Panama, 2011

It is an honour for me to address the

international community, first of all, to express the

pleasure of the Government of the Republic of Panama

at the election of His Excellency Mr. Nassir Abdulaziz

Al-Nasser as President of the General Assembly at its

sixty-sixth session.

The delegation of Panama is gratified by the

holding of the general debate in the presence of the

Secretary-General and representatives of the different

Member States, Observers and organizations. We

would like to congratulate the President of the General

Assembly at its sixty-fifth session for his excellent

work.

President Al-Nasser has invited us to focus this

debate on strengthening the role of mediation in the

peaceful settlement of disputes, conflict prevention and

resolution. The importance of this theme invites us to

deeply reflect on its multiple dimensions, given that

mediation is an essential instrument in the preservation

of international peace and security.

Panama is a multi-ethnic country where people of

different races, cultures, creeds and languages coexist

in harmony and freedom, and where love of

representative democracy, independence and respect

for the sovereignty, ideology and territorial integrity of

all countries are inalienable specific qualities that

define us as a nation.

In our view, and as a founding member of the

United Nations, Panama will always advocate for

international peace and security, the promotion of

dialogue among Member States, the strengthening of

multilateral dynamics and facilitating the mission of

the United Nations. That is largely due to experiences

accumulated during the course of the diplomatic

history of our country. More than three decades ago,

for a second and last time, the Security Council held an

extraordinary session away from Headquarters, with

the purpose of politically mediating the dispute over

the sovereignty of Panama over its Canal and the

territories adjacent to the Canal Zone, controlled at that

time by the United States of America, which was the

platform that launched the Panamanian cause onto the

international stage.

It was the joint will and intervention of the

members of this illustrious General Assembly,

demonstrated in its historic resolution 31/143, of 1976,

which to a great extent inspired the signing of the

Treaties between Panama and the United States in

1977. Nowadays, the Panama Canal, fully under our

sovereign authority, is one of the most important axes

of our economic development, supervised by a

Panamanian administration, for the benefit of all

nations. Panamanians will always be grateful to the

United Nations for this noble success of

multilateralism.

In the 1980s, the Contadora Group was

established in Panama as a mechanism for multilateral

mediation. It forged a Latin American alliance

committed to democracy, economic cooperation and

regional security and led to the Esquipulas peace

agreement — an overarching advance in the

consolidation of peace in Central America. The

Contadora Group was the predecessor of the Rio

Group, which is today an important mechanism for

consultation and coordination in Latin America.

When our democracy was restored in the early

1990s, with the support of the United Nations

Development Programme, we as a nation initiated

sustained consultations among the principal actors of

Government and civil society in order to strengthen our

administrative institutions, secure the return of the

Panama Canal to Panama, overcome asymmetries in

our country, and identify strategies to accomplish our

development priorities.

During the past two decades, our culture of

dialogue has given us the skills necessary to transform

our country into a democratic and dynamic society that

is progressing at a steady pace under the current

Administration of the President of the Republic,

Ricardo Martinelli Berrocal.

As a result, Panama is now considered the second

most competitive economy in Latin America, according

to the World Economic Forum classification system, in

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view of our first-class financial system, our ports, our

high-quality multimodal logistics infrastructure and our

efficient technology — all of this in an environment

that is open to business and generates global interest in

foreign direct investment.

Our robust prospects for economic growth and

our effective management of public debt, in

combination with continuous, adequate and careful

financial discipline, have been the determining factors

in our recently achieved investment grade with a stable

outlook, according to the major rating agencies.

Likewise, we have begun to implement an active

cooperation agenda in the area of information

exchange and fiscal transparency. We have adopted all

of the measures suggested, which have enabled us to

comply with the recommendations of the Organization

for Economic Cooperation and Development in this

respect. However, this journey to success has not been

easy, and many future challenges remain.

I believe that all of those here today will take on

the main challenges faced by the international

community in the process of achieving a coherent

restructuring of the world economy and the reform of

its institutions and oversight mechanisms. Panama is

fully aware of this need, and our international agenda

requires us to participate actively in the major

multilateral mechanisms and economic and commercial

integration forums in the areas of investment, tourism

and technology, for the benefit of our citizens. Panama

believes that such efforts must be promoted without

delay by the major economies if we truly wish to

overcome the turbulence in international markets.

Our country also believes that to ensure a

favourable economic climate, domestic conflicts must

be prevented. This depends on, inter alia, the

effectiveness of the democratic regime, public security,

respect for human rights, the responsible management

of natural resources, tolerance, access to health-care

and sanitation services, the affordability of basic

goods, good governance, and inclusive and balanced

development.

We in Panama, after living for 21 years under a

military dictatorship — until 1989 — have made a

strong commitment to democracy as a means of

peacefully resolving the disputes that arise in our

society. The experiences suffered under that

dictatorship have led us to speak out unequivocally, in

bilateral and multilateral forums, in favour of the

strengthening or re-establishment of the effectiveness

of democratic institutions wherever necessary. This has

led us to clearly express our position in defence of

democracy in cases such as those involving Honduras,

the failed coup attempt in Ecuador, and the Arab

Spring, which brought the winds of freedom to that

region of the world.

The duty to resolve disputes that give rise to

international conflicts lies primarily with those States

whose disagreements have generated the conflicts in

question. Nevertheless, the United Nations, as the

epicentre of global diplomacy, must increasingly

perfect the art of mediation as a means of resolving

international disputes. We can never forget that this is a

fundamental principle of the Charter of the United

Nations, enshrined in its Article 33 — a mandate that

has resulted in many accomplishments around the

world, where wisdom, mutual understanding and

agreement have prevailed over aggression, hate and

destruction.

Mediation and dialogue have formed the basis of

the stand that Panama has taken in connection with

conflicts that have a bearing on peace and international

political stability. Allow me to point out in that respect

that the Government of the Republic of Panama

believes that the Palestinian people have the right to be

recognized as a State, but that they must first resolve

their differences with their neighbour Israel, which also

has the right to peaceful and harmonious coexistence

with Palestine and the other States of the region. There

could be no better solution than one that emerges from

direct negotiations between Israel and the Palestinian

National Authority.

We also trust in the outcome of dialogue between

the parties in the case of China. Panama, with full

respect for the existing diplomatic truce, calls for

greater participation by Taiwan in international forums

and initiatives, in recognition of the fact that its people

wish to contribute to the pursuit of global peace and

well-being.

For that reason, and given the relevance of this

important provision of international law, we invite the

Secretary-General and the President of the General

Assembly to continue to promote and enhance the role

of mediation as a viable strategy for the peaceful

resolution of disputes.

However, for the United Nations system to

continue its effective peace mediation activities, each

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Member State must honour the commitments

undertaken, so that the Organization can count on

sufficient resources. This call for international

cooperation is particularly relevant in these times of

budgetary constraints in many countries, and given that

aggressive competition for scarce resources is one of

the primary causes of armed conflicts.

Panama is a country with a lengthy and notable

history of peace and conciliation. In our opinion, the

best option when faced with the threat of armed

conflict is comprehensive, transparent and

unconditional diplomatic dialogue between the parties.

We welcome the fact that in July 2011 the

international community marked an important

milestone along the path to a collective security

architecture through the unanimous adoption of a

resolution entitled “Strengthening the role of mediation

in the peaceful settlement of disputes, conflict

prevention and resolution” (resolution 65/283). That

consensus represents the victory of reason over the

absurd and harmful option of confrontation. The

international community has seen clearly the major

advantages of investing in a concerted effort to

consolidate peace before it becomes necessary to

contain the human tragedies resulting from violent

conflicts, as we have witnessed and are witnessing in

Somalia, for instance, where hunger, disease and

destruction reign.

Human history has taught us that hunger, poverty,

ignorance, injustice and social inequality give rise to

the greatest threats to peace and security. If we, the

States Members of the United Nations, remain

determined to save succeeding generations from the

scourge of war, we must opt for proactively ensuring a

peace that is based not on action taken in reaction to

political or military acts of aggression, but on faith in

and guarantees of universal and equal human rights in

all corners of the world.

As we believe in the valuable role that the United

Nations should play, Panama is very proud to share

with this Assembly the fact that the Government of

President Ricardo Martinelli proposed the creation of a

United Nations Regional Centre for Latin America and

the Caribbean, with the aim of strengthening

coordination and dialogue among regional agencies, in

particular the 16 United Nations bodies already

established in Panama. The national Government will

finance the project, which will be a unique model of

best practices in implementing sustainable

development in Latin America and the world.

In the past decade, our country’s privileged

geographic position and the logistical infrastructure

that Panama City offers has attracted various

humanitarian aid organizations. That has also

encouraged Panama to promote the construction of a

regional humanitarian assistance logistics centre for the

Americas. The regional centre will have the necessary

agreements to expedite the entry and exit of

humanitarian aid in order to help in the event of natural

or other disasters, such as occurred last year in Haiti,

where the international humanitarian agenda is still

very necessary.

With such projects, we reiterate our commitment

to the multilateral system and to the United Nations

Organization, and show that, as small lower-middle

income developing countries, we also provide

international cooperation, even in such times of

economic difficulty for the large economies.

Nor does Panama wish to miss the opportunity

before the Assembly to call for reflection on the

environmental, political and social challenges that all

our societies face and that we must overcome, once

again, through dialogue and cooperation among States

in an effort to address those global challenges.

Without a doubt, one of those great challenges is

that posed by climate change and its effects. Climate

change is a priority of my country’s foreign policy at

the environmental level. We are committed to all

efforts aimed at strengthening international

environmental organizations and to the struggle to find

joint solutions to the causes and effects of that

phenomenon.

As part of our support to the Organization’s own

initiatives and for the benefit of the international

community, we will host the meeting of the ad hoc

working groups of the United Nations Framework

Convention on Climate Change, soon to take place in

Durban, South Africa. Those working groups will meet

in Panama from 1 to 7 October in order to advance the

modalities for a second commitment period of carbon

emission reductions by developed countries and for

stabilization of the global temperature so as to make

progress in fully implementing the Framework

Convention through long-term cooperation

mechanisms.

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Panama hopes that the meeting will serve as a

bridge between the results obtained in the Mexico

meeting and those that may emerge in the one that will

take place in South Africa, since it is necessary to set

clear, transparent and ambitious goals. Also, the

political will of developed countries in the matter must

be reaffirmed, as they have the primary responsibility

under the Convention.

In conclusion, as the Secretary-General rightly

stated in his opening address to the general debate:

“Saving our planet, lifting people out of poverty

and advancing economic growth — those are one

and the same fight.” (, p. 1)

That is why Panama, once again and before the

General Assembly, renews its commitment to the

community of nations to work for a world where war,

sectarian hate, discrimination, intolerance and

destruction waged under different flags and creeds that,

without any justification, generate only poverty and

misery, may finally be replaced by the dialogue,

negotiation, cooperation and friendship stemming from

differences that, on the contrary, have always been a

source of wealth and well-being for the peoples of the

world.