Dominican Republic, 1998

The Dominican Republic wishes to express

its gratitude for the gestures of solidarity expressed by

friendly countries with regard to the passage of the terrible

hurricane, Georges, which struck our country yesterday.

Furthermore, we appeal to the generosity of the

international community to provide cooperation with a view

to facing both the immediate emergencies of the population

affected by this phenomenon and the process of national

recovery.

The delegation of the Dominican Republic, on behalf

of the Government presided over by Mr. Leonel Fernández,

wishes to extend its warmest congratulations to the

President of the General Assembly, the Minister for Foreign

Affairs of Uruguay, on his well-deserved election to preside

over the fifty-third session, which is taking place at a time

of great structural changes in global society and within our

Organization. We also wish to thank Mr. Hennadiy

Udovenko, who presided over the deliberations of the last

session of the General Assembly with such skill. Our

gratitude goes also to the Secretary-General, Mr. Kofi

Annan, for his devotion and efforts to guide the

Organization along the path towards modernization and

reform, which will strengthen us as we reach the new

millennium.

The changes in the realities of the world in which

we live make it necessary to revise international policy.

In this respect, the United Nations, being the universal

forum, must be strengthened and renewed by increasing

its activities in areas such as peace and security of

nations, the protection of human rights and the

environment and cooperation for socio-economic and

cultural development.

Faithful to its principles, the United Nations must

continue to encourage and deepen its programme of

reforms, taking into consideration not only the complexity

of the current reality, but also the future development of

regulations aimed at relieving social marginalization and

ethnic and religious tensions, which jeopardize the priority

objectives of peace and development for our peoples. The

Dominican Republic expresses its firm support for the

negotiations and consultations on the programme of

reform. We trust that the process will culminate in

substantial changes in the various organs of the United

Nations, enhancing their effectiveness and leading to a

more democratic, transparent and representative

Organization, thus ensuring its ability to act to achieve its

present objectives.

Fortunately, the constant threat of a nuclear war has

diminished. Today, however, we are faced with the

challenge of combating together, and on a global scale,

hunger, poverty, environmental destruction and the

proliferation of weapons of mass destruction, and

encourage equitable development and free societies. We

must also struggle to lay the bases of economic growth.

There are other security problems that require

decisive action: international terrorism, organized crime

and illicit trafficking in arms and drugs. We must create

reliable instruments to put an end to these evils and

achieve acceptable levels of security for our citizens so

that they can live in peace. The politics of security is

inspired by the vision of a democratic world that practices

solidarity. Security must be achieved on the basis of

political, economic, social and ecological cooperation. The

principle of sovereign equality of States and the belief

that conflicts of interest must be resolved peacefully

require global cooperation because security can be

achieved only with the participation of all States.

41

That task falls principally to the Security Council. The

Dominican Republic believes it necessary to enlarge the

Council by creating new seats for the regions of Latin

America, Asia and Africa, thus strengthening it in the

fulfilment of its functions and allowing for greater

representativity.

The Dominican Republic believes that international

peace and stability are prerequisites for a secure future for

mankind. Democracy and respect for human rights, together

with justice and respect for the law, are the surest ways of

preserving peace. General acceptance of these principles

cannot be imposed, but it can be actively promoted.

The crisis spots that afflict large segments of the

world?s population continue to be of concern to many

States. We emphasize the need to strengthen mechanisms

of dialogue and negotiation in conflict areas such as the

Balkans, the Middle East and the Great Lakes region in

Africa. With regard to the Republic of China on Taiwan,

the Dominican Republic reiterates the positions presented

by its President, Mr. Leonel Fernández, with regard to the

need for the international community to consider the

importance of that country, due to its geographic location,

for the peace, security and prosperity of that region. We

favour constructive dialogue between both sides of the

Taiwan Strait to bring about understanding and mutual

cooperation. We reiterate that the parallel participation of

both countries in the United Nations would be conducive to

the maintenance of peace.

The Dominican Republic is also committed to the

process of nuclear disarmament and vigorously protests the

recent nuclear tests, as these can endanger world peace. We

reaffirm the need for strict respect for international treaties

on the prohibition, emplacement and testing of nuclear

weapons, in the atmosphere, in the oceanic subsoil and on

the ocean floor. We urge nuclear-weapon States to use and

handle those weapons responsibly as the only protection for

those of us who do not have that type of defence. The

preservation of world peace demands that Member States

of the United Nations establish new nuclear-weapon-free

zones and protect those already existing as a guarantee of

security.

Concern for the preservation of a zone free of nuclear

contamination is shared by the nations of the Caribbean,

which is used as a transportation route for toxic and nuclear

wastes. For those countries among us that depend largely

on tourism based on sun and beaches, the coastal water

quality is vital to that important sector of our economies.

Ongoing trafficking in illicit arms represents another

threat to security. The arms build-up must definitively be

stopped. The relevant international conventions signed by

the Dominican Republic are very important, such as the

one on illicit trafficking in conventional weapons.

Peaceful settlement of conflicts by means of

dialogue and accord is the best method to eliminate the

use of force in political relations within and among

Member countries. For that reason, it is necessary to

enhance the efforts and mechanisms recognized by

international law in order to resolve international

conflicts. In that context, the Dominican Republic accepts

and defends multilateralism as the appropriate way of

achieving consensus on the main problems that afflict the

world population. Poverty, drug-trafficking, terrorism,

inter-ethnic and territorial conflicts are problems that must

not be dealt with unilaterally.

For that reason we support the strengthening of

established international systems of justice. The signing

of the Statute of the International Criminal Court is

urgently needed to achieve these ends. We believe that

the instruments to protect peace must be used before

conflicts occur. The United Nations must take preventive

action and respond rapidly and effectively to avoid later

consequences. In that respect, the Convention on the

elimination of anti-personnel landmines, signed by many

Member States of the United Nations at Ottowa, Canada,

constitutes an important step and commitment towards the

consolidation of mechanisms for world peace.

Firmly based on the principle of encouraging the

peaceful resolution of disputes and the search for peace

and security in our region, the Dominican Republic has

promoted the strengthening of its neighbourly relations.

For the first time in more than half a century, a

Dominican President visited the Republic of Haiti. That

event and the agreements reached favour the efforts

undertaken by the democratic Governments of both States

through dialogue and accord, which is the best way to

approach their common problems.

It is in this new context of our bilateral relations that

we wish to appeal to the international community to

continue to provide support to Haiti. The need that

brought about the commitment of the United Nations to

the recovery of our neighbouring country still remains.

The Dominican Republic has met the challenges of

world changes at the end of this century. The restoration

of diplomatic relations with the fraternal country of Cuba

42

constituted an inevitable step that formalized our long-

lasting relations with Cuba.

Our country seeks inclusion in the integrationist trend

in our geographic and geopolitical area. Thus, this year we

signed two free-trade treaties, one with the five countries of

Central America, and the other with the 14 members of the

Caribbean Community. Both agreements are modern,

advanced and comprehensive, as they deal with trade in

goods and services and with investment and are in keeping

with the principles of the World Trade Organization. They

are conducive to economic growth, the creation of more

and better jobs and improvement in the quality of life of

our citizens.

Other clear signs of this regional rapprochement and

participation are the two presidential events held in our

country. In November 1997 the city of Santo Domingo was

the site of the extraordinary summit of heads of State of the

Central American countries, including Belize, as well as of

the Dominican Republic, and more recently, in August of

this year, of the extraordinary meeting of heads of State and

Government of the Caribbean Forum. Both meetings led to

agreements and concrete positions regarding hemispheric

and global challenges that our region must confront.

At the same time, we have tightened our economic,

political and development ties with the other nations of our

region, through the presence of our President, Mr. Leonel

Fernández, at the Summit of the Americas and the Ibero-

American Summit through bilateral visits and exchanges at

the presidential level with the United States, Mexico,

Venezuela and Colombia, countries with which we

traditionally share close bonds. These regular presidential

exchanges have led to consensus on basic topics on the

international agenda and have deepened our levels of

cooperation.

Allow me now to speak out the values of democracy

from a basically social approach, since people are the true

and ultimate raison d?être of democracy. Human rights and

fundamental freedoms will be fully respected and

guaranteed only when each citizen has a reasonable life

expectancy with access to health systems and the

opportunity for education in a healthy ecological

environment.

As is well known, in order to achieve these objectives,

large public expenditures in these areas are necessary. Two

factors make this difficult: the external debt, a heavy

burden which has dragged us down since the 1980s, and the

current financial crisis, which affects various countries of

the world, including some in Latin America. Both factors

drain away resources that could have financed social

development in this part of the world. The consequences

are obvious. Unable to improve the living conditions of

our people and help them become integrated into the

global economy, poverty grows and democracy and

stability are weakened.

The greatest problem facing the international

community is how to deal with the enormous economic

and social imbalance from which most Member States

suffer, with the gap between the rich and the poor

countries and with the growth in global poverty. The role

of the United Nations should be strengthened in

formulating and coordinating policies for cooperation and

in providing technical and financial assistance to

developing countries.

Human resources must take priority during the

current transformation of the international, political and

economic order. Women in particular must play an

important role, as they constitute a dedicated, responsible

and active workforce and give us reasons to see

humankind as being at the centre of development and

progress.

The Dominican Republic understands that

strengthening the role of women in the political, social

and economic life of Member States is essential if we are

to reduce poverty and social inequality and promote

democracy and sustainable development. That is why it is

essential to give priority to policies and programmes that

broaden women?s participation in these areas.

We vigorously support the objectives and work of

the United Nations International Research and Training

Institute for the Advancement of Women (INSTRAW).

The plans to improve the contribution of women to the

development of their countries, in accordance with their

own needs, set up when INSTRAW was created,

continues to be of primary importance and deserves

continued support from Member States.

Creating a new international order is a political

challenge. The conditions for this new order require the

multilateral system to guarantee security and governability

within the framework of respect for human rights. In

celebrating the fiftieth anniversary of the Universal

Declaration of Human Rights, which has been a guiding

light for building a more just world, we hope that respect

for human rights will become daily practice for all

people.

43

In conclusion, we believe that the United Nations must

reflect on and accept the changes that are necessary for our

Organization. That is why we enthusiastically support the

reform programme, which will hope will respond to the

expectations of a United Nations in tune with our time.