Dominican Republic, 2005

Permit me to join others in

expressing, on behalf of our President, Mr. Leonel

Fernández Reyna, our heartfelt congratulations to

Ambassador Jan Eliasson of Sweden on his election as

President of the General Assembly at this historic

sixtieth session. The Dominican Republic is confident

that he will lead it in an effective and fruitful manner. I

also express my gratitude to the Secretary-General,

Mr. Kofi Annan, for his most valuable contributions to

the strengthening of the United Nations as an

institution. In addition, I wish to congratulate His

Excellency Mr. Jean Ping of Gabon and to

acknowledge his notable work in leading the most

recent session.

This sixtieth session of the General Assembly

should go down in history as one of the most

momentous United Nations sessions. Proof of that lies

in two areas of major significance on its agenda: first,

accountability with regard to the degree of

achievement of the Millennium Development Goals

and renewal of the commitments made to achieve

them; and secondly, setting out the course for reform of

the Organization to adapt it so that it can address

current challenging problems and guarantee the

effectiveness of its actions in order to ensure the

development, freedom and peace of all the world’s

peoples.

For nations such as the one I represent, the

ambitious agenda aimed at achieving the Millennium

Development Goals (MDGs) by 2015 has become the

key governmental programme.

What could be more important to small

underdeveloped nations with scarce natural resources

than leading their people out of the socio-economic

abyss caused by poverty, poor health and the lack of

education and productive employment? No political

action is more urgent — at least not in the Dominican

Republic. Eliminating poverty in the world is a

monumental task requiring unstinting political

commitment and the collective participation of all

societies, as well as unlimited economic support from

the developed nations.

The heartbreaking realities of the present are

morally unacceptable in a world with humankind at its

centre; they underline the flawed nature of the zero-

sum policies practised in the past, when the great

Powers dedicated themselves to amassing wealth by

exploiting the riches of poorer, weaker nations.

Widespread poverty is not good for poor nations,

and even less so for rich nations. As all know, poverty

leads to despair, violence and chaos. That, in turn,

produces unbearable social and political tensions and

the outbreak of conflicts, leading to failed States.

When a State fails, the conflict raging within spills

over into regional conflicts or prompts endless,

unstoppable waves of migrants. In today’s world, a

failed State eventually becomes an issue before the

United Nations, requiring attention and solutions.

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When one has examined how that chain of events

works, it becomes clear that achieving the Millennium

Development Goals is crucial.

Allow me to underline the following. It is

alarming that in 2015, the year in which the

Millennium Development Goals are to be achieved, the

production of oil — the fuel that enabled the world to

achieve spectacular growth over the past 100 years —

is projected to begin to decline dangerously. To foresee

the future, one has only to take a good look at the

present. All the world’s Governments face difficulties

caused by high oil prices, and we are all aware that this

time, unlike the oil shock of the 1970s, the present

reduction in the flow of oil could become permanent. I

emphasize this because, owing to that situation, our

nations risk facing endless difficulties on all fronts.

It is disturbing that this should happen precisely

when we are making enormous efforts to overcome the

obstacles preventing us from creating a dignified, free

and safe society for our peoples. The predicted global

crisis could bring an ongoing reduction in oil

production, immediately causing higher oil prices. The

catastrophic effects that would produce cannot be

ignored today. We have known for a long time that oil

would not last forever. Now is the time for the United

Nations to launch an initiative, much broader in scope

than the Millennium Development Goals, to chart a

course guiding Member States to a civilization not

dependent on oil.

My country, the Dominican Republic, shares the

small Caribbean island of Hispaniola with Haiti. It has

to be said that, historically, the problems on one side of

the border have tended to become problems for the

other side. Haiti, a country with a 200-year history of

independence, is a fractured nation today. Amid

insurmountable economic difficulties and all types of

social shortfalls, its political conflicts weakened its

institutions, and the State collapsed.

Today’s transitional regime, without enough

resources to function properly, is, with the support of

the United Nations Stabilization Mission in Haiti,

striving greatly to rebuild what was destroyed, and the

international community has put great hope in restoring

legitimate political authority through the holding of

elections.

In the General Assembly and elsewhere, many

have said that they believe that the electoral process in

Haiti should not have been given top priority; rather,

top priority should have gone to humanitarian

assistance and job creation by means of a massive

programme for building infrastructure such as roads,

water supply systems, schools, hospitals and electric

generators. However, past experience in the process of

rebuilding failed States points to the priority need to

legitimize new political leadership through elections,

even though we know that in such cases, the ideal

framework for holding elections cannot be achieved.

That is why, on behalf of my country’s President,

Mr. Leonel Fernández Reyna, I propose that the United

Nations Stabilization Mission in Haiti, with the support

of the Transitional Government of Haiti and the

international community, should carry out — as they

have been doing — a broad national dialogue to reach

general agreement between the political forces and the

organized sectors of Haitian civil society.

Such an agreement would ensure national

reconciliation and prepare the way for a national

reconstruction plan that has the support of all Haitian

leadership. All Haitian civil society and political

leadership have important roles to play in their

country’s institutional reconstruction, and all must

fulfil those responsibilities. We cannot ignore the fact

that in recent years, the Haitian people have been

living in fear, insecurity, poverty and despair. For

recovery to take place, the people need to have

confidence in the process of peace, reconciliation and

the rebuilding of State institutions.

In addition, President Fernandez proposes that the

United Nations Stabilization Mission in Haiti

(MINUSTAH) invite distinguished world leaders to be

present during the elections in Haiti, in order to give

more credibility to the electoral process.

Among these statesmen, the Dominican Republic

takes the liberty of suggesting Presidents Fox of

Mexico and Lula da Silva of Brazil, the former

Presidents of the United States of America, Mr. Carter

and Mr. Clinton, and the legendary former President of

South Africa, Nelson Mandela.

Elections are the first important political step to

help Haiti back on its feet. We are not under the

illusion that elections alone will guarantee security,

ensure the reign of democracy in the immediate future

or produce an overnight improvement in the living

conditions of Haitians.

6

Our own experience has taught us that the road to

democracy will be a long one, as it has been for the

nations that today function within the framework of

democratic institutions. And the road towards

development will be even longer but more secure, if

tensions are reduced, a climate of cooperation is

fostered and if donor nations and institutions faithfully

fulfil their generous promises of financial support for

Haiti in a timely manner.

On the subject of peace, security and dialogue,

we want to comment on two items that are very high on

the international political agenda. First, the progress

made in the peace process between Israel and the

Palestinian National Authority.

Secondly, the recent natural disasters in Asia and

now in the United States of America are forcing us to

think about the vulnerability of nations to the

potentially dangerous, manmade changes in the balance

of nature when faced with these types of events. We

sincerely regret the loss of life due to Hurricane

Katrina.

In conclusion, I would like to say that we must

not lose time. Let us act today, as if this were our last

opportunity to reach a consensus and formulate action

to turn sustainable development into a collective

achievement in order to ensure world security and

progress together on the road to peace.