YouSaid · the spoken record

Laura Chinchilla Miranda

lines on the record: 51
first: 2010-09-24
most recent: 2013-09-24
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

“We are encouraged by his emphasis on more active involvement by civil society in that process, the importance assigned to human rights and the rule of law as bases for development, and his openness to new ideas and institutional modalities, including alliances among multiple sectors. Costa Rica looks to the future with confidence. At the same time, we are aware of the risks and challenges that we face as a country, as a region and as part of humankind. In that future, we see the United Nations as an indispensable institution, a steadfast companion, a visionary guide and co-guardian of our tranquility and well-being. I pay tribute to its contributions and sincerely hope that they may multiply in the years to come.”
2013-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 68 (2013)
“The new global strategy on that enormous challenge should be the product of the open and inclusive debate during the extraordinary session of the General Assembly in 2016. We salute the Antigua Declaration of the General Assembly of the Organization of American States as a first step to leading us in the right direction towards that special session. Against the backdrop of the actions and convictions I have just outlined, we respond enthusiastically to the call of the President of the General Assembly to advance in framing the post-2015 development agenda during this session.”
2013-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 68 (2013)
“In facing the challenges of public safety, including drug trafficking and transnational organized crime, our country has adopted a balanced strategy whose positive results are evident in many areas, including the continued reduction in our homicide rate over the past three years, one of the lowest in Central America. Given the gravity for many nations of the challenges of drug trafficking and transnational organized crime, we join the call by other States from our region, such as Mexico and Guatemala, to re-evaluate agreed international policies and to seek more effective responses against drug trafficking, from a perspective of health, respect for human rights and impact reduction. Along the same lines, it is necessary to increase international cooperation to reduce the illegal flows of weapons and money that fuel criminal networks.”
2013-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 68 (2013)
“We promote a model of development based upon harmony with nature, solidarity and social inclusion, an open economy and open trade, the development of our human resources, and innovation. We realize that development is futile if it is not founded on a profound respect for human dignity and the rights and well-being of the people. We firmly believe that respect for and promotion of human rights in all its dimensions is a national and international duty. For that reason, among others, we remain open to all special procedures on human rights, and we are engaged actively and constructively in the Human Rights Council.”
2013-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 68 (2013)
“It seeks to extend the limits of its continental shelf by ignoring our rights and has broken off negotiations to secure maritime boundaries. It has threatened to claim a province of Costa Rica as its own and has restarted dredging works in the zone subject to the provisional measures of the International Court of Justice. Furthermore, it is pursuing a policy of increased re-armament. The Nicaraguan and Costa Rican people wish and deserve to live in peace, but the Nicaraguan Government insists on preventing that. By pursuing a course of such deliberate and repeated misconduct, the Government of Nicaragua undermines international law and the very purpose of the United Nations. Notwithstanding the gravity of the situation, Costa Rica remains peacefully and firmly committed to the well-being and security of our population.”
2013-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 68 (2013)
“Following our complaint, the International Court of Justice issued provisional measures that, among other things, prohibit the presence of Nicaraguan personnel in the zone under dispute. But Nicaragua has continued sending contingents of political activists, funded and organized by its Government. In August 2013, the Court reiterated its demand for compliance with the provisional measures, but Nicaragua has again ignored them. Their scorn demonstrates the urgent need to establish procedures that guarantee the respect of all decisions emanating from the Court, including precautionary measures. Costa Rica commits itself to work towards that goal and expects an open stance from the international community. The Nicaraguan Government, moreover, has offered blocks of the patrimonial sea of Costa Rica for exploration and exploitation of oil.”
2013-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 68 (2013)
“Those include respect for the sovereignty and territorial integrity of States, goodwill in addressing border issues and observance of all the decisions of the International Court of Justice. Costa Rica is a firm believer in and scrupulous observer of international law in all its aspects. But that attitude contrasts with the absolute disrespect of the Government of Nicaragua of the most elementary norms of conduct and coexistence among States. That disrespect has led to open and unacceptable aggression against our country and to the flagrant disobedience of the orders of the Court at The Hague. In October of 2010, Nicaraguan forces occupied part of Costa Rica’s territory.”
2013-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 68 (2013)
“The prevention and reversal of global warming is one of the most urgent issues on our crucial agenda. We cannot remain inactive while global warming increases, ocean levels rise and the survival of several small island States is threatened. We commend the Secretary- General’s plan to convene a summit on climate change and his promotion of the initiative entitled “The Oceans Compact: Healthy Oceans for Prosperity”. We believe that the time has come to negotiate, pursuant to the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Oceans, an international agreement on that subject. Besides being an instrument for global governance and the protection of universal public goods, international law entails many other dimensions.”
2013-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 68 (2013)
“We also call again on the five permanent members of the Council to henceforth commit themselves to refraining from exercising the veto in cases of crimes against humanity. The Syrian tragedy underscores the need to work decisively towards the organic application of the responsibility to protect and to promote the use of mediation to avoid the emergence or the worsening of conflicts. As a concrete measure towards such prevention, we urge all Member States to join the initiative of Australia, Costa Rica, Denmark and Ghana and designate national focal points for the prevention of atrocities and on the responsibility to protect. The preventive approach is also necessary to manage universal public goods and, consequently, to exert global governance.”
2013-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 68 (2013)
“The incessant count of massacred and displaced persons has been as unsettling as the inaction of the international community, particularly the Security Council, to act in a timely way to contain the crimes and the violence. After a period of paralysis and confusion, it seems that at last we are approaching a solution that will lead to breaking out of that unacceptable stalemate. We raise our voice to demand that the Security Council act decisively to eliminate chemical weapons in Syria, halt the violence, seek a negotiated and democratic way out of the conflict and hold accountable those responsible for the horrible crimes committed in that country. Costa Rica insists that the Security Council should refer the Syrian case to the International Criminal Court.”
2013-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 68 (2013)
“As part of those initiatives, we must not overlook our duty to strive to achieve the Millennium Development Goals and the need to accelerate their implementation, particularly in less developed countries. The achievements I have mentioned, as well as others, have taken place under the ominous and tragic shadow of a world that remains very complicated. We are still shocked by the brutal terrorist attack committed a few days ago in Nairobi. Today I express our deepest solidarity with the people of Kenya and our strongest condemnation of that attack, and of terrorism and fanaticism. For the past two years, we have been struck by the tragedy in Syria.”
2013-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 68 (2013)
“Today, I symbolically present to the General Assembly the final declaration of the conference, adopted in our capital on 11 September by thousands of young people from every continent. We trust that it will be a very relevant input for the discussion of the post-2015 development agenda. To explore options for the future, in March Costa Rica also hosted an international conference of middle-income countries jointly organized with the United Nations Industrial Development Organization. Its results will help to better conceptualize the needs of nations like ours and the contributions that we can make in terms of the post-2015 development agenda.”
2013-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 68 (2013)
“That is evidenced by the reform of the Economic and Social Council, the establishment of the High-level Political Forum on Sustainable Development and the progress being made on the Open Working Group on Sustainable Development Goals. Increasingly, innovation, technology, education and culture are recognized as promoters of development, and there is a growing awareness of the need to actively incorporate young people in such endeavours. Together with the International Telecommunication Union (ITU), Costa Rica is honoured to have hosted and organized BYND 2015 Global Youth Summit, an international conference on youth, development and information and communication technologies. The conference brought together young people from various parts of the world and enjoyed the able leadership from the ITU Secretary General, Mr. Hamadoun Touré.”
2013-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 68 (2013)
“In two days, for the first time in the history of the Organization, we will hold a high-level debate on nuclear disarmament. Costa Rica will also lend its leadership on the issue. In that way, we hope to be able to move closer towards an ideal aspired to by most countries and to make progress in new conceptual frameworks for discussion. The meetings of the Open- ended Working Group on Nuclear Disarmament, chaired with effectiveness by our Permanent Representative in Geneva, Mr. Manuel Dengo Benavides, have opened up a promising path. We are working at a good rate to establish a new global agenda for sustainable development, as well as institutions to promote it.”
2013-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 68 (2013)
“In the course of humankind’s most challenging times throughout the past 68 years, we have turned to the Organization to seek guidance and solutions responsive to the hopes and longings of our peoples. Today, we are facing one such occasion, amid contradictions. We are the authors of great achievements, but we are also overwhelmed by acute tragedies. There remain serious global challenges for which we have not crafted responses that are equally global in scope. On 2 April, we conclusively ratified the Arms Trade Treaty, a vital step that was proudly led by our country as one of the seven sponsoring countries, and a great victory for humankind. I am pleased to announce today that it has been unanimously ratified by the Legislative Assembly of Costa Rica, and I pledge our support to work assidiously for its implementation.”
2013-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 68 (2013)
“It is a pleasure to begin this address with warm congratulations to Ambassador John Ashe on his recent election as President of the General Assembly. We wish him success in his endeavours and assure him of our support. Today is the last time that I will address the General Assembly as President of Costa Rica. As on previous occasions, my message is based upon my firm conviction of the essential nature of the United Nations to promote peace, security, development, democracy and human rights. The United Nations brings together, catalyses and protects the multilateral system and the international rule of law. Its validity, vigour, legitimacy and effectiveness are essential to all countries, but most importantly to the smaller and more vulnerable ones, especially if, like Costa Rica, they do not have armed forces.”
2013-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 68 (2013)
“I am delighted that yesterday we celebrated the thirtieth anniversary of the International Day of Peace, a Costa Rican initiative that was adopted by consensus by Member States. It gives me even greater pleasure that its theme this year is “Peace and democracy: Make your voice heard”. As national and international leaders, we should always heed the voices of our peoples. We should listen to them, respect them and incorporate them in our initiatives. That is part of our democratic responsibility, the basis of good governance, the seed of meaningful change and the foundation of legitimacy. As President of Costa Rica, a discrete, noble, fraternal and free people, I promise not to relent in our efforts to achieve a better country and a better world.”
2011-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 66 (2011)
“We have taken significant steps to sustain our growth through clean energy and a low-carbon economic model. Our goal is to become one of the first carbon-neutral countries in the world, and we are working diligently to achieve it. On that path, in which every local action has global links, we have confidence in the next Conference of the Parties to the United Nations Climate Change Conference, to be held in Durban at the end of the year, and in the coming United Nations Conference on Sustainable Development, planned for next year in Rio de Janeiro. However, we are also concerned about the lack of progress made in earlier negotiations. I conclude these words by reiterating our deep commitment to the principles set out in the Charter of the United Nations.”
2011-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 66 (2011)
“However, we still face serious challenges with regard to poverty, income distribution, regional differences and the consequences of the economic crisis and natural disasters, among others. We have been responsible, effective and ethical partners. We have made progress in development, but have still not been able to consolidate it to the point of dispensing with international assistance. We still need that assistance to fully secure our achievements. We look forward to the support and understanding of donor countries and the institutions of the United Nations, in particular the United Nations Development Programme. Our relative success should not be penalized, but bolstered. Costa Rica has focused on sustainable social and environmental development.”
2011-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 66 (2011)
“Among other things, we will continue to work constructively for the ongoing improvement of the working methods of the Security Council, through the Small Five group, and for a more representative composition of that organ, in accordance with the guidelines of Uniting for Consensus. Costa Rica is a middle-income country. Thanks to its commitment to democracy, peace, good governance, the efficient use of international cooperation and its investments in health and education, Costa Rica has achieved high levels of human development. Together with other States with similar characteristics, we exemplify the success of international cooperation as a key factor in achieving such results.”
2011-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 66 (2011)
“We hope that such a concept, like human security, is very clearly defined within the Organization. Moreover, the fight for human rights requires that perpetrators of crimes against humanity be held accountable and punished. Today, the International Criminal Court is the main multilateral mechanism for achieving that goal. I reiterate our support of its activities and urge all States Members of the United Nations to ratify the Treaty of Rome. I also urge that we should all, as Member States, be more active and resolute in our support for the greater effectiveness, relevance and significance of the United Nations; hence, the importance of its reform process. Costa Rica has joined and will continue to join initiatives that push for the best possible changes.”
2011-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 66 (2011)
“In particular, I urge Member States to support an initiative whose time has come: the United Nations 37 11-50871 declaration on human rights education and training, which Costa Rica supports together with a group of like-minded countries. After its unanimous adoption by the Council, it will soon be submitted to the General Assembly. We are confident that it will receive similar support. When education, deterrence and other preventive mechanisms are unable to avert the worst assaults on human dignity, the international community faces other obligations. Among them is the protection of civilians, contained in the responsibility to protect. My country recognizes that concept as a principle and guide for action, whether preventive or reactive, on the basis of legitimate and well-founded decisions.”
2011-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 66 (2011)
“Otherwise, the message to the world would be disastrous. It would imply that the shortest route for mobilizing international diplomacy is that of blood. As a country and as a people, we emphatically reject that notion. Based on our firm belief in the importance of the rule of law, human rights and humanitarian law, I informed the Assembly a year ago of our aspiration to become a member of the Human Rights Council. Today, I am grateful for the generous support that it gave us in achieving that goal. We will remain faithful to the promises made at the time and to the proposals that we called for during the review of the Council in Geneva and New York.”
2011-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 66 (2011)
“However, while we await the Court’s final ruling, Nicaragua, ignoring the Court’s orders, has continued specific provocations to and violations of the provisional measures. Furthermore, it has threatened other actions that could infringe on our territory. We hope that that does not occur. But, if it were to, we will vigorously reinstate our actions before the machinery of the international system. All that we request of the Organization and the multilateral system in general is rapid and timely consideration of possible aggressions. The international community cannot make its preventive action conditional on actual armed violence between brothers. It should react not only in relation to the quantity and scale of the explosive blasts, but to the severity and persistence of the violations.”
2011-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 66 (2011)
“The security of the 26 other disarmed democracies in the world also depends on those defences. We deserve to be heard and paid attention to. A little less than a year ago, our faith in international law and the instruments and institutions that underpin it was put to the test. Last October, Nicaraguan troops and civilians invaded and occupied part of our national territory, in clear violation of our sovereignty, the border treaties and international law. After exhausting the possibilities of a suitable bilateral agreement, we appealed to various forums of the regional and international system. Our neighbour’s Government rejected several of them. Finally, thanks to urgent measures ordered by the International Court of Justice, the Nicaraguan forces had to leave our territory.”
2011-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 66 (2011)
“We are approaching another moment in which it will be put to the test. I refer to the upcoming United Conference on the Arms Trade Treaty, which Costa Rica has actively supported, along with other States. We need to have the Conference produce a robust, comprehensive and demanding instrument capable of effectively controlling the flow of the death machines that provoke all types of conflict. Preventive diplomacy, in its deepest essence, also means fostering democracy and human rights and respecting the rule of law as the cornerstone of security and international coexistence. Costa Rica knows it well. Since we abolished the army in 1949, our only lines of defence have been the deep civic beliefs of our people, the strength of our institutions and the instruments provided by the multilateral system.”
2011-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 66 (2011)
“Nonetheless, it remains to be seen whether the strategies can be translated into effective actions, or whether we will have enough support from external resources to drive them forward. Those resources are not merely aid. They are a morally inescapable and, in practical terms, indispensable form of compensation that we need to make at least part of the investment necessary to establish peace, stability and security. The Secretary-General of the United Nations has insisted, quite rightly, on the need to promote preventive diplomacy. I join in that call as President of Costa Rica and as a citizen of Central America. I insist, before the world, that we can wait no longer to act in order to avoid an even greater tragedy in our region. It is already late; to wait even longer will be tragic. Preventive diplomacy demands political will.”
2011-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 66 (2011)
“That is why we demand that the international community, in particular the largest consumers of drugs and producers 11-50871 36 of the weapons that create violence, fully assume its share of responsibility without further delay. The International Conference on Regional Security in Central America, which was attended by the Presidents of all of the countries in the region, from Mexico to Colombia, was a hopeful turning point. There, we were able to coordinate our strategies. There, we agreed on the need for a comprehensive approach to violence that includes measures to strengthen institutions and the rule of law, as well as comprehensive initiatives to prevent and fight crime. In addition, we were able to catch the attention of, and obtain some promises from, the international community.”
2011-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 66 (2011)
“Today, I wish to repeat the comments I made on 22 June at the International Conference on Regional Security in Central America, held recently in Guatemala. Our region has fallen victim to a perverse geopolitical situation. As Costa Rica is located between the major production centres and the world’s largest consumer market for drugs, we have become a target in the dynamic of death that both create. We must bear the burden of exponentially increasing material, institutional and human costs. What are instances of mere collateral damage for some of the main actors in this conflict are, for the people of Central America, extreme challenges and a source of deep wounds. That is where our greatest frustration lies.”
2011-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 66 (2011)
“Fifteen years ago, as part of that process, Central American countries signed the Framework Treaty on Democratic Security in Central America. But the time that has elapsed since then has not sufficed to secure the peace, liberty, democracy and development in the region that we promised our peoples. Even worse, we are now victims of a new and terrible form of aggression. I am referring to the cold, disastrous and fierce onslaught of transnational organized crime. Such activities have generated insecurity, weakened institutions, corrupted officials, fostered addiction, cut short the lives of thousands of young people, destroyed families and turned humble single mothers into criminals. This scourge has eroded the basic fabric of our society and has jeopardized the very existence of the rule of law in some countries.”
2011-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 66 (2011)
“From its deepest collective roots, Costa Rica fully identifies with the principles of democracy, peace and human rights. These are values that we share with the immense majority of Central Americans. Disrespect for those values, together with social exclusion, the outrages of militarism and the deadly echo of the Cold War, plunged much of Central America into a series of intense conflicts for almost four decades. After tens of thousands of deaths, our region was able, through dialogue and mediation, to overcome the worst manifestations of political violence. In those overwhelming days, Costa Rica made a decisive contribution by shaping and realizing the Esquipulas Accords, which opened the door to reconciliation. Since then, progress has been slow and erratic.”
2011-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 66 (2011)
“The intense and invigorating, but still uncertain, currents of political and social change that have swept through North Africa and the Middle East this year are proof of the universal force of democracy as an aspiration, of free expression as an incentive, and of respect for human dignity as the most urgent demand. Our admiration for the peoples of those countries is as great as our hope in their capacity to forge social and political systems in peace, systems that are tolerant, free and dynamic, in which people are respected and whereby a country can be open to its neighbours. We also hope that the Israeli-Palestinian conflict will soon come to an end, with two sovereign and democratic States living in peaceful coexistence.”
2011-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 66 (2011)
“I extend my best wishes to both as they exercise their vital functions, and they will have Costa Rica’s full support for their efforts in favour of peace, security, democracy, disarmament, human rights, respect for the rule of law, sustainable development, mediation and the peaceful settlement of disputes. I am also very pleased to welcome South Sudan as a new Member of the Organization. I believe that its people will enjoy a prosperous, peaceful and safe future. The emergence of this new State is a testament to what can be achieved, even in situations of endemic violence, through serious negotiations between the parties and international mediation.”
2011-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 66 (2011)
“It gives me great pleasure to begin my statement by warmly congratulating Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon on his re-election to the post in which he has carried out his duties with such effectiveness and honesty. His contributions to the Organization, the international community and the multilateral system over these first five years are well known. We know they will continue to be so in the years to come. I would also like to congratulate the President of the sixty-sixth session of the General Assembly, Ambassador Nassir Abdulaziz Al-Nasser. His experience, ability and dedication are guarantees of fruitful work.”
2011-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 66 (2011)
“Costa Rica modestly offers its contribution, its effort and its voice.”
2010-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 65 (2010)
“This also requires that the United Nations improve its own governance. If it does not respond to new realities and if its Member States do not help with the task, the Organization runs the risk of sinking into irrelevance. The adaptation of the United Nations to the challenges of global governance demands greater effectiveness, efficiency and transparency in its administration, its decision-making processes and its field operations. In this universal Organization, we must also preach through example. That is why Costa Rica has strived to collaborate in an active and constructive way in the reform process. And, like many other countries, we still need the help of the world. The world needs the help of all countries. That is the only way to advance the causes of our peoples.”
2010-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 65 (2010)
“We hope that all countries, but in particular the big polluters and generators of carbon emissions, will shoulder their responsibility towards humanity. In Costa Rica, we have shouldered ours by setting the goal of becoming one of the first carbon-neutral countries in the world. We are also advancing in the application and development of clean energies and the protection of our watersheds and biodiversity. Let us not forget, however, that sustainability, above all, must be human; hence the importance of the Millennium Development Goals. Attaining them in five years’ time is an unavoidable goal for this Organization. The challenges of global governance are many, and they are overwhelming, but the possibilities to confront them exist. Their promotion is part of our responsibility as leaders.”
2010-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 65 (2010)
“But countries like mine that, thanks to good investments and astute political decisions, have improved our conditions of life, should benefit from innovative technical cooperation schemes, productive financing and public-private alliances. Above all, we must successfully complete the Doha Round of international trade negotiations, an essential engine for economic growth. We must also establish peace with the environment and development. Organizing the economy in a sustainable manner in order to produce material and social well-being is a task we cannot avoid. Today we have high hopes for the next Conference of the Parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, to be held in Cancun.”
2010-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 65 (2010)
“I also call urgently for global solidarity in this task, and for multilateral organizations to increase their activity by developing an agenda with more comprehensive strategies, with a better balance of resources and responsibilities, and with more focused goals. If new and good efforts are not vigorously initiated, we will soon regret our inaction. If Costa Rica, a middle-income country, has achieved human development rates comparable to those of high-income countries, it is because, among other things, our social investment has replaced military spending. That is why we insist that international aid should not ignore the ethical dimension of development. We support preferential allocation of such aid to countries in the most precarious situations.”
2010-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 65 (2010)
“Young people in their schools and neighbourhoods see their future menaced by the easy offer of drugs, our health-care systems are almost overwhelmed by the problem of addiction, the integrity of our institutions is menaced by corruption and coercion, and violence is reaching levels never seen before. The battle against the drug trade can be won only with coordination, global cooperation and a major revision of the strategies pursued so far, many of them incomplete or failed. From this rostrum I call on the countries with the highest rates of drug consumption to 21 10-54827 take more effective action against this enormous problem, and to cooperate with the countries suffering from a problem we did not create.”
2010-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 65 (2010)
“We are fighting crime with energy and determination, as well as with full respect for human rights, intelligent policies and the supremacy of law. But the great battle against transnational crime demands much more from us all. Today drug-related activity is endangering the improvements in development achieved in Central American countries. From being merely a transit zone, due to our geographic location between the great drug producers to the south and the great consumers to the north, our countries have, to different degrees, been becoming producers, traffickers and consumers of drugs. Today we are free of none of the manifestations of the drug trade, which has extended its tentacles into many areas of our social life.”
2010-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 65 (2010)
“Today its contribution reaches every continent of the world, and our commitment to it increases day by day. For this reason we proudly celebrate its anniversary. It is a paradox that while many countries waste resources on weapons, the international community has been incapable of dealing effectively with the scourges of drug trafficking, organized crime, terrorism, arms trafficking, and the perverted exploitation and trafficking of human beings. My country and Central America suffer increasingly from the aggressions of the drug cartels. We risk being virtually taken over by their gangs, with consequences that will go beyond our borders and become a clear threat to international security. My Government has made its citizens’ security one of its chief goals. Our people demand it, and we will never fail them.”
2010-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 65 (2010)
“The accumulation and transfer of weapons, especially nuclear, chemical and bacteriological weapons, is not only a threat to humanity’s peace and survival; it is also an assault on development. Every soldier who enlists, every missile that is activated, every isotope enriched for military purposes means fewer schools and hospitals, fewer food programmes, fewer roads, fewer wireless networks, fewer seeds for farmers and fewer good judges to administer justice. But peace must go beyond action; it should become embedded in the minds and imaginations of human beings. To educate for peace is to vaccinate against war. Thirty years ago, our country launched, and the United Nations supported, a pioneer and visionary institution for this area: the University for Peace.”
2010-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 65 (2010)
“Its most recent and innovative manifestation, thanks to the Treaty of Rome, is the International Criminal Court, for which we reaffirm our support after a decade of contributions. To use the weapons of the law actively is another unavoidable responsibility of global governance. In the area of peace and security, Costa Rica adheres to the five points on arms control advocated by the Secretary-General. In particular, we insist on the necessity for starting negotiations for an arms transfer treaty, while at the same time progressing with the model convention for the prohibition of nuclear weapons and completing ratification of the Comprehensive Nuclear Test Ban Treaty.”
2010-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 65 (2010)
“For the countries and leaders committed to those fundamental values, the main question is how to advance them in today’s world. I propose to empower even further the concepts, organisms and instruments for the promotion and protection of human rights. It is in our interest to participate constructively as members in the activities of the Human Rights Council. Here also lies our adherence to the main covenants and protocols on the subject, our insistence on the responsibility to protect civilians and our commitment to human security. Costa Rica, besides hosting the conference that approved the American Convention on Human Rights in 1969, was the first country to ratify it. Today it is home to the Inter-American Court of Human Rights. I am convinced that respect for human rights depends to a great extent upon international justice.”
2010-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 65 (2010)
“The starting point must be respect for international law and multilateral organizations. For an unarmed and peaceful country such as Costa Rica, those are the main instruments for our security, the indispensable requirement for living in peace and fostering development. Last Tuesday we celebrated, with profound personal and national conviction, the International Day of Peace, in whose creation our country played a key role. It is significant that, through the initiative of 10-54827 20 Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, its theme was “Youth for Peace and Development”. That triad — youth as incentive, peace as a framework, and development as a goal — is critical to building a better world. But that triad would be truncated without freedom as opportunity, human dignity as an inescapable commitment and tolerance as a habit of coexistence.”
2010-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 65 (2010)
“We fight inequality, strive to improve education and health, and foster economic development increasingly based on clean energy, a sustainable economy and creative intelligence. I mention all these things as humble national experience, not as a pretentious global lesson. History, geography and circumstances frequently shape us — but only up to a point, because individual and collective will, responsibility, and constructive leadership can break down the obstacles and trace better paths. Thus we must pull back the curtains of prejudice that dim reality, exchange the echoes of the past for the sounds of the future, and bury recrimination of others as an excuse to avoid our duties. Beyond the national sphere, good governance means that there are responsibilities incumbent on all world leaders with regard to the peoples of the United Nations.”
2010-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 65 (2010)
“Thus my Government strives to represent the values, promote the development and increase the integral welfare of all Costa Ricans. We are promoting economic growth, the opening of trade, solidarity, environmental responsibility and political transparency in the framework of civil liberties. That course of action is rooted in our history. It is why we introduced free compulsory primary education in 1870, abolished the death penalty in 1877, disbanded the army in 1949, preserved 25 per cent of our land in the 1960s and created universal access to health in the mid-1970s. My Government stands on that legacy in order to act in the present and to construct the future. We strive for attention to and early stimulation of our children and for care of adults and the elderly.”
2010-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 65 (2010)
“And it offends us that even today, there are women awaiting execution by stoning, populations stifled by brutal genocide, and nuclear weapons that are being stockpiled while granaries are being depleted. When we refer to the United Nations and global governance, we must remember that such governance starts with good national government. But at the same time, the success of our domestic administrations depends upon an international system that is fair, efficient, open and responsible and that is capable of dealing with the great challenges of our time. As President, I am subject to the constant scrutiny of my people, from whom I came and to whom I am accountable. I am aware that the best sermon comes from example.”
2010-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 65 (2010)
“We can congratulate ourselves on the children who are receiving a good education and on the parents who see them grow up without fear that they will be consumed by war. We are inspired by young people, workers and peasants with opportunities for a worthy life, and by the women who benefit from full equality. In that context, we welcome the appointment of Ms. Michelle Bachelet as Under-Secretary-General for Gender Equality and the Empowerment of Women. However, at the same time we also are concerned about those women who as heads of households can barely feed their children. We are worried about the adults who grow old in poverty and loneliness and about children whose lives lack affection and stimulation. The catastrophic effects of climate change demand our immediate and determined attention.”
2010-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 65 (2010)