Nicaragua, 2008

On behalf of the delegation of the Republic

of Nicaragua — cradle of Rubén Darío and Augusto C.

Sandino, the home of a people firmly committed to

their principle, their efforts for a better world and their

calling for universal peace — I extend the brotherly

greeting of our President, Comandante Daniel Ortega

Saavedra, and of all our authorities and citizens.

Listening to the words of the representatives of

the States taking part in this sixty-third session of the

General Assembly, we find that we have a common

vision of the major serious problems affecting all

humankind today. In particular, we agree on the urgent

need to act as one in facing those problems and solving

them successfully, once and for all, for the benefit of

those who inhabit planet Earth.

Hunger, poverty, the high cost of oil and food, the

tragic consequences of climate change, terrorism, the

urgent need to observe human rights worldwide, the

trafficking of and trade in persons, drug trafficking and

civil insecurity are, among other issues, matters that

must lead us to focus our attention and our efforts.

At the same time, they are questions that arise

from the nature and functioning of our Organization

and that call for in-depth consideration so that we can

make this Organization more effective and democratic,

with sufficient guarantees, and so that all countries of

the world represented here can have our interests taken

into account, our voices heard and our will expressed

in the most transparent and effective way possible.

For Nicaragua, an international system based on

the hegemony of a few over the majority is

unthinkable. Such an anachronistic system, unjust in its

very essence, is the reason for the deep political,

economic and social inequality in the world. It is the

reason for the accelerated and advanced arms race led

by countries that have set themselves up as world

referees in situations affecting us all. It is the reason

for wars of aggression that behind the smokescreen of

the globalization of democracy and the promotion of

certain freedoms, illegally and illegitimately

appropriate scarce energy and natural resources and

lead to the political subjugation and grief of entire

peoples deprived of their freedom, national

independence and their right to their own development.

The international security situation has become

increasingly volatile in various parts of the world,

bringing new threats to international peace and security

and to peoples’ desire for peace. We must act

intelligently, cautiously and resolutely to ensure that

new fratricidal wars do not assail the world. Therefore,

we agree with the priority given by the President of our

General Assembly to actions aimed at achieving

comprehensive and complete disarmament and nuclear

control.

As a country that has fought and continues to

fight for its independence, sovereignty and

self-determination, and as the victim of military and

foreign political intervention several times in its

history, Nicaragua understood early on that there was

no greater value than freedom. Our national heroes,

those who fought in our wars for freedom, are taintless

witnesses to the determination of the Nicaraguan

people to have a free homeland or death.

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The persistence of poverty and inequality in the

world today cannot be justified. Hunger and poverty

are sapping economic and social progress for future

generations. Despite the efforts made in recent years,

the gap between the rich and poor has continued to

grow, and millions of people now suffer from hunger

and live in poverty or in extreme poverty. It is ethically

and politically crucial to put an end to that long-

standing injustice to so many human beings.

The Millennium Development Goals (MDGs)

await greater impetus from countries, primarily those

with larger economic resources, and from international

financial organizations, which are also called upon to

contribute to their accomplishment. Those countries

and bodies must clearly demonstrate their genuine

political will to achieve all the MDGs and that they are

not merely paying lip service to them.

It was established in the Monterrey Consensus,

adopted at the International Conference on Financing

for Development, that the Bretton Woods institutions,

the World Trade Organization and the United Nations

must recognize the needs and interests of developing

countries and make them central to the work of the

financing for development programme to be reviewed

in Doha this year.

By and large, we can say that most donors are not

honouring the pledges they made to increase their aid

unconditionally. United Nations calculations on the

total official development assistance needed between

2010 and 2015 in order to achieve the MDGs amount

to some $130 billion per year. However, global arms

expenditures in 2007 alone reached some $1.399

trillion, according to the Stockholm International Peace

Research Institute. Today more than ever, the

commitment to allocating at least 0.7 per cent of gross

national income for official development assistance

without condition must be honoured so that developing

countries can have these resources available for our

national priorities.

Nicaragua reiterates that, in order to consolidate

our efforts in the coming years to eradicate poverty,

extreme poverty, hunger and unemployment, we must

first eradicate the unjust relationships among States.

Those injustices can be felt most tangibly in unfair and

imbalanced trade relations between the rich and the

poor countries.

My country calls for a fair international market

and fair, democratic and balanced international trade

that will contribute to strengthening the economy of

our countries, allow us to achieve the Millennium

Development Goals, and end the criminalization of

migration by some receiving countries.

We must ensure the maximum possible economic

complementarity among all countries of the world. The

developing countries are working hard on that issue in

the context of South-South cooperation. We note the

successes that have been achieved in very little time in

some regions, such as the agreements between some

Latin American and Caribbean countries.

The Bolivarian Alternative for the Americas has

become a comprehensive platform for cooperation for a

number of our countries, complementing their

economies. The complementarity we have built seeks

to create advantages for our raw materials and

agricultural products, as well as for our fishing,

mineral and energy resources, to mention but a few. We

need complementarity, solidarity and the accelerated

transformation of purely economic relationships based

on a sense of shared responsibility and unity in the face

of the major challenges of the present and the future.

Nothing could be further from that spirit than

unbridled capitalism, which is speculative and

inefficient and has led the world economy into a

serious crisis the effects of which, according to some

experts, we are only just beginning to feel, as we have

seen recently in the United States financial system.

Just a few hours ago, the President of the World

Bank, Robert Zoellick, told the world press that the

United States financial crisis will have a severe effect

on development assistance, primarily that earmarked

for the poorest countries. In other words, the crisis in

the financial system will have serious repercussions on

our peoples. The same solutions being sought to avoid

collapse will need to include measures to ensure that

our peoples are not affected by a crisis that we have not

brought on ourselves but that we may pay for with

worsening poverty and a further delay in our

development.

We have also seen that multilateralism in

international relations is a means to achieve mutually

respectful relationships and peaceful coexistence and

to implement development policies based on our own

realities. In that conviction, we have been actively

committed to the principles and objectives of the Non-

Aligned Movement. The reconciliation and national

unity Government of Nicaragua, presided over by

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President Daniel Ortega Saavedra, is firmly committed

to that vision of the world and is working hand in hand

with the people to rebuild a country that, after almost

two decades of neoliberalism following a decade of

unjust war that was firmly condemned by the

International Court of Justice, was in a state of

political, social and economic collapse.

Our Government seeks to overcome poverty and

to transform Nicaragua through a new alternative

model of development that is more just and a new

power structure that is truly democratic. Citizens will

play a leading role in carrying out that task and will

directly redefine the path of the country in line with

their own interests.

We propose to improve the quality of life of our

people by basing our policies on principles to defend

the environment and nature and to conserve our natural

heritage. We must establish a participatory new world

environmental order with clearly set goals that puts an

end to the commercial and utilitarian exploitation of

our planetary resources that, as has now been proven,

are being depleted at an uncontrollable rate. Those

efforts must also include the commitment of the

countries that are the largest emitters of the greenhouse

gases that have resulted in global warming and have

already had other negative and irreversible effects on

the planet.

We are also focusing on the development of food

sovereignty as a means of feeding our people through

our own domestic efforts and through unconditional

solidarity with brotherly peoples. At the same time,

food security will guarantee that every Nicaraguan has

reliable access to nutritious food at a fair cost so as to

lead a healthy and active life.

We are developing programmes to eradicate

hunger and profiteering. We are providing low-cost

seeds, stoves and butane tanks for low-income

families. We are also supporting small businesses and

working for the establishment of a bank to encourage

production.

For Nicaragua, the word “solidarity” is not an

empty concept, but rather the cement of the society we

wish to build. With that in mind, I cannot fail to stress

at this general debate the solidarity of my people with

the Government and people of Bolivia, who have been

subject to unacceptable and ongoing attempts to

destabilize the country. The indigenous people of

Bolivia, led by President Evo Morales, have taught us

all a lesson in democracy by defending the democracy

that they have gained after years of humiliating

marginalization.

Once again, Nicaragua denounces the cruel

blockade maintained against Cuba in violation of

international law. That pathological obsession against

Cuba seems to justify all actions and ignores that

country’s own problems in combating the terrorism

that has been brought from this country to that

Caribbean island. The five Cuban patriots who have

been jailed in Florida for attempting to prevent terrorist

acts against the Cuban people should be set free.

Although it may seem untrue, the process of

decolonization is not over. Entire peoples are still

oppressed and denied their right to independence and

to self-determination. We salute and stand side by side

with the people of Puerto Rico and the Western Sahara,

with the Polisario Front, and with Argentina in

opposition to the occupation of the Malvinas Islands.

We also firmly reiterate our call for freedom for the

Cypriot people and for putting an end to the partition

of that great nation.

We support a comprehensive and peaceful

solution in the Middle East that will end once and for

all the horrors of war and allow the Palestinian and

Israeli people to live as brothers and sisters, and in

which the Palestinian people can finally enjoy all of

their rights and have a State of their own.

We are convinced that, if we are to achieve the

noble objectives embraced by our Organization, we

need the true political will to devote time and energy to

reviewing our own house. That is even more important

in a world of constant change and crisis and requires

each of us — our peoples and our States — to be active

participants in our own future. As has been said before,

we must work together to democratize the United

Nations. We are pleased to welcome the proposal of the

President of the General Assembly to hold a high-level

dialogue on the democratization of the Organization, in

which we would consider one by one the pressing

problems of and between its various bodies. We are

prepared to play a constructive role in that necessary

and urgent dialogue.

The times our peoples are facing and the

responsibilities we have here in this house will be

decisive for millions of people, now and for future

generations. It is urgent that we find points of

45 08-52272

convergence so that we can work together to meet the

challenges of the times and our responsibilities.

The United Nations Charter is a fundamental

reference point to guide our action. In respecting the

Charter and ensuring that it is respected, we are

respecting ourselves. Its principles must prevail over

selfish and petty interests. Above all, the future of

humankind is at stake.

Nicaragua reaffirms its call for peace and

humanism to contribute to a more just, more humane

and more united world in which individual destinies,

interconnected and inspired by their love of justice and

freedom, come together in the universal task of

creating a world that is better for all.

As was said yesterday at the high-level event on

the Millennium Development Goals, the unjust

international order in which we live must change if it is

to be credible, legitimate and effective. Fundamental

decisions cannot continue to be taken by one, seven or

eight stakeholders and without the participation of the

vast majority of humankind. Solutions to this situation

are well known and well accepted, at least in principle.

Through the millenniums and centuries, our

species has developed institutions — and above all,

law — in order to govern human relations and to

mediate conflicts through peaceful means. More

recently, humankind has developed democracy to that

end and, in particular, in order to structure power and

authority peacefully. Those are the solutions that our

species has developed over the millenniums, and it is

difficult to imagine another alternative.

The question before us now is whether we have

the political will to apply democracy at the

international level, beginning by democratizing the

United Nations and by strengthening international law

within the framework of United Nations institutions.

That is the solution. That is what will overcome the

chronically postponed solutions to problems and help

us to deal efficiently with urgent new problems. It is

possible. Why not? We are speaking of human

institutions that we ourselves can change. The question

is whether or not we have the political will to do so. I

propose that we work together at this sixty-third

session of the General Assembly to build that political

will through increasingly broader progressive

consensus.