YouSaid · the spoken record

Sebastián Piñera Echenique

lines on the record: 155
first: 2010-09-24
most recent: 2020-09-24
sittings or episodes: 6
sources: un-general-debate

Every line below is reproduced as it was said and linked to the record it came from. Nothing here is summarised or generated. Directory · Search · Corrections

“We therefore welcome and strongly support the framework agreement for the elimination of chemical weapons in Syria, concluded recently by the United States and Russia, as well as the efforts made by the Secretary-General and the Joint Special Envoy of the United Nations and the League of Arab States to reach a peaceful and lasting solution to this prolonged armed conflict as soon as possible. Similarly, Chile has always defended and will continue to defend the cause and rights of the Palestinian people to have a full, free and democratic State — a State that, like the State of Israel, enjoys agreed, recognized and secure borders with all its neighbours, allowing its inhabitants to live and develop in stable and lasting peace and security.”
2013-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 68 (2013)
“In that regard, we reiterate our appeal not only to end the proliferation of nuclear arms and weapons of mass destruction but also to dismantle those that already exist. We strongly condemn the use of the chemical weapons in Syria, as well as the indiscriminate use of force against the civilian population, which has to date produced tens of thousands of innocent victims, including women and children, and has caused a serious humanitarian crisis that represents a wound to our universal conscience and seriously threatens international peace and security.”
2013-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 68 (2013)
“And if a State cannot or does not want to comply with that primary duty, then the international community can and should intervene on the basis of three universally recognized pillars, namely, prevention, support and the proportional use of force in accordance with the Charter of the United Nations, but only as a last resort and when strictly essential to prevent, avoid or deter genocide, war crimes, ethnic cleansing or crimes against humanity. In addition, my country once again reaffirms its strongest commitment to democracy and respect for the human rights of all persons, from their conception to their natural death, at all times and in all places and all circumstances, as well as our ongoing endorsement of multilateralism, of a regionalism that is open to the world, and of fair and constructive economic competition among all countries.”
2013-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 68 (2013)
“I mention in particular our full, unconditional respect for international law, the inviolability of treaties, legal equality among States, the peaceful settlement of disputes and the self-determination of peoples — all values that provide the essential foundation for international stability and peaceful coexistence among nations. In our opinion, however, those values should be complemented by the principle or notion of the responsibility to protect. That concept holds that it is the primary duty of each State to protect the population within its borders.”
2013-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 68 (2013)
“In the end, if we advocate democracy, dialogue and participation when we govern our own countries, we should advocate for those same principles when we address the form in which the United Nations governs itself. I should like to take this opportunity also to express my gratitude for the many expressions of support for Chile’s candidacy as a non-permanent member of the Security Council in the next two years and to reaffirm our strongest commitment to the principles and values that have for decades governed and guided our foreign policy.”
2013-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 68 (2013)
“And we join in the appeals to the five countries with the right of veto to refrain from exercising that right in situations of crimes against humanity, war crimes, genocide or ethnic cleansing, since the use of the veto in such cases prevents or undermines the Council’s efforts to effectively defend the most fundamental values that enable humankine to advance. However, Security Council reform is not limited to changes in its membership and organization. It also means abandoning the logic of vetoes and replacing it by a logic of special quorums, so that the most important decisions concerning international security, which inevitably affect all countries sooner or later, can be adopted in a way that is truly representative of the community of nations that make up the United Nations.”
2013-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 68 (2013)
“A good first step in that direction is to move towards real and far-reaching reform of the Security Council, including the enlargement of its permanent and non-permanent membership to ensure proper regional representation, as well as to strengthen its transparency. working methods and decision-making, all aimed at enhancing the effectiveness and legitimacy of its activities. In that regard, Chile, which was present at the creation of the Organization in 1945, supports the inclusion of Brazil, Germany, Japan and India as permanent members of the Security Council, as well as the African continent’s request for fair representation in the Organization.”
2013-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 68 (2013)
“None of those desires is exclusive to one nation, one era or one specific organization: they all emanate from the depths of our souls and of each human heart. For that reason, we are not here only to proclaim their value and existence but to ensure their enforcement and application. We therefore appeal not for those values to be changed or, still less, to be forgotten. Quite the contrary: we appeal for the will and the courage to put them into practice. In order to do so, we must perfect our democracies and strengthen grassroots participation, but we must also modernize our regional and global organizations. In that task, as we all know, there is a long road ahead of us.”
2013-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 68 (2013)
“However, although we know we are living in a world that is undergoing enormous transformations, many of our international organizations often seem resistant to the change that such an evolution demands, allowing themselves to fall behind instead of leading the process. Article 1 of the Charter of the United Nations states that the principal purposes of the Organization include to maintain international peace and security, to develop friendly relations among nations and to promote international cooperation in the economic, social, cultural and humanitarian spheres, as well as respect for human rights and the permanent protection of human freedoms without distinction as to race, sex, language or religion. But let us be clear.”
2013-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 68 (2013)
“This new world is no longer divided by walls or iron curtains, but is connected and integrated by the bridges of increasing globalization and the massive exchange of goods, services, capital and people. In this new world we certainly face dangers, challenges and opportunities that are also new, and which in many cases transcend the borders and jurisdictions of individual countries, demanding to be tackled by distinguishing where the responsibility of some people ends and where the responsibility of others begins. Such challenges and problems can be successfully dealt with only by harnessing the force of the unity of all and the responsibility of each.”
2013-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 68 (2013)
“We are living in a world that is very different from the one that witnessed the birth of the Organization and of other agencies such as the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank after the end of the Second World War. This new world is not the result of war or of the ideological struggles waged during the second half of the twentieth century; rather, it is the child of a revolution in knowledge, science, technology and information that has been taking place for some time and that is now knocking at our doors and creating opportunities for material and spiritual progress for millions of men and women around the world that many of us could not have imagined even a few decades ago.”
2013-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 68 (2013)
“The fundamental inspiration behind the founding of the United Nations, almost seven decades ago, was the desire to be able to depend on a place designed to bring into harmony the actions of every nation aimed at attaining peace and development, a place where all individuals, nations and peoples of the world — whatever flag they pledge to honour, whatever god they worship and whatever ideas they embrace — can feel part of one big family, the human family. That requires many things of us, but none so important as holding an open, free and respectful dialogue among ourselves, a dialogue that, far from fearing dissent, values it and is nourished by it, because it understands that only when the various nations and cultures join forces will we also see our opportunities expand.”
2013-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 68 (2013)
“I should first like to congratulate you, Sir, an outstanding public servant from our region, on his recent election to preside over the General Assembly. I would also like to express my heartfelt solidarity with the people and Government of Mexico in the wake of the storms that have seriously affected their country, and with the people and Government of Kenya, after the acts of terrorism that have had such a terrible impact. I would also like to emphasize that during this period of meetings, Heads of State and Government from almost all corners of the planet will have the opportunity to exchange views, share experiences and, most important, generate the momentum essential to building together a future commensurate with the ideals, dreams and hopes of the men and women represented here.”
2013-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 68 (2013)
“When all is said and done, whether we like it or not, responding to the risks and the storm clouds that we see looming on the horizon — but also the challenges and the opportunities that we are getting ready to confront, and the responses and the solutions that together we shall have to implement, will only be fruitful and efficient if we do so with unity and goodwill. Some might believe that, acting alone, they will be able to move forward faster, but history will never cease to remind us that it is only when we act with unity and goodwill that we will be able to build on solid bedrock and not sand; only that will allow each country — and the world as a whole — to go far in fulfilling our tasks, achieving our goals and overcoming our challenges.”
2011-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 66 (2011)
“Furthermore, the facilities that Chile granted exceeded the Treaty provisions, including going far beyond those that the United Nations itself established in the Convention on Transit Trade of Land-Locked States. Our country has been, and always will be, willing to engage in dialogue with Bolivia on the basis of full respect for the treaties and international law. We are sure that, through such dialogue, we will have the best possibility of agreeing with Bolivia concrete, feasible and useful solutions for both countries. All of us here have not only the right but the duty to speak and act in defence of the interests of our respective countries and peoples. However, we cannot fail to note that, for that to be fruitful, requires that we work on the many things that unite us rather than on 15 11-50865 what legitimately divides us.”
2011-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 66 (2011)
“They were settled once and for all by the Treaty of Peace and Friendship of 1904, that is to say, concluded more than 100 years ago now. That Treaty was lawfully negotiated more than 20 years after the end of the conflict between the two countries. Moreover, the parties agreed to it; their Parliaments ratified it; and, as Bolivia itself acknowledged, the Treaty was the outcome of free and consensus-based negotiation. Therefore, in accordance with international law, both Chile and Bolivia are obliged to respect and implement it in good faith. Chile has fully implemented in a timely way each and every clause of that 1904 Treaty of Peace and Friendship.”
2011-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 66 (2011)
“We want to appeal to all Latin American countries, in the context of the Community of Latin American and Caribbean States, to establish a true strategic partnership that will engage the heart and soul of our Governments in that extensive reform of our educational systems, which will be our greatest possible contribution to the overall development of people to enable them to utilize their talents to the full, and to the growth of our economies, while enhancing peace and strengthening our democracies. That is why I would also like to mention what the President of Bolivia said yesterday when he referred to his country’s claim to obtain sovereign access to the Pacific Ocean through Chilean territory (see ). In that regard, I wish to reiterate that there are no territorial issues pending between Chile and Bolivia.”
2011-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 66 (2011)
“We must also substantially increase funding and access at all levels of education in order to ensure something as simple as quality education for all, free education for all those who need it and adequate funding for all others in order to realize the dream that no bright child or young person remains excluded from higher education owing to the socio-economic situation of their family or to scarce resources.”
2011-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 66 (2011)
“It is ready for the greatest reforms and has committed the largest economic, human, professional and technical resources in order to bring about fundamental change in our education system that seeks to substantially improve the quality of education and to increase coverage, in particular in the education of children from minorities and the most vulnerable so that they participate in education soon, not when the years have made it irreversible.”
2011-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 66 (2011)
“In my country in recent weeks, thousands of young people have taken to the streets to demonstrate for a noble, great and fine cause, namely, giving all children and young people quality education that enables them all to be actors in, and not mere spectators of, their own destiny and participation in this knowledge and information society. Our Government has shared, and consistently shares, that goal.”
2011-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 66 (2011)
“Those are investment in science and technology; the promotion of innovation and entrepreneurship; the building of more flexible societies that can adapt to a world in which change is the only constant; and, above all, making a huge effort to improve our human capital, the education of our young people and the training of our workers, as that is surely the major source of wealth and primary resource for leaving behind underdevelopment. There is no doubt that we must win the race for development and the battle for the future in the classroom by giving each and every one of our children quality education. We have said it many times: education is the true mother of all battles. Unfortunately, it is also the Achilles heel of many emerging economies.”
2011-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 66 (2011)
“However, in this new century and this new knowledge and information society, as well as relying on robust democracies, with open, competitive and integrated economies, and effective States to combat poverty and for greater equality of opportunity, we must recognize that those are merely old pillars that are necessary but completely inadequate today. As emerging countries, we must commit to building new development pillars.”
2011-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 66 (2011)
“We have also made significant contributions to the United Nations International Drug Purchase Facility in order to combat HIV/AIDS, malaria and tuberculosis, which still wreak havoc in many parts of the world. But we wish to go even further, and we are implementing mechanisms that will enable us to unilaterally reduce duties in order to promote our imports from relatively less developed African countries. We were also very proud to strongly support UN-Women, an entity headed by our compatriot 11-50865 14 Michelle Bachelet, whose principal goal is as strong and as far-reaching as to ultimately ensure that, as women and men, we have the same rights and the same opportunities in this world, which belongs to us all.”
2011-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 66 (2011)
“We have resolutely supported all international efforts to achieve a just, legitimate and lasting settlement in the Middle East. Chile is firmly convinced that the Palestinian people have the right to a free, sovereign and democratic State and that the State of Israel has the right to have recognized, secure and respected borders. Only thus will Palestinians and Israelis be able to coexist and move forward in peace and harmony. With regard to social development and the fight against poverty, hunger and pandemics, we are strengthening South-South cooperation. Such cooperation is certainly triangular, but it neither replaces nor substitutes the need for North-South cooperation. We have set up and are implementing a Chilean fund to combat hunger and poverty in Africa.”
2011-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 66 (2011)
“With regard to economic issues, Chile is a country that has integrated into the world and has concluded free trade agreements with more than 58 countries on all continents, representing more than 80 per cent of the world’s population. However, our commitment to free trade does not stop there. We have been strong supporters of the Doha Round of the World Trade Organization so as to make progress, once and for all after decades of stagnation, towards the liberalization of world trade, because protectionism is a poor response and is even worse when we face the threatening crisis conditions that we are experiencing today. Moreover, with regard to the promotion of world peace, Chile has recognized the Palestinian State, a country that we hope to welcome to the Organization very soon.”
2011-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 66 (2011)
“As well as strongly supporting the cause of democracy and defending human rights in all countries of the continent and of the world, where necessary, Chile has, at the regional level, been a tireless and steadfast advocate of improving the Inter-American Democratic Charter and of finalizing a protocol on the preventive protection of democracy within the Union of South American Nations. In addition, we continue to actively participate in the negotiations on the reform of the Security Council to increase its permanent and non-permanent members in order to make it more representative of the realities of the new world order. We have also supported the reform of the Human Rights Council, to which Chile was recently re-elected.”
2011-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 66 (2011)
“In the economic sphere, this means fostering creativity, entrepreneurship and innovation among human beings, who are the only truly inexhaustible and renewable resource we possess. We must demolish all of the obstacles that are preventing many emerging nations from fully integrating themselves into the newly emerging world. In the social sphere, freedom means promoting peace and helping States to become ever more efficient and effective in the fight against poverty and in the creation of real societies that provide equal opportunities for all. Chile has undoubtedly made, and will continue to make, important contributions to each of those areas.”
2011-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 66 (2011)
“However, Latin America has learned the lesson and is today becoming integrated with enormous conviction into this new revolution of modern society, science, technology, knowledge and information. This integration will be successful only if we are able to promote and expand what has been, and continues to be, the inexhaustible source of progress for humankind — freedom. Freedom is an integral concept that cannot be divided or compartmentalized. Freedom must be expressed in all spheres of human life. In the political sphere, it requires us to revitalize and deepen democracy and the defence of human rights to the farthest corner of the planet and at any moment in time.”
2011-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 66 (2011)
“It is clear that Latin America — now celebrating 200 years of independence — has everything it needs to overcome poverty and underdevelopment. We have a large and fertile territory, abundant natural resources, two closely 13 11-50865 related languages and, most important, peoples who have demonstrated, with solidarity and vigour, their ability to overcome any obstacle placed in our way by nature or by Providence. We have not had wars such as those experienced by Europe in the past century, or ethnic or religious conflicts such as those affecting other regions of the world. Nevertheless, because we did not know how to join the industrial revolution in time, our continent remains underdeveloped, with more than one third of its population living in conditions of poverty.”
2011-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 66 (2011)
“It will therefore depend on us whether it will become a factor for freedom, unity and progress and a bridge to span the gap between developed countries and emerging nations or, on the contrary, a new factor of division and a new wall further separating those countries in the world of opportunity from those in the world of frustrations. Certainly, the primary responsibility for rising up to greet this revolution that is already knocking at our doors lies with each country. But it is also a responsibility for the international community. In the case of the emerging countries, which include all those in Latin America, including my country, Chile, this signifies, in addition to a huge responsibility, a unique opportunity to re-identify with our past. Most important, it is an opportunity to meet up with our future.”
2011-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 66 (2011)
“While it is true that this revolution of knowledge, technology and information is not the first revolution the world has faced, all of us know that it is the most far-reaching in magnitude and breadth, both in terms challenges and the opportunities it has provided. But like the revolutions of the past — of metals, agriculture or the industrial revolution — this twenty-first century revolution will be very generous vis-à-vis the countries with the desire to embrace it enthusiastically. But the revolution will continue to be indifferent, and even cruel, to those countries that decide simply to ignore it or let it pass by.”
2011-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 66 (2011)
“Today, as we all know, they lack the ability to provide the necessary effective responses to the realities, challenges and opportunities of the present, as well as those of the future that are beginning to emerge. There is no doubt that we have achieved significant progress, but we understand that it has been too slow and insufficient. We cannot pretend to lead this new world with old institutions. One day our children will ask us how to face these challenges. In the end, these are our challenges and we must deal with them now. If we do not, then who will? If not now, then when?”
2011-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 66 (2011)
“The evils of modern society, such as terrorism, drug trafficking and organized crime, have for a long time ceased to heed borders, territories or jurisdictions. Any attempt to deal effectively with global warming, environmental protection, natural disasters, health emergencies, hunger and extreme poverty will most certainly require greater concerted and effective action from the community of nations and international bodies if we truly want to begin to change the course of history. Consequently, today it is urgent that we reposition ourselves and reshape each international organization, many of which emerged in a very different world, during the post-war period.”
2011-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 66 (2011)
“There is no doubt that we are facing a new world — very different from the one we, or our parents, have known and which emerged forcefully during the past decades: a new world born of the revolutions of knowledge, technology and information that has created, and will continue to create, enormous opportunities for material and spiritual progress for billions of people throughout the world — opportunities the world has never known. It is also certain that this new world presents us with new risks, challenges, threats and opportunities that exceed any Government’s individual potential and can only be addressed successfully through joint action. For example, financial crises, in addition to becoming more frequent each day, have increasing regional and global implications that cannot be ignored.”
2011-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 66 (2011)
“I come before the Assembly to express, with humble conviction, what my country has to say to the international community. But I have also come to listen, carefully and respectfully, to what other countries have to say to our country. Chile is, and will always be, proud to defend and promote dialogue as the best mechanism for dealing with and settling disputes. Chile profoundly believes that all nations, cultures, traditions and creeds have something to teach us. But we also believe that we all have something to learn from others.”
2011-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 66 (2011)
“I wish at the outset to congratulate Mr. Ban Ki-Moon on his recent reappointment as Secretary-General, and 11-50865 12 you, Mr. President, on your election to preside over the sixty-sixth session of the General Assembly. In this meeting of the United Nations, a multiplicity of countries and ethnicities, cultures and languages, religions and creeds converges. All are increasingly connected in this globalized world, because over and above our legitimate differences, we all live on the same planet, all breathe the same air and are all warmed by the same sun. As inhabitants of planet Earth, we share the same future. We share similar challenges and opportunities. All of us have the same desire for peace, freedom, justice and prosperity for our peoples and nations.”
2011-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 66 (2011)
“That challenge, my friends, is for us, and it is now, because if it is not now, when, and if not for us, then for whom?”
2010-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 65 (2010)
“They sent up a message that filled all my compatriots’ hearts with joy: “We are okay, we are safe, the 33”. This represents the whole paradox of our country. We have struggled so hard to save the lives of the 33 miners, and yet at the same time we have 34 Mapuche herders who are on a hunger strike that is killing them. I wish to conclude by telling those assembled here that the example of courage and perseverance set by our 33 miners will light the path to the future. The future is always an adventure. For pessimists, it means fear; for sceptics, it means doubt; but for all men and women of good will, it always means challenges and opportunities that we must meet together in order to build a better world than the one we inherited from our parents, and which we have a duty to bequeath to our children.”
2010-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 65 (2010)
“Along with this constitutional recognition, we have established a dialogue involving the Government, civil society and our aboriginal peoples, in particular the Mapuche, to strengthen the agenda for historic rediscovery with the most powerful initiative ever launched in Chile on this subject — the Araucanía Plan. I would also like to recall that only weeks ago my country was shaken by an event heard around the world. A rockslide of more than 100 million tons left 33 miners trapped deep under a mountain in the Atacama desert. From that moment, our Government and country committed themselves body and soul and made their very best efforts to launch a search-and- rescue operation. Seventeen anguishing days later, we were able to reach the trapped miners.”
2010-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 65 (2010)
“Chile will never cease to raise its voice in all international gatherings and forums to defend these principles. Here at the United Nations today, I also wish to sincerely recognize the aboriginal peoples who inhabited our lands thousands of years before the European explorers and conquistadors arrived. We are very proud to be a multicultural nation, but we recognize that we failed for centuries to give our aboriginal peoples the opportunities they deserved and needed. That is why we in Chile are promoting the constitutional recognition of all our aboriginal peoples, abandoning the strategy of assimilation and moving towards that of integration. Such a strategy respects, values and protects their languages, culture and traditions, which are part of our deepest national wealth.”
2010-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 65 (2010)
“I also wish to reaffirm our commitment to the principles that have always governed and guided our foreign policy, including full respect for international law, the inviolability of treaties, the juridical equality of States, the peaceful settlement of disputes and the self-determination of peoples, which are unquestionably essential foundations of international stability and peaceful coexistence among nations. I also stress the importance of the promotion of democracy and respect for human rights at all times, in all places and in all circumstances, and our lasting commitment to multilateralism and open regionalism that promote constructive and more cooperative economic practices among the countries of the world and of our region.”
2010-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 65 (2010)
“I should also like to take this opportunity to offer my very sincere congratulations to my predecessor as President of Chile, Michelle Bachelet, on her recent appointment as Under-Secretary-General for Gender Equality and the Empowerment of Women, and to express my pride and that of my whole nation at the fact that a compatriot will be head of a global effort to achieve greater equality between men and women. I am sure that, given her human and professional qualities, she will lead the new gender entity brilliantly and effectively.”
2010-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 65 (2010)
“In other words, we need a United Nations able to meet the challenges and needs of the twenty-first century, which we all know are genuine peace, sustainable progress and respect for the dignity of all those who inhabit our planet. Such reforms require modernizing the Security Council so that it is more pluralistic and representative of the new global reality. In this regard, we reiterate our appeal for the incorporation of other emerging countries, such as Brazil, on our own continent.”
2010-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 65 (2010)
“Those new times are the changes already taking place in this new century. As in 1945, when Chile participated in the creation of this Organization, and with the authority conferred on us by the fact of having actively participated in each one of its forums — peacekeeping operations and humanitarian missions — today we also want to participate in encouraging and promoting the great reform and modernization that the United Nations 27 10-54833 and the international order require. That must be done by creating a much more demanding and efficient institution in terms of goals and expectations, one more flexible and effective in structure and more determined and committed in the defence of the ideals for which it was created.”
2010-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 65 (2010)
“The financial crisis has ceased to be a national problem and has acquired regional and often global implications. The evils of modern society such as terrorism, drug trafficking and organized crime know no frontiers or territories or jurisdictions. And any attempts to effectively tackle global warming, natural disasters, health emergencies, hunger or extreme poverty are going to require action that is much more attentive, concerted and effective on the part of the community of nations. So the United Nations and other institutions deriving from the Bretton Woods consensus, such as the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund, urgently need to modernize and adapt to the new times if they want to play a leading role and not be mere spectators of events to which we will be witnesses and principal actors.”
2010-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 65 (2010)
“That wall prevented many of our nations from joining the Industrial Revolution in the nineteenth century. That explains why there are still underdeveloped countries while others, fewer in number, managed to demolish that wall in time and to join that revolution. But today we are confronted by a new revolution, more powerful and more significant than the Industrial Revolution: the revolution of knowledge, technology and the information society. It has been knocking at our doors for several years. It will be very generous to the countries that want to embrace it, but tremendously indifferent and even cruel to those that ignore it or simply let it pass. And in order to deepen our integration and to govern globalization better — lest globalization should end up governing us — the crisis must be addressed differently.”
2010-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 65 (2010)
“But there was another wall, the one running from east to west, which separated the rich and prosperous countries of the North from the poor and underdeveloped nations of the South. Both walls fell before our eyes as the sun set on the twentieth century. The first wall was in Berlin, in Central Europe, and the second one in Silicon Valley, Bangalore, Singapore, New Zealand and in the main technological centres throughout the world. But the fall of these walls uncovered a third wall, less visible than the previous ones but equally or more harmful and damaging. That wall has existed in our countries and peoples forever, separating the older souls who live in nostalgia and fear the future from the young souls who are creative and entrepreneurial and embrace the future fearlessly and always believe that the best is still to come.”
2010-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 65 (2010)
“We must invest in science and technology, which will create unimaginable opportunities for the future we all face, and we must promote more dynamic and flexible markets and institutions in order to confront the changes and opportunities that have become the challenges of the modern world. For those reasons, almost 65 years ago, Chile, together with 50 other countries, attended the formation of this United Nations, whose goal was to maintain peace, security and international cooperation. That was the post-war period, when our planet was crossed and divided by two walls. One was the iron curtain running from north to south, dividing the world for a long time into two irreconcilable blocs, each with sufficient war-making capacity to annihilate our planet several times over.”
2010-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 65 (2010)
“At the political level that requires a stable, participatory, transparent and vital democracy; at the economic level, a social market economy open to the world and trusting unreservedly in the economic entrepreneurship and creativity of its citizens; and at the social level, a State that is strong and effective in the fight against poverty and in promoting greater equality of opportunities. But we will build upon rock, and not upon sand. What was done before is insufficient. We must strengthen the pillars of society, knowledge and information. I am thinking about the development of our human capital, which is the greatest wealth we possess. We must encourage innovation and entrepreneurship, which are the only truly renewable and inexhaustible natural resources that we have.”
2010-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 65 (2010)
“That is because this generation of Chileans — the bicentennial generation — is in position to fulfil the dream our parents and grandparents had always cherished but never achieved. That dream is to succeed in making Chile, before the end of this decade, a country able to 10-54833 26 defeat poverty, to defeat underdevelopment and to create opportunities for material and spiritual development for all of its children, which Chile has never before known. How will we do this? First, by strengthening the three basic pillars so that development germinates and opportunities flourish.”
2010-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 65 (2010)