Suriname, 1995

We were deeply shocked

when we heard about the earthquake that took place last

night in the Republic of Indonesia. On behalf of the

Government and people of Suriname I offer our deepest

sympathy to the victims and their families on this sad

occasion.

On behalf of the Government and people of the

Republic of Suriname, may I first warmly congratulate

you, Sir, on your unanimous and well-deserved election

to the presidency of the fiftieth session of the General

Assembly of the United Nations. We have no doubt that

under your distinguished leadership and with your

experience this session will achieve its aims. As you

preside over our deliberations at this crucial juncture in

history, you can be assured of our wholehearted cooperation

as you fulfil your task.

Permit me also to express our gratitude to your

predecessor, His Excellency Mr. Amara Essy, for the very

able and competent manner in which he presided over the

forty-ninth session.

May I also take this opportunity to express our deep

appreciation to the Secretary-General, Mr. Boutros Boutros-

Ghali, for the exemplary manner in which he is fulfilling

his tasks during these challenging times. He deserves our

admiration and gratitude for the important role he plays in

guiding this unique world Organization.

I am especially pleased and honoured to greet Palau as

a new Member of the United Nations family. Suriname is

looking forward to close cooperation with this friendly

nation in our common efforts to attain the noble goals of

the United Nations Charter.

Before I continue, I should like to express the feelings

of sincere sympathy of the Government and people of the

Republic of Suriname for the Governments and peoples of

Antigua and Barbuda, Saint Kitts and Nevis, Dominica,

Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, and other territories in

the Caribbean for the great destruction sadly caused by

Hurricanes Luis and Marilyn.

We are living in an era in which the ending of the

cold war has removed the risk of a nuclear nightmare and

has given us hope that a new atmosphere of cooperation

between States will emerge. If we could show the necessary

political will, this new atmosphere should provide us, now

and in the coming decades, with a unique opportunity to

focus our attention on the solution of many problems,

problems which pose serious threats to international peace

and security and which hamper efforts to achieve sustained

economic growth and sustainable development.

In some instances the international community has

made good use of these changing circumstances and has

found common approaches to problems affecting us all.

Experience during the last few years, however, has revealed

that our world is still characterized by unfairness and

injustice, and that the gap between the developed countries

and the majority of developing countries is widening. As a

result the number of countries in crisis or in near crisis is

increasing. Consequently, political instability, an increase in

extreme poverty, social exclusion and social disintegration

are on the rise in many developing countries, causing

despair and endangering peace and security both

nationally and internationally.

The developing world has on many occasions

underlined the need to pay particular attention to the

elimination of the ever-widening gap between the

countries of the North and those of the South and to the

establishment of a new equitable and just international

economic order.

During several specifically focused international

conferences organized by the United Nations, an appeal

has been made to the developed countries to fulfil their

obligations to meet official development assistance targets

and to help to create an international economic and

political climate conducive to sustained economic growth

in developing countries.

Unfortunately, the response to our appeal has not

fully met our expectations. It will therefore remain our

priority to continue with concerted efforts to convince our

developed partners that honouring their commitments and

creating favourable economic conditions are also in their

own interest, because there will be no durable peace and

stability in the world as long as the majority of the

world’s population cannot fulfil its basic needs.

Another disturbing event on the present international

scene is the eruption and spread of many serious violent

conflicts and the increasing danger to international peace

and security which these conflicts harbour. Such is the

case as we witness the prolonged violent action in former

Yugoslavia. These conflicts are the cause of terrible

tragedy, as is evidenced by the extermination of tens of

thousands of people, the casualties suffered by the civilian

population, the destruction of the economic and social

infrastructure, the displacement of people from their

homes, and the lack of shelter, food and medical

facilities. Finding a solution to these conflicts which will

serve the common interests of all parties involved will

remain a major challenge for the United Nations.

A few days ago the warring parties in the former

Yugoslavia signed an agreement which we hope will

signal the beginning of the end of the tragic war being

waged in that area. We appeal in the strongest terms to

all parties involved to take advantage of this momentum

and engage in meaningful negotiations in order to reach

a peaceful settlement which will silence the guns now and

for all time.

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In Mozambique, Angola and, recently, Palestine we

have found proof that seemingly sworn enemies can resolve

their differences through peaceful means. The Government

of Suriname is therefore very pleased with the recently

concluded accord between Israel and the Palestine

Liberation Organization (PLO) and commends both for

their efforts to restore peace in the Middle East. We know

that the healing process will be slow and that there are

many obstacles to overcome, but we are sure that peace

will finally prevail over violence, chaos and misery.

The accelerated globalization of the world economy,

dynamized by a technological revolution during the course

of the last decade, has led to important changes in

production structures and world trade. These changes affect

the terms of trade of many developing countries.

Other developments, such as the successful conclusion

of the Uruguay Round of multilateral trade negotiations and

the emergence of mega-trading blocs and free trade zones,

have led to changes in the political and economic thinking

in our region in the search for new ways of adapting to

these shifting circumstances. The recent formation of the

Association of Caribbean States and the decision by the

countries of the Western hemisphere to create a continental

free-trade zone by the year 2005 can be seen as proof of a

very strong commitment to regional cooperation by our

respective Governments.

To further our commitment to regional cooperation,

the Government of Suriname took two steps of historic

significance: Suriname became the fourteenth member State

of the Caribbean Community (CARICOM) in July and was

a co-founder of the Association of Caribbean States.

Suriname is ready to make its contribution in these regional

bodies in order to attain economic prosperity for its people

and to preserve and strengthen its democratic traditions and

values.

Just a few years ago, at the Rio Conference, we, the

Member countries of the United Nations, established as a

primary concern the need to ensure a rational balance

between realizing legitimate national goals and safeguarding

the well-being of future generations through the protection

of the world’s natural resources. Furthermore, we promoted

the awareness that development must be sustainable and

that sustainability requires due attention to both

environmental and economic and social factors. The need

to achieve economic development on terms compatible with

the conservation of the environment is a priority objective

for my country.

Suriname is blessed with an impressive, rich tropical

rain forest covering approximately 80 per cent of its total

territory. This makes our forest one of the main natural

resources for fostering development and guaranteeing

welfare and prosperity for our people. Hence, the

exploitation and alternative uses of the forest have always

been among our primary economic activities.

My Government promotes sustainable management

of the forest, which allows for its economic utilization,

but at the same time our primary concern is to ensure a

rational balance between our legitimate socio-economic

goals and the protection of the health and well-being of

future generations. Within our limited technological

capabilities, we are trying to fulfil our obligations to

preserve the biological wealth of the forest.

Our responsibility and commitment in this area are

reflected in my Government’s policy of stringent

protection for approximately 1 million hectares of forest.

This is accomplished through the creation of 13 nature

reserves and one national park and through additional

plans to add half a million hectares of forest to the nature

reserves in the short term. Hence, in the near future, 10

per cent of all Surinamese territory will be protected.

Another important step taken by the Government in

the sphere of sustainable use of the forest, guaranteeing

the preservation of biodiversity, is evidenced by the

National Assembly’s ratification in July 1995, of the

United Nations Convention on Biological Diversity.

Furthermore, the results of the recently concluded

negotiations with potential investors will be submitted to

our National Assembly for approval. In accordance with

the agreements reached, our forest will be exploited only

according to the so-called Celos management system, as

developed in Suriname and accepted internationally as the

best form of forest management.

I should not fail to share with the Assembly our

concerns over the problem of illicit traffic in drugs,

especially since we, unfortunately, as a transit country,

have attracted much of this unlawful and damaging trade

as a consequence of our service economy, the present

financial and economic crisis and our geographical

situation.

Illicit traffic in drugs poses special security problems

for countries like ours, with hundreds of miles of

unguarded shorelines and inadequate resources to match

the super-modern equipment to which drug traffickers

have access. Because of its operational methods, which

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have no regard for frontiers, this form of modern

aggression has become one of the most serious types of

international crime. It must be combated in all its various

phases and manifestations.

Recent drug enforcement operations in our region have

shown that firm action in the struggle against drug

trafficking at the national level can be successful and that

with concerted action it is possible to break up the main

networks of drug traffickers. Indeed, this success stands out

as a ray of optimism and hope, overcoming the temptation

to yield to discouragement and pessimism in this area.

Unfortunately, it is not enough for one country or a

few countries to be victorious because drug trafficking is an

international crime which threatens mankind in every corner

of the world. It is capable of offsetting the efforts of

Governments to eradicate this scourge. Moreover, it is

linked to activities such as arms trafficking and terrorism,

while its repercussions are no longer merely social and

economic but pose serious threats to political and social

stability. However, to eradicate this multifaceted scourge

once and for all, we need — now more than ever —

enhanced regional and international cooperation that is

effective and constructive and that complements the efforts

of individual countries.

My country will persist in the struggle against illicit

drug trafficking because this struggle represents a moral

commitment, not only to the Surinamese people but to all

people, especially to the children and young people,

affected by this scourge.

The experience gained by the Government of

Suriname in the field of development cooperation reveals

the supportive role of the United Nations Development

Programme (UNDP), the United Nations Population Fund,

the United Nations Children’s Fund, the United Nations

Development Fund for Women and other agencies in the

development efforts of Suriname.

Recently, our per capita income and the adjustment of

the indicative planning figure for 1995 and 1996 were

revised by UNDP. That revision offered us substantive

additional support for the implementation of activities

planned within the framework of the national development

strategy, in particular effective activities related to the

structural adjustment programme, the public sector reform

programme and the regional integration programme.

On behalf of the Government and people of Suriname,

we would like to express our gratitude to the

Secretary-General and his staff for their efforts to

promote greater involvement of the United Nations in

fostering development in Suriname. We are looking

forward to the continuation and enhancement of closer

cooperation with the operational arms of the United

Nations system.

Suriname is aware of the need to make the United

Nations an effective instrument for the international

community in the quest for sustainable development and

durable international peace and security.To this end, the

finances of this world body should be streamlined but,

above all, the restructuring efforts should reflect today’s

international economic and political realities. In this

regard, Suriname favours the enlargement of the Security

Council as regards both permanent and non-permanent

members. The increase in the number of permanent

members should not however involve developed countries

only. Hence we support expansion through the inclusion

of permanent members selected also from developing

countries which are able to contribute to the maintenance

of international peace and security and which have

already expressed their desire to become permanent

members of the Security Council.

Suriname became the 144th Member of the United

Nations family in November 1975. This year we will

celebrate the twentieth anniversary of our independence

and also the twentieth anniversary of our membership of

this world body. Twenty years of experience as an

independent nation and as a Member of the United

Nations have revealed to us that the principles enshrined

in the Charter still remain the cornerstone in relations

between States.

My country has therefore on various occasions

pledged its commitment to the observance of these

principles. In the past, even before we gained

independence, citizens from Suriname were called upon

to defend these principles — in some cases, regrettably,

with their lives. Today, on behalf of the Government and

people of Suriname, on the eve of the fiftieth anniversary

of the United Nations, I would like to acknowledge the

valuable contribution that these brave men and women

have made to the maintenance of international peace and

security.

At present, Suriname is part of the efforts by the

international community, through the United Nations, to

restore order and democracy and to foster prosperity in

Haiti.

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When called upon to do so, Suriname will always

contribute, through the United Nations, to the endeavours

of the international community to make our world a better

place in which to live.