Chavez wants UN out of United States

The United Nations headquarters in New York should be moved south, out of the United States, said Venezuelan President Hugo Chávez in his speech before the UN 60 the World Summit.

Chávez attracted attention from world leaders at the UN headquarters when he harshly attacked "cosmetic" reforms that do not solve anything.

"The original goal of this meeting has been distorted," Chávez said at the beginning of his address. "We have been imposed as the key issue for debate a so-called process of reforms (...) (We need) to adopt moves to face the real problems hindering our peoples' efforts to attain development."

"Five years after the Millennium Summit, it is true that most of the goals set, which, by the way, were very modest per se, have not been met," he emphasized.

"The United Nations model is worn and it is not just a matter for reform. The 21st Century requires sweeping changes that will be possible only by restating the organization. Truthfully, this does not work."

He claimed that social goals the UN has failed to achieve are being met in Venezuela.

"Venezuela has achieved significant social and economic goals: 1,406,000 Venezuelans learnt to read and write in one and a half year. In a few weeks, Venezuela may declare itself a territory free from illiteracy," he ensured.

Other achievements, according to Chávez, include free medical care for 17,000,000 people, and the creation of 700,000 jobs.

He proposed four "urgent and unavoidable" reforms, including "expansion of both the permanent and non-permanent Security Council to include emerging developed, as well as developing countries as new members."

The second proposal makes reference to "the need to improve work methods in order to increase, rather than lessening, transparency; to increase, rather than lessening, respect; to increase inclusion."

Also, he suggested "immediate termination of veto in the decisions of the Security Council. Such an elite remnant is inconsistent with democracy, and with the concept of fairness."

"Weapons of mass destruction were never found. However, regardless of the United Nations, Iraq was bombed, occupied and is still occupied. Therefore, we propose this Assembly to take the United Nations out of a country that does not observe the resolutions of this Assembly," he argued.

The Venezuelan initiative, he claimed, is based on a proposal made by Simón Bolívar in the Jamaican Letter to create "an international city, far from any state sovereignty."