Saint Kitts and Nevis

I should like to begin my presentation by congratulating Mr. Razali Ismail on his election to the presidency of this session of the General Assembly. It bears testimony to this Organization’s confidence in and high regard for his skills and abilities. Also, I wish to express my gratitude to Mr. Freitas do Amaral for the efficient manner in which he presided over the fiftieth anniversary session of the United Nations. At last year’s session, I spoke of the faith of the Government of Saint Kitts and Nevis in the United Nations as the only global Organization able to balance the interests of the weak against those of the strong. I spoke also of the need for individual countries to work to develop approaches to collective problem-solving and partnership. Saint Kitts and Nevis reiterates this faith, which, I believe, is amply justified. Very recently the United Nations came to the assistance of my country and made available support and resources to aid the process of constitutional reform, which, hopefully, will avert further fragmentation and preserve the integrity of Saint Kitts and Nevis. I should like sincerely to record my thanks to the Secretary-General for this kind gesture. I said previously that my Government does not ask for hand-outs. We do not expect charity. Our participation in this forum is the result of our commitment to multilateralism. All we ask for is genuine partnership, opportunity and an environment in which we all can prosper. My party, while in opposition, developed an action plan for the progressive growth of the people of Saint Kitts and Nevis. Today, as the duly elected Government, we have readily realized that the problems facing small developing States keep increasing. But this has not diminished our resolve. One year ago, my Government began the difficult and trying task of implementing our policies and devising new strategies to address the stubborn problems facing my country. We recognize that the coexistence in any society of the threat of narco- trafficking, youth unemployment and poverty is a recipe for social chaos. We in Saint Kitts and Nevis are therefore committed to ensuring that the young people inherit a legacy of hope and live in an environment in which dreams are not only kept alive but are realized. We fully appreciate that the challenges ahead are great, but we also see great possibilities, and we are determined to embrace the opportunities. However, to move our people forward we will require partnership; we cannot do it alone. To this end, I welcome with enthusiasm the statement last week by the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs of the United Kingdom. I am encouraged by his intervention because it speaks to the fundamental issues that we in small States have for so long worked to bring to the top of the international agenda. Last year I appealed to Member States to commit to a genuine partnership between the developed and the developing worlds. The developing world — small States in particular — have for far too long been languishing on the periphery of international affairs and are often corralled into the mainstream only when issues of votes or candidatures are at the centre of debates and individual national policies. The Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs of the United Kingdom spoke of the need for the developed world to pursue policies that will allow the economies of developing countries to expand through export-led growth and the abolition of barriers to trade in the developed world. I fully support this call. My delegation would like to see the Bretton Woods institutions come to the aid of small States by creating adequate structures to allow these States to develop economically and participate better in the world 17 system. There must be a period of transition to encourage small States to integrate into the mainstream of international interaction. We all share a common responsibility to ensure that developing countries are more equitably integrated into the world economic system. We must break the insidious cycle of dependency and replace it with bonds of partnership and cooperation. We are our brothers’ keepers. This must be given priority in our national and international policies. The developed world must avoid outmoded perceptions that suggest that it is best qualified to prescribe strategies for growth in developing countries. Attention will also have to be paid to indigenous priorities in developing countries. I say to the Assembly that there can be no prescription without consultation. Attempts at development without recognizing the peculiar problems of small States and the responsibilities of the developed world will not promote sustainable growth. We speak repeatedly of hope, and the promise of the new millennium, yet sometimes overlook many of the problems plaguing us today. My Government looks to this new era with great optimism and unbridled hope that we can achieve sustainable development, that sustainable human growth can be realized, and that our people can afford to dream of a life beyond the expectations of their forebears. However, I fear for our children’s dreams in a world where the products of developing countries are discriminated against and dubious tariffs make our goods seem uncompetitive. I see definite cause for concern when friendly countries that are fully cognizant of the need for the limited preferential access our region enjoys, pursue policies inimical to the development and growth of our countries. This strategy is not free trade. I fear for the progress of my people when development is measured in cold statistical terms that ignore social transformation and sustainable development. I fear for the future of my children if small, vulnerable States such as my own are continuously graduated out of aid-recipient-country status simply because the gross national product per capita is considered high. This policy does not take into account our high per capita cost of infrastructure development; it does not take into account the frequency of hurricanes and other natural disasters, or the diseconomy of scale faced by our small enterprises. I fear for my brothers and sisters in the Windward Islands, whose very livelihood is threatened and could be seriously undermined by the disputes over Windward Island banana exports. If the economies of the Windward Islands are affected, my country, too, will suffer. Our economies are very closely linked. We share a common currency, a common central bank and, of course, a common future. It seems that the international community would readily punish growth. Whenever small States experience relative growth, instead of lending further assistance to ensure that they emerge from the quagmire of deepening poverty, necessary resources and support systems are taken away, and these countries find themselves being graduated out of concessional assistance programmes. This is wrong. This is inhumane. When we rob a man of the means to feed and educate himself and his family, how can we expect him to contribute productively to civil society? This is a world of people, and its organization must be about people. Their needs should not become secondary to systems, policies and experiments. Structures should be used to further the goals and aspirations of our peoples despite differences in economies, populations and size. Our peoples all share a common dream: the dream of freedom to chart their own destinies; the dream of self- reliance; the dream of a better standard of living. On the question of the environment, it is inconceivable that the very countries that agree to contribute to coastal erosion management and fund studies on environmental protection would wish to trans-ship hazardous toxic waste through our waterways. The fragility of my region’s ecosystems, the openness of the economies, the overwhelming reliance on food imports, and the susceptibility of the tourism product put us precariously, and, perhaps, uniquely, at the mercy of external forces. Saint Kitts and Nevis intends to preserve the standard of living we have achieved and to ensure a prosperous future for all of our peoples. My Government strongly urges the international community to respect our determination to make the Caribbean a nuclear-free zone and to keep it free from toxic pollutants. The region already suffers from the consequences of rising sea levels, coastal erosion and the destructive effects of natural disasters. The catalogue is very long; we cannot add further problems to it. Small island developing States require committed, long-term assistance in environmental protection. I am 18 convinced that sustainable development and environmental preservation are inexorably linked. We cannot make token gestures of support on one level only to undermine support on another. We need to enforce existing international instruments, promote cooperation and allow the United Nations to play a more central and coordinating role in developing appropriate machinery for bringing together political will and financial and technological resources to guarantee results. I call on the United Nations to devise a comprehensive and integrated approach to addressing sustainable development. Additionally, I urge developing countries to work more closely together to develop indigenous strategies and innovative approaches in order to solve the problems of development. The plethora of issues which come before the United Nations are critical. Therefore, it is necessary that the United Nations undergo substantive reform that will address resource distribution and the implementation of recommendations. We must be careful not to address reform in a superficial way. We have to commit ourselves to reforms which allow the Organization to respond more effectively to the problems which face Member States. It is our collective responsibility to restore and strengthen the international agenda of the United Nations and support its role and performance in the social, institutional and economic fields. I believe that the Organization can help to fuse our individual and collective goals. However, Member countries must believe in the international relevance of this Organization. It is important for us to promote consensus in addressing the important questions of budgetary and administrative reform of this, our Organization. Irrespective of national ambitions, irrespective of size or resources, the United Nations is the only global institution whose membership gives it the mandate to examine the vast array of problems that affect the entire community of nations. The work being undertaken to reform the United Nations should be structured in such a way as to eliminate unnecessary wastage and bureaucratic inefficiency. At the same time, we should not use the problems as an excuse to diminish our commitment to the strengthening and re- energizing of the United Nations. When we look at international affairs, democracy is still one of our most sacred aspirations. But it needs tangible institutional and infrastructural support. My Government welcomes the extension of the United Nations mission in Haiti which we believe is crucial to consolidating and furthering the cause of democracy and human resource development in Haiti. We should not expect to strengthen democracy in Haiti without addressing the systemic causes of poverty, illiteracy and violence and the absence of democratic institutions. The people of Haiti will eventually inherit the rewards of peace when commitment to long-term social, political and economic development is assured. It is unwise for States to use politics and partisanship to impede progress in Haiti. Its people long for an opportunity to become masters of their own fate, and they should be given that chance to pursue their national aspirations. My delegation welcomes the prospects for peace in Bosnia and Herzegovina and the progress towards implementing the recommendations of the Dayton Accords. We welcome the willingness of the parties to develop democratic institutions, enhance human rights and see to the return and settlement of displaced persons. The situation in this region is still quite fragile. We must continue to struggle for peace, and people must be made to believe that such atrocities will never, ever happen again. The situation in the Middle East has regrettably taken a turn for the worse. I appeal to the region’s Governments to recommit themselves to peace, the only viable option for attaining coexistence, security, stability and genuine progress for all parties concerned. We further urge the Governments to continue to respect the agreements reached and to commit to their implementation. The successes of past years should never be squandered. The Government of Saint Kitts and Nevis lends its support to the work of the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda and commends the work of the United Nations and the Organization of African Unity in attempting to resolve these challenging and often thorny issues. We also urge all factions in Burundi to give negotiations a fighting chance. Violence breeds violence, but peace gives birth to partnership. Peace gives birth to growth and to economic development. We have circulated a document which reflects our policy regarding Taiwan. Our policy is to respect the territorial integrity of all countries and to refrain from 19 interference in the internal affairs of all Member States. Because of our traditional relationship with the 21.3 million people on Taiwan, we have come to respect their economic stability and progress. Their growing democracy and their contribution to the developing world have not gone unnoticed. We believe they have an important and continuing role to play in international development strategies. We are confident that whatever difficulties exist between the Chinese people separated by the Taiwan Strait can be resolved by the Chinese people themselves and in a spirit of fraternity and good will. We urge the international community to be ready, if necessary, to provide the mechanisms to facilitate dialogue and cooperation. Resolution of the stalemate would significantly contribute to the cause of development worldwide and to peace and security in the region. We look forward to the implementation of the Platform for Action adopted at the Fourth World Conference on Women in Beijing. My Government believes that this is a significant step and a triumph for all women worldwide. It will allow them to achieve full equality of opportunity and equitable integration into the mainstream of decision-making and the development process. We should bear in mind when discussing the question of human rights that we commit a fundamental error by selectively disregarding the right to economic survival and social well-being. When we single out human rights and freedom we do grave injustice to those people languishing below the poverty line, unable to determine the course of their own lives. Fundamental to achieving tangible results is the necessity of adopting a comprehensive and wholesome approach to human rights. It is not nearly enough to ensure political suffrage and freedom of expression, although these are extremely important, without establishing mechanisms to foster social self-reliance and economic independence. To promote human rights in the wider sense is to complement and consolidate a democratic culture within any given society. Human rights protection also means protecting the rights of children against hunger, against mental and physical abuse, against prostitution, against trafficking in children and against pornography. Therefore, we must attack the ills of poverty, illiteracy and deprivation and enact punitive legislation. We support the first international conference on the sexual exploitation of minors, held in Stockholm, as a significant step and an important initiative to raise awareness and develop strategies. In conclusion, I challenge the international community to give effect to promises with solutions and tangible results. If we fail to design appropriate strategies today to address present problems, we are doomed to repeat past mistakes. The time for action is overdue. Please, we can wait no longer and we must delay no longer.