Chile, 2000

First

of all, Mr. President, permit me to congratulate you on

your election to preside over the Assembly's fifty-fifth

session, the first of the new millennium. I wish you

every success in your presidency, and promise you

Chile's full cooperation as you carry out your

important duties. I would like to express our

admiration and affection for the country you represent,

Finland. My appreciation also goes to the praiseworthy

efforts of Foreign Minister Gurirab of Namibia during

the work of the session that has just come to an end.

Likewise, we congratulate the Secretary-General on the

leadership he has demonstrated since taking office. We

recognize and value his commitment to the vision of a

new United Nations for the twenty-first century. We

encourage him to continue his efforts to reform the

Organization.

Globalization is without a doubt the name of our

era. Today it is pointless to ask ourselves whether we

want to participate in globalization. Isolation is not a

realistic option. Chile views globalization as an

unquestionable reality and as a font of opportunity that

has brought us very valuable benefits. The opening of

our economy has enabled us to double the size of our

gross domestic product within 10 years, compared with

the almost 50 years it took to accomplish the previous

doubling. Technological advances have helped to bring

us closer to major world centres.

Globalization gives rise to opportunities, but it

can also deepen the inequities which have always

characterized the international system. The United

Nations can help to ensure that globalization does not

result in exclusion, with the benefits of modernization

limited to a lucky few. We must make a firm

commitment to developing a new form of international

cooperation, focused in particular on broadening access

to the knowledge-based economy.

The flows of goods, services, capital, information

and technology characteristic of globalization tend to

bypass domestic regulations and escape the control of

Governments. This lack of regulation is generally not

counterbalanced by other standards or authorities. It is

up to us to fill this vacuum by using all available

multilateral forums.

As never before in the history of humanity,

resolving the daily problems faced by people

worldwide depends on collective international

decision-making. The challenge confronting the United

Nations today is to lend a certain degree of order to

globalization; to establish effective institutions and

rules, so that globalization will serve to advance the

development of our peoples; and to ensure that the

fruits of scientific and technological advances benefit

all peoples.

At the Rio Group's most recent Summit of Heads

of State or Government, held in Cartagena, Colombia,

the countries that make up this regional political

coordination body prepared a joint contribution to the

Millennium Summit, reaffirming the central role of the

United Nations in this new era on which we are

embarking.

The past year has given rise to a mixture of hope

and concern with regard to peace and security. Chile

followed with particular interest the historic talks held

between the leaders of North and South Korea, from 13

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to 15 June of this year. We congratulate the leaders and

the peoples of both countries on the progress made at

this groundbreaking summit.

The conflict in the Middle East has entered what

seems to be a decisive stage. We are heartened by the

advances made this year and encourage the parties to

continue their negotiations in accordance with the

established timetables and relevant Security Council

resolutions. We are confident that Israel and the

Palestinian National Authority will find satisfactory

solutions to the remaining issues, particularly those

related to Jerusalem. We are also encouraged by

Israel's withdrawal from southern Lebanon.

We support the Security Council's decisions

establishing a massive humanitarian programme for

Iraq under the 'oil-for-food' formula, and we favour

an ongoing evaluation of that programme. We urge the

Iraqi Government to cooperate effectively with the new

inspection agency the United Nations Monitoring,

Verification and Inspection Commission whose

work we deem particularly important.

We have followed closely developments in the

Balkans. The seeds of intolerance and 'ethnic

cleansing' are still present in the region. Chile views

with fear the possibility of a new Balkan conflict. Only

full respect for democracy and human rights can bring

about peace in the region.

We are concerned by the conflicts in Africa. We

are hopeful as to the significant mediating role played

by regional entities such as the Organization for

African Unity, especially in the Ethiopia-Eritrea

dispute, and the Southern African Development

Community. We hope that these efforts, along with

those of the United Nations, can bring about peace,

allowing the continent to fully develop its enormous

potential.

We are pleased to note that the Security Council

has directly addressed the scourge of HIV/AIDS in

Africa, designating it as an international security issue

requiring urgent action. We hope that initiatives will be

adopted to effectively combat this problem, which casts

an even greater shadow over the future of the continent

than the current armed conflicts.

We view with concern the difficulties surrounding

the upcoming referendum in the Western Sahara. Chile

would like to see the elections take place as soon as

possible, on the basis of a free and secret ballot and

adequate voter information. We are concerned about

the obstacles that are hindering this undertaking.

Although post-cold-war hopes for a world free of

nuclear weapons in the near future have been tempered,

that goal remains fully valid. I have the honour to

report than on 12 July, Chile deposited its instrument of

ratification for the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban

Treaty the sixteenth country to do so. We call upon

all nations to ratify this Treaty as soon as possible in

order to reach the quorum of 44 countries necessary for

its entry into force.

In our information-based society, the problems

experienced by any one country affect the world

community as a whole. No state can shirk its the

responsibility to promote peaceful coexistence within

and among nations. From the ethical standpoint of our

common humanity, we have viewed with interest the

development of the concept of humanitarian

intervention. Chile continues to abide by the principles

of non-intervention and the self-determination of

peoples. But these principles must be linked to other

principles of equal or higher priority, which have

emerged prominently since the end of the cold war. We

cannot remain impassive in the face of the

humanitarian catastrophes caused by great conflicts.

Thus, we propose that in specific cases, and in

accordance with the Charter of the United Nations,

concerted multilateral action be taken to provide rapid

assistance to those who are suffering. Chile is also an

enthusiastic participant in the Human Security

Network, in response to an initiative put forward by

Canada and Norway.

Chile considers it an ethical and political

imperative of the greatest urgency to expand its

participation in the United Nations peacekeeping

forces. Since 1999, we have developed an internal legal

framework that is in closer harmony with international

requirements for participation in these operations.

Those legal modifications have enabled us to

participate in the United Nations Transitional

Administration in East Timor, beginning in February of

this year.

My country is also willing to discuss a new

payment scale for the financing of United Nations

peacekeeping operations. We believe that this scale

must be adjusted to reflect the current financial

situation of Member States.

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We cannot fail to mention the process of Security

Council reform. While some progress has been noted in

discussions of the Council's methods of work and of

the degree of transparency required by this body, we

note that there have been few, if any, advances toward

the expansion of its membership.

Chile feels a certain dismay and fatigue at the

lack of progress, which is the result of positions that

appear irreconcilable. The issue of the veto further

complicates this sensitive subject. Until we seriously

address the question of limiting the veto with a view to

its ultimate abolishment, we doubt that the discussions

undertaken by the Assembly's Open-ended Working

Group on the Question of Equitable Representation on

and Increase in the Membership of the Security

Council and Other Matters related to the Security

Council will bear fruit.

Globalization is not limited to the economic

sphere. It also involves the universalization of values

and principles of our common humanity, and the

strengthening of the rights of the individual, which

have increasingly become subjects addressed by

international law. The absence of democracy and good

governance, and the people's lack of a voice and

participation in public affairs in States Members of the

Organization are of concern to us all. The United

Nations exists for individuals, not for those who

govern. Under the imperative of putting people at the

centre of all our efforts, we must support and promote

human rights and democratic processes.

Chile was among the countries that worked to

convene the Towards a Community of Democracies

conference held at Warsaw, Poland, last June. More

than 100 United Nations Member nations participated

in that gathering and endorsed its final declaration. We

are convinced that, as time passes, the community of

democracies will be an increasingly potent moral force

within the United Nations, provided that it maintains

its high standards and requirements.

Democracy is based on justice, both national and

universal. Chile enthusiastically supports the

establishment of an International Criminal Court, and

hopes that all countries will ratify its statute.

Establishing a permanent body to exercise criminal

jurisdiction over those accused of crimes that fall

within its purview will discourage the irregular

domestic proceedings which have allowed such

individuals to enjoy impunity, as well as limiting

jurisdictional disputes among countries.

At the World Summit for Social Development,

held at Copenhagen in 1995, heads of State or

Government met for the first time in the history of the

United Nations to declare with force and clarity that

the chief responsibility of our societies is to improve

the quality of life of our populations, particularly for

their most marginalized and dispossessed members.

This year, in a special session, the Assembly reviewed

the progress made towards fulfilling the Summit's

commitments and launched new initiatives on their

genuine implementation. That was an important step in

the quest to better humanize the process of

globalization. We must continue to incorporate the

objectives of the social Summit into our national and

multilateral policies.

In the social sphere, the United Nations has

recognized the vital need to promote gender equality.

Chile has worked together with our regional

neighbours in Latin America and the Caribbean to

reaffirm the principles and proposals of the Fourth

World Conference on Women. We have renewed our

commitment to the advancement of women, and have

developed a new plan to equalize opportunities for men

and for women. A concrete demonstration of that

commitment is the fact that about one third of

President Lagos Escobar's cabinet members are

women.

We reiterate Chile's strong support for

preparations for the General Assembly's 2001 special

session to follow up the World Summit for Children.

We also attribute special significance to the concern of

the United Nations for the rights and welfare of

indigenous populations and of the elderly.

Chile has volunteered to host the regional

preparatory meeting for the World Conference against

Racism, Racial Discrimination, Xenophobia and

Related Intolerance. We aim to contribute to the

regional consensus in that area, confirming our very

firm commitment to tolerance and respect for diversity.

Environmental protection is an issue that crosses

national borders and has become a global concern,

driven in part by an emerging international civil

society. Here, international cooperation, under the

auspices of the United Nations, continues to be an

urgent necessity. The United Nations Conference on

Environment and Development, held at Rio de Janeiro,

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laid the foundations for agreements on climate change,

forest conservation and biodiversity. It is very

important that we fulfil and gradually expand those

commitments with new agreements and protocols

ensuring the management, protection and conservation

of our planet's resources. This session, as well as the

Rio + 10 event which will take place in 2002, must

continue to spur commitment to a new ethic of

environmental conservation.

We are witnessing the globalization of financial

markets, which significantly affect capital, currency

and credit flows, as well as the economies of all of

nations. As recent experience demonstrates, a financial

crisis in one corner of the world can rapidly trigger a

domino effect, spreading the crisis even to faraway

nations with no responsibility for or control over the

causes of the original disturbance. It is a great injustice

that countries that have been prudent and responsible in

the management of their domestic economies can be

affected by problems with which they had nothing to

do. It is urgent for us to find ways to impose order and

standards of good management on the international

world. This does not mean obstructing international

capital flows, but rather establishing an appropriate

international framework to address the problems they

may cause.

Chile has enthusiastically supported the

international community's progress towards free trade

through deregulation and the elimination of

protectionist measures and barriers. The failure of the

1999 Seattle World Trade Organization (WTO)

conference was unfortunate. But let us be frank: that

failure was not brought about by civil-society

demonstrations, but by the lack of agreement among

the world's leading commercial Powers. Chile

continues to believe in the urgent necessity of initiating

a new round of multilateral trade negotiations.

The United Nations must play a key role in

bringing about substantive improvements in the

management of commercial, monetary and financial

systems, so that their operations will take into account

the needs of all countries. The Economic and Social

Council has done commendable work to coordinate

United Nations activities with those of the Bretton

Woods institutions. But the General Assembly too has

a critical role to play in this area.

The decision to hold a High-level International

and Intergovernmental Event on Financing for

Development in 2001 was of groundbreaking

significance, and we must resolve to carry forward the

commitments expressed at the Millennium Summit to

ensure the success of that event. That would lead to a

new phase in North-South relations, since the political

legitimacy arising from a broad multilateral consensus

will allow us to design a new financial architecture and

a system of international trade and exchange that

reflect the legitimate interests of all the world's

peoples.

My country believes that official development

assistance is still necessary to promote the

development of many countries and regions. A

globalized world cannot neglect the principle of

solidarity, which is an idea so central to the United

Nations tradition. In the same spirit, international

assistance must be provided to relieve the distressing

conditions of many countries burdened with

unsustainable debt, so that they can meet the

challenges of development.

This year Chile began a new six-year political

term, under fully democratic conditions. Our country is

in complete harmony with the international community.

We possess a vibrant civil society, which made its own

contributions to our preparation for the Millennium

Summit. Human rights and the rule of law are

respected in Chile. Our courts impart justice with

rigour and a sense of responsibility. We enjoy a

vigorous and open economy, and we have resolved to

continue reducing inequalities in our country. We reach

out to the world from a firm foundation in our own

region, Latin America. We are strengthening our

multilateral policies, based on open regionalism and on

cooperation with countries with similar criteria

throughout the world.

We are confident that this General Assembly

session, dedicated to the millennium, will be recorded

as the one in which we began to address the great

challenge of our time: to give order to the forces of

globalization and promote the extension of its benefits

to an ever-increasing number of the inhabitants of our

planet. You can rest assured, Mr. President, that Chile's

delegation will lend its full support to meeting this

challenge.