Seychelles, 2004

My delegation, Sir, is delighted at seeing you presiding

over this session of the General Assembly. We also

wish to state the high esteem in which we hold the past

President, Mr. Julian Hunte, of Saint Lucia, and for

Secretary-General Kofi Annan.

The Seychelles, a small island country, is defined

by the fact that it belongs to two regions — the Indian

Ocean and the African continent — and by the fact that

it belongs to several linguistic and cultural areas.

Today we wish to be an example of cohabitation of

man and nature and an example of unity and cohesion

with our people. These two objectives are at the heart

of our development plans.

In April of this year, Mr. James Michel succeeded

Mr. Albert Rene in the presidency of the Republic

through a calm and proper political transition. The new

President defends the same development philosophy,

taking into account, of course, changes on the world

scene, and the economic needs that are inherent in

starting a new phase of our development. Thus, the

President has assessed our difficulties and the options

available to us in different areas of our economy, such

as the balance of payments, the debt burden, access

under reasonable terms to capital — and in this context

we are a middle-income country — access to markets,

and so forth.

Together with the Bretton Woods institutions and

our other customary partners, we have committed

ourselves to a progressive programme of adjustment

and of giving new dynamics to our economy. Of

course, we are progressing at our own pace, because

we remain a vulnerable economy, since we are a small

island country, isolated from markets.

I would like to say a few words about the

Seychelles’ commitment to the international

community. First of all, on the question of security, the

fight against terrorism, money laundering and drug

trafficking are, in the Seychelles, subjects of

prevention and deterrence. We are taking action to

tackle the causes, the methods and the effects of these

criminal actions. The Seychelles has ratified all

international conventions on drug trafficking, and we

support all United Nations resolutions on the

prevention and suppression of the financing of terrorist

acts.

We support the recommendations of the Financial

Action Task Force on Money Laundering (FATF) and

the requirements of the Organization for Economic

Cooperation and Development (OECD) and the

International Monetary Fund (IMF).

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We have enacted a law this year on the prevention

of terrorism, and at the present time we are revising

existing legislation on financial institutions and on

money laundering. I might add that our offshore sector

is also being monitored in the framework of the

implementation of a law on the provision of services

which was promulgated last year.

We are fully committed to the fight for security

and stability. However, it is being done in difficult

conditions, because the very questionable criterion of

gross domestic product per capita blocks our access to

most development assistance programmes.

A small and vulnerable State always attaches

more importance to recognition of its own identity and

the defence of its stability. We, therefore, unreservedly

support the principles and objectives of global peace,

security and development that are embodied by the

United Nations. We want the Organization to remain

extremely active in its initiatives to restore peace,

particularly in the Middle East and in Africa, to all

areas where conflicts today have become chronic and

are steadily worsening.

We hope that the reorganization of the United

Nations, which is now under way, will make it possible

for it to be repositioned, on the basis of concrete

actions and follow-up and monitoring mechanisms. We

believe that the Security Council must be open to more

permanent and non-permanent members, so that the

developed and developing countries of Africa, Asia

and Latin America can contribute to the Council’s

dynamics.

More than ever, a genuine North-South dialogue

is essential to resolve conflicts and to seek shared

solutions to shared problems posed by AIDS, poverty,

debt and terrorism — all threats that require a joint

response and shared responsibilities. This dialogue

requires new ethics and a new approach to

development, which revitalizes international relations

and corrects injustices. It is particularly important to

deal with the roots of the debt problem and to adopt

energetic measures in order to assist those States whose

development is stymied by this burden.

We welcome the exchanges between the Group of

Eight and the developing countries. This is a

negotiating platform that should have brought about

concrete action and implementation of the

recommendations of the Millennium Summit, and

those of Monterrey, Johannesburg and Doha. It is

particularly important that the allocation by the

developed countries of 0.7 per cent of their gross

national product to international development should

be seen and accepted as a realistic and fair objective.

We expect the meeting to be held in Mauritius at

the beginning of 2005, ten years after the adoption of

the Barbados Programme of Action, to produce an

uncompromising assessment of the Programme’s

implementation and to adopt operational measures and

mechanisms. We are counting on the active

commitment of our partners for that assessment and its

follow-up.

Support and commitment should be expressed in

the area of international trade through equitable

treatment towards developing countries that have

structural weaknesses, such as small island developing

States. Such arrangements must take into account the

delicate issues of access to markets and trade relations.

The goal is to prevent our countries from becoming

further marginalized in a system that claims to be in

the interest of all. That is why we invite the World

Trade Organization to adopt an approach to

development that is consistent with the developments

of recent years. I am referring to the launch of the

Doha round, devoted explicitly to development, and to

the assertion of an African voice on sensitive issues

such as commodities and raw materials. The new trade

relations must also enable developing countries to

continue to acquire the means to be more competitive.

Another urgent matter for us, the countries most

vulnerable to the consequences of global warming, is

the ratification by all developed countries of the Kyoto

Protocol. It is the only instrument capable of acting

effectively with respect to a danger of concern to all.

We believe that a special fund should be

established in the United Nations to help fragile

economies confront losses, including loss of income,

caused by climate change.

I reaffirm the importance we attach to the New

Partnership for Africa’s Development (NEPAD)

because it is one of the best tools for enabling African

countries to manage their own development. We

appreciate the commitment of the Group of Eight in

this regard through its African Action Plan, and it is

our heartfelt hope that NEPAD’s development agenda

will comprehensively address the specific needs of the

eight African island States.

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All these questions are of capital importance

today. We hope that the British presidency of the

Group of Eight in 2005 and the United Nations summit

to review the Millennium Development Goals, also

scheduled for 2005, will work a very clear rebalancing

in favour of our countries.

Seychelles reaffirms its support for the General

Assembly, and we thank you, Mr. President, for your

personal action. We also thank Secretary-General Kofi

Annan. My country is an advocate of the cause of

development, which is a fundamental right. That right

entails the obligation of political solidarity in the most

active sense of the term.