Mexico, 1996

Let me begin by conveying to the President my

warmest congratulations on his election as President of

this session of the General Assembly, which is

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recognition, not just of his personal qualities, but also of the

leading role Malaysia is called on to play in a part of the

world that is characterized by the rapid pace of its

economic development and where we are engaging in joint

efforts as members of Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation

Council.

My country wishes to express its recognition of the

spirit of rationality and moderation that has marked the way

in which the President has discharged his duties in this

period of restructuring as part of the complex task of

maintaining peace as the essential prerequisite for ensuring

a more just world free from discrimination of any kind and

aberrant xenophobia. As this is the moment of truth for the

United Nations, we wish to express our hope that the work

he has done in guiding this Organization so far will

continue so as to consolidate the restructuring process.

In the face of the two options that exist for resolving

the constant and recurrent crises that afflict the world —

law and justice on the one hand, force and violence on the

other — Mexico has always opted for the former.

We are here not to engage in a mere ritual act, but to

reiterate our full commitment to this common effort that we

initiated half a century ago. This commitment has to be

renewed every day, because peace and security are not free

gifts bestowed once and for all, but values that have to be

conquered and maintained from day to day.

A year ago, the world’s leaders came together in this

forum to commemorate the fiftieth anniversary of our

Organization. They reaffirmed the validity of the principles

and purposes embodied in the Charter of the United Nations

and agreed on new parameters for our collective activity.

The complex effort made in 1996 to ensure a proper

follow-up to them must continue to be our target for the

coming year.

Although not with the forcefulness and clarity that

would be justified by current law and demanded by the

international community, the International Court of Justice

recognized, in an Advisory Opinion of July this year, that

the use or threat of use of nuclear weapons run counter to

international law. The Court also emphasized that

“there exists an obligation on all States to pursue in

good faith and bring to a conclusion negotiations

leading to nuclear disarmament in all its aspects under

strict and effective international control.”

The General Assembly must give immediate effect to this

by urging the initiation of negotiations on the subject in

the Conference on Disarmament.

While we welcome this ruling, we do not agree with

another assertion of the Court within the Opinion that the

threat or use of nuclear weapons could be legal in the

extreme circumstance of self-defence.

The Treaty of Tlatelolco, which Mexico promoted

and for which it acts as depositary, was the first legal

instrument specifically to establish a nuclear-weapon-free

zone in a densely populated region. Mexico will continue

to encourage the strengthening of the regime established

by this Treaty, which has undoubtedly served as a

precedent for other treaties establishing nuclear-weapon-

free zones throughout the world.

Mexico welcomes the recent addition of the new

South-East Asia Nuclear-Weapon-Free Zone to those

already existing in the South Pacific and in Africa. We

hope that we shall soon be able to add another nuclear-

weapon-free zone in the Middle East, which would

undoubtedly help to promote détente in that area. We

firmly support Brazil’s initiative to proclaim the southern

hemisphere of our planet a nuclear-weapon-free zone.

On 24 September, just a few days ago, Mexico

signed the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty

(CTBT). Despite the fact that its structure is not entirely

satisfactory, particularly with respect to its entry into

force, we signed it because we believe that it is a vital

step in a programme of action for the complete

elimination of nuclear weapons, the ultimate objective of

our efforts in this connection. Mexico and 27 other

countries members of the Conference on Disarmament

have already submitted a draft programme that we hope

can be considered as soon as possible. If we make enough

progress in this direction, it might even be possible to

overcome one of the main obstacles to the entry into

force of the CTBT, which is currently being hindered by

those obstacles mentioned earlier. Meanwhile, until the

Treaty — on which we worked for almost two years of

negotiations — comes into force, we urge all countries to

guide their actions in accordance with its text, even before

its formal entry into force.

It is a matter of great concern that the two Powers

acknowledged to possess chemical weapons have

postponed ratification of the Convention on the

Prohibition of the Development, Production, Stockpiling

and Use of Chemical Weapons and on their Destruction,

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which took us 20 years to negotiate and requires only two

more ratifications to enter fully into force. We shall be

initiating consultations with a view to submitting a draft

resolution on this subject. We urge the United States

Congress and the Russian Federation to ratify the

Convention as soon as possible.

Also on the subject of disarmament, we wish to draw

attention to the fact that the President of Mexico,

Mr. Ernesto Zedillo, recently made two proposals at the Rio

Group summit in Cochabamba, Bolivia. The first concerned

the need to adopt a convention against the illegal arms

trade, which relates directly to the struggle in which we are

all engaged against drug trafficking, crime and terrorism.

The second concerned the desirability of adopting measures

for the control of conventional offensive weapons in Latin

America with a view to avoiding arms races that would

divert resources essential to our economic development.

We welcome the Canadian initiative, to which Mexico

gives its unreserved support, regarding the initiation of

consultations with a view to securing, as speedily as

possible, a total ban on the deployment, transfer, production

and stockpiling of anti-personnel landmines. We believe the

matter to be both important and urgent. Accordingly, we

propose that this Assembly consider this issue in that light.

It is precisely because we do not see peace as the

mere absence of war that we believe that international

peace and security must be embodied in development and

equity. Peace is inseparable from development; security is

inseparable from prosperity. If we sow today for

development, we shall reap the peace, security and

international harmony that must mark the world of the next

millennium.

Accordingly, Mexico enthusiastically supports the

work of the United Nations and its specialized agencies on

economic and social issues and, in particular, the adoption

of an agenda for development as the basis of its efforts to

eradicate poverty.

That is why we view with growing concern the fact

that, in supposed support of freedom and democracy, action

is being taken in the opposite direction through the adoption

of laws in the field of trade — the nerve centre of

contemporary progress — that are extraterritorial in scope

and in complete disagreement with the fundamental

principles of international law. I would draw the

Assembly’s attention to the opinion of the Inter-American

Juridical Committee of the Organization of American

States, distributed in document A/51/394, on the subject of

the so-called Helms-Burton Act. It argues convincingly

that this Act is not in keeping with international law. It is

neither by means of blockades or exclusions, nor by the

application of sanctions on third countries that democracy

and human rights can be promoted. Dialogue, inclusion in

multilateral forums, trade, investment and the exchange of

information and persons have always proven to be the

best way to disseminate the values we all share.

Drug trafficking has attained unprecedented levels

worldwide, to the point where it has become one of the

most serious threats to the integrity of societies and the

very security of nations. Despite the vast resources

directed by Governments towards combating illicit drugs,

the power of the drug traffickers is increasing, as is the

number of victims claimed by drug addiction and the

collateral damage caused to the social environment and

the economy. There is an urgent need to draw up and put

into effect measures and strategies which, on the basis of

international cooperation and shared responsibility, will

make it possible to launch a comprehensive attack on this

phenomenon and to do away with partial and subjective

evaluations in rating the level of compliance of each

Government in combating drug trafficking, or, still worse,

in making use of this rating as a political weapon and

pressure tactic.

We trust that, in the course of this session, the

General Assembly will take a fundamental step to

intensify the fight against drug trafficking by convening

in 1998, on the recommendation of the Economic and

Social Council, a special session to assess the state of

international cooperation in combating the production,

sale, demand, trafficking and unlawful distribution of

narcotics, psychotropic substances and related activities.

Once the draft resolution on this issue is adopted, we

shall have to get down to the task of preparing an

appropriate agenda for that special session, incorporating

the specific ideas put forward in the Economic and Social

Council and in this Assembly. In this connection, the

statement made on 23 September by the President of

Colombia, Dr. Ernesto Samper Pizano, is of special

interest.

Mexico recognizes and scrupulously respects the

sovereign right of every nation to determine the rules and

conditions for the admission of foreign workers to its

territory. Nevertheless, the situation of our nationals in

foreign countries has become a source of legitimate

concern to all sectors of society in my country in

response to the emergence of disturbing outbreaks of

racism and xenophobia in some countries to which

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migratory flows are directed. We firmly reject all actions or

omissions on the part of national and local authorities in the

recipient countries that may contribute to creating or

exacerbating an atmosphere of violence and intolerance

against such workers and their families. In our view, the

mere existence of such a climate runs counter to the basic

assumption of respect for the human rights and fundamental

freedoms of all. Mexico believes that this complex problem

must be approached in a way that goes beyond mere

measures of repression and humiliation, but is rather

comprehensive, objective, broad in scope and responsive to

regional and subregional characteristics.

My country is convinced that the early entry into force

of the International Convention on the Protection of the

Rights of All Migrant Workers and Members of Their

Families is certain to constitute an appropriate framework

for the protection of the rights of millions of people who

emigrate in search of better living conditions. Moreover, we

believe that it is necessary to draw up, as part of the effort

to protect the human rights of migrants, minimum rules that

will protect them in any recipient country, regardless of

their legal status and of the protection afforded them by the

laws of the country to which they emigrate. We shall be

submitting proposals in this regard at the next session of

the Commission on Human Rights.

Meanwhile, Mexico has been making a major effort to

improve the treatment and protection of the migrants

entering our territory across the southern border. Moreover,

the Mexican Government has recently taken a decision to

regularize the migratory status of more than 30,000

refugees, most of them Guatemalan, who have settled in

camps in the States of Campeche and Quintana Roo under

the auspices of the United Nations High Commissioner for

Refugees. In a joint effort with all the countries of Central

America — including Belize and Panama — and the United

States and Canada, Mexico has embarked on a campaign to

combat and punish illegal trafficking in persons, which has

now taken on the attributes of international organized

crime. We are also working to pass legislation at the

congressional level to increase the penalties and lengthen

the sentences for those found guilty of this illegal

trafficking.

As the Heads of State and Government of the so-

called Group of 16, of which Mexico is a member,

indicated on the occasion of the fiftieth anniversary of the

United Nations, it is vital that we strengthen the multilateral

approach to solving the problems that affect the community

as a whole. We view with particular concern the lack of

substantive progress in the various working groups

responsible for examining the main aspects of the reform

of the Organization, and for this reason we should like to

propose that efforts be concentrated in the following

areas.

The capacity of the United Nations to prevent

conflicts and resolve those that already exist must be

enhanced. This would include, among other actions,

breaking the deadlock in the reform of the Security

Council, whose primary responsibility is the maintenance

of international peace and security. Secondly, measures

should be taken to strengthen the mechanisms for

resolving conflicts and disputes by peaceful means

through a convention on the subject. And, finally, the role

of the Secretary-General in conflict prevention should be

strengthened. An example of what action by the

Secretary-General can achieve is the important agreement

signed in Mexico City on 19 September between the

Government of Guatemala and the general command of

the Unidad Revolucionaria Nacional Guatemalteca, which

will make a significant contribution to the attainment of

lasting peace in that country, and in which the

Secretary-General and a group of friends, including

Mexico, participated.

From this rostrum I wish to pay tribute to the work

of the Moderator, which was essential to the signing of

six substantive agreements in the Guatemalan process.

Now we are awaiting only the signing of a few

operational agreements, which will lead to the early

establishment of a lasting peace in that country.

With regard to the reform of the Security Council,

Mexico considers it essential that in evaluating the

proposals before us, account should be taken of the need

for that organ’s composition to reflect the increase in the

membership of the Organization, while strictly respecting

the wishes of the countries of each region and the

principle of equitable geographical representation.

The United Nations must also strengthen its

activities in the protection of human rights and

fundamental freedoms, again on the basis of the

contractual obligations entered into by each State, and in

eliminating any vestiges of colonialism or of

discrimination on grounds of sex, religion, race or

political conviction.

One of the most urgent and complex issues of the

reform process is that of revising the financing system

and the criteria for establishing the contributions of

Member States. But let us be frank: the financial crisis

15

the United Nations is experiencing stems primarily from the

lack of timely payment of assessed contributions by a

considerable number of countries. This situation must be

normalized as speedily as possible.

The maintenance of international peace and security

continues to be the primary mission of the United Nations.

Barely seven years ago, a sigh of relief marked the ending

of the long night of the cold war. Hopes were reborn that,

with peace strengthened, confidence in the United Nations

would grow, the ambitions of dominance on the part of the

economically and militarily powerful countries would cease,

and a spirit of tolerance and harmony, of equity and mutual

assistance — indispensable for the building of a better

world — would soon develop. There was talk of “peace

dividends”. The reality has been more complex.

Mexico expresses its dismay at the violent incidents

that have occurred recently in the Middle East and joins the

appeal of the international community to all parties

concerned to refrain from undertaking any actions that

could worsen the situation and provoke further clashes.

Such incidents constitute a dramatic reminder of the need

for the parties to redouble their efforts with a view to

advancing the peace process and ensuring that dialogue and

reason prevail in the region.

Despite the magnitude of the obstacles that have to be

overcome in order to ensure that human beings are

educated for peace, Mexico maintains a profound faith in

the United Nations, whose structures must be strengthened

if we truly wish to give it the necessary capacity to

discharge the complex and lofty tasks entrusted to it half a

century ago, as well as those additional tasks it is charged

with almost daily.

With renewed optimism, we trust that human beings

still possess the resourcefulness and talent required to make

this world a worthy and just abode for all.