Grenada

My delegation is pleased to convey warmest greetings from the Government and people of Grenada to the General Assembly at its forty-ninth session. We also wish to extend sincere congratulations to Your Excellency Mr. Amara Essy, Foreign Minister of Côte d’Ivoire, on your election to the presidency of this session. The Government of Grenada takes this opportunity to commend Ambassador Samuel Insanally, the first representative from the Caribbean ever to hold the high office of President of the General Assembly, for his exemplary conduct of the proceedings of the forty-eighth session. We are indeed proud of his performance. Grenada also wishes to express profound appreciation to the Secretary-General, Mr. Boutros Boutros-Ghali, for his relentless efforts in the pursuit of the purposes of this Organization. Grenada is pleased to welcome the new South Africa to the United Nations, and we pay special tribute to His Excellency President Nelson Mandela for his resolute will and firm determination in the fight against apartheid, which eventually resulted in this new, democratic and non-racial South Africa. Grenada is pleased that in recent efforts to bring an end to the illegal seizure of power by the military in Haiti and to halt the ensuing human rights abuses there diplomacy prevailed and further bloodshed was averted. We now eagerly await the reinstatement of the duly elected Government and its President, Father Jean- Bertrand Aristide, and the return of democracy to Haiti. We support the actions taken by the United States of America and other multinational forces in implementation of United Nations resolutions on Haiti, and we join like-minded nations as they move to establish the structures in which development and democracy can be sustained. Grenada is prepared to do its part to ensure a more fertile ground for the growth of democracy in Haiti, our sister Caribbean country. We are proud that, within the limits of our resources, personnel from Grenada’s law enforcement services are among the multinational contingent to help in "Operation Uphold Democracy". After all, it was 11 years ago this month that Grenada itself profited from a similar multinational operation, affording us the historic opportunity to restore democratic principles to our way of life. It is therefore only natural that Grenada should wish Haiti well and should be prepared to support democracy in that country as fully as we do. Over the last several years many of the small developing countries within this Organization have been experiencing growing economic problems. The forced response has been to take stringent corrective measures aimed at stabilizing their economies and creating the conditions for sustainable development. Speaking specifically of my own country, Grenada, I can inform the Assembly that in 1992 we embarked on a voluntary three- year structural adjustment programme in an effort to correct serious fiscal imbalances and to put the country on a path of sustained growth. This year marks the end of the programme, and I am happy to report that some success has been achieved. The Government has significantly reduced the fiscal deficits from 25 per cent of gross domestic product in 1992 to 11 per cent in 1993 and 9 per cent to date. Moreover, Grenada’s credit rating has improved notably, with its creditworthiness restored by the World Bank in June of this year after having been forfeited in 1988. Whatever success has been recorded by that programme is a credit to regionalism, since the programme was instituted with enormous regional inputs. Grenada wishes publicly to thank the regional Governments and 11 institutions which contributed to the effort. This particular development means that Grenada is now viewed more favourably by the multilateral and specialized donor agencies and friendly Governments in terms of external financial assistance for its development programmes. Despite the good fiscal performance, the structural- adjustment programme has not been able to achieve its targets in terms of the growth rate of the gross domestic product. Thus, over the next two years much emphasis will be placed on achieving a reasonable rate of economic growth. In addition, efforts to reduce the fiscal deficits further will continue to be vigorously pursued. You, Mr. President, are well aware that a topic of particular currency in the area of international economic relations is the issue of trade and investment. Of course, over the past months new trading blocs have been created, with the result that in the Western Hemisphere we now have several such arrangements, which include the very important North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA). While all the implications of NAFTA are not yet known, we must nevertheless now seek to position our economies to interface with the realities of this new economic environment. In that context, the conclusion of the latest round of the negotiations of the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT) has very far-reaching consequences for trade. The requirements of trade liberalization and reciprocity mean that small island developing States like Grenada must now interact on the same playing field as the more developed countries, which, in effect, signals a rapid erosion of the preferential treatment that some of us have enjoyed over the past two decades. The removal of access to market arrangements traditionally favourable to fledgling industries in our societies - the banana industry, for example - compounds our difficulties and presents a major threat to the overall well-being of our small economies. Furthermore, the creation of the World Trade Organization would most definitely change the face of international trade, and while every independent nation has the opportunity to become a party to that Organization and thus attempt to influence its operations, it is evident that, on that score, equality will not necessarily ensure equity. We are cognizant of the fact that we must now seek to enhance our productivity and competitiveness in carefully selected areas if we are to survive in this era of trade liberalization. But, more often than not, we cannot do it alone, and this is why my delegation appeals to the developed countries to be considerate of our fragile economies and the need to adapt to this seemingly hostile economic environment. The recent success of the United Nations Global Conference on the Sustainable Development of Small Island Developing States, held in Barbados, and the adoption of its Programme of Action underscore the urgent need for international co-operation and assistance, not only in the form of financial resources for the implementation of the Programme of Action, but also in access to markets, acquisition of new technologies and institutional and human-resource development, so as to enable us to respond more capably to the challenges of finding new paths to sustainable development. The advances made since the United Nations Conference on Environment and Development must be built upon, and in this regard the importance of forging new global partnerships between developed and developing countries ought to be given priority. The protection of the global climate and biological diversity, the sustainable use and conservation of all marine resources and the protection of our oceans and high seas require urgent international assistance and cooperation. My delegation therefore looks forward to the fulfilment of the obligations of the developed countries that have pledged their commitment to assist developing countries and, in particular, small island developing States, in the implementation of the decisions and recommendations of Agenda 21, the conventions on climate change and biodiversity and all the follow-up conferences of the Rio Conference. For several years Grenada has expressed its concern at the apparent unbalanced resource commitment to security issues versus development. Consequently, my delegation commends recently expanded efforts aimed at giving greater prominence to the development needs confronting the world, particularly in the developing countries. We applaud the Secretary-General’s report "An Agenda for Development" and we applaud the former President of the General Assembly, His Excellency Mr. Samuel Insanally, for his visionary initiative in organizing the World Hearings on Development in June of this year. We urge that the momentum gained therefrom be maintained, and we wish to place on record our support for Brazil’s call for a global conference on development in the year 1996. The question of population and development is a very sensitive issue, one that demands continuous conscientious global effort. Grenada is encouraged by the consensus which emerged from the recently concluded International Conference on Population and Development 12 at Cairo, and we are hopeful that increasingly balanced development will be viewed as the essential basis on which to treat the issue of population. We are also confident that the Conference on Women to be held at Beijing in 1995 will address one of the long- standing issues critical to development, that is, the issue of women in development. In March of 1995 world leaders will gather in Copenhagen to address one of the most pressing questions of our time, the question of social development. We will be asked to rule on the debilitating issues of poverty, meaningful employment and social inclusion. We will be asked to rule particularly in the interest of youth, the aged, the disabled and all those outside the mainstream of social integration. Grenada is confident that the World Summit for Social Development and all the other follow-ups to the Rio Conference are replacing despair with hope worldwide. At the same time, we are concerned about the different spins that may be put on the interpretation of those agreements. For example, we are concerned that environmental causes should not be used as barriers to access for goods produced in developing countries to the markets of those with more prosperous economies. We hope that, on the contrary, the developed countries will appreciate the need to assist the poorer countries to gain access to the technologies and technological know-how necessary to the promotion of more-balanced development on a global scale. Stability within and between States is a prerequisite for international peace and security. Grenada is encouraged by certain developments, beginning almost a year ago with the signing of the historic peace treaty between Israel and the Palestine Liberation Organization. We believe that the emergence of self-rule in Jericho and Gaza is of great significance. We look forward to further positive developments in the Middle East peace process and wish all the countries in that region the peace and stability upon which lasting prosperity will be built. Grenada is encouraged by the diplomatic efforts in the search for a permanent solution to the crisis in Bosnia and Herzegovina. We commend the United Nations for its resolve and determination in this regard. We fully support the establishment of the International Tribunal to try allegations of war crimes in the former Yugoslavia. By the same token, Grenada fully supports similar initiatives in response to situations in other parts of the world, where these are deemed appropriate. In the light of the unfortunate circumstances in Rwanda that resulted in the loss of hundreds of thousands of lives, and bearing in mind other situations of human devastation, Grenada wishes to express its satisfaction with the responses from those members of the international community that have gone to the aid of people in various sorry situations. We also wish to convey our appreciation to the relief agencies and others whose tireless efforts have saved lives, restored health to the sick and hungry and brought comfort to countless victims - particularly women and children. My delegation wishes to underscore the importance of human rights, freedom and good governance as vital preconditions to domestic quietude, international harmony and the creation of the climate necessary for the achievement of progress within societies. In this regard, the promotion and protection of the rights of children is an issue that cries out for greater attention. The well-being of children cannot wait for the unprompted evolution of societies. Deliberate efforts must be expedited at various levels, global and national, to ensure the promotion and protection of children’s rights. Likewise, in this the International Year of the Family and beyond, emphasis should continue to be placed on the pivotal role of the family in national and global development. The end of the cold-war era presents opportunities for a shift from political and ideological divide to cooperation in the areas of economic and social development. New economic Powers on the world scene seek to occupy positions that were once the prerogative of the traditional super-Powers. Grenada believes that the structure of the organs of the United Nations should reflect these new developments and, at the same time, make provision for geographical representation that is consistent with today’s global, political and economic realities. Reforms currently being undertaken in the United Nations system provide an opportunity to examine the question of expanding the Security Council and the question of the veto power in the light of these new realities. Grenada supports the principle of universality and encourages the General Assembly to give renewed consideration to the wish of the Republic of China - a founding Member of the United Nations - to participate in the Organization and its specialized agencies as a full Member. We believe that this appeal from the 21 million people of the Republic of China in Taiwan for a voice and proper representation in the international community 13 is both moral and legitimate. The inclusion of the Republic of China in Taiwan in the United Nations would further contribute to global cooperation in trade, economic development and environmental and ecological protection. In addition, it would assist in the promotion of international development assistance to developing countries. Grenada believes that a committee should be set up to examine the exceptional nature of the situation of the Republic of China in the present international context. So long as drug traffickers and international arms dealers continue to ply their trade, and so long as mercenaries, terrorists and other adventurists exist, the protection and security of small States will remain particularly vulnerable to acts of aggression, from without as well as from within. While the United Nations Charter recognizes the right of States to take measures in self-defence, the reality is that often small States faced with serious threats lack the means to do so. Small States invariably look to the provisions of the United Nations Charter to secure respect for and preservation of their sovereignty. It is therefore necessary that the protection and security of small States remain a very pertinent issue among the concerns of the United Nations. The tasks of the organs and bodies of the United Nations are by no means easy. Old tensions have given way to new tensions and concerns, which demand imaginative approaches if solutions are to be found. As we embark upon preparations for the fiftieth anniversary of the United Nations in 1995, let us train our sights on the factors that brought the United Nations into being in the first instance and on what gives the Organization its special worthiness. The challenge is to attain and maintain long-term global peace and stability and to enhance the prospects for solving global problems of an economic, social, cultural or humanitarian nature. To this end, we as a community of nations must rededicate ourselves to working ever relentlessly and concertedly towards the goal of making our planet a safer, better and happier place in which to live.