Trinidad and Tobago, 2000

I wish to

congratulate you, Sir, on your election to the

presidency of the General Assembly at its fifty-fifth

session. At the same time, I record my thanks and

appreciation to your predecessor, the Minister for

Foreign Affairs of Namibia.

We are meeting just after the historic Millennium

Summit, which brought together more than 150 leaders

of the world. Clearly, there is not much left to say. On

the other hand, there is much to be done. Urgent action

is needed; the time for implementation is now.

National action is needed more than ever in all

countries. The fact is that each nation has the primary

responsibility for dealing with its own problems. It is

not sufficient to make visionary statements and well-

intentioned commitments. The will to bring about

change in our societies must be demonstrated in all

nations. We should remember that we are the solution

to our problems, and that if we are to be effective the

partners of others, we must demonstrate a willingness

to help ourselves.

We must eliminate poverty. It is an indictment

against humanity that in the twenty-first century more

than a billion of the world's people are mired in the

dehumanizing conditions of extreme poverty. Each

country must adopt those policies necessary to

engender growth in their economies and to ensure that

all their citizens have access to the opportunities that

are being created. It now behooves the international

community to take concrete and positive action to

bring to fruition the commitment made by heads of

State or Government in the Millennium Declaration: to

reduce poverty levels by the year 2015.

Trinidad and Tobago has already taken action

through an appropriate policy framework and other

measures of reform. As a result, our economy

continues to grow, and we are generating employment

while keeping inflation low. We are making efforts to

ensure that all our citizens benefit from the country's

successes, and we are making strides towards the

elimination of poverty and are today ranked very

favourably in the United Nations Human Development

Index.

Education is the key. It is a powerful force for

social change. It is a human right. It goes far beyond

schooling. It assists in combating poverty, empowering

women, promoting human rights and democracy and

promoting international peace and security. According

to the United Nations Children's Fund report, “The

State of the World's Children 1999”, 130 million

children in the developing world are denied the right to

basic education. Regrettably, almost two thirds of them

are girls. This cannot continue. All children must have

access to all levels of education. This must be a

national objective in every country. United Nations

declarations by themselves will not help.

Since independence, Trinidad and Tobago has

placed considerable emphasis on education, which

continues to rank among the largest items of

Government expenditure. The laws of Trinidad and

Tobago provide that education is mandatory for all

children between the ages of five to 12 years. Tuition is

free at public and Government-assisted schools. We

continue to improve our system. Pre-school education

has developed rapidly in Trinidad and Tobago, and

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special education is also being given greater attention.

In further recognition of the importance of education,

the Government of Trinidad and Tobago recently

embarked on a programme which will ensure free

secondary education for every child of secondary

school age, and this took effect with the opening of the

new academic year 2000-2001.

If people are not healthy, they can neither find

fulfilment nor contribute to their country's

development. The poor of the world need easier access

to essential drugs and vaccines to reduce mortality and

disability. It has to be a travesty that only one per cent

of the budget of global health research is directed to

diseases like pneumonia, diarrhoea, tuberculosis and

malaria, all of which are concerns of developing

countries. In Trinidad and Tobago, health care is given

high priority. The health budget continues to be one of

the major areas of Government expenditure and,

through a decentralized system of regional health

authorities, health care is made accessible and

affordable to all. The Government is constantly

investing in human resources and physical

infrastructure to meet the demands of the population.

The Government of Trinidad and Tobago has reduced

the cost of medication for some chronic diseases, such

as glaucoma, diabetes, asthma and arthritis. We are also

ensuring that equipment for our physically challenged

citizens is affordable. Every effort is being made to

reduce the backlog of certain common surgical

procedures. Next year, a National Health Insurance

Pilot Project is expected to be instituted to cover every

citizen. Under the proposed system, the Government

will pay the contribution on behalf of those persons

who cannot afford to do so.

The ravages of the HIV/AIDS pandemic and its

devastating socio-economic consequences constitute

another of the major health-related challenges for the

international community in the twenty-first century.

The spread of the HIV/AIDS virus is of particular

concern to the Caribbean, the second most seriously

affected region. The Government of Trinidad and

Tobago views this matter very seriously, and we have

long embarked on a programme of action designed to

combat this scourge. It is based on research and

education and building partnerships with the public and

private sectors, as well as actors in civil society. We are

also convinced of the need for greater global

partnership to develop an effective and more affordable

vaccine against HIV/AIDS. The present HIV-related

drugs should be made less expensive. We support the

convening as well of a special session of the General

Assembly to consider all aspects of this problem.

Our planet continues to experience environmental

degradation. The problem will never be solved unless

there is international cooperation, especially on the part

of industrialized countries, which are mainly

responsible for the emission of greenhouse gases. We

in the smaller countries, especially small island

nations, are the most severely threatened. But even in a

situation where we are victims, we do not absolve

ourselves from responsibility. Trinidad and Tobago is

already doing its part. We have established a Ministry

of the Environment and an Environmental Management

Authority. We have recently enacted legislation to

empower this Authority. We have operationalized an

environmental policing system, and we are now in the

process of establishing a Green Fund, through which

the industrialists in our country will contribute to

financing programmes for protecting the environment.

The Government is working in close collaboration with

the international community on environmental issues

and, in this regard, we are a State Party to all of the

major Conventions concerning the environment.

Trinidad and Tobago is actively involved in the

development of national legislation to give effect to

these international treaties.

I must join my Caribbean Community

(CARICOM) colleagues in lamenting the blatant and

persistent misuse of the Caribbean Sea as a trans-

shipment route for hazardous wastes. This continues to

be a cause for major concern to the Governments of the

region. We are not comforted by the assurances of

compliance by those who use this route for economic

gain. A single accident can threaten the very viability

of our societies. Can the commercial benefit from using

this route override its potentially horrendous

consequences? Accidents can occur, and we again call

for a halt to these shipments.

No country can progress without democracy and

good governance, which create the environment for

progress and development, peace and security. All

citizens must be included in the mainstream of national

activity. All must be allowed to contribute. Every voice

must be heard; every view considered; and every

citizen must have access to the opportunities that their

societies create. This should be the primary

responsibility of every Government in every country.

Government must also be based on the rule of law.

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Each nation, therefore, has the responsibility to

develop effective judicial and legal systems to both

protect the rights of the individual and guard the nation

against any usurpation of its democratic systems. We in

Trinidad and Tobago are proud of our strong

democratic traditions. Free and fair elections are held

peacefully, regularly and on time. There is freedom of

speech and of political association and freedom of the

press. Our democratic tradition is buttressed by a very

active civil society, involving strong trade unions,

dynamic social and cultural groups and other non-

governmental actors. We have an independent

judiciary, and we have recently embarked on the

modernization of our laws and legal system to keep our

country in step with modern trends.

Each Government has the duty to ensure the

security of both its State and citizens. One of the

serious threats to security is the escalation of the worst

kinds of crimes within national borders in many

countries. This battle against the criminal element is

faced by all societies, on differing levels, but it is a

battle to which Governments must, of necessity,

allocate adequate resources if they are to maintain

peace and foster development. In many developing

countries, the rise in the level of violent crime is

directly related to poverty and the deprivation suffered

by individuals. This link between poverty and

development on the one hand, and peace and security

on the other, should not be minimized. Like most

countries, Trinidad and Tobago is battling the

phenomenon of crime. In addition to allocating

increased resources to our protective services, to

provide them with manpower, infrastructure and

equipment to deal with crime, we are implementing

social programmes to combat deviant behaviour,

through the Ministries of Education, Culture, Social

Development, Youth and Sport.

Trinidad and Tobago continues to face the

challenges of the illicit traffic in drugs. Due to our

geographic location, we are used as a convenient

transhipment point in the drug trade. We have taken all

measures available to us on the national, regional and

international fronts to combat this menace to our

society. The Government has, in this regard,

established an agency to coordinate the overall efforts

against drug trafficking and has entered into regional

and bilateral arrangements for cooperation in

combating this serious crime. Our strengthened legal

framework has led to successes in the investigation and

prosecution of crimes associated with drug trafficking.

Legislative measures include the Dangerous Drugs Act,

the Drug Court Bill, the Drug Abuse Rehabilitation

Tribunal Bill and the Proceeds of Crime Bill.

At the international and regional levels,

cooperative efforts include a number of bilateral

extradition and mutual legal assistance agreements. In

July, 2000, Trinidad and Tobago, along with six other

Governments, signed an agreement establishing a

regional justice protection programme, which provides

a framework for regional cooperation in the protection

of witnesses, jurors and legal and law enforcement

personnel. While we will continue to strengthen

existing measures and to expand the spheres of

cooperation, we wish to reiterate that this is a problem

which the international community cannot successfully

tackle without the necessary commitment of all States

concerned.

Another growing threat, which is closely related

to the menace of the drug trade, is the illicit trade in

small arms. We therefore attach great significance to

the convening of the 2001 United Nations Conference

on the Illicit Trade in Small Arms and Light Weapons

in All Its Aspects, and we fully support the very

important preparatory work which will precede the

Conference.

The disease of racism, racial discrimination and

religious intolerance continues to plague the world as

we enter twenty-first century. This is an intractable

cultural problem that can be ameliorated only through

education and enlightenment. It is the expectation of

my delegation that the World Conference against

Racism, Racial Discrimination, Xenophobia and

Related Intolerance, to be held in South Africa at the

end of August 2001, will produce action-oriented

recommendations to eliminate this scourge. No effort

should be spared to rid human civilization of this ugly

affliction.

As a pluralistic society, Trinidad and Tobago is

proud of its record of harmony. In our country, as

immortalized in our national anthem, every creed and

race find an equal place. We have become well known

as a rainbow society and at present we are seeking to

create the institutions and the legal framework to even

further deepen our world-renowned harmony.

Whilst I have thus far emphasized the need for

national action, we are fully aware that cooperation at

an international level is absolutely necessary if we are

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to deal effectively with the problems of our planet. In

this global village, no country can survive on its own.

Today's reality is globalization, borderlessness and

integration at the international, regional and

subregional levels. The United Nations, therefore, like

all other international actors, has a pivotal role to play.

For example, the international financial institutions

must become more sensitive to the development needs

of countries and the world trading system must take

into account the special concerns of the disadvantaged

and the vulnerable.

As we have already demonstrated, Trinidad and

Tobago is willing to be an active participant in the

concerted effort of the international community to

achieve the goals we have set for ourselves. We have

always proven this since becoming a member of this

body. We have participated, we have cooperated and

sometimes, as with the International Criminal Court,

we have led the way.

We wish to achieve a humane global civilization.

We wish to bequeath to the future a planet of prosperity

and peace for all