Summary
CRISTINA FERNÁNDEZ, President of Argentina, said
most of the
problems facing the world today resulted from a lack of democratic
multilateralism. In that context, she welcomed the vote by the Assembly
on resolution 68/304, to restructure the foreign debts of all
countries. That had long been before the Assembly, which had called for
reform of the international financial system and the Security Council.
Argentina had previously experienced the kind of economic and financial
crisis that had spread throughout the world in 2008, when, in 2001, it
had been forced to default on its sovereign debt. Contributing to that
collapse were the creditors’ terms that had been forced upon the
country. As a result, there had not only been economic collapse, but a
social and political implosion as well. Argentina owed 162 per cent of
its GDP. Its creditors, having contributed to that, were obligated to
shoulder some of the burden.
...
The country had been able to formulate agreements with 92.4 per
cent of its creditors, enabling it to improve the condition of its
people, she said. Today the IMF recognized that the economic growth
rate achieved by Argentina between 2004 and 2011 was the third largest
in the world. In fact, Argentina now had the best growth in Latin
America, which had been possible because $193 billion in debt had been
restructured. Today, it carried one of the lowest debt loads in the
world.
However, she added, there were “vulture funds” of individuals who
would not participate in the restructuring, but instead turned to the
countries indebted to them and chose to go through the court systems.
Some reaped more than 1,600 per cent profit over a five-year period.
Those “vulture funds” amounted to economic terrorism, creating poverty,
misery and hunger through the sin of speculation. For that reason, she
called for a convention on multilateralism.
Highlighting the attack on the Israeli Embassy, she said that
Argentina had also experienced political terrorism. The country had
sought to bring the perpetrators to justice, including through a
memorandum negotiated with Iran, enabling the accused Iranian citizens
to make statements in Argentina’s courts. Dialogue was essential, and
in that context, she recognized the need for a two-State solution in the
Middle East. She called on the Assembly to recognize Palestine as a
State and full Member of the Assembly, noting that Israel must also be
secure within its borders. “In a time of economic vultures and hawks of
war, we need more doves of peace,” she said.
Turning to the Security Council, she said that as long as the
votes of the five permanent members counted more than those of other
countries, nothing would ever be resolved. There would be a real
beginning to a solution when the Assembly, where each member had one
vote, became the sovereign body of the Organization. As a non-permanent
member of the Council, she had questions about who had armed the “bad
guys”, some of whom were now starting to cooperate. But one group had
led to another, and now there was ISIS. “Where does this come from?”
she asked. Some might be able to answer such questions, she said. In
closing, she expressed thanks to all who had supported resolution 68/304
in the face of pressure not to do so.
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