Trinidad and Tobago, 1999

I wish to

congratulate you on your election to the presidency of the

General Assembly at its final session of the twentieth

century and would like to assure you of the fullest

cooperation of the delegation of Trinidad and Tobago as

you discharge the duties entrusted to you by the Member

States of the United Nations. We would also like to

commend your predecessor, Mr. Didier Opertti of Uruguay,

for the very capable and distinguished manner in which he

guided the Assembly’s work during its fifty-third session.

There is only one real purpose to government. It is

to serve the people, to protect them and to improve the

quality of their lives. In their enlightened self-interest,

nations also come together to serve that end by trying to

create a better world, one in which their own citizens can

interact with others and benefit from relationships in the

pursuit of their fulfilment. At both the national and global

levels, the human being is supposed to be at the centre of

the purpose, processes and policies of governance. It is

the foundation of democratic civilization to create the

conditions that give the individual the opportunity for

fulfilment.

We need to assess our nations and our world in the

light of that original intention as we approach the twenty-

first century.

The present global picture proves that much went

wrong during this century. The economic models of the

century have failed to create economic and social justice.

The central planning of Communism was disastrous,

suffocating human development by stifling initiatives and

freedoms and creating oppressive authoritarian regimes.

The Big Government of the centre-left era was bungling

and bureaucratic, killing entrepreneurial initiative and

generating a dependency syndrome, and was imperfect in

its delivery as the major social and economic actor. Now

we are in the era of the market, of deregulation and

borderlessness, and the question still is: what have we

achieved?

At the turn of the century, we have 1.3 billion

people in the category of the poor, earning less than $1

dollar per day. More than 880 million people lack access

to health services, 2.6 billion people lack access to basic

sanitation and 1.5 billion people are not expected to

survive to age 60. The number of malnourished is 840

million people, nearly 20 per cent of whom are children.

One of the most tragic situations as we approach the end

of the century is that 70 per cent of the world’s poor are

women. From 1990 to 1997 the number of people

infected with HIV/AIDS more than doubled, with the

majority of victims in the developing world.

Ironically, in this much-heralded information age, 75

million people are estimated to be illiterate, with the

majority also in the developing world. In addition to the

problem of illiteracy, the education system in most

developing countries is producing unskilled and

unemployable young people.

6

Five billion of the world's 6 billion people live in the

developing world, but most of the resources are

concentrated in the developed countries. Twenty per cent of

the world's richest countries share 86 per cent of the world's

gross domestic product, 82 per cent of exports of goods and

services and 68 per cent of foreign direct investment.

If there is any demonstration of the inequality that

exists and how most human beings have been marginalized

as we approach the end of the twentieth century, the

following is a striking example: the assets of the three

richest people are more than the combined gross national

product of all of the least developed countries; the assets of

the 200 richest people are more than the combined income

of 41 per cent of the world's people; and a yearly

contribution of 1 per cent of the wealth of the 200 richest

people could provide universal access to primary education

for all.

There is an even darker side to the picture. As we

span the far reaches of history, and especially in this

century, we see that very often the individual in society has

been the victim of political and economic forces beyond his

control. He has suffered the horrendous consequences of

ethnic, cultural and religious intolerance. It is the individual

and the family that have suffered the most from the

devastating effects of wars, genocide and ethnic cleansing.

In our century alone, we have witnessed the tragedy

of two world wars, which have resulted in the loss of a

countless number of lives, the separation of families and the

loss of hope for many. We have seen the untold human

misery and pain of the Holocaust, the injustices and

suffering of apartheid and the callousness of regimes which

have unleashed acts of unspeakable horror on their citizens.

Throughout this century, we have been shocked by news

and television images of the harsh realities endured by the

victims of such horrors in Europe, Cambodia, Rwanda,

Bosnia and the former Yugoslavia, to name a few. And,

sadly, we have realized that the very scientific and

technological advances which were intended for the service

of humanity can be turned to evil ends in the service of the

destruction of humanity.

Nevertheless, in the midst of one of the darkest

chapters of the twentieth century, there is hope in the fact

that such evils have stirred the conscience of the

international community to strengthen the rule of law, to

address situations such as these and to ensure respect for

fundamental human rights.

It is because of this recognition that we have today

the most recent instrument, the Rome Statute of the

International Criminal Court. This Statute is the result of

a call made in 1989 by Mr. Arthur N.R. Robinson,

President of the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago, for the

international community to renew its focus on the

question of the establishment of an international criminal

jurisdiction to deal with these atrocities, and also with

crimes associated with the illicit drug trade, all of which

have such a heavy impact on a Government's ability to

address the fundamental needs of its citizens.

In addition to the establishment of the International

Criminal Court, there is hope in the fact that the United

Nations has made advances in the area of human rights.

We have seen the adoption of several instruments, such

as the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and the

International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights,

which guarantee fundamental human rights, the

Convention on the Rights of the Child, the Convention on

the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against

Women and the International Convention on the

Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination. These

reflect the commitments and obligations of the

international community to improving the quality of life

of the individual in the various sectors of society. But we

must not pay lip-service to the principles enshrined in the

international instruments that we have adopted; there is

too much of a trend of paying lip-service. We need to

take concrete action now.

Albert Camus, one of the distinguished writers of

modern times noted that,

“Probably every generation sees itself as charged

with remaking the world. Mine, however, knows that

its task will not be merely to remake the world. Its

task is even greater: to keep the world from

destroying itself.”

There is no doubt that the task in the new century is

to save the world from self-destruction, and the question

is, what type of economic arrangement will ensure that

salvation? Surely it cannot be one in which the few feast

at the table, leaving mere crumbs for the majority. No one

can be insulated from the catastrophe inherent in such a

situation. Disease, terrorism, the drug trade, human

enslavement, child labour and ecological disaster will

continue to be produced by a world bereft of economic

and social justice. No fortress, whether economic or

military, will be strong enough to insulate any country

from the effects of such a situation. Some may not like it,

7

and some tend to forget it; but it is one world that we live

in, one globe that we share. We should take a lesson from

nature itself, whose hot winds emanate from the Sahara in

Africa, become hurricanes in their journey across the

Atlantic and eventually devastate and desolate countries as

far away as the Caribbean and North, Central and South

America.

In this era of globalization, we have excellent

opportunities to put in place new and innovative global

structures that would make possible global solutions to

ensure the social, economic and cultural security of the

individual. The World Trade Organization (WTO) meeting

in Seattle this year, the South Summit, the special sessions

of the General Assembly to follow up of the World Summit

for Social Development and the Fourth World Conference

on Women and, indeed, the Millennium Assembly next

year, provide ideal opportunities for the international

community to respond to this coming crisis of mankind.

In the upcoming WTO Seattle meeting, it must be

recognized that many of the measures which were supposed

to be put in place in the new global trading system ushered

in by the Uruguay Round have not been realized. Giving

effect to those matters must therefore be the priority in any

new round of WTO negotiations. In other words,

implementation of commitments already made must be the

emphasis.

In that process, we must recognize that a special

category of States face peculiar disadvantages arising from

the policy actions of the international community. These are

the small and vulnerable States, of which the States of the

Caribbean region make up a significant part. For these

countries, the need to maintain the provisions for special

and differential treatment in the present WTO Agreement

is fundamental.

The liberalization of international trade under the

WTO is a dynamic force for accelerating growth and

development. The challenge for the next Ministerial

Conference is to ensure resolute progress towards an open,

free and fair international trading system in which benefits

are equitably distributed. Developed countries must

demonstrate an unequivocal commitment to opening their

markets to exports of developing countries to enable them

to achieve sustained levels of economic development. The

disconnection between developments in the WTO and the

development process at the national level in developing

countries must be arrested. The rules-based system of the

WTO, which aims to promote free and fair trade, must do

just that. The idea of the level playing field, we must

remember, is a dangerous myth, and if it is allowed to

hold sway it will further the pauperization of hundreds of

millions of people all over the world.

Policies developed and promoted by international

financial and monetary institutions such as the World

Bank and the International Monetary Fund (IMF) must

have as their ultimate goal the transformation of societies

aimed at achieving a higher degree of social equity and

justice within the global economy. The World Bank and

the IMF must apply a set of criteria broader than per

capita income when considering finance and development

assistance, in view of our susceptibility to external

economic shocks and natural disasters.

We are heartened by the highly successful

Commonwealth ministerial mission on small island States

undertaken by the Heads of Government in July 1998,

from which an agreement has been secured for the

establishment of a Commonwealth/World Bank task force.

The World Bank is now developing a strategy, which we

hope will be approved by its board of Executive

Directors, to reorient its assistance for small States on the

basis of a strategic assessment of their vulnerability,

constraints and needs. Other financial institutions and

development institutions should adopt similar initiatives.

The governance of the supranational global actors

therefore has to be reinvented with human development

and equity as imperatives.

A new global partnership of developing countries

must be forged with the financial institutions and the

developed world to place financing for development on a

sound and predictable level. The economic foundation laid

by the policy prescriptions of structural adjustment

remains questionable in terms of their potential to

generate and sustain long-term economic growth. The

international financial architecture must therefore be

compatible with and complementary to real development.

National Governments cannot be exonerated from

their responsibilities. There are too many countries in the

world whose major problem is the imperfections of their

own Governments. Many who speak about

marginalization are themselves alienating their own

populations, and some who lament global poverty are

themselves pauperizing their own citizens through their

own inadequacies. We cannot call for a reformation

without reforming ourselves. Do we all place our people

at the centre of governance? Are we using our resources

well and for the benefit of our populations who elected us

to serve? We have a responsibility to re-invent our

8

governance at home as part of the global transformation

that we demand.

The key question that the Member States of the United

Nations face in the twenty-first century is whether the

United Nations will become an Organization that can deal

effectively with all forms of injustices to humankind. We

recall your words, Sir, in your opening statement to the

current session of the General Assembly:

“The aspirations, hopes and expectations of the

world's peoples are high as they anticipate the

future. They yearn for a world that is peaceful,

humane and prosperous for all. Without the United

Nations, such an inclusive world, led by i n s p i r i n g

leaders, cannot come about.” (A/54/PV.1)

Trinidad and Tobago is committed to working with

other countries of the world through the United Nations to

fashion a global civilization that would, in the final

analysis, be its own salvation and protection. We believe

that the struggle for economic and social justice must start

with ourselves and that democracy in each country must be

an ever-deepening process which eventually liberates every

single individual from want and places him or her in a

position to pursue his or her own fulfilment while

respecting the rights of others.

For us in Trinidad and Tobago everyone matters;

every life is precious. This is the approach with which we

come to the United Nations. All nations are important to us

because every life in every country is precious. Trinidad

and Tobago believes that the United Nations must come to

understand again that it has been made for people — real

people with flesh and blood and dreams; people who suffer

pain and long for joy; people in cars on the street, in

houses and hovels, in the cold or in sweltering heat,

labouring in fields or offices, giving birth in hospitals and

elsewhere; real people, Sir, who may never see you in that

chair or me standing here, and if they do see us through the

distance of television may be surprised and even disbelieve

that we are doing this for them.

Is it not amazing how ritual and ceremony often

become ends in themselves and either replace or obscure

the real purpose? Trinidad and Tobago is heartened to sense

that the United Nations is on a path of rediscovery of itself.

It remains for us the only Organization where every

individual may be represented and every voice heard, and

where every opinion or idea could contend. Trinidad and

Tobago pledges to work with others to take this

Organization back to the people, to ensure that it works

among them, in our collective efforts to save the world.