Colombia’s ambassador to the United Nations, Mauricio Gaona, gave an interview to EL TIEMPO after his country’s delegation addressed the UN General Assembly under President Abelardo De la Espriella’s government. Gaona described the country’s participation as highly positive, crediting an active diplomatic team and a speech from the vice president that echoed the president’s own critique of the multilateral system.
According to Gaona, that critique isn’t a call to dismantle the UN but to modernize an institution still operating under a 20th-century legal framework, one that has struggled to prevent or resolve conflicts. He pointed to staggering figures: nearly 120 million people displaced worldwide, more refugees than after World War II, and Colombia hosting the largest refugee population in the Americas.
Gaona also criticized what he called the “politicization” of human rights and international humanitarian law, arguing that these frameworks shouldn’t be selectively invoked to justify some actions while condemning similar ones elsewhere. On whether Colombia might follow the United States in withdrawing from certain UN agencies, he said each reform process could lead to different outcomes, noting several nations are weighing similar decisions depending on how agencies evolve.
Ultimately, Gaona insisted that abandoning the UN would mean stepping out of the room where humanity’s fate is negotiated — something he called unworkable for any nation. Read the full interview at El Tiempo for more details on Colombia’s diplomatic strategy.
Source: 'Salirse de Naciones Unidas es salirse del cuarto donde se decide el destino de la humanidad': Mauricio Gaona (eltiempo.com).
Image: US Embassy New Zealand, PDM 1.0 (via Openverse).