Madam President,
Mister President,
Mister Secretary General,
Ladies and Gentlemen,
Heads of State and Government,
We have answer the call of the United
Nations to celebrate together the dawn of a new era, an era of progress and hope for all
humanity.
Last
century bequeathed us innumerable achievements but also grave shortcomings. Mankind's work
is still unfinished.
We
cannot let ourselves be satisfy. There are urgent challenges that cry for our attention.
Costa Rica comes to this Millennium Assembly convinced that we must work together in order
to translate those challenges into the achievements of the new millennium.
Ladies
and Gentlemen:
We
must not forget that every year 11 million of girls and boys under five die due to
preventable causes. During the last two years, Costa Rica was able to reduce its infantile
mortality rate by a 17%, even though we already had a low rate to start with. However we
are a very small country to save all the millions of children that pass away ... 30.500
will die today. Their deaths demand our joint action.
We
must not overlook the 130 million girls and boys without access to primary education or
the fact that millions of women have seen their right to education hampered by gender
discrimination. Costa Rica has only a 4.4% of analphabetism and we are
delighted by the fact that that rate is even smaller among women. Nevertheless, we are a
small nation and we acknowledge that there is work left to be done. In order to create a
society full of opportunities, every one of us must contribute.
We
cannot forget the millions of lives lost in war during the XX century. My country
abolished its army over half a century ago in order to invest in education and health.
According to the World Health Organization and the Economist, our health system surpasses
today those of developed countries and we are the healthiest society in Latin America.
Even so, by itself, my country cannot do more to redirect the millions of dollars that are
spent in weapons and armies worldwide to human development. This would require the
commitment of all of us.
We
must not ignore the irreparable damage caused to future generations by the devastation of
thousands of square kilometers of forests. Costa Rica is developing a system of payment
for environmental services. However, to truly mitigate the effects of greenhouse gases and
to preserve our forests in favor of all humanity, the commitment of all countries is
necessary to create an international market for the sale of these environmental services.
Knowledge,
information and the access to new technologies are currently the necessary foundations to
built higher standards of life. The new frontiers lie in the realm of technology. Thus, in
the same way in which in last General Assembly we concurred on the need to promote the
massive distribution of vaccines and medicines to the helpless sectors of humanity, thanks
to Jeffrey Sachs's farsighted warning, this year we are united by the commitment to close
the digital divide in order to prevent the growth of injustice and inequality. A few weeks
ago, the Holy See issued a warning on this divide. On the same day, Costa Rica launched
the "Communications without Frontiers" program and became the first nation to
provided free electronic mail to all its population.
We
should keep in mind the promotion of democratic values and human rights, deeply embedded
in Costa Rica's tradition. For this reason, we celebrate the democratic consolidation
that, due to recent elections in which the opposition won after long periods of one party
government, Mexico is enjoying as well as the Republic of China in Taiwan, which deserves
an appropriate space in International Fora. The respect and force of Human Rights must not
have frontiers. For this reason, we underscore the Secretary
General's support for the University of
Peace, designed to promote those values, at the same time that we firmly support his
efforts to ensure that all States ratify the International Human Rights Treaties. In this
new millennium of hope, the multilateral implementation of International Law must
guarantee, beyond Sovereignty, the authority of the Law centered on the dignity of the
human person.
Madam and Mister President,
Today, the world's poorest societies
suffer the grave consequences of the artificial increase in oil prices.
According
to the International Energy Agency, 77 million barrels of oil are consumed daily.
Considering that the current overprice is close to 10 US Dollars per barrel, in a year we
will end up paying over 281 billions dollars in excess.
On the
basis of the Costa Rican experience, with this gargantuan amount of resources, 1100
million persons could receive adequate health services. Thus, the world's infantile death
rate, which, in 1997, was a terrible rate of 56 per thousand, could be reduced while the
life expectancy rate, which, in the same year, was of only 59 years for the low-income
countries, could be raised. With those same resources it could be possible to built 28
million homes for poor families in Latin America, Asia or Africa, or we could provide
primary education to 550 million girls and boys or secondary education to 430 million
adolescents.
This
is the frightful cost, in human terms, of oil's overprice. It is urgent to halt the
impoverishment of millions of persons that it causes. Today, even more than before, we
require the commitment of all nations and international organizations on this issue, which
affects the right to human development of all peoples.
Madam and Mister President,
With our political and material
support, the United Nations can and must answer the challenges posed by the new
millennium. In order to eradicate war, we must restructure the Security Council. To
promote peace, in terms of Social Justice, Democracy
and Development, the General Assembly,
the Economic and Social Council and the United Nations Program for Development must be on an
equal footing with the Security Council.
Today
I ask all the world's nations to join our efforts to make international solidarity the
sign of our times. That every woman and man feels her or himself a member of just one
race: the human race. That there be only one goal: human development. Only thus will this
era be a new era: the era of progress and hope for all humanity that we all long for.
Thank
you.
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