Vanuatu

I join in the congratulations extended to you. Sir, on your election as President of the General Assembly at its forty-seventh session. Your election symbolizes the great changes taking place throughout the world, and is a tribute to your country and to your people, as well as to you yourself. I should also like to pay a special tribute to you your predecessor, Mr. Samir Shihabi, the former Permanent Representative of Saudi Arabia, for the manner in which he presided over the affairs of the General Assembly during its forty-sixth session. There can be no doubt that there has been no period in our lifetime when the world has enjoyed greater hope for a lasting international peace than it does now. The gradual reduction of tension and the eventual elimination of antagonisms between the world's two foremost military Powers have had dramatic results in nuclear disarmament, and ultimately contributed to the end of the cold war. Today, the widening circle of democracy holds out the promise of an international environment that could become even more conducive to the attainment of international peace and security. None the less, many problems persist and plague the Earth, threatening our never-ending search for justice, equality and peace. Democracy, so cherished and championed, within certain national borders, is often less cherished, if not disregarded, when it comes to the interests of the large and powerful countries, on the one hand, and those of the smaller and economically weaker States, on the other. Moreover, nationalism, which could, and should, be a progressive vehicle for unifying peoples, rather than dividing them, has on occasion been encouraged to manifest its narrowest and most intolerant forms. In too many parts of the world, old ethnic antagonisms have been reawakened and are being exploited by demagogues who are very adept at using these antagonisms to serve their selfish and short-sighted ambitions. Unfortunately, far too often the victims of this demagoguery have no recourse to any legal mechanism that might spare their lives and end their suffering. Tragically, we have seen certain scenarios played out far too often. At first, the world sits idly by and barely notices the insulting words and the offensive speeches that are made. Then, even more inflammatory rhetoric is spouted, and eventually stones are hurled. Next, individuals are assaulted in the streets and their homes are invaded and vandalized. Before too long, conditions deteriorate irreparably. For some, that constitutes a point of no return. Ignorance, which breeds hatred, accelerates and races forward unchecked, building its own momentum with ever-increasing destructive force. Entire neighbourhoods or villages are placed under siege. The demagogues, by now totally intoxicated by the false power of the forces they have unleashed, will always try to claim to be defending the loftiest ideals. In fact, they are simply following their basest instincts. Vanuatu has long been disturbed by the hesitancy and reluctance of some members of the international community to address this very troublesome issue. In the past we have warned that failure to examine the causes of ethnic antagonisms or intercommunal conflicts, failure to devise peaceful ways to resolve them, could only lead to a situation in which, one day, international peace and security would be quite seriously threatened by such developments. Regrettably, that day has now arrived. Thus, while some of us have never had more reason to rejoice and others have never had more reason to mourn, still others have never faced a less certain future. What possible joy can a mother in the Balkans feel when she buries her young son whose life was ended by an unknown sniper's bullet? What possible joy can a father in Somalia feel when he watches his daughter die a slow and painful death from starvation? What can possibly ease the terror that fills the hearts of defenceless and innocent refugees who find themselves caught in the vice of political and social indifference or who behold the chaos in native lands they had always considered havens of justice and equality. While some rightly rejoice over the end of the cold war and the spread of democracy, others are homeless and continue to suffer the pangs of hunger often the result of economic deprivation. Still others mourn the sudden and violent end of the lives of their loved ones and wonder anxiously whether they themselves will survive to see the next sunrise. While some are able to applaud what has been achieved, others can only contemplate the long road still to be travelled. From South Africa to Afghanistan, from Cambodia to Haiti, from Bosnia and Herzegovina to East Timor, from the heart of Europe all the way to the sunny South Pacific, people are suffering some for a long time now because of the difficulties of all kinds that they face, and the international community must still shoulder the major responsibility. All these ideas are emphasized in the Secretary-General's remarkable report entitled "An Agenda for Peace". He has made a thought-provoking analysis, and we find this document to be a very good starting-point for much-needed discussions as we approach the fiftieth anniversary of the United Nations and as mankind prepares to enter the twenty-first century. The international political environment is not the only environment that concerns us. Much has been written and much has been said about the Earth Summit held this past June in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. It remains to be seen what will be done as a follow-up to that very important meeting. We are pleased to note that some very positive measures have already been taken. The United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) is to be commended for having made a significant financial contribution to Capacity 21. Canada has indicated that it will follow suit. We trust that others also will do so very soon. This important initiative will help the developing countries formulate national policies and legislation in support of the environment and sustainable development. It will focus on the technical training of human resources and the strengthening of regional and national institutions. More importantly, it will show how serious the developed countries of the North are about the extensive multilateral commitments necessary to breathe life into our post-Rio journey. At this session of the General Assembly a number of important measures should be taken as follow-ups to the Earth Summit. Among these, of course, is the establishment of a high-level commission on sustainable development. It is our hope that the commission's secretariat will be situated at United Nations Headquarters here in New York and that the commission will meet in New York so that all countries will have an opportunity to participate in, and contribute to, the commission's important work. Situating the commission's secretariat elsewhere and holding its meetings outside New York would without any doubt result in sharply reduced participation by a large number of developing countries and would limit the commission's effectiveness. Furthermore, we feel that situating the commission in New York would be most cost-effective for the United Nations and would stimulate the very necessary interaction between the commission, UNDP, the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA), the World Bank and the other multilateral agencies that are so essential to making the follow-up to Rio meaningful and effective. We strongly believe, as do our colleagues in the Alliance of Small Island States (AOSIS), that the decisions made with respect to the site of the commission's secretariat, the venue of its meetings, its size and its composition will be critical in determining whether there will be universal participation and transparency in the work of the commission. Our major concern is that this matter not be decided on any ground except what is likely to lead to the most effective functioning of the commission and its productive interaction with other agencies. During the current session of the General Assembly, an intergovernmental committee to negotiate a convention on drought and desertification will also be established. Vanuatu intends to participate actively in that committee's work and to lend its support to those countries most immediately threatened by drought and desertification. We feel that addressing this problem is one of the greatest challenges facing the international community. Another of the very important measures the General Assembly will consider as a follow-up to the Earth Summit is the proposal to hold a world conference on the sustainable development of the small island States. Such a meeting is long overdue. We hope a resolution on convening the conference will be adopted by consensus and that the essential objective of the conference, which AOSIS is proposing be held in Barbados, will be to ensure concrete and meaningful action by the international community to assist the world's most vulnerable, yet very frequently overlooked, countries. We appeal to all countries to lend their support to this conference and to join us in the warm and friendly atmosphere of Barbados next June in order to continue our journey together on the road charted by the Rio Conference. Vanuatu is not only a small island State but also a least developed country. We therefore have a real concern for our economy as well as for political democracy. Thus, we aspire also to economic development. Therefore, we join in the appeals for measures to correct the trade imbalances, to reduce the debt burden, and to establish fair prices for our commodities. We believe that measures must be taken to overcome these scourges of underdevelopment. This subject is of such great importance that we approach the question of the reform and restructuring of the United Nations development system with a great deal of hope that creative approaches will be devised and effectively utilized in the post-cold-war period. We are pleased and proud to report that next month our Parliament in Vanuatu will act on legislation required for the ratification of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, and the Convention on Biological Diversity. We strongly feel it is essential that these conventions be ratified, enter into force and be strictly adhered to at the earliest possible moment. We are also pleased that there is finally a convention banning chemical weapons. We pray that those who possess such weapons and those who would possess them will see the wisdom of becoming parties to that legal instrument and forever banning those horrible tools of death. Environmental disasters that have recently struck countries as diverse and geographically distant from each other as the Bahamas, France, Nicaragua, Pakistan and the United States suggest that the world has not a moment to spare if we are to avoid the potential global calamity that could result from mankind's long-term abuse of the environment. Precautionary, preventive measures should be taken now; otherwise it will most assuredly be too late. For decades, the peoples of the South Pacific have seen their region utilized for the testing of nuclear weapons, for the dumping of radioactive wastes and, most recently, for the destruction of chemical weapons. Our region paid high and unwanted costs for technologies from which we received comparatively little benefit. Today, we South Pacific leaders are very concerned about plans to ship plutonium through our waters. We trust that those who are involved in these plans will heed our voices while we still have voices to be heard. I conclude by joining in the welcome that has been expressed to all of our new Members. Theirs has not been an easy path to statehood, international recognition and membership of the United Nations. We salute their perseverance and their vision of their own futures. We stand ready to join hands with them in forging a more effective, more representative and more responsive United Nations. In that way we shall help to create a more democratic international order a world order that is democratic in fact as well as in word; a world order that respects all countries, whether large and powerful or small and vulnerable.