Dominica

Mr. President, please allow me, on behalf of the Government of the Commonwealth of Dominica, to extend our congratulations to you on your assumption of the presidency at the sixtieth session of the General Assembly. My delegation is confident that, with your experience and diplomatic skills, you will preside over the Assembly with the effectiveness and the dedication required to take us through the agenda of the sixtieth session. We extend to your predecessor, Mr. Jean Ping of Gabon, our sincere appreciation for his stewardship of the fifty-ninth session and for his tireless efforts to guide the preparation of the outcome document. Our warm tribute is also due to the Secretary-General for his unqualified dedication to this institution. Allow me at the outset to convey our deepest sympathies and condolences to the Government and the people of the United States of America in the wake of the deaths and widespread destruction caused by Hurricane Katrina. We remain concerned about the potential devastation that Hurricane Rita is likely to unleash in coming days. One week ago, world leaders gathered here at the historic High-level Plenary Meeting and demonstrated their collective political will to overcome the many challenges facing the world. They charted a clear direction for a future of peace and prosperity for all humankind. They reaffirmed their commitment to achieving the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), underscored the continuing relevance of the United Nations and its indispensable role in the collective management of the many problems faced by the global community, and provided clear recommendations for the reform of the Organization. The outcome document, while falling short of our expectations, presents a platform for multilateral solutions to the broad range of global problems related to development, peace and security, human rights, the rule of law and the reinvigoration of the United Nations. The Commonwealth of Dominica is committed to the Millennium Development Goals and embraces the renewed pledge to save humanity from the scourge of war, disease, famine and poverty. We will work with all Member States to ensure a future based on hope and prosperity instead of one of despair for the poor and the marginalized of this world. We now have before us the monumental task of ensuring implementation and tangible outcomes. Fulfilling that task, which our esteemed leaders have accorded to us, requires the determined will of all Member States. It will also require a commitment to the collective will and a retreat from preoccupation with self-interest and narrow national agendas. If nothing else, the sixtieth session should go down in history as the session at which we, the Member States, renewed our commitment to the ideal that inspired the 31 visionary founders: building a peaceful and prosperous world in which all peoples live together in harmony, free from want and fear. Dominica, a small island developing State, welcomes the particular attention given in the outcome document to the special needs and vulnerabilities of small island developing States. It is a source of great encouragement to us that the Member States of the United Nations have demonstrated an appreciation of the challenges that confront all small island developing States. The Mauritius Strategy for the Further Implementation of the Barbados Programme of Action is a realistic and attainable blueprint that underscores the pivotal areas for interventions to build the capacity of small island developing States to confront their various sustainable development challenges. We appreciate the support of our friends and development partners and appeal for their continuing commitment to the proper and effective implementation of the Mauritius Strategy. Progress in the development arena will require strong political will for the implementation of the commitments we have undertaken and which we reaffirmed together in the outcome document of the High-level Plenary Meeting. These concern primarily the implementation of the Millennium Development Goals and the revitalization of the international partnership for development, with the attendant mobilization of financial resources, as well as the fulfilment of the commitment made by many developed countries to reach the target of 0.7 per cent of their gross national product for official development assistance by 2015. Dominica takes this opportunity to express its appreciation to those countries that affirmed their intention to fulfil their obligations in that regard. My delegation feels strongly that the consensus we reached in the High-level Plenary Meeting represents a good foundation for a greater consensus towards achieving the development priorities of the developing countries. The United Nations must play a pivotal role in ensuring that the issues of trade, debt relief, investment and industrial modernization receive the highest priority if the global objective is to raise the standard of living of the people of the developing countries. We congratulate the Group of Eight for the commitment adopted at the Gleneagles Summit, giving much-needed debt relief to 18 heavily indebted poor countries. However, a similar initiative is now required for small island developing States and middle income developing countries that are being strangled by heavy debt burdens and the simultaneous erosion of their preferential trading arrangements. South-South cooperation has been growing over the last two decades, and through that mechanism many avenues have opened for enhanced trade relations and cooperation in the transfer of know-how and technology. Dominica welcomes the establishment of the South Fund for Development and Humanitarian Assistance and the generous initial pledges of the Governments of Qatar, India and China to this Fund. Equally deserving of commendation is Venezuela’s initiative in the Caribbean, called Petrocaribe, which will help Caribbean countries to respond to the challenges posed by the high price of oil. Aid without trade cannot be a viable proposition for small island States like Dominica. We are fully cognizant that only trade can be the engine of growth and development. Dominica and other banana- producing States in the Caribbean have had difficulties responding to the stance of multinational corporations from the United States and allied Latin American countries that have challenged the preferential access for our bananas in the European Union. We hope that reason will prevail, as we count on a fair resolution of the present banana trade impasse in Europe. Only a positive outcome will avert a future of persistent poverty for banana farmers and workers in the Caribbean. Let me reiterate that small, vulnerable island States like Dominica need time to adjust to the transition to a fully liberalized global trading regime. Dominica has made admirable progress towards realization of the MDGs, but such gains could simply vanish like a thief in the night if we lose the preferential access to the European market for our bananas in 2006. For this reason we appeal to the international community to demonstrate the necessary political will to ensure that the Doha Development Round takes these concerns into account in the quest for a fair and equitable trading system for the benefit of all our people. The frequency of devastating storms in Asia, the Caribbean and the southern United States and long periods of drought in Africa require a more coordinated 32 and organized international response. The United Nations needs to significantly enhance its capacity to respond in a timely manner to disasters in the more vulnerable developing countries. Last year many Caribbean countries were battered by hurricanes, and the Eastern Caribbean nation of Grenada was in the unfortunate situation of facing the onslaught of two major hurricanes in one calendar year. Grenada still needs additional assistance from the international community, and we appeal to all Member States to lend such assistance. Dominica has had its share of hurricane devastation. Late last year we experienced devastation from a series of earthquakes which inflicted significant damage on our fragile infrastructure. We continue to be vigilant and have put in place a national disaster strategy to mitigate the adverse effects of such disasters on our population. My delegation once again reiterates the appeal made last year in this Hall by Prime Minister Roosevelt Skerrit for the creation of a global insurance fund to assist countries devastated by natural disasters. We call on the international community to fully implement the Hyogo Framework for Action 2005-2015, adopted at this year’s World Conference on Disaster Reduction. Climate change is wreaking havoc on small island developing States. It is time for all Member States to accept that climate change and global warming are real and that they are caused by human activity. All Member States must implement the provisions of the Kyoto Protocol. My delegation is concerned about the continuing instability in Haiti. We support the role of the United Nations Stabilization Mission in Haiti, but we appreciate that its limited size and resources are inadequate to respond to the complicated political situation in which Haiti finds itself. Caribbean Community and Common Market (CARICOM) States have already committed technical assistance for the elections and are cognizant that elections alone will not bring stability to Haiti. Stability will require the accelerated disbursement of pledged financial resources, more rapid implementation of social and economic project activities, and peacebuilding initiatives. Terrorism remains a great threat to peace and security at the national, regional and international levels. Dominica condemns all acts, methods and practices of terrorism. The recent attacks in London and in Egypt underscore the danger of terrorism, which transcends national boundaries and does not distinguish between peoples, cultures or religions. Dominica is making a great effort to comply with the obligations of the various counter-terrorism conventions and pledges its support for the conclusion of the comprehensive convention on international terrorism. My delegation regrets the failure of the outcome document to address non-proliferation and disarmament in the area of weapons of mass destruction. Relative stability in today’s world should not make us complacent and lead us to compromise on the need for total disarmament. Our continuing lack of action on this issue has not served to enhance global security with respect to the threat posed by these weapons. Small arms and light weapons pose a great challenge to the maintenance of peace and security in the Caribbean region. Narcotics trafficking has brought with it increased circulation of small arms and light weapons, which has led to a sharp increase in crime and fatal injuries. Dominica therefore welcomes the agreement on an international instrument that would enable States to identify and trace illicit small arms and light weapons in a timely and reliable manner. What is still needed, however, is a legally binding international instrument that will regulate, control and monitor the illicit trade in small arms, including their transfer to non-State actors. Dominica is appreciative of the recognition accorded to indigenous people in the outcome document. As part of our commitment to the Second International Decade of the World’s Indigenous People, my delegation will work with other Member States towards the submission to the General Assembly of a draft declaration on the rights of indigenous peoples. The future of the United Nations depends on full implementation of an institutional reform agenda that addresses revitalization of the General Assembly, reform of the Security Council and improved governance in the Secretariat. General Assembly revitalization must result in the strengthening of the Assembly’s vital role as the chief deliberative, policymaking and implementation-monitoring body of the United Nations. The Secretariat needs to urgently address eroding public confidence through timely 33 implementation of the proposals for improvement in its management and oversight. Reform of the Security Council must be pursued to enhance the Council’s accountability, transparency and efficiency. Such reform must, at a minimum, ensure that the Council’s membership is more representative and remedy the continuing imbalance in the representation of Africa in the permanent membership. We welcome the initiative to establish a Democracy Fund. Consistent with our support for the promotion of fundamental human freedoms and values, we support the establishment of a Human Rights Council. We also support the proposed Peacebuilding Commission as an advisory body. Let me conclude by saying that we have a loaded agenda for the next decade, and that there are numerous challenges ahead. We wish to emphasize that that agenda can be realized only through multilateral action. As we look ahead to 2015, we have the honourable duty to make the United Nations truly serve the people of this global village. We have the obligation to ensure that we the peoples of the United Nations can truly live our lives in larger freedom.