Saint Kitts and Nevis

The fifty- second anniversary of the United Nations is yet another historic moment for us all. Our shared presence here is evidence that as Members of this great institution we have an opportunity to realize our collective aspirations and expectations. It is necessary therefore for the Organization to ensure that the concerns of Member States, particularly those in the developing world, are not compromised or seen as secondary to the process. It is essential that the United Nations become a catalyst for improving the quality of life of our citizens and a champion of our fundamental rights and freedoms. Such challenges will require much commitment and strategic thinking. I believe that if we succeed we will have laid the foundation for peace and international security for generations to come. With our nations and peoples standing at the crossroads of tremendous change, and with heightened expectations in the fields of human development and poverty eradication, the United Nations must be allowed to assume an even greater role. Saint Kitts and Nevis maintains that the United Nations has the necessary institutional capacity to encompass our collective ambitions and simultaneously to resolve many of the problems facing nation-States. In the light of the fundamental importance which my Government attaches to a reformed, more functional United Nations, we welcome the appointment of His Excellency Mr. Kofi Annan as Secretary-General. His commitment to and wide experience in this institution will help provide the United Nations with the crucial leadership it needs at this critical juncture in the Organization s history. As we march into a new millennium, with its increasing uncertainties and complexities, the United Nations and its membership will have to recommit themselves to human development in all its facets. Otherwise we will have failed in this decade to accomplish our mandate of poverty eradication. The growing reduction in much-needed aid and technical assistance to the developing world threatens the further marginalization of our poor countries. This means that countries will grow to depend more on the United Nations. We therefore urge the United Nations to work more closely with developing countries to devise new ideas and pragmatic approaches to improve the standard of living of the world's poor. This reality, we think, lends greater urgency to the Secretary-General's proposals for reform. In this regard, the Government of Saint Kitts and Nevis encourages wide discussion of the extensive and far- reaching reform proposals with the aim of arriving at consensus. We believe that it is vital to restructure and consolidate some of the different areas of services that the United Nations provides. However this must herald real change and increased benefit for Member States. We cannot support a mere transfer of resources from one organ to another without proper safeguards to ensure efficiency and accountability. In the same vein, we hope that development reforms will not sacrifice the effectiveness and distinctiveness of existing organs. In order for the developing world to achieve sustainable growth, we need the expertise, we need the resources and we need the institutional capabilities of existing United Nations funds and programmes. As we work towards greater efficiency in the management and administration of services, it is important not to undermine positive past achievements. Member States must refrain from marrying conditionalities to the process of reform, especially when these very conditionalities hinder substantial progress in the reform process itself. Saint Kitts and Nevis therefore suggests that in order for reforms to work they must of necessity balance and protect the interests of Member States, not simply appear to reward or benefit a privileged few. Reform is not about creating mechanisms that merely restructure the obligations of States to the Organization. Reform should not be used as an opportunity to compensate current economic strength. Decisions on permanent and non-permanent membership, as part of the reform process, should be the result of a process of debate and consensus-building. My delegation expects to see greater emphasis on geographic representation and on correcting old inequalities that continue to plague us today. Saint Kitts and Nevis appeals to all States to be careful not to confuse the need for genuine systemic reforms with legally assessed financial obligations to the Organization. Nations demanding reform should also be willing to reform incongruous attitudes and perceptions of the United Nations. We must honour all our responsibilities to the Organization. Progress will require that we all work more closely together to confront the multitude of complicated problems, old and new. To this end, let us challenge ourselves to find common ground and assist the United Nations in developing the appropriate ideas and strategies that promote our common agenda. This may not be easy; hence the Organization will need to establish a mutually beneficial relationship between policy makers in Government and the business community. On this note, I should like to acknowledge the magnificent contribution of Mr. Ted Turner to this Organization. He has shown himself to be an exceptional international citizen. We trust that this humanitarian gesture of support for the Organization and its work will make a noticeable impact on the areas designated, and that it will challenge others of like mind to demonstrate their support for the Organization as well. This show of support is a reminder that only the United Nations can provide the kind of impartial and comprehensive leadership that Member States want. Only the United Nations, with 50 years of successes and 2 failures as a world institution, has the unique experience to develop essential capabilities to serve its membership. The United Nations has the competitive edge. A United Nations reformed to deal with the modern challenges of a modern era can work, but only if it is allowed to work. I appreciate well the power of national imperatives and individualism. I also understand well the concerns about supranational institutions. Nevertheless, we have come too far to surrender our global destiny to fear and misconceptions. When we speak of the development of the human person yet fail to appreciate that economic rights are as fundamental to human dignity as are human rights, we do great disservice to the cause of human rights. However, when we acknowledge these rights then we give more substance to social stability and the process of true democracy. Democracy is not new to the Caribbean region. It is a way of life, a tradition for our region. We see it as the most practical and useful system of government to advance our people. However, democracy is not simply about institutions or processes. It is about creating an enabling government and an enabling environment in which the ordinary person — the impoverished, the disillusioned, the educated and the rich — feels included and feels that he or she can participate in the decision-making process and feels that his or her dreams can be truly realized. Because we regard democracy as the most efficient and viable vehicle for sustainable human development, it must deliver and be seen to deliver. The people must be reassured that they can and indeed will rise from the quicksand of poverty through the promise of development. If we fail to deliver on the promise, then democracy will fail. If democracy fails, poverty becomes entrenched and chaos becomes inevitable. The condition of poverty has for too long been linked with the destiny of small States. The apparent ease with which both are dismissed is a source of grave concern to the Government and the people of Saint Kitts and Nevis. Too little attention is being paid to the economic hardships, political disruptions and social dislocations which we are forced to endure as small developing States. Instead of seeing crucial support from the developed world, we are witnessing increased tendencies towards isolationism and neglect. In the current wave of globalization, economic stability has become the soft underbelly of Caribbean security, democracy and prospects for sustainable development. If these economies are not strengthened and given appropriate assistance, one lays waste to the tremendous intellectual talents in these countries and exposes the political and social fabric to the nefarious forces that lurk in the region. Our small countries need institutional support and partnership to help in preparing our youth to adapt their knowledge and skills to changing world circumstances. Such preparation will help make them self-sufficient and more responsive to the unpredictable changes taking place around us. Additionally, we must create jobs on a continuous basis to inspire our young people and put life's basic needs within reach of their parents. We must not overlook the crucial link between economic growth and long-term political and social stability. Sustainable development in the Caribbean is in everyone's best interest. My Government does not subscribe to conspiracy theories, but it is acutely aware of the ease with which we can all fall victim to the conspiracy of silence and the conspiracy of neglect. Our economies are under siege; our way of life is threatened; the growth of our countries and people is undermined by forces which are better able to exploit globalization and trade liberalization. No one in good faith can accuse us of complacency. Our countries have worked hard to keep pace with current economic trends. We have tightened fiscal and monetary policies, and we are monitoring them very closely. We have run the gauntlet of social and economic measures supposedly structured to ensure the economic growth and survival of our various economies. The road we have travelled has been a difficult one, and we have learned valuable lessons. Still, we continue to suffer exclusion from developed countries' markets for our various products. As a direct consequence, the private sector has become sceptical of its very survival and profitability. Our banana-producing countries in the region have suffered a tremendous and potentially devastating blow in the wake of the recent panel ruling of the World Trade Organization (WT0) on the banana regime of the African, Caribbean and Pacific group of States (ACP). It is inconceivable that the insignificant but important 3 percentage in access that ACP countries share in this market can pose any meaningful threat to the collaborative interests of multinational producers. Our banana and sugar industries are major employers and foreign exchange earners; yet, without regard for our survival, they are being challenged with the ultimate objective of dismantling them completely. At the same time, we still do not have ready access to essential technologies vital to making our industries and human resources more competitive and more efficient. We contend that trade liberalization, without the proper mechanisms to protect the small and the weak, does not promote fair trade. Where is the fairness of fair trade? How, therefore, will our small island developing States find new and sustainable ways to respond to the growing needs of our population? How will we be able to stem the brain drain, the migration of human resources searching for a better standard of living? Our countries have undertaken to diversify our economies despite the obvious dislocations within our societies. We remain committed to democratic institutions, and we continuously allocate scarce resources to human development. Our Governments in the Caribbean have been working more closely with the private sector as true partners in development. We have enacted legislation to facilitate increased investment opportunities and to encourage foreign direct investment and domestic savings. Nonetheless, with every step we seem to fall prey to the perpetual and constantly evolving demands for more extensive changes without any regard for the effects on our countries and our people. Globalization, with its insatiable appetite, and the ravenous forces of unrestricted free market and trade liberalization are forever famished. Why must the rules which are always in a state of constant flux be to the detriment of small resource-poor States? In the coming years, not only will we still be struggling to combat poverty, but the concepts of sovereignty and governance will also be seriously challenged as we endeavour to cope with the complex implications of forces that face our societies and menace our democracies. The transnational nature of information, of capital, of labour and of technological advances will not spare our tiny countries the trying consequences unleashed by globalization. Despite these difficulties, Saint Kitts and Nevis will not become a nation of mendicants. We will give priority to the right of our citizens to economic well-being. For what good would it do if our people achieve their human right to exist but are denied the right to live dignified lives? The Labour Government of Saint Kitts and Nevis has undertaken to build 1,000 new, affordable homes by the end of this century. We believe that all our citizens have the right to live in dignity and to have access to the basic necessities of life. We have already turned over 100 new houses, and by the end of this year we expect 300 families to be moving into new homes in Saint Kitts and Nevis. This is the commitment of the Government of Saint Kitts and Nevis to the development of its citizens. I have said in the past, and I maintain now, that we must abandon the practice of using gross national product per capita to measure standards of living for people in the developing world. How can the developed world and multilateral agencies deny assistance to countries on the basis that such a country has reached this artificial threshold? Are people in the developing world not entitled to a higher standard of living, or must they always straddle the boundaries of poverty and exist only at levels which the developed world considers acceptable indicators of human progress? It is important for us to dedicate our energies to the logic of prevention. In Saint Kitts and Nevis we believe strongly that prevention is better than cure. We believe in enabling our peoples to have a life free of poverty and despair. The Secretary-General has called for greater efficiency in management, greater resource mobilization and redeployment of potential savings to the development fields. This is long overdue. It is also the duty of Member States to ensure that new resources are targeted at development. Such a process will have to be guided by and nourished with vision, political will and an appreciation of the global imperatives of sustainable development and poverty eradication. It will involve foresight, profound analyses, and a willingness to look beyond national self-interest. Working together to shape our collective destiny could enable us to reduce the risks of future political and social conflicts. I believe firmly that the special circumstances and vulnerability indices of small States must be at the forefront of international debate. If there were ever a question as to the vulnerability of small States, I challenge the Assembly to recall the unfortunate situation 4 on the Caribbean island of Montserrat. This reality clearly demonstrates that it takes only one disaster, only one violent act of nature, only one volcanic eruption to dislocate an entire population, decimate an entire economy and destroy the entire social fabric of a people. The Government of Saint Kitts and Nevis, like other Caribbean Community (CARICOM) countries, has extended a willing hand of health and social support to the people of Montserrat. We continue to provide employment and other business opportunities to those who have come to our shores in Saint Kitts and Nevis from the island of Montserrat. I urge the international community to join the Caribbean in taking prompt, decisive and tangible steps to assist the people of Montserrat. Montserrat is a microcosm of our precarious existence. Hence, we urge the international community to fulfil its promises under the Barbados Programme of Action and other commitments to the developing world. Our survival as a region is intimately interwoven with our environment, and our physical and economic limitations should not be further burdened by the transshipment of hazardous waste through our waterways. Such actions are a flagrant violation of our human rights and an affront to our sovereign dignity. As we work to fulfil the dreams of those who came before us, I trust that we will succeed in developing confidence in the capabilities of the United Nations and entrust it with realizing our common objectives. At the same time, there will be occasions when we must challenge ourselves to appreciate that some problems in international affairs require indigenous approaches and remedies. We must, therefore, yield to such imperatives. One case in point is the Middle East, where the current crisis calls for a nurturing of mutual trust and a clear willingness to understand the need for all the parties to come to the bargaining table. Saint Kitts and Nevis believes that durable peace and security are the common desires of the nations involved. Success requires boldness and commitment. Genuine progress will come not from violence, recrimination and mistrust, but through partnership and dialogue. Saint Kitts and Nevis urges both sides to use negotiation and creative confidence-building measures in addressing their differences Saint Kitts and Nevis also urges the Chinese people on both sides of the Taiwan Strait to commit their collective energies to the pursuit of common approaches to resolving the current impasse that divides them. The Government of Saint Kitts and Nevis maintains that progress on this issue requires sustained dialogue, political will and the goodwill of all. We also believe that the remarkable strides the Chinese people on Taiwan have made in the last two decades should not be squandered. The international community can benefit, and stands to benefit significantly, from the economic, technological and social advances of Taiwan. In conclusion, fulfilling the expectations of our citizens is not a simple task, but we cannot and must not become discouraged. I hope, therefore, that as we endeavour to accomplish our goals Member States will not continue to make unreasonable demands on this Organization while refusing it the requisite tools and resources for appropriate action. Our world needs a stronger United Nations. Our countries and our peoples need its intellectual supervision and potential for impartiality. Let us not try to relegate it to the periphery, lest we risk serious consequences in the future. Let us commit to writing a history of which we can be proud, lest history should hold us in contempt for squandering our children's heritage. Let this session of the General Assembly be a watershed when collective efforts were translated into appropriate action and well-deserved results.