Ecuador, 2011

In June 2009, humankind was still witnessing

with perplexity the worst economic crisis since the

Great Depression and its devastating consequences on

employment, hunger, poverty, trade, foreign direct

investment, credit, tourism, remittances and health and

education. At that time, my country, Ecuador, felt a

moral obligation to participate, through its head of

State, in the United Nations Conference on the World

Financial and Economic Crisis and Its Impact on

Development, convened by the then-President of the

General Assembly, Mr. Miguel d’Escoto Brockmann.

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On that occasion, the President of the Republic of

Ecuador emphasized that the global financial debacle,

which, it goes without saying, originated in the main

financial markets of the North, was a symptom of crisis

in a system in which the speculative-financial economy

took precedence over the real economy. In other words,

that system entailed waiting for money to create more

money and stability of its own accord, instead of

stimulating the production of goods and services to

meet the needs of human beings.

For Ecuador, the gravity of the crisis alone should

have marked a shift towards a stronger role for the

United Nations in global economic governance, with a

view to overhauling the international financial system

and democratizing international relations by

establishing a new world economic order.

Unfortunately, with the exception of a scant few

cosmetic changes in the governance of the Bretton

Woods institutions, the paradoxical multi-million-

dollar bailout of the some of the sectors responsible for

the crisis and a fragile mechanism to follow up on the

commitments contained in the Outcome of the 2009

Conference (resolution 63/303, annex), nothing has

changed. The world continues to await some sign of

financial and monetary regulation and coordination

that would ensure economic stability, access to credit,

full and productive employment, trade financing, debt

sustainability, social safety nets and, of course, a true

global alliance that would protect and promote

development to benefit our people, which is the sole

objective of our efforts.

In its current state, the United Nations has been

unable to rise to the challenges stemming from global

economic instability, which have been exacerbated by

this new stage in the 2009 financial crisis. That is why

Ecuador is aggressively and resolutely promoting the

creation of a new regional financial architecture

capable of mitigating the adverse consequences

affecting our economies as a result of their

involvement in the international financial system.

In that regard, and without abandoning the

pursuit of comprehensive reforms of the global

financial and economic system, my country has

suggested an approach, while taking into account the

political, economic and social circumstances of each

region, involving the adoption of regional monetary

agreements that include a semi-flexible exchange rate

regime and a common reserve fund so as to create a

truly regional exchange rate regime and a regional

currency.

In the case of Latin America, this proposal had its

origins in Latin American forums through the creation

of the Bank of the South. Its main aim is to fund

multinational development projects and to bolster local

and regional currencies linked to a common reserve

fund for Latin America, which would enable us to deal

with the crisis and prevent billions of dollars from our

region being paradoxically deposited into the banks of

developed countries. In the same way, this fund is

complemented by a regional payment system, which

has started to work through the Unified Regional

Payment Clearing System, with excellent results to

date. This system is leading the way towards a

common physical currency in our region.

These regional initiatives can, and should be,

integrated into a regional integration framework that

extends beyond the economic and financial spheres.

Such is the case with the Union of South American

Nations, the headquarters and secretariat of which is

located in our capital, Quito, the Community of Latin

American and Caribbean States and the Bolivarian

Alliance for the Peoples of Our America — Peoples’

Trade Agreement. My country stresses that these

regional responses should be considered as

complementing the urgent global measures required for

better understanding and cooperation among regions.

At the same time, Ecuador urgently calls for a

comprehensive reform of the world economic and

financial system, including measures such as the

creation of an economic coordination council and an

independent mechanism to restructure and solve the

problem of sovereign debt, which, among other

proposals, should be discussed in a follow-up meeting

to the 2009 conference.

However, apart from the economic and financial

crisis, the crisis of multilateralism has also been

reflected in the lack of a timely and suitable response

by the United Nations to the political crises that have

occurred, in particular in the Middle East. These have

once again demonstrated the urgent need to conclude

the long-delayed process of a comprehensive reform of

the Security Council. This reform of one of the main

organs of the United Nations should be primarily

aimed at democratizing its decision-making

mechanisms, guaranteeing full respect for the principle

of equitable geographic distribution, including regional

29 11-51681

representation, improving the Council’s working

methods and strengthening the relationship between the

Council and the General Assembly. All of this would

provide the Council with the necessary legitimacy,

effectiveness and representativeness to implement its

mandates.

At the sixty-fifth session, Ecuador took over the

chairmanship of the Special Committee on

Decolonization with the conviction that, starting in

2011, which marked the beginning of the third

International Decade for the Eradication of

Colonialism, we need new strategies that will lead, in

the near future, to the decolonization of those

territories that are still on the Committee’s list.

Ecuador recognizes that peaceful means of

solving disputes are the only legitimate mechanisms

capable of guaranteeing sustainable and lasting peace

for peoples. Among these is mediation, the central

theme proposed by the President of the Assembly for

the sixty-sixth session. Imposing solutions by force

will never perpetuate peace — quite the opposite. We

have witnessed the failure of these methods, which

leads to war. We have suffered the failure of these

wars. My country condemns abusive interpretations of

Security Council resolutions, which systematically lead

to more violence, bloodshed and human rights

violations and which do not foster friendly relations

among countries.

Ecuador’s position with regard to the Middle East

has as its founding principle our full adherence to the

standards and principles of international law and strict

compliance with United Nations resolutions. Forty-

three years after having accepted the partition of

Palestine into two States, on 24 December 2010 the

Government of Ecuador, in a gesture of historic justice,

recognized Palestine as a free and independent State,

within its 1967 borders and with East Jerusalem as its

capital. My country therefore gave its full support to

accepting Palestine’s request to become a full State

Member of the United Nations, as formally requested

by the Palestinian President a few days ago. We also

support all initiatives directed towards consolidating

lasting peace, to benefit not only Palestine and Israel,

but the entire region. This is a historic time for the

United Nations, and Ecuador hopes that the

Organization will rise to the occasion.

Concerning our region, Ecuador once again

firmly condemns the economic, trade and financial

blockade imposed by the United States of America

against Cuba and demands the immediate and

unconditional lifting of all unilateral measures imposed

in an extraterritorial fashion by that country against our

sister Caribbean nation. The blockade has inflicted

serious economic, social and even humanitarian

suffering on the population.

With regard to the United Nations Conference on

Sustainable Development to be held in Rio de Janeiro,

20 years after the adoption of the international

principles and instruments that set a new course for

international relations, we are now reaching a

watershed moment. Through it, we will be able to take

stock of the implementation, both in the past and over

the coming decades, of these principles and

instruments. This would enable renewed political

commitment to sustainable development, which will

require action on the three pillars, which we define as

the economic, social and environmental areas.

In order to implement the elements pending from

the Rio conventions, Ecuador believes that we should,

first, comply with commitments to reduce greenhouse

gases in order to stabilize the temperature at levels that

will enable us to restore balance to the planet while

upholding the principle of shared but differentiated

responsibilities and equity; secondly, insist on the

transfer of the new and additional financial resources

promised by developed countries, considering the huge

efforts that we developing countries are making in

facing global threats; thirdly, remember that

sustainability is not just an environmental question, but

a shift in the relationships between capital, labour,

nature and politics; fourthly, fix terms for technology

transfers that will enable developing countries to make

progress in capacity-building and in finding options in

their pursuit of sustainable development; and fifthly,

draft international instruments in the field of

sustainable development in order to achieve equality,

not just with regard to a green economy or a

strengthened institutional framework, but also in order

to include development in the comprehensive approach

to improving quality of life, with adequate links

between the three pillars to which I have referred —

what we in Ecuador call “living well”.

Four years ago, here in the Hall, my country

made an unequivocal gesture of its commitment to the

fight against the global challenge of climate change

and the promotion of sustainable development. Indeed,

in 2007, Ecuador presented to the world the forward-

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looking Yasuní ITT initiative, an innovative and

revolutionary idea. Under the initiative, the State of

Ecuador committed to leaving 856 million barrels of

oil underground indefinitely under the Yasuní National

Park, thereby preventing the emission of 407 million

metric tonnes of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere

that would have been produced by the burning of these

fossil fuels. All this was conceived as a swap in

compensation for the estimated value of 50 per cent of

the revenue that the exploitation of those resources

would generate.

The Yasuní-ITT initiative, known today

throughout the world, represents a concrete, effective

measure for combating climate change and preserving

the rich biodiversity of the area, along with its water,

the rights of indigenous people living in the park and

nature itself. By foregoing the right to exploit the oil

reserves that lie beneath the Yasuní National Park and

the economic resources that would be required to

develop them, Ecuador hopes that the international

community will contribute at least half of what the

country would have received in profit, acting under the

principle of co-responsibility on the part of countries

that have historically been most responsible for climate

change.

In a parallel event that took place here at the

United Nations on 23 September with the support of

the Secretary-General and the President, President

Rafael Correa reminded the international community

about the Yasuní-ITT initiative. The proposal has been

enthusiastically received by countries, organizations,

citizens, visionaries and leaders from around the world,

adding up to significant support from both individuals

and the private sector. That response has allowed

Ecuador to broaden its initiative in a manner that will

transform the governance of public resources at the

global level. For example, we have begun to shape the

concept of net avoided emissions, which President

Correa introduced last year at the Cancún Climate

Change Conference. That and the Yasuní-ITT initiative

are two visionary proposals from a developing oil-

producing nation of the South as a contribution to

global challenges in the area of sustainable

development.

Throughout this session, Ecuador will continue to

defend with particular emphasis the right to

development, the human right to water, the rights of

indigenous peoples, the rights of women, girls and

boys, the rights of people with disabilities, the rights of

older adult men and women, the rights of migrant

workers and their families and the rights of all

vulnerable members of society.

For this reason, my country reiterates its concern

about, and rejects, legislation adopted by certain States

whose application leads to measures or practices that

restrict the full exercise of migrant workers’ human

rights and fundamental freedoms. By the same token,

we reaffirm that even as they exercise their sovereign

right to implement such measures to control their

borders, States have the obligation to guarantee the

human rights of migrant workers and should promote

measures that favour family unification and the

protection of minors. States also have the responsibility

to strengthen laws that punish any act of violence

against migrant workers, particularly hate crimes that

foment discrimination based on ethnic, racial or

religious differences, as well as crimes against migrant

workers that are committed with racist or xenophobic

motives.

Ecuador is a peaceful land that espouses universal

disarmament and condemns the development and use

of weapons of mass destruction. For that reason, we

place great importance on disarmament and

international security, and note with concern the

shrinking space for enforcing agreements in those

areas.

The international community has not produced a

single instrument through which the nuclear States

pledge to refrain from using nuclear weapons against

non-nuclear countries during the process aimed at

destroying all such arms. It would seem that within the

Conference on Disarmament the only interest and

concern is to advance within the framework of nuclear

proliferation, downgrading or, even worse,

marginalizing all possibility of progress in the realm of

nuclear disarmament. For that reason, my country

supports the ongoing negotiation process within the

Conference on Disarmament, which includes all

pending matters.

As a proponent of universal disarmament, peace

and sustainable development in harmony with nature,

and as a signatory to the Treaty of Tlatelolco, which

established the world’s first nuclear-free region,

Ecuador sincerely hopes that the pending aspects

regarding the establishment of a nuclear-free zone in

the Middle East will be resolved.

31 11-51681

My country wishes to express its full support for

initiatives aimed at establishing transparency in the

area of conventional weapons and for combating illegal

trafficking in small arms and light weapons, including

landmines and cluster bombs. We also support

measures taken within the context of the Programme of

Action to Prevent, Combat and Eradicate the Illicit

Trade in and Light Weapons in All Its Aspects. We look

forward to the United Nations Conference on the Arms

Trade Treaty, whose outcome document should be an

objective, predictable and non-discriminatory

instrument.

Since 1953, Ecuador has been part of the great

United Nations undertaking to maintain peace and

security across the world. We have increasingly

contributed to United Nations armed forces for

peacekeeping missions in various countries. We are

currently participating in Haiti, Chad, Côte d’Ivoire,

Liberia, the Central African Republic and the Sudan.

Since 2004, we have participated in the United

Nations Stabilization Mission in Haiti as part of the

Chilean-Ecuadoran company of engineers that is

helping to build new infrastructure for that country’s

development, with due recognition from the authorities

and the local populace.

Ecuador foresees increasing its participation in

peacekeeping operations, but our intentions go beyond

that. As a troop-contributing country, we wish to

increase the number of units and armed forces

personnel taking part in such operations. We have

made great efforts to show our commitment to joining

the international community in its struggle to ensure

that regions experiencing the greatest upheaval can

resolve their differences and achieve the peace that is

so necessary.

Let us not be deceived — global multilateralism

is in deep crisis. The United Nations system has not

adequately responded to the convulsive moment

through which we are living. Climate change, the

Palestinian question, the crisis in Libya and investment

in development are just a few examples that illustrate

its ineffectiveness. Solutions to the great problems of

our planet are no longer reached within these walls.

The most powerful countries of the world rely on other

forums, exclusionary and anti-democratic ones, to

decide for everyone else. If we do not act today on

those and other urgent themes, such as the reform of

the international monetary and economic systems as

well as that of certain United Nations bodies, there will

be no point in debating ways to restore the role of this

world body in global governance. It is up to us to

resolve this grave dilemma.