Javier Bú Soto, Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation of Honduras said, “the genocide in Gaza, the devastation in Ukraine, persistent and violent crises — especially in the Middle East, Africa, and Haiti — and the dangerous weapons business of global capitalism all show the failure of the multilateral system […] to achieve peace.”  Moreover, the five permanent members of the Security Council paralyze action on the matter by prioritizing their own interests and using the veto, which allow war crimes to continue with impunity.   “It is morally unacceptable that while billions are spent on weapons, funds for peace operations, humanitarian aid and sustainable development are being slashed,” he said, calling for reform of the Council, including its expansion for regional representation and the elimination of the veto.

“Honduras is not accepting any more excuses,” he said. “The norms of the international order cannot continue to be defined by the logic of war.”  In Honduras, democracy has been restored under the leadership of President Xiomara Castro Sarmiento after 12 years of “narco-dictatorship” under Juan Orlando Hernández, whose tenure was marked by corruption, violence and institutional deterioration.  The current Government has put UN principles into practice with success, he said, highlighting a significant drop in poverty, scrutinizing public financing with audits to reduce corruption and a tax reform to redescribe wealth to bolster social protections.  Further, Honduras is working to restore its forests through an initiative which will protect them with military patrols.

Turning outward, he rejected “the way that migration is becoming criminalized,” noting that the approach denies international responsibility and creates problems.  People migrate because their systems have failed them — not by choice. “Criminalizing them means punishing them twice: first to poverty and then to exile,” he said.  Denouncing unilateral coercive measures as an attack on the sovereignty of nations, he called for an end to those imposed on Cuba, condemning all forms of foreign occupation in the Southern hemisphere. “No rhetorical justification can legitimize the violation of sovereignty or the subjugation of nations,” he underscored, reaffirming Honduras’ recognition of the State of Palestine and support for the two-State solution.