Bahamas

The Government of the Commonwealth of the Bahamas warmly congratulates Ambassador Razali on his election to the presidency of this fifty-first session of the General Assembly. His skills as a distinguished diplomat are well known and, coupled with the cooperation of Member States, will create the requisite conditions for a successful Assembly. I wish to assure him of the full support of my delegation as he presides over the deliberations of this body. I wish also to express my delegation’s appreciation to his predecessor, His Excellency Mr. Diogo Freitas do Amaral of Portugal, who effectively guided the work of a most historic and memorable fiftieth session. We wish also to thank the Secretary-General for his leadership of the Organization over the past year. The Bahamas is indeed honoured to have been elected to serve as a Vice-President of the General Assembly at the fifty-first session. I wish to thank all Member States for their support in our realization of this achievement. Our deliberations during the last session provided an opportune environment for stocktaking and evaluation, as well as the opportunity to look ahead and consider how we ought to proceed for the next 50 years. The solemn Declaration which we adopted at the end of the Special Commemorative Meeting, highlighted the international community’s continued commitment to the United Nations and to the purposes and principles of the Charter by which it is governed. The Bahamas is convinced that the United Nations remains the primary world body with the capacity and political will to bring together the disparate elements of the international community, so as to face and deal with the challenges of the twenty-first century. The Bahamas, like other countries, would wish to see a strong and effective United Nations. It is our view that the three-tiered reform process currently under way in the political, economic and social and administrative areas represents an important step in that direction. We must remain diligent and focused in our work so as to transform the United Nations into a structure equipped for the fulfilment and support of the myriad demands of Member States. In the area of political reform, the Bahamas continues to support the enlargement of the Security Council to enable it to become more effective, representative, democratic and transparent. We are disappointed that after another year of discussion little or no progress has been made. We urge all Member States to exercise flexibility so as to expedite agreement on this important matter. 1 We acknowledge the need to strengthen the United Nations system in the economic and social fields. Action must be taken to reduce duplication and to improve coordination among the various agencies, including the Bretton Woods institutions. There is a clear need for reform and greater efficiency in the administrative and financial areas. The discussions in the respective high-level Working Groups established to examine these areas have been useful. However, few, if any, meaningful decisions have been taken to date. We urge Member States to increase the momentum, so as to put in place the requisite measures to strengthen the efficacy of the Organization. At the same time, the Bahamas urges and appeals to Member States to make a more determined effort to meet their financial obligations to the Organization. We are aware that the assessment system needs reform. Thus, we should take the opportunity provided by this session to agree on an equitable scale of assessment for the next triennium. The scale of assessment, when finalized, should take into account all relevant circumstances, including the special circumstances of archipelagic island developing countries and the need for the development of a vulnerability index. The Bahamas also wishes once again to urge the international community not to use high per capita gross national product (GNP) as the sole measurement of capacity to pay when it considers the question of criteria for the scale. The Bahamas, as well as a number of other countries, has repeatedly argued that high per capita GNP is not an accurate measurement of a country’s wealth. Indeed, it presents a skewed and distorted picture of the economic reality in my own country when one takes into consideration the duplication of infrastructure and social services. In our efforts to reform this Organization, we must guard against engaging in reform for reform’s sake. The restoration of the dignity of the individual must remain our primary focus. The extent to which we neglect this highest of priorities is the extent to which human rights abuses and inequities will abound, giving rise to tensions and conflicts on various levels, like those that have been witnessed by the international community in recent years with the escalation of civil wars and ethnic strife in many parts of the world. A total breakdown in society is the ultimate consequence of such activities, which completely overwhelm national resources and consume inordinate amounts of international energy which could be far more meaningfully expended. To achieve meaningful reform we will have to change our focus significantly. It will require a shift in paradigms, where issues previously neglected will have to be brought to the fore. We need to be reminded that economic and social security directly influence political security. They must therefore be addressed in an integrated manner. We must guard against the additional threat of economic might being translated into military power, which not only sidelines and marginalizes the disadvantaged and dispossessed but also threatens our peace and security. Our efforts must be aimed at raising the standard of living and quality of life of the world’s most underprivileged. Despite impressive economic growth in many countries, human development continues to move at a snail’s pace, particularly in developing countries. We must find a way to balance economic growth and human development so as to ensure the sustainability and livelihood of future generations. We are merely proposing for the international community what is already in place in the Bahamas. The promotion and protection of human rights, the advancement of women, social justice, equality and development continue to receive priority attention from the Government of the Bahamas. We are fully committed to securing a social environment in which our citizens can live in harmony, prosperity and security, without fear or intimidation. Many of the recommendations contained in the plans and programmes of action of the recent world conferences have already been implemented in the Bahamas, and we will continue to put in place the necessary infrastructure to facilitate the implementation of those recommendations which have not yet been put into practice. Our past actions have brought us to a day of reckoning. The wealth of oceans once deemed inexhaustible has proven finite. Global warming is no longer a prognostication, but a present condition. What is at stake here is the future of our planet and the lives of its inhabitants. The Bahamas urges that the special session for the review of Agenda 21 in 1997 be viewed as an opportunity to re-examine our strategy and to correct past mistakes. The Bahamas hopes that the special session will focus on practical proposals and not try to renegotiate Agenda 21. Definitive priorities and a recommitment to sustainable development should be set out, taking account of the recognized peculiar problems of small developing States and the international community’s commitment to provide resources to such States. The Bahamas is concerned that protection be provided to the fragile and vulnerable economies of small States in a global community which is moving towards 13 the strengthening and development of trading blocs. The new international trade regime has put small States at a disadvantage with the expectation that they liberalize their markets and open their borders in conformity with the obligations and commitments of the World Trade Organization. The playing field must be levelled so that due regard can be given to the fragile domestic economies of these States and their macroeconomic position. If the developed countries are demanding protection for their sensitive domestic industries, then similar demands by developing countries with respect to their domestic industry should not be viewed as a request that is unreasonable or inconsistent with current international trends. A review of current events reveals new threats to the fragile peace process in the Middle East. The Bahamas urges the parties concerned to make every possible effort to restore order, to refrain from acts of violence and to reactivate the peace process, which enjoyed the widespread support of the international community. We commend President Clinton for his initiative in inviting Middle East leaders to Washington for discussion aimed at defusing this volatile situation and thus, hopefully, restoring confidence in the peace process. Ongoing conflicts in Africa are of grave concern. The international community should see it as its duty to support measures for the prevention and resolution of conflict in the countries concerned and to address the economic and debt burdens that have crippled Africa. Although the African countries themselves have made strenuous efforts towards readjustment and recovery, they continue to require the assistance of the international community. The Bahamas welcomes the approval by the Group of Seven of a debt-relief plan for the world’s poorest nations. The debt-relief measure, which will release as many as 20 of the poorest countries from up to $7.7 billion in debt, will go a long way towards providing the needed relief for those countries in their economic growth and development. The Bahamas is pleased to note that after four years of devastating warfare free elections have taken place in Bosnia and Herzegovina. We note the appointment of a Special Representative of the Secretary-General on the question of Cyprus, and we urge the parties concerned to continue to seek a just and viable solution to that conflict. Violence perpetrated against the people of Cyprus cannot be condoned. Notwithstanding the considerable and praiseworthy efforts of the United Nations and the Organization of American States, Haiti still remains unstable to a degree that threatens the stability of the entire region, with a continuing outflow of immigrants seeking a better way of life in other countries. The majority of such immigrants retreat to the Bahamas. It is regrettable that, notwithstanding the assistance of the international community, many areas of great concern remain to be effectively tackled in Haiti. Attempts to restore democracy are constantly hindered by the absence of the conditions necessary to support them. We are therefore left with a population surrounded by much activity, but one whose daily existence remains meagre at best. The consequences are predictable, namely, unrest and increased violence. It is therefore not sufficient to continue business as usual. The peculiar nature of the situation in Haiti requires specific, focused and targeted action that addresses causes and not effects, one in which initiatives provide direct benefits to the Haitian people. The Bahamas views with much regret the continued escalation of the nefarious drug trade, particularly in the Latin American and Caribbean region. We must double our efforts to fight this terrible scourge, and it is our hope that the special session in 1998 will result in a renewed commitment to fight and eradicate this illicit activity. We are also of the view that efforts must be renewed to address the problem of the traffic in small arms, which has increased to alarming proportions in recent times. We are particularly concerned about the large number of small arms that are smuggled into the Caribbean countries. We urge the countries that manufacture and sell arms to impose stricter arms control measures and provide assistance to vulnerable States to reduce this threat and increase the latters’ capability to combat such illegal activity. At the same time, the international community must voice unanimous disapproval and condemnation of the unrelenting increase in crime and the rise of terrorism that is currently confronting the international community. The Bahamas regrets the failure to reach international consensus on dealing swiftly with those grave areas of concern. We urge that every effort be made to implement the relevant agreements already in force and to put in place any additional measures required to deal with these reprehensible activities. The proliferation of arms, both conventional and those designed for mass destruction, poses a serious threat to humanity. Thus, the Bahamas welcomed the recent 14 adoption of the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty and intends to add its name shortly to the growing list of signatories. Anti-personnel land-mines present an insidious challenge to development and human dignity, and we should move towards a complete ban on such treacherous tools of murder. The Bahamas denounces the continued trans-shipment of nuclear material and hazardous waste through the ecosensitive Caribbean Sea. In this respect, the entire Caribbean Community is in agreement. Indeed in 1992, the Heads of Government of the Caribbean Community declared that the Caribbean Sea should be a nuclear-free- zone for purposes of shipment, storing or dumping of any radioactive or hazardous substances or toxic waste. The Bahamas is encouraged by the steps taken by the second regular session of the International Seabed Authority at its meeting at Kingston last August, which are geared towards ensuring the effective functioning of the Authority. Among the issues before the General Assembly this session is the matter of the international criminal court. We exhort the General Assembly to continue its work on this item so as to enable the convening of a conference of plenipotentiaries in 1998 to adopt the statute of the court, thus fulfilling a lacuna in the existing international legal order. As members are aware, the Bahamas is an archipelagic nation which, by any measure, is a small State with a population of less than 300,000. However, we are a proud people and strong in our belief in justice for all and in the inalienable rights of all people, as enshrined in the Charter of this noble Organization. It is in this spirit of justice and fair play that over the past two years we have repeatedly recorded our support in the General Assembly for the efforts of the 21 million inhabitants of the Republic of China on Taiwan as they entreat the Organization to examine the merits of establishing a committee to analyse in depth the implications, both now and for the future, of continuing to preclude those 21 million souls from formal representation in the General Assembly by way of membership in the United Nations. The Bahamas again calls on the nations of the world, as Members of this august and united international body of nations, to hear the plea of those 21 million souls on the island of Taiwan and to consider what is just and right for them as they too seek to avail themselves of the benefits of membership in the United Nations. The next 50 years will be painful and exacting as we attempt to ensure that the pitfalls of the past are avoided. Many changes will be required. In effecting change, we must ensure that it is profitable, for while change is inevitable, progress is not. The tendency to hold onto the old way of doing business in the midst of necessary change will remain our greatest challenge. As we seek to balance our efforts, it must be remembered that transformation in one area does not necessarily relegate all others to irrelevance. Many reasons have been proffered for the present state of affairs. Not surprisingly, none of them seem to involve the proponents. While everyone talks about the future, few are willing to make the necessary sacrifices to secure it. Rhetoric boils with urgency, but talks move slowly, and action is even more halting. The uncharted waters ahead remain daunting, defined by bilious seas of unrelenting, sophisticated, transnational criminal activity, which is tearing at the very fabric of society. Environmental degradation has exposed the Earth to permanent damage. Navigation of these seas requires us to rise above platitudes and empty promises. We must repudiate the adversaries of peace. Our evaluations during the past session confirmed the continuing validity of the United Nations as the principal mechanism for addressing world concerns. Despite its uneven accomplishments, the United Nations facilitates collaboration for the resolution of societal ills, whatever their origin. The structure and machinery of the United Nations must be such that we are encouraged to continue to use the relatively calm chambers of this forum for our deliberations. This is the only safeguard we have against countries’ being tempted to take their disputes out to sea.