Suriname, 1993

On behalf of the

Government and people of the Republic of Suriname, I take

great pleasure in welcoming you, Sir, to the presidency of

the forty-eighth session of the General Assembly. You bring

to your high office great experience as a skilled diplomat,

experience which will be useful in this epoch-making period

for the Organization. Indeed, your election is a fitting

tribute to you personally and an honour to your country. We

are therefore most gratified to see a skilled and a

distinguished son of our good neighbour, Guyana, presiding

over our deliberations.

We thank your predecessor, Mr. Stoyan Ganev of

Bulgaria, for the excellent manner in which he conducted the

affairs of the last session of the General Assembly.

We also take this opportunity to pay tribute to the

Secretary-General of the United Nations, Mr. Boutros

Boutros-Ghali, for his tireless efforts in consolidating

international peace and security.

Before proceeding, I should like to express the feelings

of sincere sympathy of the Government and people of the

Republic of Suriname to the Government and people of the

Republic of India on the sad occasion of the tragic

earthquake disaster in which so many lives were lost. I

appeal to the international community to render the

necessary effective support to India to alleviate the sorrow

and suffering of the people involved.

I should like to take this opportunity to add to what

numerous previous speakers have already said on behalf of

the many people living in areas whose development

difficulties, and their consequences, do not receive enough

attention, because of the high priority given to issues of

international peace and security. I am referring to

developing areas that risk being forgotten, though they are

inhabited by people who truly pursue welfare, well-being

and prosperity, and seek true participation in the world

community, where the principle of power will ultimately

make way for the principle of interdependence within the

international system.

Countries in the developed North usually succeed in

strengthening their mutual relations in political and economic

areas, and they are becoming increasingly interdependent.

Thanks to a greater environmental awareness, we are

becoming increasingly conscious that North and South

depend strongly on one another. This interdependence,

unfortunately, has not yet evolved sufficiently with regard to

political and economic questions, and the views held by the

North and the South on many essential issues, such as the

alleviation of poverty and economic development, are still

strongly divergent. Moreover, the interests of the North in

many ways still prevail over those of the South.

In particular, the financial and technological dependence

of the South on the North causes serious divergences. The

discriminatory regulations that make it difficult for the South

to gain access to international markets and the ever-changing

conditions that make the flow of funds to the South almost

impossible are, inter alia, factors that make the gap with the

North almost unbridgeable.

In the past, agreements on multilateral and international

cooperation, such as the International Development Strategy

for the Fourth United Nations Development Decade, the

Cartagena Commitment, Agenda 21 and the United Nations

New Agenda for the Development of Africa in the 1990s,

have been approved by the international community. Those

commitments constitute a solid basis for strengthening global

partnership for development. However, various programmes

could not be implemented, and much still remains to be done

to enhance multilateral cooperation.

Forty-eighth session - 7 October l993 19

Like many developing countries, Suriname has a serious

shortage of external funds for its development process,

despite its relative wealth of mineralogical and biological

resources.

Certainly, we have succeeded, through maximum

mobilization of our national forces, in coping with the

political crisis that dominated the country in the 1980s, and

Suriname has been able to join the countries of Latin

America and the Caribbean that have managed to give

meaning to the process of democratization. It is our joint

responsibility to see that this momentum is preserved and

that the euphoria of the victory of democracy over

dictatorship, particularly in our region, does not have adverse

effects.

Without broad-based development in our countries we

shall not be able to provide democracy with a sound basis.

For the democratic ideal is not an isolated political

phenomenon, but one that is closely interwoven with the

whole of the social and economic reality in our part of the

world.

Without alleviation of the pressing debt burden, without

an appropriate recompense for our most important export

products, without credit facilities for the necessary

production inputs, without an expansion of export

possibilities and without the financial support of the richer

countries, endeavours to realize a stable democratic

constitutional State will prove to be in vain. We have

noticed - not without concern - that in their attitudes towards

developing countries some developed countries ignore the

specific circumstances of those countries, which have fallen

seriously behind in their development.

The political crisis which Suriname went through in the

1980s, and Suriname’s related isolation from the important

donors, caused a serious decline in the economic

development of the country, which was further aggravated

by the drastic reduction of the country’s income from its

main export products - more specifically, alumina and

aluminium.

In order to meet the resulting financial, economic and

monetary crisis, we drafted a structural adjustment

programme, which is now being implemented. We are

aware that, despite the many theories and analyses in this

field, there exists no blueprint for the resolution of economic

crises that can be applied smoothly inasmuch as the object

of adjustment is a very complex reality.

My Government is also aware that achieving economic

recovery and furthering development while at the same time

safeguarding political stability is no easy task and must be

approached quite prudently. It is a process which will entail

increased poverty, and can lead to a serious disruption of

social life in the short term. Unfortunately, the divergent

views held by Suriname’s authorities and by the donors on

the proper way to implement the adjustment programme puts

great pressure on the space necessary for a policy which

focuses primarily on the well-being of the nation as a whole.

The failure, in many countries, of stringent adjustment

programmes undoubtedly relates to a perspective which fails

to recognize sufficiently the reality of developing countries

at the present time and ignores the real aspirations of

humankind. In such a state of affairs, dialogue between

North and South is difficult and strained. The North itself

has succeeded in developing a number of mechanisms to

solve differences, in which the consistent application of the

principles of equality and mutual respect commands our

attention. Such consistent use of these principles could also,

perhaps, open the way to fruitful dialogue with the South.

In 1992 Suriname and the Kingdom of the Netherlands

signed a Framework Treaty. This Treaty, together with the

1975 Treaty, provides a basic framework for substantial

support from the Kingdom of the Netherlands to the

developmental aspirations of the Republic of Suriname. It

is with pleasure that we can announce here that, within the

framework of these treaties, positive cooperation was

realized last year, which contributed substantially to the

successes in consolidating the restored democracy in

Suriname, strengthening the constitutional State and

protecting human rights, as well as in establishing and

maintaining peace after the end of the armed struggle in the

interior of the country.

However, some questions have been raised as to the

motives for this cooperation in the light of the recent attitude

of the Treaty partner regarding support for the recovery of

our country’s economy.

Despite many efforts on the part of the international

community, the Uruguay Round negotiations of the General

Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT), which could

provide the framework for a comprehensive and sound basis

for future trade relations, are still ongoing. The Government

of Suriname looks forward to an early and balanced

conclusion of the Uruguay Round with a view to promoting

the establishment of a just and equitable multilateral trading

system.

20 General Assembly - Forty-eighth session

Recession in the world economy, stringent budgetary

policies in donor countries, trade problems and domestic

factors in a number of countries have dampened the hope in

many developing countries for a steady flow of development

aid. Concurrently, new claims on external financial

resources are being made, so that allocations for future aid

can further cloud the outlook for multilateral aid. The

general trend at present is a marked increase in contributions

to peace-keeping operations and a clear decline in funds for

operational activities.

The annual peace-keeping budget has increased

fivefold, and is expected to be $3,673,000,000 for 1993,

while voluntary contributions to the United Nations

Development Programme, the United Nations Fund for

Population Activities and the United Nations Children’s

Fund have declined by about 10 per cent. In one of his

reports, the Secretary-General noted that very serious

problems caused by civil unrest and other sources of strife

affect an increasing number of people who are often among

the most vulnerable groups of the population, placing

particularly difficult demands on United Nations operational

activities.

Failure to address issues such as the alleviation of

poverty, underdevelopment, unemployment, illiteracy and the

threat to the environment because of a lack of financial

resources can cause social tensions. This, in turn, can

generate social disintegration and, eventually, the

destabilization of the political system. Hence, an agenda that

tends to reflect mainly international peace and security

problems is not constructive. More and more it is

recognized that favourable economic and social conditions

can help strengthen peace and security. Therefore, we

favour a programme based on a combination of political,

economic and social factors together with global security.

The social crisis of the 1990s may be considered a

result of, inter alia, world-wide growing poverty, particularly

in the developing countries, unemployment and social

upheavals. It is therefore gratifying to note that preparations

are being made for a World Summit for Social Development

in 1995. It is our hope that the core issues of the Summit

directed towards the strengthening of the process of overall

social development will be addressed during the preparatory

process and that agreement can be reached, in a spirit of

consensus, on matters of such vital human importance.

Agenda 21, adopted during the United Nations

Conference on Environment and Development in Rio de

Janeiro, and the subsequent establishment of the Commission

on Sustainable Development, are important guides for the

international community in achieving sustainable

development. UNCED also underscored the need to provide

developing countries with adequate resources and to

acknowledge the urgency of making technology, especially

environmentally sound technology, available to that end.

However, the progress achieved to date in obtaining new and

additional financial resources is disappointing. Hence, we

welcome the Commission’s decision to establish two

working groups to tackle the two issues.

My Government supports a timely and strict

implementation of the Agreement signed by President

Aristide and General Raoul Cedras, containing arrangements

made with a view to reaching a political solution to the

Haitian crisis. The United Nations and the Organization of

American States are playing a major role in implementing

the Agreement reached at Governors Island in New York.

We are deeply distressed by the recent developments in

Haiti, which could jeopardize the return of President

Aristide. We strongly appeal to the military leaders in Haiti

to uphold their promises and to create the atmosphere of

calm required for the full application of the Agreement.

My delegation has always stated that the principles of

the United Nations Charter and the relevant United Nations

resolutions, particularly those of the Security Council,

provide the best concrete basis for the achievement of a

comprehensive, just and durable peace in the Middle East.

We are therefore moved that the State of Israel and the

Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) have finally started

a negotiating process which could create the conditions for

peace. The Agreement that was mutually recognized and

signed is a courageous step in that direction. We

congratulate both Israel and the PLO on this historic deed

and we appeal to the international community to use this

momentum to bring peace and prosperity to the whole

region.

My delegation welcomes the progress made so far by

the multilateral party negotiating process to a negotiated

settlement and national elections in South Africa. A political

settlement will lead to the end of apartheid and establish a

new, united, non-racial and democratic South Africa. The

destructive character of apartheid has caused so much harm

to the people that it is only fair that in this new era, every

effort must be made to overcome social and economic

disparities so that peace and stability can be established. We

therefore expect the international community to fully and

generously support the new South African Government with

assistance for the reconstruction and development of the

nation.

Forty-eighth session - 7 October l993 21

Like many others in the world, my country is troubled

by the continuing horrifying events taking place in Angola

and in Bosnia and Herzegovina. We cannot let the suffering

and degradation continue. The bloodshed, hatred and

hostilities must end now, for the people concerned have the

right to live in peace.

World-wide drug abuse and trafficking remain a matter

of deep concern, not only in our region but in the world as

a whole. Despite measures and strategies geared towards

the elimination of drugs, it is sad to note that drugs can be

obtained for illicit purposes virtually everywhere in the

world. This is, indeed, an unfortunate development, since it

was expected that after the Global Programme of Action was

adopted, together with the Comprehensive Multidisciplinary

Outline of Future Activities in Drug Abuse Control, the

situation would improve substantially. We thus support the

view that efforts against drug abuse and trafficking must

continue in a balanced and concerted manner.

The end of the East-West confrontation has resulted in

a slowdown of the arms race and reduced the threat of

armed conflict. We regret to observe, however, that the

spread of conventional arms continues to take on a

dangerous magnitude, while at the same time armed

conflicts are increasing, causing the tragic loss of numerous

innocent human lives. Ongoing conflicts have already

resulted in more than 100 million refugees world wide, 30

million displaced persons and hundreds of millions of

unexploded mines. It is time to recognize that trade in

conventional arms should be drastically curbed.

In the context of global security, the question of the

non-proliferation of weapons of mass destruction continues

to be an important one. My delegation is in favour of a

universally applicable and internationally verifiable

comprehensive test-ban treaty. Such a treaty would

strengthen international security and would represent a

further step towards nuclear disarmament.

The set of principles contained in the report of the

Secretary-General "An Agenda for Peace" provides a

comprehensive framework for the maintenance of interna-

tional peace and security. My delegation follows with keen

interest the activities of the United Nations in the fields of

preventive diplomacy, peace-keeping and post-conflict

peace-building. We are aware that at present some 70 areas

of conflict or potential conflict exist throughout the world.

In this respect, we welcome the involvement of regional

organizations that can render valuable assistance in the

maintenance of international peace and security, including

the peaceful settlement of disputes.

According to the Charter of the United Nations,

Member States have entrusted to the Security Council the

primary responsibility for the maintenance of international

peace and security. The balance of political and economic

power in today’s world has drastically changed.

Consequently, the premise that brought about the structure

of the Security Council is no longer valid. The general

debate last year on the issue of equitable representation and

an increase in membership of the Security Council, which

led to the adoption of resolution 47/62, can, it is hoped,

contribute to a more equitable geographical representation

in the Council and to enhancing the democratization process

of the work of the Council by making its deliberations more

transparent.

The expectations in the developing world that the

post-cold-war era would create new development

perspectives have not yet materialized. However, the

increasing pauperization of large parts of the world demands

the taking of urgent and decisive action to offer those people

prospects for change and improvement in their daily living

conditions. To this end, our Organization will have to

strengthen its prominent role as a factor for development and

will have to make the appropriate mechanisms effectively

operational.

It is important for all Member States to provide the

United Nations with legitimate room for that purpose.

Suriname will, to the extent possible, make its contribution.