Some quotations from the opening remarks of Ambassador Jorge Valero, Chair of the Commission for Social Development, Permanent Representative of the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela to the United Nations. “It is necessary to implement a new paradigm of development with a humanistic character. The current economic and social model hinders the full enjoyment of human rights and the right to development, hinders the eradication of poverty and the reduction on inequality, it is ineffective in creating jobs and voraciously destroys the environment, mainly punishing the poor and vulnerable. In this context, it violates – among others – the right to work and health. It also denies the right to food, which is now subject of an international market that has turned food into objects of speculation. … The dilemma facing the world today is very simple: either we promote development with equity and social justice, or we promote economics and financial policies that deepen inequality and injustice among human beings. … The construction of a new model of development must be centered on the human being. Social justice, equitable distribution and social protection are the most effective mechanisms to reduce poverty and inequality.”