YouSaid · the spoken record

Óscar Berger Perdomo

lines on the record: 32
first: 2004-09-24
most recent: 2007-09-24
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

“We trust that during this session those efforts will be pursued. As I have said, this is the last occasion on which I shall come before the Assembly as President of Guatemala. I therefore reiterate my deep gratitude to the United Nations and to all its Member States for their support for our work and our initiatives during the four years of my mandate.”
2007-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 62 (2007)
“Also, as a country that was a principal actor in the Financing for Development conference of 2002, we believe that the dialogue scheduled for 23 and 24 October will afford an opportunity to review the current achievements of its goals and to implement the undertakings set forth in the Monterrey Consensus. In our capacity as a middle-income country, we were pleased at the holding of the Intergovernmental Conference of Middle-Income Countries last March in Spain, and we are committed to the success of the second such meeting to be convened in El Salvador in October. We continue to await the much-discussed reform of the Security Council, and we note the advances attained during the last session of the Assembly, when we were closer than ever before to a process of intergovernmental negotiation.”
2007-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 62 (2007)
“We are pleased at the holding of the first annual ministerial examination of the Economic and Social Council, aimed at appraising the progress achieved in fulfilling the targets and the objectives of development, as well as the launching of the Development Cooperation Forum. We support any reform and reorientation of the Organization that will enhance its ability to deliver results, coherence and efficiency. We take note of what has already been done in the Department of Peacekeeping Operations, as well as the Secretary-General’s ideas for reforming the Department of Political Affairs. We are concerned, however, that the issues of reform relating to the development agenda agreed at the World Summit of 2005 are not being accorded the same priority.”
2007-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 62 (2007)
“I would like in the last part of my speech to talk about some of the items on the General Assembly’s agenda. I have the following specific comments. As a multicultural, multiethnic and multilingual country, we are proud to have worked hand in hand with other countries in the negotiations that led to the recent adoption of the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples. As a member of the Human Rights Council, we have actively participated in its process of institution- building. We believe that the greatest challenge that the Council has to confront is to finalize that building process and to set in motion the universal, periodic review mechanism. Guatemala will be one of the first countries to be reviewed.”
2007-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 62 (2007)
“Reviewing some of the other items on our agenda, on Monday of this week I had the privilege to take part in the high-level event on climate change, where I added our voice of alarm at the irreversible harm that we are causing ourselves owing to global greenhouse emissions. The amount of scientific data proving this phenomenon is unquestionable, and Guatemala has not been spared its effects. But we also have the scientific means to mitigate, and even reverse, recent tendencies, which requires a shared but differentiated effort on the part of all of us. The United Nations offers unparalleled forums in which to tackle this common threat. It is as serious a threat to humanity as are wars with weapons of mass destruction, or transnational terrorism.”
2007-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 62 (2007)
“This is an unprecedented collaboration between a Member State and the United Nations, with a view to combating impunity, and particularly transnational crime, an endeavour that will surely yield very tangible benefits for my country and valuable experience for the United Nations. We also reiterate our commitment to the Central American integration process, which has produced remarkable advances in the last four years. We are very close to securing our integration process by means of putting in place a customs union, and we are also embarking on a negotiation process with the European Union aimed at securing an association agreement.”
2007-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 62 (2007)
“We value it not only for its past role the United Nations Verification Mission in Guatemala left the country at the end of 2004 but also for its continued contributions. In 2006, an office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights, which works with and advises and counsels the State, was established. This month, September, a new concerted effort is being made between Guatemala and the United Nations with the collaboration of a group of friendly nations, through the creation of an International Commission against Impunity in Guatemala (CICIG), whose objective is to improve our investigation capacities and the arraignment and prosecution of criminal activities in our country.”
2007-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 62 (2007)
“Perhaps the area in which we have best managed to promote these objectives is here in the United Nations, which has worked with us in the negotiation, implementation and follow-up to our peace accords. We have tried to repay that support in a modest way with our contribution to peacekeeping operations in various parts of the world, particularly in our sister nation of Haiti, as well as through our active presence in various United Nations forums. Given the circumstances, it is in our interest to preserve, to strengthen and to adapt to modern times our Organization, the United Nations, whose ideals we value so much. The United Nations occupies a special place in our foreign policy.”
2007-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 62 (2007)
“To address new national and regional challenges that have arisen in regard to citizen insecurity and organized crime, my administration concentrated its efforts on strengthening public institutions and building democratic governance. I must state that many of these policies should be conceived as State policies rather than those of a particular Government. In this regard, we have put into place a transition programme so as to transfer to the new democratically elected authorities, after the second round of elections to be held on 4 November, all the information deemed most relevant to facilitate the administration of the new Government. Logically, our foreign policy was also inspired by the same principles and values as our domestic policy, which I have already outlined.”
2007-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 62 (2007)
“In that context, allow me to mention just one aspect: the right of reparations violations has been acknowledged for victims of human rights and for that purpose we devised a National Plan of Compensation with a duration of 13 years in order to respond to all claims. Finally, we addressed the issue of citizen security in an integral manner, a social phenomena conditioned by multiple economic, social, political and cultural factors, while at the same time insisting on the full observance of human rights. We recognize that there is still much to do in that area, but in practice definite and significant advances have been attained.”
2007-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 62 (2007)
“Fourthly, in the area of the inclusion of indigenous peoples, Guatemala enacted the Public Policy for Coexistence and the Elimination of Racism, under the aegis of the Presidential Commission Against Discrimination. Also, we have incorporated multicultural criteria into public policies, planning and projects; we have strengthened bilingual and intercultural education and we have instituted an affirmative action policy in order to increase the proportion of indigenous civil employees in the public sector. Fifthly, during my administration a human rights approach was promoted in all public sector policies and during the past four years more public policies regarding human rights were enacted than during all the previous governments.”
2007-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 62 (2007)
“The goals set forth in the Peace Accords of assigning 4.8 per cent of gross domestic product to social expenditures have been surpassed to reach 5.7 per cent in 2006, approximately twice the proportion of ten years ago. Thanks to that redirection of policy and the strengthening of institutional reforms, particularly in education, the principal social indicators have begun to show significant improvements. For example, the net rate of school attendance at the primary level was raised from 72.6 per cent in 1997 to 95.5 per cent in 2006. At the same time, we achieved a higher rate of health coverage, thanks to the strategy adopted, under which another 4.1 million Guatemalans can access that essential service.”
2007-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 62 (2007)
“All that effort has been impelled by our National Agenda for Competitiveness 2005-2015, and it has been complemented by a marked increase in investment in infrastructure, mainly in the rural areas. The commitment to reach better levels of competitiveness was also translated into the construction of a new international airport and the remodelling of six more, along with qualitative and quantitative improvements to seaports, as well as the rehabilitation, paving and extension of over 2,100 kilometres of roads throughout the country. Thirdly, we have given an enormous impulse to social expenditure, particularly those destined for education, health and housing.”
2007-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 62 (2007)
“The overall poverty index fell five percentage points between the years 2000 and 2006, from 56 per cent of the population to 51 per cent, respectively. We acknowledge that ratio is still unacceptably high but the achievement of that reduction must inspire us to continue fighting to fulfil in Guatemala one of the main Millennium Development Goals of the United Nations. For that reason, public policy was redirected completely towards rural development, where the main social underdevelopment and poverty are concentrated. One of the sources of the increasing dynamism of our economy has been the export sector, whether to Central America or to the rest of the world.”
2007-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 62 (2007)
“At the same time, we have progressed in strengthening and creating new democratic mechanisms control institutions, invigorating the direction of ministries as well as enhancing result- oriented management, while all along integrating the main political aims with planning and budgets. In that context, we have built a State where public expenditure and biddings are subject to civil society scrutiny. Having instituted the “Guatecompras” programme and making it mandatory for the public sector, we have reinforced the commitment to work with transparency in all areas of government. Secondly, in the last four years we have also achieved an economic recovery within a framework of a solid financial stability. We exceeded growth rates of 3.5 per cent in the biennium 2004-2005 by attaining 5 per cent in 2006 and 5.6 per cent in 2007.”
2007-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 62 (2007)
“Allow me to reveal some of the accomplishments of the past years. First, one of the successes of our administration was improving the quality of public management through the creation or strengthening of public institutions, the articulation of coherent policy programmes combined with specific actions and in many instances, updated legislation. It would be tedious to enumerate the multiple areas revamped, including diverse subjects such as food security, the energy sector, administrative and financial decentralization, governmental administration, the revenue administration, trafficking of persons and assistance to immigrants the last subject is so dear to our concerns.”
2007-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 62 (2007)
“Now that we have only a few months before handing over power in Guatemala, I wanted to give a brief account of the main accomplishments of my administration, within the framework of what we consider a successful history, despite the problems that continue to besiege us. After overcoming an internal conflict that lasted four long decades, this story reflects success not only for Guatemala but also for the United Nations, the Organization that is so closely tied to our Peace Accords. It is precisely those agreements that encompass our main objectives, namely strengthening the State’s democratic institutions, promoting economic and social development, fighting against poverty and social exclusion, fully respecting human rights and building a multicultural, multiethnic and multilingual Nation.”
2007-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 62 (2007)
“It has been barely two weeks since I initiated in Guatemala an electoral process that will conclude on 14 January, when I will have the honour to bestow the presidential sash on the person elected democratically by my people. That event will have two consequences: first, representative democracy will be strengthened further in Guatemala, based on an electoral process that even international observers have described as very satisfactory. Secondly, this is my last appearance before the General Assembly, an occasion which I take advantage of in order to attest my support to the United Nations and to greet our new Secretary-General, Mr. Ban Ki- moon, and the outgoing President of the General Assembly, Sheikha Haya Rashed Al-Khalifa, and the incoming President, Mr. Srgjan Kerim.”
2007-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 62 (2007)
“13 Under your guidance, Sir, this Assembly will have to address issues of the greatest significance for humankind and the United Nations. Guatemala undertakes to participate actively in this year’s debates and in the special event to be held just before our next regular session. We hasten to offer our cooperation with a view to the success of your endeavours.”
2004-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 59 (2004)
“Guatemala is conscious of the divisions that persist in the Middle East, Asia and Africa among neighbouring countries. We earnestly hope that the disputes between them can be resolved through dialogue and other peaceful means, thus enabling all peoples of the world to be represented here without rejection or discrimination. I wish to note in particular our concern over the situation of the 23 million inhabitants of the Republic of China on Taiwan, whose aspirations to representation in international bodies remain unfulfilled. We also wish to voice our earnest hope that the difficult situation prevailing in the Middle East, which has deteriorated of late, will be resolved in conformity with Security Council resolutions 242 (1967), 338 (1973), 1397 (2002) and 1402 (2002).”
2004-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 59 (2004)
“We are taking all feasible measures at the national level against the scourge and support the collective action of the international community to combat it, inter alia, through the implementation of Security Council resolutions 1373 (2001) and 1390 (2002), as well as participation in the relevant treaties. We are convinced of the need for a stronger collective capacity to prevent and resolve conflicts. We believe that the United Nations should continue to address the imperative of development, including such emerging issues as transnational migrations. We also feel that our Organization should play a vital role in seeking to ensure that the benefits of globalization are widely distributed among all countries. In that connection, we wish to highlight the significance we attach to the Monterrey Consensus and the Johannesburg Plan of Action.”
2004-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 59 (2004)
“We trust that 2005 will offer us an opportunity to react to them in a responsible manner. One of the most timely issues is the reform of the Security Council. Our position thereon has been evolving, reflecting the imperative need to make that organ more representative, transparent and effective. We advocate the expansion of its membership and could agree to such an expansion being applied to both categories of members — permanent and non- permanent — so long as the need to ensure adequate geographic representation is taken into account. The reform of the Security Council would be the point of departure for the adaptation of all the organs of the United Nations to the new circumstances. We favour the strengthening of the General Assembly and the Economic and Social Council. We reiterate our complete repudiation of all forms of terrorism.”
2004-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 59 (2004)
“Guatemala appeals to the international community to fulfil its longstanding commitments to eliminate all the measures and practices that distort markets, to liberalize trade in our products and, more generally, to adopt measures enabling a country like Guatemala, which has been striving to open its economy, to obtain better opportunities for access to markets for its exports. May I take this opportunity to pay tribute to the United Nations Verification Mission in Guatemala (MINUGUA), which, after 10 years of fruitful work, is reaching the end of its mandate. MINUGUA has left an important legacy in our country. I would like to turn now to our agenda at this session. We are convinced of the need to adapt the Organization to the new challenges, threats and changes that humanity faces.”
2004-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 59 (2004)
“Looking after the interests of Guatemalan emigrants is also a priority issue for my Government. We provide support for them as they seek solutions to their problems and respect for their fundamental rights. We are in contact with the receiving countries, particularly the United States of America, with a view to regularizing the situation of emigrants, who make a substantial contribution to the well-being of their communities. All the efforts that Guatemala is making to overcome poverty and achieve socio-economic development necessarily depend on the progress being made in multilateral trade negotiations.”
2004-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 59 (2004)
“That is why my Government is promoting joint projects relating to production, a trade agreement, greater flexibility in the transit of persons, goods and services, full observance of human rights and the 12 conclusion of agreements for mutual legal assistance, all of which will contribute to the progress of our peoples and to the security of the region. The Central American countries have just concluded trade negotiations with the United States. Last May, at the Guadalajara Summit, an announcement was made regarding the initiation of a process leading up to an association agreement between Central America and the European Union, to include a free trade agreement. We will shortly be signing a trade agreement with Colombia, and we hope to conclude free trade agreements with Taiwan, MERCOSUR, the Andean Group and the Caribbean Community.”
2004-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 59 (2004)
“Our guiding principle is the need to ensure that Guatemala can take its proper place in today’s globalized world, as well as to strengthen multilateralism and regional integration. The presidents of the Central American countries have given greater impetus to our integration process. This year, we took the decisions required to bring to fruition a customs union between El Salvador, Honduras, Nicaragua and Guatemala. My Government is proposing a new beginning in its bilateral relationship with Belize. We must reach a permanent, just, equitable and honourable settlement of the territorial dispute between the two countries, while at the same time making a constructive effort to resolve the socio-economic problems afflicting our peoples.”
2004-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 59 (2004)
“In this context, we launched a programme for economic and social recovery, entitled Vamos Guatemala. We have taken firm measures to eliminate extreme poverty and reduce social exclusion, while fully respecting our diversity — for Guatemala is a multi-ethnic, multicultural and multilingual country. My Government is committed to full respect for human rights. We believe that every Guatemalan should enjoy basic rights and fundamental freedoms, and that the right to development must be ensured. In this context, Guatemala will cooperate with international bodies that promote and protect human rights. My Government’s foreign policy is consistent with its national interests.”
2004-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 59 (2004)
“For the first time in the history of our country, charges of corruption are being investigated, and those found guilty will be prosecuted. We have adopted a series of measures aimed at elaborating and implementing a fiscal pact. Sustained efforts are being made to meet the taxation goals set out in the peace agreements, within the framework of my Government’s objectives for economic growth. We have, as a matter of priority, established a national front against hunger and malnutrition. Working with civil society, we have elaborated a policy on food and nutritional security. We have consolidated our responsible approach to macroeconomic management; that is necessary if we are to promote competitiveness and productive investment and ensure the well-being of all Guatemalans.”
2004-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 59 (2004)
“This includes, at the international level, greater participation by the Guatemalan army in United Nations peace operations, for example in Haiti. In terms of public spending, we are according priority to education, health, security, citizenship and infrastructure. We are fighting petty crime, gang-related crime and organized crime, focusing in particular on combating drug trafficking, terrorism, smuggling, money laundering, trafficking in persons and the illegal arms trade, all of which represent a huge challenge that cannot be overcome without the support of the international community. We are waging an all-out war against corruption, and creating mechanisms to ensure transparency in public procurement and contracting.”
2004-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 59 (2004)
“The actions that my Government intends to take in the period 2004 to 2008 will focus on four areas: social investment; conditions of production; environmental sustainability; and security for all. Those policies are being carried out within the framework of the principles of solidarity and inclusiveness; decentralization and participation; and transparency in public actions. Those areas of action and principles accord fully with the Millennium Development Goals. I would like to single out a number of achievements resulting from our new approach to government. We have reduced our troop strength by 43 per cent and have begun to modernize the armed forces and to make them more professional, consistent with the functions that they are required to perform in time of peace.”
2004-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 59 (2004)
“My plan of government is predicated on the peace agreements and defines their implementation as a commitment of the whole nation. As President of 11 Guatemala, I endorse fully the principle that a firm and lasting peace must be based on participatory socio- economic development, aimed at achieving the common good and responding to the needs of all of our people, particularly those still living in extreme poverty. Since I took office, I have made a point of listening to the opinions of all of our citizens. That has enabled me to identify the constraints facing Guatemala, which it must overcome if it is to deal adequately with the many legitimate social demands and expectations.”
2004-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 59 (2004)
“I would like to begin by expressing our appreciation to Mr. Julian Hunte, Minister for Foreign Affairs of Saint Lucia, for his accomplished and skilful leadership of the General Assembly during its previous session. I would also like to congratulate you, Sir, on your election to the presidency of the General Assembly at its fifty-ninth session. I would also like to commend the Secretary- General, Mr. Kofi Annan, for the great wisdom that he has shown in the discharge of his functions. He deserves our respect and appreciation, and we extend to him our support and solidarity. My country has reached a crucial point in its history. It faces the challenge of living up to the expectations raised by the end of the internal armed conflict. Since January, when I assumed office, the frustrated hopes of all of our people have been rekindled.”
2004-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 59 (2004)