General Assembly Session 52 meeting 35

The Acting President

I call on the representative of Ecuador to introduce draft resolution A/52/L.5.

Mr. Camacho (Ecuador)

On behalf of the sponsors, I have the honour to introduce the draft resolution contained in document A/52/L.5, entitled "Observer status for the Andean Community in the General Assembly".

The member countries of the Andean Community share particularly close social, cultural and historical ties. They became independent through a common effort headed by Simón Bolívar.

Following a century and a half of independence, the plenipotentiaries of Bolivia, Colombia, Chile, Ecuador and Peru signed the Subregional Integration Agreement on 26 May 1969, Cartagena de Indias, Colombia. Venezuela signed the Agreement in 1973, and in 1976 Chile withdrew from it, leaving the five States that today make up the Andean Community.

The process of integration continued to develop: in October 1992 the Andean Free Trade Area was established; in 1995 the Andean Customs Union was established when the Common External Tariff came into force. Finally, at the seventh Andean Presidential Council, held at Quito, Ecuador, on 5 September 1995, the five countries decided to reorganize the executive and administrative bodies of the system to create the Andean Integration System -- the Andean Community we know today.

As a result of that reorganization, the six principal bodies of the Andean Integration System were set up: the Andean Presidential Council, the highest body of the System, which is composed of the Heads of State of the member countries and which meets annually; the Andean Council of Ministers for Foreign Affairs; the Commission of the Andean Community; the General Secretariat, as the permanent executive body, with its headquarters in Lima, Peru, and headed by the Secretary-General; the Andean Community Court of Justice, with its headquarters in Quito, Ecuador; and the Andean Parliament, whose headquarters will be in Bogotá, Colombia.

The main objectives of the Andean Community are to promote the balanced and harmonious development of the member countries on an equal basis through integration and economic and social cooperation; to accelerate economic and social growth and generate employment; to reduce vulnerability to external factors and to improve the position of member countries in the global economic context; and to strengthen subregional solidarity and reduce differences in existing levels of development among its members.

On behalf of the member States of the Andean Community, I would like to express our gratitude to the members of other systems of integration, such as the European Union, the Southern Cone Common Market (MERCOSUR), the Central American Integration System and the Caribbean Community (CARICOM), all of which generously offered to sponsor the draft resolution that I am introducing to the Assembly. We are also grateful for the sponsorship of the United States of America.

The Andean Community attaches great importance to its relations with other integration systems. These past few days, the President of Ecuador, Dr. Fabián Alarcón, the current Chairman of the Andean Presidential Council, accompanied by the Ministers for Foreign Affairs of the countries of the Community, has been visiting Brussels in order to strengthen ties between the European Union and the Andean Community.

Similarly, the Andean Community is involved in negotiations with MERCOSUR with the aim of establishing a free-trade zone between the two groups within 10 years. To the same end, negotiations are also under way with Panama and CARICOM, and discussions are foreseen with the Central American Integration System in the future.

Before concluding, I wish to point out that Canada, Cyprus, France and the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia have joined the 35 sponsors which appear in document A/52/L.5. We hope that the General Assembly will welcome this draft resolution and give it its unanimous support.

Mr. Escovar-Salom (Venezuela)

The delegation of Venezuela is very pleased to join in sponsoring this draft resolution aimed at granting observer status to the Andean Community in the General Assembly.

The Andean Community has enabled its member countries -- Bolivia, Colombia, Ecuador, Peru, and Venezuela -- to promote balanced harmonious and equitable development through economic and social integration.

For example, we have established a free-trade area, without tariff or para-tariff restrictions, and we are negotiating with the Southern Cone Common Market (MERCOSUR) and the Caribbean Community (CARICOM) to extend that zone over the next 10 years. Similarly, we have signed new cooperation agreements with the European Union in order to promote the flow of investment and the transfer of technology.

This dynamism imparted by the Andean Community to our economies has enabled us to create sources of stable and productive employment and to fight effectively against poverty, marginalization and the other forms of suffering that still affect a considerable portion of our population.

The purpose of the Andean Community is to improve the standard of living of the inhabitants of the subregion. Observer status at the United Nations would facilitate the realization of this mission. Venezuela is open to relations with the rest of the world. We view globalization as a fundamental trend of the times and of the coming century. But to achieve globalization many roads will have to be crossed, and there are many means of crossing them. Therefore, Venezuela welcomes integration efforts with other countries. The Andean Community is one such means, and that is why we would welcome its presence as an observer at the United Nations.

The Acting President

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

The Assembly will now take a decision on draft resolution A/52/L.5.

May I take it that the Assembly decides to adopt the draft resolution contained in document A/52/L.5?

The Acting President

May I take it that it is the wish of the Assembly to conclude its consideration of agenda item 158?