Argentina, 2002

First, I wish to congratulate you, Mr. President, on your

election as President of the fifty-seventh session of the

General Assembly. Argentina welcomes the fact that a

distinguished representative of the Czech Republic has

been given this distinction.

The Argentine Republic rejoices with the United

Nations at the entry of Switzerland as a new Member

of the Organization. The independence of East Timor,

the formation of its first sovereign Government and its

coming membership in the United Nations are the

result of the struggle of that country for its right to self-

determination. We welcome this young nation that is

now incorporating into international life.

Argentina wishes to express its special gratitude

to the Secretary-General, Mr. Kofi Annan, for

translating, through his actions and his continuing

search for peace, the aspirations of the international

community striving to build a more secure and stable

world.

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One year after the criminal terrorist attacks in the

United States, we reiterate our solidarity with the

people and the government of this friendly country, and

with the victims and their families. Terrorism is the

child of political or religious fanaticism. We are

convinced that international cooperation has to be

strengthened in the fight against any terrorist threat, so

as to eliminate that threat, which endangers peace and

international security, and ensure that those responsible

for those attacks are tried and punished along with

those who help them and support them. There is no

justification, nor will there be any, for these barbaric

actions that bring shame upon mankind.

It is not a good thing when some Member States

do not abide by United Nations resolutions. It is

intolerable that these resolutions remain

unimplemented when issues related to the very

existence of mankind on the planet are involved. The

existence of arsenals with bacteriological, chemical

and other similar weapons that can be used in a

traditional or terrorist war is a matter that affects all

men, women and children of the world.

My country, along with the rest of the

international community, has consistently called on the

Government of Iraq to accept immediately and

unconditionally the United Nations inspectors. These

inspectors represent all of us inspecting one of us.

There are no reasons to refuse the inspections if there

is nothing to conceal.

Therefore, Argentina welcomes the

announcement made by the Secretary-General that Iraq

finally agreed to let the inspectors in without

conditions. We hope that Iraq fulfils its promise in

good faith, and we very warmly congratulate the

League of Arab States and the Secretary-General for

making this effort towards peace. The main concern at

the United Nations for peacekeeping and for

maintaining international security has made significant

strides, even though some situations of extreme gravity

and with high potential for conflict still exist and have

not been solved.

The promising events related to the establishment

of the New Partnership for Africa's Development

(NEPAD) that we discussed yesterday, contrast with

the worsening situation in the Middle East. The

Argentine Government is following with pain and great

concern the acts of violence in that region. We are

convinced that no possible solution will result from the

indiscriminate and brutal use of force through

deliberate assassinations or through terrorist attacks

against civilians. The only road to peace and stability is

through dialogue between Israelis and Palestinians.

Therefore we reiterate our position in support of the

renewal of negotiations between the parties with the

hope for coming to a peaceful, fair and definitive

solution to the conflict. This should include the

recognition of the undeniable right of the Palestinian

people to self-determination and to form an

independent State, as well as the legitimate right of

Israel to live within secure and internationally

recognized borders. At present, there are several plans

for peace in addition to the efforts on the part of the

Quartet. All of these initiatives deserve our urgent

attention.

At this time, I wish to confirm that, as part of

Argentina's dedication to peace, and its desire to

contribute to a solution of the serious existing

conflicts, our country will continue to provide armed

forces and police personnel, as well as civilians, for the

peacekeeping operations established by the United

Nations Security Council.

We stress again the permanent commitment of

Argentine democracy to the international protection of

human rights and to the United Nations activities in

that field. We wish to mention our satisfaction at the

entry into force of the Rome Statute, of which

Argentina is a founding party.

Argentina today is going through an exceptionally

deep crisis. As for the opening of the country to the

world, our country will continue to travel along the

path of becoming a part of the concert of nations that

exchange goods and services, as it has done

uninterruptedly for the last 12 years. Therefore we will

continue participating actively in multilateral

negotiations within the framework of the World Trade

Organization (WTO) and we will implement a new

trade policy, which, as part of an overall State policy,

will be aimed at giving the Argentine economy a clear

export profile. It is only by generating foreign

earnings, as a result of international trade, that it will

be possible to have sustained economic growth over

time, while making it possible to repay our debts.

The consolidation of this model demands access

to the currently restricted markets of developed

countries for Argentine products. The objective of

improving access to markets in industrialized countries

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was, during the Conference on Financing for

Development held in Monterrey, precisely the subject

of an absolute consensus, since this undertaking was

considered essential to eradicate poverty and to start on

the road to development.

To bring prosperity to our peoples it is necessary

to see these initiatives enacted and not merely

considered as proposals. It is necessary for actions to

conform, once and for all, to the principles that have

been voiced and the commitments that have been made.

It is of great importance that tariffs paid for

agricultural products be reduced and, simultaneously,

that protection mechanisms and subsidies be

eliminated. Such subsidies rose in 2000, within the

Organisation for Economic Cooperation and

Development (OECD) countries rose to the staggering

figure of 325 billion dollars with respect to agricultural

products alone. Of these, 80 per cent were granted by

the United States, Japan and the European Union.

It is essential then that the guidelines towards free

trade for agricultural products become a reality,

allowing the developing countries to stop calling for

aid to help them deal with a specific problem, which

leads to a vicious circle. As a result, they only increase

their already heavy and unbearable debt. They should

be allowed to sustain growth by selling their products.

In other words, we wish trade rather than aid.

The grave economic situation we are facing has

made it difficult for us to fulfil our obligations to this

Organization. These difficulties have been presented to

the Committee on Contributions, and we hope that it

will be adopted by the General Assembly, calling for

understanding from countries that are friends of

Argentina.

In an environment of acute economic and social

crisis, the Government of the Argentine Republic has

reaffirmed its firm commitment, in national and

international forums, towards the purposes and the

programmatic principles of the International

Convention on the Rights of the Child. This

international agreement, incorporated into our national

constitution, is included in the set of values and legal

standards that distinguish the Argentine nation.

My country has clearly recognized the rights of

children from the time of conception, and stresses the

importance of the family in the child's development.

Along these same lines we once again insist on the

right of those children abducted by one of their parents.

In particular, we refer to the painful situation of Karim,

Zahira and Sharif, the children of our compatriot

Gabriela Arias Uriburu. Unfortunately, despite huge

efforts on the part of the family and Argentine officials,

no answer has been given by the Kingdom of Jordan to

our request for some mechanism that would make

possible a stable and permanent relationship between

these children and their mother. This position has

received the clear support of the meeting of

government experts called by the General Assembly of

the Organization of American States (OAS) in

Montevideo, Uruguay.

The Argentine Republic believes that the

outcomes of the World Summit on Sustainable

Development, recently held in Johannesburg,

constitutes a feasible agreement, upon which it is

possible to move forward in the implementation of

specific actions in the economic, social, and

environmental dimensions of sustainable development.

I regret to say that the most important statement

at that Summit was made by a group of children, who

said: We ask ourselves whether snow will fall in the

middle of summer one day,' and More than words or

applause, we need actions.' Unfortunately, little

specific progress has been made to stop the continuing

series of environmental disasters.

As the General Assembly knows well, the

Argentine Republic has a sovereignty dispute with the

United Kingdom over the Malvinas and South Georgia

and the South Sandwich Islands, as well as the

surrounding maritime areas. The recovery of full

sovereignty over that part of our national territory,

while respecting the interests of the inhabitants and

international law, is a precept enshrined in the

Argentine Constitution. The issue was included in the

programme of work of this Organization, which, in

several resolutions, asked the Government of Argentina

and the Government of the United Kingdom to resume

negotiations to find a just and lasting solution to the

sovereignty dispute, thus ending a colonial situation

imposed by the use of force in 1833.

Today, in line with that request, Argentina once

again reaffirms its positive disposition to resume

bilateral negotiations with the United Kingdom to find

a solution to the question and its support of the good

offices mission that the General Assembly entrusted to

the Secretary-General to assist the parties to achieve

that goal.

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Some three decades ago, in this same Hall, Pope

Paul VI declared from this same rostrum that

development is the new name of peace. That brief and

wise sentence is fully valid today and points towards

the path that we should follow.