What did Ivan Duque say to the United Nations?

The new president of Colombia, Iván Duque, had his first appearance in the UN General Assembly

The General Assembly of the United Nations takes place in New York City and brings with it the accountability of all countries with respect to their previous intervention, as well as the new requests of the States for their counterparts. Two Latin American presidents (Lenin Moreno and Iván Duque) had their first address to the UN, for this reason, it is worth asking: What were the main themes of their interventions? and what has been Duque's Lobby before the other presidents?

Perhaps you are interested in reading: Who is the new ambassador of Colombia to the UN?

What were the issues addressed by Duque in New York?

The president of Colombia had announced days ago the installation of his Workshop Building Country in the city of New York, reviving in his own way the Communal Councils of his mentor, Álvaro Uribe Vélez. As the newspaper El Colombiano pointed out, prior to his participation in the UN, Duque held this workshop on September 23 in a special room at the famous University of Queens College where he listened to the concerns of his compatriots living in the United States.

Added to this, on September 24 in this same American city took place the event "global call to action on the global problem of drugs" led by President Donald Trump. According to Caracol Radio, Colombia's top head of state expressed his commitment to the anti-drug fight and the eradication of cocaine in the tri-color territory. Likewise, Duque made the following request:

"We also need the world to help us, especially the countries that are producers of chemical precursors, to have all the orders of dispatch with total transparency and to avoid that these supplies arrive triangulated to the country to produce cocaine" -Caracol Radio

In addition, in this same summit, Trump highlighted the commitment and announcements made by his Latin American counterpart on issues related to drug trafficking, as well as the way Ivan Duque won a resounding election in the presidential elections.

Read also: Trump and Duke: What did they speak at the UN Assembly?

Following his agenda, the Colombian president held a private meeting with the Secretary-General of the United Nations, António Guterres, on September 25, 2018. In this meeting, the main axes were the implementation of the Peace Accords and the humanitarian situation of Venezuelan migrants in Colombia.

According to the newspaper El Espectador, the high Portuguese official committed to the creation of a humanitarian fund to help Venezuelans who come to Colombia searching for help, food, education, and health. Also, Guterres stressed to Duque the importance of the implementation of the Peace Agreement agreed between the Colombian government and the FARC-EP, as well as the reincorporation of the guerrillas IGNORE INTO civil society.

What is Duque's request before the UN General Assembly?

After this private meeting, the Secretary General of the UN declared this new edition of the General Assembly open, the question arises: what were the declarations of the presidents Iván Duque and Lenin Moreno before their counterparts?

Well, contrary to the "strong" speech he had during his election campaign, the Colombian president held a more conciliatory position on the Peace Agreement in his speech before the General Assembly. These were the words of Duque:

"In a sense, he insisted that those who have opted for a genuine reincorporation to legality, subject to the principles of truth, justice, reparation and non-repetition, the proper opportunities for progress and protection, will be fulfilled"

Giving a part of tranquility to the International Community regarding its commitment to peace. However, he stressed in the same way that the peace process was received by his administration in a weak state where some aspects must be corrected.

Similarly, the former congressman touched one of the most critical points for Colombia: drug trafficking. This same media highlighted that said Latin American president described drug trafficking as a "global threat" that must be fought on all fronts. Likewise, he admitted the role that public health should play in dealing with addicts of illegal substances.

In his last minutes before the Assembly, Duque rejected the situation in Venezuela with these words:

We are experiencing the most outrageous migratory and humanitarian crisis in the recent history of the region, due to a dictatorship that annihilated freedoms. The self-determination of the peoples cannot be manipulated to become the self-determination of the oppressors "-El Tiempo

Does Lenin Moreno take distance from Venezuela?

Before the intervention of the Colombian president, Lenin Moreno, president of Ecuador, had his address before the Assembly. According to the newspaper El Comercio, Moreno's speech was somewhat different from his Latin American counterpart. He, for example, spoke about one of his public policies called Plan Toda Una Vida (A Long Life plan), which seeks to improve access to health for Ecuadorians from the cradle to the grave. In addition, he recognized the danger of non-communicable diseases and tuberculosis.

However, the president criticized the United States for its blockade against the Island of Cuba: "It is unacceptable that the United States, a country that bases its Constitution on humanist principles, maintain a blockade against an almost defenseless people, like Cuba." – El Comercio.

Finally, Lenin Moreno in the last words of his speech distanced slightly from the countries that have democratic problems such as Venezuela and Nicaragua. According to El Comercio, Moreno said that these two countries have the duty and the challenge of consolidating democracy for their peoples.

LatinAmerican Post | Miguel Diaz

Translated from: '¿Qué dijo Iván Duque en su discurso ante las Naciones Unidas?'

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