Mexico, 2006

Twenty-one

years ago, on a day like today, a terrible earthquake

battered my country. We remember the victims, and we

express our ongoing solidarity with their family

members.

Madam President, on behalf of Mexico, let me

congratulate you on your election to the presidency of

the General Assembly at its sixty-first session. We wish

you every success.

The Mexican people thank Mr. Jan Eliasson for

his leadership during the Assembly’s sixtieth session

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and for his contribution to the United Nations reform

process.

Mexico warmly welcomes the people of

Montenegro to this Organization of free and juridically

equal nations. We welcome all nations that today have

joined the free and democratic nations, through

genuine representation of their peoples, and are united

in the struggle against terrorism and in favour of

human rights.

A few days ago, we commemorated the fifth

anniversary of a terrorist act that plunged many

families of this and other countries into mourning. We

offer our sympathy to those who have suffered the

violence and cruelty of terrorism. Mexico strongly

condemns that terrible evil, as it condemns all acts of

aggression or violence. We repudiate any action that

undermines peace or conflicts with the noble principles

and purposes of our Organization.

Throughout the past six decades, the peoples of

the United Nations have seen that the use of force does

not solve problems; on the contrary, it often aggravates

them. Peace and development are the fruit of mutual

respect and the cooperation to which such respect gives

rise.

The peoples of the United Nations are well aware

that the deterioration of peace and security is the result

of insufficient international dialogue and cooperation.

We know, too, that many of the setbacks — such as

those in the field of disarmament and those that take

the form of aggression against other people or the

environment — are caused by a lack of respect among

nations.

These are very challenging times. Our peoples

today face such situations as the persistence of long-

standing international conflicts or the emergence of

new tensions and threats to international peace. They

also must tackle problems ranging from poverty,

disease and illiteracy to inequality of opportunity and

the urgent need for more inclusive dialogue aimed at

increasing mutual understanding.

Humanity is desperately seeking respect,

understanding, and cooperation among nations. There

will be no peace without respect among nations, no

development without cooperation among them.

These are challenging times, but also times of

hope. I believe that hope and goodness alone can give

us the necessary strength and drive to achieve our goals

and fulfil our dreams.

This house, the foremost of the international

forums established by mankind, is built upon the

principles and values shared by all peoples, the product

of their common essence. Here, we summon up what is

best in us. Here, we show that what unites us is not

force and animosity, but hope and solidarity. Here, we

are united by our ideals and our will to preserve future

generations from the scourge of war. Here, we work

together to foster the dignity and worth of the human

person, and, shoulder to shoulder, we promote the

economic and social progress of all of our peoples.

Here, we make firm commitments, such as the

Millennium Development Goals, and we work

enthusiastically in order to go forward and achieve

those goals. This is no small task. There are many

challenges, because the goals are ambitious. The

magnitude of the challenges cannot and should not

overshadow the scope of our common will.

Mexico’s message is one of hope and of faith in

what we are capable of achieving together. It is a

message of confidence in the work done by our United

Nations. This is the message of Mexico, whose people

conquered democracy in 2000 and in so doing inspired

hope for a new future of prosperity and justice.

Mexico is a country with well-established

institutions which guide and lead our nation. It is

currently experiencing unprecedented freedoms. My

people live and work in peace, enjoy stability and have

their eyes set on new horizons of well-being and

justice.

The democratic Mexico is firmly committed to

protecting human rights. We are very proud to be a

founding member of the Human Rights Council and to

occupy its first presidency. We will continue working

with enthusiasm and determination in order to make

the Council an organ that responds effectively to the

challenges posed by human rights.

Mexico is a country that cherishes its roots and

traditions and treasures its heritage as a land of many

and diverse cultures. We prize the legacy of our

indigenous peoples and are proud of our indigenous

present. We are actively engaged in the recognition and

promotion of the rights of indigenous peoples at the

international level.

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In May, a Rarámuri woman from the state of

Chihuahua named Isabel said to me, “Mr. President, it

is certainly true that all human beings are different

from one another, that we see the world through

different lenses and that we do not all share the same

beliefs. Nevertheless, all human beings are equal in

dignity and stature”. She asked me to pass on that

message. I promised her that I would do so, and today I

am keeping my word by bringing Isabel’s voice and

those of our other indigenous sisters and brothers to

this forum. Isabel’s voice is the voice of all Mexican

women and men who are fighting discrimination.

Thanks to the commitment of the members of the

Human Rights Council, the General Assembly will

have before it for consideration a draft United Nations

Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples. On

behalf of the indigenous peoples of Mexico and of the

rest of the world, I call upon each and every State

Member of this Organization to adopt that draft

Declaration and to endow it with the means necessary

for it to promote respect for the rights of indigenous

peoples.

Five years ago, in a spirit of great enthusiasm and

in the quest for a more just and human-centred world

for millions of people with disabilities, my country,

Mexico, presented the General Assembly with a

proposal for a draft United Nations convention on the

protection and promotion of the rights and dignity of

persons with disabilities. We now have a draft text that

will prompt Governments and society to pay more

attention to people with disabilities. I urge all nations

to sign and ratify that legal instrument — proposed by

my country and already endorsed by many of the

nations represented here — with a view to creating a

world of greater justice, humanity and dignity for all.

Mexico believes in the United Nations — in its

present and in its future. We have always worked here

in a constructive manner, promoting consensus and

harmony and putting forward initiatives to address the

greatest challenges of our times.

I would like to thank and pay tribute to the heads

of State of Algeria, Australia, Canada, Colombia,

Chile, Germany, Japan, Kenya, the Netherlands, New

Zealand, Pakistan, Singapore, Spain and Sweden for

their support for the Mexican initiative to establish the

Group of Friends for United Nations Reform. Together,

we presented proposals that were taken up in the

Secretary-General’s report of March 2005 (A/59/2005).

I am certain that our commitment to reform of the

United Nations will result in a stronger Organization

that is capable of accomplishing the lofty objectives for

which it was created. Mexico is convinced of the need

to promote a reform of the Security Council that can

guarantee the Council’s representativeness, efficacy

and transparency, as well as ensure accountability. That

objective will not be reached by creating new

permanent seats.

We are an Organization based on the principle of

the juridical equality of States. The reform of the

Security Council should ensure more frequent

participation by all Member States in the activities of

that body. That is why Mexico proposes an increase in

the number of non-permanent seats, with the

possibility of immediate re-election.

As this is the last time that I will speaking in the

Assembly in my capacity as President of Mexico, I

would like to express my gratitude to all Member

States for their support for all of our efforts and

initiatives over the past six years.

I would like to express my deep appreciation to

Secretary-General Kofi Annan, a good friend of

Mexico. He will be remembered for his efforts to

reform and strengthen this Organization and for his

passion for peace and harmony among nations.

I would like to reaffirm my country’s

unconditional commitment to the objectives of the San

Francisco Charter, to the reform process currently

under way and to our common quest for a world free

from poverty, fear and despair — a world of mutual

respect, peace and harmony.

From this rostrum I appeal, on behalf of Mexico,

for respect and peace among nations. In particular, I

call on the United Nations to continue to promote an

effective peace process in the Middle East.

There is no greater enemy or obstacle than

hopelessness, unkindness and lack of solidarity. Let us

build a future based on the strength of our ideals and

values, confident that our United Nations can achieve

great things.

In the same spirit that made our peoples free,

sovereign, democratic and human-centred nations, I

invite the Assembly today to set its sights on a future

of greater freedom, justice, brotherhood and solidarity

among human beings.