General Assembly Session 59 meeting 17

The President

I now give the floor to His Excellency Mr. Jeremie Bonnelame, Minister for Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Seychelles.

Mr. Bonnelame (Seychelles)

My delegation, Sir, is delighted at seeing you presiding over this session of the General Assembly. We also wish to state the high esteem in which we hold the past President, Mr. Julian Hunte, of Saint Lucia, and for Secretary-General Kofi Annan.

The Seychelles, a small island country, is defined by the fact that it belongs to two regions -- the Indian Ocean and the African continent -- and by the fact that it belongs to several linguistic and cultural areas. Today we wish to be an example of cohabitation of man and nature and an example of unity and cohesion with our people. These two objectives are at the heart of our development plans.

In April of this year, Mr. James Michel succeeded Mr. Albert Rene in the presidency of the Republic through a calm and proper political transition. The new President defends the same development philosophy, taking into account, of course, changes on the world scene, and the economic needs that are inherent in starting a new phase of our development. Thus, the President has assessed our difficulties and the options available to us in different areas of our economy, such as the balance of payments, the debt burden, access under reasonable terms to capital -- and in this context we are a middle-income country -- access to markets, and so forth.

Together with the Bretton Woods institutions and our other customary partners, we have committed ourselves to a progressive programme of adjustment and of giving new dynamics to our economy. Of course, we are progressing at our own pace, because we remain a vulnerable economy, since we are a small island country, isolated from markets.

I would like to say a few words about the Seychelles' commitment to the international community. First of all, on the question of security, the fight against terrorism, money laundering and drug trafficking are, in the Seychelles, subjects of prevention and deterrence. We are taking action to tackle the causes, the methods and the effects of these criminal actions. The Seychelles has ratified all international conventions on drug trafficking, and we support all United Nations resolutions on the prevention and suppression of the financing of terrorist acts.

We support the recommendations of the Financial Action Task Force on Money Laundering (FATF) and the requirements of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) and the International Monetary Fund (IMF).

We have enacted a law this year on the prevention of terrorism, and at the present time we are revising existing legislation on financial institutions and on money laundering. I might add that our offshore sector is also being monitored in the framework of the implementation of a law on the provision of services which was promulgated last year.

We are fully committed to the fight for security and stability. However, it is being done in difficult conditions, because the very questionable criterion of gross domestic product per capita blocks our access to most development assistance programmes.

A small and vulnerable State always attaches more importance to recognition of its own identity and the defence of its stability. We, therefore, unreservedly support the principles and objectives of global peace, security and development that are embodied by the United Nations. We want the Organization to remain extremely active in its initiatives to restore peace, particularly in the Middle East and in Africa, to all areas where conflicts today have become chronic and are steadily worsening.

We hope that the reorganization of the United Nations, which is now under way, will make it possible for it to be repositioned, on the basis of concrete actions and follow-up and monitoring mechanisms. We believe that the Security Council must be open to more permanent and non-permanent members, so that the developed and developing countries of Africa, Asia and Latin America can contribute to the Council's dynamics.

More than ever, a genuine North-South dialogue is essential to resolve conflicts and to seek shared solutions to shared problems posed by AIDS, poverty, debt and terrorism -- all threats that require a joint response and shared responsibilities. This dialogue requires new ethics and a new approach to development, which revitalizes international relations and corrects injustices. It is particularly important to deal with the roots of the debt problem and to adopt energetic measures in order to assist those States whose development is stymied by this burden.

We welcome the exchanges between the Group of Eight and the developing countries. This is a negotiating platform that should have brought about concrete action and implementation of the recommendations of the Millennium Summit, and those of Monterrey, Johannesburg and Doha. It is particularly important that the allocation by the developed countries of 0.7 per cent of their gross national product to international development should be seen and accepted as a realistic and fair objective.

We expect the meeting to be held in Mauritius at the beginning of 2005, ten years after the adoption of the Barbados Programme of Action, to produce an uncompromising assessment of the Programme's implementation and to adopt operational measures and mechanisms. We are counting on the active commitment of our partners for that assessment and its follow-up.

Support and commitment should be expressed in the area of international trade through equitable treatment towards developing countries that have structural weaknesses, such as small island developing States. Such arrangements must take into account the delicate issues of access to markets and trade relations. The goal is to prevent our countries from becoming further marginalized in a system that claims to be in the interest of all. That is why we invite the World Trade Organization to adopt an approach to development that is consistent with the developments of recent years. I am referring to the launch of the Doha round, devoted explicitly to development, and to the assertion of an African voice on sensitive issues such as commodities and raw materials. The new trade relations must also enable developing countries to continue to acquire the means to be more competitive.

Another urgent matter for us, the countries most vulnerable to the consequences of global warming, is the ratification by all developed countries of the Kyoto Protocol. It is the only instrument capable of acting effectively with respect to a danger of concern to all.

We believe that a special fund should be established in the United Nations to help fragile economies confront losses, including loss of income, caused by climate change.

I reaffirm the importance we attach to the New Partnership for Africa's Development (NEPAD) because it is one of the best tools for enabling African countries to manage their own development. We appreciate the commitment of the Group of Eight in this regard through its African Action Plan, and it is our heartfelt hope that NEPAD's development agenda will comprehensively address the specific needs of the eight African island States.

All these questions are of capital importance today. We hope that the British presidency of the Group of Eight in 2005 and the United Nations summit to review the Millennium Development Goals, also scheduled for 2005, will work a very clear rebalancing in favour of our countries.

Seychelles reaffirms its support for the General Assembly, and we thank you, Mr. President, for your personal action. We also thank Secretary-General Kofi Annan. My country is an advocate of the cause of development, which is a fundamental right. That right entails the obligation of political solidarity in the most active sense of the term.

The President

I now call on His Excellency Mr. Fathulla Jameel, Minister for Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Maldives.

Mr. Jameel (Maldives)

First, let me extend to you, Mr. President, my delegation's warmest congratulations on your election to preside over the Assembly at its fifty-ninth session. My delegation has every confidence in your sagacity to guide this session and its deliberations to a fruitful conclusion.

It is also my pleasure to pay tribute to your predecessor, Mr. Julian Robert Hunte, for the commendable manner in which he discharged his responsibilities as the President at the fifty-eighth session.

As well, I wish to take this opportunity to compliment the Secretary-General, Mr. Kofi Annan, on his diligence in promoting peace and pursuing the noble principles of this Organization. My delegation sincerely wishes him every success in his daunting task.

The unfolding international events bring to the fore the question of multilateralism and the vital role the United Nations has to play in addressing global crises and problems and in promoting a world order based on the rule of law and the collective responsibility of all nations and communities.

The global challenges that we face today are numerous. While goals are set and programmes launched for eradicating poverty, achieving universal primary education, promoting gender equality, reducing child mortality, fighting HIV/AIDS and protecting the environment, hundreds of innocent lives are lost every day as a result of conflict and civil war.

Terrorism has not been defeated. On the contrary, it is re-emerging in uglier manifestations in the most unexpected places, killing innocent people, including children. The disappointing impasse on global disarmament and the dreadful odds of further proliferation of weapons of mass destruction make us ill at ease and cause us to lose hope for a peaceful world.

We in small States feel more vulnerable to these challenges and threats, as our security is entirely dependent on the prevalence of global security and the observance of the rule of law by all States. Clearly, the concerns of small States cannot be confined only to the issues of the environment, climate change, sea-level rise and sustainable development. The ominous threats that are emerging on the political and security fronts of the contemporary world have far-reaching implications for us as well.

Not too infrequently, we witness small States being victimized by non-State actors such as terrorists, mercenaries, insurrectionary gangs and organized crime networks, whose calculated assaults disrupt socio-economic and political development of small States, endangering peace and security. It would be imprudent to ignore the wider implications of the presence and activities of such perilous actors on international peace and security. Solutions to those threats can only be sought through international cooperation, vigilance and timely action.

It is imperative that the international community takes on the crucial responsibility of protecting the security of small States, as stipulated by General Assembly resolutions 44/51, of 8 December 1989, 46/43, of 9 December 1991, and 49/31, of 9 December 1994. With its global spread and ability to work in collaboration with regional institutions, we see the Organization as the most appropriate body to address such issues.

Terrorism poses grave threats to regional as well as international peace and security. The train bombings in Madrid; car bombings and terrorist attacks in Iraq, Indonesia and Saudi Arabia; and, most recently, the hostage-taking tragedy in a Russian school, are all grim reminders of the particularly insidious nature of terrorism. I am sure that I echo the unanimity of the international community in reiterating that the war against terrorism should continue to remain a principal priority on the international agenda. My Government believes that early adoption of the proposed international convention on terrorism would be a crucial step in effectively combating that dreadful menace.

Expanding globalization and increasing trade liberalization, contrary to the hopes for a healthier global market, have had a distressing price tag for small economies, especially for small island economies such as the Maldives. Limited natural resources and the narrow economic base of small island economies severely restrict their scope for diversification and their ability to attract foreign investment. Those disadvantages call for special considerations, including a level of preferential treatment, on an exceptional basis, to ensure the sustainable development of small island developing States.

While the Maldives is beset by the entire range of economic problems inherent to small island developing States, the recommendation by the Committee for Development Policy (CDP) to graduate us from the list of least developed countries has compounded the challenges to our development. We do take pride in our achievements in the social and economic sectors during the last two decades. However, we fear that graduation may cause enormous and irreparable damage to our economy, in the absence of a suitable mechanism to ensure sustained socio-economic development. In that context, we welcome the recommendation of the CDP and the decision of the Economic and Social Council earlier this year indicating the need to formulate smooth transition strategies for least developed countries prior to their graduation.

We support in particular the recommendation to decide post-graduation transition arrangements on a case-by-case basis and to establish ad hoc country advisory groups to help formulate those arrangements. We strongly feel that it is important for the Economic and Social Council to formally endorse the arrangements proposed by the ad hoc country advisory groups while mandating the CDP with the task of monitoring the progress of newly graduated countries for any disruptions in their development.

Allow me, at this juncture, to register our sincere gratitude and appreciation to our development partners and the members of the Group of 77, the Group of Least Developed Countries and the Bureau and members of the Economic and Social Council for the understanding and the care with which they are proceeding on this crucial and important issue.

The state of the global environment is as depressing as ever. Statistical information and projections are alarming and disturbing, not only to small island developing States but also to the entire international community. Those figures and predictions reveal the severity of environmental problems and the potential threats to human existence unless swift remedial measures are implemented.

The frequency with which we have been witnessing natural disasters such as hurricanes and cyclones around the world demonstrates the urgent need to tackle environmental issues on a global scale. Many small island developing States suffer disproportionately from such hazards, underscoring the vulnerability of small island developing States in that regard. As we recently witnessed in Grenada, a single hurricane can lay waste to decades-long developmental progress in a matter of a few hours.

We will soon be meeting in Mauritius to review the progress made over the past decade in the implementation of the Barbados Programme of Action for the Sustainable Development of Small Island States. If we are to make the forthcoming meeting in Mauritius a success, we need to muster the necessary political will to channel resources and to ensure the comprehensive realization of the objectives of the Barbados Programme of Action.

The complexity and magnitude of ever-developing global challenges demand that a reformed United Nations be assigned the central role in dealing with them. While those reforms should cover the entire United Nations system and its bodies, the focus is once again justly being drawn to the urgency of the need to restructure the Security Council, making the Council more reflective of the realities of the present-day world and more representative of the capacity and commitment of Member States to contribute to international peace and security. It is disappointing, though, that no common view has emerged on that issue. We feel that we should go ahead with the enlargement of the Security Council, both in the permanent and non-permanent categories and including in that enlargement countries such as Japan and other Member States that have the capacity and the commitment to serve as permanent members and that would represent the wider membership of the present-day United Nations.

The international treaty regime has to be expanded and strengthened so that emerging problems can be dealt with more effectively. We feel that that task should be a priority in enforcing the principles for which the United Nations stands and the values of peace, security, justice, equality, human rights, democracy and rules-based international order that it has advocated. In that context, we applaud the remarks made by the Secretary-General at the opening meeting of the General Assembly, and wish to express our support for his efforts to reform the United Nations system.

The rapid socio-economic development attained by the Maldives in the past two and a half decades is in no small part grounded in the political stability that we have enjoyed during that period. To emphasize further the need to promote and sustain the values of democracy and respect for human rights, President Gayoom proposed a sweeping agenda for political reform in early June of this year. The Government remains firmly committed to carry out the reform agenda, which has been welcomed and supported by both the people of the country and its friends in the international community. A special people's assembly was convened, as required by the Constitution, and was charged with the task of debating reforms to the current Constitution proposed by the Government and civil society.

We seek the support and assistance of our friends in the international community in our pursuit of that unprecedented reform agenda. The solidarity of the international community at this crucial hour of need would reinforce our resolve and help us move ahead with the reform agenda with increased veracity and diligence.

My Government is also committed to respecting and observing human rights through adherence to relevant international conventions. In that regard, I am pleased to announce that the Maldives will this week sign a framework agreement with the International Committee of the Red Cross. We will also keep under consideration the signing of other important instruments, such as the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court.

Before concluding, I should like to reaffirm our commitment to the principles enshrined in the Charter. My country believes this Organization to be the best suited to working for the betterment of humanity and the maintenance of international peace and security.

The President

I give the floor to His Excellency The Honourable Frederick Mitchell, Minister for Foreign Affairs and Public Service of the Commonwealth of the Bahamas.

Mr. Mitchell (Bahamas)

It is my honour to congratulate you, Sir, on behalf of the Prime Minister, the Government and the people of the Commonwealth of the Bahamas, on your election to the presidency of the General Assembly at its fifty-ninth session. I would also like to take this opportunity to congratulate your predecessor, Mr. Julian Hunte, of our sister Caribbean State of Saint Lucia, for his outstanding leadership during the fifty-eighth session. His legacy is one of which we in the Caribbean can be proud, and we wish him well in his future endeavours.

I would also like to pay tribute to the Secretary-General for his stalwart defence of multilateralism and the rule of law.

Hurricanes Charley, Frances, Ivan, and Jeanne have ravaged the Caribbean islands and parts of the United States. Lives were lost in Haiti, the Dominican Republic, Grenada, Jamaica, Cuba, the United States and the Bahamas. The damage to homes and infrastructure and the interruption to normal life and commerce compel us to stress the need for immediate and dramatic measures to ensure reconstruction and rehabilitation. What has been on offer to the region so far is woefully inadequate.

Our country's northern islands -- Grand Bahama and Abaco -- received double hits. First, Hurricane Frances struck on 13 September, leaving hundreds without food, water, homes and power. Then came Jeanne, two weeks later, over the same islands that were hit by Frances, further exacerbating the problems. The Bahamas has many islands and, fortunately for us, tourism facilities remain open in the capital, Nassau, and facilities on other islands in the chain will be operational shortly. That, unfortunately, will not be the case in Grenada.

Regional heads have called for an international donor conference to meet the needs of all countries adversely affected by the hurricanes. The Bahamas supports such a conference. We hope that, as a result of that conference, if not before, there will be a moratorium on Grenada's debt repayment. We also recommend that a regional disaster relief fund be established to support the reconstruction effort.

The word "hurricane" comes from a word first used by the indigenous people of the Caribbean region, the Arawaks. That pre-Columbian civilization must have seen the phenomenon so often that it invented the word for it. That means it has been around for some time, and it is likely to be with us for some time to come. It behooves us, therefore, to understand the phenomenon that we are facing, including its connection -- if any -- to climate change, which low-lying States have been warning about for years. These facts also demand that our own societies should better plan for the eventualities that have been, and that we know are going to continue to be, a part of our lives. We cannot let lack of planning be a possible cause of the undermining of our sovereignty in this way.

The world is soon wary and weary; the phenomenon of donor fatigue sets in. And we lose our dignity if we cannot be seen to help ourselves. But if, as the scientific evidence suggests, the hurricanes that we now experience are related to climate change, it is clear that we cannot defend ourselves alone. A major shift on the part of the most active polluting countries is required. They must shift gears if the people in small island developing States are going to survive. It is a moral imperative for them to shift gears.

In this regard, the Bahamas welcomes the preliminary moves by the Government of Britain, as well as the Governments of Japan and of Russia, towards putting climate change closer to the top of the agenda. We urge them to continue to use their influence on their friends to cause a major shift in attitude. The implementation of the Barbados Programme of Action for the Sustainable Development of Small Island Developing States, adopted at the Global Conference in Barbados in 1994, becomes even more urgent. The follow-up meeting on this issue in Mauritius in January 2005 now takes on even greater significance.

In this context, I would also like to highlight the region's efforts to designate the Caribbean Sea as a special area in the context of sustainable development. We also reiterate our grave concern about the serious threat posed to the security and economic development of Caribbean countries by the trans-shipment of nuclear waste through the Caribbean Sea. We continue to call on States involved in trans-shipment to desist from that practice.

The scenes of death and destruction as a result of the hurricane that affected Haiti in recent days reminded us of the political turmoil that that country has endured during the past year. The Bahamas extends its deepest condolences to the Haitian nation for the tremendous and sad loss of life. The year, which began with so much hope with the celebration of the deeds of Toussaint L'Ouverture and the two hundredth anniversary of independence on 1 January, fell quickly into the abyss of despair on the fateful evenings of 28 and 29 February. No one will ever know what truly happened on that night as an elected President left his country with armed rebels nipping at his heels, but it filled the entire Caribbean with sadness. It raised the spectre of mistrust of friends. That feeling has still not died, but we must soldier on if we are to help the people of Haiti achieve democracy, economic uplift and a just and fair society.

The Bahamas stands ready to do what it can to assist the people of Haiti in these developments. Haiti sits 90 miles from our southern shores, and each year thousands of migrants looking for a better way of life seek to enter the Bahamas illegally from Haiti. We have practical reasons, therefore, to ensure that justice and democracy prevail in Haiti. We echo the call of all countries of the Caribbean Community (CARICOM) for the return to democratic order in Haiti, and we pledge to help.

We regret the failure of the Security Council to act in a timely fashion when Haiti's friends begged for the authority to intervene or to authorize an intervention. Perhaps that failure heralds the need for the Council's reform. The Bahamas supports such reform efforts and awaits the report of the High-Level Panel appointed by the Secretary-General. But the United Nations must never stop trying to address the issues that face Haiti, because there is a moral imperative to eliminate hunger, poverty, disease and discrimination. In this regard, we welcome the work of President Lula da Silva of Brazil and President Chirac of France, Pope John Paul and other world leaders in seeking to ensure that the moral imperatives to which we have referred are placed at the forefront of the world's agenda. We must never forget what Haiti has done for our region and for the world.

While the fight against those who would subvert our democratic values by attacks on civilian and military targets remains high on our agenda, we must not allow the drums of war to drown out the calls of the world's poor and disenfranchized. In 2000, we gave ourselves a set of goals with respect to development with a human face, and we must do all that we can to achieve them. The Bahamas has committed itself to the fight. We offer our heartfelt condolences to the survivors of all who have lost their lives in such senseless attacks, particularly in the United States, Kenya, Spain, Tanzania and Indonesia. But we also admonish all States that terrorism cannot be an excuse to limit freedom and to dispense with the very liberties that we are trying to defend and that form the foundations of free and democratic societies.

All States ought to act with caution in putting in place rules and regulations for travel, lest the denial of those rights cannot be defended by logic or objectivity. That is especially so where we note that developed countries argue in favour of free trade and globalization but deny the benefits of that trade to legitimate travellers by administrative discrimination and bureaucratic procedures and delay. The appeal therefore is to bring some sense of balance, before we lose the very thing we seek to save.

As part of this overall process of reflection, my delegation welcomes the high-level reviews planned for 2005 of our commitments with respect to social development and the advancement of women. We must ensure that we undertake an unflinching examination of the progress made in achieving the priority goals of the Copenhagen Programme of Action and the Beijing Platform for Action to determine how far we have come and what remains to be done. It is critical that the outcomes of the respective appraisals will acknowledge the gaps in implementation and allow States and the international community as a whole to move forward and achieve the timely and effective implementation of the commitments undertaken at Copenhagen, Beijing and beyond. We must also make certain that the results of our deliberations feed constructively and synergistically into the high-level event in September 2005, so as to ensure that no ground is left uncovered.

HIV/AIDS continues to threaten to undermine decades and centuries of progress in health care and in developing healthy populations that facilitate economic growth throughout the world. The Bahamas is a leader in the fight against HIV/AIDS in the Caribbean region. We urge the continued and unrelenting fight against the disease, to rescue the world's developing nations from the clutches of that scourge. It must take all of the political will and financial power of the world's nations to ensure that the scourge is brought under control and then eliminated.

In that context, the Bahamas welcomes the recent grant to the Pan-Caribbean Partnership from the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria. That grant will provide a much-needed infusion of resources for prevention, care and treatment programmes. The Bahamas also welcomes the convening of the June 2005 high-level meeting to review the progress achieved in realizing the commitments set out in the Declaration of Commitment on HIV/AIDS. The Bahamas acknowledges the pledge made by the United States to set aside $15 billion to fight HIV/AIDS throughout the world, including in Haiti and Guyana in the Caribbean region.

It is an inescapable fact that there can be no meaningful social or economic development without security. For many of us in the Caribbean in particular, that security is being undermined by the activities of those trafficking in illicit drugs, illegal weapons and undocumented aliens. By virtue of its geographical location, the Bahamas is an unwitting transit point for such illegal activities. In the case of illicit drugs, the Bahamas is neither a producer nor the final destination for them. However, as a trans-shipment point, the Bahamas, as do other transit countries, experiences the illegal activities associated with that trade. Those activities tend to undermine the economic and social fabric of our nations.

We therefore welcomed the convening in June 2004 of the first session of the Open-ended Working Group to Negotiate an International Instrument to Enable States to Identify and Trace in a Timely Manner Illicit Small Arms and Light Weapons, some of the tools undermining our safety and security and our economic and social fabric. That meeting was a small, but important, first step in reaching agreement on an instrument on tracing, to enable States affected by that illicit trade to more effectively identify lines of supply, put measures in place to interdict existing lines and prevent new ones, and to cooperate with other States at the bilateral, regional and international levels. At the same time, we continue to call on developed countries to take the same extraordinary measures they use in seeking to stop drug trafficking into their countries to stop illegal small arms from reaching our shores from their countries.

The Bahamas joins with other countries of the Caribbean Community in voicing our concern about the persistent attempts on the part of some of the developed world's un-elected multilateral bodies to exclude developing countries from decision-making and norm-setting processes, thereby undermining our economies. Chief among those is the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development. The decisions of those bodies are not friendly acts. We repeat the call we made last year about the need for a global forum to deal with those unfair practices.

We welcome the work that has been done in the Economic and Social Council to redress the imbalance in favour of a level playing field. The arrangements for dealing with international tax matters in particular are a source of concern. We pledge to continue to work with the United Nations towards establishing a world body that will deal with those matters in a fair and balanced way.

Yesterday I was in our capital city, Nassau, in the Bahamas, where we marked 275 years of continuous representative, parliamentary democracy. This, then, is a propitious time to reaffirm the commitment of the Bahamas to the principles enshrined in the Charter of this great Organization, which will stand as a guiding beacon as we continue to chart a rocky, yet crucial, course towards peace, security and sustainable development for all the world's inhabitants. While progress may seem meagre, we must not be swayed from our course and we must remain confident that the benefits of our activities and efforts will redound to future generations. I say again that, now more than ever, the world needs the United Nations.

The President

I now call on His Excellency Mr. Talbak Nazarov, Minister for Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Tajikistan.

Mr. Nazarov (Tajikistan)

We all pinned great hopes on the advent of the twenty-first century with regard to a more stable and secure world and sustainable development for humanity. We were all eager to expand the positive achievements of the twentieth century, which witnessed rapid technological and social progress, the beginning of the space age, the advancement of democracy and the globalization of the planet. We all wanted to leave behind the destructive impact on human history of two world wars, continued blood conflicts, millions of refugees, poverty and the destitution common in most countries of the world.

It had seemed that, at this junction of centuries and millennia, humanity would rediscover and appreciate more deeply the value of a world without wars or violence and the significance of solidarity and mutual understanding, of true human rights and respect of the views of others. Now, however, it has become clear that it is impossible to comprehend the dynamics of global development or to find adequate answers to modern challenges without the United Nations as a leader.

The impression had been that, in the new century, our civilization would embark on the path towards a global society where harmony would prevail over hatred and stability put an end to suspicion -- a society where the agreed rules of conduct set out in international law, binding for all, would stand in the way of isolationism and separatism; where all internationally relevant issues, including the most urgent ones, would be resolved at the negotiating table; and where the use of force would not be the rule but, rather, the exception, and only when sanctioned by collective decisions of a capable and representative Security Council.

Unfortunately, the twenty-first century has brought more new and menacing challenges than solutions to the numerous problems faced by humankind. The number of wars and military conflicts has not diminished but increased. The peaceful resolution of the inter-Tajik conflict achieved under United Nations auspices is more the exception than the rule in the context of the efforts to achieve peace undertaken by the United Nations.

The world's peoples increasingly feel that the world is in a state of permanent war rather than working towards development. Every day we hear about the dangers of the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction and the struggle against international terrorism. These are urgent problems, and we cannot but be concerned about them since weapons of mass destruction are capable of destroying hundreds of thousands of human lives, while acts of terror can destabilize entire countries.

For those reasons, we are firmly resolved to transform Central Asia into a region free of nuclear weapons. The recent tragic events in the town of Beslan, in the Russian Federation, are clear evidence that the forces of international terrorism are, day by day, becoming more daring and continue to challenge the whole of humankind.

Tajikistan resolutely condemns the acts of violence perpetrated against defenceless women and children in North Ossetia and appeals to the international community to undertake urgent collective measures to combat this scourge of the twenty-first century.

It is comforting that the international solidarity demonstrated in the struggle against such a bloodthirsty and treacherous enemy as terrorism is gaining in strength. Tajikistan has been actively waging, at the regional and international levels, a multifaceted struggle against the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction and terrorism.

At the same time, in order to definitively put an end to terrorism, it is very important to reach a universal understanding of its nature and manifestations in order to eliminate any obstacles that stand in the way of the development and adoption of a comprehensive convention on international terrorism.

While we can rightly be proud of having created, within a short period of time, a united anti-terrorist coalition of States, unfortunately we cannot say that we have achieved the same degree of solidarity in the fight against poverty and destitution.

For decades, States with low levels of income have not been able to free themselves from their destructive debt burden so as to be able to enjoy the advantages of civilization. For instance, Tajikistan, which lived through a civil conflict, continues to face urgent economic and social problems, despite having made some economic progress. Eighty per cent of the population of Tajikistan still lives below the poverty line. Because of the lack of access to the sea, many regions of our country are cut off from the outside world, which results in our paying higher prices for imported goods and increased transit fees. Forty per cent of all budget revenues go to servicing external debt, which limits the Government's capacity to meet the urgent needs of the population.

Writing off a portion of the accumulated debt would make it possible for those countries to invest in education, health care and environmental protection, and, in the case of Tajikistan, could be helpful in rehabilitating the social sphere, which has suffered as a result of the civil conflict and natural disasters. However, the idea of exchanging debt for sustainable development has not yet garnered solid support among creditors. In that area, we still encounter inertia and a lack of political will.

It is clear to us that the resolution of political issues, including those related to international security, depends, to a great extent, on social and economic development and on the achievement by all countries of the Millennium Goals.

In a globalized world, achieving the Millennium Goals will require the utmost solidarity as well as interaction among the international community as a whole, with the United Nations as a leading coordinator, in its capacity as the most universal and representative international Organization.

The key to success lies in developing a common and comprehensive approach to addressing poverty-related issues, enhancing the means available as well as seeking innovative ways of securing financing for development, eliminating ecological threats, addressing demographic problems, ensuring an equitable international finance and trade system, and dealing with the aftermath of natural disasters. Failing that, the situation will remain the same: a quarter of the world's population will continue to prosper, using more than half of the world's resources, while the majority of the world's population, finding themselves marginalized, will remain mere observers of global economic development.

The ever-increasing severity of these problems makes them global threats to international peace and security. For that reason, we support the Secretary-General, Kofi Annan, in his efforts to restore the balance of priorities on the agenda of the international community.

The international community should also strive to ensure maximum coordination of the actions taken at the global level in terms of monetary, financial and international trade policies. In that connection, it is important to strengthen the role of the United Nations as the key force for political mobilization in those areas. That requires, on the basis of the Monterrey consensus, a further reinforcement of the interaction among the United Nations, the Bretton Woods institutions and the World Trade Organization, which Tajikistan hopes to join in the near future.

The issues of economic rehabilitation, poverty eradication, improved living standards for the population and long-term sustainable development are among the top priorities for Tajikistan, as an economy in transition.

At the same time, for a number of reasons, Tajikistan still needs the assistance of the international community in supporting national efforts to ensure long-term sustainable development in the country. We appreciate the continued efforts of the donor countries and United Nations agencies such as the United Nations Development Programme, the United Nations Children's Fund, the World Food Programme and others to assist vulnerable segments of the population, as well as their support in the ongoing transition to a socially oriented market economy.

Given our own experience, we support the priority attention given by the United Nations to increasing the effectiveness of the assistance rendered to countries in post-conflict situations and to receiving feedback in that area. There is no doubt that the United Nations is the key player in providing timely and coordinated responses to post-conflict situations.

The success of the United Nations in this area depends to a great extent on a qualitative interaction with host Governments in the area of reinforcing national potential, the introduction of effective instruments and mechanisms for the coordination and mobilization of resources, and increased interaction with the Bretton-Woods institutions in the context of a joint assessment of their needs and specific project activities.

In this regard, it is noteworthy that one of the lessons learned from the peaceful settlement of the inter-Tajik conflict is the need for donor countries to be active not only during the crisis but also in the post-conflict period. I am convinced that strengthening the foundation of peace and stability in countries living through conflict requires not only humanitarian assistance but also actual help in addressing economic problems and support for countries' efforts to create a dynamic and stable economy. As a rule, these kinds of investments, within the framework of a peaceful process, turn out to be instrumental in strengthening young democracies born out of conflict. There is no doubt that the parliamentary elections to be held in Tajikistan in early 2005 will prove once again the vitality and irreversible nature of the peace process in Tajikistan and the robustness of the country's democratic institutions.

Achieving ecologically sustainable development on the global, regional and national levels remains an issue of top priority. Tajikistan intends to continue to contribute to the implementation of the relevant decisions of Johannesburg and other international forums. The 2005-2015 International Decade for Action, "Water for Life", to be launched on 22 March 2005, was initiated by our country and is expected to combine efforts undertaken by Governments, the United Nations, international organizations, civil society and the private sector. These efforts are aimed at identifying effective ways of achieving the internationally agreed goals in the area of fresh water resources, developing strategies, programmes and laws to protect water environments and increasing investment and voluntary donor contributions, two activities associated with ensuring access to fresh water to all persons in need. We ask the Governments of all countries, as well as United Nations agencies, to undertake practical activities within this decade. This is the key to success, and it will require a great deal of work.

In some regions of the world, the international community is faced not only with the problem of conflicts and wars that interfere with long-term development, but also with illicit drug trafficking, which poses a threat to civil society. We cannot help being concerned with the fact that global demand for prohibited drugs is not decreasing. For instance, the volume of criminal transit of narcotics via Tajikistan constitutes a serious threat to our social, political and economic stability as well as to the security of the region as a whole. Afghanistan remains a major supplier of narcotics. Their production this year has set a record.

The President of Tajikistan, Mr. Emomali Rakhmonov, regards the struggle against illicit drugs as one of the top priorities for our country. Thanks to the cooperation with the United Nations and interaction within Shanghai Cooperation Organization of the last five years, Tajikistan has become one of the leading countries in the world in terms of narcotics interdiction. Over this period, the law enforcement bodies of Tajikistan and the Russian border guards have confiscated about 40 tons of narcotics, with heroin constituting more than half of this total. As a result, millions of dollars have been removed from circulation and hundreds of thousands of people the world over have been saved from narcotics dependency.

According to Antonio Maria Costa, Executive Director of the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime, Tajikistan sets a good example for other countries as to how one can successfully struggle against drugs. The achievements of Tajikistan in this area are considered as a good basis for strengthening the struggle against the narcotics threat, but we are combating the results rather than the roots of the problem.

In autumn 2005, heads of State and Government will meet in this General Assembly Hall to discuss progress in achieving the Millennium Development Goals. We attach great importance to this event, which coincides with the sixtieth anniversary of the foundation of the United Nations. We expect this forthcoming event to give the necessary political impetus to the international community in its progress towards the achievement through combined efforts of the Millennium Development Goals in the interest of a more stable, just and prosperous world.

The President

I now give the floor to Her Excellency Mrs. Maria Levens, Minister for Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Suriname.

Mrs. Levens (Suriname)

On behalf of the Government and people of the Republic of Suriname, I extend to you my sincere congratulations on your unanimous election to guide the work of this fifty-ninth session of the United Nations General Assembly. We are convinced that the wealth of diplomatic experience and expertise you bring to this body will assist you in a meaningful way during your presidency. I can assure you that the Government of the Republic of Suriname and its Permanent Mission stand ready to cooperate with you in the coming months. It also gives me great pleasure to salute your predecessor, the President of the fifty-eighth session of the General Assembly, Mr. Julian Robert Hunte, a fellow Caribbean national. Mr. Hunte's sterling and dedicated leadership has made all of us, especially those from the Caribbean region, proud. To Secretary-General Kofi Annan we offer our continued support. We acknowledge the importance of his remarks at the start of the General Assembly and share his views regarding the application of the rule of law, both domestically and internationally, as the guiding principle in strengthening and preserving democracy, defending and promoting human rights and establishing peace.

We are keenly aware of the importance of the United Nations, as the supreme multilateral institution, in advancing multilateral diplomacy for the benefit of humanity in a world in which we continue to struggle to achieve peace, security and prosperity. The international community expressed some time ago the need for a more effective and efficient Organization that would be better able to address the many challenges our world faces today.

Under the inspiring leadership of your predecessor, Mr. President, the fifty-eighth session of the General Assembly achieved the reordering of the agenda of the General Assembly aimed at its further rationalization and at facilitating the uniform and coherent discussion of development issues in the plenary and the main committees of the General Assembly. We must keep that powerful momentum for change alive and take it a step further. We must ensure that we do not regress from the results achieved and ensure that there is continued progress in these areas.

The reform of the United Nations Security Council remains one of the vital objectives of the restructuring efforts of the Organization. In our view, a restructured Council must be a reflection of the membership of the Organization, improving its level of transparency and making it more democratic. The Council must be more inclusive and comprehensive in its functioning, as security matters, because of their multidimensional nature, affect the life and livelihood of each and every one of us. The membership of a restructured Council and, equally, its current composition must ensure that the Council upholds the fundamental principles of the Charter while retaining its main focus: the maintenance of international peace and security.

It is very disturbing to observe that, despite intensive diplomatic and political undertakings, peace and tranquillity in several regions of the world are still a major concern and challenge that threaten the democratic underpinnings of society. The time may be opportune for the United Nations to spearhead the process of involving relevant interest groups and civil society at large in the different countries of a particular region to assist in the establishment of sustained peace in that region.

We express our concern about the ongoing political difficulties in the Middle East and in Africa, resulting in violence and the displacement of many persons.

The political crises in our own hemisphere -- especially in Venezuela and Haiti -- have attracted much attention and have been the subject of many efforts by the United Nations and the Organization of American States. We look forward to continuing and sustainable political stability in Venezuela which, we hope, will promote an environment of normalcy and progress.

The political situation in our sister nation, the Republic of Haiti, remains of great concern. Since its inception as the first black independent republic, Haiti has become the symbol of struggle and hardship, but also of courage, survival and solidarity. That long-battered country and its population need more profound, constructive and long-term assistance to improve the living conditions of the people of Haiti.

Earlier, I referred briefly to the multidimensional nature of security and the need to give due attention to social, economic and environmental threats. In recent weeks, the Caribbean region, which is home to economies that are already vulnerable, has felt the force of nature in the most extreme manner. While several countries have been battered -- such as Jamaica, the Bahamas, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Barbados, Trinidad and Tobago and several other islands -- one country in particular has been severely damaged: Grenada. I join all the other nations that have already done so in calling for immediate as well as long-term financial and technical assistance for the Government and people of Grenada. The Government of Suriname offers it condolences to the families of the victims in Caribbean countries, as well as in affected states of the United States of America, where various hurricanes in recent weeks have caused considerable damage and loss of life.

Another global threat that has an impact on every country emanates from the activities of terrorists, terrorist groups and State-sponsored terrorism. The world will never forget the images of horrifying terrorist acts such as the one that took place in Beslan this year, where hundreds of persons, mostly children, lost their lives. The Government of Suriname remains committed to the fight against terrorism. We also continue to believe that an effective and successful battle can be waged through a comprehensive approach.

The High-level Panel on Threats, Challenges and Change, which was established by the Secretary-General with a view to receiving a global report on international security, is a result of the renewed interest in international security concerns. We hope that that review will be one that will produce result-oriented objectives and measures.

Suriname believes that development issues such as the eradication of poverty and hunger and the protection of the environment are among the extremely important aspects to be addressed if one wishes to obtain lasting and comprehensive security, which encompasses, inter alia, military, political, environmental, economic and social developmental aspects.

Up to the present day, globalization has not delivered on the promise of vast development opportunities on a global scale. While we have to acknowledge that globalization has created opportunities, those opportunities have been restricted to just a few societies. The opportunities that arise from development in the world today are, unfortunately, not within the reach of all humankind. The current world order is still characterized by economic disparities, unequal trade regimes, income inequalities between and within countries, social injustice and declining opportunities for hundreds of millions. Globalization can only become a real option for economic development if it becomes all-inclusive and if we give it a human face by paying particular attention to the negative impact it has on social progress.

Suriname continues to believe that the United Nations must regain its importance in the areas of global development, if we want to be successful in our efforts to eradicate poverty, achieve social and economic development and stem the spread of communicable diseases such as HIV/AIDS.

The meeting on the subject of poverty organized by the Government of Brazil under the auspices of the United Nations points to a common awareness of the fact that the global development agenda must be advanced and that, therefore, the international community must move from political will to action and from commitments to implementation, granting humanity as a whole an opportunity to develop.

The upcoming 10-year review of the Barbados Programme of Action will provide small island developing States with a momentous opportunity to promote their priority interests and concerns for the next phase of the implementation of the Barbados Programme of Action. While we anticipate that that comprehensive review will result in concrete proposals to advance the implementation process, we also expect that the review exercise will take place in a spirit of partnership. The upcoming meeting in Mauritius should therefore generate greatly needed support, genuine commitment and, moreover, the political will of all partners in the process of furthering the cause of achieving true benefits and progress for the many people living in small island developing States.

In conclusion, I want to stress the need for the United Nations to become more effective in dealing with the current challenges in terms of terrorism and security. At the same time, we must remain vigilant in defending and strengthening democracy and democratic values and institutions, so as to create a stable political and social environment for progress and sustainable development. We also need to continue, and intensify, our battle against HIV/AIDS, illegal drug trafficking and crime. Although globalization has opened up opportunities, it is also our collective responsibility to ensure that international trade liberalization does not result in social and economic marginalization, especially of smaller and vulnerable economies.

To achieve those objectives, the United Nations has to continue its restructuring process and become not only the principal global platform in theory, but also demonstrate its capabilities to act in practice. It is in that context that my Government considers the United Nations the most appropriate global multilateral institution for the advancement of the living standards of humankind as a whole and for achieving sustainable global peace and security.

The President

I now call on His Excellency Mr. Carlos Morales Troncoso, Secretary of State for Foreign Relations of the Dominican Republic.

Mr. Morales Troncoso (Dominican Republic)

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