President's UN Vision is Reductionist, Columnist Argues

Columnist Eduardo Ulibarri criticized President Laura Fernández's narrow view of the United Nations, which she presented as primarily a forum for gender ideology debates. Ulibarri, a journalist, university professor, and former ambassador of Costa Rica to the UN, argued that this perspective is reductionist and ignores the organization's fundamental pillars.

Fernández reportedly complained about "a lot of people sitting" at the UN, engaged in discussions about whether people should be referred to as "elle, él, or ella." Ulibarri countered that the UN's core functions encompass peace and security, human rights, development, and international law. While acknowledging that the UN addresses these issues, he stressed that they are not its sole focus.

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The UN is not a forum on sexual diversity, nor an entity focused on energy and tourism. It deals with both, but its pillars are peace and security, human rights, development, and international law.

Ulibarri, who served as Costa Rica's ambassador to the UN from 2010 to 2014, implied that the president's framing diminishes the organization's significance and its role in addressing global challenges. His commentary, published in La Nación, suggests a concern that such a limited understanding could misrepresent the UN's purpose and impact.

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we have had 'sitting' at the UN 'a lot of people... having discussions related to gender ideologies, whether people should be called elle, él, or ella'.