YouSaid · the spoken record

Eduardo Latorre

lines on the record: 44
first: 1997-09-24
most recent: 1998-09-24
sittings or episodes: 2
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

“The conditions for this new order require the multilateral system to guarantee security and governability within the framework of respect for human rights. In celebrating the fiftieth anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, which has been a guiding light for building a more just world, we hope that respect for human rights will become daily practice for all people. 43 In conclusion, we believe that the United Nations must reflect on and accept the changes that are necessary for our Organization. That is why we enthusiastically support the reform programme, which will hope will respond to the expectations of a United Nations in tune with our time.”
1998-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 53 (1998)
“The Dominican Republic understands that strengthening the role of women in the political, social and economic life of Member States is essential if we are to reduce poverty and social inequality and promote democracy and sustainable development. That is why it is essential to give priority to policies and programmes that broaden women?s participation in these areas. We vigorously support the objectives and work of the United Nations International Research and Training Institute for the Advancement of Women (INSTRAW). The plans to improve the contribution of women to the development of their countries, in accordance with their own needs, set up when INSTRAW was created, continues to be of primary importance and deserves continued support from Member States. Creating a new international order is a political challenge.”
1998-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 53 (1998)
“The greatest problem facing the international community is how to deal with the enormous economic and social imbalance from which most Member States suffer, with the gap between the rich and the poor countries and with the growth in global poverty. The role of the United Nations should be strengthened in formulating and coordinating policies for cooperation and in providing technical and financial assistance to developing countries. Human resources must take priority during the current transformation of the international, political and economic order. Women in particular must play an important role, as they constitute a dedicated, responsible and active workforce and give us reasons to see humankind as being at the centre of development and progress.”
1998-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 53 (1998)
“As is well known, in order to achieve these objectives, large public expenditures in these areas are necessary. Two factors make this difficult: the external debt, a heavy burden which has dragged us down since the 1980s, and the current financial crisis, which affects various countries of the world, including some in Latin America. Both factors drain away resources that could have financed social development in this part of the world. The consequences are obvious. Unable to improve the living conditions of our people and help them become integrated into the global economy, poverty grows and democracy and stability are weakened.”
1998-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 53 (1998)
“Leonel Fernández, at the Summit of the Americas and the Ibero- American Summit through bilateral visits and exchanges at the presidential level with the United States, Mexico, Venezuela and Colombia, countries with which we traditionally share close bonds. These regular presidential exchanges have led to consensus on basic topics on the international agenda and have deepened our levels of cooperation. Allow me now to speak out the values of democracy from a basically social approach, since people are the true and ultimate raison d?être of democracy. Human rights and fundamental freedoms will be fully respected and guaranteed only when each citizen has a reasonable life expectancy with access to health systems and the opportunity for education in a healthy ecological environment.”
1998-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 53 (1998)
“In November 1997 the city of Santo Domingo was the site of the extraordinary summit of heads of State of the Central American countries, including Belize, as well as of the Dominican Republic, and more recently, in August of this year, of the extraordinary meeting of heads of State and Government of the Caribbean Forum. Both meetings led to agreements and concrete positions regarding hemispheric and global challenges that our region must confront. At the same time, we have tightened our economic, political and development ties with the other nations of our region, through the presence of our President, Mr.”
1998-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 53 (1998)
“Thus, this year we signed two free-trade treaties, one with the five countries of Central America, and the other with the 14 members of the Caribbean Community. Both agreements are modern, advanced and comprehensive, as they deal with trade in goods and services and with investment and are in keeping with the principles of the World Trade Organization. They are conducive to economic growth, the creation of more and better jobs and improvement in the quality of life of our citizens. Other clear signs of this regional rapprochement and participation are the two presidential events held in our country.”
1998-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 53 (1998)
“That event and the agreements reached favour the efforts undertaken by the democratic Governments of both States through dialogue and accord, which is the best way to approach their common problems. It is in this new context of our bilateral relations that we wish to appeal to the international community to continue to provide support to Haiti. The need that brought about the commitment of the United Nations to the recovery of our neighbouring country still remains. The Dominican Republic has met the challenges of world changes at the end of this century. The restoration of diplomatic relations with the fraternal country of Cuba 42 constituted an inevitable step that formalized our long- lasting relations with Cuba. Our country seeks inclusion in the integrationist trend in our geographic and geopolitical area.”
1998-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 53 (1998)
“The United Nations must take preventive action and respond rapidly and effectively to avoid later consequences. In that respect, the Convention on the elimination of anti-personnel landmines, signed by many Member States of the United Nations at Ottowa, Canada, constitutes an important step and commitment towards the consolidation of mechanisms for world peace. Firmly based on the principle of encouraging the peaceful resolution of disputes and the search for peace and security in our region, the Dominican Republic has promoted the strengthening of its neighbourly relations. For the first time in more than half a century, a Dominican President visited the Republic of Haiti.”
1998-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 53 (1998)
“For that reason, it is necessary to enhance the efforts and mechanisms recognized by international law in order to resolve international conflicts. In that context, the Dominican Republic accepts and defends multilateralism as the appropriate way of achieving consensus on the main problems that afflict the world population. Poverty, drug-trafficking, terrorism, inter-ethnic and territorial conflicts are problems that must not be dealt with unilaterally. For that reason we support the strengthening of established international systems of justice. The signing of the Statute of the International Criminal Court is urgently needed to achieve these ends. We believe that the instruments to protect peace must be used before conflicts occur.”
1998-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 53 (1998)
“Concern for the preservation of a zone free of nuclear contamination is shared by the nations of the Caribbean, which is used as a transportation route for toxic and nuclear wastes. For those countries among us that depend largely on tourism based on sun and beaches, the coastal water quality is vital to that important sector of our economies. Ongoing trafficking in illicit arms represents another threat to security. The arms build-up must definitively be stopped. The relevant international conventions signed by the Dominican Republic are very important, such as the one on illicit trafficking in conventional weapons. Peaceful settlement of conflicts by means of dialogue and accord is the best method to eliminate the use of force in political relations within and among Member countries.”
1998-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 53 (1998)
“The Dominican Republic is also committed to the process of nuclear disarmament and vigorously protests the recent nuclear tests, as these can endanger world peace. We reaffirm the need for strict respect for international treaties on the prohibition, emplacement and testing of nuclear weapons, in the atmosphere, in the oceanic subsoil and on the ocean floor. We urge nuclear-weapon States to use and handle those weapons responsibly as the only protection for those of us who do not have that type of defence. The preservation of world peace demands that Member States of the United Nations establish new nuclear-weapon-free zones and protect those already existing as a guarantee of security.”
1998-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 53 (1998)
“We emphasize the need to strengthen mechanisms of dialogue and negotiation in conflict areas such as the Balkans, the Middle East and the Great Lakes region in Africa. With regard to the Republic of China on Taiwan, the Dominican Republic reiterates the positions presented by its President, Mr. Leonel Fernández, with regard to the need for the international community to consider the importance of that country, due to its geographic location, for the peace, security and prosperity of that region. We favour constructive dialogue between both sides of the Taiwan Strait to bring about understanding and mutual cooperation. We reiterate that the parallel participation of both countries in the United Nations would be conducive to the maintenance of peace.”
1998-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 53 (1998)
“The Dominican Republic believes it necessary to enlarge the Council by creating new seats for the regions of Latin America, Asia and Africa, thus strengthening it in the fulfilment of its functions and allowing for greater representativity. The Dominican Republic believes that international peace and stability are prerequisites for a secure future for mankind. Democracy and respect for human rights, together with justice and respect for the law, are the surest ways of preserving peace. General acceptance of these principles cannot be imposed, but it can be actively promoted. The crisis spots that afflict large segments of the world?s population continue to be of concern to many States.”
1998-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 53 (1998)
“We must create reliable instruments to put an end to these evils and achieve acceptable levels of security for our citizens so that they can live in peace. The politics of security is inspired by the vision of a democratic world that practices solidarity. Security must be achieved on the basis of political, economic, social and ecological cooperation. The principle of sovereign equality of States and the belief that conflicts of interest must be resolved peacefully require global cooperation because security can be achieved only with the participation of all States. 41 That task falls principally to the Security Council.”
1998-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 53 (1998)
“We trust that the process will culminate in substantial changes in the various organs of the United Nations, enhancing their effectiveness and leading to a more democratic, transparent and representative Organization, thus ensuring its ability to act to achieve its present objectives. Fortunately, the constant threat of a nuclear war has diminished. Today, however, we are faced with the challenge of combating together, and on a global scale, hunger, poverty, environmental destruction and the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction, and encourage equitable development and free societies. We must also struggle to lay the bases of economic growth. There are other security problems that require decisive action: international terrorism, organized crime and illicit trafficking in arms and drugs.”
1998-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 53 (1998)
“In this respect, the United Nations, being the universal forum, must be strengthened and renewed by increasing its activities in areas such as peace and security of nations, the protection of human rights and the environment and cooperation for socio-economic and cultural development. Faithful to its principles, the United Nations must continue to encourage and deepen its programme of reforms, taking into consideration not only the complexity of the current reality, but also the future development of regulations aimed at relieving social marginalization and ethnic and religious tensions, which jeopardize the priority objectives of peace and development for our peoples. The Dominican Republic expresses its firm support for the negotiations and consultations on the programme of reform.”
1998-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 53 (1998)
“Leonel Fernández, wishes to extend its warmest congratulations to the President of the General Assembly, the Minister for Foreign Affairs of Uruguay, on his well-deserved election to preside over the fifty-third session, which is taking place at a time of great structural changes in global society and within our Organization. We also wish to thank Mr. Hennadiy Udovenko, who presided over the deliberations of the last session of the General Assembly with such skill. Our gratitude goes also to the Secretary-General, Mr. Kofi Annan, for his devotion and efforts to guide the Organization along the path towards modernization and reform, which will strengthen us as we reach the new millennium. The changes in the realities of the world in which we live make it necessary to revise international policy.”
1998-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 53 (1998)
“The Dominican Republic wishes to express its gratitude for the gestures of solidarity expressed by friendly countries with regard to the passage of the terrible hurricane, Georges, which struck our country yesterday. Furthermore, we appeal to the generosity of the international community to provide cooperation with a view to facing both the immediate emergencies of the population affected by this phenomenon and the process of national recovery. The delegation of the Dominican Republic, on behalf of the Government presided over by Mr.”
1998-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 53 (1998)
“The changes in those realities are taking place faster than the changes in the structures we have given ourselves for dealing with them. We have a unique opportunity to ensure that the reforms of the Organization respond to the expectations of a United Nations that is in line with the needs of the new age.”
1997-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 52 (1997)
“We hope that in the process of United Nations reform all the mandates approved by the Member States will be equally respected, since these States bear sole responsibility for renewing or changing decisions adopted by the General Assembly. Lastly, we welcome the summoning of Member States to reflect on and endorse these transformations in our world Organization. The Assembly of the millennium proposed to us for the year 2000 would be an unprecedented forum for evaluating what we have done on the road to these reforms and for reiterating our tremendous faith and trust in the future of the generations of the twenty-first century. At this fifty-second session of the General Assembly we are faced with the historic responsibility of giving greater reality to our hopes and expectations for a better future for humankind.”
1997-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 52 (1997)
“In order to cooperate with the United Nations, the Dominican Government not only donated the building housing the Institute but also invested large amounts of money to renovate the building and adapt it to the Institute’s needs. This explains our surprise when, in 1993, the United Nations Secretariat proposed the merger of the Institute and the United Nations Development Fund for Women (UNIFEM), without prior consultation with our Government and ignoring the headquarters agreement. However, in 1995 the Fourth World Conference on Women, in its Beijing Platform for Action, confirmed the Institute’s mandate.”
1997-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 52 (1997)
“Allow me to refer to the situation of the United Nations International Research and Training Institute for the Advancement of Women. Our country wishes to reiterate the mandate given in Economic and Social Council resolution 1979/11 of 9 May 1979, in which it is clearly and explicitly stated that the headquarters of the Institute would be established in the Dominican Republic, a developing country. The objectives that led to the creation of the Institute are still valid today. Research and training for the purpose of creating new ways for women to contribute to the development of their countries, in the light of women’s needs, are a priority. This concern was manifested at the Beijing Conference of 1995 and in the Platform for Action to follow up the agreements reached in that important forum.”
1997-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 52 (1997)
“In this connection, it welcomes the efforts made by the United Nations to concentrate the activities of the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights and the Centre for Human Rights. During this year we have had the satisfaction of receiving two international missions on human rights, invited by our Government. A High-Level Mission of the Inter-American Committee on Human Rights (ICHR), of the Organization of American States, 26 visited the country in June, and a mission of the Committee of the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights of the United Nations, with headquarters in Geneva, is in the country at this very moment. These visits indicate the Government’s interest in ensuring transparency of action to defend and protect human rights in the Dominican Republic.”
1997-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 52 (1997)
“One of them is the convention to regulate the harm caused to persons and the environment by radioactive waste. The Dominican Republic depends to a large extent on tourism, a tourism of beaches and sun. The quality of our coastal waters is vital for the sector’s development, and any international radioactivity-related damage can mean the collapse of this important sector of our economy. We appeal to the good judgement of the international community to preserve our natural resources. We reaffirm our commitment to the protection of the environment and natural resources. In this spirit, our country has acceded to the United Nations International Convention to Combat Desertification. The Dominican Republic reiterates its commitment to defending and protecting human rights.”
1997-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 52 (1997)
“Our country supports the efforts under way in various international conferences in Brussels, Oslo, and very soon in Ottawa, regarding the process to achieve a total ban an anti-personnel landmines. The commitment to peace is a commitment to life. The international community has an obligation to promote peace and to defend life in all situations and circumstances. The Dominican Republic, traditionally a peace- oriented nation, does not produce or consume nuclear energy for military purposes; it utilizes such energy for peaceful purposes. In this spirit, the Dominican President signed the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty during his visit to the United Nations last year. Various international conferences are currently discussing conventions on the use of nuclear energy.”
1997-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 52 (1997)
“We call for respect for all the agreements signed in recent years in order to restore peace in the region. With regard to the Republic of China on Taiwan, the Dominican Republic reiterates its position as presented by our President, Dr. Leonel Fernandez Reyna, regarding the need for the international community to consider the importance of that country, owing to its geographical location and given the fact that security and stability are of great significance for the peace and prosperity of the region. We call for a constructive dialogue between the two sides of the Strait of Taiwan in search of mutual understanding and cooperation. We reiterate that parallel participation of both countries in the United Nations would contribute to the maintenance of peace.”
1997-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 52 (1997)
“Dialogue and the search for consensus among the branches of the State and between the executive branch and civil society have become the polestar of public administration of the Dominican Government. The Dominican Republic welcomes and associates itself with the measures taken by the United Nations to extend the presence of the peacekeeping forces in Haiti. Their presence, we believe, strengthens the possibilities for democratic stability and will allow the people to take sure steps on the road towards consolidating the country’s democracy. We stress the need for a definitive and peaceful solution to the conflict in the Balkans, and we call upon the international community to strengthen its efforts to achieve peace in the Middle East. The crisis in that region, which has deteriorated in recent months, demands special attention.”
1997-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 52 (1997)
“The Dominican Republic expresses its solidarity with the many conventions of the international community devoted to eradicating corruption, terrorism, drug trafficking and money laundering. These evils disrupt the lives of our peoples, erode our institutions and prevent the strengthening of democracy. We reiterate our conviction regarding the defence of democratic principles and institutionality. In this regard, my country is making tremendous efforts to reform and modernize the State and the judicial system. Establishing means of promoting a transparent public administration, controlling all forms of administrative corruption, is among the ongoing processes in our nation.”
1997-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 52 (1997)
“The proposal to unify the various programmes of the United Nations devoted to development seems to us to be a very important step towards the effective coordination of intersectoral policies, concentrating strategies and 25 development operations in a United Nations Development Group. These initiatives must reorient resources toward areas of priority and achieve better coordination with international funding organizations. Allow me to express the position of my country regarding the evolution of the international situation. Peace is still among the highest aspiration of our peoples. Different points of the planet are currently involved in bloody conflicts which affect common citizens. Security is today not only a matter of the survival of political regimes, but is linked to the very existence of human beings and nature.”
1997-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 52 (1997)
“As a means of promoting development and social investment projects to combat poverty, we wish to propose to this Assembly that it take the necessary actions to reduce the burden of the external debt in those developing countries that have demonstrated a high level of responsibility in handling their debt. We reiterate the commitment of the United Nations to develop efficient measures for the struggle against poverty. Along with peacekeeping, development cooperation must constitute an overarching goal of the Organization. No financing of activities for peacekeeping, the defence of human rights or humanitarian actions will be sufficient if we do not act responsibly in undertaking multilateral cooperation for development.”
1997-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 52 (1997)
“The peacekeeping efforts in Haiti, which we have promoted in the United Nations, will not be sufficient to achieve democratic stability unless they are accompanied by resources directed to alleviating the great economic and social problems affecting that nation. We must again emphasize how external debt is weighing down our economies. The onerous costs of debt-servicing hinder our investing more in our peoples, thus deepening the levels of poverty. For the Dominican Republic, the payment of outstanding debts and the interest on them represents nearly 20 per cent of the national budget.”
1997-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 52 (1997)
“It is precisely these efforts that have given us faith and confidence in the future of our peoples. During this year, the Dominican Republic has developed a programme for strengthening our links with our neighbouring country, Haiti. For the first time, bi- national joint commissions are crossing the border to find, through dialogue, areas of mutual interest and solutions to some of the problems common to both countries. Regarding our sister Republic of Haiti, we insist on the need for the international community to discharge effectively the economic commitment it made in 1994 with regard to Haiti’s economic recovery and development.”
1997-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 52 (1997)
“Aware of the commitment to promote at the regional level mechanisms for improving economic growth and combating poverty, the Dominican Republic has in the past year strengthened its relations with the countries of CARICOM and Central America, primarily through the participation of our President in the meetings of heads of State and Government. We are pleased to announce that our country will host the next summit meeting of Central America, Belize and the Dominican Republic and that negotiations for the establishment of a free-trade area between CARICOM and the Dominican Republic should be concluded by the end of this year. At this time allow me to welcome very enthusiastically the initiatives of the group of Central American countries designed to strengthen Central American unity.”
1997-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 52 (1997)
“Also, together with other countries, it is formulating strategies to take advantage of funds from multilateral sources. The achievements of regional groups such as the Central American Common Market, the Caribbean Community (CARICOM), the Andean Group and the Southern Cone Common Market (MERCOSUR), among others, are indications of the strong willingness of the Member States to expand their capacities and reduce the negative impact that the new rules of international trade have on our economies and societies.”
1997-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 52 (1997)
“The Dominican delegation associates itself with the declarations of the Group of 77 adopted in July of this year, at the twenty-second meeting of the group coordinators, because we support strengthening the role of the United Nations in promoting international cooperation for social and economic development. And we are in favour of measures that will promote the formulation and coordination of policies and the provision of technical assistance to developing countries. Our country is making serious efforts to position itself favourably in the world economy and to prepare for globalization. For this purpose, it is currently conducting major economic, monetary, tariff and judicial reforms, while at the same time negotiating free-trade agreements with countries of the region.”
1997-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 52 (1997)
“Our country supports the restructuring of the Organization as long as it promotes more transparent, clearer and more coherent mandates and is directed towards finding lasting solutions to the problems of 24 hunger, underdevelopment, extreme poverty and social injustice, not forgetting the mandates related to peacekeeping. Allow me to refer to the issue of development. The increase in global poverty and the gap between rich and poor countries is today the crucial problem for the international community. Poverty has a negative impact on progress with regard to peace and security, human rights and the strengthening of democratic systems. We must address forthwith the challenge posed by the tremendous economic and social instability of a large number of countries.”
1997-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 52 (1997)
“In this new phase of its international relations it has a strong interest in participating actively in bodies such as the Security Council and thus making a direct contribution to the maintenance of peace, on which depends the very existence of nations. An encouraging sign in the proposal of the Secretary-General is that the reforms are constantly related to the achievement of the founding principles of the Organization, as expressed in the Charter. Thus, the results of reform will be assessed primarily not on the basis of the relationship of costs to benefits, but rather on how they facilitate the realization of the Organization’s objectives.”
1997-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 52 (1997)
“The aspect of the reform of the Organization that has raised the greatest debate is the one relating to the restructuring and enlargement of the Security Council. Our country hopes that these reforms will promote greater participation by the membership as a whole. Thus, with a more democratic base and a just and equitable selection process, the Council would be in a better position to meet its purposes and objectives. In this regard, the Dominican Republic proposes the expansion of the Security Council from the current 15 to 25 members. This represents less than 14 per cent of the total number of United Nations Member States, whereas in 1945 the figure was slightly above 20 per cent. The Dominican Republic, a founding member of the United Nations, has not yet been a member of the Security Council.”
1997-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 52 (1997)
“This reorientation should not interfere with the principle of sovereign equality, nor with the plural and universal character that the Organization has maintained over the more than half a century of its existence. Reaffirmation of the democratic principles contained in the Charter must constitute the basis for the current reform process. The Dominican Republic proposes the establishment of mechanisms and working methods that would enable the Assembly to allow reasonable time for making progress on resolving certain conflicts. The problems of peace, security and development are multiple and complex. However, the commitment of the international community expressed in the United Nations should go beyond merely recalling them each year.”
1997-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 52 (1997)
“In this regard, the strengthening of the General Assembly, the main forum in which Member States are represented, cannot be postponed. It is imperative to promote a process of better coordination between the Assembly and the Security Council, so that the Assembly can be properly informed, and hence make better recommendations to the Security Council. Aware of the need to strengthen the United Nations, the Dominican Republic calls on this forum to adopt resolutions that can return to the Assembly its capacity as the governing body of the Organization. In this regard, we welcome the proposals of the Secretary-General designed to focus the work of the Assembly on the highest-priority issues and to reduce the duration of its sessions as well as the number of agenda items, so as to allow for their in- depth study.”
1997-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 52 (1997)
“The trend within the Organization in recent years to the establishment of working groups, as well as the report of the Secretary-General entitled “Renewing the United Nations: A Programme for Reform”, reflect the strong resolve of Member States to engage in a negotiation and consultation process that could, once their distrust of the past is overcome, culminate in far-reaching changes in the various United Nations bodies. The Dominican Republic attaches special importance to the ongoing reform process, given that it is capable, while respecting the principles and purposes that gave birth to the Organization, of ensuring a more democratic, transparent, representative and efficient system capable of facing the current challenges, especially those of peace and the problems of poverty that affect the peoples of the world.”
1997-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 52 (1997)
“Kofi Annan, for his assiduity, dedication and hard work in guiding the Organization down a road of reform and modernization that will make it stronger for the new millennium. While remaining faithful to the purposes and principles set forth in the Charter — the maintenance of international peace and security, cooperation for economic, social and cultural development, defence of human rights, and humanitarian assistance — the United Nations should also promote and pursue a reform process which takes into account the many changes that have taken place in a complex international scene. That scene is marked by the end of ideological confrontations and, at the same time, by increasing levels of poverty and ethnic and religious tension, phenomena that pose a threat to our supreme objectives of peace and development for our peoples.”
1997-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 52 (1997)
“On behalf of the Dominican Republic and its President Mr. Leonel Fernandez Reyna, I wish to convey to our President our warmest congratulations on his well deserved election to preside over this fifty-second session of the General Assembly, at a time when the Organization is taking important steps forward in its re- structuring and modernization in order to meet the challenges of peace and economic and social development for our nations. Our delegation pays tribute to the outgoing President, His Excellency Mr. Razali Ismail, for his outstanding conduct of the deliberations during the last session of the General Assembly. 23 We take this opportunity to express our gratitude to the Secretary-General, Mr.”
1997-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 52 (1997)