Vanuatu

On behalf of the people and the Government of the Republic of Vanuatu, I wish to join previous speakers in congratulating Mr. Didier Opertti on his election to this high and important post. His unanimous election as President of the General Assembly at its fifty-third session shows the esteem in which the international community holds both him personally and his country, Uruguay. The Republic of Vanuatu and its delegation are confident he will guide this fifty-third session of the General Assembly to a successful conclusion. May I also take this opportunity to express my delegation?s sincere appreciation to his predecessor, Mr. Hennadiy Udovenko, for his outstanding stewardship in facilitating the work of the fifty-second session of the 24 General Assembly. I also wish to commend our Secretary- General, Mr. Kofi Annan, for his wise leadership and his dedication to the reform and restructuring of our Organization. We ask the President to assure him of our total support. Three years ago, we all gathered here to celebrate the fiftieth anniversary of our Organization and, in particular, to renew our commitment to the fundamental principles that created it in 1945. We also made a strong commitment to further strengthen our genuine, collaborative efforts to ensure that this Organization continues to promote global peace, justice and a healthy environment, as well as to support the process of sustainable development of its Member nations, in particular the small island least developed countries 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 makes increasing demands on our own resources and on the support available from our development partners. We are deeply concerned by the continuing escalation of such international crimes as drug-trafficking, money- laundering, terrorism, organized crime and other similar activities which have the potential to place the sovereignty and territorial integrity of small island States at great risk. The international community must show its genuine collaboration in combating these criminal phenomena if the new philosophy of globalization is to progress in a positive manner. We do not believe that the world is doing justice to its people and to the fundamental principles of peace and economic prosperity as enshrined in the Charter of the United Nations if we do not observe our joint call for the 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 the education and health of humankind and its survival into the next millennium. The momentum of the fiftieth anniversary of our Organization, the lessons we have learned from past mistakes and our renewed commitment must guide us in our pursuit of a better world where, through this Organization, a renewed sense of mutual trust and genuine dialogue can be achieved to ease political tensions and economic crises in all regions and subregions of the planet. In our part of the world, these new developments constitute a real threat to the already vulnerable environment of our island economies and populations. Confronted with these challenges, many countries in the Pacific region, including the Republic of Vanuatu, do not have much choice, at the end of this century, but to embark on difficult programmes of reform both within their respective Governments and within their societies. Last year, my predecessor, The Honourable Serge Vohor, advised this Assembly that Vanuatu had initiated a comprehensive reform programme, with the support of both multilateral and bilateral donor agencies and countries. He also made an appeal to this Assembly, explaining that in order for the reform programme to be successful and responsive to the needs of the national population, 80 per cent of whom live from subsistence farming in rural areas, Vanuatu would continue to need the special support accorded to it as a least developed country. The role of Mr. Hennadiy Udovenko and the Secretary-General in subsequently facilitating a constructive dialogue and a comprehensive appreciation of the economic hardships of Vanuatu must be commended. In this regard, the Government and the people of Vanuatu warmly welcome the recent decision of the Economic and Social Council of the United Nations 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. We would like to register our most sincere appreciation and recognition to each and every country and group of countries for their support. One of the commitments we all made during the fiftieth anniversary celebrations in 1995 was to reform our Organization so that it could be effective in addressing the problems and needs of its Member States, both individually and as a group. From our perspective — and we have no doubt that others share it — the United Nations must include in its reform agenda a full assessment and recognition of the inherent particularities of small island States such as the Republic of Vanuatu, and the impact of the international economic crisis on their economic performance and the sustainability of their political stability. 25 The impact of the Asian economic situation and such recurrent national disasters as tropical cyclones, tidal waves and global warming on our island economies has yet to be fully appraised. This warrants the urgent and dedicated attention of our Organization. With particular regard to the environment, the first chapter of the Barbados Programme of Action for the Sustainable Development of Small Island Developing States clearly states that small island States are particularly vulnerable to global climate change and rising sea levels. We would therefore like to suggest, in the spirit of reform, that the current scope of development-related indicators being used by the United Nations to designate the status of each Member State be thoroughly reviewed in close consultation with the Member States and other regional and multilateral organizations, such as the South Pacific Forum and the Commonwealth. This is an important exercise at a time when we must adjust our national administrative structures, policy directives and legal framework to gradually accommodate the requirements of globalization. It would be unfair and unrealistic to expect small island least developed countries to satisfy all the administrative, financial and legal requirements of the World Trade Organization, for instance, within the same time-frame as the developed countries. An effective sequencing of the accession process is needed, taking into account the capacity of each country?s political and economic system or structure to adjust without affecting social cohesion. The Republic of Vanuatu is committed to the principle of global trade liberalization. The current reform programme reflects this. We are asking the international community to recognize that we should be allowed to be integrated on a gradual basis, taking into account our capacity to administer the process and to adjust to the new environment. It is in this same spirit that the Government of the Republic of Vanuatu welcomes the decision of the fifty- second session of the General Assembly to convene the Third United Nations Conference on the Least Developed Countries in the year 2001. It is still in this spirit that the Government of the Republic of Vanuatu endorses the Declaration of the eighth annual meeting of ministers from least developed countries, adopted on 28 September 1998. The Republic of Vanuatu is proud to be associated this year with the fiftieth anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and the fifth anniversary of the Vienna Declaration and Programme of Action. I am pleased to advise this Assembly that the current reform programme of the Republic of Vanuatu has taken full account of the above principles and the Government?s commitment in this regard. An example of this commitment is our wider recognition of the rights and the role of women in our society through the establishment, within the Prime Minister?s portfolio, of a more systematic mechanism of constructive dialogue between the Government on the one hand, and the National Council of Women and other non- governmental organizations on the other hand. The recent enactment of a first ever leadership code for Vanuatu is another example in this regard. This will not only ensure good governance, transparency and the rule of law, but will also act as an effective deterrent to corruption and abuse of power by national leaders in political circles, in public service and in the religious community, as well as in traditional society. The pursuit and promotion of a free and responsible press and the protection of individual rights 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 that we can successfully address over time with the necessary support of the international community. The right to self-determination must also continue to occupy our agenda. The United Nations, as mandated by its Charter, must be seen to encourage and support dialogue at appropriate political levels in the regions and countries where human sufferings and social disorder continue as a direct result of conflict of opinions on the issue of self-determination. In the Pacific region, we warmly welcomed the signing earlier this year of the Noumea Accord between the French Government and the major political parties in New Caledonia. We believe that this new agreement marks a stronger commitment by all parties to work together to support an irreversible trend for the future political status of New Caledonia. As I said earlier, the world and our Organization will be going through very challenging times as we are set 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 26 responding to the real situations prevailing in its Member States, especially in small island States. It is therefore vital that we all support and supplement the process of reform spearheaded by the Secretary-General and aimed at streamlining and strengthening the Organization.