1. Mr. President, may I, on behalf of the
delegation of Trinidad and Tobago, congratulate
you on your unanimous election to the office of
President of the thirty-seventh session of the
General Assembly. My delegation is confident that
your considerable experience and skill will
con¬tribute significantly to the successful
outcome of the Assembly's work. You are the proud
representative of a country with which Trinidad
and Tobago enjoys the most cordial relations. I
would also like to pay a tribute to the outgoing
President, Mr. Ismat Kittani of Iraq, for his
very commendable performance over the past year,
as President not only of the thirty-sixth session
but also of the second special session on
disarmament and the emergency special sessions.
2. Twenty years ago, Trinidad and Tobago, a
small newly independent developing country,
joined the Organization. We, like many others,
were attracted by the system of collective
security enshrined in the Charter of the United
Nations. It was this which impelled us to seek
entry to the United Nations imme¬diately upon our
achievement of independence. We had neither the
desire nor the means to embark upon any
large-scale expenditure for arms or sophisticated
weapons of war in order to make ourselves
inde¬pendently secure. Even those who have
embarked upon such a course delude themselves
into believing that they can be secure.
3. Today Trinidad and Tobago views with
consider¬able concern the widening gap between
the purposes and principles of the Charter and
the increasing law¬lessness in the world
community. This lawlessness is characterized by
utter and distressing disregard for human life
and suffering and little respect for the dignity
of man. History will surely indict the United
Nations and its Member States for their chronic
inaction in the face of such lawlessness. The
Security Council has failed to fulfill its
primary responsibility for the maintenance of
peace and security and to act in accordance with
the purposes and principles of the Charter. Loss
of confidence in the United Nations system brings
the world closer to the brink of disaster as
nations seek to impose their will on others by
force and to ignore decisions of the world body
aimed at peacefully resolving international
conflicts.
63
4. The refusal of Member States to renounce
the use of force as an instrument of national
policy and the refusal to respect the territorial
integrity and inde¬pendence of States and to seek
the peaceful settlement of disputes have given
rise to a growing number of crises which threaten
to engulf us all in a conflagra¬tion of
unprecedented horror and destruction. The
Secretary-General, whose skilful and untiring
efforts in the cause of peace this past year must
not go unrecorded, has warned that this trend
must be reversed before once again we bring upon
ourselves a global catastrophe and find ourselves
without institu¬tions effective enough to prevent
it . But will his warning be heeded? How can it
be, when in the quest for a so-called balance of
power nations continue to increase their nuclear
arsenals? How can it be, when nations resort to
arms and refuse to limit and reduce their weapons
of mass destruction- weapons which threaten
civilization itself?
5. During the past year a number of old
conflicts have continued to fester and pose
obstacles to peace. Several new conflicts have
arisen which endanger international peace and
security. From the South Atlantic to South-East
Asia, from Western Sahara to the Middle East and
from Africa to Central America, situations of
intense conflict have brought disaster and untold
suffering to millions of people.
6. A few days ago the world was witness to
the most inhuman event in the Palestinian refugee
camps of west Beirut. The entry into that part of
the city of the Israel Defense Forces for the
alleged purpose of preventing further bloodshed
was the signal for permitting the unleashing of a
reign of primeval terror which has resulted in
the slaughter in cold blood of hundreds of
unarmed civilians—women, children and the
elderly—in the Sabra and Shatila refugee camps.
Revulsion at this barbarous act has echoed around
the world. It is testimony to the enormity of the
crime perpetrated by those who connived in its
commission. We would dishonor the memory of the
victims of this massacre and betray the people of
Lebanon, if we did not provide at this time
adequate and effective measures to heal their
wounds, promote their unity and restore their
national sovereignty. At the very least, we
demand the total and unconditional with¬drawal of
Israeli forces from Lebanese territory. The
tragedy of Lebanon is inextricably bound up with
the problem of the Palestinian people. Trinidad
and Tobago reiterates its firm conviction that
there cannot be and there will not be a lasting
peace in the Middle East until the rights of the
Palestinian people are recognized and respected
and until the Palestinian people themselves have
been allowed to exercise their right to
self-determination.
7. The mounting toll of refugees and
displaced persons fleeing political strife and
economic disorder attest to the increasing
inhumanity pervading our world today. These
conflict situations invariably affect people. It
is the mass of the people who suffer when the
mechanisms contained in the Charter for the
peaceful settlement of disputes fail or are
ignored, as we see with increasing frequency. The
fragile econo¬mies of developing countries and
the development aspirations of whole generations
of people are jeopar¬dized by actual conflict or
by the profligate expenditure involved in
preparing for conflict. International tension and
great-Power rivalry are perhaps the principal
cause of the deflection of the world's resources
from their correct use—the advancement of the
well-being of all mankind.
8. Nowhere is this inhumanity more sickening
than in South Africa, where the apartheid regime
of South Africa continues to defy international
world opinion in its brutal repression and
oppression of its black majority. The persistent
attempts to establish Bantustans, the detention
and banning of African leaders, and the death of
freedom fighters and trade union leaders while in
detention, serve only to confirm the need for
more stringent action by the United Nations to
compel South Africa to comply with its decisions
not only with respect to conditions in South
Africa itself but also with respect to Namibia,
which it con¬tinues to occupy illegally.
9. We must once more condemn the obstinacy
of Pretoria in impeding the achievement of
inde¬pendence by Namibia. We must condemn that
regime for its persistent use of Namibian
territory for armed attacks on neighbouring
States. We rebuke that racist regime for its
attempt to set up a puppet Government in Namibia.
Above all, we rebuke it for its ruthless
exploitation of Namibia's natural and human
resources .without any real benefit accruing to
the indigenous population. It is time for the
full implementation of Security Council
resolution 435 (1978), which sets the sole
framework for the independence of Namibia. It is
time to put a stop to the dilatory tactics
employed by Pretoria over the past four years to
deprive the people of Namibia of their peremptory
right to self- determination and independence.
10. We cannot equivocate in our support for
the Namibian people in their struggle to free
themselves from the oppressive colonial yoke.
Trinidad and Tobago's continuing commitment to
the process of decolonization has been
demonstrated by the leader¬ship role it has taken
in the Special Committee on the Situation with
regard to the Implementation of the Declaration
on the Granting of Independence to Colonial
Countries and Peoples. The Territories still to
be decolonized, many of them small in size and
limited in resources, are of particular concern
to Trinidad and Tobago since several of them form
part of our own Caribbean region. Some of these
Terri¬tories remain in a state of virtual
economic depen¬dency. In these circumstances it
is very difficult for them to exercise freely
their right to self-determination. The colonial
Power therefore has a duty to devote the necessary
resources to preparing these Territories for
independence. There is ample evidence to show
that when the colonial Power wishes to do so it
can.
11. If the political picture of the world
which I have painted is one beset with problems,
the economic one is no less troubled. I do not
think that there is now any doubt that today we
are experiencing the worst down-turn in the world
economy since the 1930s. What is perhaps even
more chilling is that there is little confidence
in the prospect of global economic recovery in
the short term and even less in the international
monetary and financial system. Unemployment, one
of the scourges of humanity, has reached
unimaginable proportions. We in the developing
world have lived with unemployment for decades.
Levels of unemploy-ment of 18 per cent and 20 per
cent were seen by some economists as normal for
developing countries, while for developed
countries 2.5 to 3 per cent was considered the
norm.
12. The Government of Trinidad and Tobago is
deeply concerned about the growing levels of
unem¬ployment in developed as well as developing
coun¬tries. It is concerned not only because of
the human suffering involved but also because the
monetarist prescriptions of certain major
countries and financial institutions for dealing
with the general economic situation are such that
they exacerbate the problem. The high interest
rates associated with monetarist policies have
added considerably to the already over¬grown debt
problem of the developing countries and resulted
in unpredictable flights of capital.
13. Recent events have reaffirmed, if that
were neces¬sary, just how interdependent the
world has become. In the industrialized countries
large deficits, tight monetary policies and high
levels of inflation have resulted in high and
volatile interest rates and a decline in
industrial output, which in turn have affected
the earnings of developing countries. At the same
time the developing countries have faced a marked
decline in the level of official development
assistance, dete¬riorating terms of trade, and
higher prices for imports, including food, and
renewed protectionist policies on the part of the
developed countries. Constrained by these
conditions, developing countries are unable to
pay for their imports and service their debts.
Indeed, so severe are these constraints that most
developing countries are experiencing negative
rates of growth.
14. For the Caribbean the past year has been
partic¬ularly difficult. Not only did the
recession continue to decrease the demand for
tourism, the primary source of foreign exchange
for many countries, but the major exports—sugar,
petroleum, bauxite/alumina and bananas—also faced
softening or declining markets. For countries
which have already been experiencing negative
growth rates the net result has been that the
economies of these countries are tottering on the
brink of bankruptcy. In order to achieve growth
rates of 3 to 5 per cent per annum over the next
five years, the countries of the Caribbean
Community will face an external resource gap of
over $US 3 billion. They will need the support of
the multilateral financial institutions if this
gap is to be bridged. We therefore, view with
some concern the decision of the World Bank to
adopt a variable interest rate policy and to
introduce a front-end lending fee which will make
project financing much more difficult and
painful. Without lower and more stable interest
rates, initiatives designed to encourage
investment in the Caribbean will not be
meaningful.
15. Trinidad and Tobago believes that there
is an urgent need for a significant increase in
the level of World Bank lending. A minimum
increase at the rate of 5 per cent m real terms
is necessary if the Bank is to meet the
requirements of developing countries.
16. With regard to the International Monetary
Fund [IMF], Trinidad and Tobago supports the call
for a substantial increase in and a
redistribution of quotas so as to give developing
countries generally and economic groupings and
regions a greater say in the operation of IMF.
17. Trinidad and Tobago is disappointed that no
consensus has been reached on the allocation of
special drawing rights during the present basic
period and that as yet, despite the repeated
pleas of the developing countries, a direct link
between special drawing rights and development
finance has not been established.
18. Trinidad and Tobago has sought, within
its own modest means, to contribute to the
economic progress of the countries in the
Caribbean community by making funds available to
them through the Caribbean Development Bank and
other regional financial insti¬tutions, as well
as through our own programmes for technical
co-operation and assistance. Over the past five
years, Trinidad and Tobago has contributed $.5
billion in balance-of-payments support, loans on
soft terms, and grants and project assistance to
mem¬bers of the Caribbean Community. Even in
these trying times Trinidad and Tobago maintains
its commitment to assist its partners in CARICOM.
We hope that other countries, particularly the
better endowed ones in our hemisphere, will make
good their promises of concrete support for the
countries of the Caribbean. In six months it may
be too late. We hope, however, that when such
assistance is given, it will not have a divisive
effect on the region and encourage alienation
from principles cherished by all Caribbean
peoples.
19. Trinidad and Tobago sees in the present
situation a clear and accurate demonstration of
the need for systematic transformation and more
balanced global management of the international
economy. We believe that the credibility,
efficacy and relevance of the existing
institutional structure and its theoretical and
philosophical underpinnings have been called into
question. That has rendered the call for the new
international economic order more relevant than
ever.
20. It is a matter of concern to us that
efforts to launch the global round of
negotiations on international economic
co-operation for development have not met with
great success during the past year. No agreement
has been reached so far between the Group of 77
and the industrialized countries on procedure,
agenda and time-frame for the launching of
negotiations to tackle the problems of the world
economy simultaneously in a coherent and
integrated manner. Instead, developing countries
see, with mounting frustration, their in¬terests
bypassed or ignored in the GATT negotiations and
in deliberations at the World Bank and IMF.
21. To the developing countries here
assembled, I launch an appeal to move swiftly to
implement the action program for economic
co-operation among developing countries adopted
by the Group of 77 at the High-Level Conference
on Economic Co-operation among Developing
Countries at Caracas in May 1981. Not until our
efforts to change our focus and to reorient our
patterns of economic collaboration bear fruit
shall we see a more positive response from the
developed community.
22. The Government of Trinidad and Tobago has
noted with satisfaction that after 14 years of
protracted dialogue and negotiation, the United
Nations has finally adopted the Convention on the
Law of the Sea. After much hard work,
co-operative effort and give and take, a package
deal was reached on 30 April 1982.
23. I must place on record the disappointment
of the Government of Trinidad and Tobago that one
of the major contributors to that package deal
has chosen to opt out of the painstakingly
negotiated settlement. The decision of that major
contributor to turn its back on a system which
would make for a stable order in ocean space is
to be regretted. It remains our hope that all
States will sign and ratify the Convention to
make it universally acceptable.
24. Perhaps it is not inappropriate that I
voice the cumulative disappointment of all
peoples at the failure to halt the arms race and
to reduce armaments of mass destruction. The
thousands who have marched in the streets of many
cities of the world in order to draw attention to
the existing situation and to signify their deep
fear of the consequences to themselves and future
generations of the arms race and nuclear
catastrophe have sent a clear message that the
world community cannot afford to ignore. Allow me
once again to voice the concern of peoples
everywhere for the urgent adoption of measures to
alleviate, if not to solve, the current economic
crisis, and to remove the hovering specter of
depression.
25. In conclusion, I should like to urge the
great powers not to import into the Caribbean
their rivalries, conflicts and tensions. Of our
neighbors in the hemisphere, we ask at all costs
that they settle their disputes by peaceful
means. The Government of Trinidad and Tobago, as
it has done before, stands ready to assist in
finding peaceful and amicable solu¬tions to
disputes which threaten to disturb the peace in
the Caribbean, and to retard the just aspirations
of Caribbean peoples for peace, security and
economic well-being.