Dialogue, peaceful dispute settlement ‘indispensable’ to achieving peace, El Salvador tells UN Assembly

Delivering a strong message in favour of promoting unity among countries to solve the problems that afflict humanity, Salvador Sánchez Cerén, the President of El Salvador, told the United Nations General Assembly today that dialogue and the peaceful settlement of disputes are indispensable to achieving world peace.

“As a country that has experienced an internal armed conflict for more than a decade that could yet find lasting solutions only through dialogue and negotiation, we know very well the importance of peaceful means to resolve differences," he explained in his address to the UN General Assembly’s annual general debate.

Citing the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, he said that it is essential to recognize the positive contributions of migrants in destination societies. To that end, he advocated that the United States Government extend the Temporary Protection Status (TPS) to the thousands of Salvadorans living in that country.

Turning to national issues, he stressed that El Salvador allocates more than half of public spending to education, health and safety. He also emphasized that his preventive approach to dealing with violence has halved homicides and extortion.

Finally, he reiterated El Salvador's commitment to disarmament, arms control, the fight against organized crime and the unity to address the challenges of climate change.

Full statement (in Spanish) available here [2]