Peru 2024 — GA Speeches

Mr. President of the General Assembly of the United Nations,

Distinguished delegates of the nations of the world,

I have the privilege of addressing this General Assembly, bringing the special and respectful greetings of the Constitutional President of the Republic, Dr. Dina Boluarte Zegarra, who would have wished to be with you and to address this great universal Assembly herself.
I am honored to convey the voice of my compatriots, Peruvian men and women who, through their daily efforts, aspire to a dignified life and to bequeath a promising future to their sons and daughters.
Peru, like the rest of the world, has made strenuous efforts to mitigate the harmful effects of political instability and the economic crisis stemming from the COVID-19 pandemic, which generated inestimable costs for Peruvian society, particularly for the most vulnerable sectors.
For this reason, the Government of President Boluarte is working tirelessly with the aim of recovering our pace of economic growth; seeking to unblock stalled projects; and attracting foreign investment to develop major infrastructure works capable of generating decent, quality employment, thereby contributing directly to national development. Today, we can say that the first results of these efforts are becoming visible and that Peru has recovered the path of growth and stability.
We still have a long way to go. Peru and all the countries of the world face a series of shared challenges that we will only be able to overcome through international cooperation and the harmonization of our efforts. For this reason, Peru reiterates its commitment to multilateralism, as it is the best tool we have to achieve, by mutual agreement, the necessary conditions for attaining sustainable development.

[INTERNATIONAL PEACE AND SECURITY]

The first of these conditions is peace.
The countries that created this Organization at the end of the Second World War did so in order "to save succeeding generations from the scourge of war." Current reality shows us that we are failing in this fundamental purpose.
Peru condemns any use of force in international relations. Aggression and the acquisition of territories by force are contrary to the Charter of the United Nations and to international law, while undermining the legitimacy and effectiveness of our collective security system.
The paralysis of the Security Council in the face of certain conflicts, and the application of bias and double standards in others, reminds us of the need to reform that body and to review the prerogatives of its Permanent Members, particularly the right of veto, which at times responds to political motivations rather than to humanitarian concerns.

Mr. President,

From this General Assembly, Peru will continue to undertake concrete actions in favor of peace. We will continue to support disarmament regimes and initiatives, arms control, and nuclear non-proliferation. We will continue to support the total elimination of nuclear weapons while rejecting testing, use, and any type of threat of their use. While we hope that nuclear disarmament will be internationally verifiable, we call on the main possessors of nuclear weapons to resume their bilateral commitments to reduce their respective arsenals, such as the New START Treaty.
On the ground, Peru will continue contributing to UN Peace Operations, as it has done since 1958, having contributed more than 10,000 troops. Currently, more than 250 members of our Armed Forces and National Police are deployed under the colors of the United Nations, carrying out their duties with professionalism, courage, and dedication. Likewise, we have made available a Rapid Reaction Force made up of 200 troops, with the immediate capacity to be deployed when and where the UN requires it.
Peru recognizes the important role that women play in the peace and security agenda, and it is therefore gratifying to announce that we have far exceeded the targets set out in the Uniformed Gender Parity Strategy 2018-2028 for United Nations personnel, and that we will continue to increase the percentage of Peruvian servicewomen deployed in Peace Operations.

[ENVIRONMENT AND DISASTER RISK MANAGEMENT]

Mr. President,

The second condition for development is a clean and healthy environment.
Climate change, biodiversity loss, and pollution constitute interconnected threats that compromise the survival of present and future generations.
Peru's high vulnerability to the adverse effects of climate change makes this a priority issue for our foreign policy. For this reason, together with other countries, we have requested that the International Court of Justice rule on States' international obligations regarding climate change.
Last year, my country was affected by Cyclone Yaku and the El Niño phenomenon, which caused loss of life and considerable material damage. In this regard, I wish to express my gratitude to the United Nations System for supporting my government's actions to assist the affected population.
Aware of the increasing frequency and impact of these phenomena due to the climate crisis, my government has promoted the adoption of a preventive approach to disaster risk management, in line with the Secretary-General's "Early Warnings for All" initiative and the "Sendai Framework."
Likewise, aware of the need to develop a low-carbon economy and to promote a shift in the energy matrix favoring clean and renewable energy, my government is updating the National Climate Change Strategy, with the aim of achieving carbon neutrality by 2050.
However, these national efforts are not sufficient. It is essential to increase international cooperation, always in keeping with the principle of common but differentiated responsibilities in climate action.
Developed countries must adopt more ambitious emissions reduction targets and honor their climate financing commitments, including mobilizing at least 100 billion dollars annually for developing countries and implementing the loss and damage fund agreed at COP27 of the Climate Change Convention. Likewise, it is urgent to guarantee financing for the Green Climate Fund (GCF), which has allowed us to make progress in our adaptation and mitigation work.

[SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT AND INCLUSION]

Mr. President,

Our main challenge is to guarantee development for our peoples, and we have the 2030 Agenda and the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) to guide our work. Unfortunately, the Secretary-General's latest report on progress toward achieving the SDGs reveals that we are not on the right track.
Peru is committed to the 2030 Agenda. For this reason, we have increased by more than 10% the resources allocated to meeting the SDGs. In this regard, I would like to highlight the actions we have been undertaking in three priority areas for Peru: health, education, and social protection.

[HEALTH]

In the face of the largest dengue epidemic that Latin America has faced, Peru has adopted rapid measures that have reduced its lethality by half compared to the previous epidemic, and we are currently updating our dengue prevention and control strategies in accordance with the guidelines of the World Health Organization.

[EDUCATION]

In seeking to provide quality education, we have placed emphasis on teacher training and are strengthening technical education at the secondary and higher levels, with the aim of ensuring the labor market insertion of our young people. In addition, we have launched an ambitious investment program to close educational infrastructure gaps.

[SOCIAL PROTECTION]

The third priority area is social protection for development.
Aware of the need to strengthen our food security and reduce the incidence of caloric deficit, we have increased the budget of the Food Supplementation Program, which supports the most vulnerable through soup kitchens and shelters, in coordination with local governments, the private sector, and civil society. On the production side, we have carried out actions to increase agricultural productivity and sustainability, primarily by promoting family farming.
We have a series of social programs to combat poverty and social exclusion. We also have various public policies for the empowerment of women and girls, as well as to protect them from gender-based violence, including economic autonomy programs.
The social protection implemented in Peru includes the fight against discrimination and racism, and guarantees the collective rights of indigenous peoples and Afro-Peruvian persons, as well as the provision of services with an intercultural approach, given our status as a multicultural, multiethnic, and multilingual country.

[FINANCING FOR DEVELOPMENT]

However, as I have already noted, efforts at the national level are not enough. Developed countries need to fulfill their promises of assistance and financing in order to reduce the budgetary gap in addressing multiple needs.
We must move toward urgent reform of the international financial architecture in order to have a more inclusive and equitable system. To this end, it is essential to review the way we measure progress, moving away from Gross Domestic Product (GDP) as the sole element to be considered, since, as we well know, it does not measure inequality, well-being, or the environmental sustainability of countries.
We therefore welcome the inclusion in the "Pact for the Future" of an initiative to develop new multidimensional indicators of progress, in order to channel international cooperation more efficiently and inclusively, including in these flows middle-income countries such as Peru, where pockets of poverty and exclusion persist.

[POVERTY AND ANNOUNCEMENT OF THE RESOLUTION TO BE PRESENTED BY PERU]

Mr. President,

The fight against poverty in all its forms and dimensions, including extreme poverty, remains the greatest global challenge and must be the top priority for all our countries.
As I have noted, various programs are being implemented in my country, such as JUNTOS, PENSIÓN 65, and CONTIGO, with the aim of reducing monetary poverty and extreme poverty generated by the COVID-19 pandemic, as well as providing basic social inclusion services for the least favored sectors.
I would like to announce that Peru will present to this General Assembly, as it does every two years, a draft resolution entitled "Human rights and extreme poverty," in which we encourage Member States to adopt more ambitious social protection policies, given that extreme poverty and exclusion violate human dignity.

[NEW TECHNOLOGIES]

Mr. President,

We also face new challenges arising from advances in new technologies, whose potential and benefits are accompanied by multiple dangers, as well as unprecedented ethical and moral challenges.
The social networks that have allowed us to be more connected have also been used to spread disinformation and hate speech, or to exercise violence and harassment, particularly against women.
Technology companies store personal information on millions of people, which leads us to debates about the right to privacy and the risks of mass surveillance by governments.
Artificial Intelligence, presented as a positive element for our daily lives, has facilitated the spread of disinformation campaigns aimed at manipulating public opinion, especially during electoral periods, thereby destabilizing our democracies.
We have a collective responsibility to ensure that new technologies are developed and used with full respect for the dignity, freedom, and rights of all people. For this reason, it is necessary to define clear principles and regulatory frameworks for digital governance. In this regard, we welcome the Global Digital Compact adopted yesterday.

[HUMAN RIGHTS AND DEMOCRACY]

Mr. President,

Peru's commitment to human rights and democracy is unwavering. These are the fundamental values that underpin Peruvian society and guide our foreign policy.
Peru has a long tradition of respect for and promotion of human rights, reflected in our participation in innumerable treaties and international instruments on this matter, and in close collaboration with the United Nations and other international organizations that have visited our country and have always been afforded every facility.
The strong democratic conviction of the Peruvian people guides our firm foreign policy in defense of representative democracy in the American continent, and against any attempt to disregard the popular will.
The lack of freedom and democratic methods of political participation, together with repression and lack of opportunities, generate massive migratory and refugee flows that create pressures and social tensions in host countries, particularly if they lack the economic capacity to absorb these people. For this reason, we renew our commitment to the process aimed at achieving a binding global instrument that facilitates safe, orderly, and regular migration, with a human rights-based, people-centered approach that provides predictability and protects migrants from transnational criminal organizations engaged in smuggling and human trafficking.
The pillars of Peru's foreign policy that I have just described underlie our grave concern over the situation in Venezuela since the electoral process that took place on July 28. The officially proclaimed results have not fulfilled Venezuela's legal obligation to transparently and impartially show the original vote tally records, and therefore do not legitimately reflect the popular will of Venezuelan citizens. This prevents Peru from recognizing such official results.

[CLOSING]

Mr. President,

Throughout its history, Peru has maintained a foreign policy firmly committed to multilateralism, the defense of international law, and the promotion of the peaceful settlement of disputes, fundamental principles of the Charter of this Organization.
This diplomatic tradition explains our historic commitment to the United Nations. We recall the contributions made by figures of the stature of Víctor Andrés Belaúnde, who presided over this Assembly; José Luis Bustamante y Rivero, President of the International Court of Justice between 1967 and 1970; and, of course, Javier Pérez de Cuéllar, fifth Secretary-General of this Organization, who represents an inspiration for the members of our foreign service.
In an era marked by criticism of the reach of multilateralism, this legacy commits us to remain active in promoting effective multilateralism that allows us to respond jointly to the enormous challenges that demand our collective action in such diverse areas as guaranteeing international peace and security, protecting the environment and mitigating climate change, securing the means of implementation to achieve sustainable development, and fostering the regulation of new technologies.
You can count, Mr. President, on Peru's resolute support in reaching the necessary consensus that will allow us to advance in this task of global scope.

Thank you very much!