Trinidad and Tobago

It is an honour for me to extend to His Excellency Mr. Jan Eliasson my sincere congratulations on his election to the presidency of the sixtieth session of the General Assembly. Let me also pay tribute to his predecessor, His Excellency Mr. Jean Ping, for his extraordinary dedication and leadership during the fifty-ninth session. I also wish to express my Governmentís sincere appreciation to the Secretary-General, His Excellency Mr. Kofi Annan, for his tireless efforts aimed at strengthening multilateralism and upholding the purposes and principles of the United Nations. Five years ago, at the Millennium Summit, world leaders reaffirmed their faith in the United Nations and its Charter as indispensable foundations of a more peaceful, prosperous and just world. While there has been progress in some areas, much remains to be done to bring about the full realization of the ambitious Goals set forth in the Millennium Declaration. The promise of a global partnership to realize the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) remains unfulfilled for the vast majority of the peoples of Africa, Asia, Latin America and the Caribbean, where a total of more than one billion people still live below the poverty line. For the Caribbean region in particular challenges remain in the area of trade, where the erosion of tariff preferences for primary commodities such as bananas and sugar have been extremely prejudicial to the socio-economic development of many countries of the Caribbean Community (CARICOM). The Caribbean region has also been affected by the HIV/AIDS pandemic, which has killed over 20 million men, women and children worldwide. The implicit threat to economic and social stability, human development and security cannot be underestimated or denied. The target of devoting 0.7 per cent of gross national income to official development assistance (ODA) also remains an elusive goal, although there have been encouraging signs recently, such as the commitment made by the Group of Eight (G-8) at the Gleneagles summit and the commitments of other developed countries to meet that target by the year 2015. Those commitments were reiterated in the 2005 outcome document (resolution 60/1) of the High-level Plenary Meeting. At the same time, we have been increasingly confronted by humanitarian emergencies caused by devastating natural disasters, with the resultant internal displacement of people. Once again, we wish to express our sympathy to the Government and the people of the United States of America in the wake of Hurricane Katrina. In our own CARICOM subregion, we remain particularly vulnerable to the devastating effects of hurricanes. In the light of the extensive damage inflicted on the sister island of Grenada last year, we urge the United Nations, the international community and donor agencies to give priority attention to the CARICOM subregion in the areas of disaster preparedness and post-recovery assistance. The rise of global terrorism, the threat of the proliferation of nuclear, biological and chemical weapons and the concomitant prospect of them falling into the hands of non-State actors have emerged as issues of extreme urgency. The spread of small arms and light weapons - the weapons of choice in many intra-State conflicts - also poses a threat to the security of many countries. In that regard, CARICOM is particularly concerned about the increasing incidence of violent crime caused by the presence of illegal firearms and their association with the illicit drug trade. The confluence of all those interconnected threats and challenges, as daunting as this may seem, can and must be countered and effectively addressed. We must therefore demonstrate the political will and the commitment to act collectively to develop national and regional strategies with renewed resolve at the global level to support robust multilateralism, with a strong and effective United Nations at its centre. No one State, no matter how powerful, can act wholly by itself to resolve those common problems. There is also simply no legitimate alternative to the United Nations ó no comparable multilateral institution where all member States meet, deliberate, advance and harmonize their views and interests and negotiate and adopt instruments for collective action to the benefit of all. Last week, in adopting the outcome document, we agreed to a road map, as it were, of measures required to reorient the United Nations to meet todayís challenges. Even as we reaffirm our faith in the United Nations and our commitment to more robust multilateralism, and even as we work towards a more effective United Nations through the implementation of 8 the outcome document, we must recall that the main purpose of last weekís Meeting was to review the progress made since the Millennium Summit adopted the MDGs, five years ago. Indeed, it is the overall improvement in the lives of all our peoples, in whose name we are gathered here, by which history will ultimately judge or condemn us. Permit me, therefore, to offer some views on issues that Trinidad and Tobago considers paramount, and on the principles that should serve as a guide for our future deliberations. Those must of necessity include the following: the imperative of recommitting ourselves, as a matter of priority, to the full realization of the development goals and objectives that have emerged from major United Nations conferences and summits, including the MDGs; greater democratization of all United Nations organs and related bodies, in terms of both their composition and their mode of operations; strict observance of the rule of international law and justice; and respect for the commonly shared values on which the United Nations is founded. Development must remain central to the agenda of the United Nations. Trinidad and Tobago supports the increased attention of the international community towards Africa in overcoming its developmental challenges and in providing that continent with the increased resources needed to enable it to fully implement the New Partnership for Africaís Development (NEPAD). We welcome in particular the commitment contained in the outcome document to the implementation of the Barbados Programme of Action for the Sustainable Development of Small Island Developing States. We call for the full and effective implementation of the commitments, programmes and targets contained in the Mauritius Strategy, adopted at the International Meeting to Review the Implementation of the Barbados Programme of Action for the Sustainable Development of Small Island States. Trinidad and Tobago has demonstrated remarkable strength and resilience in the face of a global environment characterized by rapid economic, social and other changes. We have embarked on the road to developed-nation status and hope to reach our goal by the year 2020 or earlier. Our Vision 20/20 includes the evolution of a technologically driven, knowledge-based society, a highly productive and globally competitive economy, and the provision of a standard of living comparable to that of the developed world. To achieve that vision, the Government of the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago is developing its human capital by creating a virtually seamless educational system from the primary to the tertiary level, with increasing emphasis on information technology and other related subjects. In this way we will ensure that our young people can become an integral part of the global labour force, with the necessary skills to compete locally, regionally and internationally. Our development agenda is not centred solely on the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago. It is, as my Prime Minister stated from this very rostrum one year ago, "part and parcel of a pan-Caribbean agenda to which we are irrevocably and solidly committed - [and in which the] development of Trinidad and Tobago and CARICOM are intertwined". (A/59/PV.10, p. 8) We therefore remain committed to the integration of the Caribbean region through the instrumentality of CARICOM. To that end, Trinidad and Tobago has provided substantial financial and economic assistance to our CARICOM neighbours through a variety of mechanisms, including capital market activities, direct foreign investment, debt relief and direct bilateral assistance. We have also provided extensive hurricane relief as well as assistance to the private sector in CARICOM to strengthen their export capability. As an energy surplus country, Trinidad and Tobago has, through its own Petroleum Stabilization Fund, made financial assistance available to CARICOM countries to the tune of some $48 million per annum ó and this without any conditionalities. No development or security assessment in our subregion would be complete without consideration of the grave political, economic, social and security crisis that confronts the Haitian people. We look forward to the holding of free, fair, democratic and inclusive elections in Haiti and to the installation of a truly democratically elected Government in that nation, so that Haiti can once again sit in the Council of CARICOM. Trinidad and Tobago and other CARICOM States remain committed over the long term to securing the 9 progress and future of the Haitian people. We therefore urge the United Nations system and the international donor community to provide the necessary support to Haiti in the post-election period. Effective assistance, the disbursement of funds pledged and the release of other resources will ensure the progress of a nation currently overwhelmed by daunting challenges. In the area of disarmament, we share the disappointment of many Member States at our failure to demonstrate the necessary political will to ensure the consensus adoption of agreements leading to tangible and substantive results at the Review Conference of the Parties to the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons (NPT) and in the outcome document. Trinidad and Tobago reiterates its condemnation of terrorism in all its forms and manifestations, and it is committed to doing its part to eradicate that scourge from our world. In that vein, we look forward to the early conclusion of a draft comprehensive convention on international terrorism. In addition, we welcome the action taken by members of the international community to combat terrorism, but we would wish to reiterate that the human rights and the civil and political rights of individuals must be respected in the course of any counter-terrorism actions taken by Member States of the international community. As a small island developing State, we face difficulties associated with the evils of the drug trade and the illicit trade in small arms and light weapons. As a result, it is becoming increasingly difficult to stem the tide of criminal activity within our society. Trinidad and Tobago believes that an international order based on the rule of law must be observed in relations between and among States. This fundamental pillar is indispensable for the proper functioning of the international system. In their relations, States must have regard, at all times, for the principles of the Charter of the United Nations and of international law. We reaffirm in particular those principles relating to the sovereign equality of all States Members of the United Nations, non-interference in the internal affairs of Members, respect for their political and territorial integrity, the right of peoples to self-determination, and recourse to peaceful means for the settlement of disputes. We also reaffirm the important role of the General Assembly in the development of international treaties. Trinidad and Tobago expresses its deep regret at the failure of the outcome document to include any reference to the International Criminal Court or the question of impunity. In that regard, we call on all States Members of the United Nations to become parties to the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court in order to ensure that it becomes a truly global instrument for the trial of those accused of committing crimes that affront the conscience of all humanity. My country welcomes the cooperation between the International Criminal Court and the United Nations, which was highlighted earlier this year when the Security Council decided to refer the situation in Darfur to the Court. We look forward to increased opportunities for collaboration and cooperation between these two important global institutions in putting an end to such crimes and to the culture of impunity that has for so long accompanied them. Trinidad and Tobago reaffirms its commitment to the reform and strengthening of the United Nations. We share the view that the reform of the United Nations must seek to reinforce and consolidate the democratic foundation upon which this Organization was built. We are of the view that cardinal to the reform agenda must be the revitalization and restoration of the role and authority of the General Assembly, as the chief deliberative, policymaking and representative organ of the United Nations. Trinidad and Tobago supports the comprehensive reform of the Security Council. In that regard, we wish to underline the importance of the adoption by the international community of a comprehensive set of reform measures. It is imperative that expansion should proceed on the basis of making the Council more representative of the general membership of the United Nations. It should contribute to a greater democratization of its functioning. It should impart greater legitimacy and transparency to its decisions, and it should be achieved through the broadest possible consultation. Trinidad and Tobago also looks forward to participating in discussions on reform of the United 10 Nations human rights machinery and on the pending issues relating to the Peacebuilding Commission. Trinidad and Tobago commends the Secretary- General for his ongoing efforts to enhance the effective management of the United Nations. An efficient, effective, well-resourced Secretariat which is accountable to the General Assembly is indispensable to achieving the objectives of a strengthened Organization. Trinidad and Tobago welcomes the Secretariat and management reform proposals contained in the outcome document as a first step towards a necessary thorough debate and discussion, and we look forward to participating actively in these negotiations. It is imperative, however, that these proposals meet the test of viability, that they have the sanction of the established intergovernmental process and that they do not individually or collectively seek to derogate, diminish or further marginalize the role of the General Assembly. As we embark on the path of implementation of the outcome document, we must spare no effort to ensure that the future of the United Nations is not compromised by the exigencies of the moment. Institutional renewal, a strengthened United Nations and a robust multilateralism must allow us to forge a truly effective global response and commitment to the common threats and challenges that confront us. Trinidad and Tobago pledges to do its part to make the United Nations a more effective instrument in the common service of all our peoples.