Ecuador, 2025

I now invite Her Excellency Maria Cabrera Sommerfeld Rosero, Minister for Foreign Affairs and Human Mobility of Ecuador to address the assembly. Madam President, On the 80th anniversary of the adoption of the United Nations Charter, Ecuador honors with respect and renewed commitment its status of a founding member of this organization. What was born out of hope for peace upon the ruins of the Second World War has become the most ambitious project of international cooperation in history, a system of norms, institutions, principles, purposes and universal values geared towards protecting human dignity, preventing violence and driving development. 80 years ago, states chose cooperation over disputes, peace over war. My presence here at this assembly is an opportunity to reiterate before the international community that Ecuador will continue to prioritize cooperation between states, because it is only by working together that we will be able to ensure a future of peace, security and prosperity for our peoples. Therefore, the foreign policy of Ecuador supports multilateralism, which is the model that enables international cooperation to be possible in order to address global challenges and to achieve common goals. Madam President, multilateralism needs to change in order to respond to the current demands of peoples and to confront new threats. Ecuador believes that the concept of international peace and security must be broadened and include the fight against transnational organized crime, which is a phenomenon that undermines governability, that feeds corruption, that perpetuates violence and that erodes the perspectives of progress. Indeed, it causes consequences that are similar to traditional armed conflicts in the economic, political and social realms. We're not talking about local gangs here, but rather international networks and logistic chains that move thousands of tons of drugs, that exploit illegal mining and that traffic weapons, people and even human organs. In light of the rise of the many acts of violence and narco-terrorism, the government of Ecuador recognized the existence of a non-international armed conflict in January 2024 and designated several of these groups as terrorists. We have deployed huge efforts and resources in order to safeguard our security and to put our citizens first. We are doing this by adopting programs focused on the prevention of youth violence, including the recruitment, use and utilization of boys, girls and adolescents. At the same time, we are implementing public policies to attract investment and jobs in order to ensure sustainable security. I wish to insist on the fact that Ecuador, without having sought this out, but due to the fact that we are very close to the main producers of cocaine in the world, is on the front line of the battle against transnational organized crime and is waging an existential war against narco-terrorism. Milestones in the fight of Ecuador against transnational organized crime and narco-terrorism include the seizure of 295 tons of illicit drugs in 2024, as well as the decision to call on friendly countries to provide their support in different areas of this confrontation, given the potential of joint military operations fully respecting the constitutional framework. The Ecuadorian government has called a national and democratic debate on foreign military bases by way of a referendum that will take place in November next, providing strategic areas that can serve to help us to control and monitor criminal activities in order to achieve peace and international security. This referendum will be coupled with a call for a constituent assembly that will be tasked with drafting a new fundamental charter that will contribute to defeating narco-terrorism and lead us inexorably down the path of prosperity and social peace. Madam President, on a regional level, Ecuador has established and spearheaded the establishment of the Resolutive Plan of Action as a strategic response of the Andean community to the illicit trafficking of drugs and transnational organized crime. On a multilateral level, Ecuador has spearheaded initiatives such as the presidency of the Latin American Community of Security and Intelligence, where we have promoted the updating of the operational action plans and organized the Latin American Security Summit, consolidating strategic alliances with the European Union and Ameripol. We agree that transnational organized crime and narco-terrorism are global scourges that know no borders, and no country can act against them alone. It is therefore essential to coordinate our efforts to reach cooperation agreements with countries and with international bodies that include financial assistance and technological equipment. Madam President, over the last eight years that the UN has been in existence, it has been shown that lasting peace can only be built upon solid foundations, security, development and human rights. These three pillars, which are independent and indivisible, represent the pillars of the international order and multilateralism that are currently seeing cracks in them that are compromising their stability. Indeed, today multilateralism is being called into question, and rightly, because it hasn't been able to address the contemporary conflicts and challenges effectively. Ecuador advocates for a more innovative, inclusive and representative multilateralism that takes account of the realities of countries, in particular those of the developing world, that promotes the equality of men and women, and that finally opens up a space for youth in decision-making. It's essential to strengthen the respect of the fundamental principles of international law enshrined in the United Nations Charter, that is the bedrock of this organisation and whose strength depends on our adherence to its spirit and letter. Abandoning it would lead us back to a time in which the only source of law was force. It is therefore our role to reform it and update it, so that it can respond to the current challenges we face on a global level, so that precisely we can strengthen these principles. In summary, this institution is called to support the evolution and accompany the evolution of human beings and of the planet, to address technology changes and new challenges. Madam President, human mobility is yet another of the most complex challenges of our time. Ecuador, which is a country of origin, transit and destination and refuge for migrants, reaffirms its commitment to safe, regular and orderly migration, convinced that managing it properly can contribute to sustainable development. Ecuador strongly rejects irregular, unsafe and disorderly human mobility, because this often responds to the interests of transnational organised crime groups that can also be transnational in nature. Emerging technologies, in particular artificial intelligence, offer up unprecedented opportunities for human progress. However, they also offer up significant risks for security, equity and human rights. Ecuador believes that it is essential to move towards multilateral and ethical governance of these tools, that would guarantee their inclusive access to them, that would avoid new digital gaps and that would ensure their use is guided by the common good. Climate change and the loss of biodiversity threaten our stability and development. As a mega diverse country, Ecuador advocates for more environmental financing for technology transfer and for international support for the conservation of unique ecosystems like the Amazon and the Galapagos Islands, which are the treasure of humanity. Financing for development is another great challenge. The international financial architecture must respond to the needs of developing countries, in particular those that are classified as middle high income countries. The exclusive use of GDP per capita, which is limiting and limited, does not reflect our reality, nor does it reflect our vulnerabilities. We require more comprehensive indicators that include multi-dimensional poverty, structural inequality and climate resilience, as access to concessional resources and international cooperation are not unfairly undermined. Ecuador supports the use of sustainable financial instruments such as green and thematic bonds and promotes the creation of new financing mechanisms. Madam President, youth of Ecuador and of the world, I'm proud to represent a young people. Ecuador is a country of more than 18 million inhabitants, in which youth represent around 40% of our population. The government of Ecuador and President Daniel Noboa are focused on providing them with opportunities that did not exist in the past. The time of youth has come. If we provide them opportunities, we can promote and provide better attention to all citizens. It is a positive and multiplying effect. For us, the youth embody the priority of all priorities. Today, youth see in the new Ecuador a country of opportunities and progress, in which there is a firm commitment to eradicating corruption and impunity, as well as the old politics and ideological struggles that perpetuate a status quo that is unsustainable and that benefits only a few people. The new Ecuador is moving with stability and responsibility on an ambitious path of productive transformation as well as social and institutional transformation towards a new chapter in our development model, involving efforts that include the diversification of our energy mix, that include the diversification of our productive mix. The current global economic environment that is ever more complex and demanding, marked by the volatility of the markets, geopolitical tensions, uncertainty in the supply chain and rapid technological changes, require us to adapt rapidly and in an agile manner. We are fostering a competitive economic environment, generating openness to business and providing attractive opportunities for foreign investments. Several factors foster investment and business in Ecuador. A large range of natural resources, our strategic location in South America, the economic stability provided by us using the United States dollar as our national currency and our condition as a mega diverse country with an extremely rich cultural heritage. Our risk indicator as a country continues on its downward trend and yesterday was at 701 points, which is the lowest level over recent years. Our economy grew by 3.9 percent in the first half of the year, achieving growth of, well, heralding growth for around 5 percent for the second half of the year. And as for the security environment, well, the economy is improving even with the challenges that we still face. In July 2025, we saw 38.6 percent of decent jobs, in other words, 283 percent more Ecuadorians are benefiting from a decent job compared to 2024. So that is a change of 3.7 percent compared to July 2024. These achievements are also to do with the laws that President Daniel Novoa and his cabinet have drafted and put to the National Assembly that seek to safeguard peace, transparency and the fight against terrorism and crime, and also providing jobs, economic stability and creating social programs and opportunities for development. Madam President, the 80th anniversary of the UN is a turning point. On this historic commemoration of the United Nations, I invite you to adopt a creative vision like the one that we had in 1945 that's able to renew and strengthen this institutionality grounded in an ethical model of democracy and changing to adapt to contemporary challenges. Global challenges such as transnational organized crime, narco-terrorism, migration and climate change require more multilateralism, more cooperation and more collective action. Ecuador reaffirms its commitment to the defense of peace and security, human rights and development. Thank you very much. I thank the Minister for Foreign Affairs and Human Mobility of Ecuador. you