Suriname, 1992

The delegation of the Republic of Suriname

congratulates you most warmly. Sir, upon your election to the presidency of

the forty-seventh session of the General Assembly. You bring to that high

post a wealth of experience and dedication, qualities that augur well for a

successful accomplishment of the task before us.

Allow us to thank your predecessor. His Excellency Mr. Samir Shihabi, for

the excellent manner in which he guided the forty-sixth session of the General

Assembly. We wish him well in his future endeavours.

We should like to welcome and congratulate the Secretary-General of the

United Nations on his assumption of that lofty and equally responsible

office. He has assumed the leadership of the Organization at a very difficult

and crucial time marked by many political changes, a time at which greater

involvement of the Organization in international affairs is demanded. We wish

the Secretary-General well and assure him of our fullest cooperation.

I take this opportunity to welcome into the United Nations the newly

independent States of Armenia, Azerbaijan, Kyrgyzstan, Kazakhstan, Moldova,

Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan, and Georgia. I should also like to

welcome San Marino, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, and Slovenia.

As reported to the General Assembly on previous occasions, for many years

Suriname experienced a domestic armed struggle that brought sorrow and

mourning to our people and restricted our possibilities for development. We

now wish to inform the Assembly that, through patient negotiations, our

efforts have resulted in a recently signed agreement for national

reconciliation and development.

From the very beginning, my Government has attached the highest priority

to achieving reconciliation in the country, for my Government wishes to

realize the full potential of the Surinamese people in harmony with their

aspirations for lasting democratic stability. Negotiations were started as

part of our conviction that peace should gradually be forged, based on a

political understanding of the various forces involved. Moreover, peace can

only be reached if negotiations are promoted and conducted in order to yield

lasting results for the benefit of our people.

We called in the assistance of the Organization of American States,

which, under the auspices of its Secretary-General,

Mr. Joao Clemente Baena Soares, provided support in the process of concluding

the agreement and in demobilization. Together with his worthy representative,

we have succeeded. Concrete results have been achieved, followed by the

signing of a substantial agreement based on the crucial need for

reconstruction and development and which guarantees respect for human rights.

Today, we rejoice that reconciliation in Suriname is concrete and

feasible. It has strengthened our determination to achieve national harmony

and national development. We are confident that the Organization of American

States will render its valuable support in verifying compliance with the

agreement, so as to ensure that the established peace-agreement will be

observed.

As this body has been informed, in 1991 democracy was restored in my

country, true to the will of the people. Yet, we must not lose sight of the

fact that newly restored democracies such as ours are fragile, and depend to a

considerable extent on international understanding and support.

My Government has since then made progress in establishing a degree of

much-needed political stability, and can now concentrate on finding solutions

to the current grave economic crisis, and the potential social crisis,

confronting my country. Our socio-economic problems, which have resulted in a

sharp decline in production, increased unemployment, sharp price increases and

a deteriorating standard of living for the majority of the population, have

now compelled us to take serious corrective measures to halt the economic

decline and boost economic growth. Experiences throughout the world show that

no government can successfully carry out a programme for economic

reconstruction and development without the fullest national and international

support.

My Government has decided to implement a programme for adjustment,

recovery and growth. In this context, we have secured valuable support from

the European Community. Furthermore, we can report to this Assembly that

development cooperation with the Netherlands has been re-established, and that

the signing of the framework treaty for friendship and closer cooperation has

added a new dimension to bilateral relations between the Kingdom of the

Netherlands and the Republic of Suriname. Thus, we are encouraged because our

national development strategy has found a ready response from the

international community in this crucial aspect of our democratic process.

I can assure this Assembly, and with some emphasis, that in implementing

the adjustment programme our view is that a well-balanced and consistent

approach to the social dimensions of the programme is indispensable to its

final outcome.

In the past few years, forces of change have transformed the

international political arena and profoundly changed the major balance of

power that emerged from the Second World War. Antagonisms and hostility

between the super-Powers have been replaced by unprecedented joint efforts and

partnership. This has facilitated, through dialogue and by peaceful means,

the solution of a number of regional conflicts and the settlement of others.

We believe that the new political climate has had constructive effects in the

world, and has enabled us to define a broader and more fully integrated role

in international security.

The international community is experiencing a rebirth of the United

Nations after 45 years of existence, for the fullest use is being made of its

peacemaking and peace-keeping potential in order to bring about just and

lasting peace in several parts of the world. As a result of the new mandate

of this reinvigorated Organization, our hopes are being justified that it will

not be long before the unfolding dramas of human suffering, exploitation,

poverty, fratricide, hunger and malnutrition, and aggressive nationalism will

finally be banished from the planet.

Our Organization is facing the challenge and responsibility of bringing

about an overall and lasting settlement of various problems on the basis of

respect for the rights of all. It must encourage States to adhere to the

Charter, the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and other relevant

instruments as the best means of protecting and promoting human rights.

We support a just and lasting settlement in Central and Eastern Europe:

we are concerned about the growing tensions and conflicts in that region,

which endanger international peace and security. We are keeping close track

of developments in former Yugoslavia, and take this opportunity to welcome the

efforts of our Organization, the London Conference and the Non-Aligned

Movement summit.

A just and lasting settlement is necessary on the African continent, we

are deeply concerned by the threat from the growing instability in the Horn of

Africa caused by the conflict in Somalia. We express regret that, despite the

signing of a cease-fire agreement, the parties involved have not abided by

their commitments and have thus not permitted the unimpeded distribution of

humanitarian assistance to those in need. In this respect, my delegation has

endorsed the proposal to convene a conference on the national reconciliation,

reconstruction and unity of Somalia which should lead to a peaceful and

lasting political settlement of the conflict.

My delegation strongly condemns the tragic escalation of violence in

South Africa, which has halted the negotiating process within the framework of

the Convention for a Democratic South Africa (CODESA). We strongly urge the

South African regime to create a climate that is conducive to peaceful

negotiations aimed at an agreement on the text of a new constitution based on

a non-racial, democratic and united South Africa.

An overall and lasting settlement is needed for the Arab-Israeli conflict

and the Palestine issue. My Government firmly supports the ongoing peace

process, which is aimed at reaching a just, comprehensive and durable solution

to the question of the Middle East.

We welcome the progress made in reaching overall settlements of the

conflicts in Asia, particularly in Cambodia and Afghanistan. The

establishment of the transitional Government in Afghanistan is a positive

development towards peace, national reconciliation and reconstruction in that

country.

We support the efforts of the Secretary-General to reach an agreement on

a set of fundamental principles with a view to reaching an overall agreement

on the question of Cyprus. With regard to Latin America and the Caribbean, we

are pleased to note that the processes of democratization, harmonization,

reconciliation and economic integration are gradually bearing fruit.

The agreements between the Government of El Salvador and the Farabundo

Marti National Liberation Front mark the closing of a decade of fratricidal

war. They will undoubtedly contribute to lasting peace and stability, which

are imperative for the region's development.

We express full support for the struggle of the people of Haiti to

restore democracy and respect for human rights in their country, and for the

efforts of the Organization of American States towards this end.

As we advance in the decade of the '90s, the economic and social problems

of developing countries continue to be manifold. Difficult decisions will

therefore be needed to address the issue of international economic adjustment

and development in order to eliminate the imbalances between the North and the

South.

The worsening of the economic situation and social conditions in many

developing countries has led to a decline in the standard of living and to the

persistence and increase of widespread poverty. The elimination of hunger and

malnutrition, the improvement of health standards and the eradication of

illiteracy should be issues of paramount concern in the coming decades. My

delegation therefore holds the view that these aims can best be achieved by

putting into motion a people-centered development process.

It is in this context that my delegation warmly supports the convening of

a Summit for Social Development in order to enable the international community

to deal extensively with the complex but most important question of human

development.

Though no substantive commitment to new funds was made during the

recently held Rio Conference on Environment and Development, it should be

noted as an important achievement of the international community that a

programme of action. Agenda 21, and the Rio Declaration have been adopted.

The Rio Conference has clearly established the close link between environment,

growth and development, the primary issues for the international community.

It is as a consequence of the results of the Rio summit that during the

current General Assembly special attention must be paid to institutional

follow-up of the Rio Conference. In this regard, we attach great importance

to the establishment of the Commission on Sustainable Development. This

Commission must of necessity become the primary and most important forum for

consultation and must set the trend for measures to implement Agenda 21 at

national, regional and global levels.

Once again I should like to emphasize that in the new international

environment the role and function of the United Nations has become universally

accepted. We have witnessed an increased interest in multilateralism and a

renewal of the relevance of the United Nations and its main bodies. The

peacemaking and peace-keeping activities of this world Organization in many

regions have, more than at any time in the past, opened prospects for its

greatly enhanced role in the maintenance of world peace and security. These

activities have proved to be effective procedures, well-suited to present-day

realities.

The opportunities offered by the Charter in the fields of preventive

diplomacy, fact-finding and good-offices missions should be optimally

explored, so as to provide the Secretary-General with a suitable structure for

the prevention and timely management of crises and conflicts.