Peru, 2004

Allow me to join previous speakers in congratulating

you on your election to the presidency of the fifty-

ninth session of the General Assembly.

The world of the twenty-first century faces a

paradox. It is unified globally in the areas of

production, such as trade, finance and in the digital

revolution of information and communication

technology - yet it is divided by the increase in

conflicts, civil strife and transnational terrorism, as

well as cultural and ethnic violence. The world is

unified by universal values, such as democracy, human

rights and respect for freedom of expression and the

environment - yet it is divided when democracy

clashes with social demands for more jobs and less

hunger.

Those contradictory trends of globalization and

fragmentation jeopardize governance not only at the

international level, but also within nations. Conflicts

sharpen; many poor States are rocked by domestic and

external violence; terrorist organizations and traffickers

in drugs, weapons and persons are emerging and

amassing devastating global power.

Since the end of the cold war, more than 30 civil

conflicts have caused approximately 5 million deaths

and created almost 17 million refugees. In 2004, the

United Nations has been administering 15

peacekeeping operations and 15 special political

missions. That means that 16 per cent of Member

States are affected by issues undermining peace and

international security.

In a context in which no single Power can assure

global governance, in a world where fragmentation

abets nuclear threats, both nations and peoples demand

urgent decisions ó decisions ensuring global

governance based on international law, increased

respect for the United Nations, within a renewed and

strengthened multilateralism, and the reinforcement of

the values of peace and international justice.

In the global era, the world requires broad

consensus. Peru considers that the best solution is to be

found through both change and continuity. We must

stabilize the world political situation and generate an

international alliance for development and social

justice. We call for continuity in order to attain the

goals of the United Nations. We call for peace,

security, juridical equality of States, the non-use of

force, the prohibition of aggression, the international

rule of law governing relations among States,

international cooperation, economic and social

development and respect for human rights ó all of

which are more necessary and have more validity today

than ever before.

We also propose a change of tools, mechanisms

and measures. The reform of the Security Council must

be tackled realistically, bearing in mind its role as a

mechanism for collective security for the international

community as a whole. The people want a Security

Council with guarantees of legitimate and effective

decisions.

5

Peru is a country whose diplomatic tradition,

since the nineteenth century, has supported

multilateralism as the best means for international

decisions, particularly to promote peace and

development. Peru participates in United Nations

peacekeeping operations. My country is contributing

military troops in Cyprus, on the border between

Ethiopia and Eritrea and in the Democratic Republic of

the Congo, and we are participating in Liberia and in

CÙte díIvoire. Recently, my Government decided to

send a fully equipped company to help achieve

stability, security and the reinstitutionalization of

democracy in the Republic of Haiti.

As a result of our long-standing participation in

maintaining peace and security and in promoting

development, Peru has announced its candidacy for a

non-permanent seat on the Security Council during the

period 2006-2007. We are grateful for the considerable

support that we have received and for the favourable

consideration given to our candidacy.

Today, 2.8 billion people live on $2 per day; 1.3

billion people subsist on $1 per day. Moreover, in the

1990s, social inequality became more pronounced

throughout the world. According to the Worldwatch

Institute, that increase in inequality affected not only

personal incomes, but also access to water, food and

energy ó public goods essential for civilized life and

socio-political stability. Today, the decrease in personal

incomes and the increase in inequality are colliding

like tectonic plates, producing tremors of social

disintegration and international conflict.

Therefore, we in the international community

must understand that the peace, security and stability

of the world system are not related solely to political,

military or strategic aspects. Peace and security have

social and economic components. Poverty and

exclusion militate against peace, security and

democracy. Social exclusion produces violence,

instability and national and international fragmentation

and renders democracy fragile. We cannot overcome

that situation if we do not cause globalization to have a

human face and to become a positive force that

provides tangible benefits to all nations and all human

beings.

The rule of law and the international legal order

must guarantee access to justice and respect for human

rights. The rule of law must prevent impunity. At the

same time, democratic societies must make

transparency and the fight against corruption true

policies of the State.

Peru, before the process of recovering its

democracy, was captive to corruption, systematic

human rights violations and the subjugation of justice

to political power. The corrupt and authoritarian

Government hijacked democracy, tortured

systematically and made corruption a tool of political

power. Today, the free consciences of Peru demand that

those responsible be brought to justice. Therefore, I

appeal to the Government of Japan to contribute to

access to justice by authorizing the extradition of

former President Alberto Fujimori for the crimes

against humanity with which Peruvian justice has

charged him, including his alleged responsibility for

acts of torture, forced disappearances, summary

executions and acts of corruption. Democratic Peru

guarantees a fair trial and due process under the rule of

law. I make this appeal in the conviction that the rule

of law and the international legal order must guarantee

access to justice. To deny such access is tantamount to

enshrining impunity, and I am sure that the

international order is not prepared to consider itself an

accomplice to such impunity. We hope that that will

not happen.