Colombia, 1993

Nearly all those who stand at this rostrum

represent the dreams of their countrymen. Many who come

to this Hall bring with them the hopes of their peoples,

which have been shattered by violence, intolerance,

selfishness or misunderstanding. But all, without exception,

bring with them their own vision of the world; the sum of

those visions will provide a model for the world in which

we live and die and in which our children will live and

grow. It is therefore a great honour for me to address once

more so many men and women of all origins and all

destinies. The world listens expectantly to what we say

here, for the world has confidence and faith in the

commitment of the United Nations to action on behalf of a

better future for all mankind.

Today, as we begin this session, I believe that those of

us who have worked for the triumph of peace and

democracy are living at a crucial moment. Without doubt,

there is room for optimism, but our work is far from done.

The end of bipolarism has not by itself brought the

feeling that peace, progress and justice are now nearer or

more possible. While bloc confrontation has disappeared,

we are seeing the resurgence of harsh ancient nationalisms

and fanaticisms that threaten peace and stability, and the

presence of extreme poverty and social injustice in the

majority of the world’s countries.

Even as we meet here, thousands are dying, victims of

racism, xenophobia, fratricidal wars, hatreds which have fed

on themselves for centuries, territorial disputes, or the simple

and terrible inability of mankind to provide everyone with

that which all are promised: freedom and equal opportunity.

At the same time, we feel increasing pain at the

situation in Bosnia and Herzegovina, and in areas of Africa,

in many Eastern European nations and in other parts of the

world.

During this session we will also hear of hopes and of

dreams of peace and reconciliation that until now seemed

impossible. I speak, for example, of the gradual abolition of

racial segregation in South Africa. I point also to the fact

that rivals like Israel and the Palestinian Liberation

Organization have had the courage to declare mutual

recognition and respect. That Yitzhak Rabin and

Yasser Arafat can negotiate with courage and fortitude,

amidst their own memories of war, proves that when history

is written, the greatness of the human spirit can flourish and

prevail.

Although we know that the road ahead is still long and

difficult, the Israelis and the Palestinians have the

recognition and support of the international community for

their efforts to find peace. The agreements reached are

further proof that the political will to reconcile is capable of

healing even the deepest wounds.

Much of the history of the twentieth century has been

written with the blood of victims of war, religious disputes

or blind quests for power. Too much history has already

been written by tyrants.

The builders of the twenty-first century must be men of

peace and work rather than of violence. The arms they use

to build the future must not be cannons and bullets, but

rather the wisdom, ingenuity and vision of men of initiative.

Political activity, with its great capacity to transform

reality, has in a few short years generated far-reaching

changes in the former Soviet Union, Central and Eastern

Europe, the Middle East and my own region, Latin America.

Never before have so many millions of people around the

world enjoyed freedom.

We Colombians, for example, have in just a few years

achieved significant political, economic and social changes

aimed at developing a new democratic century that is more

open, more participatory, more pluralistic, more

decentralized and more just.

Our new Constitution was conceived with the

participation of all sectors of public opinion, including

ex-guerrillas, indigenous people, industrialists, human-rights

activists, environmentalists and millions of ordinary citizens.

Our 1991 Constitution is the navigational chart of a new

Colombia heading for the next millennium.

On the economic front, we have replaced our old model

of a closed economy with an open one, in which external

markets have to become, increasingly, the engines of growth.

We are integrating our economy with the world and are

hence demanding that other nations open their markets to

our products. We are advocates of free enterprise, economic

integration and free trade. The results have been very

satisfactory: we have diversified and increased our exports,

significantly lowered inflation, reduced unemployment and

increased economic growth.

On the social front, we have substantially increased

public resources available for financing new programmes of

investment in our people. With this effort we shall double

our present per capita income by the beginning of the next

decade. By that time life expectancy in Colombia will be

similar to that of many industrialized countries. Our

illiteracy rate will be less than 3 per cent and our infant

mortality rate will be lower than 18 deaths per thousand

births.

In Colombia we understand that political democracy

must go hand in hand with economic opportunity, because

a lasting true democracy can be achieved only through

economic development and social justice. It would be

difficult, after all, for people who had fought so hard for

freedom to find that the tough road to democracy led to

poverty, marginalization or social stagnation. Political

freedom with economic opportunity: this is now the

definition of democracy.

The developing world has placed its hopes in

international trade as the instrument to create prosperity for

all. In a global economy it is impossible to achieve social

well-being without economic freedom, competition,

productivity, efficiency and growth.

Perhaps we now have, more than ever before, the

conditions for an unprecedented increase in the flow of

goods, services, technology and knowledge between the

industrialized countries and the developing countries and,

therefore, for economic growth and the creation of

employment and social well-being for all.

For these reasons, this hemisphere’s liberalization

processes, such as the North American Free Trade

Agreement (NAFTA), the Andean Group, the Group of

Three, the Southern Cone Common Market (MERCOSUR)

and the integration of Central America and the Caribbean,

are not just integrative trade agreements, but also represent

real remedies for poverty.

I wish to stress the importance of NAFTA as a decisive

step in the right direction to liberalize trade relations, to our

mutual benefit, between north and south. It is time to leave

behind outdated fears and commit ourselves to a relationship

that will undoubtedly result in stronger economic growth and

hundreds of thousands of new jobs for all. Those of us who

are supporters of an integrated, open and dynamic

hemispheric economy fully support the visionary efforts of

President Bill Clinton to achieve final approval of this treaty.

And on a global scale it is critical to conclude the

Uruguay Round of the General Agreement on Tariffs and

Trade (GATT) successfully. This will be possible only if we

truly respect the multilateral character of that organization.

It cannot be a matter of the most powerful agreeing among

themselves about what is in their own interests. We hope

for the conclusion of the Uruguay Round, but not at any

cost. We seek effective solutions to address the concerns of

the least developed countries, with emphasis on dismantling

agricultural protectionism.

We are deeply concerned that the attitude of many of

the principal actors in the global economy has come to

resemble dangerously that of another era, the years before

the Second World War, when nations isolated themselves

within their borders and produced goods for captive

domestic markets.

Defending at any cost the selfish interests of privileged

rural minorities in the industrialized countries takes bread off

the tables of millions of poor peasants who only want the

right to compete on an equal footing. That selfish attitude

is the greatest cause of poverty in the poor countries.

We live in a world where frontiers between nations

ought to be seen as points of convergence, not of division;

where cries for independence should be replaced by shows

of interdependence; where, for many developing nations, the

euphoria of political change has passed and what is needed

is economic growth and the creation of jobs.

Protectionism and isolationism belong to outdated,

perverse rhetoric. Do we really want to live in a world

turned upside down, where the largest and strongest

economies deny the smallest ones the right to compete, or

where the origin of goods and services is more important

than their quality or value?

The world must see that open markets and free trade are

perhaps the best hope for serving the collective interests of

both north and south, not simply favours graciously granted

to the developing world by the industrialized world. Free

trade is truly good business for everyone.

The economies of the developed world are made up for

the most part of mature markets that have already

experienced their greatest periods of expansion. The short-

sightedness of protectionism lies in its ignoring the growth

potential represented by investment in and trade with nations

that represent the future of the world’s economy.

As President of Colombia, I want to reaffirm my

nation’s commitment to the defence of free trade, for we

have invested in it our hopes for development and

well-being. So, too, we see in free trade the best

contribution that the industrialized world can make to

consolidating democracy and freedom in developing

countries. Colombia is asking for free trade, not economic

aid; the opening of markets, not mere assistance;

competition, not insurmountable barriers.

From its inception, the United Nations has had the dual

mission of maintaining international peace and security and

of promoting the social and economic development of all

peoples of the world. Even though we have been successful

in advancing collective global security, we cannot say the

same as concerns the areas of social welfare and economic

development. Today, I call upon the international

community to achieve, with courage and dedication, an

agenda for development. Only then will the goal of a lasting

and stable peace be reached, for without social justice, peace

cannot be permanent.

I should like also to mention Colombia’s renewed

commitment to three issues of great global importance: the

defence and promotion of human rights, the fight against

organized crime and the preservation of the environment.

In Colombia, we have made a major and successful

effort to create a culture that promotes, respects and defends

human rights. Today, we have the institutional foundations

to ensure that Colombia’s society will overcome human

rights violations. The efforts to strengthen Colombia’s

judicial system has borne fruit. We are defeating impunity.

In our fight against international organized crime, which

profits from narcotics trafficking, terrorism,

money-laundering, arms trafficking, the flow of illegal

chemicals and various forms of corruption, my country many

years ago took a clear decision: Colombia will not rest until

these criminals activities are wiped from the face of our

land.

Innocent Colombians are continuing to lose their lives

in the fight against evil multinationals. My deepest

convictions and my respect for the memory of so many

countrymen who have sacrificed their lives compel me to

call once again on all nations to contribute to the solution of

a problem that is global in its scope.

My people’s brave efforts alone - or nearly so - cannot

put an end to international organized crime; this will require

determined action with courage and political will, on the part

of many more nations. We cannot counter sophisticated

international organized crime by simply developing national

or bilateral strategies. We require a comprehensive,

multilateral effort that focuses on legislative cooperation;

coordinated initiatives; the exchange of intelligence

information; a sufficient commitment of financial and human

resources; cooperation in the judicial field; and, perhaps

most important, strong political will.

To this end, we will participate with great interest in

the high-level meeting that, on our initiative, will soon take

place during this plenary session. Its main purpose will be

to review the global strategy against the plague of narcotics

trafficking, with a view to seeking coordination of concrete

measures, the renewal of specific commitments and, finally,

the strengthening of the decision to continue with this joint

struggle.

With regard to the preservation of the environment,

Colombia is fully aware of the importance of its magnificent,

varied and sometimes fragile ecosystems and of its

biodiversity. Accordingly, we have adopted institutional

changes that will allow us to fulfil in its entirety a

commitment that stems not only from our Constitution but

also from our collective conscience and our stewardship of

a treasure we shall not squander.

Colombia supports sustainable development, respects

the terms of the agreements reached at the Earth Summit and

is working with its neighbours, with other nations and its

own communities to devise strategies that will allow it both

to benefit from and to preserve its natural resources.

I wish to conclude by congratulating the President of

the General Assembly, the Ambassador of Guyana, Mr.

Samuel Insanally, an outstanding representative of my

region. We also welcome the new States Members of the

United Nations. On behalf of Colombia, we welcome them

to this universal fraternity, which is enhanced by their

presence.

At the same time, I want publicly to express my

country’s satisfaction at having coordinated the work of the

Group of 77 this year. Thanks to the collaboration and

harmony that prevailed among all its members, we made

important advances in defence of the interests of the

developing world.

But the satisfaction of seeing the United Nations

strengthened each year by the presence of new Members

should not hinder us from reaffirming Colombia’s position

in favour of the restructuring of this Organization, especially

with regard to reforming the Security Council and to

redefining the relationship between the General Assembly

and the Security Council. We hope that in this respect an

open and a democratic and multilateral debate will take

place.

I have come here today to ask a question that has been

on the minds of all peoples, in all parts of the world, who

have been on the side of the revolution of freedom: why

have so many millions of people in the former Soviet Union,

in Central and Eastern Europe, and in countries throughout

Asia, Africa and Latin America fought so hard? What is it

that so many hoped to achieve by taking, at the cost of

immense sacrifices, the road to democracy and its freedoms?

I believe that the only answer is that they have seen, for

the first time, the possibility of transforming these dreams

into realities. And they have taken that road because they

want to a leave a legacy of freedom to their children and to

future generations.

With the help of God and our strong solidarity, we are

certain that they will prevail.