Barbados, 2004

Mr. President, it

is my pleasure to join with preceding speakers in

congratulating you on your election to preside over the

fifty-ninth session of the General Assembly. Barbados

pledges its fullest cooperation in the year ahead.

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I wish to thank and congratulate your

predecessor, His Excellency Mr. Julian Hunte, for his

effective leadership of the fifty-eighth session of the

General Assembly. Barbados was particularly pleased

at the election of a representative of a small island

Caribbean State to that high office in the United

Nations, and President Hunte’s outstanding

performance was testimony to the critical and effective

role that small islands can play in the multilateral

process. His guidance of the work to revitalize the

Assembly was particularly noteworthy.

This Organization has been accused of being out

of touch or, worse, irrelevant to the changing world in

which we live, despite its valiant efforts in recent years

to promote development, restore peace and maintain

security in many parts of the world. In these

circumstances, it is incumbent upon all Member States

to reaffirm their commitment to and support for the

multilateral process, using the United Nations as its

primary vehicle. At the same time, there must be a

constant process of review, reform and renewal of the

Organization so that it can remain relevant in the

continuously changing international climate.

Furthermore, it is essential that political will be

brought to bear on the seemingly intractable issue of

reform of the Security Council. Barbados continues to

be of the view that the Council must be made more

representative of today’s membership of the United

Nations, as well as more transparent in its working

methods and more democratic in its decision-making.

The Security Council must earn the support and

confidence of all Members of the United Nations if it is

to fulfil its important mandate in an increasingly

volatile and insecure international environment.

We must also recognize that reform cannot be

kept merely within the confines of the United Nations.

It must be accompanied by renewal of the wider

international governance architecture. It strikes

developing nations as deeply unjust and hypocritical

that calls for democratization and good governance in

the developing world are not accompanied by calls for

those values to be reflected in the multilateral

organizations by which so many are governed and upon

which so many depend.

Enhancing the voice and participation of

developing countries in international dialogue and

decision-making is a fundamental prerequisite for

improving global economic governance. Debate on

reform of the international financial architecture should

not continue to be restricted to the hallowed halls and

boardrooms of the Bretton Woods institutions, but

should also find a prominent place on the United

Nations agenda. We all have a stake in the global

economic system and its management. This highly

complex and increasingly globalized and

interconnected world demands a radically reformed

system of global economic and financial governance

that promotes equitable development.

A majority of States Members of this

Organization, both developing and developed, have

expressed the urgent need for a transparent, open,

democratic and inclusive dialogue between sovereign

States on international cooperation in tax matters,

within the universal ambit of the United Nations. The

persistence of exclusive and restricted membership

organizations, such as the Organization for Economic

Cooperation and Development (OECD), that dictate

norms and standards in international tax cooperation in

lieu of an inclusive intergovernmental forum, is

untenable.

While we are encouraged by the progress in the

debate within the Economic and Social Council to

convert the Ad Hoc Group of Experts on International

Cooperation in Tax Matters into a committee of that

body, with a new and expanded mandate, we still await

a final positive decision on the matter. We consider

such a decision to be an important first step towards

the creation of an international forum to promote and

strengthen cooperation in tax matters.

Barbados recognizes the critical need for the

Doha round of development negotiations to be revived

with a developmental focus, and welcomes the decision

on the Doha work programme reached by the World

Trade Organization on 1 August. The concessions to

the least developed countries evident in that framework

agreement are laudable. But while it would appear that

developed-country benefits remain substantially

secure, the framework severely limits the ability of

small middle-income developing countries to realize

the reasonable benefits expected and necessary to

advance their development interests.

Trade is a significant factor in the challenge of

sustainable development, and trade rules need to take

into account the vulnerabilities and the development

needs of small States. It is true that developed and

advanced developing country partners may experience

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some developmental challenges similar to those of

small States. But it is the inability of the small

economies to respond satisfactorily to externally

imposed shocks which makes them particularly

vulnerable.

Barbados appeals to all World Trade Organization

members to support the mandate given at Doha to

examine issues related to trade in small economies and

to frame action-oriented responses to those issues, in

order to facilitate the fuller integration of small,

vulnerable economies into the multilateral trading

system.

With respect to small island economies, some of

the greatest development threats are those from natural

disasters of every kind, including floods, volcanic

eruptions, earthquakes and, especially, hurricanes.

Indeed, in the course of a few hours, Hurricane Ivan

devastated the island of Grenada. An economy has

disappeared. For many Caribbean countries, this cycle

of destruction is repeated year after year — on

occasion, several times in the same year. Some of us

are constantly repairing and replacing infrastructure,

replanting crops and rebuilding our very lives.

When a hurricane hurts one or more big cities or

states in the United States of America, resources are

immediately redirected to help those affected. An

entire state or city has never been eradicated. But that

is precisely what Grenada experienced just three weeks

ago. Can members begin to imagine the implications of

a small State being reduced to rubble in less than a

day? Terrorists could hardly do a more effective job.

Yet such factors are never taken into account when

gross domestic product is computed.

In response to this devastation, the heads of

Government of the Caribbean Community

(CARICOM) met in emergency session and developed

a priority programme for the rehabilitation of Grenada,

Carriacou and Petit Martinique. For its part, Barbados

has already contributed substantially to the relief

effort. But the reality is that CARICOM by itself does

not have the financial resources to cope. We call for an

international donor conference to help Grenada.

In highlighting Grenada, however, we should not

overlook the damage done by Hurricanes Charley,

Frances, Ivan and Jeanne to the Bahamas, Haiti, the

Dominican Republic, Tobago, Saint Vincent and the

Grenadines, Jamaica, the Cayman Islands, Cuba,

Barbados and the United States, all in the course of the

past few weeks.

Such catastrophic events directly affect the ability

of many small vulnerable developing countries to fully

implement the Millennium Development Goals and

should be taken into account by the Assembly as it lays

the groundwork for the 2005 review. Attaining those

goals remains paramount. Barbados reaffirms its

commitment to their achievement and urges all States

to honour the spirit and intent of the Millennium

Declaration.

The dominant view in some parts of the world is

that the most serious threats to international peace and

security are the recent virulent forms of terrorism, the

proliferation of weapons of mass destruction and non-

conventional weapons, and the spread of transnational

criminal networks. But for many others around the

globe, particularly those in the developing world,

poverty, the spread of HIV/AIDS and other diseases,

natural disasters, civil strife and other social, economic

and environmental concerns remain the highest

priority.

It is of the utmost importance that the

international community strive to achieve unity of

purpose in confronting these diverse security threats

and challenges, based on a common multidimensional

security agenda. The Secretary-General recently stated

that the global security agenda should reflect a global

consensus on the major threats to peace and security,

be they old or new, hard or soft, and on our common

response.

In that connection, we eagerly await his report on

the work of the High-level Panel on Threats,

Challenges and Change. Member States must stand

ready to make the necessary bold and drastic reforms

of the current multilateral rules and institutions that

govern international peace and security.

For small island developing States like Barbados,

this wider multidimensional nature of threats to

international peace and security is particularly

important. In addition to the impact of natural disasters

to which I have already referred, the trans-shipment of

nuclear waste through the Caribbean Sea, global

warming and water pollution all threaten our very

existence as a nation. For us, challenges to our

sustainable development represent some of the more

serious threats to our security.

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In this regard, we place great emphasis on the 10-

year review of the Barbados Programme of Action,

scheduled to take place in Mauritius next year, since it

will present the international community with an

opportunity to examine past successes and consider the

future challenges that face small island developing

States.

It is significant that small island developing

States themselves have already implemented close to

70 per cent of the Barbados Programme of Action. We

trust that the Mauritius meeting will provide our

developed country partners with the opportunity to

deliver on their past, present and future commitments.

Implicit in the proposal first submitted to the

General Assembly in 1999 to designate the Caribbean

Sea as a special area within the context of sustainable

development is the recognition of the marine

environment as our most precious natural resource and

one of central social, economic and political

significance to the Caribbean. Its protection and

preservation remain a major priority of the region.

This year, the General Assembly will return to

that issue. It remains the ultimate goal of the region to

have the Caribbean Sea recognized as a special area

within the context of sustainable development, and we

look forward to continued assistance from the

international community in helping us to achieve that

objective.

Let me now turn to issues of particular relevance

to Barbados and the Caribbean. Barbados considers it

an irony of tragic proportions that, in the bicentennial

year of Haiti’s liberation from colonial control, that

pioneer of independence has been plunged once again

into crisis. While the events surrounding the abrupt

departure of President Aristide remain a matter of deep

concern — particularly as they pertain to the

constitutionality of the removal of democratically

elected leaders — Barbados is committed to assisting

the people of Haiti in the process of normalization, the

search for a peaceful solution to the political crisis, the

strengthening of democratic governance in the country

and the provision of humanitarian assistance.

Barbados is convinced that full engagement with

the interim Government of Haiti best serves the

interests of the Haitian people and reflects our stated

desire to accompany them at this very difficult time in

their history. This is a task which we must not shirk.

Let there be no doubt: we expect the interim

administration to uphold the highest standards set by

the Charter of Civil Society for the Caribbean

Community and to fulfil its commitment as regards the

rule of law, equal justice for all, democracy and good

governance. We look forward to the full

implementation of resolution 2058 (XXXIV-0/04) of

the Organization of American States on the

strengthening of democracy in Haiti, as well as to the

holding of municipal, national and presidential

elections in 2005, as promised. In this regard, Barbados

intends to play its part in international efforts to assist

Haiti to put the electoral process in place.

Barbados is hopeful that CARICOM will be able

to play a key role in assisting Haiti through the

Security Council-mandated United Nations

Stabilization Mission in Haiti (MINUSTAH). In this

regard, the CARICOM Special Envoy, supported by a

task force, has begun work to coordinate assistance to

Haiti in areas where the countries of the region have

recognized capacity.

Over the past week, we have all been made aware

of the perilous situation confronting our brothers and

sisters in Haiti as a result of the devastation caused by

Tropical Storm Jeanne. Haiti is part of our CARICOM

family. It is our duty to galvanize all our energies to

assist in mitigating the plight of the Haitian people.

Two days ago, the Prime Minister of Barbados,

the Honourable Owen Arthur, announced that the

Government will provide technical assistance, as well

as an initial contribution of 1 million Barbados dollars,

to the interim Administration for the purpose of

providing humanitarian assistance to the people of

Haiti in the wake of Hurricane Jeanne.

The issue of Cuba’s isolation within the

hemisphere is also of concern to Barbados. We

embrace Cuba as a bona fide sister State in the

Caribbean region and are committed to a policy of

constructive engagement with its Government and

people. We do not believe that efforts to isolate Cuba,

through exclusion from participation in hemispheric

bodies such as the Organization of American States

and the emerging free trade area of the Americas and

measures that create greater hardship for the Cuban

people such as the 50-year-long economic embargo

will foster change in Cuba.

Like the entire Caribbean Community, Barbados,

in its engagement with Cuba, has held close to the

principles enshrined in the CARICOM Charter of Civil

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Society. We cannot accept that a regime change

exogenously imposed upon the people of Cuba could in

any way be a viable option.

The Government of Barbados has long enjoyed a

warm relationship with its Caribbean neighbour

Venezuela and has been deeply concerned by the

political crisis in that country. We are satisfied that the

recent referendum has been safely and successfully

completed. We now look forward to a period of calm in

which the process of healing and dialogue — necessary

for better understanding between competing groups —

can occur. Venezuela needs all of its people working

together if it is to move forward and continue to be a

leading engine of development in the hemisphere and

the beacon of democracy which its founding father

intended. It behoves all who cherish democracy to do

what we can to give Venezuelans that opportunity.

This year, the world commemorates the struggle

against slavery and its abolition, with the goal of

deepening knowledge of slavery and the slave trade

and highlighting its philosophical, political and legal

legacy. As the first landfall upon crossing the Atlantic

Ocean, Barbados was the recipient of a large number of

African slaves, leading to a major imprint of African

cultures on the formation of the Barbadian society.

That coincidence of history not only created the unique

fraternal bond that characterizes the relationship

between the Caribbean and Africa but also serves to

make us uniquely aware of the interactions that the

slave trade generated throughout the world among the

different peoples involved.

Barbados supports the call of the Director-

General of the United Nations Educational, Scientific

and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) for all peoples

to eradicate through their actions the vestiges of

slavery and to combat all new forms of servitude that

represent intolerable violations of human rights and

fundamental freedoms. Indeed, Barbados asserts that

international peace and security can best be achieved

through the building of tolerance based on recognition

of cultural, racial and religious diversity.

The fifty-ninth session of the General Assembly

has before it a number of issues that have the potential

to shape the nature and direction of international

relations for many years to come. Barbados intends to

play an active role in its deliberations.