Costa Rica, 2001

Allow me at the outset to congratulate you,

Sir, on your well-deserved election to preside over the

work of this General Assembly. We are familiar with

your valuable personal qualities and appreciate the

leadership of your country, the Republic of Korea, in

the concert of nations. I would also like to express my

gratitude to the outgoing President, Mr. Harri Holkeri,

for his excellent work.

I should like to express the deepest condolences

of the people and Government of Costa Rica to the

Government of the Dominican Republic and to the

relatives and friends of the more than 200 Dominican

nationals who lost their lives in the tragic aeroplane

accident that occurred here yesterday.

This year, the General Assembly is meeting in

extraordinary circumstances. Only two moths ago, this

city fell victim to the most dreadful and despicable

terrorist attack in world history. Even today, just a few

kilometres from this Hall, we can contemplate,

bewildered, the column of smoke that marks the

remains of the twin towers. The rubble reminds us of

the destruction, pain and death caused by violence and

irrational hatred. Therefore, I cannot let pass this

opportunity without reiterating the deepest condolences

of the people and Government of Costa Rica to the

people and Government of the United States.

On 11 September, the terrorists targeted not only

New York, but the whole of humankind. Today, we all

are victims of terrorism. Costa Rica realizes that

terrorism is an extremely grave crime against humanity

that victimizes the innocent civil population and

endangers the international community as a whole. For

this reason, we condemn terrorism categorically in all

its forms and manifestations, wherever and by

whomever committed, while we proclaim that there is

no political, philosophical, racial, ethnic or religious

justification that legitimizes the commission of this

crime.

The recent terrorist attacks force us to rethink the

concept of international security and to renew our

commitment to mankind’s basic values. When faced

with cruel fear and hatred, we must raise the flag of

civilization, tolerance and brotherhood. In the face of

irrational violence, we must take up the arms of reason,

law and order. Against terrorism, we must resort to the

rule of law, justice and due process through

international cooperation in the judicial and law

enforcement fields.

Faced with new treats to international security,

the community of nations must create effective and

precise mechanisms to ensure peace and development

for all peoples. In this context, we welcome the

adoption of Security Council resolution 1373 (2001). It

constitutes a firm, proportionate and necessary answer

to the despicable acts of 11 September.

Furthermore, we welcome the progress achieved

in the negotiation of a comprehensive convention to

proscribe and punish terrorism in all its forms. My

delegation has taken active part in the recent

negotiations to solve the outstanding issues, and we are

grateful to the Secretary-General for his personal

involvement in obtaining a consensus solution. We call

upon all delegations to be flexible and to agree to the

consensus formula proposed by the coordinator of the

contact group on this issue.

The struggle against terrorism must lead us to

build a true culture of peace and life. Right now, we

have the duty to plant the seeds of peace in order to

substitute the vices of destruction and conflict with the

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virtues of fraternity, tolerance and cooperation among

all men and women.

Currently, thanks to scientific and technological

progress, we can defeat disease, poverty, famine, hatred

and war. We now posses the necessary economic,

technological and philosophical means to guarantee to

each and every person the highest standards of life and

the necessary conditions for their fullest physical,

intellectual and spiritual development.

In this context, the United Nations could and

should play a central role in building a future of peace

and freedom. This Organization must be a bastion

against war, hatred and poverty. This institution must

be a beacon that lights the way and points towards the

final goal.

To this end, the respect of human rights and

promotion of human dignity, in all spheres, must be the

crux of the activities of the United Nations. The

protection of human beings is the only justification for

peacekeeping activities. The promotion of human

dignity is the only legitimate reason for pursuing

sustainable development. The protection of human life

is the only justification for the protection of the

environment or search for economic development. The

philosophy of this Organization must therefore be

deeply humane.

The protection of human rights is the cornerstone

of Costa Rica’s foreign policy. Costa Ricans loathe

every violation of fundamental rights. We reject

intolerance, hatred, inequality and war. We condemn

extrajudicial executions, the death penalty, abortion,

forced displacement, torture, rape and hostage-taking.

We categorically condemn all restrictions on freedom

of speech and thought. The ethical values of the Costa

Rican identity make us proclaim a more just and

humane society and demand greater solidarity.

This Organization’s work in the area of human

rights is outstanding. The codification efforts and the

periodic conferences have provided the international

community with clear guidelines of conduct. Now, we

must concentrate our efforts in the implementation of

those norms at all levels of society, placing special

emphasis on the fulfilment of economic, social and

cultural rights.

In particular, it is necessary to rationalize and

coordinate the work of the monitoring organs,

including the Commission on Human Rights, in order

to make them more effective. Costa Rica considers it

necessary to review the national reports system in order

to make it more transparent and expeditious. We

believe that Member States must open their borders in

a candid and forthright manner to the human rights

rapporteurs that are appointed by the Commission. This

obligation flows directly from the commitments

undertaken under Articles 55 and 56 of the Charter.

Simultaneously, we must respond positively to the

request for additional resources made by the High

Commissioner for Human Rights. Moreover, the

United Nations must remain vigilant so as to deal with

the new challenges that threaten the enjoyment of

human rights.

We are concerned by the recent developments in

the area of cloning and biotechnology. For this reason,

we welcome the proposal by France and Germany to

negotiate an international agreement to prohibit the

reproductive cloning of human beings. We believe that

such an instrument should also forbid other forms of

experimentation in biotechnology that are contrary to

both human life and dignity.

We must strengthen the family as the basic

building block of society. The family is indispensable

for the formation of healthy, productive and

responsible citizens. We must also make additional

efforts to support parents in the education of their

children. In this regard, my country recently enacted a

special law on responsible parenthood that ensures,

through unprecedented and resolute judicial means,

that all biological fathers will be responsible for the

education and care of any offspring born out of

wedlock.

The efforts to maintain international peace and

security must also be seen from the point of view of

human rights. Armed conflicts produce continuous

humanitarian crises and atrocities. As long as war

exists, it will be impossible to ensure respect for the

basic human rights. In situations of armed conflict, all

necessary measures must be taken to protect the

security of innocent civilians. It is crucial to provide

them with immediate assistance, in order to prevent

greater loss of life and destruction. It is also necessary

to protect the human rights of refugees and displaced

persons. Furthermore, at the end of an armed conflict,

greater international cooperation is required to rebuild

the national economy and lost infrastructure and to

return life to normal.

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For several years, my delegation has advocated

the strengthening of the Security Council. We have said

that it is the only mechanism that humanity has to

confront the threats that beset it. Costa Rica has

questioned the Council when it has ignored its duties

and has been reduced to irrelevance. We have criticized

it when it has confined itself to giving weak and

inadequate answers to the gravest political and

humanitarian emergencies. We have denounced it when

it has been unable to act because of an irresponsible

use of the veto or the defence of national interests of

certain of its members. Today, the adoption of

resolution 1373 (2001) gives us new hope. We are

confident that, in the future, the Security Council will

confront other emergency situations with the same

decisiveness, promptness and effectiveness.

Weapons are a catalyst for armed conflicts. Their

proliferation fans the flames of violence; exacerbates

fighting and hatred; aggravates crime and terrorism;

and fosters political and social instability. Military

arsenals prolong armed conflicts and impede peace

processes, while the armies consume insatiably the

meagre national resources. To attain peace, it is

necessary to forbid the transfer of arms to rebel,

extremist or terrorist groups. The transfer of weapons

to Governments that commit systematic human rights

violations, do not respect democratic principles or have

not ratified the main instruments of international

humanitarian law should also be forbidden. We believe

that it is essential to regulate the possession of light

weapons by civilians.

My country condemns the unilateral and

disproportionate use of force and countermeasures,

while it supports the mechanisms and principles

enshrined in international law. We must embrace

negotiation, dialogue, mediation and the judicial

resolution of disputes. For this reason, Costa Rica fully

endorses and has full confidence in the excellent work

of the International Court of Justice. We believe that

the voluntary acceptance of its obligatory jurisdiction,

through optional declarations, is clear proof of good

faith. However, we cannot fail to express our deep

concern about the existence and emergence of new

reservations on the voluntary acceptance of the Court’s

jurisdiction. Good faith in international relations

demands the withdrawal of those reservations.

True and sustainable peace can be achieved only

when decent living conditions are guaranteed to all

people; when there is a level of economic development

sufficiently advanced so that everyone can satisfy his

or her basic needs; when basic human rights are

respected; and when social and political differences are

resolved through democratic means, dialogue and

negotiation. Therefore, it is essential to invest

intensively and systematically in our human resources,

devoting all necessary resources to education and

health. Only an educated population can live in

freedom, only a healthy population can work for

development and only a cultured population can

integrate itself in the globalized contemporary world.

Similarly, it is necessary to ensure the sustainable

use and management of natural resources. Without a

healthy environment it is impossible to attain decent

living conditions, both for the present and for the

future. We cannot ignore the damage caused to future

generations by the destruction of thousands of square

kilometres of the earth’s forests.

Costa Rica has developed a national system of

payments for environmental services with a view to

alleviating the impact of greenhouse gases and

preserving our forests for mankind. My country has

devoted one quarter of its national territory to the

protection of its forests. The production of

environmental goods and the provision of

environmental services have become an engine of

national development. For these reasons, my country

will be honoured to be the host country of the first

ministerial meeting of the United Nations Forum on

Forests, which will be held in March 2002. We look

forward to the active and constructive participation of

all Member States in that meeting.

My delegation notes with concern the growing

inequality in the area of vulnerability. The States with

the most fragile economies and whose inhabitants have

fewer resources for prevention and reconstruction are

the ones that suffer most from the effects of natural

disasters. In our region, Central America, we have been

the victims of several disasters that, in the course of the

past decade, have caused very serious human and

material losses. The lack of financial resources imposes

a harsh limit on the poorest nations’ capacity to prevent

humanitarian emergencies. Therefore, we advocate an

increase in international cooperation with developing

nations to enable them to design and implement

programmes to reduce their vulnerability.

In this context, I would like to mention the

bilateral assistance that the Republic of China in

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Taiwan has given our region to face these emergencies.

Costa Rica understands and supports the repeated

efforts of the Republic of China in Taiwan, with 23

million inhabitants and a firm process of democratic

development and strengthening, to obtain

representation within this Organization. That country

also constitutes one of the main industrial centres of

the Asian basin, with which most Member States have

strong commercial and technical exchange ties. We

hope that all differences will soon be put aside so that

it will be possible to achieve agreements and both

branches of the Chinese people will be able to

participate jointly in international forums.

Just a couple of months ago we witnessed the

bloody and abominable impact of international

terrorism. Those despicable acts shook the conscience

of humanity as a whole. In these circumstances, the

world awaits the guidance of the United Nations. Our

peoples demand the decisive and firm action of the

international community. Humanity as a whole calls on

us to fulfil the lofty goals that we undertook when we

established this Organization.