Vanuatu

On behalf of the people and the Government of the Republic of Vanuatu, I wish to join previous speakers in congratulating you, Mr. President, on your election to this high and important post. Your unanimous election as President of the fifty-fourth session of General Assembly shows the esteem in which the international community holds both you, personally, and your country, Namibia. The Republic of Vanuatu’s delegation is confident that you will guide the session to a successful conclusion. May I take this opportunity, through you, to express my delegation’s sincere appreciation on your predecessor, His Excellency Mr. Didier Opertti of Uruguay, for his outstanding stewardship in facilitating the work of the fifty- third session. I wish to commend our Secretary-General, Mr. Kofi Annan, for his wise leadership and dedication to the reform and restructuring of our Organization. Through you, Mr. President, we would like to assure him of our support. Four years ago, we gathered here to celebrate the fiftieth anniversary of our Organization — in particular, to renew our commitment to the fundamental principles which created it in 1945. We have also made strong a commitment to further strengthen our collaborative and genuine efforts in ensuring that this Organization continues to promote global peace, justice, healthy environment, human rights, law and order, and support the process of sustainable development of its Member nations — in particular, the least developed countries (LDCs) such as those in the Pacific region, including the Republic of Vanuatu. The current international political and economic situation has grown ever more complex and demanding on our very limited and scarce resources as well as on the support available from our development partners. We are deeply concerned by the continuing escalation of international crimes of all sorts — drug trafficking, money laundering, human rights violations, terrorism, organized crime and other similar activities which have the potential of placing the sovereignty and territorial integrity of small island States at great risk. The international community must be seen to genuinely collaborate in combating these criminal phenomena if the new philosophy of globalization is to positively progress and if we are to advance into the new millennium with fresh and renewed hope to build a better future for our children. We do not believe that the world is doing us justice and the fundamental principles of peace and economic prosperity as enshrined in the Charter if we do not observe our joint call for disarmament of nuclear weapons and other weapons of mass destruction. International security cannot be guaranteed if we fail to accord priority attention and resources to education, protection of the environment and good Heath of humankind and its survival into the next millennium. As a small island developing State where the ocean provides one of the most important parts of our food chain, we would like to join others in voicing our main concern regarding the management of our oceans and seas. Our participation at the Second London Oceans Workshop last December demonstrated this. We would therefore join other nations in calling for a collective affirmation by all respective Member States at this session of the General Assembly for a resolution to establish a consultative process to improve coordination and management of programmes that are associated with the protection of the oceans and the seas which are very dear to our very survival. This year my Government acceded to and ratified three International Maritime Organization Conventions which again reflects our concern for the protection of our oceans and seas. The momentum of the fiftieth anniversary of our Organization, and the lessons we have learned from past mistakes and our renewed commitment must guide us in our pursuit for a better world where, through this Organization, a renewed sense of mutual trust and genuine dialogue can he resurrected to ease the political tensions and economic crisis in all the regions and sub-regions of the planet. For our part of the world, these new developments constitute a real threat to the already vulnerable environment of our small island economies and our population. Confronted with these challenges, many 13 countries in the Pacific Region, including Vanuatu, do not have much choice at the end of the century but to embark on difficult programmes of reform, both within their respective Governments and societies. Last year, The Honourable Donald Kalpokas Masike Vanua, Prime Minister of Vanuatu, informed the Assembly that Vanuatu had initiated a Comprehensive Reform Programme with the support of both multilateral and bilateral donor agencies and countries. As we are still in the implementation stage of our reform, it is our genuine hope that it will not only be beneficial to our people but also responsive to their needs, in particular those of the 80 per cent who live in the rural areas on subsistence farming. Therefore Vanuatu would continue to need the special support being accorded to it as a least developed country. The role of Mr. Gurirab’s predecessor and of the Secretary-General in subsequently facilitating a constructive dialogue and comprehensive appreciation of the economic hardships of Vanuatu must be commended, and it is our hope that this will continue as we enter the new millennium. In this regard, the Government and the people of Vanuatu warmly welcome the recent decision of the Economic and Social Council, at its recent meeting in Geneva this year, to defer consideration of Vanuatu’s graduation from least developed country status, pending full assessment of the usefulness of the vulnerability index and ecological fragility as criteria for least developed country designation. In this connection, I am pleased to inform the Assembly that with the assistance of the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD), my Government will be carrying out a review of our situation in Vanuatu which we hope will assist the Committee for Development Planning in its endeavour to come up with criteria that will hopefully be accepted and adopted to determine the status of most least developed countries. We would like to register our most sincere appreciation and recognition to each and every country and group of countries for their continuous support. One of the commitments we all made during the fiftieth anniversary celebrations in 1995 was that our Organization ought to be reformed and restructured in a manner that reflects reality and the problems we are currently experiencing, so that it could be effective in addressing the issues and needs of its Member States, both individually and as a group. On this note, we want to associate ourselves with earlier statements in reference to reform and restructuring, in particular on the issue of geographical location. Here we are referring specifically to our close neighbours, Australia and New Zealand, which are considered as part of the Asia-Pacific region. From our perspective — shared, we have no doubt, by others — the United Nations must include in its reform agenda a full assessment and recognition of the inherent particularities of small island States like the Republic of Vanuatu and the impact of the international economic crisis, in particular that of globalization, on their economic performance and on the sustainability of their political stability. The pursuit and promotion of a free and responsible press, the protection of individual rights and gender equality, as noted in Mr. Gurirab’s opening remarks, are matters which are receiving more attention under the reform programme. These are real challenges to Vanuatu today, but they are challenges which we are confident we will successfully address over time, with the necessary support of the international community. The right of self-determination must also continue to occupy our agenda. As the United Nations International Decade for the Eradication of Colonialism ends next year, it is my Government’s hope that all administering Powers of the countries concerned will take appropriate steps, in cooperation with the territories, to work out some time- frame for those countries to exercise their inalienable right self-determination, self-government or independence. The United Nations, as mandated by its Charter, must be seen to encourage and support dialogue at the appropriate political levels in the regions and countries where human suffering and social disorder continue as a direct result of conflicts of opinion on the issue of self-determination. In the Pacific region, while we warmly welcomed the signing last year of the Nouméa Accord between the French Government and the major political parties in New Caledonia, we urge all parties concerned to uphold their commitment in relation to the rights and wishes of the indigenous population of New Caledonia. We welcome the decision by the French Government to allow representatives from the South Pacific Forum and representatives of the United Nations Special Political and Decolonization Committee to visit the Territory in August of this year, as outlined in resolution 53/65. We believe this new agreement and the latest developments will help to foster a stronger sense of commitment in all parties to work together to support an irreversible trend for the 14 future political status of New Caledonia — that is, its self-determination. Still in our region, while the East Timorese people have finally realized their right to self-determination, my Government notes with grave concern the deteriorating situation in East Timor following the results of the ballot at the end of August in which many human rights violations have been noted and many innocent people have lost their lives. However, my Government is pleased to note the initiatives taken by the Government of Indonesia to allow the deployment of a Security Council peacekeeping force in the troubled area and to assist in restoring normalcy and allowing the democratic process to take its course. As I said earlier on, the world and our Organization will be going through very challenging times as we prepare to turn the page of this century and start a new one. The credibility of the United Nations in the next millennium will be measured in terms of its effectiveness in responding to the real situations prevailing in its Member States, especially in small island States. The recent admission of our Pacific Island neighbours, namely the Republic of Kiribati, the Republic of Nauru and the Kingdom of Tonga, to this body is a manifestation of this, and we hope that their admission not only increases the membership of the United Nations but also that they will bring with them new ideas to contribute to this important Organization. As small island States, we feel that our problems will be addressed adequately and be heard in an international Organization like the United Nations, and we join others in welcoming them to our family of nations. To conclude, let me say that it is therefore vital that we all support and supplement the process of reform spearheaded by our Secretary-General, which is aimed not only at streamlining our Organization but also at strengthening it. As we approach the dawn of the new millennium, with its unforeseen challenges, cooperation will no doubt be required between all Members in order that we may discuss and debate our common issues in this very venue.