Countries gathered for the special session of the United Nations Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC) on the theme “Future of Work,” which culminated today at the headquarters of the Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC) in Santiago de Chile, honored the legacy of the Chilean lawyer Hernán Santa Cruz, one of the most important figures in Latin American and world diplomacy, member of the drafting committee of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and author of such transcendental initiatives as the creation of the ECLAC in February 1949.
During the ceremony commemorating the 75th anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, ECLAC presented the new edition of the three volumes that make up the memoirs of Hernán Santa Cruz, a work originally titled “Cooperate or Perish: The Dilemma of the World Community “. Published in 1984 and conceived by its author as “a Latin American vision of the development, achievements, obstacles and prospects of the United Nations system for the dignity of people and peoples”. This work represents a richly documented chronicle of the emergence of multilateralism at the beginning of the postwar period and the advances and setbacks that characterized its development between 1945 and 1990.
The event was chaired by José Manuel Salazar-Xirinachs, Executive Secretary of ECLAC; Alberto van Klaveren, Foreign Minister of Chile; Ambassador Paula Narváez, President of ECOSOC and Permanent Representative of Chile to the United Nations, and Rodrigo Santa Cruz, son of Hernán Santa Cruz. Also taking part were Professor Mikel Mancisidor, member of the United Nations Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, and Mariano Fernández, former Foreign Minister of Chile.
Foreign Minister Alberto van Klaveren highlighted the important participation of Hernán Santa Cruz in initiatives such as the preparation of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, “where he made present the voice of Latin America and, with the strength that characterized him, insisted on its inclusion” of the economic and social Right”.
He also recalled that he “could” argue that Latin America was also affected by the Second World War and that its economy suffered, partly because of the contribution that the region made by providing raw materials to the Allied forces. We need to convince the United Nations that they are somewhat skeptical about the need for an institution like ECLAC, which has played such an important role in the development of Latin American economic thought.”
For her part, Ambassador Paula Narváez emphasized that memory, legacy and mutilateralism are three essential elements of Hernán Santa Cruz.
“Ambassador Santa Cruz presents in his memoirs a painstaking but impartial defense of multilateralism and, in particular, the importance of cooperation for a world without hunger and poverty, a world in which human dignity is based on respect for human rights. in the self-determination of peoples and where the elimination of inequality is paramount,” he emphasized.
In his speech, the Executive Secretary of ECLAC, José Manuel Salazar-Xirinachs, highlighted the new edition of Hernán Santa Cruz's memoirs, emphasizing that the ideas, thoughts and diagnoses contained in the testimony of the renowned Chilean diplomat remain valid and current.
“As Hernán Santa Cruz emphasizes in the presentation of the book that we are republishing today: “Since the Second World War, humanity has not experienced a situation as critical as the current one.” It is facing a multitude of crises that extend to the “Forty years later, the world still faces the same dilemma: 'Cooperate or perish,'” said ECLAC's top official.
He added that today, in the midst of a cascade of crises and strong geo-economic and geopolitical tensions, in addition to armed conflicts in which several countries and powers have clear positions that they consider to be national security issues, hopeful proposals and dialogues are needed and processes that prevent escalation of rivalries and direct energies and efforts toward paths of peace, prosperity, and economic and social well-being.
José Manuel Salazar-Xirinachs called on us to “proudly make the legacy of Hernán Santa Cruz our heritage” by enabling joint actions to revitalize multilateralism, promoting the implementation of existing commitments and agreeing on new solutions to new challenges.
“It is time to let the imagination run wild and look for new approaches, drive transformative change, imagine renewed institutions and build a more just, productive, inclusive and sustainable future, just as Hernán Santa Cruz has done,” he emphasized.
Representing Hernán Santa Cruz's family, his son Rodrigo emphasized his father's leading role in the drafting of the Declaration of Human Rights and in the founding of ECLAC.
“For my father, who always hoped for a better world for everyone and especially for those most in need, the United Nations is an irreplaceable organization. “It would have been a dream for him to imagine that, more than 70 years after the adoption of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and the creation of ECLAC, we would commemorate him in this special session of ECOSOC, accompanied by representatives from 54 countries,” he said .