22 DE SEPTIEMBRE DE 2016

[ARCHIVO] President Bachelet speaks at the 71st session of the UN General Assembly “It’s time for ethics to motivate us to act pragmatically, face to face with the people”

This morning, the second day of the 71st session of the UN General Assembly, President of Chile Michelle Bachelet, spoke at the organization’s headquarters in New York.

After speeches by the leaders of Finland and Zimbabwe, President Bachelet addressed the main problems facing most nations around the world, including public distrust of political institutions, social inequality, environmental crises and their health, clinical, economic, climatic and ecological effects, as well as the armed conflicts that continue in some areas.

“Public discontent is an expression of disillusionment. People long for promised development. They have struggled to achieve it but it has still not arrived,” said President Bachelet. She added, “we are witnessing a growing rift between the people and those who represent them. People distrust national governments and multilateral organizations, which seem not to attend to the priorities of ordinary people in a timely manner or in the necessary depth.”

On that point, she called upon other leaders in attendance to act, emphasizing that “now is not the time to take the easy, but ultimately destructive, route of populism. It’s time for ethics to motivate us to act pragmatically, face to face with the people.”

She also emphasized the need to address these problems together, “there are global dynamics to the political and development crisis we are facing. No one—no nation or social group—can face them alone. We need to create multilateral dialogs at the regional and global levels, making realistic yet demanding commitments.”

President Bachelet also referred to the situation in Chile, speaking “about the experience of starting along the path of making the changes the Chilean people demanded. I know the challenges of implementing the changes, but I also know the hope that lies in seeing a new horizon gradually emerge as reality. We are traveling along this path as a nation, but also as part of the international community.”

At the regional and international levels, she affirmed that Chile has promoted convergence in diversity at the Latin American level. The country has continued working with Mexico, Colombia and Peru on the Pacific Alliance and facing shared challenges with the Community of Latin American and Caribbean States (CELAC) and the Union of South American Nations (UNASUR).

Likewise, President Bachelet expressed her happiness with the peace agreement reached by the Colombian government and the FARC. Scheduled to be signed on Monday, the accord will put an end to more than 50 years of hostilities. “Chile has lived through a difficult transition to democracy. We want to continue supporting our Latin American brothers in post-conflict management, including providing military and police observers through the United Nations Political Mission, as we cooperate and show solidarity, just as we did in countries like Haiti,” she said.

She also reiterated Chile’s commitment to the 2030 Agenda, the Sustainable Development Goals and actions against climate change, like signing the Paris Agreement or the “Because The Ocean” declaration to protect the ocean.

Finally, President Bachelet expressed her support for reformation of the Security Council in order to reflect new realities. She argued that “people, their leaders, civil society and the media expect UN member states to provide cooperative, creative and concrete responses to the problems of the 21st century”. She also requested, “efficiency in the United Nations, increased openness in its proceedings, including the election of our new Secretary General. And I would like to ask that he or she commit to the principles, aimed at serving the people, on which this Organization was founded.”