Dominican Republic, 1996

The Dominican Republic was

among the countries that founded the United Nations. But

this is only the third time, in 51 years, that its Head of

State has come to address the General Assembly. Perhaps

the reason for this noticeable absence of our country during

the many years that this great annual event has been held

is that following the Second World War, the international

system revolved around super-Power rivalry, giving rise to

the cold war. In context, it is probable that our leaders felt

that their presence here would have been merely symbolic,

with no real importance.

That this may have been the case in the past, but the

world has changed. From the dramatic transformations in

the geopolitical environment, a multi-polar international

system has emerged, in which the economy matters more

than ideologies and military conflicts. This reorganization

of the international system on the basis of strategic

economic objectives has been accompanied by a scientific

and technological revolution, a revolution of knowledge that

spread across the planet and brought about the most

profound change ever experienced in the history of

humankind, turning the world into one large neighbourhood.

In the new international order that arose following the

cold war, the Dominican Republic could not remain

isolated. That is why we are here today: to proclaim to the

world that the Dominican Republic is now actively joining

the group of nations represented in this multilateral

Organization, so that, through international contacts and

exchange, it can contribute to forging a better future for

humanity and, accordingly, a more promising future for

Dominicans.

To ensure our participation in the various forums of

the United Nations forums, exercising all the rights that

have been bestowed upon us, we proceeded, first, to pay

our financial debts in full. To the Dominican Republic,

the payment of our arrears is evidence of our confidence

and faith in the capability of the United Nations to play

a role in the international arena to guarantee international

peace and security as well as respect for human dignity

and fundamental human rights.

Nevertheless, just as we understand that the world

has changed, that there is a new international agenda

governed by the common concerns of all peoples over

environment preservation, population growth, respect for

human rights, strengthening of democratic systems,

recognition of women’s rights, and the social and

economic development of nations, we also understand that

this Organization must be renewed and readapted to the

new world circumstances.

Latin America and Africa do not have permanent

representatives on the Security Council, and Asia has only

one. This means that there is uneven representation in that

important body, which is incomprehensible in an

Organization whose Members enjoy equal footing, on the

principle that they are all sovereign States. It is our

humble suggestion that the Security Council should be

extended to enable Asia, Africa and Latin America to

have two permanent seats on that body and that the

number of non-permanent representatives be increased to

democratize the decision-making machinery in that forum

for peace.

In one of his most frequently-cited works on the

Caribbean, entitled El Caribe, Frontera Imperial, the

former Dominican President and author, Juan Bosch,

wrote as follows:

“The history of the Caribbean is the history of

the struggle of empires against the peoples of the

region in order to rob them of their rich lands. It is

also the history of the struggle of empires against

one another to rob the possessions each one had

conquered. Lastly, it is the history of the peoples of

the Caribbean to free themselves from their imperial

masters.”

This direct contact with the major Powers over the

course of five centuries, a product of these confrontations,

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has marked the Caribbean, perhaps forever, with a

particular stamp of fragmented histories, and different

cultures and languages. Yet we are always seeking unity

within diversity.

Recent years have brought greater understanding and

closer bonds between us, based on the understanding that

we have a common destiny. As proof of this, our country

is a founding member of the Association of Caribbean

States (ACS), an organization bringing together nations that

are very different both in ethnic terms and in development

levels, and thus reflecting the richness and variety of our

region.

We would be pleased to see formal contact with and

backing from the United Nations for that recently created

body, in support of the efforts we have made to strengthen

our relations and to work for our peoples’ development.

Similarly, we have been participating in the Caribbean

Forum of African, Caribbean and Pacific (ACP) States,

which is made up of Caribbean countries that benefit from

the Fourth Lomé Convention. This forum has carried out a

series of regional projects financed with European Union

resources.

As an observer, and aspiring full-fledged member, of

the Caribbean Community and Common Market

(CARICOM), we view with great interest the widening and

deepening relationship between the United Nations and

CARICOM. We urge that the necessary steps are be taken

to intensify the cooperation and coordination between the

two institutions, which would enable us to achieve our

common goals.

The countries of the Caribbean are facing the

challenges of current circumstances, as the advantages of

access to markets are being eroded because of the

implementation of World Trade Organization agreements,

the effects of a single European market, the consolidation

of the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA)

and the movement towards reciprocity and similar trends.

Our participation in preferential access schemes

depends on the observance of established standards with

regard to workers’ rights, human rights, intellectual

property rights, the environment and civil liberty — matters

that go beyond economic considerations.

We have gained certain advantages from preferential

trading with the United States and the European Union, as

a result of greater prosperity that led to an increase in

import demand from those countries and an increase in

tourism in the Caribbean. By contrast, we must endure the

complications of the new rules and harmonization

standards that have come into force. We have not yet

taken full advantage of the benefits deriving from such

concessional agreements as the Fourth Lomé Convention,

the Generalized System of Preferences, and the Caribbean

Basin initiative.

Our high dependence on foreign trade, the shortage

in the supply of goods and services and unsuitable

marketing methods constitute elements of vulnerability

that affect, to a greater or lesser extent, all the countries

of the region. We must overcome these limitations and

define areas in which we can be competitive.

Strengthening cooperation is one way to support the

Caribbean integration process and rectify such

weaknesses.

When referring to the Caribbean, let us not forget

the situation in Haiti, the country with which we share the

island of Hispaniola. We view with sympathy the process

of democratization that is unfolding in that country, and

we appeal to the international community to do its utmost

to assist in the huge task faced by the children of the

country of Toussaint L’Ouverture in constructing a better

future for their countrymen.

One of the first foreign-policy actions of our

Government was to encourage a cooperative and friendly

relationship between the Dominican Republic and Haiti,

and we put in place the Joint Bilateral Commission. After

a fruitful meeting, which took place a few day ago in

Port-au-Prince, that Commission agreed to a series of

technical exchange agreements in the fields of tourism,

agriculture, trade and investment, sports and border and

immigration matters. Furthermore, we defined the

conditions for joint strategies to take advantage of funds

provided by multinational sources, such as those granted

by the European Union under the terms of the Fourth

Lomé Convention.

I would now like to direct the attention of the

General Assembly to a subject that just a few years ago

was on the front pages of all the newspapers of the world

and that, even though it still has a considerable impact on

the effectiveness of development policies, has vanished

from the world’s attention: the problem of foreign debt.

The countries of the region have carried out a series of

adjustment programmes in an attempt to regain external

financial solvency. Nonetheless, there are still

considerable imbalances as a result of the burden of debt

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servicing, without a corresponding recovery in the terms of

exchange that would allow us to create greater resources

through our exports.

In the case of the Dominican Republic, foreign debt

increased 13-fold between 1964 and 1994. Today, thanks to

our extraordinary efforts, our country is now current with

its international creditors, which means that we are eligible

for further external financing. However, being current with

our payments to international credit organizations has meant

that our Government has incurred greater social debts to the

Dominican people. There are fewer resources to invest in

education, health, housing and social security and,

ultimately, to deal with the critical situation of poverty that

affects most of our people.

In its 51 years of existence, the United Nations has

made extraordinary efforts to eradicate bellicose conflicts in

different parts of the world and to contribute to the

maintenance of peace and international security. But great

human sacrifice is inherent in the theatre of war, and our

impoverished neighbourhoods have adopted the names of

war-torn places, symbolizing the extent of their fight

against misery. In the Dominican Republic the poor and

marginalized neighbourhoods have adopted such names as

Viet Nam, Katanga and Cambodia; none of them, of course,

is called Sweden, Japan or Germany. This means that this

international Organization’s new role is to guarantee

international peace and security through mechanisms to

promote the economic and social development of the less

fortunate nations.

For this reason, with respect to debt, our country

believes that multilateral organizations that provide

development assistance and the donor Governments,

together with the debtors, must find more lasting solutions

to the burden of foreign debt servicing, so that we can

release resources that can immediately be used to fight

poverty and to stop the deterioration of the environment.

We have made progress in that regard, and it is fair to

recognize that the G-7, the International Monetary Fund, the

World Bank and the regional banks for development

assistance, such as the Inter-American Development Bank,

have consistently designed and implemented important

mechanisms to alleviate the foreign-debt burden, among

which the so-called Brady plan and the G-7 programmes

for the reduction of bilateral debt stand out.

However, in the near future we will need to review

some of the sacred principles prevalent in the international

financial community now for many years, such as those

related to the Paris Club cut-off date and the impossibility

of debt restructuring with multilateral organizations. This

affects especially the so-called least developed countries,

which could receive preferential treatment in this regard.

The Dominican Republic therefore urges all interested

parties to move forward to enable the underdeveloped

countries to implement viable programmes against poverty

and marginalization, within a financially sustainable

context.

In addition to the fight against poverty, at this stage

of reforming the international system it is important to

take all appropriate measures to fight terrorism and illegal

drug trafficking, scourges that deeply affect the normal

development of mankind. Recently, international drug

cartels have tried to use Caribbean routes to carry out

their illegal operations. The Dominican Republic has been

taking all possible measures to prevent the use of its

territory as a medium for drug trafficking and drug use.

For Dominicans, drug use and trafficking are a national

security problem, which we will fight with the necessary

force to eliminate an evil that has become the great

plague of mankind at the end of the twentieth century.

In expressing its willingness to play a more active

role in the international system, the Dominican Republic

also expresses its concern at the many unresolved

conflicts in different parts of the world. We advocate a

definitive and peaceful resolution of the conflict in Bosnia

and Herzegovina; of the search for peace in Middle East

between the Government of Israel and the Palestine

Liberation Organization; of cooperation and assistance

with regard to situations such as those of Somalia,

Burundi and Liberia. As to the Republic of China on

Taiwan, we believe that due to its location in the centre

of East Asia, its security and stability bear a close relation

with the peace and prosperity of that region, and we

therefore encourage both the sides along the Taiwan Strait

to resume constructive dialogue with a view to achieving

mutual cooperation and understanding. We believe that

the parallel participation of both sides in the United

Nations would be conducive to maintaining peace.

We stand at the threshold of a new century and a

new millennium, which will bring new challenges as well

as new opportunities for human progress, and an

Organization such as the United Nations has always

served to stimulate the noblest of human aspirations. The

Dominican Republic, trusting in God and in the creative

capacity of its people, aspires to be a spokesman and an

instrument for channelling the ideals of justice, peace,

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democracy and prosperity, which inspire the civilized

nations of the world.