Trinidad and Tobago, 2006

It is indeed an

honour for me to express to you, Madam, sincere

congratulations on behalf of the Government and the

people of the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago on your

election to the presidency of the General Assembly at

its sixty-first session. Your appointment as the third

woman ever to hold that esteemed position is of special

significance and must be duly recognized. Trinidad and

Tobago is convinced that your extensive experience in

multilateral diplomacy and your international legal

expertise adequately equip you to guide the work of the

Assembly to a successful conclusion.

We also take this opportunity to welcome most

warmly the Republic of Montenegro as the 192nd

Member of the United Nations and to wish its people

and its Government continued peace, stability and

prosperity.

We would also like to recognize the astute and

efficient leadership of the President of the General

Assembly at its sixtieth session, Mr. Jan Eliasson of

Sweden, who efficiently, dispassionately and with

subtle dexterity discharged the mandate of follow-up

entrusted to the sixtieth session by our leaders at the

2005 World Summit, getting us past hurdles that

challenged to the core the working methods of the

Assembly. His efforts also enabled the international

community to create two crucial new international

institutions — the Human Rights Council and the

Peacebuilding Commission — as part of the ongoing

reform of the United Nations.

Trinidad and Tobago is hopeful that the Human

Rights Council will be an effective instrument for the

defence and promotion of human rights worldwide,

denouncing without fear or favour gross violations of

human rights and seeking, through dialogue and

cooperation, to bring about full compliance with

internationally accepted norms related to universal

fundamental human rights and freedoms.

Institutional support for countries in transition

from the post-conflict phase to that of sustainable

development is a sine qua non for the success of efforts

to restore peace and normalcy. It is in that context that

Trinidad and Tobago views the indispensable role to be

played by the Peacebuilding Commission in those

countries that have been traumatized by years of

internal strife.

His Excellency Mr. Kofi Annan is a very special

friend of Trinidad and Tobago — and, might I confide,

especially of Tobago. It is thus with mixed emotions

that we bid him farewell at this session. Over the

course of his tenure, our seemingly unassuming

Secretary-General has steered the vessel that is the

Organization with an abundance of skill and with

clarity of vision, keeping it on an even keel as it has

traversed one of the most turbulent periods in its

06-53952 28

history. He has been a champion of principle, a

spokesman for international justice and the staunchest

defender of all that the Organization stands for and to

which all of our countries subscribe. There is so much

that the Secretary-General has done that history will

record. For us, it suffices that he has been the beacon

that has kept the United Nations ideal alive during

these difficult times.

The role of the Secretary-General in the twenty-

first century is no longer that of a mere chief

administrative officer — burdensome as that role may

be — but one that requires profound knowledge of the

dynamics of current inter-State relations. Trinidad and

Tobago is hopeful, therefore, that as we elect a

successor to Secretary-General Kofi Annan, the

Security Council will recommend to the General

Assembly a person whose diplomatic skills are highly

regarded, whose leadership abilities are well

recognized and who will be able to maintain an

excellent working relationship with all Member States

and enjoy the confidence of the five permanent

members of the Security Council, thereby facilitating

decisive and timely actions by the Organization when

they are most urgently needed.

However, the functions of the Secretary-General

can be carried out effectively only with the firm

support of the entire international community. It is

therefore vital that the process through which the

chosen candidate will emerge be as inclusive and

transparent as possible and that it remain faithful to the

principles and procedures enshrined in the Charter as

they relate to his or her appointment.

The international community continues to grapple

with the absence of realistic and pragmatic solutions to

many longstanding global problems. A just and lasting

peace in the Middle East continues to elude us, and the

humanitarian situation of the Palestinian people

continues to worsen daily in view of the economic and

financial stranglehold placed on their economy

following the assumption of power by democratic

means of the political grouping of their choice. We

urge the major political parties in the Palestinian

territories to find common ground that would satisfy

the aspirations of the Palestinian people, who for

generations have longed to exercise their inalienable

right to self-determination and independence.

Peace and security in the Middle East also remain

threatened by conflicts of a more recent vintage. The

use of force disproportionate to the threat at hand, as in

the recent cases of Gaza and Lebanon, has also had the

effect of increasing the suffering of the civilian

populations concerned and of destroying vital national

infrastructure, and has served only to increase

bitterness and hatred among those populations and to

inspire resort to extremism.

Trinidad and Tobago also views with growing

alarm the deteriorating humanitarian situation in the

Darfur region of the Sudan and calls upon the

international community to exercise its responsibility

to protect the people of Darfur. The international

community has a fundamental legal and moral

obligation to act in cases of egregious violations of

human rights such as this. It is incumbent on us to

institute immediate measures to provide security and

alleviate the suffering. We must also bring to justice at

the International Criminal Court (ICC) those

responsible for the crimes against humanity committed

in Darfur.

Trinidad and Tobago exhorts the Government in

Khartoum to accept the presence of a United Nations-

mandated peacekeeping force that would enhance the

capacity to monitor the Darfur Peace Agreement. Such

a force could also provide the necessary security for

the hundreds of thousands of internally displaced

persons living in makeshift camps and for the return of

refugees from neighbouring Chad, and would facilitate

the provision of humanitarian assistance.

On another front, Trinidad and Tobago applauds

the efforts of the International Criminal Court and

welcomes with satisfaction the progress made to bring

to justice the perpetrators of the heinous crimes

committed against the peoples of Uganda and the

Democratic Republic of the Congo. Trinidad and

Tobago views universal adherence to the ICC as

integral to entrenching the rule of law in the conduct of

international relations, and as yet another pillar of the

promotion of international peace and security. We

again urge States Members of this Organization that

are not yet party to the Rome Statute of the

International Criminal Court to consider acceding to

that instrument as soon as possible.

The well-being of peoples the world over is

threatened not only by violations of international

humanitarian and human rights law, but also by

individual and collective acts of terrorism which the

Government of the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago

29 06-53952

resolutely condemns. We are, indeed, hopeful that the

recent adoption by the Assembly of the Global

Counter-Terrorism Strategy will lead to a holistic and

integral approach to a phenomenon that threatens the

internal peace and security of States in virtually all

regions of the globe. It is also our sincere hope that this

body will, in the near future, conclude its deliberations

on a comprehensive international convention against

terrorism that would provide a legal framework for

combating that scourge — a framework acceptable to

all nations.

It has become something of a cliché to say that

there will be no peace and security in the world

without development and, conversely, no development

without security. It was therefore with a degree of

concern that we witnessed the near-total relegation to

secondary status of the development dimension of the

international agenda at the 2005 millennium review

Summit. Some degree of relief was provided

subsequently when, after long and arduous

negotiations, we were able to agree on a development

resolution that sought — on the basis of a global

partnership, among other things — to operationalize

and implement the development commitments made at

the major summits in the economic, social and related

fields.

That resolution also provided for monitoring

mechanisms to follow up on the commitments of the

Bretton Woods institutions and the World Trade

Organization. Trinidad and Tobago is hopeful that the

commitments to the achievement of those international

development objectives, as set out in that resolution,

will be honoured and will not be the subject of

renegotiation at the next review.

Global peace and security are also threatened by

the failure of the international community to bring

about the necessary structural changes in the fields of

international trade and in economic and financial

relations. Like most developing countries, Trinidad and

Tobago is painfully aware of the significant imbalances

that have been having an adverse impact on developing

economies. The current suspension of the Doha trade

negotiations, and the delay in the resumption of those

talks, are consequently of particular concern to us,

given the outward-looking orientation of our economy

and the fact that the most basic tenet of our trade

policy relates to increased market access for the export

of our goods and services.

Trinidad and Tobago therefore joins with other

small vulnerable economies in calling for a process

that would accelerate the recommencement of

negotiations, while ensuring that adequate treatment is

afforded to the development dimension. It is crucial

that global trade rules be enhanced in recognition of

the need for treatment to be accorded to small,

vulnerable economies that takes their special

circumstances into consideration and allows them to

participate in world trade in a manner commensurate

with their national capacity to do so.

Even as our economies grapple with the systemic

imbalances in the international trading system at home,

Trinidad and Tobago, like many other Caribbean

countries, faces social challenges that have global

implications. One such challenge manifests itself in the

increasing resort to gun violence by our young people

and by others engaged in the nefarious drug trade. The

countries of the Caribbean region are not producers of

small arms and light weapons, yet small arms are

increasingly visible in our societies and raise the

fatality levels resulting from the commission of many

serious crimes.

Much of the illicit trade in firearms and related

activity in our Caribbean region is linked to the illicit

traffic in drugs. Yet international cooperation —

essential to help us stem the flow of illicit drugs

through our countries, which are already recognized as

key transit States — is not forthcoming from our

development partners. Trinidad and Tobago

accordingly urges the international community to

provide the necessary resources to bolster Caribbean

regional efforts aimed at interdicting drug shipments

and putting an end to the flow of illicit firearms, which

negatively and profoundly affect the security and

development of the region.

It is well known that the living standards

suggested by positive economic indicators are of little

consequence if the basic security and sense of well-

being of the individual is under threat. Similarly, the

failure by the international community earlier this year

at the Review Conference to reach broad agreement on

additional measures to further implement the 2001

United Nations Programme of Action on Small Arms

has been a source of disappointment to Trinidad and

Tobago. We are heartened, however, that within the

international community a broad understanding appears

to be emerging regarding the utility of an international

06-53952 30

legally binding instrument to govern the international

arms trade.

Trinidad and Tobago therefore strongly endorses

the call by some States for the conclusion of such an

instrument. We are also of the view that until such a

treaty becomes a reality, it is imperative that the major

producers and exporters of small arms and light

weapons establish comprehensive export controls in

order to ensure that such weapons are not diverted into

the illicit trade.

Trinidad and Tobago’s approach to development

places primary focus on enhancing the living standards

and sense of well-being of the individual. Thus, even

as we address major problems of a global nature, we

should not forget those among us who face greater

challenges in realizing their full potential. The

international community has recently become

increasingly sensitized to the difficulties faced in

almost all spheres of activity by persons with

disabilities, and during the sixtieth session of the

General Assembly, we successfully negotiated a draft

convention on the promotion and protection of the

rights of persons with disabilities. Trinidad and Tobago

joined in the adoption by consensus of the final

negotiated text, and looks forward to its formal

adoption by the Assembly and its subsequent opening

for signature. We have in the interim developed, and

are in the process of implementing, a national policy

on persons with disabilities.

Another area that cries out for timely and

decisive action by the international community is that

of the environment. Our planet today continues to be

ravaged by patterns of production and consumption

that gravely threaten its sustainability and give rise to

phenomena whose management consumes the already

stretched energies and resources of small island

developing States in particular. The challenges to those

countries posed by such phenomena as climate change

and sea-level rise, as well as the effort and resources

necessary to recover from adverse seasonal weather

patterns, add another dimension to the challenges that

they already face in the area of economic and social

development.

Trinidad and Tobago invokes that same spirit of

partnership of the international community to work

towards the full implementation of the Mauritius

Strategy, that being the framework for the collective

development of this vulnerable grouping.

In the midst of such daunting challenges, the

littoral States of the Caribbean are faced with the

constant threat of a maritime casualty resulting from

the shipment of radioactive or other hazardous wastes

through the Caribbean Sea. Such an occurrence could

create the potential for an environmental disaster for

all countries along the Caribbean coastline, but, in

particular, it would threaten the economic well-being

and livelihood of the many small island developing

States of the Caribbean that depend on this fragile

ecosystem.

Trinidad and Tobago is of the view that the

integrated management approach of the recently

conceived Caribbean Sea Initiative will be critical to

advancing the development goals of the member States

of the Caribbean and uses this opportunity to seek the

support of all United Nations Member States for the

Initiative, which seeks to ensure that the Caribbean Sea

is recognized by the United Nations as a special area in

the context of sustainable development.

Trinidad and Tobago is committed to the

partnership approach in all areas of international

interaction, be it for sustainable development, peace

and security, human rights or humanitarian assistance.

It is a position that informs a fierce defence of

multilateralism in full recognition of the benefits of

collective action and of the responsibility of each

country to assist when in a position to do so within the

limits of its resources. This thinking underlies the

actions taken by Trinidad and Tobago in respect of the

provision of economic and humanitarian assistance,

both institutionally as well as directly, to countries in

our region and to those further afield.

It is in this context that Trinidad and Tobago

pledges its full support for the economic and social

development of the Republic of Haiti in its return to

constitutional governance, which has led to its

readmission into the Caribbean Community Council

and calls for the release of all donor funds that have

already been pledged. The history of Haiti is of special

significance in the struggle for independence in the

Caribbean and is linked to other historical

developments more international in scope. One such

development was the abolition of the Atlantic slave

trade, the 200th anniversary of which will be marked in

2007. The slave trade has had long-term effects on the

social and economic development of parts of Africa

that are still being felt today.

31 06-53952

Nor were we in the Caribbean spared the effects

of the slave trade, and we are of the view that any call

on the international community to mark this occasion

should go beyond the need merely to reflect on the

atrocities committed during this perverse period of our

history. Trinidad and Tobago thus lends its support to

the call made by countries of the African diaspora in

the Caribbean and elsewhere for the commemoration

by the United Nations in 2007 of the abolition of the

Atlantic slave trade.

The United Nations is central to any resolution of

the problems with which the international community

is confronted in today’s world. It is only by having a

strong United Nations, fully resourced by its Member

Governments and imbued with the necessary political

will, that we will be able to tackle these problems and

provide this generation and succeeding generations

with a life of dignity and free from daily degradation of

the human spirit. We seek a life in peace and security

and free from the ravages of war, lived in good

economic and social conditions, without poverty,

illiteracy, hunger or disease.

This historical moment requires bold initiatives

on the part of the General Assembly President, who, in

tandem with the new Secretary-General, is called upon

to provide the vision, courage and strength of

conviction necessary to carry the United Nations

forward along the path to confronting the myriad

challenges facing the Organization in today’s world.

We are confident that they will both be up to the task.