During his address to the 68th Session of the United Nations General Assembly, the Head of State called on to increase the number of "permanent and non-permanent membership to ensure proper regional representation as well as the strengthening and transparency of its working methods and decision-making, all in order to enhance efficiency and a greater legitimacy of its action."
He also supported the inclusion of "Brazil, Germany, Japan and India as permanent members of the United Nations Security Council, as well as we support the African continent's request for a fair representation in this Organization. We also join in the appeals so that the five countries with the right of veto in their resolutions refrain from exercising that right in situations of crimes against humanity, war crimes, genocide or ethnic cleansing."
Recalling that a few days ago Chile commemorated 40 years of the Coup d'État, and that soon will be the 25th anniversary of the triumph of the "No" campaign in Chile, he told the attendees that "The challenge then is not to forget but to overcome the past with a new positive and hopeful outlook, trying to learn from experience in order to avoid past mistakes."
Read below the complete transcript of President Piñera's speech:
"Good Morning Mr. President,
Mr. Secretary General,
Distinguished colleagues Heads of State and Government,
Ladies and Gentlemen,
I should first like to congratulate the President, Mr. John Ashe, an outstanding public servant from our region, on his recent election to preside over this United Nations General Assembly.
I should also like to express my heartfelt solidarity to the people and government of Mexico because of the storms that recently affected this country and the people and government of Kenya because of the terrorist acts which has struck them severely.
I should also like to say that during this session, the Heads of State and Government from almost all corners of the planet will have the opportunity to exchange views , to share experience and, more importantly ,to generate the so necessary momentum to build a future with the ideals, dreams and hopes of the men and women represented here.
Basically, the inspiration behind the founding of these United Nations, almost seven decades ago, was precisely the desire to create a center for "harmonizing the actions of nations in the attainment of peace and development."A place where all individuals , nations and people of the world – whatever the flag they pledge to honour , whatever God we choose to worship , whatever ideas we decide to embrace – feel part of the same family , the human family.
This requires many things from us, but none as important as holding a frank and direct dialogue amongst ourselves, which far from fearing dissent, values and nourishes from it, on the understanding that only if different nations and cultures join in our endeavors, we will also see our opportunities expand.
Mr. President,
We are in a new world, a very different one from the one that saw the birth of United Nations and other agencies such as the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank, at the end of World War II, this new world is one that rises not from war , from the ideological struggles that succeeded it during the second half of the 20 century, but from a new revolution of knowledge , science and technology and information which is now knocking at our door and creating opportunities for the material and spiritual progress for millions of men and women that very few could have imagined only few years ago.
This new world is no longer divided by walls or iron curtains, but is connected and integrated by the bridges of growing globalization and a free exchange of goods , services , capital and people that characterizes the current world.
And, undoubtedly, this is a world in which we all face dangers, challenges and opportunities that are new, and which in many cases transcends the borders and jurisdiction of individual countries and they must therefore be tackled distinguishing where the responsibility of some people ends and the responsibility of others begins, which will be successfully done only by harnessing the force and the responsibility of everybody.
However, although we are living in a new world undergoing gigantic transformations, many of our international organizations seem reluctant to evolve with it and thus lag behind and fail to lead this process.
Article 1 of the United Nations Charter states that its main purpose is to "maintain international peace and security , develop friendly relations amongst nations to achieve international cooperation in the economical , social, cultural and humanitarian fields" and obviously the unwavering respect for human rights and fundamental freedoms without any distinction of race, sex, language or religion.
Let us be clear, none of these goals are exclusive to one nation, one era or one specific organization, they emanate from the depth of our souls and from the human heart. For this reason, we are not here to proclaim their values and existence alone, but to ensure their enforcement and application.
We do not appeal for these values to change the least nor to be forgotten but, on the contrary, to have the will and the courage to put them into practice. In order to do so, it is essential to perfect our democracies and strengthen the participation of our people, we must also modernize our regional and global organizations and in this task we have a long road ahead of us.
A good starting point is progress towards a real and far-reaching reform of the Security Council of this Organization , including the increase of its permanent and non-permanent membership, thus ensuring a proper regional representation as well as the strengthening and transparency of its working methods and decision-making , all in order to enhance efficiency and a greater legitimacy of its action.
In this regard, my country, Chile, which in 1945 was involved in the creation of this organization of the United Nations, supports the inclusion of Brazil, Germany, Japan and India as permanent members of the United Nations Security Council, as well as it supports the African continent's request for a fair representation in this organization.
We also join in the appeals so that the five countries with the right of veto in their resolutions, refrain from exercising that right in situations of crimes against humanity, war crimes, genocide or ethnic cleansing , since the uses of veto in these cases prevents the Council from effectively defending the most fundamental values and principles of mankind .
We also believe that the Security Council reform is not limited to the change of its membership and organization, it also means abandoning the rationale of vetoes and replacing it by a rationale of special quorums, so that the most important decisions on international security, which inevitably affect us all, can be adopted by large majorities representative of the community of nations of these United Nations.
Basically, if we advocate for democracy, dialogue and participation when we govern our countries, we should apply the same principles and values in the way the United Nations is governed.
Mr. President,
I would also like to take this opportunity to express grateful thanks to the multiple expressions of support to Chile's candidacy as a non-permanent member of this Security Council for the next two years and to reaffirm our strongest commitment to the principles and values, which for decades have guided and governed our foreign policy. I mention in particular here the unwavering respect for international law, the inviolability of treaties, legal equality amongst States, the peaceful settlement of disputes and the self-determination of peoples, all of which are the central foundations of international stability and peaceful coexistence of amongst nations. In our opinion, however, are to be complemented by the principle of "responsibility to protect ". This concept considers the primary duty of each State to protect their population within its borders and if a State cannot or does not accomplish this primary duty , then the international community can and must intervene within the framework of these three accepted pillars : prevention, support and the proportional use of force in accordance with the United Nations Charter , and the use of force as a last resort and when strictly essential to prevent, avoid or stop genocides , war crimes, ethnic cleansing or crimes against humanity.
In addition, my country once again reaffirms its strongest commitment to democracy and the respect for human rights of all persons, from their conception to their natural death , at all times and in all places and circumstances , as well as our ongoing enforcement of multilateralism and an open regionalism , fair and constructive competition amongst all our countries.
In this regard, we reiterate our call not only to the end of the proliferation of nuclear weapons and weapons of mass destruction, but also to advance in the dismantling of those which already exist. We also strongly condemn the use of chemical weapons in Syria, as well as the indiscriminate use of force against its civil population, which has to date caused tens of thousands of innocent victims, including women and children, in addition to a serious humanitarian crisis which without any doubt wounds the universal consciousness and seriously threaten peace and international security.
We therefore welcome and strongly support the Framework Agreement for the Elimination of Chemical Weapons in Syria, signed recently by the United States and the Russian Federation, as well as the efforts made by the Secretary General of this Organization and the Special Envoy of United Nations and of the Arab League to reach a peaceful and lasting solution to this very serious and armed conflict as soon as possible, which has lasted far too long.
Chile has always defended and will continue to defend the cause and rights of the Palestinian people to have their full, free and democratic State. A State, which likes the State of Israel, can enjoy agreed, recognized and safe borders with all its neighbors, allowing its inhabitants to live and develop in stable and lasting peace and security.
We therefore recognized Palestine as an observer member of the United Nations and we hope to welcome it very soon as a full member of this Organization.
As regards regional matters, last year Chile ratified its commitment to democracy adopted by the Union of South American Nations -UNASUR- , and we expect its entry into force as soon as possible. In addition, we have reiterated our commitment to the Inter-American Democratic Charter and to work tirelessly to advocate for democracy, freedom and the full respect for human rights in all the countries in our continent and throughout the entire world.
Chile also assumed the Presidency Pro Tempore and hosted the first Summit of the 33 Latin American and Caribbean States, CELAC. On that occasion, we signed the "Declaration of Santiago," in which the entire region stated its commitment to the democratic values and the respect for human rights.
In addition, we headed the first joint summit of Heads of State and Government of Latin America and the Caribbean and Heads of State and Government of Europe, at which nations on both sides of the Atlantic Ocean committed to advance in sustainable development policies, encouraging quality investment of both social and environmental value.
In the social sphere, although two years remain to meet the deadline, we can announce with great satisfaction that Chile has met practically all the Millennium Development Goals set by this Organization in 2000. We are nevertheless redoubling our efforts to attain the remaining goals and collaborating to ensure that other countries which have requested our help can also reach them, and we are actively participating in the definition , within the United Nations, of a new Global Sustainable Development Agenda as of 2015, to give continuity to the Millennium Goals and establish through concrete , measurable , audacious and feasible responsibilities , both for the developed and developing countries , those goals , and we look very carefully at ensuring economic development , social development and environmental protection.
Chile together with Mexico, Colombia and Peru cofounded the Pacific Alliance, one of the most far-reaching integration initiatives in our region, designed to promote an area of free movement not only of goods, services and capital, but also of people, thus allowing greater rates of growth and development and better opportunities for our countries and people.
We are delighted to confirm today that this Pacific Alliance, which represents a population of over 210 million , one third of Latin America's Gross Domestic Product and more than half of its foreign trade has already shown , despite its youth , important results which are increasingly attracting the interest of the international community . This is evidenced now by the fact that it has 20 observer countries, including Canada, Australia, Spain, China, United States and Japan.
Lastly, I would like to mention the recent approval by the National Congress of my country of a law promoted by this Government, which abolishes tariffs to imports of goods from the Least Developed Countries, as defined by the United Nations, which is an important demonstration of commitment and solidarity of the Chilean people to the development of over 50 countries in continents such a Africa, Asia, Latin America and the Caribbean.
Mr. President,
A few days ago we Chileans commemorated the 40th anniversary of the most far-reaching and lasting breakdown ever to affect our democracy in our two centuries of independent life. A period characterized by hatred, division and exclusion, not only in Chile but in a world torn apart by the Cold War. However, in a few days time, on the 5th of October, we should be marking another anniversary, the 25th anniversary of the start of the peaceful recovery of our democracy by the free and sovereign will of a vast majority of Chileans, which allowed us to recover our democracy in a wise, peaceful way and expressed and agreed by all sectors of our country.
From both experiences, we Chileans have learned lessons which I would like to share with you today, because I humbly believe that they are universally applicable and helpful to solve conflicts that currently affect other countries in the world.
The first lesson is that we must acknowledge, without reservations of any kind that even in extreme situations as internal and external war, there are moral and legal rules which must be respected by all and which can never be ignored, because this would mean falling into a moral vacuum. This involves the unwavering respect for the human rights of all, at all times, in all places and under all circumstances.
The second lesson is that the values of democracy, peace and civil amity are much more fragile than we think, so we should not ever take them for granted. They are somewhat like a tree that needs to be watered every day in order not to wither or dry up. Such care must be provided not only by deeds but also in words, gestures, because all of them must be placed at the service of truth, justice, reconciliation and peace.
The third lesson is that there is a very close relationship between the quality of democracy, economic progress and social justice, since all of these are mutually reinforcing and the decline of one of them would sooner or later have an adverse effect on all the others.
Our task therefore is not only to strengthen our democratic institutions, but also to promote social and economic policies based on freedom, responsibility, justice, equal opportunities and poverty reduction based on the union of efforts of both private and public initiatives, and the respect for fundamental rights because they are the main engines of development of our nations and people.
The fourth lesson that we learned in our country is that past is history, we can discuss it, interpret it, and certainly remember it, but we cannot change it. Therefore, we have no right to remain imprisoned to it because when the present is anchored in the past, the only thing that we lose is the future.
For this reason, our generation, which is celebrating the bicentennial of our country, has no right to bequeath to future generations the same hatred , quarrels , and division which caused us so much harm and suffering 40 years ago.
The challenge then is not to forget, but to overcome the past with a new positive and hopeful outlook trying to learn from experience, in order to avoid past mistakes and to illuminate the way to the future and to face with greater willingness and efficiency the problems and opportunities of the present and the future .
These and other lessons painfully learned by Chile enabled us to recover our democracy peacefully and to move forward over the last 25 years through the paths of truth, justice and reconciliation amongst all Chileans.
But that was an old transition we already undertook and accomplished successfully. Today we Chileans are facing another transition, a new, young and forward-looking one, a transition that will make us, before the end of this decade, turn Chile into developed country, one that has overcome poverty and fully integrated to the community of democratic and developed countries in the world.
These are the commitments that the Government I have the honour to lead made to all Chileans almost four years ago. And we are deeply gratified to observe this solid and sustained progress of Chile towards the fulfillment of those commitments.
Because despite the devastating earthquake and tsunami that struck us in 2010, which at that that time was the fifth worst earthquake or tsunami in the recorded history of mankind, despite the global economic crisis that started in 2008 and that is still far from being over, Chile has resumed its leadership and dynamism, it has strongly recover its ability to grow and create jobs. For example, our Gross Domestic Product, hovered at US$ 15,000 four years ago, is now 20,000 per capita. Poverty and inequality are declining, real wages are increasing rapidly. And all measurements show that in key factors such as education and health quality we are making progress in the right direction, providing an increased incentive to innovation and entrepreneurship and a better protection to consumers, workers, and the environment and nature. At the same time, we have rebuilt over 90 percent of what was destroyed by the earthquake and tsunami.
Obviously, our Government is very proud of the contribution made by its policies to meet these goals, but we have no doubt that it goes to all Chileans, men and women, who have made such strenuous endeavors to achieve them.
Because if we have learned anything in Chile is that in order to grow and reduce poverty and inequality, nothing works better than relying on the skills of people, expanding their freedoms and unleashing the forces of imagination and creativity, innovation and entrepreneurship that lie within the hearts of each of my compatriots and I am certain that in those of every man and woman of our world.
These, Mr. President, are some of the thoughts and lessons which this President of Chile, but also a citizen of the world, as all we live in it, has wanted to share with the Heads of State and Government. These are the lessons and thoughts of a country which may be small in the international stage and far off on the world map, but which today enjoys, with everyone's effort, a stable and consolidated democracy, broad and guaranteed public freedoms and an economic system which after two centuries as a republic, has finally brought us to the threshold of development.
Thank you very much."