Permit me to begin. Sir, by taking this opportunity to convey to
you the congratulations of the delegation of the Dominican Republic on your
election to the presidency of the General Assembly at its forty-seventh
session. Coming from a region that is taking on a new dimension in the
international community, you will no doubt take a realistic view of the major
challenges posed by the world situation. You have first-hand experience of
the transformations taking place in the world. You are thus superbly
qualified to guide with composure the deliberations of the Assembly.
We wish also to pay a warm tribute to the distinguished Saudi diplomat.
His Excellency Mr. Samir S. Shihabi, the outgoing President, for his skill and
for the fruitful results he achieved in his work.
On the new international landscape, with the dissolution of the Soviet
Union and the collapse of communism, the likelihood of a world war has
vanished. But in many regions it remains possible that conflicts of an
unpredictable nature could take place.
Hence the international community should remain vigilant, because though
it is true that the danger of nuclear war has disappeared, it is no less true
that another menace is still with us, that of the continued quest, on the part
of some countries, for technology for the production of nuclear weaponry,
behind the back of the International Atomic Energy Agency. The Agency
deserves to be revitalized so that it will be able to work effectively in its
efforts to prevent the proliferation of those terrible weapons.
Mankind is still burdened with problems arising out of the so-called
conventional weapons, which are becoming more and more destructive, and what
is needed is a degree of international control to limit them. That would make
available resources that, if properly used, could contribute to the
development of the countries of the third world, which are already suffering
because of heavy public debt and restrictive and protectionist measures
impeding international trade.
That is the most important challenge facing mankind, and this forum is
the right place to discuss those issues and create conditions and lay down
guidelines to improve the lot of the two thirds of mankind that today finds
itself threatened, not only by the economic crisis and the inequalities
between North and South but also by the continued deterioration of the
environment, which has been degraded by our own deliberate or unwitting use
and abuse of it.
I have expressed these thoughts because I come from a country, the
Dominican Republic, that is small in size, with an area of only 48,400 square
kilometres and a population of 7,500,000, and we feel the ill effects of the
problems I have mentioned: burdensome external debt and declining trade
because of restrictive and protectionist practices in the countries
to which we export our agricultural products, whose prices are constantly
falling in world markets. Our adverse trade situation means that we are
losing significant resources that could be devoted to our development.
Nevertheless, over the last two years the Dominican economy has undergone
a successful process of adjustment that has made it possible to eliminate
inflation, stabilize the national currency and bring the budgetary deficit
under control, all as a result of the adoption of a restrictive monetary
policy. This has helped to rebuild confidence in the production sectors. We
believe that confidence in our country's business sector in the immediate
future is indispensable for the achievement of an accelerated and sustained
recovery of the Dominican economy. Even more important in that regard is the
country's ability in the short term to increase the foreign-exchange income
that it needs for its development, at a time when the export of raw materials
is being replaced by service-sector products.
The Dominican Republic is now pursuing closer ties with the States
members of the Caribbean Community (CARICOM), with a view to bringing about
our definitive entrance into CARICOM, on the basis of the great significance
that the Dominican Government attaches at this time to the achievement of a
more advantageous position vis-a-vis the European Economic Community as a
State member of the Lome Convention, and the Dominican Republic is thus aiming
to bring about greater openness in markets when it comes to selling its
products internationally.
The achievements of the Dominican Republic, despite the grave economic
crisis suffered in recent years by Latin American and Caribbean countries,
have been the result of good government, presided over by
Dr. Joaquin Balaguer, a champion of democracy who gives us an example of what
a leader can do with the scant resources of a poor State when they are used
judiciously to create conditions favourable to the people. Those achievements
include, among other things, the construction of thousands of dwellings,
hundreds of kilometres of highways and local roads, as well as schools and
hospitals to provide vital social services to a constantly growing population.
Let me now turn to the situation of our fraternal neighbour, Haiti.
Unfortunately, throughout its existence as an independent country Haiti has
endured a chronic situation of economic penury and the impoverishment of its
soil. This has forced its population to emigrate in waves across our borders
and by sea in search of a better life. Today that situation is made even more
tragic by the political crisis our Haitian brothers are going through.
The Dominican authorities and people are not indifferent to that
situation, which stems from the COUP d'etat that cut short
President Aristide's experiment in democracy.
That development was condemned by the Organization of American States (OAS),
which imposed a trade embargo to compel the current authorities to restore
legality. So far as the Dominican Government, presided over by
Mr. Joaquin Balaguer, is concerned, negotiation and dialogue within the
context of absolute respect for the norms of international law are the most
appropriate instruments in the quest for peace. Accordingly, we have been and
continue to be providing disinterested support to all the parties to the
conflict, in the hope that a solution that would resolve existing differences
can be found and that all institutions in the Republic of Haiti can again
function normally.
Our Government is deeply democratic, respects human rights and jealously
guards its prerogative of guaranteeing the liberties of those inhabiting the
Republic.
We deplore the fragmentation of the former Yugoslavia as well as the
tragedy that has befallen its people. Bereft of any guarantee of their
rights, they are suffering the onslaught of a tragic fratricidal war that is
taking a heavy toll in human lives, particularly those of women and children,
who are subjected to constant air attacks and shellings and are deprived of
the food and medicine they need in order to subsist and treat their wounds and
illnesses. We support the measures adopted by the United Nations with regard
to the former Yugoslavia, measures that urge the parties to respect human
rights and forcefully condemn the loathsome practice of "ethnic cleansing".
It is a source of satisfaction to my delegation to see the communication
that is developing between the Republic of Korea and the Democratic People's
Republic of Korea, aimed at reuniting the Korean family. We regret, however,
that the Democratic People's Republic of Korea is persisting in its nuclear
research with the aim of building nuclear weapons.
By the same token, we are optimistic about the situation developing among
the Arab peoples and the people of Israel, and we hope that this atmosphere of
dialogue and negotiation will gain even greater momentum so that those
concerned may live in peace and harmony on their lands while moving towards a
future of prosperity and progress.
Though the cold war is a thing of the past, the danger and the tragedy of
regional conflicts are still with us. Settling those conflicts requires
international cooperation and the good will of the parties involved. However,
another serious threat to peace and to the well-being of our peoples still
faces the Americas and other parts of the world. We refer here to drug
trafficking and the destruction and social and moral harm which that scourge
entails for all our communities. Our country supports every single measure
taken by the United Nations to cope with this serious problem, and calls for
continued efforts to resolve and do away with this global scourge.
In this vein, the Dominican Republic has been taking forceful steps to
confront this evil, pursuing a dynamic drug-abuse-prevention drive and at the
same time launching major administrative, legislative and judicial
initiatives, not only against drug production, but also against the marketing
of and the trafficking in drugs. Moreover, we have signed bilateral accords
along these lines with countries in our region and are in the final phase of
preparations leading to our accession to the 1988 United Nations Convention
Against Illicit Traffic in Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances.
The facts in terms of the state of the environment the world over are
growing ever more alarming and must be a source of concern to, and a reason
for solidarity among, all States Members of the Organization.
Because of interdependence, damage done to the environment anywhere in
the world has an impact upon us all. Accordingly, international cooperation
is necessary so that the States of the third world as well as the
industrialized nations can strive together to ensure that present and future
generations will be able to enjoy a clean planet Earth, where life will be
easier and happier. The Dominican Government, aware of these facts, has
embarked on a process of reforesting our country and of conserving our natural
resources. We support whatever steps the international community may take
along these lines, and, to demonstrate this, we are submitting to the Congress
of our Republic, with a view to accession, the 1985 Vienna Convention for the
Protection of the Ozone Layer, along with its Protocol on Substances that
Deplete the Ozone Layer.
At this point, we should like to refer to the matter of racial
discrimination, yet another major problem that still shocks the conscience of
humankind and continues to represent a major challenge to and violation of the
most elementary norms of human rights.
In this sense, our country has repeatedly, in this very forum, stated its
rejection and repudiation of the apartheid system. Two years ago, right here,
we expressed satisfaction at the announcement by the President of South
Africa, Frederick de Klerk, of the recognition of the rights of other races in
that country to ensure that an end would be put to the system of apartheid.
However, today racial tensions continue to escalate, and it is not possible to
discern any rapid progress in the process of change in South Africa. The
policy of apartheid constitutes a crime against the conscience and the dignity
of human beings and, therefore, it must be totally eliminated, so that a
genuine democracy, based on a multi-ethnic and pluralist system, may be
established in South Africa.
The 1990s have begun with great frustration, but also with great hope
frustration because of the stagnation or backsliding in terms of social
progress, which the 1980s left as a legacy to the majority of developing
countries; hope because what is taking place is a real revolution in thinking,
which makes imperative a review and a revision of proposals for the promotion
of development.
In the economic arena, there is a constant search for ways and means of
fostering the resumption of growth and modernization, as well as the more
active participation of those countries in the world economy. The data on the
social condition of the majority of the world's population, and the
possibility that those data may worsen as a result of economic measures that
have been adopted, have made it necessary to place the issue of the social
dimension in the world at the heart of our debate.
The concept that social issues are a secondary matter, in contrast with
the primary process taking place in political forums, is a grave and extremely
costly mistake. In fact, if we do not deal with the social problems they turn
very quickly into political problems. The groan of hunger does more than
break the silence; eventually it rends peace asunder. That is why the
Dominican Republic backs unreservedly the convening of a world summit for
social development. We take the view that the concept of human security,
which that proposal reflects, refers directly to the important - indeed, the
overriding task facing all societies: the provision of food, clothing and
housing in quantities sufficient for all, while promoting social progress in
harmony with the environment, and supporting those institutions that respond
to the noblest aspirations that human beings cherish throughout their lives.
Even if only in terms strictly of a cost-benefit analysis, it is cheaper to
deal with social problems now. Dealing with them later involves paying the
price of social upheaval. We literally cannot afford to ignore that truth.
We have great pleasure in taking advantage of this opportunity to
reaffirm our resolute support for the International Research and Training
Institute for the Advancement of Women. The Dominican Republic is profoundly
committed to the success of that body.
Today, the United Nations constitutes that ecumenical, common forum where
we set forth our ideas as we seek solutions intended to bring about a better
life in the world in which we live a world free from discrimination and
waste. It is our desire to see the work of this Organization revitalized so
that it may be able more effectively to do its job and live up to its
obligations. We give it our fullest support, and we express our faith and
hope in universal peace and harmony.