Maldives, 1996

At the outset, allow me, Sir,

to say how gratified we are to see you presiding over this

Assembly. Your election to that high office is a well-

deserved recognition of your personal qualities and

experience, and also of Malaysia’s important role in this

Organization and in the international arena. I have no

doubt that you will lead the work of this Assembly to a

fruitful conclusion.

It is also my privilege to pay tribute to your

predecessor, His Excellency Mr. Diogo Freitas do Amaral

of Portugal, for the exemplary manner in which he

discharged his onerous responsibilities.

I would also like to take this opportunity to pay

tribute to the Secretary-General, His Excellency

Mr. Boutros Boutros-Ghali, for his untiring efforts in the

cause of peace and development. While we realize the

difficulties and the complexity of the challenges that lie

ahead in the years to come, we remain confident in his

wisdom and competence in steering this universal

Organization towards the fulfilment of its responsibilities

in accordance with the principles of the Charter. My

delegation sincerely wishes him every success in his

endeavours.

Last year, we proudly celebrated 50 years of

achievements. As we slowly begin the countdown to the

centenary celebration of the United Nations, on behalf of

the generations to come, we see ourselves coincidentally

on the threshold of a new century as well. My delegation

feels that this is a unique opportunity for all of us to

rededicate ourselves to the purposes and principles of the

Charter with greater determination and commitment to

strengthening the United Nations so that the menacing

trends in human relations which caused so much misery

and destruction in the past can be halted and reversed,

and that existing inequalities among nations and peoples

can be eliminated, creating a new atmosphere of tolerance

and mutual respect, and a new sense of shared

responsibility for development and progress.

6

Over the past 50 years, the Organization has grown

fourfold and has become the most representative —

certainly the only universal — institution serving the

purpose of maintaining international peace and security.

This truly global Organization has an immense capability to

mobilize international efforts to deal with global problems

relating to economic, social and environmental issues. It

also possesses the potency to promote universal standards

of human rights despite differences in the historical, cultural

and religious backgrounds of nations and communities.

Admittedly, the Organization has experienced rough times

and has suffered several setbacks during the course of its

existence. However, with the demise of the cold war that

haunted the Organization for nearly four decades, a more

favourable environment has emerged, enabling us to

respond collectively to the challenges of the future.

My country is among the smallest and the least

developed countries of this Organization. For us, the United

Nations is extremely important in safeguarding our

sovereignty, independence and territorial integrity. For us,

it is the protector of freedom and justice, particularly for

the weak and the vulnerable. It is also the beacon of hope

for hundreds of millions of people in the developing world

for a better future free from hunger and disease. Therefore,

we feel the need to steadily strengthen, revitalize and

reform the Organization in order to make it more effective,

more democratic, and ready to react and respond without

bias to situations that threaten international peace and

security.

It was with this in mind that we joined in the

initiative, way back in 1979, to include on the agenda an

item on the question of equitable representation on and

increase in the membership of the Security Council. My

delegation welcomes the reform and adjustment process that

is now under way and sincerely hopes that the process will

not compromise the principles of the Charter, which

emphasize multilateralism, mutual respect and shared

interests, including the interests of small States. In this

context, my delegation feels that the proposal made by Italy

in the Working Group on the reform and restructuring of

the Security Council deserves our attention and careful

consideration. There is no doubt that the more

representative the United Nations is, the more democratic

it will be; and that the more accountable the United Nations

is, the more effective it will be, thus benefitting us all,

small or large, weak or powerful, rich or poor.

Reforming the Organization alone will not serve the

desired purposes unless the commitment of Member

States to uphold and abide by the principles of the

Charter and their obligations is fulfilled. We are

concerned that the Organization is undergoing the worst

financial crisis in its history. We are reminded that the

main cause of the financial predicament is the failure of

Member States to meet their financial obligations on time

and in full. While my delegation has every sympathy

towards those countries which have genuine difficulties,

we note that by far the greater number of cases in arrears

are those which have the capability to pay. We note with

disappointment that the richest Member of this

Organization is among those who fail or refuse to pay

their dues. It is ironic that the effects of this severe

financial crisis have to be borne most adversely by the

smaller and the poorer States of the Organization, which

in many cases are obligated under the current scale of

assessments to pay more than their fair share. In spite of

its limited resources and the frequent economic

difficulties it faces, I am pleased to say that my country

continues to pay its share of contribution in full, as we

are convinced that only resources and efforts can produce

results.

Meanwhile my delegation believes that the efforts of

the international community to reform the administrative

and budgetary functioning of the United Nations should

aim at utilizing the scarce resources of the Organization

more efficiently. In this regard, the efforts of the

Secretary-General to achieve a more lean and effective

Secretariat geared to take on the challenging tasks

entrusted to it warrant recognition. We also welcome the

recent measures towards eliminating redundancy,

duplication and waste, for only a sound organization can

ensure the success of its mission.

The world has never offered a greater opportunity

than today to address critical developmental problems and

challenges. The international community has emphasized

the importance of a revitalized and enhanced system of

international cooperation for development. The sheer

number of major international conferences held during the

past few years and the collective resolve documented

offer adequate testimony to this strong desire. The

outcome of these conferences fostered a common concept

of sustainable economic development for the betterment

of mankind as a whole. However, despite all these

positive developments on the international economic and

social scene, my delegation is convinced that unless these

ambitious programmes are backed by the necessary

resources and political will, no change can be achieved.

7

We also feel that all activities of international economic and

development cooperation, including those undertaken by the

Bretton Woods institutions and the World Trade

Organization, must be coordinated and closely linked with

the development strategies and programmes of the United

Nations system. After all, this Organization remains the

most representative institution.

While the globalization and liberalization of the world

economy gave some developing countries the opportunity

to assume a more prominent status in the world economy,

the least-developed countries — a category to which my

country unfortunately belongs — continued to be

marginalized. The standard of living in least-developed

countries has in effect declined over the years, and the

poverty level has intensified in many of these countries due

to indolent economic growth, which in turn was subject to

outside factors. The overall decline in official development

assistance over the years has further aggravated the

conditions of the least-developed countries at a time when

aid is most needed.

This unfavourable situation, if allowed to drag on,

could be calamitous for countries, such as the Maldives,

with severe resource constraints and fragile infrastructures.

For this reason, my delegation can only appeal for priority

action on various international development commitments,

such as the Paris Declaration and Programme of Action for

Least Developed Countries for the 1990s. These have been

endorsed at various recent global conferences. Admittedly,

liberalization of trade has resulted in greater trade.

However, liberalization has also meant the loss of the only

advantage that the least-developed countries had — their

privileged status — and the consequent loss of their

markets. Liberalization has therefore, in effect, contributed

to the marginalization of many developing countries.

The inherent obstacles facing small States, particularly

small island States, and their vulnerability, deserve special

attention. Small island States like my own require favoured

treatment to prevent them from slipping back from their

well-earned achievements.

In this context, I also wish to express the need for an

incisive examination of the criteria for least-developed-

country status and related issues, including the graduation

process, in order to do justice to the poorest among the

poor countries when the criteria come up for review next

year. The per capita index used to classify countries for

assistance purposes is no longer adequate, particularly in

the case of small States. It fails to capture the special

problems faced by these countries and their vulnerability to

external shocks. In this context, the development and use

of a vulnerability index, along with other criteria, may be

feasible in order to minimize these inadequacies.

On the other hand, many of the poorest countries are

still entangled in a web of external debt from which they

are unlikely ever to be able to free themselves. My

delegation believes that more steps should be taken to lift

the debt burden from the poorest and most indebted

countries by increasing the debt relief measures of

bilateral creditors and by greater involvement of

multilateral agencies in this responsibility. The developed

countries can also help in eliminating the situation by

demolishing the barriers they still maintain against

imports from the less developed countries, in particular

those which are suffering from the burdens of external

debt.

Poverty cannot be eliminated through charity, but

only through cooperation. In this context, we welcome the

proposal of the countries of the Organization for

Economic Cooperation and Development to cut the

number of people living in absolute poverty by half in the

next two decades.

We are fully committed to the efforts of the

international community to safeguard the global

environment, especially by building the capacity of the

United Nations to promote sustainable development for

all. We welcome the work carried out by the Commission

on Sustainable Development in this regard, and are

looking forward to the forthcoming United Nations

Conference on Environment and Development review

conference in 1997. My delegation is confident that this

review process will give the international community the

opportunity to rededicate itself once again to the

preservation of the global environment. Only concerted

efforts on all fronts can produce encouraging results in

this daunting challenge. For the Maldives, the

environment is an important issue. We are conscious of

the fragility of our islands and we hope to be able to

protect them from the potential dangers arising from

global warming and sea-level rise. We are also

determined to keep our country environment-friendly,

clean and unpolluted. Though the land area we have is so

limited, I am happy to mention that in the Maldives we

initiated a programme in January this year for planting

one million trees in three years; I presume that if all

countries represented here would initiate similar

programmes at a rate of four trees per capita, the world

would be greener and cleaner in 10 years.

8

The importance of disarmament for the preservation

and maintenance of world peace and security cannot be

overemphasized. We believe that, with the treaties and

bilateral agreements concluded, and the ongoing

negotiations among the nuclear-weapon States, and also

with the indefinite extension of the Treaty on the Non-

Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons last year, the international

community is now reaffirming its commitment to global

disarmament and renewing the hopes for the eventual

elimination of nuclear weapons and other weapons of mass

destruction. My delegation is pleased about the positive

approaches taken by the nuclear-weapon States towards the

adoption of the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty,

despite the lack of consensus. We are particularly happy

that the Treaty has now been opened for signature.

We also would like to praise the role played by the

United Nations in demining and mine clearance, and to

congratulate those involved in this dangerous activity for

their bravery and dedication. Anti-personnel landmines have

caused enormous human suffering and continue to maim

and incapacitate countless innocent men, women and

children. We look forward to a worldwide ban on this

horrible and inhuman instrument of killing.

My delegation is firmly committed to the concept of

the establishment of nuclear-weapon-free zones and zones

of peace and would like to take this opportunity to call

upon all regions, especially the countries in the region of

South Asia, to which we belong, to make every effort to

bring about the proposed nuclear-weapon-free zone in South

Asia without any further delay.

Internal strife generated and fanned by ethnic,

religious and other factors is a recent trend, which is

causing large conflagrations in some parts of the world.

While our Organization gropes for effective mechanisms to

respond to such exigencies, we should not ignore the

serious threats posed by drug traffickers, terrorists and

mercenaries, particularly to small States. Terrorist incidents

have increased alarmingly over the last few years. My

delegation is fully convinced that the international

community should intensify its efforts to combat terrorism.

The early entry into force of the Convention against the

Recruitment, Use, Financing and Training of Mercenaries

will be a step forward in addressing these threats. We urge

all States which have not yet done so to ratify the

Convention as early as possible. Similarly, my delegation

would like to call for the strongest possible international

action against drug traffickers, who are not only poisoning

the fabric of human life but also draining the potential for

productivity and prosperity of nations by exploiting the

vulnerable elements in our societies.

Though deeply concerned over the recent violence in

Palestine and in the occupied lands, which resulted in the

death or injury of hundreds of men, women and children,

my delegation is happy to observe that despite the

numerous difficulties that exist, the Middle East peace

process is continuing to move forward. We fervently hope

that the agreements reached so far will be implemented

fully and without further delay.

The important and critical role played by the

proponents of the peace process, especially the United

States, deserves the appreciation and praise of the

international community and should not be forgotten. My

delegation is convinced that their positive role will

continue to be instrumental to the success of the peace

process. At the same time, we also feel that the United

Nations should continue to play its important role in

providing means to the Palestinian people in their just

struggle for the restoration of their inalienable rights,

including the right to self-determination and to the

establishment of a sovereign State which could coexist

with its neighbours in peace and harmony.

The situation in Bosnia and Herzegovina is

encouraging, but we need to remain alert. The Dayton

Agreement has finally paved the way to creating a lasting

peace in Bosnia. The fulfilment of the commitments of

the international community is, however, critical to the

achievement and consolidation of full peace. We also

believe that it is important and necessary to bring those

responsible for the atrocities and the crimes of genocide

to justice and to punish them.

My delegation remains convinced that the United

Nations is the most viable and dependable universal

institution today. It is the responsibility of all of us to

allow this universal Organization to play a more central

and active role in shaping and harnessing international

cooperation for economic growth and development. It is

also our conviction that the dedication and collective

endeavours of the international community, which have

enabled the United Nations to survive the past 50 years,

will inspire us all to greater heights of unity and

cooperation so as to preserve and maintain the principles

of the Charter, promote its objectives, and strengthen the

Organization, thereby enabling it to better serve and

enhance the well-being of the peoples of the world.

9