Topic: President Chavez gives History making speach to the UN
Blayne Bradley
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posted
President Chavez's Speech to the United Nations
Friday, 2005-09-16
By: President Hugo Chavez
Your Excellencies, friends, good afternoon:
The original purpose of this meeting has been completely distorted. The imposed center of debate has been a so-called reform process that overshadows the most urgent issues, what the peoples of the world claim with urgency: the adoption of measures that deal with the real problems that block and sabotage the efforts made by our countries for real development and life.
Five years after the Millennium Summit, the harsh reality is that the great majority of estimated goals- which were very modest indeed- will not be met.
We pretended reducing by half the 842 million hungry people by the year 2015. At the current rate that goal will be achieved by the year 2215. Who in this audience will be there to celebrate it? That is only if the human race is able to survive the destruction that threats our natural environment.
We had claimed the aspiration of achieving universal primary education by the year 2015. At the current rate that goal will be reached after the year 2100. Let us prepare, then, to celebrate it.
Friends of the world, this takes us to a sad conclusion: The United Nations has exhausted its model, and it is not all about reform. The XXI century claims deep changes that will only be possible if a new organization is founded. This UN does not work. We have to say it. It is the truth. These transformations – the ones Venezuela is referring to- have, according to us, two phases: The immediate phase and the aspiration phase, a utopia. The first is framed by the agreements that were signed in the old system. We do not run away from them. We even bring concrete proposals in that model for the short term. But the dream of an ever-lasting world peace, the dream of a world not ashamed by hunger, disease, illiteracy, extreme necessity, needs-apart from roots- to spread its wings to fly. We need to spread our wings and fly. We are aware of a frightening neoliberal globalization, but there is also the reality of an interconnected world that we have to face not as a problem but as a challenge. We could, on the basis of national realities, exchange knowledge, integrate markets, interconnect, but at the same time we must understand that there are problems that do not have a national solution: radioactive clouds, world oil prices, diseases, warming of the planet or the hole in the ozone layer. These are not domestic problems. As we stride toward a new United Nations model that includes all of us when they talk about the people, we are bringing four indispensable and urgent reform proposals to this Assembly: the first; the expansion of the Security Council in its permanent categories as well as the non permanent categories, thus allowing new developed and developing countries as new permanent and non permanent categories. The second; we need to assure the necessary improvement of the work methodology in order to increase transparency, not to diminish it. The third; we need to immediately suppress- we have said this repeatedly in Venezuela for the past six years- the veto in the decisions taken by the Security Council, that elitist trace is incompatible with democracy, incompatible with the principles of equality and democracy.
And the fourth; we need to strengthen the role of the Secretary General; his/her political functions regarding preventive diplomacy, that role must be consolidated. The seriousness of all problems calls for deep transformations. Mere reforms are not enough to recover that “we” all the peoples of the world are waiting for. More than just reforms we in Venezuela call for the foundation of a new United Nations, or as the teacher of Simón Bolívar, Simón Rodríguez said: “Either we invent or we err.”
At the Porto Alegre World Social Forum last January different personalities asked for the United Nations to move outside the United States if the repeated violations to international rule of law continue. Today we know that there were never any weapons of mass destruction in Iraq. The people of the United States have always been very rigorous in demanding the truth to their leaders; the people of the world demand the same thing. There were never any weapons of mass destruction; however, Iraq was bombed, occupied and it is still occupied. All this happened over the United Nations. That is why we propose this Assembly that the United Nations should leave a country that does not respect the resolutions taken by this same Assembly. Some proposals have pointed out to Jerusalem as an international city as an alternative. The proposal is generous enough to propose an answer to the current conflict affecting Palestine. Nonetheless, it may have some characteristics that could make it very difficult to become a reality. That is why we are bringing a proposal made by Simón Bolívar, the great Liberator of the South, in 1815. Bolívar proposed then the creation of an international city that would host the idea of unity.
We believe it is time to think about the creation of an international city with its own sovereignty, with its own strength and morality to represent all nations of the world. Such international city has to balance five centuries of unbalance. The headquarters of the United Nations must be in the South.
Ladies and gentlemen, we are facing an unprecedented energy crisis in which an unstoppable increase of energy is perilously reaching record highs, as well as the incapacity of increase oil supply and the perspective of a decline in the proven reserves of fuel worldwide. Oil is starting to become exhausted.
For the year 2020 the daily demand for oil will be 120 million barrels. Such demand, even without counting future increments- would consume in 20 years what humanity has used up to now. This means that more carbon dioxide will inevitably be increased, thus warming our planet even more.
Hurricane Katrina has been a painful example of the cost of ignoring such realities. The warming of the oceans is the fundamental factor behind the demolishing increase in the strength of the hurricanes we have witnessed in the last years. Let this occasion be an outlet to send our deepest condolences to the people of the United States. Their people are brothers and sisters of all of us in the Americas and the rest of the world.
It is unpractical and unethical to sacrifice the human race by appealing in an insane manner the validity of a socioeconomic model that has a galloping destructive capacity. It would be suicidal to spread it and impose it as an infallible remedy for the evils which are caused precisely by them.
Not too long ago the President of the United States went to an Organization of American States’ meeting to propose Latin America and the Caribbean to increase market-oriented policies, open market policies-that is neoliberalism- when it is precisely the fundamental cause of the great evils and the great tragedies currently suffered by our people. : The neoliberal capitalism, the Washington Consensus. All this has generated is a high degree of misery, inequality and infinite tragedy for all the peoples on his continent.
What we need now more than ever Mr. President is a new international order. Let us recall the United Nations General assembly in its sixth extraordinary session period in 1974, 31 years ago, where a new International Economic Order action plan was adopted, as well as the States Economic Rights and Duties Charter by an overwhelming majority, 120 votes for the motion, 6 against and 10 abstentions. This was the period when voting was possible at the United Nations. Now it is impossible to vote. Now they approve documents such as this one which I denounce on behalf of Venezuela as null, void and illegitimate. This document was approved violating the current laws of the United Nations. This document is invalid! This document should be discussed; the Venezuelan government will make it public. We cannot accept an open and shameless dictatorship in the United Nations. These matters should be discussed and that is why I petition my colleagues, heads of states and heads of governments, to discuss it.
I just came from a meeting with President Néstor Kirchner and well, I was pulling this document out; this document was handed out five minutes before- and only in English- to our delegation. This document was approved by a dictatorial hammer which I am here denouncing as illegal, null, void and illegitimate.
Hear this, Mr. President: if we accept this, we are indeed lost. Let us turn off the lights, close all doors and windows! That would be unbelievable: us accepting a dictatorship here in this hall.
Now more than ever- we were saying- we need to retake ideas that were left on the road such as the proposal approved at this Assembly in 1974 regarding a New Economic International Order. Article 2 of that text confirms the right of states to nationalizing the property and natural resources that belonged to foreign investors. It also proposed to create cartels of raw material producers. In the Resolution 3021, May, 1974, the Assembly expressed its will to work with utmost urgency in the creation of a New Economic International Order based on- listen carefully, please- “the equity, sovereign equality, interdependence, common interest and cooperation among all states regardless of their economic and social systems, correcting the inequalities and repairing the injustices among developed and developing countries, thus assuring present and future generations, peace, justice and a social and economic development that grows at a sustainable rate.”
The main goal of the New Economic International Order was to modify the old economic order conceived at Breton Woods.
We the people now claim- this is the case of Venezuela- a new international economic order. But it is also urgent a new international political order. Let us not permit that a few countries try to reinterpret the principles of International Law in order to impose new doctrines such as “pre-emptive warfare.” Oh do they threaten us with that pre-emptive war! And what about the “Responsibility to Protect” doctrine? We need to ask ourselves. Who is going to protect us? How are they going to protect us?
I believe one of the countries that require protection is precisely the United States. That was shown painfully with the tragedy caused by Hurricane Katrina; they do not have a government that protects them from the announced nature disasters, if we are going to talk about protecting each other; these are very dangerous concepts that shape imperialism, interventionism as they try to legalize the violation of the national sovereignty. The full respect towards the principles of International Law and the United Nations Charter must be, Mr. President, the keystone for international relations in today’s world and the base for the new order we are currently proposing.
It is urgent to fight, in an efficient manner, international terrorism. Nonetheless, we must not use it as an excuse to launch unjustified military aggressions which violate international law. Such has been the doctrine following September 11. Only a true and close cooperation and the end of the double discourse that some countries of the North apply regarding terrorism, could end this terrible calamity.
In just seven years of Bolivarian Revolution, the people of Venezuela can claim important social and economic advances.
One million four hundred and six thousand Venezuelans learned to read and write. We are 25 million total. And the country will-in a few days- be declared illiteracy-free territory. And three million Venezuelans, who had always been excluded because of poverty, are now part of primary, secondary and higher studies.
Seventeen million Venezuelans-almost 70% of the population- are receiving, and for the first time, universal healthcare, including the medicine, and in a few years, all Venezuelans will have free access to an excellent healthcare service. More thatn a million seven hundred tons of food are channeled to over 12 million people at subsidized prices, almost half the population. One million gets them completely free, as they are in a transition period. More than 700 thousand new jobs have been created, thus reducing unemployment by 9 points. All of this amid internal and external aggressions, including a coup d’etat and an oil industry shutdown organized by Washington. Regardless of the conspiracies, the lies spread by powerful media outlets, and the permanent threat of the empire and its allies, they even call for the assassination of a president. The only country where a person is able to call for the assassination of a head of state is the United States. Such was the case of a Reverend called Pat Robertson, very close to the White House: He called for my assassination and he is a free person. That is international terrorism!
We will fight for Venezuela, for Latin American integration and the world. We reaffirm our infinite faith in humankind. We are thirsty for peace and justice in order to survive as species. Simón Bolívar, founding father of our country and guide of our revolution swore to never allow his hands to be idle or his soul to rest until he had broken the shackles which bound us to the empire. Now is the time to not allow our hands to be idle or our souls to rest until we save humanity.
But seriously, the Pat Robertson thing. I mean, an idiot spouting off gibberish isn't an international terrorist. He's an idiot.
Posts: 21898 | Registered: Nov 2004
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The likelihood of the UN surviving without the US is pretty slim.
The ability of the UN to accomplish anything without the US' backing is pretty slim too.
Frankly, while the guy has some valid points, it's all just rhetoric. Even if one agrees with him, he's just the crank in the audience that the group has to give his 5 minutes before they close out the meeting.
This is like some of those wonderfully fine speeches that get "read" into the Congressional Record when nobody is in the chamber.
Posts: 22497 | Registered: Sep 2000
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Oh, I got that. I just thought that they sounded like, good ideas that are completely impractical. Or maybe that's an impossible thing to have.
Posts: 4655 | Registered: Jan 2002
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Why is it gibberish? Because I don't think the US government takes seriously the calls for assasination of foreign leaders made by every day citizens.
Posts: 21898 | Registered: Nov 2004
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Heh, I feel it is my duty as a citizen of Venezuela to provide the fine people here at Hatrack the truckload of salt needed to digest this speech correctly.
First of all I'd like to point out that for all of Chavez's talk of "democracy" and the deposition of dictatorships (he seems to speak rather harshly of them) he himself has been pushing for an authoritatian form of rule for Venezuela. Our country was democratic when he came into power, now, seven years past, the country finds itself with a new constitution (thanks to our 'democratic' friend Chavez) that eliminates a lot of the things that kept the system democratic. Not only did he remove some of the limitations on the terms served by the President, which I'm sure you can all appreciate as important clauses in most democratic constitutions, but he has claimed through the media (which used ot be free and is now almost completely controlled and censored by the government) that he will stay in power until the year 2027.
Not only does he follow the steps towards the creation of an authoritarian state at home, he is also in direct and constant affiliation with Communist and authoriatarian countries. Now, that by itself really isn't my business to criticize, but when he makes it his business to speak out against these forms of government when throughout his whole stay in power he's done nothing but sing praise of them, is extremely hypocritical.
He speaks of it being "unjust" that the U.N is based where it is and proclaims that it should be moved "to the South". Venezuela lies in South America, what do you guys think he meant? Move it to the incredibly advanced nation of Venezuela of course, with our incredibly high literacy rates, our better education, health care and employment rates! Forgive me if I seem jaded or filled with sarcasm, I believe that's an unfortunate side-effect of being far too well-aware of the truth, a truth I had the chance to see firsthand for sixteen years and then had the privilege of hearing about for four more years after that through my relatives and friends who still live in Venezuela.
Here are the harsh facts according to the people that actually live there, not some over-inflated egotisticical authoritarian ruler. You may ask anybody who lives in Venezuela (I encourage you to do so if you can) about these facts for they are true in their entirety.
1) It is no longer safe to go out to any public place in Venezuela while wearing anything of value. Expensive shoes and clothing? People are being killed for less. Jewelry? Even worse. It is a fact that the crime rate has skyrocketed ever since Chavez came into power. This all sort of ties in with the thread I started a day or two ago "Is the world a better or worse place?"
2) The economy has been in a downward spiral ever since he came into power. He has been replacing the employees in key government controlled industries (more specifically the Oil industry) with his own favored crowd. PDVZA went through severe restructuring, not because of "Washington" (I got a laugh out of that one, heh) but because of him. Anyone who oppossed him was "encouraged" (read: threatened) to either change their mind or quit their jobs. As a result, some people stayed, some left. His very own little version of the "spoils" system. Democracy at it's finest! Neoliberalist Capitalism indeed!
3) Directly as a result from #2, the country experienced some rather severe brain drain. Anyone who could simply fled the country, those who couldn't or wouldn't braced for the worst. The oil industry was left in shambles which caused quite a bit of scandal back in Venezuela which most of the world never heard about.
4) The country is still far from being "illiteracy-free". I find it laughable that Chavez claims such a thing when at least a quarter of the country's population doesn't even go to school and instead, help increase our wonderful crime rate on a daily basis. I was amazed when I first came here when I saw that people didn't lock their doors when they parked their cars, left their windows open and some even left the door to their homes open. Such is the situation in Venezuela where it is not uncommon to be robbed at gunpoint when you're at a stoplight waiting for the green light to come on. People are kidnapped for days, made by the robbers to go to their ATMs and banks to take all the money out of their bank accounts and give them to the kidnappers as ransom. Sounds like it came straight out of a movie? It happened to one of my family's friends just a year ago.
Heh, I apologize if some of this is a bit on the ranty side, I just feel as if it's my duty as a Venezuelan to provide a more down to earth viewpoint of my country's situation. It pains me so much to hear and watch him praise himself as he completely destroys my country Posts: 459 | Registered: Mar 2005
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*nod* This jives with what my Venezuelan friends IRL have told me.
Posts: 13680 | Registered: Mar 2002
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Blayne Bradley
unregistered
posted
quote:The likelihood of the UN surviving without the US is pretty slim.
The ability of the UN to accomplish anything without the US' backing is pretty slim too.
Frankly, while the guy has some valid points, it's all just rhetoric. Even if one agrees with him, he's just the crank in the audience that the group has to give his 5 minutes before they close out the meeting.
This is like some of those wonderfully fine speeches that get "read" into the Congressional Record when nobody is in the chamber.
Is having a crippled and morally bankrupt UN more important then having a UN while weaker may have the moral back bone to make a stand?
The UN can accomplish many things, with proper structuring and coordination projects, even small militaries can accomplish big things when combined with other nations. The UN can easily become a world force to be reckoned with, with the proper preparations.
He didn't have 5 minutes, he had 20 and het got a huge round of applaus from many of the members of the UN, I doubt he's such a crank.
And quite frankly its this rhetoric that may very allow the world to see its problems and make a bold stance to fix them.
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Thanks Rico, I knew most of that but some people probably don't. Always good to have a view from the inside. Keep it up.
Blayne, seriously man, I don't even know where to start with explaining why Mr. Chavez doesn't speak for the rest of the world, or even his own country. Geez.
The UN has never had the power to actually do anything. It never will. If you want a worldwide political organization that has actual power, then I would agree with Chavez that a new organization must be formed, for the UN can't be that. Personally, I don't want to see a worldwide political organization that has power, I think it is a bad idea.
posted
<snicker> The UN would close its doors ten minutes after the US decided not to fund it anymore.
Posts: 12266 | Registered: Jul 2005
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I know starLisa, aren't they so dumb, trying to make the world a better place? Freaking pinkos.
Posts: 367 | Registered: Apr 2004
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The people in control of the UN have as making the world a better place somewhere beneath first on their list of priorities, Chungwa.
Or tell me...do you really think otherwise about the governments of France, the UK, Germany? The 'People's' Republic of China? Or even the United States of America?
quote:The UN can accomplish many things, with proper structuring and coordination projects, even small militaries can accomplish big things when combined with other nations. The UN can easily become a world force to be reckoned with, with the proper preparations.
The things you're describing don't happen without massive amounts of money, guns, and blood, BB.
Posts: 17164 | Registered: Jun 2001
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Blayne, talk is just that...talk. Have you ever even been to South America? If not you should talk to some of the people here who LIVE there, like Eduardo Sauron, who ahveto live in fear of both the police AND the drug dealers.
Or go for a walk there, by yourself, with a walkman on. If you ever return you would be naked, beaten and robbed in many of those places...because if you are an American you MUST be rich...and even as a teenager working part time, compared to them you are rich.
I think the US is doing fine, although it could do even better in the future....
And while I think the UN has an important role in things worldwide, I don't want them running the country I live it.
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I thought Chavez was polishing the proverbial you-know-what there. Thanks to Rico and others for the inside look.
The UN is in need of some serious work, and some serious house-cleaning, that's true. But giving more power to the UN isn't the answer, but it could be a major problem.
Kwea and Parsimony are right on the money.
But part of the problem with the UN right now is the same as with any 50 year old organization: chances are that there is a certain amount of graft, red tape and nepotism that has developed. When that happens, it does a lot to wreck any efforts for a level playing field.
Perhaps reducing the number of permanent positions could help, but how do you keep the good bureaucrats while throwing out the bad ones?
Posts: 2848 | Registered: Feb 2003
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quote:I think the US is doing fine, although it could do even better in the future....
We-e-e-e-ell . . .
I don't know a lot about current activities in Latin America, but we have a pretty terrible record there, actually. Most of our actions have been motivated by domestic economic interests, which is fair enough as far as that goes, but we have tended to not give a damn about little things like human rights, helping to create (or at least not undermine) stable democracies, etc etc etc.
(Blayne is generally full of hot air when it comes to Latin America, though. It's typical of him to not let little things like people who know what they're talking about interfere with his rosy visions.)
Posts: 13680 | Registered: Mar 2002
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I have to say that the little know of Latin American history and the US role in it leaves me deeply ashamed and mistrustful of my own government, deeply sorry for the people who live in some of the countries there, and horrified by the legacy of colonial Spain and its systematic abuse of native populations in a ceaseless pursuit of gold to fund its appetite for war.
Current events in most of the countries I've read about make me leary of ever going back down there for a visit. I've head a few good things about some of the countries, but for the most part, the economies are in such desperately poor shape that the crime rates are a real concern.
I was the victim of an attempted pickpocketing within 5 minutes of landing in Lima, and that was years ago. I can't imagine how things are now as the country is in even worse shape.
What I've heard of Brazil and the street children makes me ill.
Sadly, my knowledge of Venezuela comes mainly from people who hailed from Guyana, and they are hardly an unbiased source of information about their much hated neighboring country.
Oh well...
Back to the topic of the UN, I don't expect it to be extremely effective. I would like it to be more effective than it is, but it has an almost impossible mandate, if you think about it. They are supposed to maintain the peace through diplomacy at all times, and through intervention when absolutely necessary -- necessity being defined by a vote in a semi-democratic body in which several of the founding members were given veto power.
It's insane.
Restructuring it to be anything else, however, will likely destroy it because the rich nations will refuse to play if they don't have at least the level of control they have now. And the poor nations can't keep it going alone and could never command enough force to impose their will on even one of the rich nations, let alone all of them.
But with all that, it still have value. It can serve as a brake on warfare and at least delay things for awhile. It seems to have been somewhat effective in keeping Saddam in check, despite the corruption problems AND the lack of overt cooperation. It didn't do everything well, of course, in that situation, but it does sometimes yield the desired results at a net savings in lives and dollars.
quote:. . . and horrified by the legacy of colonial Spain and its systematic abuse of native populations in a ceaseless pursuit of gold to fund its appetite for war.
Of course, it bears noting that when Spain was done with the area, at least most of the native population was still alive. Posts: 13680 | Registered: Mar 2002
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Most of them were killing each other, Icky..although we were helping both sides do it, their animosity came from other places than the US.
I wasn't talking about our role in South American, I am fairly aware of some of the nasty stuff we did down there, in the 80's and even before that. I was talking about in general, and in specific some of the tihings he spoke about at the UN.
I think that some of those areas are things we are working on right now, but his attitude and outright lies about his own countiys situation pisses me off.....and I a not even fro there. Posts: 15082 | Registered: Jul 2001
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Also, Spain killed entire populations ond native nations, and devestated the continant. The Incas in particular. Posts: 15082 | Registered: Jul 2001
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Blayne Bradley
unregistered
posted
Inca who...?
Ok I'm full of hot air in regards to ChiComm, I rarely ever talk about Latin America.
And the UN can be restructered, the pooling of resources among the poorer nations + say the support of Japan, Singapore and at least some members of the EU/NATO oculd make it strong enough as a really big alliance with a centralized control of an armed force and economic policies would allow it to play Cricket with on par with the other nations.
Though, USA would probly try to from a North American Federation in repsonce, and China would probly form the internationl/Comintern in responce.
*shrug* makes the future interesting. 1984 here we come... back...
"When I imagine the future I see a boot stamping onto the face of humanity for ever" - George Orwell.
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Fortunately Orwell was wrong, BB. He severely miscalcuted the efficiency of totalitarian regimes, and the effects of mass communication.
Posts: 17164 | Registered: Jun 2001
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