Trinidad and Tobago, 1969

83. Madam President, our Permanent Representative to this Organization

has. already extended to you, on behalf of the Trinidad and

Tobago delegation, our warmest congratulations on your

election as President. I whole-heartedly endorse his

remarks. Your attainment, by election, to this position has

been a notable achievement and I feel sure that your term

of office will be a significant one.

84. I wish, on behalf of the Trinidad and Tobago

delegation, to pay a tribute to your predecessor, the late

Emilio Arenales. My own short, personal acquaintance with

him left me with the clear impression of a man of foresight

and courage. He had an abiding interest in the unity of the

peoples in and around the Caribbean. Together with our

colleagues from the delegation of Guatemala we mourn his

loss. May those of us who guide the destinies of the peoples

of the area be inspired by his vision.

85. Under your guidance, Madam President, and that of

our wise and devoted Secretary-General, we approach the

twenty-fifth year of the United Nations. We know that the

Organization has not lived up to the expectations of its

founders. Though it has had some success in the peace-keeping

field, old wars continue and new ones continually

threaten to erupt. Might is still right and the meek have not

inherited the earth. My country, however, does not despair.

In spite of its severe limitations, the United Nations alone

still offers the hope that sanity and justice can prevail on a

world scale. Alone of ail organizations, the United Nations

offers the hope that the peoples of the world will one day

speak with one voice on the important issues affecting

them. The United Nations alone sustains the hope of

greater collective effort in the next decade to undertake the

crushing burdens of development. It is the United Nations

that keeps before the eyes and the conscience of the world

infringements of fundamental human rights, as well as

violations of human dignity and the equality of peoples.

Trinidad and Tobago, therefore, continues to cherish the

ideal that the norms of our Charter, as the only basis of an

enduring order, will prevail.

86. Twenty-five years ago Members of this Organization

undertook to promote international economic and social

co-operation in the interest of international stability and

harmonious relations between States. They pledged them-selves

to devote increasing attention to the achievement of

higher standards of living and full employment, and

generally to search for solutions to international economic

and social problems.

87. The United Nations membership has now grown from

51 in 1945 to 126 in 1969. Of these, some 86 countries are

recognized to be in varying stages of poverty and under-development.

88. The dramatic achievements in outer space by the

United States and the Soviet Union have demonstrated

beyond any doubt the unlimited capacity of science and

technology to overcome obstacles to human progress. Yet

the First United Nations Development Decade is now

generally considered to have been a pitiable failure and

little if any advance has been recorded in the battle against

hunger and poverty.

89. We are now turning our attention to a Second United

Nations Development Decade. We do so with the experience

of the First Decade behind us and with a much more

elaborate process of preparation in train. I emphasize that

success in this decade will, nevertheless, depend upon a

fully co-operative effort of the whole international community.

90. We hope that this time the commitment to success,

particularly on the part of developed countries, will be

forthcoming, and the necessary action taken. We apprehend

that, with growing ease of travel and communication, the

development effort of so many countries and peoples will

not stand another decade of frustration without far-reaching

effects.

91. Of considerable importance for the Second Development

Decade will be the results of the general review of the

various United Nations activities in the economic and social

fields being undertaken by the Enlarged Committee for

Programme and Co-ordination, which is now in the closing

stages of its final session before submitting its report.

92. I cannot say, however, that we are as optimistic today

as we were at the start of our undertaking. Progress has

proceeded at a snail’s pace. But the picture has its brighter

side. Those of us who have participated in the review row

have a much better understanding of the problem, and, in a

few instances, even the outlines of possible solutions have

begun to emerge. Knowledge of the system has been

considerably increased through the excellent Handbook on

Criteria and Procedures for requesting Technical Assistance

and the information produced by the Secretariats

on their activities.

93. We welcome the study by the group under Sir Robert

Jackson on the capacity of the United Nations system to

deliver a doubled level of technical assistance; and we lock

forward to the report to the World Bank Group on the

needs of the world economy in the long and medium term

by Mr, Lester Pearson’s team, which we are delighted to see

has the services of the distinguished economist from the

Caribbean, Sir Arthur Lewis.

94. Trinidad and Tobago places great emphasis on the

economic and social activities of the United Nations. We

feel that additional resources need to be allocated to this

area of activity by the Organization.

95. We are aware of the growing chorus of dissatisfaction

among the “major contributors” to the budget over the rise

in the levels of United Nations expenditure. We accept

without hesitation that waste must be eliminated, that

programmes undertaken must be relevant to the needs of

Member States, and that cost-effective methods should, as

far as practicable, be employed in implementing programmes

agreed upon. My delegation feels strongly, however,

that once these programmes have been adequately

scrutinized, then, if the entire effort is not to be wasted,

the resources necessary to implement them should be

supplied.

96. As a twin-island State, Trinidad and Tobago has grown

increasingly dependent on the resources of the sea. At the

twenty-third session of the General Assembly, we fully

supported General Assembly resolution 2467 (XXIII)

which dealt with the question of the reservation exclusively

for peaceful purposes of the sea-bed and ocean floor and

the use of its resources in the interest of the world

community. We hold firmly to the view that the area of the

sea-bed and ocean floor that lies beyond national jurisdiction

is the heritage of all mankind. The untold resources of

this area must not be appropriated by a few and a share

denied to the many. We adhere firmly to the principle that

there should be equitable participation by all States in the

administration of the area as well as in the benefits to be

derived from the exploitation of its resources. We are

convinced that the early establishment of adequate international

machinery is the best way of ensuring these

objectives. Trinidad and Tobago notes with concern the

intransigent position of some States on this question. While

we understand the seriousness of the economic and

strategic interests involved, we cannot accept that those

special interests can or should override the general interest

of humanity.

97. Some seventy developing countries represented in this

Organization border the oceans. It is not enough for data

and the results of scientific research to be made available or

accessible. It is not enough for. samples taken from areas

under our jurisdiction to be lodged in foreign museums and

to be merely made accessible to us. Those samples should

remain with the coastal State or under international

control. Nothing short of full partnership in this enterprise

will lead to a satisfactory outcome.

98. While Trinidad and Tobago places great emphasis on

the social and economic programmes of the United Nations,

we are increasingly concerned over the persistence of

destructive attitudes which frustrate co-operative effort and

bedevil relationships between peoples.

99. In the past twenty-five years, despite myriads of

resolutions and decisions by various organs of the United

Nations, the disease of apartheid in South Africa has

assumed endemic proportions. Moreover, before our very

eyes, the process of infestation is taking place in Southern

Rhodesia. Time and again we have warned against the

inadequacy of the measures proposed or adopted to deal

with the growing menace to. the peace of Africa and with

this intolerable affront to humanity as a whole. Some

Member States believe that, by maintaining diplomatic and

other relationships with South Africa, they will be in a

better position to influence that Government to reform.

Let it be remembered that there were persons who

entertained the same hopes about Adolf Hitler.

100. We commend the Government of Sweden for the

action it has taken in respect of the fictitious trial of a

group of Namibians under South Africa’s monstrous Terrorism

Act, and we feel that the General Assembly should call

upon all States that maintain relations with South Africa to

make a comprehensive report to the United Nations on the

efforts they have made to influence that Government to

reform.

101. The Trinidad and Tobago delegation welcomes the

latest decision of the Special Committee on the Policies of

Apartheid of the Government of the Republic of South

Africa to undertake a study which would embrace the

whole economic life of South Africa [A/7625, paras. 104

and 105]. The study will identify those obstacles which

hinder the successful imposition of sanctions against that

country. We have already stated, and we reiterate our view,

that the illegal seizure of power by the racist minority in

Rhodesia should be brought to an end by all necessary

measures, including the use of force.

102. I have dwelt upon the subject of apartheid at some

length because respect for human dignity is at the very basis

of the existence of the United Nations. Without such

respect, human progress and human life will forever be

imperilled.

103. My delegation continues to hold firmly to the view

that a purely quantitative evaluation of the statistics

relating to decolonization will be misleading. Since the

adoption of the Declaration of the Granting of Independence

to Colonial Countries and Peoples in 1960 [resolution

1514 (XV)], many States have achieved their independence.

We cannot, however, delude ourselves into believing

that the struggle is over. The structures of some imperialisms

remain entrenched and continue to constitute an

obstacle to the evolution of more progressive political and

constitutional relationships among peoples. Many important

areas of the world still remain under colonial domination

and some newly independent States are waging fierce

battles to maintain the sovereignty of their independent

institutions. Imperialism must be dislodged from its

fortresses in Namibia and in the territories that are under

Portuguese administration in East Africa.

104. The freedom and development of colonial peoples

demand decolonization not only in the political field but in

the social and economic fields as well.

105. I spoke earlier of the primary obligation on developing

countries to take the necessary measures to promote the

development process. In the Caribbean, despite the difficulties

of competing economies and insular suspicions, which

are the legacy of our colonial past, we have begun to take

the first tentative steps towards closer economic co-operation.

Sharp consciousness of the disadvantages of a fragmented

and uncoordinated existence has persuaded us to

attempt a rationalization of our relationships.

106. Six years after the collapse of the West Indies

Federation in 1962, a Caribbean Free Trade Association has

now emerged. The CARIFTA Agreement has taken into

account the problems of its less developed members and has

provided a number of mechanisms for ensuring that they

benefit fully from the Association. With the assistance of

the agencies of the United Nations and our own University

of the West Indies, we now approach the problems of a

common external tariff, the harmonization of fiscal incentives,

the creation of regionally integrated industries

industrial development in the least developed countries of

the area, as well as rationalization of our pattern of regional

agriculture and development of a transport system for the

needs of the area.

107. The creation of an effective regional development

bank in the Caribbean with assistance from countries with

an interest in the region will provide another significant

step towards economic integration.

108. We are of the view — and that view, we are pleased to

say, is now accepted in most quarters — that CARIFTA is an

essential process in the economic integration of the whole

of Latin America.

109. Like other areas of Latin America and the rest of the

third world, Trinidad and Tobago and the other Caribbean

countries continue to suffer from exclusion of our products

from the markets of the more developed countries. With an

unemployment rate in Trinidad and Tobago of approximately

15 per cent, my Government puts special emphasis

on labour-intensive industries.

110. For us it is virtually catastrophic when developed

countries take measures which have the effect of frustrating

those initiatives. Already hundreds of jobs in Trinidad and

Tobago’s garment industry are threatened by this policy,

which makes nonsense of much of our attempt to achieve

economic transformation and development.

111. Once more, on behalf of all developing countries, we

appeal to the developed countries to support our burdensome

development efforts by removing the severe restrictions

on access to their markets. We consider this to be a

matter of considerably greater importance than financial

aid.

112. Trinidad and Tobago is acutely aware of the political

problems posed for the international community by the

emergence of the so-called mini-States or micro-States in

the Caribbean area and elsewhere in the world. The

principal problem in the Caribbean is political fragmentation,

which is largely a legacy of our colonial past.

113. The essence of the decolonized status is the ability of

men freely to choose and determine their own destiny. This

choice will, in most cases, lead to the coming together of

units too small in isolation to face the rigours of the world,

We believe that the choice in the Caribbean, if free from

external interference, will naturally lead to such an association.

But we are aware that there are instances outside the

Caribbean area where geography and other causes may

inhibit such a development.

114. We are also aware of the learned studies which have

already been devoted to this subject. At the appropriate

time we will be prepared to advance our own views on the

several proposals which are now under formulation. Meanwhile,

I propose to the General Assembly a set of principles

on the basis of which we consider the problem of the

micro-State can be approached. These principles are the

following: first, the thrust. of the United Nations effort

must be in the direction of integration rather than

fragmentation; secondly, solutions must not deny the

fundamental right of peoples to self-determination; thirdly,

integration must be on the basis of the equality of peoples;

fourthly, systems of integration must reflect the special

problems-of particular regions; fifthly, there must be no

interference with the rights and privileges of existing

Members of the United Nations; sixthly, any new relationship

to the United Nations must contemplate only those

peoples who cannot be accommodated within the existing

structure of the United Nations and seventhly, any new

rules or systems of relationship must be based on freedom

of choice for all concerned.

115. Against that background, and adopting what we

consider to be the most fundamental approach to the

problem as it affects the Caribbean peoples, Trinidad and

Tobago calls for the complete decolonization of the

Caribbean area.

116. We also call upon all the metropolitan Powers in the

area and the United Nations, together with the emerging

and independent States, to work towards a new integration

based upon equality and respect for the interests of the

peoples of the Caribbean.

117. We feel sure that such action as we have indicated

and observance of the principles we have outlined constitute

the soundest basis on which the mini-State problem

can be resolved in the Caribbean area particularly, and

generally in the world. We are ourselves a nation of peoples

of many cultures and ethnic origins. We have achieved a

substantial measure of success in breaking down the barriers

of race and creed in our own country. Against the

background of human history we know how superficial

these issues are and yet how intractable they can be. Our

task on, earth in the latter half of the twentieth century as

we reach out to the planets seems to be more a matter of

reaching across to ourselves. To the success of that task, on

which hangs the fate of the entire world community,

Trinidad and Tobago pledges before the nations represented

in this Assembly our physical, moral and spiritual co-operation.