Gabriel Boric Font, President of Chile, describing history as “the continuation of a utopian voyage”, said that world leaders have the power to say “enough” if fundamental values cannot be invoked.  Diversity of opinion must be respected, “but at the same time, I face the fact that people lie — and what is more outrageous is that they know they are lying”.  To say there is no such thing as global warming is not an opinion, but a lie, he said, adding that the Holocaust cannot be denied, nor can it be said that vaccines cause autism.

Lies and silence will bring the peoples of the world to the abyss, he continued, noting that the United Nations was founded to ensure a real dialogue between people with different visions of the world.  Recalling a meeting earlier this year of several South American leaders on ways to defend democracy, he said that it is not enough to simply point out what is wrong to the world.  Rather, fresh ideas must be proposed and championed.

Describing Chile as a tricontinental country with inextricable ties to the ocean, he recalled that it was the first State in the Americas, and the second in the world, to ratify the Agreement under the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea on the Conservation and Sustainable Use of Marine Biological Diversity of Areas Beyond National Jurisdiction, also known as the BBNJ Treaty.  He reiterated Chile’s offer to host that instrument’s Secretariat in Valparaiso, adding that Antarctica’s natural resources must not be exploited without appropriate preservation measures.

He went on to officially nominate Michelle Bachelet as the next Secretary-General of the United Nations.  Never in its eighty-year history has the Organization had a woman as Secretary-General, and that is something that needs to be remedied, he said, adding that it is also Latin America’s turn to fill the post.  Having a woman at the helm of the UN would send a clear signal that nowhere is closed off to women, he said, emphasizing that Mrs. Bachelet — a two-time President of Chile and former UN High Commissioner for Human Rights — can build bridges between East and West as well as North and South with her proven ability to make decisions and act.  Under her leadership, the United Nations can restore its credibility and sense of purpose to become a place of hope for the world, he said.