Bahamas

I join previous speakers in congratulating you, Sir, on your election to the presidency of the fifty-second session of the General Assembly. My delegation is satisfied that your vast experience in international affairs and your proven diplomatic skills will guide the work of this session to a successful conclusion. I wish to assure you of my delegation’s full support and cooperation in the execution of the duties of your office. I also wish to express my delegation’s gratitude and congratulations to your predecessor, Ambassador Razali Ismail of Malaysia, who presided over our Assembly during the fifty-first session with great vigour, skill and resolve. Having had the honour of serving as a Vice-President of that session, I am particularly appreciative of his noteworthy contributions. This is my first opportunity in this Assembly to address and congratulate our new Secretary-General, Mr. Kofi Annan. He is, of course, no stranger to any of us, having faithfully served this Organization for so many years. We are confident that he has the vision, ability and determination to lead the United Nations as it prepares to meet the challenges of the new millennium. I wish to assure the Secretary-General of the continued support and cooperation of the Government of the Commonwealth of the Bahamas. On behalf of the Government and people of the Bahamas, I also wish to pay tribute to our former Secretary-General, Mr. Boutros Boutros-Ghali. The Bahamas particularly wishes to recall and salute his tireless efforts in seeking to restore financial stability to our Organization. Today, I reiterate the Bahamas’ solemn pledge that as we lead our nation into a new millennium the primary focus of our efforts will be directed towards improving the delivery of health care, education and skills training, a reduction in the level of serious crime and unemployment, and the eradication of poverty and poor housing. We are committed to achieving the full empowerment of women and equality among the sexes as we work toward the evolution of a society in which our children will live with hope, a society where there is opportunity for all, where there is respect for human rights, fundamental values and the rule of law. Our efforts on behalf of the Bahamian people also represent our contribution towards the collective efforts which Member States of the United Nations must make to ensure a safe, stable and productive global society so that progress, peace and development can be achieved for all the people represented here. We are therefore committed to assisting in the much needed reform of this world body, so as to enable us to achieve these goals. One of the greatest threats to quality of life and to productive development worldwide is criminal behaviour. My Government has set as one of its highest priorities the comprehensive reduction and prevention of crime, in all its forms, including drug-trafficking, money-laundering and illegal trafficking in firearms, and, indeed, in human beings. Those who engage in such menacing activities respect no borders. We therefore implore all Member States, irrespective of size or might, to recognize that the most effective means of reducing crime at the national and international levels is through joint and collaborative efforts. The Government of the Bahamas supports the strengthening of the international legal order against crime. We also hope that the special session on the question of drugs in 1998 will provide new impetus and resolve to combat this particular menace to all of our societies. My Government reiterates its call to urgently address the growing problem of the traffic in small arms. The Bahamas, neither a manufacturer nor a vendor of arms, urges those countries involved in the production and sale of arms to impose stringent control measures and provide assistance to vulnerable States to reduce the threat of the traffic in arms. Another concern of the world’s nations is the protection of the environment. The Bahamas recognizes and appreciates that conservation and enhancement of the environment are critically important to the well-being of our people, and especially that of future generations. Consequently, our national planning process incorporates community environmental education and the regular monitoring and enforcement of laws for the protection of natural resources and the conservation of habitats. Indeed, during the course of this year, the Government of the Bahamas enacted legislation to protect our physical landscape and prevent the destruction of certain 13 indigenous trees. The expansion of green and open spaces for the benefit of the general population is another key pillar in our environmental policy. Tourism is the leading industry in the Bahamas and the fastest growing industry in the world. We are all aware, however, that the development of tourism does not always take place in harmony with environmental protection and conservation. Mindful of this fact, the Bahamas, along with its regional partners, seeks to develop strategies, policies and procedures which will ensure that the continued development of the industry is consistent with standards of environmental sustainability. In this vein, the Caribbean Community has adopted a regional position against the transportation of hazardous and radioactive substances through the Caribbean Sea, a concern previously voiced in this forum. While the concept of sustainable development remains subject to further definition, my Government believes that poverty reduction and social development can and must be achieved in concert with environmental integrity, economic stability and good health. The proper integration of developing economies into the rapidly advancing globalization of world trade will, we believe, mark the measure of our success in these areas. Regrettably, developments over the past decade have not always met expectations. In spite of the technological revolution of the last decade and the rapid increase in worldwide commerce, the benefits of the globalization of the world’s economy have not been evenly distributed. Developing countries continue to be marginalized even as the world’s market economy grows at an extraordinary pace. Globalization can offer great opportunities, but only if it is managed carefully and with more concern for equity, morality and indeed compassion. An enabling environment must be created for all to take full advantage of the new opportunities created by globalization. The peculiar vulnerability of small islands — their susceptibility to natural disasters, their economy’s dependence on primary products, their small human and material resource base — means that small island States have much more at stake in achieving sustainable development. The Bahamas, therefore, attaches great importance to the 1999 review of the Barbados Programme of Action for the Sustainable Development of Small Island Developing States, and calls for the mobilization of external resources for its further implementation. We are also pleased to note that consideration is being given by the United Nations to the possible development of a vulnerability index. We welcome the proposed convening of an expert group meeting later this year to review various proposals, and look forward to the completion of the technical study now in progress. The development of a mechanism such as the vulnerability index will help to alleviate a concern which the Bahamas has repeatedly expressed in this assembly regarding the persistent use of per capita gross national product as the major measurement of wealth. It is our view that this criterion is an inadequate measurement of development and is often inconsistent with the principles of equity. The vulnerability of small island States is painfully demonstrated in the unfolding natural disaster on the Caribbean island of Montserrat, where volcanic activity has forever changed the physical, sociological and psychological landscape. Indeed, the viability of the island to provide a base for the livelihood and development of the people of Montserrat is yet to be determined. We, the Government and people of the Bahamas, wish to express our solidarity with, and pledge our continued support to, the people of Montserrat during this particularly difficult time. We are similarly conscious of the fact that natural disasters affect virtually all the Member States of this Organization, large and small, developed and developing. In recent times, typhoons in South-East Asia, floods in Eastern and Central Europe and in the central states and provinces of the United States and Canada, and earthquakes in South America, and most recently in Italy and Indonesia, have wreaked untold suffering on millions of people. As we look towards the twenty-first century, we must assess how best this Organization can prepare itself during the next three years to enter into this new era in human history. Since becoming a Member of the United Nations in 1973, the Commonwealth of the Bahamas has at successive sessions of the Assembly reaffirmed the importance of the United Nations and has conveyed its commitment to work with other Member States in pursuit of the principles and objectives of the Charter. In this connection, we congratulate the Secretary- General on the important reform proposals which he has 14 presented, and we stand ready to participate in their comprehensive and constructive review during this session. It is the view of my delegation that reform should have as its end result an improved and more efficient Organization, fully able to meet the demands of the Members which it serves. At the same time, reform would be meaningless if the Organization were not to have a stable financial basis on which to carry out its functions. It is imperative, therefore, that we find a way to overcome the myriad obstacles that have eluded resolution to date in areas such as the reform of the Security Council and the financial situation of the United Nations. The Bahamas strongly urges all Member States to commit themselves to resolution of the question of Security Council reform at this fifty-second session of the General Assembly. The Bahamas supports the need to expand the Council’s membership in both categories. This expansion must, however, pay due regard to the principles of equal representation, the reflection of the universal character of the Organization and the need to correct existing imbalances in the composition of the Council. In a world confronted daily by press reports on the tragedies of failed efforts to preserve peace between nations — and indeed, between different ethnic and/or religious groups within nations — it is frequently easy to ignore the successes being achieved by the Organization. My Government welcomes the positive work being done by the United Nations in the maintenance of international peace and security. The fact that increasing numbers of countries are willing to cooperate with the United Nations is an indication of how important it is for the Organization to continue the implementation of its mandate in this area. We note the success stories in areas such as Central America and also in Haiti, where the mandate of the Support Mission has recently been extended. It has always been the contention of the Bahamas Government that too early a withdrawal from Haiti had the potential of derailing the hard-earned gains made in that country. The continuing and recently escalating arrival of many Haitian migrants in the Bahamas is a sobering reminder that a setback in Haiti’s difficult march towards political and economic stability could well be destabilizing. The Government applauds the international community in its successful negotiation of a treaty to ban anti-personnel landmines. Bahamas will sign the treaty and ratify it as soon as possible, and hopes that the Convention will receive full support, particularly from the developed countries of the world. The Bahamas fulfilled its promise made last year to sign the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test- Ban Treaty, and pledges early ratification, in keeping with its commitment to save succeeding generations from the scourge of nuclear war. These, along with other measures, bring us one step closer to the total elimination of weapons of mass destruction. The Bahamas is of the view that the United Nations should serve as a pillar of support for the aspirations of its Member States and as a beacon of hope for the destitute of the world. Let us therefore resolve to have this fifty-second session of the General Assembly remembered as a decisive turning point in the work of the Organization. It should be remembered as a session where Member States were able to attain a greater level of understanding, trust, cooperation and a sense of purpose to empower them to deal with the problems affecting the international community.