Federated States of Micronesia, 1996

Once

again, it is my honour as Secretary for External Affairs of

the Government of the Federated States of Micronesia to

address the General Assembly.

First, I wish to thank the former President, His

Excellency Mr. Diogo Freitas do Amaral, for his

enlightened and skilful leadership during the historic fiftieth

session of the General Assembly.

As always, we acclaim the tireless dedication of

Secretary-General Boutros Boutros-Ghali who, throughout

the time of our membership, has worked unceasingly to

make the United Nations a more effective instrument for

the betterment of our lives.

The people of my country are particularly pleased that

you, Mr. President, have been elected to lead this body

during its crucial fifty-first Session. Last year we celebrated

the fiftieth anniversary of the United Nations and took stock

of its accomplishments during the first half-century. Now

we begin in earnest to apply the commitments we made

towards the future of this Organization and the world.

There may be no other single individual who has been as

instrumental or as effective in leading the world community

in recent years in the difficult search for common ground,

particularly on issues relating to environmentally sustainable

development. We are heartened by your past achievements

and are thankful for your willingness to undertake an even

greater commitment as our President during this session.

This is a year of strong reflection for the people of the

Federated States of Micronesia. Ten years have passed

since we emerged from the United Nations trusteeship

system, and five years since we took our place as a

member of the United Nations. During these years we have

worked hard to build our capacity to contribute, even as a

remote small island State, to the advancement of our

common goals. Despite severely limited resources, both in

terms of personnel and finances, we have accorded high

priority to our participation in United Nations activities and

to meeting our financial commitments to this Organization.

It remains our strong belief that this priority has not been

misplaced.

At the time we joined the United Nations the

world’s attention was focusing on the global aspects of

protection of the environment and on the necessary

interrelationship between the environment and

development. These were the subjects of the historic work

at the Earth Summit in Rio in June 1992. Thanks in large

part to you, Mr. President, that landmark United Nations

Conference on Environment and Development (UNCED)

gave us Agenda 21 and its associated mechanisms. Since

then, much has been accomplished through the work of

many institutions and individuals, such as the Commission

for Sustainable Development and the Under-Secretary-

General for Policy Coordination and Sustainable

Development, Mr. Nitin Desai. We look forward to the

special session of this body next year which will be held

to review progress during the first five years following

UNCED and to appraise the effectiveness of the

institutions that have grown up around it.

In the case of the Federated States of Micronesia,

this movement was very well timed. Just as our internal

process of development began in earnest, we received

guidance from Agenda 21 as to sustainability and the

integration of environmental protection and development.

A short time later, at the Barbados Conference, which had

been mandated by UNCED, we participated in analysing

the barriers to development faced by all small island

developing States.

While we took encouragement from the international

and regional aspects of Agenda 21 and the Barbados

Programme of Action, we were also motivated to

integrate the Rio and Barbados outcomes into our own

national policies regarding development. Today our

National Council on Sustainable Development, chaired by

our Vice-President, plays a central role in the formation

of my country’s development policies. Since last year my

country has been assisted by the World Bank, the

International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the Asian

Development Bank in undertaking broad economic policy

and governmental structural reforms with a view to

strengthening the private sector and optimizing efficiency

in the public sector. We are taking serious steps to

downsize the public service workforce. At the same time,

measures are being taken to raise Government revenues

through tax-rate increases and support for the public

sector. All of our public utility services, including

telecommunications, are being commercialized, while a

good number of our public-works services are being

privatized.

For a small island developing country such as the

Federated States of Micronesia, the condition and

productivity of our limited land areas, and of the seas that

surround us, are key to our survival. Only in recent times

have we, and others like us, come to realize the

vulnerability and fragile nature of a world long taken for

granted. It is in the nature of islands to regard our

remoteness as our primary protection against all dangers.

But the twentieth century has taught us how the land on

which we live, and the resources of the sea on which we

depend, can be destroyed as a consequence of events that

take place far from our own shores. Thus, we are

compelled to raise our voice against long-standing actions

and practices throughout the world as well as within our

own region.

As long ago as 1972, Principle 21 of the Stockholm

Declaration established that national sovereignty can no

longer be asserted to justify actions that

“cause damage to the environment of other States or

of areas beyond (...) national jurisdiction.”

(A/CONF.48/14/Rev.1, p. 5)

The affirmative responsibility of States to ensure the

avoidance of such damage is specifically reiterated in

Principle 2 of the Rio Declaration on Environment and

Development. That responsibility is now recognized as a

doctrine of generally accepted international law.

Yet today we look back on a year during which, at

best, only mixed progress was made by the nations of the

world in discontinuing or regulating activities harmful to

the environment of others. Particularly in the region of the

Pacific Islands, our broad expanses and our helpless

populations continue to attract the interest of those who

have dirty, dangerous business to conduct. With regard to

climate change, our rising sea level and strengthening storm

activity sound an ominous warning of a global situation that

will engulf us if decisive action is not taken by the world

community now. Yet, over the past year, the political will

among nations to adopt concrete measures has appeared, if

anything, to be diminishing in the face of self-interested

and determined manipulation of the very processes that we

seek to apply.

It is not my purpose, however, to point with gloom

to a glass half-empty, for we do take encouragement from

the ongoing hard work of thousands worldwide to address

a wide range of global security and environmental threats.

We are greatly relieved at the abatement, for now, of

the threat of nuclear war and by the cessation, finally, of

nuclear-weapon testing. We hail the overwhelming

majority of United Nations Members that supported the

Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty (CTBT). The

Federated States of Micronesia took particular pride in

standing with other sponsors of the recent resolution

adopted by the General Assembly at its fiftieth session,

because Pacific Islanders were among the first, and may

yet prove to be the last actual, not potential, victims of

one of history’s darkest periods. We congratulate the five

nuclear Powers on their major role in achieving this

milestone, and we call on all Members to join us in

signing the Treaty, as I did here yesterday on behalf of

my country. The CTBT is a major step towards the total

elimination of all nuclear weapons. We hold that to be the

ultimate objective and obligation of the international

community and the global environment.

Another difficult problem associated with the

technology of mass destruction and with the nuclear age

is the disposition of dangerous waste, by-products and

castoffs, which themselves pose very real risks of mass

calamity to those unfortunate enough to be caught in the

path of accidents. We credit the honest intentions of those

who insist upon carrying out movements of plutonium

and other hazardous materials throughout our region to do

so as carefully as they can. We accept and rely upon the

word of those who have brought their hazardous materials

to our region for destruction that they will conduct this

activity only a little longer. We welcome the recent

announcement by the United States administration of its

opposition to plans to establish a nuclear-waste storage

facility on Palmyra Atoll in our region. But experience

has shown that good intentions are not always sufficient

protection. We must also rely on global mechanisms such

as the Basel and London Conventions, and on regional

actions to establish zones of protection, such as under the

Noumea Convention and the recently concluded Waigani

Treaty.

I emphasize that the progress made in all these areas

is not lost on us. However, if our children and their

children are to inherit a livable world, we must all

somehow find a way now to take seriously the message

of the Stockholm Declaration. We must face the hard fact

that each time the preventive and precautionary principles

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are placed on hold to allow some offending activity to

continue “just a little longer,” the global resolve expressed

at Rio and reflected in many actions since is seriously

undermined. Glacial progress is better than no progress, but

it is not enough where the stakes are literally apocalyptic.

As much as we support the process of the Framework

Convention on Climate Change, it appears that intensive

negotiations are leading in the direction of elaborate

compromises that might represent masterful diplomatic

achievement, but fall far short of effectively addressing the

Convention’s objective. Recently, at the second Conference

of the Parties in Geneva, we witnessed a sorry spectacle in

which a few delegations blocked the negotiators even from

taking note of a critical and unanimous scientific finding,

namely that

“there is a discernible human influence on the global

climate”.

It fell to the ministers in attendance to make their own

declaration recognizing the obvious importance of this and

other findings in the second Assessment Report of the

Interdepartmental Panel on Climate Change.

When there exists this degree of helplessness on the

part of a great majority to come to grips with a problem,

even after the denial factor has been laid to rest, one begins

to fear that we lack the capacity to save ourselves from

ourselves. There is too little time remaining before the next

Conference of the Parties in Kyoto, where it is anticipated

that a protocol or other legal instrument will be adopted

that sets specific targets and timetables for emissions

reductions beyond the year 2000. That action will determine

whether the Convention can indeed serve to address the

threat of global climate change. Yet, at this point, the only

specific suggested text, tabled by the Alliance of Small

Island States, is regarded by some larger industrialized

countries to be overreaching, even as a first step. The

outlook is not encouraging.

Thanks to the work of the IPCC in producing its

landmark second Assessment Report, we now know that

due to the inertia of the Earth’s climate system in adjusting

to changed inputs, it is already too late to prevent

significant loss of land areas and habitability due to sea-

level rise during the upcoming century. We must therefore

begin in earnest to contemplate measures to adapt to, and

defend against, these consequences. In order to implement

such measures, island countries will require the financial

and technological support of the industrialized world.

Without it, tens of millions of people on islands and in low-

lying coastal areas throughout the world are certain to

become homeless. No longer can the world afford to

leave the development of adaptation measures on the back

burner. We must begin to act now.

As a nation covering over 1 million square miles of

ocean, we place great importance on the sustainable use

and management of marine resources within and adjacent

to our territorial limits. We are pleased with the entry into

force of the United Nations Convention on the Law of the

Sea, which has provided us with a framework to deal

with many important issues in this field. The resulting

management mechanisms are of particular importance to

those of us surrounded entirely by oceans.

Other encouraging events have included the opening

for signature of the Agreement on straddling fish stocks

and highly migratory fish stocks in December 1995, and

the election last month of 21 judges for the International

Tribunal for the Law of the Sea. Furthermore, we note

with great satisfaction the election in Kingston, Jamaica,

of an esteemed Pacific Islander, Mr. Satya Nandan of Fiji,

as the first Secretary-General of the International Seabed

Authority. With his election and the subsequent actions of

the Assembly of the Authority last month, the Authority

is finally in place as called for in Part XI of the

Convention. With a substantial percentage of the global

mineral resources lying beneath the surface of the oceans,

the International Seabed Authority has a crucial role in

ensuring that the ocean environment is protected

throughout the process of exploitation. In this connection,

it is important for the General Assembly to provide

adequate financial resources to the International Seabed

Authority during this session, as it has done with other

bodies, until States Parties can assume the responsibility

next year.

One of the great learning experiences we have had

during our early years of United Nations membership has

been appreciating the need for us all, collectively, to act,

by example and with determination, to alleviate the

suffering of people, wherever they are, who are denied

their basic rights as human beings. The Constitution of

the Federated States of Micronesia reflects in its

Declaration of Rights the standards ingrained in our

culture over many centuries, and it has perhaps given us

a certain sense of complacency in this area. But we have

come to appreciate that the worldwide collective effort to

confront human rights issues both strengthens our own

society and affords us an opportunity to participate in

helping others.

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Despite the inevitable impact of increased contacts

with modern Western society, the most important aspects

and values of our traditional cultures remain strong, because

they are appropriate to our circumstances. We continue to

adhere to the concept of the extended family, for example,

and many of the principles that are inherent in that system

have long ensured a respect in our society for basic human

rights.

Changing times, however, inevitably challenge old

traditions, and the maintenance of our traditional human

rights standards becomes a process of adaptation to our

increasingly mobile and homogeneous society, in which

legal and governmental institutions must now also play a

central role. Here we stand to benefit by involvement and

participation in the international human rights movement,

as was pointed out by our Vice-President in his address to

the World Conference in Vienna several years ago.

As we have studied the mechanisms and obligations of

the various United Nations Treaties on human rights, we

have entered into constructive internal debates. Children, for

example, are among our most important treasures, and so

we first acceded to the Convention on the Rights of the

Child. The preparation of our first report to that Convention

was a thought-provoking exercise. Traditionally, women in

island cultures have been treated with love and respect, but

have not participated fully in public affairs. This is

beginning to change. We recently sent a strong delegation

to the Fourth World Conference on Women in Beijing, and

are actively considering accession to the Convention on the

Elimination of all Forms of Discrimination against Women.

Overall, we realize that our own application of human

rights standards must evolve progressively along with our

society.

The Federated States of Micronesia also accepts the

responsibility of continuing to speak out, along with

similarly committed States, on the need to challenge those

Governments that still refuse to accord their own citizens

the fundamental rights of human beings. It is a long and

often discouraging process, but only with a strong, constant,

collective voice can the international community maintain

the progress being made in exposing and deterring abuses

by the powerful against the unempowered.

Much attention has been drawn in the past several

years to the serious financial condition of the United

Nations and the need to reform and restructure it. Some

Members are so disheartened by the slow pace of this effort

that they have lost their resolve to maintain their own

financial commitments to the United Nations, making the

problems worse and threatening the continued ability of

this Organization to carry out its work.

It is the view of the Federated States of Micronesia

that while there may be inequities in the structure of

assessments, Member States should address them while

continuing to meet existing commitments that were

established pursuant to agreed procedures. There will

always be some level of disagreement over structures and

the requirements of funding. But it would be a tragedy of

historic proportions if the pursuit of the goals of the

Charter were substantially hindered by Member States

that feel that they can rightfully tailor their contributions

to their own satisfaction according to how their particular

demands are met. The fact is that, when we give due

regard to the importance of our overall work here, this

Organization, even without reform, is well worth its

cost — especially when one considers the sums spent by

nations on activities that do not contribute to international

peace and development.

There is no doubt that, as we begin the next half

century of work, the capacity of this Organization is

challenged by issues that seem to grow rapidly in number

and complexity. But this is not a sign of failure, nor of a

lack of capacity. Neither does it suggest that we need

another instrument. It is, rather, an indication of the

increasing interconnectedness of the global community

and of the growing inclination among nations to find and

recognize their common interests and to work together to

advance those interests.

In order to maintain and improve the responsiveness

of the United Nations in a world in which it faces

increasing demands, it is necessary that, on a continuing

basis, we apply effective upgrades to the way we do our

work here. Only in this way can we keep the

Organization on a positive course, and faithfully translate

the mandates of the Charter into terms of continuing

relevance. This is the real meaning of reform. It is not a

consequence of past inadequacy, but a positive

evolutionary development.

That is easily said, but as we all know, it is very

difficult to put into practice. Even so we must not allow

that high degree of difficulty to plunge us into frustration

and defeat. The great achievements of those who have

been here before us over the last 50 years must be

honoured by our unshakable determination to take the

United Nations into the next millennium as the single

most effective multilateral instrument for the betterment

of mankind.

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I believe that this Assembly can and will accomplish

much to add to the list of tangible achievements both for

the direct benefit of the peoples of the world and for the

improvement of this Organization itself. We have the

history, the vision and the leadership. Moreover, the

urgency is clearly seen by us all. Let us resolve to apply

ourselves as never before, and to live up to the great

potential that resides in this Hall.