Paraguay, 1996

It is an honour for me, on behalf of

Paraguay, its people and its Government, to wish the

President of the General Assembly, Ambassador Razali

Ismail, every success in his endeavours. We wish also to

emphasize the excellent work accomplished by President

Diogo Freitas do Amaral, who tirelessly led the proceedings

of the past session.

For Paraguay, the United Nations is a form that has

guaranteed the free debate of ideas and the participation of

all without discrimination or exclusion. For a long time, the

United Nations has been the mandatory beacon of our

nations when their essential rights were threatened. For

Paraguayans, the fundamental rights of men and women,

one of the pillars of the United Nations, are today vital —

and not just rhetoric — in the search for world peace,

freedom and security, which only democratic civilian

Governments can guarantee.

The new historical reality we face — knowing

immediately what happens elsewhere in the world and

within or countries — means that we all must share a

greater responsibility and solidarity. The globalization of

today’s world is such that a problem besetting one nation

is not an isolated matter, but rather one that must be

considered by all.

This is why we will have to rethink the age-old

question of what path all men and women should take.

While we belong to diverse ideologies and cultures, we

must nevertheless secure equality, rights and freedoms.

Our contributions and suggestions for strengthening

the Organization and adapting it to the new realities of

today’s world therefore are made in the spirit of

cooperation. This is why we request that the reforms to

be adopted in the framework of the United Nations be

aimed at reducing its fragmentation in order to make it a

more functionally integrated structure. Such reform will

make possible more fluid communication and much more

efficient coordination. This is why we insist on reform to

eliminate unnecessary costs through the consolidation of

the programmes aimed at the harmonious development of

our peoples, and to rationalize and optimize existing

resources in order to avoid the duplication of human or

economic efforts.

The Government of Paraguay, aware of its

international commitments, has made enormous efforts to

fulfil its financial obligations to the United Nations. In

this regard, we send out an appeal for payments of

assessed contributions to be made within established

deadlines in order to ensure the operation of the

Organization. The principle of equity so requires this.

We must also state that Paraguay’s position on the

reform of the United Nations is clear with respect to the

General Assembly. We consider this body not only a

model of democratic decision-making, but also — given

its high degree of universality and free exchange of

ideas — the most important organ of the system. We

support the expansion of the Security Council, which

requires a larger number of permanent and non-permanent

members on the basis of equitable geographic distribution.

In this connection, we support the view that Latin

America should be represented among the permanent

members, in addition to countries such as Germany and

Japan. Paraguay maintains that the exercise of the veto

should evolve towards innovative mechanisms that would

be used more objectively.

Programmes that make sustainable economic

development possible constitute another aspect the system

must take into account. Our country is promoting a social

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market economy, free and respectful of private initiative,

but without disregarding the share of responsibility borne

by the Government. We therefore view with satisfaction the

leading role of the United Nations in the field of sustainable

human development. In this connection, we wish to

underscore the binding conventions on the environment, the

commitment made by 118 Heads of State and Government

to put an end to poverty, unemployment and social

marginalization, the important results achieved at Habitat II

and the Midrand Declaration of the ninth session of the

United Nations Conference on Trade and Development.

We particularly endorse paragraph 17 of that

Declaration, which states that

“The lack of territorial access to the sea,

aggravated by remoteness and isolation from world

markets, imposes serious constraints on the overall

socio-economic development efforts of the land-locked

developing countries.” (TD/377, para. 17)

As such, those countries require sufficient international

cooperation to maintain and improve their transportation

and commercial-exchange infrastructure.

Having signed the aforementioned conventions and

having participated in the aforementioned conference, the

Paraguayan national Government adopted concrete measures

to implement the provisions of the plans of action that

emerged from those meetings. Thus, following the mandate

of the World Summit for Social Development, a secretariat

for social action was established at the ministerial level,

reporting to the presidency of the Republic. Its fundamental

purpose will be to prepare public policy on social projects

and to coordinate the actions of the Government and civil

society in order to improve our people's standard of living.

We have also prepared a strategic plan to improve

education, in conjunction with the educational reform

currently being implemented by the national Government.

We have also devised a map of basic needs — which is

also known as poverty mapping. We have carried out a

household survey covering not only urban, but also rural

areas. We are at the moment preparing a system of social

indicators and social expenditures.

Furthermore, a year after the holding of the Fourth

World Conference on Women, the public and private

sectors at large have been made keenly aware of its

Platform for Action, thus fortifying policies relating to

gender.

I wish to express my Government's deep gratitude to

the United Nations system, and particularly to its

Secretary-General, Mr. Boutros Boutros-Ghali, who has

constantly and tirelessly helped us work towards the well-

being of the people of Paraguay.

We are aware that our age is marked by unusual

characteristics. Contemporary history defines us

differently. Concepts have changed. Today we speak more

positively and effectively about integration, cooperation

and complementarity. The time of sterile confrontation is

behind us. This is a time of solidarity and of reciprocal

and diverse cooperation; constructive and creative

interdependence is the key to our daily coexistence.

Today's world needs not only a new economic order,

but also a new international cultural order. Science,

knowledge and technology must be our universal heritage.

An awareness of solidarity is the way for which human

beings to understand themselves and others. We should

see that without this understanding of others we are

insufficient, incomplete and lacking in humanity. Genuine

comprehensive development requires the cooperation of

all the men and women who inhabit this world. Only in

that way will development as a human right, with the

blessing of the Organization and with our strong support,

find its full meaning and its place in history. Either we

remedy our circumstances or we sink in them.

However, the disappearance of the rivalries of a

bipolar world has, unfortunately, not meant the end of

conflict. Throughout this year, we have seen ethnic and

nationalistic confrontations that have given rise to

overwhelming human crises that have cut down innocent

lives, destroyed property and — still more seriously —

brought about the loss of the value of coexistence. In this

state of affairs, Paraguay hopes that the military

confrontations that spill the blood of nations and violate

the right to live will very soon come to an end. We

encourage the consolidation of the peace process in the

former Yugoslavia and the resumption of the peace

process in the Middle East in order to find a just and

lasting solution in that region.

Our country also hopes that efforts will continue

towards the resolution of conflicts in Rwanda and

Burundi in order to bring about peace and stability in the

Great Lakes region. Paraguay views with satisfaction the

achievements made in Angola, and we hope that the

Organization of African Unity will continue to play an

important role in the prevention and settlement of

conflicts in Africa.

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Paraguay notes with great satisfaction the results

achieved by the United Nations through its peace-keeping

Missions in Haiti, its observers in Nicaragua and

El Salvador and its verification Mission in Guatemala,

which has achieved major success recently. Paraguay is in

favour of continuing increasingly to promote the

mechanisms of preventive diplomacy and, above all, of

peace-keeping. Similarly, the Republic of Paraguay

welcomes the spirit of reconciliation manifested by the

Government of the Republic of China. We hope that a

dialogue will be established to resolve the situation with the

People’s Republic of China.

Now more than ever before, stability and peace are the

challenge. It is imperative to build a multipolar world to

guarantee the equitable development of nations and peoples.

Equity should be the cornerstone of universal harmony. In

this spirit, we trust that our Organization’s actions for

disarmament and non-proliferation of nuclear weapons will

prove effective and will strengthen our battle against all

threats to peace and world security. Faithful to this purpose,

Paraguay co-sponsored the resolution on the Comprehensive

Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty, which was adopted by the

General Assembly last 10 September. We encourage all

Member States of this great Organization to sign the Treaty,

as I did a few days ago as Minister for Foreign Affairs of

Paraguay. We urge that the Treaty be promptly ratified so

that it may enter into force.

Almost 50 years ago, on 10 December 1948, the

General Assembly adopted and proclaimed the Universal

Declaration of Human Rights. Thus did mankind achieve

one of its most precious goals: a Declaration of rights for

which peoples and nations, individuals and societies, had

always fought. In Paraguay today, we firmly believe that

we have learned the hard lesson of living in peace,

democracy and pluralism. The era of oppression and of a

lack of basic freedoms, economic backwardness and

cultural isolation is past. It is part of a sad history that we

will remember only so as not to repeat it. The democracy

we are building today, with the active participation of our

citizens and the solidarity of the international community,

is part of an irreversible process.

Of course, barely four months ago, a small group,

nostalgic for authoritarianism, tried to turn back the clock.

But thanks to the prompt support of friendly nations and to

the spontaneous and courageous action of young people

who took to the streets to defend the democratic process,

we were able to abort a military adventure that could have

caused irreparable damage to our country. Fortunately, our

country is today moving straight towards a strengthening of

all its freedoms and towards democratic stability in its

political system.

We are greatly pleased that Paraguay was able to

overcome its institutional crisis with the weapons of

democracy. The threat of force against our institutions

was combated with our democratic beliefs. The

Government averted the danger without resorting to any

measures in violation of the Constitution or our laws.

Even at the most difficult times, we maintained freedom

of the press. No citizen was imprisoned and no

emergency laws were decreed. Our victory was based on

our belief in political pluralism and the right of dissent.

Thus, the calm and decisive action of the President of the

Republic of Paraguay, Juan Carlos Wasmosy, restored the

autonomy of civilian rule. We stopped being a democracy

under the protection of military power and became a

civilian democracy, free from interference or pressure

from outside forces.

Having made this historic, political step, the

Government and the people of Paraguay are deeply

grateful to the Member States of this Organization for

their support during that delicate crisis. In particular, we

are grateful to the Security Council for its clear and

unflinching support of Paraguayan democracy. This

support further strengthened our faith in the United

Nations efforts to maintain democratic political

institutions, freedom, peace and international security.

Paraguay's foreign policy is based primarily on

regional economic integration, at the centre of which is

the Southern Cone Common Market (MERCOSUR). We

are convinced that the Latin American integration process

is the key to our country’s integration into the world

economy and to the consolidation of our democracy.

Following this policy, we have undertaken many activities

with a view to expanding the links between our internal

market and international economic processes.

Another important element has been the frontal

attack on international organized crime. The task is not

easy. For years political and economic corruption were

the modus operandi of the dictatorship. None the less, the

Government of Paraguay is committed to fighting the

scourge of drug trafficking and money-laundering. We

encourage the public, national and foreign alike, to report

irregularities worthy of investigation, inspection or review

so as to eliminate the sources of corruption. With its new

attitude of political transparency, the Government has sent

a draft bill to the National Congress which defines and

aims to suppress the crime of money-laundering,

15

including the laundering of profits from the illicit sale of

narcotics, psychotropic substances and dangerous drugs. A

national drug-control plan is also being drawn up.

Fifty years after the establishment of the International

Court of Justice in The Hague, my country — fulfilling the

promise President Wasmosy made last year to the General

Assembly — yesterday deposited with the Secretary-

General of the United Nations the instruments of acceptance

of the jurisdiction of the Court. This decision is one further

commitment on my country’s part to the universal society

in which we believe. As Minister for Foreign Affairs of my

nation, I will always remember having been the vessel of

this historic decision. We also reiterate, as a land-locked

country, the importance of the Convention and the reforms

to the Convention on the Law of the Sea. We express our

faith in the principle of the universal heritage of mankind

through our presence as a member of the council of the

International Seabed Authority.

Here at the beginning of the fifty-first session of the

General Assembly of the United Nations, as Minister for

Foreign Affairs I would like to take the liberty of making

a declaration of faith. Too young to have known the

founding, the first achievements, the main crises, the

changes and the development of the institutions of the

United Nations, I belong to a generation destined to play a

role in the twenty-first century.

When I was born, the human rights covenants had

already been written, the environment was already a

concern for all peoples, and the universal diplomatic

conventions and legal system of treaties were already in

place. Such is our world at the end of the century. Thus, in

supporting reform, Paraguay believes that it is necessary to

mention through me that there is one thing that we will not

be able to change: our purposes and goals, which we must

preserve for future generations.

We will reaffirm time and time again the equality of

nations, large and small, and the importance of creating

conditions for the rule of international law. Here in the

General Assembly, the soul of the United Nations,

representing a young nation which has yet enjoyed 200

years of independence and speaking before age-old peoples

and cultures, I reaffirm mankind’s utopia: a common belief

renewed that we can affirm this forever to be our home.