Costa Rica, 2003

Allow me at the outset to congratulate His Excellency

Mr. Julian Hunte on his well-deserved election to the

presidency of the General Assembly. We are convinced

that his well-known personal and professional qualities

will allow him to lead our work to full success.

We particularly welcome the fact that a fraternal

Caribbean country should hold so high a position. We

trust that your election will shed light on the role of the

smaller nations in this Organization and will allow us

to consider the challenges that small economies face.

Today, once again, the international community is

gathered at the United Nations to consider the most

serious problems afflicting mankind and to design

specific measures to resolve them. In so doing, we

must recall the essential purpose of this session

attaining peace, justice and well-being for each and

very individual on this planet. Indeed, the human right

to peace informs, nourishes and justifies all other basic

rights and constitutes the very essence of the purposes

and principles of the United Nations.

Basic individual freedoms, political, social and

economic rights and commitments to sustainable

development and disarmament all have a single

purpose securing peace, freedom and happiness for

all. The first step towards peace therefore is full respect

for human rights.

Fundamental human rights constitute a minimal

framework of guarantees necessary to ensure the

integral development of the human person and the

construction of a harmonious society. For that reason,

respect for human rights at all levels of society and for

all peoples, without distinction, is indispensable.

Costa Rica advocates for the strengthening of the

international mechanisms for the promotion and

monitoring of human rights. We must overcome the

politicization of verification machinery by creating

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objective criteria for the implementation of human

rights instruments in such a way that verification itself

encourages policies that promote human rights and that

consolidate their protection.

Similarly, it is necessary to achieve the

universality of international treaties that promote

respect for basic rights. In that context, we welcome

the fact that, in conjunction with the current general

debate, a special treaty event to promote the signature

and the ratification of the Optional Protocol to the

Convention Against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman

or Degrading Treatment or Punishment is being held.

That instrument constitutes an effective mechanism for

preventing those very serious violations of human

dignity.

We welcome the creation and the establishment of

the International Criminal Court (ICC) at The Hague,

thanks to the successful election of its Judges last

February. Fortunately, mankind now possesses an

effective, independent and impartial institution with the

authority to prosecute the most serious crimes that

infringe upon human dignity.

We also deem it urgent to consider the

relationship between human rights and the

environment. We welcome the fact that the

Johannesburg Plan of Implementation recognized the

importance of studying, in an exhaustive and

transparent way, that relationship between human

rights and the environment, including the fundamental

right to development. We consider it indispensable that

this item be added to the agenda of the General

Assembly.

Full observance of human rights is being

threatened by some recent developments in the area of

biotechnology. Unquestionably, progress in the areas of

medical science and genetic research facilitate the

development and the discovery of new therapies and

medical techniques. However, those same technologies

pose new ethical challenges, because they can be used

to violate human rights and assault the intrinsic dignity

of the human person.

The use of human embryos in scientific

experiments, discarding them in the process, is

unacceptable. Cloning reduces the individual to a mere

object of industrial production and manipulation. That

is objectionable both morally and legally. Costa Rica

supports the prohibition of all forms of human cloning

and has proposed a draft resolution to this end, which

today has dozens of countries sponsoring it.

The second step in the path to peace is to make

democracy a form of life. True democracy is a

permanent process that demands daily efforts of

coordination and cooperation in order to respect the

will of the majority and the rights of the minorities.

True democracy also entails equal opportunities in the

areas of social and economic development.

A third step to peace is disarmament,

demilitarization and the reduction of military

expenditures. The reduction of military arsenals

decreases opportunities for violence and makes it

possible to devote greater resources to social

development programmes. In that context, we welcome

the progress made by the Central American nations

regarding the reduction of their armed forces and

military arsenals. Two States from the region have

already abolished their armies Panama in 1990 and

Costa Rica since 1948. We support the proposal of

President Bolanos of Nicaragua, on the reasonable

balance of forces in the Central American region,

which will generate greater transparency and

confidence.

My Government supports the adoption of a

complete ban on arms transfers to all terrorist groups,

as well as to those groups and Governments that

commit gross or systematic violations of human rights

or international humanitarian law. The prompt adoption

of a legally binding convention to regulate the arms

trade is urgent.

We urge those States that possess nuclear

weapons to truly commit themselves to the nuclear

disarmament negotiations. We call upon all States to

renounce the development of new nuclear weapons and

to ratify the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear

Weapons and the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban

Treaty.

We welcome the fact that the member States of

the Organization of American States have recently

adopted a Costa Rican initiative on the non-

proliferation of chemical weapons in the Western

Hemisphere.

The pursuit of peace requires the peaceful

resolution of conflicts through the mechanisms

established pursuant to international law. The

International Court of Justice occupies a central

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position as the principal judicial organ of the United

Nations that ensures the rule of law in international

relations. We urge all States to accept its obligatory

jurisdiction without conditions.

In order to make further progress towards peace

we must strengthen United Nations mechanisms

designed to prevent armed conflict and humanitarian

crises from occurring and to re-establish the peace once

such conflicts have broken out. The Security Council

must carry out its duties in a more effective, active and

fair way; no national interest should prevent it from

taking action. In this context, we must revitalize the

Security Council reform process, which, after 10 years

of work, still lacks results.

In order to attain peace and prevent civil wars, we

must devote sufficient financial, technical and human

resources to the peacekeeping operations carried out

under the auspices of this Organization. Such missions

should enjoy the resolute support and effective

participation of all nations, as was reaffirmed in the

Rio Group statement on the situation in Colombia,

adopted on 24 May in Cuzco. We urgently appeal for

this Organization to support the peace process in

Colombia and to urge the guerrilla movements to sign

an agreement to cease hostilities and enter into an

open-ended and transparent dialogue with a view to

reaching a peaceful and definitive resolution of the

Colombian conflict.

The United Nations must decisively address the

deep-rooted causes of armed conflict. It is necessary to

eliminate the sources of tension and violence. It is

essential to eradicate the economic, social and political

injustices that fuel conflict.

The change of regime in Iraq, which we welcome,

has given the United Nations and the international

community at large a unique opportunity to fully

integrate that nation into the international system. We

must not miss this opportunity. We therefore call upon

the occupying Powers, the rest of the international

community and the United Nations to work for the

reconstruction and normalization of that nation.

Furthermore, we must not allow Iraq to become a

source of regional instability or a breeding ground for

international terrorism. We must bear in mind the

sacrifice made by Sergio Vieira de Mello and all the

other United Nations personnel who gave their lives in

Baghdad for this Organization and for the people of

Iraq. Their sacrifice must guide us in our work. Their

martyrdom must lead us to devote every effort to the

protection of the fundamental right to peace.

Today, peace is threatened by the resurgence of

international terrorism. All necessary measures must

therefore be taken, in conformity with the rule of law,

to prevent acts of terrorism and punish those who

commit them. The fight against international terrorism,

however, should not become an excuse to violate

human rights or to adopt repressive measures against

an innocent population.

In 1971, the General Assembly approved the

entry of the People's Republic of China into the United

Nations. That decision was correct, inasmuch as it

promoted the universal character of this global

Organization. In accordance with that same principle,

my country has since that time been advocating that the

Republic of China on Taiwan also be represented in

this Organization.

We believe that the Republic of China on Taiwan

could greatly contribute to the work of this

Organization. For many years that nation was an active

Member of the United Nations. It participated

constructively in all of its activities and the work of its

bodies. Since then, the Republic of China on Taiwan

has been developing close and productive relations

with peoples and Governments throughout the world,

promoting programmes and projects for the sustainable

development of communities. In keeping with the

principle of universality that the United Nations itself

promotes, Costa Rica advocates that both Governments

be represented at this Organization.

I have set out a series of steps that are

indispensable if peace is to be fully enjoyed. Such steps

are the very least we need to take in order to fulfil our

commitment to peace and that commitment must be

absolute.

May God bless us all as we work for the well-

being of humankind.