Nicaragua, 1997

I

would like to congratulate you, Sir, on your election to the

presidency of the General Assembly at its fifty-second

session.

It is a principle of today’s world that political

legitimacy and democracy constitute the most civilized form

of government. The United Nations must reflect this

increasingly universal principle by supporting the efforts

being made by the Governments and peoples of the world

that are struggling to democratize their countries.

After a decade of totalitarianism and struggles of

resistance, the Nicaraguan people have chosen democracy

as our system of government. Proof of this is the elections

that were successfully conducted in 1990 and in 1996,

when I was elected President of Nicaragua and undertook

to build a state of law and to lead my country along the

path of democracy, reconciliation with justice and the

institutionalization of the State.

We know that this is a difficult challenge. The

Government over which I preside has made the

commitment to achieve economic and social development

that will make it possible to meet the basic needs of the

population and to guarantee sustainable growth in the

medium and long term.

We are aware of the need to promote a national

commitment to democracy. To that end we have initiated

an open, sincere national dialogue with different sectors

of society, including the political parties, civil society and

non-governmental organizations, so that together we can

find the key elements for building a democratic political

culture.

My Government is pleased to support the

hemisphere’s efforts, as coordinator of item 18 on the

agenda of the Summit of the Americas, “Strengthening of

the role of women in society”. The Summit meeting

wished to emphasize that the exclusion of women from

the tasks and benefits of development is a big obstacle to

the attainment of growth and democracy.

The entire world is in a process of change, and we

believe that the United Nations system cannot remain on

the sidelines. Nicaragua congratulates the Secretary-

General on his dynamic vision, and we thank him for his

report entitled “Renewing the United Nations: A

Programme for Reform” (A/51/950).

Nicaragua has benefited from many programmes of

the system and its agencies, programmes which have had an

impact on its economy, health, social well-being, education

and employment, to name just a few areas, and ultimately

on democratic development.

My Government considers the time has come for

Member States to approve a greater leadership role for the

Secretary-General. We are glad that the Secretary-General

attaches special importance to peace processes and the need

to improve the system’s capacity to combat drug trafficking

and terrorism. We support programmes to reduce arms and

enhance human rights, as well as to strengthen the ability

to respond in the best possible way to emergency situations.

Likewise, my Government considers that development

programmes and programmes for strengthening democratic

systems must not be affected. Our democracies still have

enemies. A rapid response capacity is essential today.

The Security Council’s present structure and its

Members’ prerogatives belong to a bygone era. The days of

the cold war and a bipolar world are a thing of the past,

and the number of States making up the international

community has increased substantially since 1965, the date

of the last enlargement of the Council. It is therefore clear

that its present structure is neither equitable nor democratic.

The days of armed conflict in the Central American

region are over. In this very forum, all the nations of the

world have declared Central America to be a region of

peace, democracy and development. Fortunately, we Central

Americans are daily getting closer to real and effective

integration.

We are aware of the urgent need to bring about

profound change in our institutional system in such a way

as to respect our sovereignty, and laws, and the different

characteristics of each nation, while allowing us to face

effectively the challenges of the next century and to blend

successfully into global flows of trade and investment.

Deeply resolved, the Central American Presidents have

agreed to initiate a process of gradually establishing the

Central American union. To that effect, we announced in

Managua on 2 September the decision to designate a high-

level group to prepare the bases and the conditions for

constituting the union. We ask the international community

to support this process unreservedly, for we consider it

invaluable for the strengthening of our democracy and the

well-being of our peoples.

We Central Americans do not want the destructive

consequences of war experienced in the 1980s to continue

into the twenty-first century. We still face humanitarian

and economic problems because of the damage caused by

the presence of landmines and other explosive devices,

which have caused irreparable losses to the civilian

population and the national economy.

The United Nations has seen profound changes in

world events, including great transformations in Eastern

Europe and the former Soviet Union. We are pleased to

see how democracy, the ideas of civil society and respect

for fundamental human rights are becoming predominant

characteristics of today’s world.

I therefore note with great regret that the 21.5

million people who live in the Republic of China are not

represented in this great Assembly. What is going on,

Mr. President? Everyone knows that the Republic of

China signed the United Nations Charter in 1945.

Domestically, it maintains government structures

guaranteeing its people the exercise of their fundamental

rights and freedoms. In no international forum dealing

with this subject has the Government of the Republic of

China been described as a violator of inalienable rights.

The countries of South-East Asia have seen how the

economy and democratic development of the Republic of

China have been significant factors in the region’s

stability. The international community can attest to the

fact that the Republic of China bases its attitude on the

principles that govern the United Nations Charter,

particularly in its peace-loving nature and its capacity to

make a positive response to the needs of the international

community.

Bearing these facts in mind, I appeal to the

Assembly to amend resolution 2758 (XXVI), which

excludes the Republic of China from the United Nations.

We ought to maintain the principle of universality through

the equal participation of all the States of the world. The

Government of Nicaragua considers that the Republic of

China should enjoy equal opportunity to participate in the

United Nations and its specialized agencies. We cannot

forget the right of those who freely chose to live in and

to build the Republic of China and who want their

country to be recognized with full and effective

participation at the heart of this Organization.

2

We have a broad programme of work, which will

contribute not only to overcoming the obstacles that peoples

and Governments face in achieving their goal of

maintaining and implementing fundamental values of

development, social well-being and justice, but also to

preparing for our entry into the twenty-first century with a

renewed and strengthened world Organization that can

assist Governments to attain the well-being of their peoples.

On behalf of the Nicaraguan people, I ask God to

bless the United Nations and all the peoples of the world.