Belize

The delegation of Belize takes immense pride, Sir, in your election to the presidency of the General Assembly at its forty-eighth session. This is the first time in the history of the Organization that a Commonwealth Caribbean national has been chosen to superintend the deliberations of the General Assembly. Your election is, thus, not only the highest tribute that could have been paid you, but is also the accomplishment of your country, Guyana, and of the wider Commonwealth Caribbean. As a part of the latter, Belize may be forgiven for any note of self-congratulation that creeps into the encomiums we heap upon you today. In that regard - and we say this only slightly with tongue in cheek - we note that almost your first act of wisdom upon assuming office was the selection of a very excellent Belizean as presidential spokesperson. Let me at this time also record my delegation’s appreciation of the most able manner in which the outgoing President, Mr. Stoyan Ganev, conducted the work of the General Assembly at its forty-seventh session. 14 General Assembly - Forty-eighth session In addition, may I take the opportunity to welcome formally to the United Nations family the six countries - the Czech Republic, Eritrea, Monaco, the Slovak Republic, The Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, and Andorra - which have joined the Organization this year. Allow me also to offer, on behalf of the people and the Government of Belize, our deep sympathy to the people and the Government of India for the heavy death toll and considerable material loss caused by the devastating earthquake on 30 September. Over the five years since I last appeared in this Hall, many things have changed in the world. In Belize we, too, have experienced change. On 30 June 1993 the people of Belize voted, through peaceful elections, for a new government. Once more we have demonstrated the stability of our democratic institutions and the maturity of our polity. In an age when the so-called global trend towards democratization seems at times to be a process that moves one step forward and two steps back, we in Belize are justly proud of our record. In these five years, some of the changes occurring in the global prospect have been favourable, and many of these are attributable to this Organization, which, under its distinguished Secretary-General, has been striving to fulfil the mandate of its Charter and find ways and means to cope with problems not necessarily envisaged by the framers of that Charter. In the brief tour d’horizon of the international scene which I shall undertake today, the first matter I wish to address is peace and security. We are very gratified by the positive developments that have occurred in several places. Uppermost in our minds is our own subregion of Central America. There we have been heartened by the movement of several of our neighbours towards reconciliation and social justice. In particular, we note with satisfaction that the brief hiccup of the events in the Republic of Guatemala in May and June does not appear to have seriously flawed that country’s efforts at permanent redemocratization. We are happy that the new government there has publicly confirmed Guatemala’s recognition of sovereign and independent Belize. Diplomatic relations between our two countries can once again proceed apace; and we shall continue the work for the preservation of bilateral and regional security and the search for a lasting solution to the issues that still bedevil us. In accordance with the principles enunciated by this Organization, such a solution must be on the basis of mutual respect for peace, for the rights of both countries to self-determination and for the integrity of each other’s land and sea territory. In the Caribbean we have hopes that the long-suffering people of Haiti will be rewarded by the return of its legitimate government. Recent developments in South Africa are clearly very encouraging, and we are confident of the success of the transition to majority rule, which will be heralded by the non-racial elections scheduled for April 1994. Then, in the midst of continued strife in the Middle East, we believe we see positive signs of the way forward with the dramatic opening between the people of Palestine and the State of Israel. At long last there seems a real possibility of the Palestinian people’s right to self- determination coexisting with the State of Israel’s right to safe and secure borders. We welcome the finalization of the demarcation of the boundary between Kuwait and Iraq, which was accomplished by the Iraq-Kuwait Boundary Demarcation Commission on 20 May 1993. We also welcome the adoption by the Security Council of resolution 833 (1993), in which it guaranteed the inviolability of the boundary between the two States. Encouraging, too, has been the consolidation of the broad consultative mechanisms for confidence-building, security, human rights and cooperation originally established for Europe in the Helsinki Conference and now substantially expanded. Such structures have considerable value, and we understand that our colleagues in the countries members of the Association of South-East Asian Nations (ASEAN) are in the process of developing a similar mechanism with a distinct ASEAN character. Above all, we commend the Secretary-General for his vision in "An Agenda for Peace". Despite all these promising developments, however, the overall outlook for world security remains bleak. In far too many places the peace is disrupted by fratricidal struggle. Everywhere the crushing burden of armaments - to employ a famous expression used by President Roosevelt and Winston Churchill in 1941 - bids to drive our planet off its established course. The Second World War was partly fought, and this great Organization was largely established, to eradicate programmes of ethnic genocide. Now, nearly 50 years after the birth of the United Nations, we are experiencing several such programmes on a massive scale. Forty-eighth session - 13 October l993 15 I urge that during this session we take the first major step to right these imbalances, which affect global peace and security. Just as the Helsinki model is one way forward, we hope that another is the International Tribunal on war crimes, the judges of which this Assembly recently elected. Among other steps which might be taken are the following: Governments must forswear profiteering from the sale or sponsorship of the sale of armaments. There must be an expansion of regional and subregional systems of cooperation and coordination in the cognate areas of security, narcotics interdiction and counter-terrorism. This body must make firm recommendations for the development and rigid enforcement of domestic neutrality laws everywhere. Likewise, the international law relating to neutrality must be thoroughly modernized to proscribe and severely punish trafficking in arms. This must be not only in situations of belligerency, but also in cases of insurgency, rebellion and other armed conflict, both internal and international. The recent salutary reinvigoration of this Organization’s peace-keeping mechanisms must be furthered. This is a time when the United Nations is increasingly being called upon to act as a peacemaker in troubled and turbulent regions of the world. It is to the Organization’s credit that it has risen to the occasion by undertaking complex and challenqinq assignments around the globe. There was a time when United Nations peace-keeping forces could successfully be composed of contingents from the so-called third world countries. But recent experience has now shown that large and difficult operations of the Bosnia and Somalia type stand little chance of success without the active participation of major Powers. In this context, we welcome President Clinton’s speech in this session of the Assembly, offering to commit United States troops to the United Nations Bosnia operation under certain conditions. Yet there is still a role for small States. And we in Belize would be prepared to offer training facilities to the Organization as a contribution to increasing the efficiency of peace-keeping forces. This would be in accordance with Article 43 of the Charter, which calls for member Governments to make available to the Security Council "assistance and facilities ... necessary for the purpose of maintaining international peace and security". Needless to say, we would be happy to make our contribution in concert with other countries in our area. Either pre-existing regional security mechanisms and/or new bilateral and multilateral arrangements might serve as the vehicle for small country efforts at cooperation. As a backdrop to all this, the provisions of the Charter relative to peacemaking must be strengthened. In particular, a standing United Nations force under unified United Nations command should be considered and the Military Staff Committee must be made fully operational. In keeping with the Secretary-General’s quest to improve efficiencies, strict military discipline of United Nations forces must be established and there must be improved coordination at Headquarters and in the field. The most important of the steps which my Government believes should be taken is reform of the Security Council. It is self-evident that in these times of turmoil and increased United Nations activity the agenda item of equitable representation on, and increase in membership of, the Council looms large. Belize has recently submitted a paper to the Secretary-General, detailing our ideas on this all-important topic. I wish to turn next to international cooperation. I believe that there exists an international legal obligation to cooperate in good faith. It is anticipated in the Articles on principles and purposes and other provisions of the United Nations Charter, and is reiterated in such Declarations as the friendly relations Declaration of 1970 and the 1974 Charter of Economic Rights and Duties of States. I will address the question of economic cooperation at a later stage in my remarks. At this point, I wish to train the spotlight on cooperation in the area of ecospheric concerns. As regards the ecosphere, Belize considers that the early and universal ratification of the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea is of paramount importance. It will be recalled that the Convention imposes myriad duties of cooperation. In that way, the weak, and not only the strong and mighty, will inherit the Earth and its waters. We have seen two recent examples of successful efforts at cooperation in the ecosphere. The first involves the ozone layer. In that connection, intensive cooperation by Governments and by private industry, pursuant to the Montreal Protocol on Substances that Deplete the Ozone Layer, as amended, has led to a significant decline in the rate of expansion of the hole in the ozone layer. My other example is the cooperation of foreign and domestic agencies with the Governments of my country, Belize and Costa Rica, which has contributed to substantial 16 General Assembly - Forty-eighth session success in our conservation efforts. Cognizant of these successes, we appeal for intensive cooperation in all aspects of the ecosphere, including the termination of ocean and terrestrial dumping, the halt of desertification and the reduction of the causes of global warming. We also hope for a concrete programme of action at next April’s Global Conference on the Sustainable Development of Small Island Developing States to be held in Barbados. One area in which we must redouble our efforts at cooperation is the moral environment. In numerous Member countries the people have clamoured for cessation of corrupt practices in government and business, both national and international. Now, we are extremely happy to observe that the Secretary-General has established the new post of Assistant Secretary-General for Inspections and Investigations. In so doing, he has made it clear that the moral environment of our organization must be sanitized. We must support him in this endeavour. At the same time, we lend our voice to those who call for the accountability of all inter-governmental organizations to independent auditors and inspectors. My Government attaches the greatest importance to integrity and decency in public life. We applaud such international efforts as the forthcoming anti-corruption conference to be held in Mexico later this year to plan national strategies for fighting corruption. And we in Belize have recently taken our own action to strengthen the legal infrastructure necessary to banish the scourge of political corruption. In just three months since taking office, we have introduced four major pieces of legislation in our Parliament. They are the Prevention of Corruption in Public Life Bill, the Ombudsman Bill, the Contractor General Bill and the Freedom of Information Bill. This last, as far as we can determine, is the only one of its kind in the entire Commonwealth Carribean. These measures bear testimony to my Government’s determination to wage a total war on corruption and to make Belize the model of a just, honest and democratic society. I turn next to issues relating to international development and economic relations. For over 30 years, the Organization has painstakingly sought to spell out that the right to development and the duty of the privileged to assist the underprivileged are firmly based in international law and public policies. This right and duty were part of the "freedom from want" principle, one of the founding principles of the 1942 wartime coalition that was the first to be called the "United Nations". Freedom from want had nothing to do with ideology and great-Power rivalry. Nevertheless, there have been dramatic ideological, geopolitical and economic changes during the late 1980s. As these changes have occurred, needs have increased but resources have not. Yet we have heard rumours that various initiatives to bring economic justice to this planet are no longer necessary. I respectfully suggest that nothing could be further from the truth. In fact, such controversial movements as the one to establish a new international economic order were merely, as we have intimated, the reiteration of an established principle. That is, those initiatives were the renewal of an order, not a new order. Furthermore, in the original Somalia intervention, we see strong confirmation of the continuing vitality of the principle of "freedom from want" - for all of us will remember that the avowed objective of the current exercises in that beleaguered country was to bring food, comfort and succour to its suffering people. Thus, I believe, we are seeing the reaffirmation of freedom from want as a human right. At the same time, I would urge the Assembly to take firm steps to ensure that food no longer be used as a weapon by parties to civil and international conflicts. In all this we are acutely aware of the shift in world trading patterns brought on by the formation of new trading blocs. The most recent and prominent of these are of course the North American Free Trade Agreement among Mexico, the United States of America and Canada, and the Single European Market. And so, in some areas at least, the march towards wider trade liberalization and true market economy moves inexorably forward. But we in the South also see that our economies and life as we know them are threatened by these developments; our preferential access to markets steadily erodes and our terms of trade consistently worsen. What we are in fact concerned about here is the pressure to open up our borders prematurely to the free flow of agricultural and other products from the more developed countries. It is a bitter pill to swallow, even as we watch the protectionist squabbling among developed countries that has prevented the successful conclusion of the Uruguay Round of Multilateral trade negotiations under the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT). Of course, it would also result in massive economic dislocation followed inevitably by social and political unrest in our countries. Nevertheless, we acknowledge that we must in the long run identify alternative commodities that we can produce efficiently and with comparative advantage. I must stress, however, that we are hard pressed to find the resources required for comprehensive research, development and Forty-eighth session - 13 October l993 17 promotion programmes for new products. We must be afforded an adequate transition period to adjust our economic and production activities. I would wish, therefore, to take this opportunity to call on the countries members of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development to identify and dedicate significant financial and technical resources to assist small countries in developing alternative products. Of course, current trends in official and private financial flows to the developing world suggest that this is a cry that will fall largely on deaf ears. On a more positive note, permit me at this juncture to applaud the apparent resolve of the United Nations organs for development assistance to improve their efforts at coordination. In this connection, I single out for special mention the Secretary- General’s ongoing formulation of an agenda for development and the determined spirit of the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) to strengthen its mission and revamp its machinery. This, however, is but a beginning of what must be a crusade for development. The last set of issues I shall address are social, political, cultural and humanitarian. First, we must do much more to ensure that women are accorded their proper rights in the domestic and international orders. No longer should we merely echo the litany that women’s development is indispensable for economic development. We must ensure that women are accorded equal rights in all spheres. Furthermore, they must urgently be given equal representation in our political, social, cultural and other institutions. Again, I take note of the recent efforts of this Organization to improve the position of women in the upper echelons of the United Nations Secretariat. As regards refugees, it would be disingenuous to call for their enhanced protection without acknowledging the severe problems which host countries increasingly face. For instance, we in Belize do the best we can, but overcrowding a slender raft - even in a relative haven of calm - can bring dire consequences to all its occupants. Nevertheless, I am happy to report to this Assembly that Belize’s record of human rights is good and worthy of emulation. Our Constitution is founded on the principles of justice and respect for the fundamental freedoms of all our people, and our laws and practices fully conform to the mandate of our Constitution. The international scourge of narcotics continues unabated. Again, we add our voices to those who urge that at least the same degree of attention be given to curbing demand and improving public health, as to addressing supply. Narcotics, terrorism and urban violence are all gross manifestations of an awful cancer seeking to engulf our planet. One clear contributor to this is the mass and universal culture, or what passes for culture, purveyed by the moguls of television. While we welcome the utility of the new global news channels, we lament the other, baneful, influences to which our people are subjected by some aspects of worldwide programming. It is high time that this Organization tackle this problem. Finally, as regards human riqhts and humanitarian law, even over the brief period of five years since I last addressed this body, we have witnessed significant expansion in the activities of the Commission on Human Rights and the bodies established under the various United Nations instruments for the protection of fundamental rights and freedoms. We have seen this Organization, on invitation, participate in monitoring and conducting elections and, in the unprecedented case of Cambodia, actually administer a country prior to the holding of democratic elections. Yet the basic rights of human beings in numerous places are still seriously impaired. Many of those who should protect, in fact violate. And conferences, tribunals and conventions bring scarce relief. In the realm of humanitarian law, we are hopeful that the International Tribunal on war crimes will set a healthy precedent. Nevertheless, we view with increasing concern the flouting of the Geneva regime, especially the 1977 Protocols applicable to various forms of civil strife. That regime is the other side of the coin of human rights. Whichever side comes up when that coin is tossed, it comes up tarnished. Clearly, despite a somewhat mixed record, the United Nations is no moribund organization. Nevertheless, as it nears its golden jubilee, it does require additional impetus, a more focused consensus for reform and revitalization. Let all of us, then, as we go about the business of this forty- eighth session, bear well in mind the words of the Preamble to the Charter and accordingly pledge our rededication to the task of saving succeeding generations from the scourge of war, reaffirming faith in fundamental human rights and equality, and creating the moral climate in which justice and international law will finally prevail.