Dominican Republic, 1992

Permit me to begin. Sir, by taking this opportunity to convey to

you the congratulations of the delegation of the Dominican Republic on your

election to the presidency of the General Assembly at its forty-seventh

session. Coming from a region that is taking on a new dimension in the

international community, you will no doubt take a realistic view of the major

challenges posed by the world situation. You have first-hand experience of

the transformations taking place in the world. You are thus superbly

qualified to guide with composure the deliberations of the Assembly.

We wish also to pay a warm tribute to the distinguished Saudi diplomat.

His Excellency Mr. Samir S. Shihabi, the outgoing President, for his skill and

for the fruitful results he achieved in his work.

On the new international landscape, with the dissolution of the Soviet

Union and the collapse of communism, the likelihood of a world war has

vanished. But in many regions it remains possible that conflicts of an

unpredictable nature could take place.

Hence the international community should remain vigilant, because though

it is true that the danger of nuclear war has disappeared, it is no less true

that another menace is still with us, that of the continued quest, on the part

of some countries, for technology for the production of nuclear weaponry,

behind the back of the International Atomic Energy Agency. The Agency

deserves to be revitalized so that it will be able to work effectively in its

efforts to prevent the proliferation of those terrible weapons.

Mankind is still burdened with problems arising out of the so-called

conventional weapons, which are becoming more and more destructive, and what

is needed is a degree of international control to limit them. That would make

available resources that, if properly used, could contribute to the

development of the countries of the third world, which are already suffering

because of heavy public debt and restrictive and protectionist measures

impeding international trade.

That is the most important challenge facing mankind, and this forum is

the right place to discuss those issues and create conditions and lay down

guidelines to improve the lot of the two thirds of mankind that today finds

itself threatened, not only by the economic crisis and the inequalities

between North and South but also by the continued deterioration of the

environment, which has been degraded by our own deliberate or unwitting use

and abuse of it.

I have expressed these thoughts because I come from a country, the

Dominican Republic, that is small in size, with an area of only 48,400 square

kilometres and a population of 7,500,000, and we feel the ill effects of the

problems I have mentioned: burdensome external debt and declining trade

because of restrictive and protectionist practices in the countries

to which we export our agricultural products, whose prices are constantly

falling in world markets. Our adverse trade situation means that we are

losing significant resources that could be devoted to our development.

Nevertheless, over the last two years the Dominican economy has undergone

a successful process of adjustment that has made it possible to eliminate

inflation, stabilize the national currency and bring the budgetary deficit

under control, all as a result of the adoption of a restrictive monetary

policy. This has helped to rebuild confidence in the production sectors. We

believe that confidence in our country's business sector in the immediate

future is indispensable for the achievement of an accelerated and sustained

recovery of the Dominican economy. Even more important in that regard is the

country's ability in the short term to increase the foreign-exchange income

that it needs for its development, at a time when the export of raw materials

is being replaced by service-sector products.

The Dominican Republic is now pursuing closer ties with the States

members of the Caribbean Community (CARICOM), with a view to bringing about

our definitive entrance into CARICOM, on the basis of the great significance

that the Dominican Government attaches at this time to the achievement of a

more advantageous position vis-a-vis the European Economic Community as a

State member of the Lome Convention, and the Dominican Republic is thus aiming

to bring about greater openness in markets when it comes to selling its

products internationally.

The achievements of the Dominican Republic, despite the grave economic

crisis suffered in recent years by Latin American and Caribbean countries,

have been the result of good government, presided over by

Dr. Joaquin Balaguer, a champion of democracy who gives us an example of what

a leader can do with the scant resources of a poor State when they are used

judiciously to create conditions favourable to the people. Those achievements

include, among other things, the construction of thousands of dwellings,

hundreds of kilometres of highways and local roads, as well as schools and

hospitals to provide vital social services to a constantly growing population.

Let me now turn to the situation of our fraternal neighbour, Haiti.

Unfortunately, throughout its existence as an independent country Haiti has

endured a chronic situation of economic penury and the impoverishment of its

soil. This has forced its population to emigrate in waves across our borders

and by sea in search of a better life. Today that situation is made even more

tragic by the political crisis our Haitian brothers are going through.

The Dominican authorities and people are not indifferent to that

situation, which stems from the COUP d'etat that cut short

President Aristide's experiment in democracy.

That development was condemned by the Organization of American States (OAS),

which imposed a trade embargo to compel the current authorities to restore

legality. So far as the Dominican Government, presided over by

Mr. Joaquin Balaguer, is concerned, negotiation and dialogue within the

context of absolute respect for the norms of international law are the most

appropriate instruments in the quest for peace. Accordingly, we have been and

continue to be providing disinterested support to all the parties to the

conflict, in the hope that a solution that would resolve existing differences

can be found and that all institutions in the Republic of Haiti can again

function normally.

Our Government is deeply democratic, respects human rights and jealously

guards its prerogative of guaranteeing the liberties of those inhabiting the

Republic.

We deplore the fragmentation of the former Yugoslavia as well as the

tragedy that has befallen its people. Bereft of any guarantee of their

rights, they are suffering the onslaught of a tragic fratricidal war that is

taking a heavy toll in human lives, particularly those of women and children,

who are subjected to constant air attacks and shellings and are deprived of

the food and medicine they need in order to subsist and treat their wounds and

illnesses. We support the measures adopted by the United Nations with regard

to the former Yugoslavia, measures that urge the parties to respect human

rights and forcefully condemn the loathsome practice of "ethnic cleansing".

It is a source of satisfaction to my delegation to see the communication

that is developing between the Republic of Korea and the Democratic People's

Republic of Korea, aimed at reuniting the Korean family. We regret, however,

that the Democratic People's Republic of Korea is persisting in its nuclear

research with the aim of building nuclear weapons.

By the same token, we are optimistic about the situation developing among

the Arab peoples and the people of Israel, and we hope that this atmosphere of

dialogue and negotiation will gain even greater momentum so that those

concerned may live in peace and harmony on their lands while moving towards a

future of prosperity and progress.

Though the cold war is a thing of the past, the danger and the tragedy of

regional conflicts are still with us. Settling those conflicts requires

international cooperation and the good will of the parties involved. However,

another serious threat to peace and to the well-being of our peoples still

faces the Americas and other parts of the world. We refer here to drug

trafficking and the destruction and social and moral harm which that scourge

entails for all our communities. Our country supports every single measure

taken by the United Nations to cope with this serious problem, and calls for

continued efforts to resolve and do away with this global scourge.

In this vein, the Dominican Republic has been taking forceful steps to

confront this evil, pursuing a dynamic drug-abuse-prevention drive and at the

same time launching major administrative, legislative and judicial

initiatives, not only against drug production, but also against the marketing

of and the trafficking in drugs. Moreover, we have signed bilateral accords

along these lines with countries in our region and are in the final phase of

preparations leading to our accession to the 1988 United Nations Convention

Against Illicit Traffic in Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances.

The facts in terms of the state of the environment the world over are

growing ever more alarming and must be a source of concern to, and a reason

for solidarity among, all States Members of the Organization.

Because of interdependence, damage done to the environment anywhere in

the world has an impact upon us all. Accordingly, international cooperation

is necessary so that the States of the third world as well as the

industrialized nations can strive together to ensure that present and future

generations will be able to enjoy a clean planet Earth, where life will be

easier and happier. The Dominican Government, aware of these facts, has

embarked on a process of reforesting our country and of conserving our natural

resources. We support whatever steps the international community may take

along these lines, and, to demonstrate this, we are submitting to the Congress

of our Republic, with a view to accession, the 1985 Vienna Convention for the

Protection of the Ozone Layer, along with its Protocol on Substances that

Deplete the Ozone Layer.

At this point, we should like to refer to the matter of racial

discrimination, yet another major problem that still shocks the conscience of

humankind and continues to represent a major challenge to and violation of the

most elementary norms of human rights.

In this sense, our country has repeatedly, in this very forum, stated its

rejection and repudiation of the apartheid system. Two years ago, right here,

we expressed satisfaction at the announcement by the President of South

Africa, Frederick de Klerk, of the recognition of the rights of other races in

that country to ensure that an end would be put to the system of apartheid.

However, today racial tensions continue to escalate, and it is not possible to

discern any rapid progress in the process of change in South Africa. The

policy of apartheid constitutes a crime against the conscience and the dignity

of human beings and, therefore, it must be totally eliminated, so that a

genuine democracy, based on a multi-ethnic and pluralist system, may be

established in South Africa.

The 1990s have begun with great frustration, but also with great hope

frustration because of the stagnation or backsliding in terms of social

progress, which the 1980s left as a legacy to the majority of developing

countries; hope because what is taking place is a real revolution in thinking,

which makes imperative a review and a revision of proposals for the promotion

of development.

In the economic arena, there is a constant search for ways and means of

fostering the resumption of growth and modernization, as well as the more

active participation of those countries in the world economy. The data on the

social condition of the majority of the world's population, and the

possibility that those data may worsen as a result of economic measures that

have been adopted, have made it necessary to place the issue of the social

dimension in the world at the heart of our debate.

The concept that social issues are a secondary matter, in contrast with

the primary process taking place in political forums, is a grave and extremely

costly mistake. In fact, if we do not deal with the social problems they turn

very quickly into political problems. The groan of hunger does more than

break the silence; eventually it rends peace asunder. That is why the

Dominican Republic backs unreservedly the convening of a world summit for

social development. We take the view that the concept of human security,

which that proposal reflects, refers directly to the important - indeed, the

overriding task facing all societies: the provision of food, clothing and

housing in quantities sufficient for all, while promoting social progress in

harmony with the environment, and supporting those institutions that respond

to the noblest aspirations that human beings cherish throughout their lives.

Even if only in terms strictly of a cost-benefit analysis, it is cheaper to

deal with social problems now. Dealing with them later involves paying the

price of social upheaval. We literally cannot afford to ignore that truth.

We have great pleasure in taking advantage of this opportunity to

reaffirm our resolute support for the International Research and Training

Institute for the Advancement of Women. The Dominican Republic is profoundly

committed to the success of that body.

Today, the United Nations constitutes that ecumenical, common forum where

we set forth our ideas as we seek solutions intended to bring about a better

life in the world in which we live a world free from discrimination and

waste. It is our desire to see the work of this Organization revitalized so

that it may be able more effectively to do its job and live up to its

obligations. We give it our fullest support, and we express our faith and

hope in universal peace and harmony.