Saint Kitts and Nevis, 1997

The fifty-

second anniversary of the United Nations is yet another

historic moment for us all. Our shared presence here is

evidence that as Members of this great institution we have

an opportunity to realize our collective aspirations and

expectations. It is necessary therefore for the Organization

to ensure that the concerns of Member States, particularly

those in the developing world, are not compromised or

seen as secondary to the process.

It is essential that the United Nations become a

catalyst for improving the quality of life of our citizens

and a champion of our fundamental rights and freedoms.

Such challenges will require much commitment and

strategic thinking. I believe that if we succeed we will

have laid the foundation for peace and international

security for generations to come.

With our nations and peoples standing at the

crossroads of tremendous change, and with heightened

expectations in the fields of human development and

poverty eradication, the United Nations must be allowed to

assume an even greater role. Saint Kitts and Nevis

maintains that the United Nations has the necessary

institutional capacity to encompass our collective ambitions

and simultaneously to resolve many of the problems facing

nation-States.

In the light of the fundamental importance which my

Government attaches to a reformed, more functional United

Nations, we welcome the appointment of His Excellency

Mr. Kofi Annan as Secretary-General. His commitment to

and wide experience in this institution will help provide the

United Nations with the crucial leadership it needs at this

critical juncture in the Organization s history.

As we march into a new millennium, with its

increasing uncertainties and complexities, the United

Nations and its membership will have to recommit

themselves to human development in all its facets.

Otherwise we will have failed in this decade to accomplish

our mandate of poverty eradication.

The growing reduction in much-needed aid and

technical assistance to the developing world threatens the

further marginalization of our poor countries. This means

that countries will grow to depend more on the United

Nations. We therefore urge the United Nations to work

more closely with developing countries to devise new ideas

and pragmatic approaches to improve the standard of living

of the world's poor. This reality, we think, lends greater

urgency to the Secretary-General's proposals for reform. In

this regard, the Government of Saint Kitts and Nevis

encourages wide discussion of the extensive and far-

reaching reform proposals with the aim of arriving at

consensus.

We believe that it is vital to restructure and

consolidate some of the different areas of services that the

United Nations provides. However this must herald real

change and increased benefit for Member States. We cannot

support a mere transfer of resources from one organ to

another without proper safeguards to ensure efficiency and

accountability. In the same vein, we hope that development

reforms will not sacrifice the effectiveness and

distinctiveness of existing organs. In order for the

developing world to achieve sustainable growth, we need

the expertise, we need the resources and we need the

institutional capabilities of existing United Nations funds

and programmes.

As we work towards greater efficiency in the

management and administration of services, it is

important not to undermine positive past achievements.

Member States must refrain from marrying

conditionalities to the process of reform, especially when

these very conditionalities hinder substantial progress in

the reform process itself. Saint Kitts and Nevis therefore

suggests that in order for reforms to work they must of

necessity balance and protect the interests of Member

States, not simply appear to reward or benefit a privileged

few. Reform is not about creating mechanisms that

merely restructure the obligations of States to the

Organization. Reform should not be used as an

opportunity to compensate current economic strength.

Decisions on permanent and non-permanent membership,

as part of the reform process, should be the result of a

process of debate and consensus-building.

My delegation expects to see greater emphasis on

geographic representation and on correcting old

inequalities that continue to plague us today. Saint Kitts

and Nevis appeals to all States to be careful not to

confuse the need for genuine systemic reforms with

legally assessed financial obligations to the Organization.

Nations demanding reform should also be willing to

reform incongruous attitudes and perceptions of the

United Nations. We must honour all our responsibilities

to the Organization. Progress will require that we all work

more closely together to confront the multitude of

complicated problems, old and new.

To this end, let us challenge ourselves to find

common ground and assist the United Nations in

developing the appropriate ideas and strategies that

promote our common agenda. This may not be easy;

hence the Organization will need to establish a mutually

beneficial relationship between policy makers in

Government and the business community.

On this note, I should like to acknowledge the

magnificent contribution of Mr. Ted Turner to this

Organization. He has shown himself to be an exceptional

international citizen. We trust that this humanitarian

gesture of support for the Organization and its work will

make a noticeable impact on the areas designated, and

that it will challenge others of like mind to demonstrate

their support for the Organization as well.

This show of support is a reminder that only the

United Nations can provide the kind of impartial and

comprehensive leadership that Member States want. Only

the United Nations, with 50 years of successes and

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failures as a world institution, has the unique experience to

develop essential capabilities to serve its membership. The

United Nations has the competitive edge. A United Nations

reformed to deal with the modern challenges of a modern

era can work, but only if it is allowed to work.

I appreciate well the power of national imperatives and

individualism. I also understand well the concerns about

supranational institutions. Nevertheless, we have come too

far to surrender our global destiny to fear and

misconceptions.

When we speak of the development of the human

person yet fail to appreciate that economic rights are as

fundamental to human dignity as are human rights, we do

great disservice to the cause of human rights. However,

when we acknowledge these rights then we give more

substance to social stability and the process of true

democracy.

Democracy is not new to the Caribbean region. It is a

way of life, a tradition for our region. We see it as the most

practical and useful system of government to advance our

people. However, democracy is not simply about

institutions or processes. It is about creating an enabling

government and an enabling environment in which the

ordinary person — the impoverished, the disillusioned, the

educated and the rich — feels included and feels that he or

she can participate in the decision-making process and feels

that his or her dreams can be truly realized.

Because we regard democracy as the most efficient

and viable vehicle for sustainable human development, it

must deliver and be seen to deliver. The people must be

reassured that they can and indeed will rise from the

quicksand of poverty through the promise of development.

If we fail to deliver on the promise, then democracy will

fail. If democracy fails, poverty becomes entrenched and

chaos becomes inevitable.

The condition of poverty has for too long been linked

with the destiny of small States. The apparent ease with

which both are dismissed is a source of grave concern to

the Government and the people of Saint Kitts and Nevis.

Too little attention is being paid to the economic hardships,

political disruptions and social dislocations which we are

forced to endure as small developing States. Instead of

seeing crucial support from the developed world, we are

witnessing increased tendencies towards isolationism and

neglect.

In the current wave of globalization, economic

stability has become the soft underbelly of Caribbean

security, democracy and prospects for sustainable

development. If these economies are not strengthened and

given appropriate assistance, one lays waste to the

tremendous intellectual talents in these countries and

exposes the political and social fabric to the nefarious

forces that lurk in the region.

Our small countries need institutional support and

partnership to help in preparing our youth to adapt their

knowledge and skills to changing world circumstances.

Such preparation will help make them self-sufficient and

more responsive to the unpredictable changes taking place

around us.

Additionally, we must create jobs on a continuous

basis to inspire our young people and put life's basic

needs within reach of their parents. We must not overlook

the crucial link between economic growth and long-term

political and social stability. Sustainable development in

the Caribbean is in everyone's best interest.

My Government does not subscribe to conspiracy

theories, but it is acutely aware of the ease with which we

can all fall victim to the conspiracy of silence and the

conspiracy of neglect. Our economies are under siege; our

way of life is threatened; the growth of our countries and

people is undermined by forces which are better able to

exploit globalization and trade liberalization.

No one in good faith can accuse us of complacency.

Our countries have worked hard to keep pace with current

economic trends. We have tightened fiscal and monetary

policies, and we are monitoring them very closely. We

have run the gauntlet of social and economic measures

supposedly structured to ensure the economic growth and

survival of our various economies.

The road we have travelled has been a difficult one,

and we have learned valuable lessons. Still, we continue

to suffer exclusion from developed countries' markets for

our various products. As a direct consequence, the private

sector has become sceptical of its very survival and

profitability.

Our banana-producing countries in the region have

suffered a tremendous and potentially devastating blow in

the wake of the recent panel ruling of the World Trade

Organization (WT0) on the banana regime of the African,

Caribbean and Pacific group of States (ACP). It is

inconceivable that the insignificant but important

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percentage in access that ACP countries share in this

market can pose any meaningful threat to the collaborative

interests of multinational producers.

Our banana and sugar industries are major employers

and foreign exchange earners; yet, without regard for our

survival, they are being challenged with the ultimate

objective of dismantling them completely. At the same

time, we still do not have ready access to essential

technologies vital to making our industries and human

resources more competitive and more efficient.

We contend that trade liberalization, without the

proper mechanisms to protect the small and the weak, does

not promote fair trade. Where is the fairness of fair trade?

How, therefore, will our small island developing States find

new and sustainable ways to respond to the growing needs

of our population? How will we be able to stem the brain

drain, the migration of human resources searching for a

better standard of living?

Our countries have undertaken to diversify our

economies despite the obvious dislocations within our

societies. We remain committed to democratic institutions,

and we continuously allocate scarce resources to human

development. Our Governments in the Caribbean have been

working more closely with the private sector as true

partners in development. We have enacted legislation to

facilitate increased investment opportunities and to

encourage foreign direct investment and domestic savings.

Nonetheless, with every step we seem to fall prey to

the perpetual and constantly evolving demands for more

extensive changes without any regard for the effects on our

countries and our people. Globalization, with its insatiable

appetite, and the ravenous forces of unrestricted free market

and trade liberalization are forever famished. Why must the

rules which are always in a state of constant flux be to the

detriment of small resource-poor States?

In the coming years, not only will we still be

struggling to combat poverty, but the concepts of

sovereignty and governance will also be seriously

challenged as we endeavour to cope with the complex

implications of forces that face our societies and menace

our democracies. The transnational nature of information,

of capital, of labour and of technological advances will not

spare our tiny countries the trying consequences unleashed

by globalization.

Despite these difficulties, Saint Kitts and Nevis will

not become a nation of mendicants. We will give priority

to the right of our citizens to economic well-being. For

what good would it do if our people achieve their human

right to exist but are denied the right to live dignified

lives?

The Labour Government of Saint Kitts and Nevis

has undertaken to build 1,000 new, affordable homes by

the end of this century. We believe that all our citizens

have the right to live in dignity and to have access to the

basic necessities of life. We have already turned over 100

new houses, and by the end of this year we expect 300

families to be moving into new homes in Saint Kitts and

Nevis. This is the commitment of the Government of

Saint Kitts and Nevis to the development of its citizens.

I have said in the past, and I maintain now, that we

must abandon the practice of using gross national product

per capita to measure standards of living for people in the

developing world. How can the developed world and

multilateral agencies deny assistance to countries on the

basis that such a country has reached this artificial

threshold? Are people in the developing world not entitled

to a higher standard of living, or must they always

straddle the boundaries of poverty and exist only at levels

which the developed world considers acceptable indicators

of human progress?

It is important for us to dedicate our energies to the

logic of prevention. In Saint Kitts and Nevis we believe

strongly that prevention is better than cure. We believe in

enabling our peoples to have a life free of poverty and

despair. The Secretary-General has called for greater

efficiency in management, greater resource mobilization

and redeployment of potential savings to the development

fields. This is long overdue.

It is also the duty of Member States to ensure that

new resources are targeted at development. Such a

process will have to be guided by and nourished with

vision, political will and an appreciation of the global

imperatives of sustainable development and poverty

eradication. It will involve foresight, profound analyses,

and a willingness to look beyond national self-interest.

Working together to shape our collective destiny could

enable us to reduce the risks of future political and social

conflicts.

I believe firmly that the special circumstances and

vulnerability indices of small States must be at the

forefront of international debate. If there were ever a

question as to the vulnerability of small States, I

challenge the Assembly to recall the unfortunate situation

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on the Caribbean island of Montserrat. This reality clearly

demonstrates that it takes only one disaster, only one

violent act of nature, only one volcanic eruption to dislocate

an entire population, decimate an entire economy and

destroy the entire social fabric of a people. The

Government of Saint Kitts and Nevis, like other Caribbean

Community (CARICOM) countries, has extended a willing

hand of health and social support to the people of

Montserrat. We continue to provide employment and other

business opportunities to those who have come to our

shores in Saint Kitts and Nevis from the island of

Montserrat. I urge the international community to join the

Caribbean in taking prompt, decisive and tangible steps to

assist the people of Montserrat.

Montserrat is a microcosm of our precarious existence.

Hence, we urge the international community to fulfil its

promises under the Barbados Programme of Action and

other commitments to the developing world. Our survival

as a region is intimately interwoven with our environment,

and our physical and economic limitations should not be

further burdened by the transshipment of hazardous waste

through our waterways. Such actions are a flagrant violation

of our human rights and an affront to our sovereign dignity.

As we work to fulfil the dreams of those who came

before us, I trust that we will succeed in developing

confidence in the capabilities of the United Nations and

entrust it with realizing our common objectives. At the

same time, there will be occasions when we must challenge

ourselves to appreciate that some problems in international

affairs require indigenous approaches and remedies. We

must, therefore, yield to such imperatives.

One case in point is the Middle East, where the

current crisis calls for a nurturing of mutual trust and a

clear willingness to understand the need for all the parties

to come to the bargaining table. Saint Kitts and Nevis

believes that durable peace and security are the common

desires of the nations involved. Success requires boldness

and commitment. Genuine progress will come not from

violence, recrimination and mistrust, but through partnership

and dialogue. Saint Kitts and Nevis urges both sides to use

negotiation and creative confidence-building measures in

addressing their differences

Saint Kitts and Nevis also urges the Chinese people on

both sides of the Taiwan Strait to commit their collective

energies to the pursuit of common approaches to resolving

the current impasse that divides them. The Government of

Saint Kitts and Nevis maintains that progress on this issue

requires sustained dialogue, political will and the goodwill

of all. We also believe that the remarkable strides the

Chinese people on Taiwan have made in the last two

decades should not be squandered. The international

community can benefit, and stands to benefit significantly,

from the economic, technological and social advances of

Taiwan.

In conclusion, fulfilling the expectations of our

citizens is not a simple task, but we cannot and must not

become discouraged. I hope, therefore, that as we

endeavour to accomplish our goals Member States will

not continue to make unreasonable demands on this

Organization while refusing it the requisite tools and

resources for appropriate action. Our world needs a

stronger United Nations. Our countries and our peoples

need its intellectual supervision and potential for

impartiality. Let us not try to relegate it to the periphery,

lest we risk serious consequences in the future. Let us

commit to writing a history of which we can be proud,

lest history should hold us in contempt for squandering

our children's heritage. Let this session of the General

Assembly be a watershed when collective efforts were

translated into appropriate action and well-deserved

results.