YouSaid · the spoken record

Carlos Alvarado Quesada

lines on the record: 56
first: 2019-09-24
most recent: 2021-09-24
sittings or episodes: 3
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

“It sees development as a virtuous cycle and something to share, invest in and finance, not accumulate. The new global contract makes well-being a reciprocal good. The path laid out by humankind to achieve the new global contract is called the 17 Sustainable Development Goals of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. I hope that history will remember this era and its people and leaders, especially the most powerful and, consequently, most accountable, as those who took this path and gave the Earth a fresh start.”
2021-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 76 (2021)
“Peace, respect for institutions and the division of their powers must be sustained in Central America. We recognize the Malvinas Islands as Argentine territory, and we respectfully call for settling that dispute in a peaceful manner. Costa Rica will not allow itself to waver in its international commitments to the women and girls of Afghanistan. We cannot remain silent when the new regime does not allow girls access to education. Educating girls today is key to empowering the leaders of tomorrow. It is an honour to serve in this capacity. From this forum, it has allowed me to represent the aspirations and values of the Costa Rican way of life: peace, democracy, environmental sustainability, equality in diversity and the protection of human rights. I say with hope that the new global contract has a name.”
2021-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 76 (2021)
“Interdependence compels us to advocate for peace and reiterate the aspiration of a world free of nuclear weapons. We call on countries to join the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons, which to date 55 countries have ratified and 86 have signed. Likewise, we advocate for a Korean peninsula free of nuclear weapons, on which we can together build peace, stability and security. We reiterate our deep concern about the human rights situation in Nicaragua, as did the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, Michelle Bachelet, a few days ago. We are concerned about the imprisonment of political opponents, journalists and students, and we call for the unconditional enjoyment of democratic institutions, respect and the promotion of human rights, freedom of expression and freedom of the press in that brotherly country.”
2021-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 76 (2021)
“We welcomed the designation of 31 August as the International Day for People of African Descent and the establishment of the Permanent Forum on People of African Descent. The bicentennial anniversary of Costa Rica’s independence has reminded us of the reality of interdependence — an interdependence that compels us to turn our attention to Haiti in a show of support at this very difficult time for the first country in the Americas to end slavery. The same regard compels us to speak out for the lifting of unilateral measures that run contrary to international law and are having an impact on the Cuban people, and to demand respect for the exercise of the fundamental rights — such as freedom of expression and freedom of assembly — of every Cuban citizen.”
2021-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 76 (2021)
“More than 70 countries have joined the initiative, and I invite other States to do so as well. We also call for a halt to oil exploitation and exploration. To that end, together with Denmark, we are launching the Beyond Oil and Gas Alliance. Understanding and living with our interconnectedness and interdependence on the planet can lead us to a new era for humankind. It will mean promoting access for the most vulnerable populations to opportunities leading to their economic well-being, while focusing on indigenous peoples, Afrodescendant populations, migrants, women, children, young people, internally displaced persons and members of the lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and intersex community. That is how to put the new global contract into practice.”
2021-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 76 (2021)
“Through its own example, Costa Rica has shown that nature can save us and that sustainability and human development are possible. Accordingly, in 2019 we launched our plan to decarbonize the economy by 2050. Today, however, only 15 per cent of the Earth is protected, and only 7 per cent of the oceans are protected. Scientists agree that more of the planet must be protected and restored to safeguard it from the climate crisis and the accelerated loss of biodiversity. That is why the High Ambition Coalition for Nature and People, led by France, Costa Rica and the United Kingdom, as Ocean co-Chair, is a nature-based solution that seeks to protect 30 per cent of the planet’s marine and terrestrial ecosystems by 2030, in order to avoid exceeding global temperatures by 1.5°C and to promote the protection of the ocean.”
2021-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 76 (2021)
“The three United Nations Conventions — the Framework Convention on Climate Change, the Convention on Biodiversity and the Convention to Combat Desertification — are but reflective of the singular reality of a planet that must stop global warming, safeguard life and ecosystems and protect and restore agricultural areas. We must be ambitious with regard to the goals to be met at the twenty-sixth Conference of the Parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (COP26) to be held in 40 days. It will be imperative for the survival of humankind. We cannot let down our guard concerning our climate ambition on the way forward towards COP26, to be held in Glasgow, or our biodiversity ambition on the path towards the fifteenth meeting of the Conference of the Parties to the Convention on Biological Diversity in Kunming.”
2021-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 76 (2021)
“The success of ambitious and supportive initiatives like C-TAP and FACE requires the determination of the developed countries. I dream of a world-serving agreement between countries like the United States and China that would focus not on competition but on cooperation to move the world forward — a world that, to a large extent, depends on the resolve of its leaders, particularly those of the G-20, on whom I call once again to recognize the interdependence between self-interest and solidarity, which are today indissoluble. Our ambitions must be constructive for the sake of the future of the planet.”
2021-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 76 (2021)
“In that context, while holding the presidency pro tempore of the Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean, Costa Rica has proposed the establishment of the Fund to Alleviate COVID-19 Economics (FACE)— an emergency support fund of more than $500 billion, financed by 0.7 per cent of the gross domestic product (GDP) of the world’s largest and strongest economies — representing 80 per cent of the world’s GDP — which will be administered by multilateral development banks as concessional loans to developing countries. The funds are to be lent on a long-term, 40-year basis at fixed low rates to provide countries facing economic constraints with emergency financing, enable them to respond to the crisis and stay on track to meet the 2030 Development Agenda for Sustainable Development and the Sustainable Development Goals.”
2021-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 76 (2021)
“The new allocation of $650 billion in special drawing rights is a step in the right direction, but it is not enough. More than 40 per cent of that amount is intended for cash-rich countries, and only 1 per cent of those resources have been allocated for the people of developing countries. Priority should be placed on supporting Governments in need of financing and public financing rather than on shoring up the reserves of central banks.”
2021-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 76 (2021)
“Costa Rica, together with the World Health Organization and dozens of other countries, launched the COVID-19 Technology Access Pool (C-TAP), a repository of technologies and intellectual property, with a view to democratizing innovation and technology, particularly in the area of health care, treatments and medicines, to make them available for all people in all countries — especially for people in vulnerable situations or living in poverty. In that regard, our will must be actualized. I call on everyone to support with resolve and join that initiative. It is no secret that the pandemic has placed enormous strain on developing economies. Economic decline, unemployment, falling tax revenues and an increase in spending on vaccines, treatments and financial assistance programmes have hit emerging economies.”
2021-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 76 (2021)
“It means understanding that the best way to be selfish is to be supportive and generous and that hoarding capital, know-how and health assets deprives the entire world of a better future for all humankind. In order to forge ahead and fight for our own and our youth and children’s future, however, humankind must be determined to embark upon the path of action — not words or appeals, but concrete commitments entailing responsibilities and changes that are quantifiable in terms of their impact and qualitative in terms of their ethics. The pandemic is also an opportunity to build better and foster an economic and social recovery that will create sustainable, green, inclusive and resilient societies that will be tailored to technological and digital transformations.”
2021-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 76 (2021)
“At the same time, global military spending continued to rise in 2020. How will we explain to the next generation that, during the pandemic, as vaccines failed to reach everyone and we faced an unprecedented climate crisis, the world increased its spending on weapons? How can something so absurd be possible? The future is crying out to us for fewer military weapons and more investment in peace. Ours and the next generation face the unique challenge in human history of preserving life on the planet and its cultures against the threat of destruction. The question is whether we are doing enough and everything possible to that end, and if we are not, what needs to change? The reality that our planet is interconnected compels us to understand that today the interests of the most disadvantaged people are the interests of all.”
2021-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 76 (2021)
“In the worst-case scenario, if action is not taken now and emissions continue to grow at their current rate, by the end of the century the temperature of the planet will increase by 4.4°C and, as a result, so will the force and frequency of extreme weather phenomena. Ironically, the countries that produce the lowest levels of carbon emissions, such as the island States and my own region, Central America, are the areas most affected by the climate emergency. Extreme weather events have led to migration and developing countries to go into debt to deal with adaptation and reconstruction. The pandemic, the climate crisis, unemployment and limited levels of investment are putting extreme stress on the social and political stability of developing countries, as well as the stability of the entire planet, owing to global interconnectedness.”
2021-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 76 (2021)
“In that regard, I ask for the support of the Group of 20 (G-20) to make that happen. As long as the maximum rate of global vaccination is not reached, all of us, including countries that have stockpiled a greater number of vaccines, will be vulnerable to the virus’ mutations and the economic ravages of the pandemic. At the same time, in recent months and weeks we have seen the extent to which extreme natural disasters have swept the world from Germany to Nigeria, from Australia to Haiti, from Kiribati to Central America and from the Philippines to the United States, including floods, hurricanes, melting ice, forest fires, poverty, crop failures and migration. We take note of the recent report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change.”
2021-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 76 (2021)
“Only two out of 10 people in low- and lower- middle-income countries have received the first dose of the vaccine, whereas in high- and upper-middle-income countries the corresponding statistic is eight out of 10. The level of inequality is abysmal and tragic. The spirit of solidarity embodied by the COVID-19 Vaccine Global Access (COVAX) Facility has not met the scale of demand needed, and access to vaccines is absolutely unequal. Costa Rica advocates access to COVID-19 vaccines as a global public good, for everyone in the world. The COVAX promise must be fulfilled, and the developed countries can make it a reality. The shortfall and the passage of time are spawning increased suffering and death, as well as new variants. Today, it is imperative that, based on effective multilateralism, we turn COVAX into a concrete solution.”
2021-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 76 (2021)
“We will only be strong and prosperous when the world’s most vulnerable are too. That concept is not a romanticized vision of multilateralism. It is a reality we see, time and again, as we face shared challenges. We are only as safe as the most vulnerable among us. That is the conceptual cornerstone of human security, but we are struggling to comprehend this reality, and above all, take action to safeguard us all. The precept of leaving no one behind — a moral compass for taking action — exists not only in relation to the most vulnerable, but also the interests of all, as we make up a single interconnected and interdependent macrosystem. The facts speak for themselves. Millions of people — mainly the poorest — throughout the world are waiting for the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) vaccine.”
2021-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 76 (2021)
“I see the light of another time. It is ours.” Thank you very much.”
2020-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 75 (2020)
“We hope that the United Nations will fulfil the duty it has undertaken to all humankind and contribute to fostering peace not through words, but through actions. May the world end this chapter with the same words as this poet: “I have returned to my country. That part of me, at least, that was far away, shrouded in the fog of not knowing, of not believing, has returned. Today I see those who fill the streets, the squares, the parks, in their everyday clothes; I see those who tie their shoes, early in the morning, as if they were attached to the weight of the world; in all of them, there is a light that is not just the reflection of the red taxis, or the sound of the newspaper hitting the door like a gunshot, or the flash of the ticket you show on the train which accounts for your payment only of the kilometres you’re travelling that day.”
2020-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 75 (2020)
“We will overcome this crisis, but how do we envision our new beginning? We must build inclusive, sustainable, carbon-free economies that respect human rights. Mr. President: Costa Rica renews its commitment to a multilateralism focused on the dignity of people, especially those who are most vulnerable. Our multilateralism must be agile and action-oriented. We firmly believe that international security, national security and human security are not separate concepts, but go hand in hand. Our multilateralism must be entrepreneurial and resilient, promoting inclusive, sustainable and carbon-free economies. As we commemorate this anniversary, Costa Rica renews its commitment to the hope that allows us to continue our mission — even under the most adverse conditions.”
2020-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 75 (2020)
“For that reason, Costa Rica is actively participating in the negotiations on the new agreement for the protection of biodiversity in areas beyond national jurisdiction and the negotiations on mining code regulations within the framework of the International Seabed Authority. We are raising our voice so that no mining contract will be considered insofar as the effective protection and preservation of the marine environment cannot be guaranteed. Together with France, we are also promoting the High Ambition Coalition to ensure that 30 per cent of the world’s land and sea territories are protected by 2030, as a nature-based solution to the climate crisis. Every pandemic that has affected humankind throughout its history has come and gone. The question is: how well will we tackle our pandemic, and how well will we emerge from it?”
2020-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 75 (2020)
“Those complex tasks involve ensuring the implementation of the most relevant sustainable development instrument, namely the 2030 Agenda, the Paris Agreement on Climate Change, the Addis Ababa Action Agenda, the Post-2020 Global Biodiversity Framework and the Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction 2015-2030. They also require the necessary fiscal space, debt relief measures, official development assistance and international cooperation to close the gap between development goals and the actions it calls for. We cannot speak about sustainability without taking the necessary action for the effective protection of our oceans and their biodiversity.”
2020-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 75 (2020)
“However, the task of seeking greater guarantees for individuals and institutions in such matters must befall the international community. Mr. President, If COVID-19 is an early warning for humankind, the climate crisis and inequality are the greatest threats to human security for our generation and the next. We must embrace the complexity of our tasks, rather than shy away from them. Reason, empathy, science, fraternity and speaking the truth — however hard it may be — must triumph over simplistic, hateful or polarizing discourse which, in its simplicity and superficiality, hinders the progress required by action and dampens the human spirit.”
2020-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 75 (2020)
“Ensuring respect for human rights and fundamental freedoms is the only path that leads to peace, inclusion and development. The tragedy that Haiti is experiencing calls for joint action. Caravans of Haitian men, women and children are travelling across the Americas in search of better conditions, and it is high time that we worked together to help to resolve this grave humanitarian situation. Many violations of international law are committed every day through disinformation, cyberattacks, cybercrime and interference in electoral processes. In that connection, Costa Rica welcomes the General Assembly resolutions calling on all Member States to heed the reports of the Group of Governmental Experts, which confirm the applicability of existing international law, including the Charter of the United Nations in its entirety, to that new area.”
2020-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 75 (2020)
“In our America, we wish to draw attention to the economic blockade against Cuba, which is affecting its population. We reiterate that the situation must cease. We also believe that a peaceful, expeditious and democratic solution, under the auspices of the other States of the region, is needed to address the grave political and humanitarian situation in Venezuela and the violations of human rights that its people are experiencing. Costa Rica joins the concerns expressed by the High Commissioner for Human Rights, Ms. Michelle Bachelet, in her recent report to the Human Rights Council on the situation in Nicaragua. We strongly urge the Government of this sister country to constructively address its internal tensions and structural problems and to orient its actions towards the well-being of its citizens.”
2020-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 75 (2020)
“I invite all States that have not yet done so to sign and ratify that historic instrument. In that regard, Costa Rica advocates for a Korean peninsula free of nuclear weapons, with peace, stability and security. We therefore call upon the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea to respect and implement the relevant Security Council resolutions. Costa Rica calls for a just solution to the Palestinian question, for which the parties must resume peace talks. We are convinced that the conflict can be resolved only by the creation of two States, in line with the relevant Security Council resolutions, to coexist side by side in democracy, justice and peace. Furthermore, we welcome the peace agreements between Israel, the United Arab Emirates and Bahrain.”
2020-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 75 (2020)
“Costa Rica reiterates its firm commitment to the principles and values enshrined in the Rome Statute and calls for its universal ratification, as well as to preserve the integrity and independence of the International Criminal Court. Of course, significant changes are required in the face of any unilateral sanctions against the Court’s institutions or staff, as such acts are an affront to multilateralism. A renewed commitment to multilateralism requires respect for the Charter of the United Nations and international law without exception. A selective approach also weakens our collective security system. Such an approach has led the nuclear-weapon States to disregard or threaten to disregard their obligations under the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons, while demanding that others comply.”
2020-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 75 (2020)
“We need a Human Security Council that creates incentives to shift the world’s human and economic resources towards development and peace rather than towards the war industry. We need a Council capable of overcoming its deep internal divisions in order to work in unity, with a single voice. Costa Rica supports the Accountability, Coherence and Transparency Group Code of Conduct regarding Security Council action against genocide, crimes against humanity or war crimes, and supports the convening of the General Assembly to consider the issue whenever a veto is issued in the Security Council. Impunity is unacceptable. A renewed commitment to multilateralism requires ensuring that those responsible for gross human rights violations and abuses are held accountable for their actions.”
2020-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 75 (2020)
“They provide us with a model for overcoming the crisis and prepare us for future ones. Fairer, more equitable and more sustainable societies will be more resilient to the inequalities that this terrible pandemic has revealed and magnified. Today, we must prioritize less armament; more resources for development; more resources to combat the pandemic; more resources to counter climate change; more resources for the SDGS; less militarization and less death. That represents true human security for all peoples. The reform of our collective security architecture can no longer be deferred. The main body responsible for the maintenance of international peace and security must become more democratic, representative, accountable and transparent. We need a Council that looks at the root causes of conflicts, not just their symptoms.”
2020-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 75 (2020)
“If at least a fraction of all those resources were used to combat the pandemic, as well as the climate crisis, our generation could proudly say that we were able to redefine our priorities when the circumstances required it. The permanent members of the Security Council, themselves the world’s largest arms producers, should help redirect those priorities in line with Article 26 of the Charter of the United Nations. The Security Council should then also change its name, and become the Human Security Council. Our resources and our priorities must converge in the realization of the most ambitious and comprehensive human development programme ever conceived: the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Those Goals are more relevant today than ever before.”
2020-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 75 (2020)
“Ladies and gentlemen of the global community, if there is one thing we have learned from the pandemic, it is that we cannot talk about security without considering human security. Nevertheless, global military spending continues to rise worldwide and reached the absurd sum of 1.9 trillion dollars in 2019, according to the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute, SIPRI. The rise in military spending in 2019 was the largest annual increase in the past decade and the highest level since the end of the Cold War. The International Peace Bureau estimates that the cost of one tank could treat 26,000 people for malaria and the cost of a single aircraft carrier could reforest an area larger than the state of Florida. That is equivalent in size to Switzerland, the Netherlands, Luxembourg and Belgium combined.”
2020-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 75 (2020)
“Those figures are modest compared to the amounts that high-income economies have made available to deal with the internal consequences of COVID-19, whether by increasing monetary flows, fiscal deficits, support for domestic businesses and jobs or their own public debt. That amount represents the equivalent of more than 3 per cent of the average GDP of emerging and poor economies like ours. Acting in a decisive, innovative and organized way is our only option to avoid the economic destabilization of our countries and the global financial system. Acting in a decisive, innovative and organized way is how we can fulfil our commitment leave no one behind. FACE serves to protect every country and the global community.”
2020-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 75 (2020)
“The treatment involves a novel development of antiviral plasma that fights the virus in the early stages of its development and seeks to prevent the patient requiring intensive care. A second proposal that Costa Rica is promoting is the Fund to Alleviate COVID-19 Economics, also known by the English acronym FACE. FACE would be an extraordinary support fund of half a trillion dollars, financed with 0.7 per cent of the gross domestic product (GDP) of the world’s biggest and strongest economies — those that account for 80 per cent of global GDP — to be intermediated by one or several multilateral development banks as concessional loans to developing countries. The funds would be lent on a long-term basis and at fixed rates.”
2020-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 75 (2020)
“On 29 May, Costa Rica, the WHO and 40 other States launched a platform for the exchange of information, knowledge and intellectual property to make COVID-19 tests, treatments and technologies accessible to everyone, everywhere. For Costa Rica, it is essential that the vaccines reach — first and foremost — those who are most vulnerable, such as the elderly, people with risk factors, women and girls, indigenous peoples and people of African descent, people deprived of their liberty and, of course, health workers and staff who are on the front lines of response throughout the world. Participation in the proposed exchange platform is voluntary, hence I invite more States to join. From our side, we have added the equine plasma treatment developed by the Clodomiro Picado Institute of the University of Costa Rica to the platform.”
2020-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 75 (2020)
“Skin; hope; roots; tenderness; dinner; silence; bread; house; words — those are the words that the poet Jorge Debravo used to define us in our common and basic desires. But in my statement, in such a privileged space, I do not want rhetoric to be what allows me to capture your attention. I want that as a result of the concrete proposals that Costa Rica and its partners are making to the Assembly, for which we are asking for your consideration, hard work and support. From the outset, Costa Rica has insisted that health is a global public good and that the World Health Organization (WHO) be called upon to lead the multilateral response to the pandemic.”
2020-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 75 (2020)
“We are still at the beginning of this path, which, as a planet, we must travel together and overcome. Solidarity and multilateralism take on greater meaning today. Altruism and supreme values must guide us, not only because they are correct, but because today altruistic and selfish interests alike come together in the understanding that there can be no individual or national welfare if there is no shared and global welfare. This is true for combating COVID-19, addressing migration, fighting the illegal trafficking of people, weapons or drugs, fighting poverty, promoting development, human security and women’s rights, and overcoming the threat of the climate crisis. We must ensure that even the most selfish understand this and that we all work as a team.”
2020-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 75 (2020)
“Mr. President: Costa Rica congratulates you on your election as President of the General Assembly of the United Nations at its seventy-fifth session. We reiterate our commitment to working with you, the Secretary-General and all the Member States to achieve the objectives of this session, which is of an urgent nature today at what may be the turning point for all humankind and for the destiny of planet Earth. The COVID-19 pandemic has brought pain, death and unemployment in one way or another to the entire family of humankind. And as powerful as the COVID-19 pandemic is, having caused serious damage to health, economy, society, development and security, the virus appears to be just an early warning. It is an early warning of what humankind must face in the immediate term and in the coming decades.”
2020-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 75 (2020)
“Getting ahead of history means having courageous and innovative proposals so that when the day comes, we can together overcome the challenges that threaten our planet and one day fulfil intimate dreams such as those of the Costa Rican poet Jorge Debravo, when he wrote, “I ask for tenderness, dinner, silence, bread, home ...”, or the big shared dreams that unite us, such as in the poem by the great American writer Ray Bradbury in which he wrote, “I work for that Short man, Large dream I send my rockets forth between my ears Hoping an inch of Good is worth a pound of years Aching to hear a voice cry back along the universal mall: We’ve reached Alpha Centauri! We’re tall, O God, we’re tall!””
2019-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 74 (2019)
“The Egyptian and Mayan pyramids and the stone spheres of the Diquis in my country are examples of the civilizations that we have built and that taken together are the legacies of a single humankind. Our mission as leaders today is to get ahead of history and to learn from it so as not to end up like Sisyphus.”
2019-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 74 (2019)
“Epsy Campbell Barr, the Vice-President of Costa Rica, who is the continent’s first woman of African descent to occupy that post, will assume that responsibility on behalf of my Government. More than ever in today’s world we need people and leaders who are courageous in both heart and mind, and our responses must strengthen our welfare and peace institutions, support a free press, promote truthful information, protect the security of people’s private information, devise ethical algorithms and protocols and, above all, improve the lives of all people, hopefully lifting their spirits. The hands engraved almost 50,000 years ago in cave paintings, whether in the Sulawesi caves in Indonesia or in the El Castillo cave in Cantabria in Spain, illustrate our shared path as human beings. They are the same hands of the same species.”
2019-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 74 (2019)
“We must also put an end to the economic blockade of Cuba, whose adverse effects are inflicted on its population, and concert real efforts to deal with the political and social crisis in Haiti. In all those cases, let us get ahead of history. Strengthening inclusion, especially with regard to gender equality, women’s economic and political empowerment and the fight against all forms of discrimination, with an emphasis on those based on race, religion or sexual orientation, is vital to ensuring respect for human rights and sustainable development. Costa Rica is committed to advancing the rights of people of African descent who face clear conditions of disadvantage. In October we are hosting a high-level meeting on accelerating global action for ensuring the rights of people of African descent.”
2019-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 74 (2019)
“Costa Rica has denounced the violence, the disrespect and the ongoing, constant, State-sponsored violations of human rights suffered by those who oppose the Government, which have drastically increased the number of refugees that we receive from that country. National dialogue and an inclusive, transparent and internationally supervised electoral process are crucial. As a global community, we must seek a peaceful and expeditious settlement to the situation of grave political, humanitarian and human rights violations into which the ruling regime has plunged our brother people of Venezuela. The human rights violations are confirmed in the latest report of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights on the human rights situation in Venezuela (A/HRC/41/18).”
2019-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 74 (2019)
“We should not be erecting more barriers because of our differences but rather reaping an abundance of human enrichment and understanding through our marvellous diversity. As in any natural ecosystem, human diversity enables us to complement one other and makes us stronger, and our cohesion lies in the respect, understanding and empathy we have for one another. We, the States that make up this Organization, have the tools to do that, and young people are demanding it. Democracy, peace, the defence of international law, human rights and international humanitarian law are all facing challenges. In Nicaragua, there is a clear need to restore social peace.”
2019-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 74 (2019)
“Participating in the fourth industrial revolution is not optional. We are being forced to rethink the future of work, the conceptualization of learning and the sustainability of employment-based social protection institutions, as the International Labour Organization and its Global Commission on the Future of Work have begun to do. The world must not let its cohesion weaken. We must bridge the gap between the excluded and the included of the world. Managing technological change to advance decent work and close technological and gender gaps will be key to getting ahead of history and preserving the democratic and social fabric. The establishment of a global initiative for digital inclusion and literacy, as well as inclusion itself, would be the smartest thing we could do for humankind.”
2019-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 74 (2019)
“The turbulence affecting the global economy today is hampering economic growth, especially in the most vulnerable countries, as the employment and entrepreneurship opportunities linked to production disappear. In addition to its economic impact, that puts pressure on democratic institutions. Democracies are affected by restrictive environments and austerity regimes that are designed to maintain macroeconomic balances but also limit plans for reducing inequalities and concentrated wealth. Less spending on weapons and accumulation and more investment in fighting poverty, inequality and climate change is the smartest thing that the world can do today. Let us once more get ahead of history in that regard. The information society and digitization have created an additional area of pressure.”
2019-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 74 (2019)
“Central American migration could be eliminated by bringing economic and social development to our countries’ rural areas, which is where most migrant populations come from. The best investment in migration is to establish good, fair and well-paid international markets for the agricultural and pastoral products produced in rural Central America and thereby improve well-being in those areas. That could be done through the combined efforts of many countries and partners by means of good, fair market prices, technology, added value and cooperation. That is the best and most humane solution to the tragedy of economic migration. An African proverb says that when two elephants fight it is the grass that suffers — or these days we could say we all suffer. Humankind has already endured an era of bipolarity, and we know what the legacy of that was.”
2019-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 74 (2019)
“In the same way that we have shown that it is possible to achieve 99 per cent clean and renewable electricity and to reverse deforestation processes, going from 20 per cent forest cover in the 1980s to what is now more than 50 per cent, we are working towards the goals of decarbonization, biodiversity conservation and the implementation of nature-based solutions. That is what the young people and many others who have been demonstrating on a weekly basis in so many countries are demanding. The effects of the climate crisis, inequality, poverty and, in many cases, violence drive migratory flows of millions of people around the world that represent a challenge for the international community. From the point of view of human rights, we must provide united and sophisticated responses.”
2019-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 74 (2019)
“We are honoured that the international community has entrusted Costa Rica with organizing the preparatory meeting for the twenty-fifth Conference of the Parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, which we are hosting between 8 and 10 October, in preparation for the twenty-fifth Conference of the Parties, to be held in December by our brother country Chile. Our commitments must be clear, concrete and forceful. In February, in our resolve to do our part, we launched a national decarbonization plan for Costa Rica to achieve a modern, green, digital, resilient and inclusive economy free from the use of fossil fuels by 2050, in line with our ambitious environmental goals, taking the disruptive approach that has been characteristic of our country.”
2019-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 74 (2019)
“We are capable of agreeing on coordinating our actions and contributions for the common cause, as was achieved in the founding Charter of the United Nations, the Sustainable Development Goals and the Paris Agreement on Climate Change. No home is more shared than the planet we inhabit and no cause is more global than the fight against the climate crisis. No one can escape its effects and no contribution is too small, because only the sum of the actions of all countries and all people will enable us to address it.”
2019-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 74 (2019)
“In our discussions over the past few days during the Climate Action Summit, we have discussed the urgent implementation of global mechanisms to address our current challenges, and we have analysed the positive results we have had where we have been able to implement innovative ideas. Based on its history, Costa Rica supports multilateralism as a tool to confront common threats and build a joint future for our planet. Advocating for multilateral solutions to common global causes does not mean that we must agree on each and every detail. We must do it while respecting each other’s differences, with dialogue and an understanding that our shared objective transcends individual differences.”
2019-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 74 (2019)