The presidents of Chile, Dominican Republic, Peru, Suriname and Costa Rica are expected to deliver speeches on Thursday, the second day of debate of the 66th regular session of the UN General Assembly.
Chilean President Sebastian Piñera will speak in the morning, while the Dominican Republic’s Leonel Fernandez, Peru’s Ollanta Humala and Suriname’s Desire Bouterse will do so in the afternoon.
The long list of heads of state and government and foreign ministers obliged organizers to arrange night sessions. Costa Rican President Laura Chinchilla will take the floor in the evening.
Other speakers will be the presidents or prime ministers of Cyprus, Tanzania, Iran, Ivory Coast, United Kingdom, Kenya, Poland, Turkey, Zimbabwe, Gabon, Croatia and Afghanistan.
Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff opened the annual UN General Assembly session, saying the international economic crisis is too dangerous to be administrated only by certain nations.
Rousseff also called for reforming the Security Council and asked for Palestine to be admitted as a member state of the United Nations.
Argentine President Cristina Fernandez also spoke out for Palestine being admitted as the 194th member of the UN, and said that “preventing it from doing so may seem to benefit Israel, but it would encourage terrorism and conflict.”
Fernandez also reiterated her country’s demand for sovereignty over the Malvinas (Falkland) Islands, which are currently occupied by Britain, and joined in the demand for Security Council reform.
Bolivian President Evo Morales demanded a re-founding of the UN, and criticized the fact that its resolutions are not respected, such as in the case of the global demand for the end of the U.S. blockade on Cuba.
Mexican President Felipe Calderon called attention to the continuous rise in food prices, and linked that issue with growing poverty and famine in the Horn of Africa.
Colombian President Juan Manuel Santos also stated that drugs and drug trafficking are a national security issue for his country.
And Guatemalan President Alvaro Colom urged the international community to make a genuine effort to defend their common environmental heritage for future generations.
U.S. President Barack Obama also took the floor on the first day of meetings. In his speech, he rejected the idea of UN membership for Palestine and stated that his country’s commitment to Israel security was “unshakable.”
(Prensa Latina)