Dominica, 1999

I am honoured to be

afforded this opportunity to extend my delegation’s

congratulations to Mr. Gurirab and his country, Namibia, on

his election to the high office of President of the General

Assembly at its fifty-fourth session. His considerable

diplomatic experience is well known, and there is little

doubt that the affairs of this session will be conducted with

expeditiousness, skill and competence. At the same time, I

wish to express my delegation’s appreciation and gratitude

to his immediate predecessor, Mr. Didier Opertti, for the

able manner in which he presided over the fifty-third

session.

Let me extend my delegation’s thanks to our

Secretary-General, Mr. Kofi Annan, for the excellent and

exemplary leadership qualities he has displayed during this

critical period for the United Nations and the international

community. The Commonwealth of Dominica welcomes

and congratulates the three new Member States — Kiribati,

Nauru and the Kingdom of Tonga — on their admission to

the United Nations. We pledge to work with them on

matters of mutual interest.

I take this opportunity to convey my country’s deepest

condolences to the Governments and the people of the

Bahamas and the United States for the loss of life and

destruction of property caused by hurricane Floyd. I also

express my Government’s sentiments regarding the victims

of the earthquakes in Greece, the Republic of China on

Taiwan, Turkey, and, just recently, Mexico. Our sympathy

is also extended to the victims of the nuclear accident in

Japan.

The Commonwealth of Dominica is supportive of the

ongoing United Nations reform programme, the intent of

which is to create a system geared to eliminating waste and

duplication and making more efficient use of the

Organization’s resources. At its creation the United

Nations was charged with responsibility for the

maintenance of international peace and security, and the

numerous United Nations missions currently in place

around the globe are testimony to the Organization’s

efforts to meet its Charter obligations in this regard.

However, we continue to maintain that the restructuring

and revitalization process should result in creating an

Organization with the capacity, compassion and

effectiveness to meet the many serious economic, social

and humanitarian problems confronting the majority of

citizens in the global village.

We are not unmindful of the great contributions that

the United Nations system has made to the improvement

of health, the eradication of diseases and the rising levels

of education and living standards in various parts of the

world. Additionally, the United Nations has been at the

forefront of efforts to focus international consciousness on

human rights abuses, while it continues to be the last

hope for the many thousands displaced each year as a

result of political, religious or ethnic conflict.

But poverty eradication remains an unfulfilled

promise. Today, increasing numbers of people live in

conditions of poverty, with no access to adequate medical

care, basic education or even clean drinking water. We

recognize that poverty eradication is a task to be

undertaken not by the United Nations system alone, but

in partnership with the international community, which

must come to the realization that improvement in social

and economic conditions is less costly than having to deal

with the consequences of sustained economic deprivation

and social degradation. The time for engaging in that

partnership is now.

As for the reform of the Security Council, the

Commonwealth of Dominica supports the work of the

Open-ended Working Group and its efforts at reconciling

the many outstanding issues and differences among

Member States. We believe that any meaningful reform

of the Security Council should reflect present-day

economic and geographical realities and must provide for

a reasonable expansion of its membership and equitable

representation for regional groupings, with no

differentiation regarding the rights of permanent members.

The Commonwealth of Dominica applauded the

decision of the people of East Timor, as expressed in the

popular consultation of 30 August 1999. We must

therefore deplore and condemn the acts of violence visited

upon the people of East Timor by those determined to

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nullify the results of the consultation and maintain the

colonial status quo. We commend the United Nations for its

work in making the consultation possible and we strongly

support the decision of the Security Council to authorize the

establishment of a multinational peacekeeping force to

protect the people of East Timor as they seek to assert their

right to self-determination.

The Commonwealth of Dominica wishes to address

once again the issue of legitimate representation for the

Republic of China on Taiwan and its people in the United

Nations. The Republic of China on Taiwan, a model of

democracy in the Asian region, is able and willing to carry

out the obligations contained in the Charter of the United

Nations. Over the past few decades, the Republic of China

has made tremendous strides in economic development,

thus enabling it to make a contribution to poverty

alleviation through economic assistance programmes in

developing countries. Dominica is concerned that an

industrialized country, with a democratically elected

Government, that exercises sovereign authority over a

defined geographical area with a population of 22 million

people, is denied membership of the United Nations. This

situation must be addressed in order to ensure that the

citizens of the Republic of China on Taiwan have a

representative voice in the United Nations and its related

agencies.

The recently concluded special session of the General

Assembly on small island developing States provided an

opportunity to review the 1994 Barbados Plan of Action.

The recognition of small island developing States in that

regard is a significant milestone in the history of the United

Nations. The follow-up action and the importance which the

international community places on the implementation of

the many proposals and recommendations will serve to

determine not only the success of the special session, but

also the credibility of the United Nations and the usefulness

of these conferences.

As a small island developing State which has always

recognized the importance of conservation of the

environment, Dominica made a commitment at the Rio

Summit to vigorously pursue sustainable development. Two

years later, Dominica participated in the Global Conference

on the Sustainable Development of Small Island Developing

States in Barbados and has tried at the national level to

implement the Plan of Action within the limits of our

resources.

The Barbados Plan of Action recognizes the

importance of coastal and marine resources to the

sustainable development of small island developing States.

The Commonwealth of Dominica is acutely aware of that

importance. Prudent use of our coastal and marine

resources over many years has contributed immensely to

the economic well-being and sustenance of our citizens.

Moreover, the successful implementation of our

eco-tourism development programme relies heavily on the

maintenance and preservation of the marine and biological

resources present in the seas around our island State.

Those resources are under constant and serious threat

from a number of sources, such as illegal waste-dumping

with impunity by foreign-owned ocean liners; overfishing

by non-indigenous fishing fleets; and the use of the

Caribbean Sea for the transshipment of nuclear waste and

other hazardous substances.

The Commonwealth of Dominica, together with

other members of the Caribbean Community

(CARICOM), continues to view the dangerous practice of

the transshipment of nuclear waste and hazardous

substances through the Caribbean Sea as a potentially

serious threat to the fragile ecosystem and to the

livelihood and well-being of the people of the region, and

we call upon the States engaging in that practice to

demonstrate some regard for our justifiable concerns. We

earnestly seek the support of the international community

in our ongoing effort to halt the shipment of these

dangerous materials through the Caribbean Sea. Further,

members of CARICOM call upon the General Assembly

to recognize the Caribbean Sea as a special area in the

context of sustainable development and urge the

international community to support the concept and its

development.

The Commonwealth of Dominica is appreciative of

the United Nations for paying special attention to the

issue of small island developing States at the special

session of the General Assembly. One sincerely hopes

that this same recognition and support will be in evidence

during the World Trade Organization (WTO) Ministerial

Conference later this year, when small island developing

States seek to address their particular concerns and

circumstances.

The Commonwealth of Dominica, like most small

vulnerable States, faces increasing challenges from

globalization; particularly in the area of multilateral trade

negotiations. Due to resource constraints, developing

countries are having difficulties in meeting the

commitments which they made at the Uruguay Round.

Yet we are on the eve of making further commitments at

the new round of WTO negotiations to be launched in

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Seattle in December. The negotiating process itself exposes

developing countries to the growing disparities of the

multilateral trading system. We run the risk of developing

countries being further marginalized unless these

negotiations give full recognition to their special

circumstances, and in particular to those of small vulnerable

economies. Small vulnerable economies will continue to

require differential treatment for some time as a means of

facilitating their integration into the world economy.

My country’s experience with the WTO has not been

a positive one. The economy of Dominica and those of the

other Caribbean banana-producing countries are heavily

dependent for their export earnings on this single crop. The

WTO banana ruling has contributed to a significant decline

in our banana exports. Our bananas are cultivated by small

farmers whose main source of income could be wiped out

as a result of the WTO ruling, resulting in increased

unemployment and poverty in the rural areas.

We need to find a solution to the banana dispute that

will allow our farmers to continue to earn a living. There

is a growing recognition of the need for a tariff rate quota

as the most acceptable solution. However, the North

American multinational banana companies are insisting on

a simple tariff, which will ultimately lead to the demise of

the small banana producers in the Caribbean and other

African, Caribbean and Pacific States. We continue to

receive assurances that it is not the intention of our

neighbours to the North to hurt the Caribbean producers,

but their actions indicate otherwise. Moreover, they insist

on applying a strict interpretation to the multilateral trading

rules, which displays a callous disregard of the plight of

small banana farmers. The rules of the WTO must not be

applied in a manner which is detrimental to the

development process of small vulnerable States.

My focus on issues presently facing the region would

be incomplete without a brief but sincere appeal to this

body to address the plight of the citizens of our sister island

Cuba. As we progress to a new century, the United Nations

must continue to condemn the prolonged economic

blockade of Cuba.

This unjustifiable action is unconscionable,

unreasonable and a direct infringement on the rights of the

people of Cuba to pursue a peaceful existence, economic

prosperity and self-determination. Dominica therefore joins

other members of the international community in calling for

an end to this blockade. We should all seek more amicable

methods of settling bilateral disputes.

As a nation preparing to celebrate its twenty-first

anniversary of independence on 3 November 1999,

Dominica will continue to equip itself and its citizens to

meet the challenges of the global environment and the

new millennium. The Government of the Commonwealth

of Dominica has endeavoured to ensure that its policies

and programmes continue to provide the leadership,

institutions and infrastructure necessary to attain that goal.

The President returned to the Chair.

Strengthened by our rich cultural heritage, as

manifested in our Creole music, dance and other forms of

expression, we are convinced that the world would be a

safer and better place if the people of the world learned

to respect and tolerate each other’s culture, religion and

traditions.

It is in this spirit that Dominica reaffirms its

commitment to the ideals of the United Nations and

pledges to do all in its power to support the efforts of all

States, particularly those of the vulnerable small island

developing States. The challenges facing Dominica are

many, but I am confident that with the support of all

Member States and with the help of God we shall prevail.