Suriname

It is a distinct honour for me today to address the sixtieth General Assembly of the United Nations. At the outset, please allow me on behalf of the Government and people of the Republic of Suriname to extend sincere felicitations to the President on his election to preside over this important session. I would like to pledge my delegation’s full support and cooperation in the tasks that lie ahead of us in this session. My delegation would also like to express its gratitude to His Excellency Mr. Jean Ping, President of the fifty-ninth session of the General Assembly of the United Nations, for his unwavering efforts in steering the work of the fifty-ninth session. We wish him well in his future endeavours. We continue to render our support to Secretary- General Kofi Annan, especially for his leadership in the process of restructuring the United Nations. We are gathered here, in the wake of the High- level Plenary Meeting, in which world leaders adopted some measures to advance the cause of development, human rights and security and the much-needed reform of this world Organization. The task before us is not an easy one. We need to redouble our efforts in implementing the ambitious goals we have set to create a safer and more prosperous world for ourselves and generations to come. Although the world community made some modest progress towards achieving the Millennium Development Goals, we have to acknowledge that we are far from reaching the global commitments made by world leaders at the dawn of the new millennium to advance economic and social development for the world’s poor. The Government of Suriname remains committed to achieving the Millennium Development Goals because we strongly believe that sustainable development is crucial for the achievement of international peace and security. 28 While we acknowledge our primary responsibility in the development process, we would like to bring to mind the commitments made in Monterrey of establishing a global partnership to advance the development agenda. A substantial increase in financial resources, to be provided on a more predictable basis and free of conditionalities, is needed for this matter. We commend the various initiatives that have been launched so far, and we would like to call on our developed partners to continue rendering their support to the efforts of developing countries. Trade can play an important role in promoting economic growth and development, and in that regard we reiterate our position for a trading system that is universal, rule-based, non-discriminatory, open and equitable. We furthermore expect that the upcoming multilateral round of trade negotiations will fully take into account the needs of developing countries. We would like to note the laudable initiatives of several developed countries for facilitating market access for the least developed countries. However, for many middle-income countries, like Suriname, who are called upon to diversify their economies, measures have yet to be taken to facilitate their market access for goods and services into the markets of the developed countries. Sixty years ago, in the aftermath of the Second World War, world leaders vowed to save succeeding generations from the scourge of war and thus came together and established the United Nations. Faced with both old and new challenges to international peace and security, the international community should more than ever be determined to live up to that crucial promise. The spread of infectious diseases such as HIV/AIDS, the indiscriminate effect of the forces of nature thereby causing widespread despair and destruction, the uncontrolled proliferation of small arms and light weapons, just to name a few, are testimony of the transnational nature of contemporary challenges the world is facing today. We therefore need an effective system of international cooperation to collectively deal with both old and new threats to international peace and security. It is imperative to redress the major setbacks in nuclear disarmament and arms control. We will have failed future generations if we cannot even reach agreement on the general principles governing those important issues. We cannot but agree with the Secretary-General when he once stated, “There is nothing small or light about the consequences of the uncontrolled spread and misuse of small arms and light weapons” (A/58/138, p. 4). In Suriname, as is the case for many countries in the Caribbean region, this phenomenon is associated with drug trafficking and other cross-border criminal activity. In this regard we would like to pledge our support to the ongoing efforts in the United Nations to address this critical issue that threatens the economic and social fabric of our society. My Government strongly condemns all acts of terrorism committed by whomever, wherever and for whatever purposes. With the growing interdependence in the world, terrorism constitutes a grave danger for rich, poor, large and small countries alike. We would however like to bring to mind that the fight against terrorism should, at all times, take place in accordance with international law and with respect for human rights, tolerance and the peaceful coexistence of people. The fight against terrorism must address its root causes. Suriname, being a multi-ethnic, multireligious and multicultural society, believes that increased tolerance and dialogue could make a positive contribution to the goal of increased security. We therefore continue to support the dialogue among civilizations and remain convinced that a culture of peace can be significantly enhanced through this dialogue in order to promote mutual understanding, respect and tolerance among regions, cultures and peoples. Respect for human rights and fundamental freedoms remains of great importance to the Government of Suriname. The creation of a Human Rights Council, as was agreed to in the outcome document, should not only result in a renaming of the Commission on Human Rights; we have the daunting task ahead of us of restoring credibility to the human rights machinery by addressing the shortfalls of the Commission on Human Rights and ensuring that the Human Rights Council becomes a more effective and objective organ. The United Nations should resolve to come to the rescue of people confronted with genocide, ethnic 29 cleansing and crimes against humanity. We must continue to discuss the framework to be associated with this difficult task. But more importantly, the United Nations, through its Charter provisions, should find ways and means geared towards preventing these atrocities from reoccurring. The international community has some time ago expressed the need for a more effective and efficient Organization that would be better able to address the many challenges our world is facing today and make it more responsive to the aspirations of the world’s people. Suriname continues to believe in the values of the United Nations as the supreme multilateral institution and supports the efforts of strengthening the Organization through reform. More than ever, good intentions must give rise to concrete achievements. We must translate commitments into action. We owe it to the many people living in extreme poverty who do not have access to safe drinking water and do not have proper health care. Achieving such a global society requires the involvement, determination and commitment of all actors — State and non-State — as well as coordinated and comprehensive actions by all such actors in the global fight against poverty and injustice. Our shared objectives require more than a reaffirmation of the importance of the Millennium Development Goals and the availability of financial resources. It requires understanding between developed and developing countries. It requires political will, which is a condition sine qua non in our efforts to achieve our global commitments. I am convinced that the recently concluded high- level gathering of world leaders generated the renewed political commitment to further the cause of global partnership between the developing and developed countries to promote development and continue the fight against poverty and hunger. In conclusion, let me remark that we have to act now. We cannot build a world of peace and security without economic and social development and without respect for human rights.