Bolivia, 2005

Mr. President, I am pleased to greet and congratulate

you on your election, which will assure the success of

these debates. I am also pleased to greet Secretary-

General Kofi Annan, whose efforts to preserve peace

and promote solidarity among the world’s peoples are

recognized and appreciated.

My country, Bolivia, located at the heart of South

America, has just overcome, with sacrifice and

deprivation, a profound political crisis. The maturity

and the democratic spirit of my people led to a

transition period to ensure institutional continuity and

to initiate a process to legitimize, through a universal

vote, the election of the country’s authorities.

Furthermore, this process had as its goal to establish

governability and to reaffirm faith in the citizens’ right

to elect their Government and the parliamentary

representatives of their choice.

During the electoral process that Bolivia is

presently undergoing, a new design for a pioneer

nation in securing its liberty and independence will be

defined. The elections to take place at the end of this

year will bring about a new and unprecedented

political scenario, a process to carry out a constituent

assembly and the people’s decision to put into practice

regional autonomies that will lead to the establishment

of a new social contract oriented towards the

construction of a more organized country, forever

democratic, without exclusion, as required by the

Millennium Development Goals.

A well-known Colombian citizen advised us that

only with a new look to the past may we create the

possibility of another future; and only by looking

creatively at our world may we catch a glimpse of the

new type of order we ought to build. This vision is

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shared by the peoples of Latin America and, of course,

by Bolivians. For some time, we have been united in

our effort to solve disputes by encouraging common

actions so that disputing countries may look for and

negotiate peaceful solutions to their differences.

It is also true that in this America with profound

democratic roots and ties of brotherhood and solidarity

among the peoples, there are still unresolved situations,

such as Bolivia’s landlocked status. At the beginning of

the twenty-first century, the people of Bolivia and

neighbouring countries should be capable of creating

spaces in which open dialogue can take place, without

prejudice, thereby allowing for solutions that look to

the future and are not based on positions anchored in

the past. We believe that it is essential to enter into

negotiations with a view to consulting, responding to

and serving mutual interests and reaching a definitive

solution that restores Bolivia’s sovereign access to the

Pacific coast. It is essential that we create an

environment of trust for negotiation and agreement for

that purpose.

Latin America is a region in which we dream

about freedom, hope for progress and the integration of

our peoples, although this requires constant renewal

and creativity on our part. I am convinced that we will

continue with the necessary task of attaining the

Millennium Development Goals set for 2015 and the

subsequent indicators for measuring social progress,

although in the case of Bolivia we may face difficulties

that will require us to focus on inequality and

exclusion, violent conflict, intolerance, unfair land

distribution, unemployment, extreme poverty and

malnutrition.

The Bolivian people fully agree that we need to

lay a foundation for ensuring progress with equity.

Thus, a global effort is required if we are to eradicate

poverty.

Although significant progress has been made with

regard to such indicators for sustainability, institutional

improvements and economic stability, the Government

of Bolivia is concerned about the deadlines that have

been set, and urges the international community to

consider putting in place better terms and conditions.

Harmony among peoples cannot be achieved fully

in a world in which security is put to the test every day

by terrorist threats against innocent people and against

the systems chosen by peoples who cherish the

conviction that the only way of safeguarding mutual

respect and harmony in society is through the exercise

of democracy. Bolivia condemns terrorism and is

actively combating that scourge afflicting humankind.

Our Organization, which is committed to

promoting the civilized coexistence of the peoples of

the world, is 60 years old. Founded by 45 States, it

now has 191 Members, which support and put into

practice the guiding principles of our global

community. A world without the United Nations is

unthinkable in either theory or practice, for it is

guiding us towards a common destiny and away from

such current tribulations as poverty, terrorism and

violence.

Bolivia recognizes that, throughout the 60 years

of this Organization’s life, it has benefited from

valuable cooperation efforts. Indeed, certain problems

are shared by many countries. Thus international

cooperation cannot be considered merely an act of

solidarity. Cooperation must be a pillar of peace, since

one of the threats that we are facing is increasing

inequality leading to the marginalization of vast sectors

of our societies. This brings dissatisfaction, which

frequently gives rise to dangerous social tensions.

It is not merely a question of achieving apparent

economic stability. Rather, we must significantly

improve quality of life indices, both out of basic

respect for human rights and because of the need for

equity and justice.

Bolivia reaffirms its commitment to the principles

of the United Nations, to peace and to democratic

institutions. We believe that the United Nations is the

highest forum for universal interaction among

countries and individuals, and we also believe that its

institutions and entities must be adapted and reformed

if it is to achieve its objectives.

The interrelationship between development,

security and human rights within a framework of

democratic values is an expression of today’s

interdependent world, and of multilateralism, which

reaffirms the leading role of the United Nations and

our ongoing determination to promote social progress

and to improve living standards within a broader

concept of freedom. In this context, Bolivia believes

that the recent commitment made at the world summit

to adopt, in the near future, a United Nations

declaration on the rights of indigenous peoples will

encourage social integration and peaceful national

coexistence.

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Bolivia is sincere in its determination to achieve

peace, solidarity and the well-being of all, to protect

the rule of law and to secure justice and liberty.

Ultimately, we are guided by democracy — a system

that can be improved upon, and a way of life.