Andorra, 2013

I should like

to begin by congratulating the President of the General

Assembly at its sixty-eighth session, Ambassador

John Ashe of Antigua and Barbuda. We are fully

convinced that he will be a manifest example of how

small States can shoulder the responsibilities deriving

from participating in the international community. It is

both an honour and a great responsibility to address the

Assembly on behalf of the people and the Government

of the Principality of Andorra. It is doubly an honour as

we are celebrating 20 years since our country became a

Member of the United Nations.

In 1993, with the approval of the Constitution and

our entry into the United Nations, Andorra’s 700-year

reality as a sovereign, democratic country that had no

army and had remained neutral — few countries can

make such a claim — in the heart of the Pyrenees

was formally recognized. The visit of the Secretary-

General to our country in April on the occasion of

the twentieth anniversary of our Constitution served

to reiterate once again Andorra’s commitment to the

principles and values of the United Nations. Those

principles and values must not remain mere high-

sounding declarations and founding charters, but must

be translated into greater effectiveness in improving

people’s lives.

It is particularly worth noting the emphasis that the

United Nations has placed on development in recent

years. I refer to the Millennium Development Goals

adopted in 2000, which are to be assessed definitively in

two years’ time. It was particularly relevant to directly

link the main principles of peace, democracy and the

negotiated resolution of conflicts and human rights

with more specific matters of extreme importance,

such as the eradication of poverty and hunger, universal

primary education and the sustainability and protection

of the environment.

At this session of the General Assembly, we have

discussed and we will continue to discuss the definition

of new goals to be introduced after 2015. However, we

must not forget that all reports indicate that we shall

reach that date without having accomplished most of

the Goals set in 2000. Over the past 13 years we have

advanced very little with respect to the sustainability

and protection of the environment. Child mortality

continues to increase in the poorest regions and

countries. Achieving universal primary education

by 2015 is totally unviable, and progress towards

preventing and treating AIDS in the poorer countries

remains inadequate. A great deal of work remains to

be done.

It would not, however, be fair to emphasize only

what we have not done and to forget all the progress

that has been achieved in other areas. Since 2000, the

proportion of people living in extreme poverty has

been halved. The share of the world’s population with

access to safe drinking water rose from 76 per cent in

1990 to 89 per cent in 2010. Notable progress has been

achieved in the fight against malaria and tuberculosis,

and the goal of reducing hunger by 50 per cent in 2015

would appear to be achievable, which would be a great

success. Andorra applauds the decision to conjoin the

United Nations main principles with specific objectives

to solve the great problems faced by humankind.

We must not give the impression that we are just

a group of Heads of State and Government who have

met in a First World city, full of fine words and good

intentions, but completely ineffective when it comes to

solving the problems threatening the lives and dignity

of millions of people all over the world. Unfortunately,

that is the image that we have at times projected to

the international community. That is why I said that

we applaud the fact that specific objectives have been

set, that we evaluate progress towards meeting them

and that we come here to explain that progress and

shortcomings.

I hope the goals of the post-2015 agenda will be

even more ambitious and that we will be able to dedicate

even more effort to realizing them. That is because

the citizens of the world need to know that those who

proclaim the expansion of democracy and the rule of

law are the same people who have striven to reduce

poverty, hunger and child mortality and to promote

gender equality and universal education, which are so

important. Otherwise, we will run the risk of citizens

perceiving their institutions and the United Nations as

being far removed from their everyday lives and real

problems. Even more seriously, we would run the risk

of words such as “democracy”, “human rights” and

“international law” becoming meaningless.

A year ago, on the occasion of the sixty-seventh

session of the General Assembly, we condemned and

repudiated the Benghazi attack. Today, one year later,

we must all feel that we are citizens of Nairobi. We

must stand with those who condemn terrorism and

defend the principles of the United Nations. A year

ago we used this platform to express our deep concern

about the civil war in Syria, in particular the conflict’s

devastating effects on the Syrian population. We said

then that the conflict was creating a terrible dilemma

for the international community — that of finding

the right balance between a diplomatic resolution and

respect for the rule of law.

The use of chemical weapons against civilians,

which we condemn and which is contrary to all the

values that the General Assembly upholds, places the

international community in a scenario that requires

firm and strong answers. The strong reaction to the

situation led by the United States and France, along

with the pragmatic attitude of Russia, has generated

the momentum to advance in the search for that fair

balance.

First is the issue of reaching agreement on the

evidence and destruction of such chemical weapons;

second is the issue of taking advantage of this dynamic

in order to make greater diplomatic efforts to achieve a

peaceful solution to the conflict. That will require new

steps towards furthering the Geneva process. Nor must

we forget the humanitarian dimension of the Syrian

conflict, which is not only a priority but a terrible loss

and a cruel emergency.

The resumption of negotiations between Palestinians

and Israelis can also be included in the dynamic

of our quest for the right balance, based on a two-

State-solution, between the legitimate demand of the

Palestinian people for a peaceful and democratic State

and the desire of Israelis to obtain assurances for their

existence, safety and security.

Each and every time we are unable to resolve a

conflict, we are jeopardizing the principles and values

that are most valued by the international community:

peace, security, dialogue, human rights and democracy.

It is not always easy for the international community

to find a fair and effective way of responding, perhaps

because we are responding to the problems rather than

preventing them. Therefore, I would like to return to

what I said at the beginning of my speech. We cannot

allow the principles and values of the United Nations

to be relegated to high-flown declarations that have

no positive impact on people’s lives. Peace, the rule of

law and democracy must be accompanied by effective

respect for human rights and a substantial improvement

in the living conditions of people, which means less

poverty, less hunger, more education and more gender

equality. An ambitious development agenda that is

implemented effectively is the best way of preventing

conflicts and ensuring peace and security.

Early in my statement, in recalling Andorra’s

admission into the United Nations 20 years ago, I

referred to the more than seven centuries of peace

in our country, which is a relevant point to make at

an event such as this. I am sure that other Andorran

representatives have raised this point. We are proud of

our country’s peaceful history, but we are also keenly

aware that Andorra, a small State, would probably not

have enjoyed more than 700 years of peace had there

been any great inequalities among its inhabitants, had

the laws not been fair or had tyranny reigned instead

of a parliamentary regime, since there cannot be peace

without justice in Andorra or anywhere else.

All of us who are here today, all of us who have

spoken from this rostrum this week, are obligated to

ensure peace and justice, democracy and development,

human rights and the peaceful resolution of conflicts.

All the principles and values to which we are firmly

committed must always go hand in hand. It is a long and

difficult path, but it is the only way in which a better

world can possibly come about.

Referring to what President Obama said a few

days ago (see A/68/PV.5), it is obvious that we live in

a world of imperfect choices. This difficulty must not

be used as an excuse for our failure to act. As President

Hollande stated from this very rostrum (see A/68/PV.5),

the United Nations has a responsibility to act, and the

worst decision is to take no action at all.