YouSaid · the spoken record

Juan Orlando Hernández Alvarado

lines on the record: 99
first: 2014-09-24
most recent: 2020-09-24
sittings or episodes: 6
sources: un-general-debate

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

“We have institutionalized a mechanism for dialogue between the Government and human rights organizations, and we also manage the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights in Honduras, which is already open and functioning. It is very painful for any person to be forced to leave their family, customs and the land of their birth. The migrants of our era are our new martyrs. They are the new heroes who fight abroad, fight adversity, work tirelessly, carry out the most difficult work under the most difficult conditions and yet still press on. They are still able to contribute to their countries of destination with their talent, culture, dedication, efforts and by paying taxes.”
2017-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 72 (2017)
“However, as developing countries we face the problem of the criterion that developed countries have adopted to allocate cooperation resources. What do I mean? Just think. The criterion used is that of classification by means of the national income of countries at three levels: high, medium and low. The premise is that most help will go to low-income countries, and that middle- and high-income countries have a greater internal capacity to overcome poverty. Because of that, the countries that are most harmed when it comes to access to international aid are those classified in the middle-income category, as is the case for Honduras. Our country is committed to the defence and promotion of human rights. For Honduras, respect for the human person constitutes a State policy. We recently established a secretariat for human rights.”
2017-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 72 (2017)
“We have a duty to overcome the structural conditions that exclude large sectors of our societies from access to goods and services that would otherwise allow for a dignified life and opportunities for the comprehensive development of peoples, families, our communities and our countries. Poverty has effects on the environment. It fosters internal and international migration and has serious social consequences stemming from the breakdown of the family breakdown and the separation it engenders, generating insecurity and violence. It causes much suffering. We must combat poverty with social safety nets, access to basic health and education services, inclusive and sound credit and technical assistance to avoid depriving people of the goods that are essential to life.”
2017-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 72 (2017)
“I wish to express our solidarity and condolences to our brothers affected by the destructive force of these recent natural phenomena, and we encourage the Assembly to assist the countries, predominantly in the Caribbean, that have suffered so much devastated. Honduras will be present, as we have already offered, for our brothers. Nuclear weapons also pose a serious threat to humankind, and worse still is the threat of using them. Honduras rejects the recent nuclear-weapons tests. We support the resolutions adopted by the Security Council, as well as the channels conducive to the diplomatic management of tensions and threats to world peace. Poverty is high on the agendas of Governments in developing countries.”
2017-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 72 (2017)
“It helps us to bring dignity to our compatriots suffering from extreme poverty. There are already nearly 2.5 million participants involved in at least one of the components of Better Life. I would also like to state that Honduras fully supports the reform of the United Nations system promoted by the Secretary-General in order to achieve the objectives of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. Our countries face major challenges due to climate change, the emergence of the nuclear threat, poverty, organized international crime, terrorism, racism, intolerance and human rights violations. These are challenges that we must analyse and face together with determination and absolute commitment. Climate change has been relentless, bringing a tragic series of hurricanes and tropical storms.”
2017-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 72 (2017)
“We have made considerable progress in applying international standards when acquiring and setting up infrastructure, through the Construction Sector Transparency initiative. We are cleaning up our national police. We are creating a new police institution. We are strengthening our public ministry. We are created anti-corruption courts. We entered into an agreement with the Organization of American States to establish what we call the Mission of Support against Corruption and Impunity. In addition we have reorganized system through which the national health system purchases medicines. In line with our commitment to the Sustainable Development Goals, in particular Goal 1, our Administration has implemented the most ambitious social programme to protect our most vulnerable citizens. We have named this programme Better Life.”
2017-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 72 (2017)
“Based on the economic development plan, Honduras 2020, we will be creating at least 600,000 new jobs for Hondurans over the next five years. Over the past four years, we have invested approximately $2 billion in infrastructure to make Honduras a major logistics hub in Central America. We have built airports, ports in the Atlantic and the Pacific, highways, an interoceanic highway and a next-generation customs model. All of this will allow the Central American region to have an outstanding logistics system. We are also making strides in the areas of transparency and counter-corruption. We are the only country in the world that has signed an agreement with Transparency International to work with that organization in five civil service sectors.”
2017-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 72 (2017)
“This region, formerly rife with conflict among the three nations, will become a development hub for the good of our three countries. I would also like to share with the Assembly the fact that Honduras is poised to make extraordinary headway in attracting investment. I am referring to the establishment of employment and economic development zones, in which both national and international investment will have institutional guarantees in four key areas — the legal, economic, administrative and political spheres — based on good practices that are familiar to companies and workers in prosperous countries. My country and people’s very productive labour force will then have the best opportunities in the world, under the Honduran flag.”
2017-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 72 (2017)
“This year, we, along with neighbour Guatemala, started the first customs union of the Americas. Honduras and Guatemala now have a zone with free movement of goods, services and people. In addition, we are negotiating with our brothers of El Salvador and Nicaragua to join the customs union and, in the future, we hope that Costa Rica and Panama will also become members. In that way, we will become the seventh largest market in Latin America. El Salvador, Nicaragua and Honduras have also launched a plan to develop the Gulf of Fonseca, which has the support of the Central American Bank for Economic Integration. That will enable us to create a genuine hub for economic, tourism and social development in the Pacific region. It will be the region’s first special economic zone.”
2017-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 72 (2017)
“From 2013 to date, however, the murder rate of 75 per 100,000 inhabitants has fallen by almost 30 percentage points. The most recent Global Peace Index issued by the Institute for Economics and Peace indicates that our management of the situation has placed Honduras 17 places higher in the global peace ranking. We have also managed to lower our fiscal deficit to 3 per cent from 8 per cent of gross domestic product. We have improved the Honduran economy and growth this year stands at 4.1 per cent. Our exports have increased, investments are on the rise and our national reserves are enough to purchase almost six months worth of imports. The country’s national currency has been revalued and inflation is very moderate. Risk-rating agencies have raised Honduras’ credit rating. Our rating is now the best we have ever had.”
2017-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 72 (2017)
“On behalf of the people of Honduras, I would like to extend greetings to the General Assembly. The Honduran people extend solidarity to their Mexican brothers and sisters in the wake of the recent tragedy. I reiterate our commitment to continuing to provide supplies and support. Three years ago, I addressed the General Assembly for the first time. Three years later, I would like to reflect on how Honduras has met the challenges it has encountered. Today, I would like to share with the Assembly and with the world how we are building a new Honduras. Four years ago, transnational organized crime in Honduras led to high levels of violence seen in very few countries around the world. At the end of 2013, there were 75 murders per 100,000 inhabitants, and two years prior to 2013, the figure stood at almost 90 murders per 100,000 inhabitants.”
2017-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 72 (2017)
“Such problems have had a significant impact on entire communities and entire generations that have become desensitized to such abominable events and grow up considering fear, intimidation and aggression to be part of everyday life. I believe that victims, too, have rights. Let us reflect upon that. Today Honduras calls on Member States to work together to face the challenges and to be part of the solutions. Today, the time has come to act with determination and commitment. I invite the Assembly to solve problems together by assuming the responsibilities that are incumbent on each of us.”
2016-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 71 (2016)
“Where is the sympathy for their family and friends? Do they not deserve to be respected? With whom lies the responsibility to inform them of such bloody events? What about the responsibilities of those who do not condemn the violence? Why is the inheritance of the material goods of the deceased respected, but the protection of their image and dignity is not? Recently in our country, Hondurans witnessed a child taking the hand of his father’s corpse. His father had lost his life on a public road as the consequence of a criminal act. That image was broadcast throughout all media and social networks. It made me reflect and wonder about the extent of the rights of that child. How far do the rights of the family of that child extend? I invite everyone to reflect on that issue, which affects not only the victims but also those closest to them.”
2016-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 71 (2016)
“Quite the contrary, the use of force and the resort to terror and violence have been exalted and promoted. That has contaminated respect for the dignity of human persons, thanks to the way in which their images and stories have been presented by the media. The criminals themselves use the media to highlight their violent acts, promoting and continuing to perpetrate them. As in other countries that have experienced criminal violence, in addition to the pain of the loss of human lives and of losing our peace, we have experienced a sense of injustice when the rights of victims and the rights of their relatives and friends are not respected. I ask myself, the Assembly and all of humankind: Do the victims of violence have no rights? Is the cruelty with which these human beings have been treated not apparent?”
2016-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 71 (2016)
“That new economic space represents half of the Central American population and approximately half of the gross domestic product of our region. If we incorporate the other countries of Central America into the customs integration initiative, we shall together become the seventh largest Latin American economy. Furthermore, El Salvador, Guatemala and Honduras, together with the United States, have created an alliance for prosperity. We have invited the United Nations, as well as other countries from Latin America, Europe and Asia, to join in that initiative. Together, we have also developed international instruments to protect and promote human rights. However, in the face of aggression by common criminals and terrorists, we have failed to protect the image of the victims of those attacks.”
2016-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 71 (2016)
“Owing to our geographic position, Honduras has recently seen an alarming flow of migrants from our continent, as well as from other continents. In just a single year, the volume of migratory flows through our territory has increased 300 per cent. In that light, today I must affirm that migration is a global issue of global interest requiring a global solution. Our Governments are finding transnational solutions to our regional problems, for example by driving forward the development initiatives that Honduras, together with El Salvador, Guatemala and Nicaragua, has launched with regard to the Gulf of Fonseca, on the Pacific coast. We have also formalized the first customs union on the continent with the Government of Guatemala.”
2016-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 71 (2016)
“Organized crime is a transnational monster. It knows no nationality and no scruples. It wears many faces — the movement of capital, the movement of criminals and trafficking in persons, weapons and drugs, among others. The challenges that currently confront countries like Honduras are produced by decisions and actions taken both in the public sector and in the private sector. They are of transnational origin and have transnational consequences. Clearly, they must be resolved in a transnational way. The refugee crisis and migratory flows are not problems just for a single country. Drug trafficking is not a cause or effect produced by a single State. The same holds true for climate change, which is a problem for all of humankind.”
2016-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 71 (2016)
“I advise the United Nations and other international organizations to take prompt action to make the Agreement effective so that we will see pragmatic results from the green funds. I firmly believe that solutions need to come at the same pace as the problems. The accounts will not be clear until we achieve concrete results. On the issue of migration, the growing economy, the creation of economic opportunity, security and the response to climate change are all creating better living conditions for our people in Honduras, and with all that we are attacking some of the major causes of irregular migration. The problems that confront our countries are becoming less national and more transnational in character. Political borders have become less significant, and the success of one country increasingly depends on that of other countries.”
2016-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 71 (2016)
“We are developing a comprehensive policy on the land, forests and water so that we can successfully confront the enormous challenges that countries like ours face in climate change. This morning, we submitted to the Secretary- General our ratification instrument for the Paris Agreement on Climate Change. We Hondurans have complied. I wish to recall a statement I made at the twenty-first Conference of the Parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, held in Paris, to the effect that the accounts were not clear, and I must reiterate once more that the accounts remain unclear. That is why I would invite the countries that have not as yet submitted their ratification to do so.”
2016-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 71 (2016)
“To deal with those challenges, we have responded with a food-assistance programme directed towards the families at risk, and for three years we have experienced no famine. In those efforts, we have received the assistance of the United Nations and friendly Governments, which have contributed financial resources to complement our national resources. We have also taken action against the pine-bark beetle. We are investing our own resources and enjoy the technical assistance of friendly countries. In addition, we have begun a programme to construct water reservoirs and irrigation systems for small farms in dry areas, complemented by technical assistance and inputs for our farmers.”
2016-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 71 (2016)
“We cannot lose our way nor abandon the good path that we have set out on. Our country, Honduras, is committed to achieving the Sustainable Development Goals. Three other issues deserve special attention in this debate at the United Nations: climate change, migratory flows and the rights of victims. With reference to climate change, Honduras has suffered three consecutive years of a drought that has affected food production and endangered food security for nearly 250,000 families. Drought and high temperatures have also led to the proliferation of a very destructive insect, the southern pine-bark beetle, which strips the bark off pine trees and has devastated one sixth of our forests.”
2016-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 71 (2016)
“Some 1.2 million persons receive benefits to improve their living conditions with cement floors, decent roofs, toilets, eco-friendly stoves and water filters. We have reduced illiteracy by expanding preschool and have increased the coverage of intermediate and secondary education. Approximately 1.2 million children receive school lunches, and 1.3 million people have access to decentralized health-care services. We have tripled the purchasing of medications, attaining an average of 80 per cent of the requirements in our public hospitals. We have launched a campaign against non-communicable chronic diseases, with a focus on those occurring in early infancy, as well as programmes for the prevention of adolescent pregnancies. But we recognize that much more remains to be done. We must not lose sight of the future.”
2016-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 71 (2016)
“Most importantly, we have saved lives — lives of thousands of our fellow citizens. In the fight against organized crime, we have enjoyed close international cooperation, based on trust. We have brought before the courts corrupt public servants, business owners and people active in the security and justice fields who have committed crimes and violations of human rights. We have extradited, for judgment outside the country, 12 Hondurans and 5 foreigners accused of drug trafficking or organized crime. Today, we are no longer the first, second, third, fourth or fifth most violent country in the world, according to the Global Peace Index 2016. In the social area, we have reached out with financial assistance to 275,000 families living in extreme poverty in order to improve the indicators for the health and education of their minor children.”
2016-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 71 (2016)
“We have begun to break up the activities of criminal bandits, and we have captured 274 ringleaders of gangs and bandit groups. We began a very positive, aggressive process of cleaning up the police. We worked on strengthening the Office of the Public Prosecutor and the intelligence capacity of the State. We have started to fight corruption and impunity, which had been one of our primary concerns, and have had notable successes. In April 2015, in order to deepen that campaign, we implemented, with the support of the Organization of American States, a mission to aid us in our fight against corruption and impunity in Honduras. This has led to a frontal attack on criminals that has resulted in a decline in violence, reflected in a 26 per cent reduction in the homicide rate.”
2016-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 71 (2016)
“In the economic field, we have seen a reduction in the fiscal deficit to less than 5 per cent of the gross domestic product, with sustained economic growth, whereas the larger economies in our continent were stagnating. There has been improvement in foreign investment and in productive infrastructure. We have seen an increase in tax revenues. We have also seen an improvement in our credit and risk rating. We also have a national economic development programme called Honduras 2020. It seeks to double private investment and the number of jobs created over the next 5 years in strategic sectors of our national economy. In the area of public safety, we have achieved the dismantling of the main drug cartels, which were responsible for the most tragic violence in the history of our country.”
2016-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 71 (2016)
“Above and beyond the crisis of public confidence in the country’s institutions, there was also the fact that Honduras was perceived as a very unsafe country by the rest of the world. And so we ended up being isolated. With much effort, we have been able to restore our democracy, and today all political points of view in Honduras are represented by political parties. Less than three years ago, upon a decision taken by the Honduran people, we began to tread the right path. It has not been easy. On 27 January 2014, we began restoring our country, with support from various sectors of society that believed in our future. They were betting on the right path — on the construction of a new Honduras. Thirty-two months later, what have we achieved since we began that task?”
2016-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 71 (2016)
“Allow me begin by congratulating the President of the General Assembly on his election to guide this organ. I wish him every success for the well-being of humankind. Our country is asking for major reforms and transformations. We understand that it is up to our generation to shoulder the responsibility of continuing to press for the changes that need to take place in order to bring about a better world. In 2009, we emerged from a deep political crisis that had serious economic and social consequences, especially for the most vulnerable of my people. The economy was in the red. We could not pay civil servants. Economic growth decreased, poverty increased. By neglecting security and safety, homicides grew unchecked. Institutions were allowed to become contaminated by drug trafficking and organized crime. We suffered.”
2016-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 71 (2016)
“I would like to remind the Assembly that if we are part of the largest forum in the world, it is because we consider ourselves to be citizens of the world, human beings with the same dignity, and therefore all of us, everyone of us, equal. Honduras is making progress; Honduras is changing; Honduras sends its greetings to all.”
2014-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 69 (2014)
“Clinton’s vision and are working hard to achieve it. When presidents come to the General Assembly of the United Nations, they often prepare speeches they deem most appropriate and specific to the lofty heights of this great forum, but beyond the words themselves, the message I want to convey is that the most important thing is for all of us to be accepted as citizens of the world, with the same duty to fight and defend our territory, our families and our planet, with the same right to aspire to a better life, and that what is vital is the support of those who have the most to those who have the least. If my message today can reach and move a few to act, I think it will have been worth coming.”
2014-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 69 (2014)
“Our housing improvements include the use of clean stoves, reducing wood consumption and smoke, which is harmful to women and children’s health and which, according to the World Health Organization, kills 500,000 women around the world every year. In Central America alone, about 35,000 people die from the wood smoke emitted from dirty cooking stoves every year. With every eco or clean stove installed, we make a contribution to the rest of humankind by saving 15 medium-sized trees every year, thus helping to protect the environment. In that regard, I would like to highlight the work of former United States Secretary of State Hillary Clinton for her Global Alliance for Clean Cookstoves initiative, whose goal is to put clean stoves in 100 million households by 2020. On this subject we share Mrs.”
2014-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 69 (2014)
“Honduras is a country where 43 per cent of the population lives on less than a dollar a day, which is not enough to pay for a person’s basic nutritional needs. That is why we are making a major effort to respond to these people’s needs through the Better Life programme, thus enabling them to live with dignity. The Better Life programme is designed to respond to the needs of 835,000 families, who are getting help in improving their homes, including providing access to drinking water and basic sanitation, decent roofs overhead and floors underfoot, family gardens and monetary support to ensure that children attend school, have improved health care and change their living conditions so as to achieve a better life.”
2014-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 69 (2014)
“This is going on in many countries, including Honduras, where many good businesspeople have signed on to work with our A Better Life programme and are demonstrating social responsibility by creating jobs. And that is what this is all about — solidarity and social responsibility, but not romantic social responsibility. In that regard, I would like to quote Pope Francis, a citizen of the world, whose words I hope will ring in our ears. “I have never seen a moving van following a funeral procession, but there is a treasure we can take with us, a treasure that no one can take away — not those things we have kept for ourselves, but what we have given to others”. We should think about that and consider those words.”
2014-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 69 (2014)
“Bill Gates, who, through his foundation, is seeking A Better Life in terms of health for thousands of poor families by promoting scientific research into new designs for basic sanitation systems. I think Mr. Bill Gates found the answer to the question. (spoke in English) How much money is good enough? (spoke in Spanish) As we are working on the same issue, I take this opportunity, with the Assembly’s permission, to invite Mr. Bill Gates, a citizen of the world, to my country to work on this common endeavour. It is very encouraging that some of the wealthiest people in the world are not seeking the secret of eternal youth, or trying to send expeditions to other planets while our brothers are dying on this one. On the contrary, they are aware of the problems of their poorer brethren.”
2014-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 69 (2014)
“Given the many problems we face as Hondurans, we have learned to see every crisis as an opportunity, and my Government follows the Christian principles of solidarity and the common good. We are promoting a very ambitious programme called A Better Life, through which we are making small changes and solving big problems. I am pleased to note that, now, some of those with the biggest fortunes are also promoting solidarity. I invite us all to ask: How much money is enough for a human being to feel fulfilled? (spoke in English) How much money is good enough? (spoke in Spanish) A few days ago we read about the humanitarian action being undertaken by one of the world’s richest men, Mr.”
2014-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 69 (2014)
“To be frank, the United States giving preferential tariffs and rules of origin to other countries and leaving Honduras and Central America out of that would lead to thousands of jobs being lost in our region and would lead more children to illegally cross the border. I say to President Obama, Congress, the North American people and the people of the world: Honduras is committed to solving the child migration issue and to fighting drug trafficking. Many of them know this, clearly, given our determination. But if there is not a reasonable degree of coherence in our countries’ trade policies, as partners, what is the real message to our people in Central America? What should Honduran children and their parents expect, in Central America?”
2014-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 69 (2014)
“Both issues are closely linked to the trade policies of the United States. We are not asking for financial assistance or charity. What we are asking for is just and equitable trade treatment, as is already given to other countries in the world. What we want is to jobs, to create those opportunities. Honduras supports efforts to unite the world in peace and prosperity through just trade and better access to major world markets. Within that vision, and in the context of the current negotiations, we demand that Honduras and Central America receive the same commercial treatment as Asian countries do, in order to enable us to compete.”
2014-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 69 (2014)
“We are talking about innocent children just like our children and grandchildren. They are vulnerable human beings. I would like to inform the Assembly that yesterday, the Secretary-General kindly agreed to have me, along with the ministers of Guatemala and El Salvador, present to him the Plan of the Alliance for Prosperity in the Northern Triangle, which maps out an initiative to support and create opportunities so that our countrymen are able to stand shoulder to shoulder in solidarity with everyone in our region — and I repeat, everyone, because this cause is our common responsibility. An important part of the solution to the child migration problem is to create job opportunities for their parents there, in Central America, and to improve security for young people there, in Central America.”
2014-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 69 (2014)
“I would once again ask the Assembly: What is the difference between those displaced by violence in other regions and those displaced by the violence committed by drug traffickers and transnational criminals? What is the difference? One difference is that those displaced — those thousands of families and individual children — come knocking on the doors of the United States of America. As a region, we cannot continue to ignore this human drama, which affects thousands of Central Americans, especially unaccompanied migrant minors who, on their way to the United States, have been the victims of violence, transnational crime, rape, human trafficking and the organ trade. Many have died or disappeared in the desert. We cannot forget that. Those children deserve to be treated with dignity and respect. They are innocent victims.”
2014-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 69 (2014)
“This morning, President Obama called for such unity in fighting radical fundamentalists. I would ask: What is the difference between the effects of terrorist acts perpetrated by radical fundamentalists and the effects of the terrorist acts perpetrated by those who traffic in drugs? What is the difference? Today the international community is discussing what happens in other regions of the world when children, young people and families are displaced by war, violence and radical extremists. Those are all situations that we as a nation also condemn. Of course we do. However, little is being said and about the thousands of families living in the northern triangle of Central America. I do not want to believe that this issue will simply be forgotten. As human beings, we cannot allow that to happen.”
2014-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 69 (2014)
“Honduras produces and consumes practically no drugs. We are a transit country. Unfortunately, we provide only the battlefield and the dead. We provide the resources to combat drugs’ transit through our territory, and those are resources that we are prevented from investing in meeting our development problems and challenges. I repeat: we are not responsible for the war. I think it is time to do what we have to do: respect human rights; follow what experts and our common sense are telling us; attack the problem at its root, once and for all; and do it together and throughout the affected region. We must create a multinational force capable of dealing successfully with a phenomenon that is transnational in terms of its organization, its market, its projections and its financing.”
2014-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 69 (2014)
“It is not Hondurans, I can assure the Assembly of that. In forums such as this, we need to agree on the basic contours of the issue and the facts. We cannot, in the midst of crisis and without coming to useful or concrete conclusions, put forward proposals based on legalizing production and consumption, on the one hand, and on waging a merciless war on trafficking and illegal drug use, on all fronts and regardless of cost, on the other. I ask myself, and I invite members to ask themselves: Who are the true victims of this tragedy? All those who cannot live in peace in modern society are victims, as are those who cannot live in society without using drugs. Society itself is a victim, as it is unable to organize its efforts and manage its resources in a rational manner so as to create new opportunities.”
2014-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 69 (2014)
“It is a real monster — a multinational, criminal octopus without nationalities, borders or scruples, which is dedicated to the trafficking, trade and consumption of drugs and to encouraging demand, especially in the wealthiest societies. The drugs transiting through Honduras and Central America destroy the lives and peace of our people, our youth, our children and our women. From those who orchestrate and organize the transnational activity within our territory to ordinary citizens and the children involved as pawns in drug dealing and addicts, all are affected. They are all embarking on the path of no return, which will tear apart our society, destroy families, corrupt officials and destroy institutions. I invite members to ask themselves: Who are the real culprits in this cycle of death, misfortune, mourning, struggle, blood and pain?”
2014-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 69 (2014)
“Special attention must be dedicated to this phenomenon, especially in countries that are responsible for the problem either because they produce the drugs or because they are the market where the drug is consumed. We believe that this is a shared responsibility. Faced with the scant interest in solving the problem shown but those who created it, we Hondurans must stress this issue in every forum that we possibly can, because we must speak clearly and forcefully about that issue. Honduran territory is today one of the main battlefields of a war that is not our own. We did not start this war. Its strategies are decided outside Honduras, and it involves drug-consuming countries in the North and drug producing countries in the South.”
2014-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 69 (2014)
“We are building an interoceanic logistical corridor linking the Atlantic with the Pacific Ocean, allowing us to move cargo between both Oceans in less than six hours — I repeat, less than six hours. Our hope is to capture at least 5 per cent of the demand to move goods from one ocean to another. We have made progress, but we also recognize that much remains to be done. For example, there has been a rise in the number of Hondurans going abroad, including an unusual migration of children and vulnerable youth to North America, many unaccompanied by an adult. This migration is the result of the violence created by the movement of drugs through our territory, poverty and the lack of opportunities.”
2014-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 69 (2014)
“In the administrative dimension, ZEDE provides a technical, non-political structure without bureaucratic obstacles that is effective for companies that must operate at the speed of the markets and technology in the twenty- first century, and with full guarantees of transparency and security within the rule of law. Finally, to attract long-term investment and ensure good jobs, we guarantee political stability and transparency based on international treaties and agreements, with the support of an international commission of 21 trustees to ensure compliance with best practices for workers and the investors. I invite everyone to discover the great opportunity Honduras offers the world. We have also created a participatory model of Government enterprises and the private sector, with mixed capital — in other words public-private partnerships.”
2014-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 69 (2014)
“The Honduran ZEDE is a L.E.A.P. zone, which in English means “to jump forward”. In Honduras, the ZEDE will help us take a competitive leap forward towards greater well-being. Rather than joining the race to the bottom, Honduras has decided to compete upwards, welcoming global investment through a special jurisdiction of the highest level to employ the most productive and profitable workforce in a highly favourable location at the centre of the Americas, bringing the Pacific and the Atlantic together. In the legal dimension, ZEDE offers a common law system, with compulsory arbitration and international judges. Economically speaking, we are competitive in an open market, with a series of agile simple regulations, with highly attractive and sustainable incentives for the creation of good jobs under decent conditions.”
2014-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 69 (2014)
“Since taking office eight months ago, I have been completely devoted to recovering and maintaining peace and tranquillity, creating opportunities with fairer conditions for everybody. We need more investment to come to our country in order to create jobs that will translate into greater income for our families. To that end, Honduras has amended its Constitution to create one of the best platforms in the world for investment and employment. It is a very innovative. I am referring to the Zone for Employment and Economic Development, which is better known by its acronym ZEDE. The Honduras ZEDE model is not just another free trade zone, similar to the 3,500 that already exist in the world. Ours is different because it is comprehensive. It is a jurisdiction with four dimensions: legal, economic, administrative and political.”
2014-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 69 (2014)
“However, today we can say that we have overcome the political crisis. Honduras is a country where full democracy is practised and there is complete freedom to choose its leaders. In addition to representative democracy, we practice participatory democracy. Proof of that is the dialogue that will lead to a compact for Honduras that will be the result of listening to the views of different sectors of society on central issues for our people. Our Everyone for a Better Life Plan includes four basic pillars: restoring peace, generating investment and large-scale employment opportunities, supporting families living in extreme poverty, and combatting corruption and promoting greater transparency in the culture of the Honduran people.”
2014-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 69 (2014)
“I am Juan Orlando Hernández. I was born in a humble village called Rio Grande, in the department of Lempira, a region with very high rates of inequality and poverty, although that is now changing, as is my whole country. I am here in my capacity as President of Honduras, a country located in the heart of the Americas. It is a country small in size, but with a great desire to achieve development based on its own identity, and with a people who struggle daily to advance and progress, and who aspire to better living conditions. In 2009, our country suffered one of the worst political crises in its history. It led to several hundred million dollars in losses, and most unfortunately, to thousands of divided families and more poverty. That crisis caused more damage than any hurricane or natural disaster.”
2014-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 69 (2014)