Gobierno de Reconciliación y Unidad Nacional
Unida Nicaragua Triunfa
STATEMENT AT THE MEETING OF HEADS OF STATE AND GOVERNMENT
OF THE CENTRAL AMERICAN INTEGRATION SYSTEM
AND THE CARIBBEAN COMMUNITY (SICA-CARICOM)
Thursday 3rd March, 2022.
Brother John Briceño, Prime Minister of Belize, Pro Tempore President of the Caribbean Community (CARICOM).
Brother Laurentino Cortizo, President of the Republic of Panama and Pro Tempore President of the Central American Integration System (SICA).
Sisters and Brothers Heads of State and Government and Representatives of the countries of our SICA and CARICOM communities.
Sisters and Brothers All,
Receive a fraternal greeting from the People and Government of Nicaragua.
Twenty years ago, on 5th February, 2002, the First Meeting of Heads of State and Government of our two regions, SICA and CARICOM was held, encouraged to carry out joint efforts, in the face of common interests that would allow us to address poverty and advance in the improvement of the quality of life of our Peoples.
These valuable years have allowed us to share experiences, knowledge and efforts, giving us the opportunity to advance in the restitution of rights, attending the priorities of our regions in health, education and security and strengthening our respective capacities to respond to natural disasters.
The challenges that we face as communities and regions, here represented, pass through a spirit and a deep desire for integration.
Sisters and Brothers, throughout our history, Nicaragua has maintained an unwavering vocation for integration. On numerous occasions we have firmly defended the unity of our Central American, Caribbean and Latin American Peoples. We aspire to the unity of the Peoples of Latin America and the Caribbean, inspired by the ideals of Bolívar, Sandino and the integrationist heroes of our region.
With this commitment, we firmly maintain our desire to continue working toward the integration of both of our regions; strengthening political, economic and cooperation alliances between the Member Countries of the Central American Integration System and the Caribbean Community, attending to the priorities of our Peoples.
Sisters and Brothers, our Nicaraguan Constitution privileges Central American Integration, and we have made progress in SICA along these lines; however, the Central American Integration System is currently at an institutional impasse, since the Organ of the General Secretariat must have a Secretary General, who, according to his functions, is the Legal Representative of the System, and must, among other duties, follow up on the decisions of the Presidents; this is stated in the Tegucigalpa Protocol. Our System is in a state of illegality.
The Secretary General has not been appointed, the institutional instruments of SICA have not been complied with nor have the decisions of the Presidents that agreed in 2017 and 2021 - to appoint the Secretary General - a position that by law corresponds to Nicaragua. We hope this will be resolved soon and we can move forward with the international commitments that we have acquired as a region.
Today, we find ourselves in a global context that merits our reflections. In this sense, coordinated actions must be carried out to face the global economic situation, in the sensitive areas of our economies.
COVID-19 has impacted all areas of life, generating challenges for our socio-economic systems, and affecting Human Development Plans. Only through the Unity of Our Peoples and Governments, will we be able to make progress in mitigating the damage caused.
We must continue to demand the right of our peoples to timely and equitable access to the vaccine against COVID-19, reiterating to the Developed Countries the call to avoid the hoarding of vaccines, which must be considered a Public Good of Humanity.
The economic contraction caused by COVID-19, which is considered to be one of the severest generated by humanity, urges us to adopt measures as a region for Sustainable Economic recovery, the development of Agriculture, Fisheries, the promotion of trade, investment and tourism, activities that must have as their purpose, the eradication of Poverty and Hunger.
Continued cooperation efforts must be made in the field of security, particularly against transnational organized crime and drug trafficking, which causes so much damage to our Families, Peoples and Economies. We recognize the importance of moving forward with a plan of action on this matter.
Faced with the onslaught of nature, we must continue along the path of prevention, promoting joint actions, the systematic exchanging of information and cooperation.
In the face of climate change, cooperation through the specialized regional centers of both of our regions, the sharing of information and best practices, is most relevant. In this sense, we must note that both of our regions are in one of the most vulnerable areas worldwide; therefore, all the adaptation and mitigation measures to protect our economies and ecosystems are necessary. We must also take into account the results of the Twenty-sixth Conference on Climate Change (COP26), held in Glasgow, United Kingdom.
We highlight the importance of the restitution of the right to education, through the promotion and improvement of comprehensive education, retention within the educational system, digital learning, equity and social inclusion of children, women and youth.
The exchange of knowledge between Higher Education Centers and the promotion of exchange programs for the training of human resources, will contribute to the development of our peoples. Likewise, the development of Information and Communication Technologies will serve to promote the economic, social and cultural development of the SICA and CARICOM countries.
Another aspect is the strengthening of cultural exchanges between the Peoples of both regions. In the same manner, we support the implementation of the International Declaration of the Decade for People of African Descent, adopted at the UN in 2013, with an aim to ensure comprehensive access to education and work, as well as access to economic, health and political services in our countries.
Sisters and Brothers of SICA-CARICOM,
We have carefully read the proposed Plan of Action, which is a very valuable tool that covers the core aspects that characterize the challenges of our great region (SICA-CARICOM) and that we can address, only through our mutual efforts and joint actions.
We are aware that this Plan of Action requires follow-up. In the case of SICA, in accordance with the Tegucigalpa Protocol, this is an attribution of the Secretary General; we hope that in the short term, this will be addressed and allow us to implement the Plan of Action for the benefit of our Peoples.
A few days before celebrating International Women's Day, Nicaragua reiterates our Constitutional Commitment to Gender Equity, ensuring the well-deserved and prominent role of Nicaraguan women in all Spaces of Participation and Power.
Similarly, our Blessed and Always Free Nicaragua, reiterates here, our Commitment toward Youth, in compliance with all their Rights, Aspirations and Dreams... Youth, Adolescents, Children... the Elderly... Human Beings, as we all are, who live with Hope, promoting a Country and a World with Security, Work and Peace.
We know that all the Citizens, the Families, the Peoples of a Country, of our Nicaragua and of our Region, deserve to travel upon Paths of Recognition of our Capacities and Rights; because we want a Fair, Fraternal, Supportive and Complementary World, Region and Country.
In closing, we reiterate once again, that Nicaragua has a deep commitment toward this integration process.
Thank you Very Much.