Foto: ONU/MArk Garten
5 August, 2014. San Jose, Costa Rica - The Secretary-General of the United Nations, The Honourable Ban Ki-moon, made a one-day working visit to Costa Rica on 30 July. Upon his arrival he was received by the President of Costa Rica, H.E. Luis Guillermo Solís, who accompanied him to the Inter-American Court of Human Rights. There, the Secretary-General gave a speech – Costa Rica and the United Nations: Opportunities and Challenges in the XXI Century –, referring to the role of the United Nations in the protection of human rights as an essential task for security and using Costa Rica as an example. “Costa Rica is a safe country without soldiers”.
From this perspective the Secretary-General addressed international issues related to sustainable development, climate change and, in particular, to the crisis in the Middle East, reiterating his call for an immediate cease-fire. President Solís thanked the Secretary-General and remarked that “courts constitute the strength of international law, and that the Government of Costa Rica bows respectfully to the magistrate of the law and is honoured with the visit of the Secretary-General of the United Nations.” The Secretary-General´s speech may be viewed at: http://vimeo.com/102170566
In the context of his working agenda, the Secretary-General provided a space to meet the United Nations personnel based in Costa Rica. From UPEACE ten people participated: Dr. Francisco Rojas Aravena, Ambassador Francisco José Aguilar-Urbina, Dr. Juan Carlos Sainz-Borgo, Mr. Thomas Klompmaker, Dr. Brian Dowd-Uribe, Dr. Mihir Kanade, Mrs. Katia Moraga, Ms. Laura Arroyo, Ms. Mariela Solís and Ms. Mayeni Aguilar.
For more information, please contact Ana Lucía Guerrero at aguerrero@upeace.org, or call to (506) 2205-9000.
