, our country is the

most egalitarian in Latin America and the Caribbean.

According to the Food and Agriculture Organization

of the United Nations, we are ranked tenth among the

best-fed peoples in the world. We are the country with

the fifth-highest percentage of university enrolment

in the world. Education and health care are free. All

Venezuelans, without exception, have access to those

rights.

Those extraordinary achievements in economic,

social and cultural rights have been attained in the

context of a participatory democracy, in which civil

and political rights are fully respected, as never before

in our country’s history. The Venezuelan people have

regained their sovereignty and self-determination. A

revolution for freedom, justice and equality is under

way. That is the Bolivarian revolution.