General Assembly: 84th plenary meeting, 78th session

Diplomacy, Cooperation, Dialogue Only Way to Comprehensively Address Global Challenges, President of Guatemala Tells General Assembly. César Bernardo Arévalo de León, President of Guatemala, took the floor to state that his country is the cradle of “one of the most splendid civilizations that humanity has ever seen”. The Mayan people — with whom most Guatemalans still identify — produced science and knowledge that survived generations of plunder and exploitation. Spotlighting the challenges Guatemala has faced throughout its history, he said that the majority of its population has seen the doors to development closed, the division wrought by conflict and violence, the denial of fundamental freedoms and human rights and conditions that forced much of its youth to seek refuge in other countries. Even though the country was able “to leave behind the ghosts of violence and authoritarianism”, he said that it continues to face large development deficits and fights to consolidate its democratic institutions.