Good afternoon, Mr. Secretary, Mr. President, distinguished colleagues and friends.

This is not a written statement. I will say that even though it is recorded, I truly want to mention that I was not constricted, I volunteered for this. And I thank Ambassador Baja for this initiative as well. I think it is something that bridges people and certainly it is in line with Section 2 Article 2 of the UN Charter, where it says “develop friendly relations.” The Tripartite Forum itself is an opportunity to reach that goal.

Guatemala has always participated in the program of UNESCO on Culture for Peace since the since the beginning. We attach great value with that. And certainly we appreciate and acknowledge the initiative of Turkey and Spain on Alliance of Civilizations. I think it is something that helps, given the circumstances. Now, the President of the General Assembly mentioned the risks and bridge the gaps, and indeed that’s what it is. And that rift or gap is mainly due to ignorance. And I put it to you that ignorance is the worse form of intolerance. Guatemala is a case in point. I have a country here that is multi-ethnic, pluricultural, plurilingual too. And amongst that pluricultural segment, we find Christians whether Catholics, Protestants, Anglicans, Lutherans. We also have agnostics, we have even atheists but we also have the indigenous community who have their own rights. Spirituality is very important for these people as you might know. And I think that lack of knowledge of others are all about is what really creates the tensions, the frictions and certainly elicits prejudice and intolerance. So UNESCO has something to say here. Education is the way forward. If we erase that ignorance, we make a world safer and more peaceful. And again Guatemala is a case in point. Without the helping hand of the international community, we would have never achieved the peace we enjoy now, a peace that is comprehensive: it has human rights accords, it has indigenous peoples accords, it has many other values that we share. But that seemed to be lost in a secular world. Somehow the global village is not doing itself a big favor when the news are only bad and yet somebody decides what fit to prove anyway. So I put it to you, it takes two things: tolerance and goodwill. I don’t care if we are doctors, PhDs or a simple policeman in the street, or somebody out there in the rural areas. If he has goodwill, we can make things happen. And I vouch for that. And I am happy to be associated with this initiative. Thank you.