Guyana, 2006

Just about a month ago,

the people of Guyana went to the polls to vote for the

Government of their choice. Witnessed by an

unprecedented number of observers drawn from several

countries and international organizations, including the

United Nations, the elections were deemed to be free,

fair and transparent. With a renewed mandate, the

Government led by President Bharrat Jagdeo, has

recommitted itself to the pursuit of democratic

governance at home and to a progressive foreign policy

abroad.

I am pleased, on behalf of the Government and

the people of Guyana to convey to the President of the

Assembly our warmest congratulations on her election

and to wish her much success during her term of office.

To her predecessor, Mr. Jan Eliasson of Sweden, I

would like to express our appreciation and thanks for

directing the work of the Assembly this past year with

considerable expertise and aplomb. And to our

Secretary-General, Mr. Kofi Annan, who demits his

post later this year, I wish to offer our sincere gratitude

for his impressive leadership of the United Nations

during an uncertain and challenging period. He leaves

with our best wishes for his future health and

happiness.

As a fledgling democracy, Guyana is proud to be

part of the family of free nations. We are dedicated to

the creation of a society based on equity and social

justice that guarantees to all our citizens their

fundamental freedoms and rights. To this end, we have

enshrined in our Constitution provisions for the full

enjoyment of these entitlements. In the same spirit, we

have acceded to the many international treaties and

conventions that embody agreements on the rights of

peoples. Article 154 A of our Constitution guarantees

that “such rights embodied in these international

instruments shall be respected and upheld by the

executive, legislature, judiciary and all organizations

and agencies of Government”. We are thus fully

committed to international cooperation for global

peace and development.

The President of the Assembly is to be

commended for proposing for discussion by this

Assembly the topic “Implementing the global

partnership for development”. Ever since its

establishment in 1945, the United Nations has laboured

to produce an effective development strategy. Decade

after decade, several proposals were laboriously

drafted, only to be quickly relegated to the archives. It

was not surprising, therefore, that countries, especially

the developing nations, eventually became

disillusioned owing to the little that was achieved.

The World Hearings on Development that were

held during Guyana’s presidency of the General

Assembly at its forty-eighth session sought a new

approach to the issue of development by bringing

together all the relevant actors — distinguished world

leaders, member Governments, the private sector,

non-governmental organizations and other elements of

civil society — to analyse deficiencies in international

cooperation. What was needed, it was said, was a new

development architecture, not a tinkering with the old.

Following up on the promise of these hearings,

the General Assembly proceeded in 1997 to elaborate

an agenda for development. There could be no more

comprehensive and compelling document than that.

Yet, it too was soon buried and forgotten. By the year

2000, the international community had decided that

enough was enough and that instead of forging yet

another declaration it would set for itself certain

precise and time-bound goals.

Our pursuit of these Millennium Development

Goals thus far has shown that while our efforts may

indeed lift some countries out of poverty, significant

and sustainable development will be achieved only

through the international cooperation required in

Goal 8. It is worthy of note that, while there are clear

measurements of progress under Goals 1 to 7, no well-

defined indicators exist for Goal 8 — the global

partnership for development — an omission that

clearly limits the effort at cooperation and creates an

imbalance in the partnership.

If I have delved into the history of the

development challenge, it is not to dwell on the past,

but rather to draw from it lessons that may help us in

the future to translate our long-held aspirations into

early reality. Allow me, therefore, to offer some

thoughts on how the global partnership for

development may be strengthened.

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As was determined at Monterrey, partnership,

coherence and accountability are vital to the fulfilment

of our development goals. Without close and genuine

cooperation between donors and recipients, there is not

likely to be significant progress. At the national level

countries should own their development strategies,

while at the international level there should be greater

coordination and consistency of support in the trade,

monetary and financial systems. Much too often it is

the developing countries that are scrutinized and

scolded for their shortcomings, while their developed

partners are considered above blame. True partnership

requires mutual accountability. Accordingly, we would

propose that there should be some verification of donor

pledges and periodic reviews of performance on both

sides.

Implementation of the global partnership would

be greatly facilitated if the task were to be seen in

terms of mutual benefit and not of charity or

obligation. Both sides must be involved in the

decision-making process in all cooperation agreements.

Such participation would produce a greater sense of

ownership by the developing countries and,

consequently, a deeper sense of commitment to

execution. At the recent World Bank/IMF meeting held

in Singapore and chaired by the President of Guyana,

the IMF Managing Director is reported to have

proposed a rearrangement of quotas that would enable

developing countries to be more involved in decision-

making. Although the change cannot be considered as

comprehensive as necessary, it is, nonetheless, a first

step toward more democratic governance in the

management of development.

Furthermore, given the inadequacy of resources

that have been available thus far for development, we

must endeavour to identify, as we pledged in

Monterrey, new and additional sources of financing.

The Millennium Challenge Account and the

International Finance Facility have been welcome

attempts to provide fresh funding. More recently, at the

initiative of France, Brazil and others a tax on air travel

has been proposed — and implemented by some

countries — and promises to provide substantial

revenues to support development. Similar proposals,

such as the Tobin tax, a tax on pollution and a

low-elasticity commodities tax, are on the table. What

is needed now is a serious evaluation of these

suggestions to determine their feasibility for

implementation by the international community.

Implementation of the global partnership

undoubtedly suffers from the “beggar-thy-neighbour”

attitude that exists in international economic and trade

relations. As evidenced in the recent Doha

Development Round negotiations, the predominant

interests of the developed countries in such areas as

agriculture, subsidies and services have effectively

denied developing nations, more particularly the small

and vulnerable, any prospect of significant

participation in the global economy. Without expanded

trade opportunities, investment and a comprehensive

framework of support, development for many countries

will continue to be elusive. We need, therefore, to

ensure that the Doha Development Round is revived

and that broad assistance is provided to serve the

purposes of development.

An increasingly formidable challenge to

implementing the development agenda is the spread of

transboundary crime, including arms and drug

trafficking, which has reached new and alarming levels

that cripple economic growth. Governments can ill

afford the resources needed to fight the drug lords, who

are themselves endowed with considerable assets and

artillery. Unfortunately, whatever assistance is

provided by donor countries and relevant agencies is

woefully inadequate to deal with the onslaught. This

growing insurgency can be counteracted only by

greater determination on the part of the United Nations

system to collaborate fully to crush transboundary

crime. Our developed partners therefore need to do

more to assist in the fight against this scourge.

A more serious inhibitor to economic growth and

social progress is the current unsettled international

political climate, in which recourse to conflict is seen

as a ready means of settling international issues. The

egregious examples of Iraq and Lebanon, where force

has been used to achieve political aims and objectives,

have clearly shown that violence solves nothing.

Indeed, the havoc and destruction wrought by war

seriously diminish the prospects for development,

whether in the Middle East or elsewhere. The agenda

for peace cannot be implemented without due regard to

the agenda for development.

The Government of Guyana has long been

persuaded of the need for a new global human

economic and social order that is capable of delivering

true democracy and social justice to all peoples. First

posited in 1994 at the World Summit on Social

Development by the late President Jagan of Guyana,

21 06-53615

the concept is premised on a comprehensive and

holistic approach to development aimed at achieving

more inclusive economic and social progress. The new

global human order initiative, which is already being

considered by this Organization and has been

supported by many Member States, seeks to create a

consensus on a new model of development that would

be based on genuine partnership among States and a

joint endeavour to secure peace and prosperity for all.

No less formidable and challenging to the

development agenda than the international political and

economic environment is the fragile ecosystem in

which we now live. We have all witnessed the

increasing number of earthquakes, floods, tropical

storms and hurricanes, which cause catastrophic

damage wherever they occur. Less than two years ago,

my own country was struck by a flood, resulting in

damage equivalent to 60 per cent of our gross domestic

product. It would be foolish — perhaps fatal — if we

did not prepare ourselves to anticipate and withstand

such disasters. Early-warning systems should be

established across the globe and financial resources

made available to the United Nations fund to facilitate

early responses and recovery. In short, disaster

mitigation should now become an integral part of the

development agenda.

Experience has taught us that development is a

complex and complicated phenomenon, and that the

many challenges we now face are such that they cannot

be overcome without full international cooperation. Yet

our responses continue to be ad hoc and woefully

inadequate to deal with the resolution of the problems

that we are confronting. The development agenda has

now become more extensive and is very urgent. With

courage and vision, we must renew our commitment to

the implementation of the global partnership for

development. Our common humanity and, indeed, a

common sense of decency and morality, demand no

less.