YouSaid · the spoken record

Enrique Bolaños Geyer

lines on the record: 26
first: 2003-09-24
most recent: 2004-09-24
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

“I convey our solidarity, encouragement and hope to those countries and to the victims of natural disasters in the United States, Grenada, Jamaica, Panama, the Bahamas, Cuba, Grand Cayman and other islands of the Caribbean. This afternoon, I began my address by speaking of the responsibilities of citizens. That is the way for our peoples to attain their hopes, expectations and dreams. May God bless the United Nations and may God always bless Nicaragua.”
2004-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 59 (2004)
“It is by virtue of the valuable school of our recent history that we can participate in the Security Council. As I stated in this forum last year, whoever knows the horrors of war can contribute more effectively to preventing it. I cannot fail to refer to the question of Taiwan’s representation in the United Nations. That country, with 23 million inhabitants, has a democratic Government and maintains diplomatic, trade and cooperative relations with many Member States of the Organization. However, paradoxically, it lacks membership. That exclusion is inexcusable. At the beginning of this session, we heard the sad messages from Haiti and the Dominican Republic, which have suffered the devastating effects of nature.”
2004-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 59 (2004)
“I reiterate my most sincere condolences to all those countries and individuals around the world that have suffered the effects of terrorism. I underline that we deplore, to cite only the most recent acts, those who caused the loss of the precious lives of innocent children in the Russian Federation. We also repudiate the attack against the Australian Embassy in Jakarta. The best way to defeat terrorism is to remain faithful to our values of freedom, dignity and justice. Terrorism rejects those values. Nicaragua aspires to be elected as a non- permanent member of the Security Council for 2006 and 2007. Nicaragua, a founding country of the Organization, has known and suffered the horrors of war and has undertaken the democratization of our nation.”
2004-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 59 (2004)
“Nicaragua recognizes the importance of the proposals various countries have submitted to this forum, in particular Spain’s proposal to reduce external debt in exchange for initiatives for social development, particularly in the area of primary education, and the United States proposal to create a fund for democracy. Nicaragua views with approval that such a democracy fund would be partially allocated to training and support for auditing and judicial entities, given that corruption is the greatest foe of democracy. As Secretary-General Kofi Annan said yesterday, “They notice when we use words to mask inaction”. Nicaragua’s energy and determination are devoted to those efforts. Recent world events have demonstrated once again the evil nature of terrorism and how it breaks down the values of humanity and civilization.”
2004-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 59 (2004)
“Thirdly, we have established a programme for integrity and transparency that prevents corrupt practices in the executive branch and which provides a model for the other branches of Government in 5 undertaking reform and increasing transparency. For example, we have published on the Internet, for everyone to see — for the countries extending assistance, international organizations and the media — both the Republic’s national budget and the details of external assistance. Fourthly, we have undertaken to fight the culture of corruption, including by teaching values and promoting the idea of the individual as the maker of his or her own destiny. We must work for a United Nations that reaffirms its credibility and authority by taking the appropriate effective collective action.”
2004-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 59 (2004)
“In order to bolster all the elements I have cited, it is essential that the right to accede to public office should be accompanied by the responsibility to carry out one’s duties honestly. At the current session of the General Assembly, several heads of State have emphasized the need to fight corruption. It is a responsibility that has rightly been gaining ground. In Nicaragua, we have undertaken the arduous fight against corruption. First, corrupt bureaucrats have been brought to trial and sentenced, just as is happening in other Latin American countries. Secondly, we have brought before the National Assembly a body of legislation to strengthen our fight against corruption.”
2004-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 59 (2004)
“I therefore propose that we once again adopt an ethic of development based principally on individual responsibility as well as on the responsibility of nations. The well-being and the development of nations are the result of individual well-being and the development of the people that make up that society. Social well-being should not be measured by how many people are assisted by social programmes financed from national budgets but by how many people leave those programmes because they have become able to manage on their own. In his book, Underdevelopment is a State of Mind, Lawrence Harrison defines a negative attitude as a barrier to development and a positive attitude — based on the belief in one’s own ability to improve oneself through individual effort — as a driving force of development.”
2004-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 59 (2004)
“Along with the right to health goes the responsibility to contribute to a healthy and clean environment. With the right to enjoy the benefits of progress goes the responsibility to contribute to development. With the right to the freedom of expression goes the responsibility of tolerating differing opinions. In short, every right has a corresponding duty or responsibility. With the fall of the Berlin wall, the age in which the State was expected to be responsible for everything came to a close. Today, we must all participate together in the search for new paths for our individual development and for that of our countries and of all humanity. The passing of time motivates us to renew our basic principles.”
2004-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 59 (2004)
“That includes instilling in the conscience of citizens a culture of responsibility. Next to the right to receive a State-sponsored education stands the civil responsibility to make the most effective use of that education and to obtain at least a primary education. Next to the right of children to have a father and a mother stands the duty of parents to care for, help, feed, educate and shelter their young children. Children, for their part, have the responsibility always to honour their parents, help them, feed them and give them shelter when they are in need. Next to the right to employment stands the duty to provide efficient service. Everyone has the responsibility to work, each according to his ability and possibilities, in order to obtain the resources for survival, thus achieving personal progress and social development.”
2004-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 59 (2004)
“What concerns us most is to ensure that populations and individuals participate more actively in the decisions shaping their own future. As I said three days ago, in the “Action Against Hunger and Poverty” meeting of world leaders, development is a responsibility of States, but it is also the primary responsibility of the individual. I find the words of Nobel Laureate José Saramago are appropriate here when he writes: “As vehemently as we claim our rights, let us also lay claim to responsibility for our duties. Perhaps then the world will become a bit better.” So it was a wise thing that our American Declaration of the Rights and Duties of Man, signed in Bogotá in 1948, established that equal to, and as a counterpart to rights, there are also individual responsibilities.”
2004-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 59 (2004)
“The Security Council, designed after the Second World War to maintain peace in the post-war world, is not the Security Council that the new century of information technology and globalization needs. We must reinvent the United Nations. 4 Let us begin by making the reform of the United Nations, on which we have already agreed, effective. We have to broaden participation in the Security Council to include other countries, both as permanent members — which at the very least should include Germany and Japan — and as non-permanent members, in order to allow for more equitable and democratic representation. Our Organization needs to adapt to the new challenges and realities of the present. Development, for example, needs a new approach.”
2004-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 59 (2004)
“In the middle of the nineteenth century railroads were built all over the world. Steel at that time was not of such good quality and for that reason wheels sometimes broke, causing accidents and derailments. To avoid those accidents, at every station stop there was a brakeman who walked the length of the tracks, hammer in hand, hammering on the wheels so that any of the wheels that sounded broken could be changed. Years passed and the quality of steel improved, but the brakemen kept hammering on the wheels, heedless of the fact that it was no longer necessary. The world changes, and that means that we, too, need to change in order to adapt to new circumstances. Something similar is happening in the United Nations.”
2004-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 59 (2004)
“Nicaragua is aware of that responsibility, and therefore we pledge to work with other Member States to defend multilateralism and to overcome current security problems, remaining united in the spirit of the Charter of the United Nations and in strict adherence to and respect for international law. May God bless the Assembly, may God bless the United Nations, may God bless all peoples of the world, and may God always bless Nicaragua.”
2003-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 58 (2003)
“That is why I reaffirm before the Assembly the importance of considering the desire of a people with legitimate representation — the Republic of China — to participate as a full-fledged member of the United Nations. 7 Nicaragua recognizes its responsibility in the building of a new international order that is more humane, more just and more secure. It has been our lot to live through difficult times since that fateful day of 11 September. Let us be capable of building a different world, so that future generations will not blame us for a lack of consensus on humanity’s problems requiring urgent action.”
2003-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 58 (2003)
“With greater development and wealth generation, we will keep our citizens from migrating to the North or to other countries. Peace is still only a hope in some regions of the world. Nicaragua advocates multilateral action to find peaceful solutions in keeping with international law. We are concerned at the escalation of the situation in the Middle East and its consequences, which is why we believe that the international community must contribute, through the United Nations, to finding a just and lasting peace in the region. My Government supports an immediate resumption of the peace process begun this year through the peace plan known as the road map. We confirm our commitment to strengthening the universal vocation of the United Nations so that all peoples of the world, without exception, can be fairly represented in it.”
2003-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 58 (2003)
“With fair treatment and with markets for our products, we will have a more competitive Central American market and will attract greater investment in order to generate more jobs at fair wages, reaping the benefits of the region’s strategic geographic location. The Central American integration process has made much progress and has been one of the pillars of my foreign policy. We have achieved our most notable results in economic integration, and we have paved the way for successful negotiation of free-trade treaties with other countries and regions, such as the one we are currently working out with the United States. Nicaragua will insist on preferential treatment in our negotiations because our economy is less developed, very open and highly dependent on trade and external financing.”
2003-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 58 (2003)
“We are now taking part in the purely humanitarian mission involving mine clearance and the provision of medical support for the civilian population in Iraq. However, international cooperation alone is not enough to achieve economic development. We must promote a more equitable international trade system through the World Trade Organization. In other words, what good is cooperation for productive development when there are tariff and non-tariff restrictions on trade? We want fair treatment. That is the issue, and we hope the developed countries will support us in bringing about a new trade relationship with developing countries — such as Nicaragua.”
2003-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 58 (2003)
“We appreciate the United Kingdom’s proposal for an international financing facility as a way to increase the flow of short-term resources by issuing negotiable instruments backed by future assistance. Cooperation in solidarity by the international community has been particularly meaningful in the area of mine clearance in my country, where substantial progress has been made, thanks both to the fine work of national and international institutions participating in that humanitarian endeavour and the professionalism of the our army’s sappers. Nicaragua is also a thankful country. On several occasions, we have received significant amounts of humanitarian assistance from many countries. As a token of our gratitude, we have made our small, but full, contribution of humanitarian assistance to neighbouring countries in need.”
2003-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 58 (2003)
“I therefore recently presented to Nicaragua’s political, economic and social actors my proposal for a national development plan, in order to obtain the input of all segments of Nicaraguan society. That plan also specifies the actions to be taken by every State entity in evaluating and modifying the plan to achieve the country’s comprehensive development. Nicaragua needs foreign assistance. That assistance should be coordinated in a manner that takes into account national plans and strategies pertaining to how assistance is utilized. The quality, effectiveness and impact of such cooperation should be improved by employing new ideas that lead to tangible results in the area of sustainable development. Additional new resources will also be necessary to fulfil the Millennium Development Goals.”
2003-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 58 (2003)
“Corruption is the cause of many evils, and it takes a huge toll on the economy, in addition to undermining public and private institutions. Nicaragua greatly appreciates efforts to develop a United Nations convention against corruption. In that 6 regard, we also welcome the progress made during the sixth round of meetings in Vienna, which will provide a solid foundation for the establishment of international legal norms to help combat that scourge, thereby strengthening political stability in our countries. However, the fight against corruption in my country also requires a strengthening of the judicial and electoral systems. Resistance to change makes it difficult to make progress in those areas at the pace and scope required to meet my country’s needs.”
2003-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 58 (2003)
“It is also for that reason that I have come to General Assembly, namely, to convey to the Assembly the resolute desire and just aspirations of my Government and people to be elected as a non- permanent member of the Security Council for the 2006-2007 term. Our candidacy has garnered increasingly strong support, which we hope to strengthen decisively in the coming months. The fight against corruption is an unrelenting undertaking for my Government. We have achieved major successes and are proud to know we have set an example that is already being emulated by some of our sisterly countries. I wish to express my gratitude for the support of the international community, which understood our desire to bring morality to public administration.”
2003-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 58 (2003)
“However, it is essential that we strengthen the cooperation of all international actors on the basis of shared responsibility to prevent the expansion of organized crime and increased drug use. My country’s commitment to democratic security is consistent with the struggle for peace and the establishment of a just international order. A country that has experienced war, like Nicaragua, is in a better position to make a more effective contribution to preventing war than countries that have not. We Nicaraguans have suffered the horrors and the aftermath of war. It is for that reason that Nicaragua has the ability to make a contribution to the maintenance of international peace and security.”
2003-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 58 (2003)
“In the current situation, the subject of international trafficking in small arms and light weapons is equally worthy of our attention. Nicaragua will soon be the site of a major project to achieve progress in that area. Drug trafficking is global threat that constitutes an assault on democracy and its institutions and imperils comprehensive human development. Due to our privileged geographical position, international organized crime is continuing to attempt to make inroads into our region in order to make it a gateway between producers and consumers of illicit substances. We have cut off its advance in Nicaragua, a country that enjoys high levels of domestic security.”
2003-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 58 (2003)
“At the meeting of Central American Presidents that took place in Guatemala on 17 July 2003, I made a proposal for a programme for arms limitation and control in Central America to achieve a reasonable balance of forces and to foster stability, mutual trust and transparency. The idea behind my Government’s proposal is to establish the necessary controls to achieve a reasonable balance in defence forces; to put in place modern policies for regional defence and public security while strengthening mechanisms for the peaceful settlement of disputes. The Central American Presidents meeting in Belize at the beginning of this month enthusiastically approved that plan. I am also pleased to inform the General Assembly that technical teams have already begun to work to implement the plan.”
2003-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 58 (2003)
“Nicaragua has come to the General Assembly to make suggestions with regard to the building of a new world order and to cooperate actively within the multilateral system to combat, among other scourges, terrorism, corruption, drug trafficking, the illegal trafficking in arms and persons, and transnational crime, all of which are harmful to strengthening democracy and the progress of the world. That is why we have begun a new era in Central America, in which the region will be more united than ever before and serve as a model for democratic security that includes an innovative strategy to overcome both traditional challenges and modern threats.”
2003-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 58 (2003)
“I would like to congratulate you, Sir, on your election as President of the fifty-eighth session of the General Assembly. I would also like to take this opportunity to acknowledge the fine work done by your predecessor, Mr. Jan Kavan. All of us were shocked by the terrorist attacks on United Nations headquarters in Baghdad. In last month’s attack the precious lives of several innocent United Nations staff members were lost, including that of Sergio Vieira de Mello, the High Commissioner for Human Rights. The world must not be intimidated by terrorism. The role of the United Nations as a guarantor of collective security is irreplaceable. Global security is the responsibility of all nations, just as we are all equally bound by international law.”
2003-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 58 (2003)