unitex@rubbs.UUCP (unitex) (10/28/89)
PRESIDENT OF COLUMBIA'S ADDRESS TO THE UN GENERAL ASSEMBLY Posting Date: 10/20/89 Copyright UNITEX Communications, 1989 UNITEX Network, USA ISSN: 1043-7932 REMARKS BY VIRGILIO BARCO, PRESIDENT OF COLOMBIA TO THE 44TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE UNITED NATIONS NEW YORK CITY, NEW YORK FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 29, 1989 PRESIDENT BARCO (Remarks appear as translated): This will be the last time I address the General Assembly of the United Nations as President of Colombia. However, I am here today not only as president of my country, but also as a citizen of the world. The terrible carnage of World War II gave birth to this body in the hope that nations, standing together, united, could prevent the global madness of 50 years ago from ever happening again. Since then, in spite of the persistent efforts of the United Nations the world over, mankind has continued to follow the destructive path of war. Only the unimaginable and devastating consequences of nuclear war have restrained us from falling once again into a worldwide conflagration. Yet in spite of this uneasy armed peace, thus generated, the world has remained at war. Conflicts generated by ideology, poverty, injustice, excessive ambitions and now, increasingly, by narcotics have scarred the peace. Respect for national sovereignty underlies all our strategic thinking; indeed, it is the basis for these United Nations. Yet now we find this newest threat -- narcotics, and accompanying terrorism that pays no respect to borders. We, the community of nations gathered here together, find ourselves under assault from an international criminal enterprise that respects none of our norms of sovereignty, borders, or laws. To meet this new challenge, we must avail ourselves of those core founding values of the United Nations. If we cannot act together in the face of this menace, then we will be abetting the unrestrained growth in the use of drugs and in the violence they generate. I am certain that Colombia will defeat the drug traffickers. But if this effort is not accompanied by a global commitment, then no victory can be achieved. The recent global outpouring of solidarity and support for Colombia has been a great encourgement to us in these difficult times. A new era is upon us, an era as critical as the one that led to the establishment of the United Nations. A new world war is being waged by an aggressor unrestrained by the traditional rules of engagement, or by the responsibilities of national sovereignty. This aggressor is an insidious global criminal network with enormous power and resources -- a criminal enterprise which feeds on the illegal profits from the trafficking of drugs. As the Secretary-General of the United Nations said in his report to you this year, "Innocent use and traffic of drugs is now recognized as a social plague afflicting both developed and developing countries. Although efforts to combat this scourge have intensified in recent years, estimates suggest that the monetary value of drug-trafficking has recently surpassed that of international trade in oil and is second only to the arms trade. It is a chastening observation that humanity is so deeply mired in the commerce of degradation and death." End quote. The members of these criminal cartels were born in many nations. And many of their leaders are called Colombian, but while some may have been in my country, let me be clear: They are Colombian in name alone. They are international fugitives on the run. They have no home. Colombia is not their homeland. (Applause.) * Origin: UNITEX --> Toward a United Species (1:107/501) --- Patt Haring | United Nations | Screen Gems in patth@sci.ccny.cuny.edu | Information | misc.headlines.unitex patth@ccnysci.BITNET | Transfer Exchange | -=- Every child smiles in the same language. -=-