President Luis Abinader stood up for democracy while calling for a new model of global governance during his turn at the 79th General Assembly debate. He urged countries to turn their promises for Haiti into cash and acknowledged history would judge him for acting or not acting.
He said the Dominican Republic is committed to effective and renewed multilateralism. He called for a widespread consensus on the urgent need for a new model of global governance. “Without concerted principles-based action, the foundations of the international community will continue to erode,” he stressed, adding that democracies rarely go into war against others.
“We stand at a crucial junction for democracy in Latin America and the Caribbean,” he went on to say, referring to the Latinobarómetro Poll, according to which support for democracy has fallen significantly between 2010 and 2023, while support for authoritarianism increased, as citizens do not see the tangible benefits of democracy and show great concern about personalism and corruption, undermining trust in democratic institutions.
In Latin America, he continued, indefinite re-election over the last 30 years has eroded democracy. “One example of this is the crisis in Venezuela, which combines a concentration of power, persecution of the opposition and censorship of the media,” he said, adding that without the transparency of the electoral process and without the necessary documentation, the crisis will further worsen. “We continue to insist on the publication of all electoral records and their verification by impartial institutions and respect for the results of the popular will in Venezuela,” he stressed, pointing out that without this publication, a legitimate winner cannot be declared.
Recalling that on 19 May 2024 the Dominican people re-elected him for a second and final presidential term, he said he had recently presented a constitutional reform to reinforce the limit of presidential re-elections in the Dominican Republic to two consecutive terms.
And then he concentrated on what the Dominican people wanted most to hear, his remarks on the little advances there have been in Haiti to set that country on a course for restoring security and development.
Speaking about the crisis in Haiti, he underscored that the instability in the neighboring country continues to increase the Dominican financial burden for security and social services. He mentioned that around 10% of total appointments in the health system are free consultations for Haitians and that around 150,000 of Haitian origin are now registered in free public schools. “These figures reflect the supportive commitment shown by the Dominican Republic, but we cannot do it alone,” he stressed.
He criticized that the promises made for support to the peace stabilization mission in Haiti have not been converted into cash and stressed that the impact would be regional, not only on the Dominican Republic.
“Either we all fight together to save Haiti or we fight on our own to protect the Dominican Republic,” Abinader has repeatedly told the United Nations Security Council and the international community. In his most recent address on 25 September 2024 during the general debates, he concluded that the Dominican Republic may need to take drastic measures if the present Kenya-lead peace mission fails.
President Abinader ended his remarks acknowledging his own responsibility. “We will be judged by history, not just by the speeches we give in these distinguished spaces, but more importantly, by the actions we take in practice.”
After a visit on 5 September 2024 to Haiti, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken called for the UN to take charge. So far, the US has been funding the mission. Yet, Diario Libre’s editor Benjamin Morales wrote on the futility of expecting the UN will act: “The United Nations’ most significant failure since its inception has been its inability to prevent powerful nations from using it as a mere pawn in their geopolitical games. The Security Council, dominated by the world’s major powers, has consistently prioritized quick fixes to disputes rather than seeking long-term solutions. This has led to a situation where the council is often perceived as an arena for the great powers to defend their narrow interests.
As a result, smaller nations, which constitute the majority of UN members, have long called for a reform of the Security Council. They argue that the council should be made more representative, with a system that does not grant veto power to countries like the United States, Russia, or China. However, such a reform is unlikely to happen. The problem lies not with the UN itself but with the nations that comprise it. The organization is, after all, a reflection of the world’s power dynamics.”
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79th UN General Assembly debate speech
Noticias SIN
Noticias SIN
Diario Libre
Diario Libre
Diario Libre
El Dia
26 September 2024