Saint Lucia, 1996

One year ago,

representatives of Member States gathered in this hallowed

Hall and sang songs of praise in honour of the fiftieth

anniversary of this venerable Organization. One year ago,

we faced the challenges of a changing international system

and the dawn of the new millennium with courage and hope

and in the belief that its noble ideals would guide the

actions of States, great and small, in their relations with

their fellow Members.

But now that the cheering and shouting have died and

the vivid memories of the fiftieth anniversary celebrations

have started to wane, small countries like ours, Saint Lucia,

are forced to face the realities of survival — realities far

harsher than what the bliss of that anniversary promised.

It will be difficult to forget the lofty principles

expounded during the anniversary or the excitement of

celebrating the historic liquidation of apartheid in South

Africa and the restoration of democracy in Haiti. But the

speeches of this Assembly had hardly faded, the lights of

this Hall hardly dimmed, when my country Saint Lucia

and its sister islands of the Caribbean began to feel the

full blast of international hostility towards the

arrangements for the marketing of our main export

commodity, the banana, in the European Union,

arrangements which are enshrined in the treaty

establishing the Fourth Lomé Convention between the

European Union and the African, Caribbean and Pacific

States.

The reality of size and vulnerability always creates

an awareness, a perception and a kind of resilience in

small States that make them philosophical about adversity.

Consequently, we will continue to support the high ideals

of this institution, but today we must focus on the hard

options presented to us by the myopia of some large

trading nations.

At the historic fiftieth session of this Assembly,

Saint Lucia took the opportunity to spell out to the

nations of the world the very serious consequences which

would befall our small Caribbean economies if certain

countries pursued their intention to challenge the

European banana regime by invoking Section 301 action

at the World Trade Organization (WTO). The United

States of America itself is now pursuing this action in

response to an application by certain American

multinational companies involved in the trade, and other

large banana-producing countries have followed their lead.

The battle is now fully engaged within the World

Trade Organization, but the conditions of war are

anything but equal and the playing field is anything but

even. For example, at the behest of the complainants, the

small countries of the Caribbean have been denied full

participation in the hearings of the WTO panel, despite

the fact that we are the ones who will be most affected by

the WTO ruling, whatever that may be.

The diplomatic war being waged against the

marketing arrangements of our main export commodity in

the name of free trade emphasizes to small nations the

monumental insensitivity of some of those participating in

the process of globalization and trade liberalization now

sweeping the international community. In a process that

ignores the special circumstances of the small and the

vulnerable, nations like Saint Lucia and regions like the

Caribbean can quickly become marginalized.

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Let it be understood that we are not against the

process of change in world trade, the globalization of the

world economy or the economic integration of continents,

a process currently under way. We do not wish to be

Luddites in our view of the evolving international system

and thus we welcome these directions. But, on behalf of the

peoples whom we represent, on behalf of the peoples of all

small States, we have the right to point out the dangers

these trends pose for small, developing economies if

compensating mechanisms are not put in place. We need to

tell the world that these trends, these changes in

international economic affairs, have not lessened the

vulnerability of small developing States, but have in some

respects accentuated them. We need to remind this body

that, as the international community seeks to fashion a new

global economic system, it is imperative that it not lose

sight of the special needs of small States, particularly small

island developing countries.

The untrammelled pursuit of free trade for the sake of

free trade cannot be the guiding philosophy of our Member

States. Unbridled free trade which relegates some Member

States, and in particular those with small open economies,

to the position of suffering spectators cannot be acceptable.

It is even less acceptable when we realize that some of the

very nations that are championing the case of unrestricted

trade liberalization do not themselves scrupulously observe

that philosophy. Some of them grant huge subsidies to their

farmers in order to allow them to continue in production,

yet they complain that our small farmers are not efficient

producers.

Consequently, it is incumbent on the international

community to make provisions for the special needs of

small States in this rapidly changing international system.

In the creation of free-trade areas that span continents and

integrate hemispheres, there must be special provisions for

the very small economies of our countries, particularly in

regions where there are small island developing States. In

that regard, we welcome the fact that, in the discussions on

the proposed free-trade area of the Americas, a working

group on smaller economies has been established to

facilitate the participation of the small economies in that

process.

For despite the changing features of the international

system, the forces that threaten the existence of these States

have not altered. Small island States are still very

vulnerable, for example, to natural disasters. Some of the

economies of our fellow Member States from the Caribbean

have yet to recover from the effects of the ravages of last

year’s hurricanes. And in the island of Montserrat, we have

a classic example of the magnitude of the damage which

a natural disaster — in this case persistent volcanic

activity — can wreak on small island developing

economies.

The plight of that small Territory is an extreme but

tragically powerful symbol of why the special needs of

small island developing States cannot be ignored as the

international community seeks to define new rules and

economic relationships for the next millennium. The

international community and international economic

institutions must therefore bear in mind that, while they

have categorized some of us as middle-income developing

countries and therefore as no longer requiring

concessionary aid flows, the economic indices utilized to

arrive at these classifications cannot mask the continuing

reality of the vulnerability of these countries.

We will, however, continue within the severe

limitations of size and resources to diversify and

restructure our economies, to increase efficiency and

productivity and to adapt to the new realities. We will

rely on the support of States Members of this

Organization in this regard.

There are other States in the Caribbean whose

particular situation also deserves the special attention of

this body. Saint Lucia once again urges the international

community to increase its technical, economic and

financial assistance to Haiti to foster development and

stability in that sister country of ours. The end of the

United Nations Mission should not diminish international

development support for Haiti. This is even more urgently

needed now to maintain and strengthen the gains achieved

in the restoration of what is still a fledgling democracy

and to enhance its fragile stability.

Again, Saint Lucia joins its Caribbean colleagues in

calling for an end to the economic blockade of Cuba.

Three decades of denial have not achieved democracy.

The economic embargo against Cuba is a policy which

can hardly be called relevant in this era and it is therefore

time to try the more effective alternative of dialogue,

discourse and openness.

In the wider international community, we are

heartened by the new impetus given to the revitalization

and development of Africa and encourage Member States

to continue to support this initiative. But we are saddened

by the persistence of ethnic disturbances in some areas of

that continent — ethnic troubles which only serve to

impede the very development process which Member

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States are trying to promote. We therefore urge the United

Nations and regional organizations in Africa to develop

mechanisms for conciliation with regard to these conflicts.

Saint Lucia also wishes to express its deep concern at

the recent revival of conflict in the Middle East. Is it not

time to end the anguish, to stop the pain? Is it not time to

halt the shedding of the blood of the ordinary people of

these lands? Is it not time to bring a permanent peace to a

land that means so much to so much of mankind? But the

path to true peace can only be through dialogue and

conciliation and we urge all parties to return to this road,

for anything which is not built on that foundation will not

stand.

While Saint Lucia continues to promote the unification

of China, we still hold the view that Taiwan should be

given the opportunity to participate in and contribute to the

work of the United Nations. Taiwan is a vibrant and

growing democracy, capable of meeting its obligations to

this institution. As a highly developed economy, Taiwan is

also capable of contributing to the growth of other smaller,

less developed economies of the world. At a time when the

Powers that have traditionally assisted the economic

development of our countries have significantly reduced the

level and quality of their support, new sources of assistance

should not be ignored. We are confident that this body can

find a creative mechanism through which Taiwan can be

involved in the programmes of the Organization. That

involvement in the work of the United Nations should in no

way preclude unification.

We hope that this fifty-first session will not conclude

without significant progress in correcting the inequitable

composition of the Security Council. Saint Lucia will

continue to work within our regional and other groups to

achieve the goal of strengthening the relationship between

the General Assembly and the Security Council,

institutionalizing the process of briefing and consultation

and developing greater transparency and predictability.

As a small nation caught up in the dynamics of

globalization and trade liberalization, Saint Lucia looks

eagerly and hopefully to the principles and ideals of the

United Nations to offer some comfort, some protection and

some measure of security in our uncertain entry into the

new century. All the indications that herald the approach of

this new age seem to tell us that small nations should find

their path to development through the process of

integration.

We as a nation have a solid track record in

attempting to forge deep and meaningful links between all

States members of the Organization of Eastern Caribbean

States and the Caribbean Community. In both

organizations, we continue to build viable mechanisms

and institutions which will achieve a meaningful

consolidation of the various units of the Caribbean

Community. We have progressed even further and

participated in the launching of a brave initiative, the

Association of Caribbean States. This Association ignores

the barriers of race, language and culture and seeks to

unify all countries which border and are part of the

Caribbean Sea.

We urge this Organization, through its various

agencies, to continue to provide support for the regional

integration efforts of developing countries. On many

occasions in the past, it has been the work of some of the

United Nations agencies which has helped sustain some

of these regional economic integration schemes and given

them the impetus to move forward. For its part, Saint

Lucia will continue to toil in the cause of the closer union

of the peoples and States of the Caribbean because this is

the only logic for our survival. This is the path to the

enhancement of the quality of life of our peoples.

The plight which our country faces as a result of the

manipulation of the European banana market regime and

of the unconscionable pressures exerted by the activities

of some States on that market, is desperate. We wish to

remind the Assembly that we are relying on the principles

and ideals of this body to stand firmly in the corner of the

small and vulnerable and to frustrate the designs of some

multinational corporations which threaten our livelihood.

We reiterate our call to the United Nations to develop a

framework of international review and regulations

regarding the activities and policies of transnational

corporations, which are assuming leviathan proportions in

world trade.

I commend you, Sir, on your elevation to the

presidency of the General Assembly at fifty-first session

and pledge Saint Lucia’s support for the successful

execution of your enormous responsibilities. My country

also pledges with customary diligence to assist the United

Nations in implementing the goals of the Charter and

fostering the spirit of freedom and independence which

the fiftieth anniversary year of the Organization

emphasized. Our small size will not be a deterrent in our

pursuit of democracy and peace.

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