Barbados

It is my pleasure to congratulate Ambassador Razali on his election as President of the fifty-first session of the General Assembly. The Barbados delegation shares fully the confidence expressed in his leadership and assures him of its cooperation in the work of this Assembly. Let me also warmly commend his predecessor, His Excellency Mr. Diogo Freitas do Amaral, for his outstanding stewardship of the fiftieth session, including the Special Commemorative Meeting on the occasion of the fiftieth anniversary of the United Nations. That celebration, which brought together 128 Heads of State or Government, stands as a fitting memorial to the historic event. My country’s knowledge of and appreciation for the United Nations system has deepened since we had the honour to host the United Nations Global Conference on the Sustainable Development of Small Island Developing States in 1994. The Barbados Declaration and Programme 14 General Assembly 20th plenary meeting Fifty-first session 3 October 1996 of Action outlined the way forward for the relationship between small island developing States and the international community. The Barbados Conference was the first and to date the only follow-up Global Conference to the United Nations Conference on Environment and Development, because it was recognized that small island developing States have a critical role to play in sustainable development. Barbados and other members of the Alliance of Small Island States will unremittingly pursue the follow-up to the Programme of Action because our survival depends on it. We have, however, been disappointed to note that so much of the promise of the Programme of Action for the Sustainable Development of Small Island Developing States has as yet gone unfulfilled, and we will engage the international community further to ensure that our concerns are addressed. Barbados welcomes the coming into force of the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea and the establishment of the International Seabed Authority and the International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea. This new regime for the world’s oceans is of particular interest to us and to small island developing States in general, because of the critical link between the maritime environment and our land mass. Small island developing States are in some ways just coastal zones, and as such have a particularly intimate relationship with the oceans, upon which we depend for food and which are pivotal to our tourism industry. It is in this context that we view with apprehension the use of the Caribbean Sea for the trans-shipment of nuclear and other hazardous materials. While we understand the needs of countries to dispose of and reprocess waste materials, and we recognize their right to do so under Law of the Sea, International Maritime Organization and International Atomic Energy Agency regulations, we fear the consequences of accidents for an environment which is so highly fragile. The Caribbean presents a unique combination of factors which demand that it be treated with special care: large numbers of small island developing States, a semi-enclosed sea subject to violent seasonal storms, and the presence of one of the most intensively used shipping passages, the Panama Canal. The Heads of Government of the Caribbean Community have repeatedly declared their opposition to the use of the Caribbean Sea for trans-shipment of nuclear materials. We look forward to deepened dialogue with flag States and other concerned States and organizations to ensure that we are all aware of what is being shipped, when and where, and how best to manage it. The vulnerability of Caribbean micro-States is further increased by narco-trafficking. This illicit trade threatens the very existence of our democracies, a point that was reinforced earlier this year when the United Nations International Drug Control Programme held a conference in Barbados on drug enforcement and rehabilitation cooperation in the Caribbean. Regional cooperation is the responsible and effective means for implementing international agreements dealing with this matter. The response of the international community to our peculiar set of problems has been encouraging, but it must continue to be upgraded. We suffer not so much because we are major end-users, but because of our strategic location in this traffic. We will continue in our efforts, with the limited resources we have at our disposal, to ensure that the drug traffic does not undermine the foundations of our democracies. We will not stand accused of not cooperating with our partners, but neither will we allow our hard-fought sovereignty to be sacrificed in the tug-of-war between the moral and societal imperative to curtail demand and the need to reduce supply. As we herald the International Decade for the Eradication of Poverty, this delegation is appalled that in 1996, despite the advances in technology and the new wealth being generated by the forces of globalization, millions of children still do not have access to the most basic necessities. Just as we argued at the Second United Nations Conference on Human Settlements (Habitat II) that humankind has a right to housing, Barbados fully supports the notion that individuals have a right to adequate nourishment. We look forward to the World Food Summit later this year in Rome as being the catalyst for major change towards alleviating hunger. Women are among the most impoverished groups in our societies, and gender equality is a major vehicle for achieving sustainable human development. Although Barbados ranks high on the human development index, particularly as it relates to gender equality, the Beijing Platform for Action remains for us a critical policy and action framework. The landmark fiftieth session was an occasion for solemn reflection on the mission and performance of the United Nations and for a constructive assessment of the challenges which confront the Organization in the post- cold-war world. Member States have left no doubt about 15 General Assembly 20th plenary meeting Fifty-first session 3 October 1996 the critical role that the United Nations must continue to play in fostering global peace and security and promoting sustainable development. They have recognized that, notwithstanding its shortcomings, this Organization remains the only universal mechanism which offers the hope of achieving the goals for humanity enshrined in its Charter. The task with which we have been charged is to revitalize the United Nations and to strengthen its capacity to meet the new demands of rapid global change. My delegation therefore attaches the greatest importance to the Working Groups established by the General Assembly to advance the reform process, in order to make the world a more peaceful place and to improve the Organization’s effectiveness in promoting economic and social development. Reform is now the order of the day. No country or institution can neglect the reality of globalization or the technological revolution that drives this process. It poses major challenges for countries and societies, particularly small developing countries. We recognize only too well our own vulnerability to marginalization, stemming from intense global competition and reform of major global institutions, including the United Nations. Barbados therefore follows with special interest the consultations taking place in the Open-ended Working Group on the Question of Equitable Representation on and Increase in the Membership of the Security Council and other Matters Related to the Security Council. The question of equitable representation of small States is of particular concern, and we are studying closely those proposals which take this concept into account. At the same time, we note with satisfaction the broad convergence of views on enlargement of the Council, and the importance being given to measures to improve its working methods and procedures, to enhance its democratic and representative character, and to foster greater transparency. We also recognize the important consultations which are proceeding in the other Working Groups. When this task is successfully completed, we envisage a United Nations restructured and re-energized, to accelerate economic and social development in a world where absolute poverty still afflicts over one billion people who exist on less than one dollar a day. Commitment to reform notwithstanding, the capacity of the Organization to support this global agenda is being hampered by recurring financial crises. The United Nations now finds itself at the crossroads. In April 1996, the Secretary-General cautioned that the United Nations was on the brink of financial disaster. Regrettably, this outlook has not markedly improved to date. Given this prospect, it is clear that resolute action to address this crisis can no longer be postponed if the integrity of the Organization and the viability of its mandates are to be preserved. In our view, we have debated far too long obligations which are so clearly spelt out in the United Nations Charter. Barbados holds firmly to the position advanced by the Group of 77 and China that the crisis derives essentially from the Organization’s cash flow problem, created by the failure of major Member States to pay their contributions in full and on time. More generally, we support the principle of periodic review of the scale of assessments, designed to ensure the long-term financial viability of the United Nations, based on the principle of capacity to pay; but we do not believe that this should be linked conditionally to the issue of arrears as we search for a solution to the present crisis. This Assembly will once again review the many unresolved problems which dominate the global political scene. The world still awaits the dawn of the new era of peace envisaged at the end of the cold war. As a small developing country, Barbados is ever conscious of the peaceful domestic climate it has enjoyed since independence in 1966, which has fostered its economic and social development. We therefore share the anguish of the international community for those countries where internal strife and regional conflict, and their attendant human suffering, continue to deny economic and social progress to millions of their people. My delegation therefore welcomes the peace process which is being implemented in Bosnia and Herzegovina under the Dayton accords. Though still fragile, this Agreement, we think, offers the best prospects for peace so far, and we hope for an end to a conflict which has threatened the very credibility of the United Nations. We hope that the recent elections will be a further major step in the building of the confidence and trust so crucial to long-term reconciliation. Recent outbreaks of violence in the Middle East have renewed our anxieties about peace in that region. The international community yearns for the day when a full and lasting peace is consolidated in this entire region, bringing to an end the long cycle of violence. We urge all the parties to re-embark on this journey and redouble their efforts to recapture the momentum of the peace process, which has so far brokered agreements between Israel and Egypt, Jordan and Palestine. 16 General Assembly 20th plenary meeting Fifty-first session 3 October 1996 In Africa, a number of countries remain locked in prolonged conflict, which has smothered the democratic process and stalled the development effort. We urge the international community to do all it can to stem the explosive situation in the Great Lakes region. Without peace there can be no development, and without development there can be no lasting peace. We therefore hope for an early breakthrough for peace in affected countries, not only in Africa but also in other regions of the world, so that the urgent task of development can be resumed. In our own hemisphere, the situation in Haiti continues to be of special concern to countries of the Latin American and Caribbean region. Thanks to the resolve of the Haitian people and the support of the international community, a viable political and development infrastructure has begun to take root. It holds the promise of nurturing the still-fragile democracy and accelerating economic and social progress which has eluded the majority of the Haitian people for too long. Speaking on behalf of member States of the Caribbean Community during consideration of this question at the fiftieth session, Barbados cautioned that the road ahead for Haiti would be long and difficult, that progress would be uneven, and that sustained support from the international community would continue to be crucial. We believe that this view is still valid. My delegation therefore welcomes the adoption of Security Council resolution 1063 (1996) of 28 June 1996, which established the United Nations Support Mission in Haiti until 30 November 1996. It will provide continuing support to secure and maintain a stable environment that will buttress the democratic and development process. However, come next month, the international community cannot wash its hands of Haiti, declare victory and leave. As recent events have shown, stability, to say nothing of democracy, remains a fragile sapling that will continue to require care and protection. We urge that Haitians, who were among the first in this hemisphere to attempt to define their own post- colonial political system, not be forgotten in the post-cold- war world. Developing countries look to a reformed United Nations to play a major role in shaping the global society of the twenty-first century. It must build on the considerable policy consensus that already exists on the broad priorities of its agenda, including the link between peace and development, poverty eradication, sustainable development, social justice and democracy, issues of governance, and women. It must continue to nurture the participatory impulse of civil society, which has emerged as a major influence on the work of the Organization and on national public policy. It must propel this heightened concern with the human condition in all its dimensions to the top of the global agenda. Barbados shares these priorities for full human development by fostering the empowerment of all its people as it expands its economic and social development. At the same time, it has taken steps to review and deepen its democratic and human rights traditions through the establishment of Commissions on Social Justice and Reform of the Constitution, respectively. These inquiries will assess the extent to which the promise of a good and just society has been fulfilled after 30 years of independence. They reflect the fact that we assign the highest priority to social policy and to the cause of human rights and democracy. The United Nations faces many challenges, but these are not insurmountable if we renew our faith in its mission. Barbados believes that this Organization is still our best hope for fostering peace and social justice and for coordinating the management of global problems. Given the agenda before us, we believe this is a time for more, not less, intensive global cooperation — cooperation that only the United Nations can foster. We remain committed to its principles and will do our part to help fulfil the promise of the Charter.