General Assembly Session 50 meeting 55

The President

I call on the Deputy Minister for Foreign Affairs of Nicaragua, His Excellency Mr. Jose Bernard Pallais, to introduce draft resolution A/50/L.18.

Mr. Pallais (Nicaragua)

On 17 November 1994 the General Assembly approved without a vote resolution 49/16, "International assistance for the rehabilitation and reconstruction of Nicaragua: aftermath of the war and natural disasters", thereby reiterating the will of the international community to continue supporting Nicaragua's efforts at rehabilitation, reconstruction, stabilization and national development.

We would like to thank the international community, the Support Group for Nicaragua and Secretary-General Boutros Boutros-Ghali for their valuable contribution to the democratization process and the economic and social development of our country.

We received with satisfaction document A/50/535, dated 10 October 1995, containing the Secretary-General's report pursuant to resolution 49/16 of the General Assembly on the item before the Assembly. The Secretary-General's report presents, in broad terms, the evolution of the Nicaraguan situation. His comments merit all our attention and commit us, as a Government, to make greater efforts to promote the improvement of the social life of our country in all areas.

In 1990 President Violeta Barrios de Chamorro's Government initiated the country's integral transition from authoritarianism to participatory democracy, from a centralized economy to a market economy, from poverty to development, from confrontation to social rapprochement, and from war to peace.

Five years later the country is gathering, with the tensions inherent in this difficult transition, the fruits of the end of armed conflict, of national reconciliation and of macroeconomic stability.

Violence with a political motive has not occurred in any significant way since 1993, according to the fourth report of the Tripartite Commission established by the President of the Republic on 2 October 1992 for the study and analysis of post-war violence in Nicaragua with the participation of the Government, the Catholic Church and the International Support and Verification Commission of the Organization of American States. The report was made public on 12 September last.

The application of preventive measures of economic and social support to demobilized members of the former Nicaraguan resistance and the Nicaraguan Army, in addition to action to maintain civil security, were a decisive influence in the creation of a climate of peace and work in rural areas in our country.

Post-war violence is today a residual phenomenon on the way to extinction. The principal challenge that we face is to sustain the gains made and to promote, as widely and deeply as possible, a spirit of national solidarity that will allow us to successfully tackle extreme poverty and the risk of social breakdown that it generates.

We have actively undertaken to develop educational programmes on human rights; the establishment of a network of human rights promoters shows that civil society has embraced this desire for reconciliation.

The Government of Nicaragua, prompted by the vocation of peace of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), has requested that organization's support for its programme for a culture of peace, based on the universal values of respect for life, liberty, justice, solidarity and tolerance. We are certain that UNESCO's resolute support will be immensely beneficial to Nicaraguan society.

Dialogue and national understanding have become regular choices for the solution of the country's problems in every sphere. The representative and participatory democratic model has been enriched, contributing to overcoming substantial political and social tensions characteristic of the establishment of a state of law and the perfecting of democratic institutions, through economic and social harmonization and the constant search for a political consensus.

On 4 July 1995, as the culmination of a long period of national debate between the executive and legislative organs of the Government, the political parties and civil society, the reforms approved to the 1987 political Constitution were published through the promulgation of a framework law which for the first time in our history establishes the mechanisms for a real commitment to democratic governability.

Likewise, on 21 February 1995, the first transfer of command of the Nicaraguan Army to a military commander appointed by a civil authority took place -- an historic event that confirmed the process of institutionalization and modernization of the armed forces of Nicaragua and their full subordination to a democratic Government.

Furthermore, on 5 July of this year the Conference on Property co-sponsored by the Carter Center and the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) was held. The complex issue of the problem of property has given rise to passionate public debates and continues to constitute a particular difficulty that requires urgent solution, since it affects very sensitive areas of economic, social and institutional development in Nicaragua.

The processes that have been observed during the past few months point to an equitable solution for all sectors with an interest in the property question. The National Assembly has begun to debate a property bill that, on the basis of a broad consensus, once passed, would constitute a viable solution to this very delicate matter, confirming social reform, correcting abuses and allowing for fair compensation for those affected.

Because of our own special circumstances, and despite the progress made in the transition, Nicaragua has not been able to progress as rapidly as we would wish in all directions. Macroeconomic and social objectives are dependent on ample and sustained financing and external cooperation in the medium and long term.

The country's foreign debt continues to be an excessive burden on any equitable development programme. While measures have been taken to cushion the impact of the measures of structural adjustment that have been applied, it is the most vulnerable sectors of the population -- women, children, the elderly and the handicapped -- that have borne the brunt of the necessary restrictions. This increases social tensions; on some occasions, it leads to demands by the affected sectors for better services in the areas of education, health care, food and employment.

The renegotiation of Nicaragua's debt has relied on the understanding of the international community, which has undertaken to continue its assistance in the exceptional conditions in which we are still living. Most creditor nations have agreed to substantial reductions in the debt burden. The Government has made considerable progress in negotiations on the commercial debt, which totals $1,700 million. At present, 79 per cent of the debt holders have so far accepted Nicaragua's buy-back offer with the support of the international financial organizations and a group of friendly countries. The Consultative Group for Nicaragua, meeting in Paris in June of this year, confirmed its support for the transition process with promises of contributions for 1995-1997, with the objective of reducing the deficit in the balance of payments over the next three years. However, the country needs to renegotiate the remaining debt with flexible criteria and substantive reductions.

The experience of our integral transition, to which I referred at the beginning of my statement, is an example of the fact that the consolidation of peace after a conflict should be linked to global development efforts.

Natural disasters continue to befall our country. This season's tropical depressions have caused levels of rain that have resulted in flooding in nearly all of the national territory. This has endangered the life of entire communities and has destroyed basic grain crops, such as corn and beans -- the basic diet of the majority of the population. It has also caused deterioration of the main means of communication.

To this already critical situation has been added the breakout of an epidemic of a type of hemorrhagic fever that has already taken many human lives and is endangering the health of hundreds of people in the western part of our country and in other central departments.

These circumstances obviously undermine the efforts the country has undertaken to overcome the consequences of the war within a framework of democracy and macroeconomic stabilization. For this reason, Nicaragua continues to need the international community's understanding and support.

We have the satisfaction of knowing that pacification in the country and the economic measures applied over the past few years have put Nicaragua on the road to sustainable development, that there have been more-than-significant gains in building lasting democratic institutions, that the modernization of the State means greater transparency in the management of public matters and better conditions for practising good government, that, with the scarce resources available to us, the population is benefiting in some spheres. This certainly constitutes progress. But we are also certain that the problems and the difficulties, due to their size and complexity, will subsist in the coming years. We cannot think of going back; rather, we must move forward.

The Secretary-General's report points out that

"the main threat to democratic governance lies not in political conflict, but in the difficulty of the conditions of life and the subsequent loss of faith in democracy and its institutions". (A/50/535, para 13)

This potential threat must be overcome by wisdom, political intelligence, a united national effort and international cooperation.

Dedication to productive work that could substantially raise the standard of living of Nicaraguans and achieve the great national objectives is not limited to the term of office of a particular Government. In 1996 general elections will be held, and the country is preparing for a new stage, in which, for the first time, a democratically elected, civilian President will hand over power to another civilian elected in a process as open and honest as that of 1990. The new authorities must continue to promote national development, with the participation of all the sectors, a sense of social justice, reconciliation and adherence to the law and the vision of a better future for all Nicaraguans. With this, we will be successfully completing the first stage of the democratic transition in Nicaragua.

We have already made a request to the Secretary-General that the United Nations observe the 1996 electoral process. We are also calling upon the international community to lend its political and financial support to this process, so that it will end successfully in democracy and peace.

Today, on behalf of the co-sponsors, I wish to present for consideration by Members of the Assembly, draft resolution A/50/L.18, entitled "International assistance for the rehabilitation and reconstruction of Nicaragua: aftermath of the war and natural disasters". This draft resolution is similar in content to resolution 49/16, adopted by the Assembly on 17 November 1994. It has simply been brought up to date in the light of the events and circumstances of our transition. I urge that this draft resolution be adopted unanimously.

In conclusion, allow me to state that Nicaragua gratefully acknowledges the ample and effective response of the United Nations system and of the international community in mobilizing resources necessary to our institutional, economic and social development. That contribution consolidates the advances made in the democratic arena and makes a life of freedom the path to justice and peace for all Nicaraguans.

Mr. Maruyama (Japan)

For four years now, the General Assembly has taken up the important subject of international assistance for the rehabilitation and reconstruction of Nicaragua. During that time, the Government of Nicaragua has made substantial progress, under extremely difficult circumstances, in the areas of national reconciliation, macroeconomic stabilization, consolidation of democracy and reorganization of civil society.

In the political field, we have witnessed the process of transition strengthened through the demobilization of more than 20,000 members of the Nicaraguan Resistance, which today participates in the national debate as a political party. Each step taken towards the consolidation of civilian control over the military is one more step towards justice and democratic freedom. Nicaragua is, therefore, to be commended for reducing the National Army from 98,000 to 15,700, rendering it today the smallest in Central America. The country now enjoys a level of political freedom and democracy greater than at any moment in its history, an achievement highlighted by the promulgation of the constitutional reforms by President de Chamorro on 4 July this year. It is, therefore, our sincere hope that the elections scheduled to be held in October next year under the newly reformed Constitution will be conducted in a democratic and fair manner. In the economic field, the framework of a market economy having been put in place, the country now enjoys much lower inflation and the highest economic growth rate in 15 years.

It is only through strenuous effort and unshakable determination that the Government and people of Nicaragua have been able to make this progress, and, on behalf of my delegation and the Government of Japan, I wish to take this opportunity to once again, pledge our continued support.

In accordance with its principles of official development assistance, Japan has substantially increased its assistance to Nicaragua in recent years, with a view to supporting its efforts to achieve democratization and economic reform. That assistance has been directed in particular to improving the balance of payments, meeting basic human needs and promoting human-resources development. Japanese official aid to Nicaragua, including yen loans, grants and technical cooperation, totalled $207.7 million for the period 1990 to 1994.

At the end of last year, a high-level Japanese mission for economic and technical cooperation visited Nicaragua, and as a result of the subsequent agreement Japan now intends to provide Nicaragua with economic and technical assistance, with particular emphasis on activities in such areas as social development, eradicating poverty, improving socio-economic infrastructure, conserving the environment, promoting the democratization process and enhancing economic stability.

Although, as I have already said, the Government of Nicaragua, headed by President Chamorro, has made substantial achievements, it continues to face serious difficulties as it strives for economic recovery, macroeconomic stabilization and improvements in infrastructure and in efforts to eliminate poverty. I believe the Government and the people of Nicaragua need and deserve the continuing assistance of donor countries and the international community as a whole as they pursue the full attainment of those objectives. For its part, the Government of Japan will do its utmost to ensure that Nicaragua is successful in its struggle to achieve a better life for its people.

Mr. Ferrarin (Italy)

Italy wishes to express its appreciation for the Secretary-General's report (A/50/535) entitled "International assistance for the rehabilitation and reconstruction of Nicaragua: aftermath of the war and natural disasters".

Since the end of the civil war, the people and the Government of Nicaragua have made great efforts to rebuild civil society and to move the country towards a peaceful life and economic and social prosperity.

The transition process was a challenge for the Government of National Reconciliation: it was necessary to re-establish democracy and respect for human rights and fundamental freedoms, foster a market economy and eradicate poverty.

We are very pleased to note that Nicaragua has made important achievements in this process. Pacification appears to have been consolidated, and the economic policies for stabilization are producing solid results in the inflation rate and economic growth.

Allow me to mention that Italy has also decided to manifest once again its friendship and solidarity with the Government and the people of Nicaragua, with whom we share strong Latin ties, by granting a unilateral debt reduction in addition to the one agreed to by the Paris Club in March 1995.

My country contributed very actively and significantly to the peace process in Central America and Nicaragua through $115 million in funding for, and the implementation of, the Development Programme for Displaced Persons, Refugees and Returnees (PRODERE). Through PRODERE Italy contributed to the resettlement of 350,000 displaced persons and refugees in Nicaragua. PRODERE completed its activities in June 1995, but the sustainability of the programme, as stressed in the Secretary-General's report, has been assured through its transfer to local development agencies.

Let me recall that the external evaluation mission, led by Nobel laureate Oscar Arias, has proved that PRODERE improved the situation regarding the basic material needs of the affected population and restored civil society's faith in its rights and its role in the decision-making process.

Even since the end of PRODERE's operations, the Italian involvement in Central America has not come to an end. Continuing its assistance in Nicaragua's efforts for development, Italy recently decided to finance and implement, through the United Nations Office for Project Services (UNOPS), a project costing $1.8 million to improve local health facilities in Nueva Segovia and Jinotega for women, children and vulnerable sectors of society.

In order to alleviate the population's suffering caused by the drought, last January Italy also approved a food-aid contribution of $1.3 million to Nicaragua.

In conclusion, Italy wishes to take this opportunity to confirm once again its unwavering political support for Nicaragua through bilateral and multilateral channels.

Mr. Albín (Mexico)

I wish first to thank the Secretary-General for his report (A/50/535) entitled "International assistance for the rehabilitation and reconstruction of Nicaragua: aftermath of the war and natural disasters". The report describes the activities carried out by the United Nations system to help the Republic of Nicaragua.

Central America's enormous efforts of recent years have demonstrated the region's indomitable will to leave behind the years of violence and political, economic and social instability. The support of the entire international community has been required in this difficult stage.

Nicaragua has gone through an intensive political process aimed at national reconciliation, pacification, reducing the size of the army and demobilizing the resistance. Recognizing the difficulty and importance of these efforts, we wish to reiterate our will to continue to cooperate with Nicaragua in order to move ahead on the road of peace and economic and social development.

As we have said on various occasions, peace is an integral progress that includes both the absence of war and the eradication of its underlying causes, which arise out of social inequalities and a lack of development.

My delegation notes with great satisfaction the significant progress made in the Nicaraguan peace process. According to the Secretary-General's report this year,

"for the first time there are no politically motivated armed groups in Nicaragua". (A/50/535, para. 6)

Also,

"More than 20,000 members of the Nicaraguan Resistance have been demobilized and the army has been reduced from 92,000 combatants to 12,500, the smallest in Central America". (ibid.)

Despite the relatively positive macroeconomic indicators, as the report mentions, Nicaragua's economic and social situation is still fragile. The growth in gross domestic product in 1994 did not translate into an improvement in per capita income because of population growth of 3.7 per cent, the highest in the American continent. Since 1990, per capita income has declined by some 10 per cent, and the unemployment rate in 1995 is running at 20.2 per cent of the economically active population, with underemployment at 33.7 per cent.

This situation shows that there are still major issues outstanding that deserve resolute and continued support from the international community.

Mexico, despite an adverse financial climate, has kept up its level of development assistance to Nicaragua. To mention just some sectors, my country has provided training and consultancy services for agriculture, health, fuel and power, social development, the environment, fisheries, tourism, transport and communications, and public administration.

With a view to promoting trade with Nicaragua, we are negotiating a free trade treaty, on which work is already at the final stage. We are confident that negotiations will have been concluded, at the latest, by this year end.

We should like to conclude by appealing to the international community, and especially on the World Bank, the International Monetary Fund and the Inter-American Development Bank, to continue efforts aimed at achieving and consolidating Nicaragua's economic and social development. Their support is needed to ensure that political, economic and social institutions are consolidated and that the foundations are laid for sustained economic growth and sustainable development.

We call on the General Assembly once again to give proof of its support for Nicaragua by adopting the draft resolution we have before us, when the time comes, by consensus.

Mr. Yáñez-Barnuevo (Spain)

In considering the item on "International assistance for the rehabilitation and reconstruction of Nicaragua: aftermath of the war and natural disasters", we have to begin by recognizing the major efforts the Nicaraguans have made over the last 12 months to ensure that tolerance, dialogue and peace emerge as victors.

At the same time as peace in Nicaragua was being consolidated, structural reform measures had to be instituted in the economic and social sectors and a start had to be made on the institutional rebuilding of the country. Thus we have a complex process of transition that has to have resolute support from the international community, and the United Nations in particular.

As the Secretary-General says in his report to the Assembly this year (A/50/535), last year saw

"notable progress in the areas of reconciliation, macroeconomic stabilization, the consolidation of democracy and the organization of civil society". (A/50/535, para. 5)

Here we should like to commend the action taken by the President of Nicaragua, Mrs. Violeta Barrios de Chamorro, with support and cooperation from Nicaragua's political and social forces.

At the same time, however, the continuing deterioration in the social situation in Nicaragua could still jeopardize the progress made in other areas. Now that the promotion of economic and social progress is continuing and finishing off the work of building the peace, the international community must continue, through its support for Nicaragua's rehabilitation and reconstruction efforts, to provide assistance for overcoming all the aftermath of the armed conflict and fully consolidating the country's stability and development. When the necessary internal conditions exist for the processes of development to bear fruit, international assistance shortens the time needed to extend its effects to the whole population and helps ensure that the objectives of progress are reached while maintaining the greatest possible social cohesion.

Nicaragua has occupied a very special position in Spain's activities abroad over the last few years. Spain has had very close links with Nicaragua in that country's quest for peace, and maintains those links now in building Nicaragua's progress, both through our own, national efforts and within the European Union framework.

Over the past year, the Support Group -- Canada, Mexico, the Netherlands, Spain and Sweden -- continued its work. The Group, in close collaboration with the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) office in Nicaragua, is attentively following the transition process and is trying to facilitate both consensus-building and the merging of efforts in order to promote Nicaragua's reconstruction and development.

Spain's bilateral cooperation has in addition sought to provide unwavering support to Nicaragua's efforts to achieve progress and prosperity for its people. A large number of programmes established by the Nicaraguan authorities in sectors such as education and training, health, civil administration, urban infrastructure and environmental protection have had funding from Spain. We have also made significant contributions in terms of food aid.

In addition to taking part in the agreements arranged through the Paris Club to achieve a substantial reduction in Nicaragua's foreign debt, Spain has cancelled a large part of Nicaragua's bilateral debt to it, as indicated in the Secretary-General's report.

On 23 October, as the fiftieth anniversary of the United Nations was being celebrated, the Spanish Minister for Foreign Affairs signed an agreement with the Administrator of UNDP with a view to setting up a Trust Fund, with an initial contribution of $11 million from Spain, to fund programmes that help to strengthen governability in Central America. The fund will also benefit Nicaragua in this crucial phase of its efforts to establish peace and democracy and to promote economic and social development.

For all these reasons Spain urges the Secretary-General and the United Nations system to continue to provide Nicaragua with support and assistance, with a view to consolidating peace and securing the democratic reconstruction and development of the country.

My country was a co-sponsor of the draft resolution submitted under this item at the last session of the General Assembly, and we hope that, following consultations with delegations, the draft resolution contained in document A/50/L.18 will also be adopted by consensus by the General Assembly.

Mr. Henze (Germany)

Germany fully supports the draft resolution on international assistance for the rehabilitation and reconstruction of Nicaragua. For us, this is not merely a text on paper but an expression of a policy that we ourselves have promoted for many years.

Nicaragua has found peace, following years of internal conflict, and is successfully attempting to strengthen democracy and improve its economy. Today, all essential matters are being discussed in Parliament, and debate is translated into action through democratic channels. Democracy and the rule of law have been accepted by the population in an unprecedented manner, notwithstanding a few remaining problems. Obviously, the aftermath of the conflict -- which, happily, is over -- still weighs heavily on the country, and the situation has been further aggravated by natural disasters.

Nicaragua deserves firm support from the international community for its courageous efforts, which require significant sacrifices from the population. Germany, as the third-largest bilateral donor country, has the honour of being in the forefront of international cooperation for Nicaragua's development. I recall with pleasure the day when President de Chamorro took office. At that time I had the first talks with the then Foreign Minister on the question of an agreement to provide Nicaragua with the financial means that it urgently needed to set itself on a course of reconstruction.

As a first step, large sums were made available to Nicaragua for emergency measures. Today, extensive bilateral cooperation for development focuses primarily on the consolidation of the structural-adjustment process; rehabilitation of the social infrastructure; and promotion of the private-sector economy, including professional training, agricultural development and the protection of natural resources.

Another issue of importance to us is the advancement of women. Our cooperation is focused increasingly on rural areas. Germany's commitments for official development aid to Nicaragua total to date approximately 800 million Deutsche Marks -- or $570 million. New allocations in the amount of approximately $40 million have been made this year.

One of the consequences of the past is the extremely heavy external debt burden, which makes the country's economic revival extremely difficult. In this context, I particularly welcome the fact that the recent German-Nicaraguan negotiations on the rescheduling of the debt have resulted in an overall, flexible solution that remains within the parameters of the solution agreed with international financial institutions. The agreement in question covers debts of more than 1 billion Deutsche Marks -- around $820 million -- consisting mostly of sums owed to the former German Democratic Republic. The agreement envisages also the liquidation of debts through the application of environmental-protection measures. Consequently, Nicaragua's debt to Germany has been reduced by some 80 per cent -- that is, beyond the 77 per cent agreed upon in the international context. We hope that other countries that are creditors of Nicaragua will follow our example.

The President

We have heard the last speaker in the debate on this item.

I should like to inform members that action on draft resolution A/50/L.18 will be taken at a later date, to be announced.