Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, 2001

Mr. President, I bring you greetings from the small and

beautiful country of Saint Vincent and the Grenadines.

Please accept our congratulations on your election as

President of the fifty-sixth session of the General

Assembly. You are assured of my country’s full support

for a successful session. We would also like to offer

our heartfelt congratulations to Secretary-General Kofi

Annan on his election to a second term, and to the

United Nations Organization and the Secretary-General

for the prestigious Nobel Peace Prize received in

honour of their efforts to ensure a better and more

peaceful world. It is impossible to think of more

deserving recipients of this award as this coalition of

nations and our beloved Secretary-General strive to

ensure that the Organization fulfils its mandate

according to the Charter.

I commend the President of the United States of

America for the statesmanship and resolve with which

he continues to deal with the difficulties at hand. I also

salute the civic leaders of this great city of New York

for the institutional leadership during this problematic

time. The city has been visited by tragedy once again

this week. On behalf of the Government and people of

Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, I offer sincere

condolences to all those touched by this latest disaster,

not least our neighbours and friends in the Dominican

Republic.

Our Government stands firm with the

international community on Security Council

resolution 1373 (2001) against terrorism. We are

working closely with the Governments of the region,

the Caribbean Community (CARICOM), Latin

America and the United States in an effort to fight the

scourge of terrorism. Our Government has tightened

security and implemented measures intended to close

any possible avenue that criminals and terrorists may

exploit. We will do whatever is necessary to ensure that

barbarism is defeated. Compliance with resolution

1373 (2001) is difficult and expensive for small States

with limited means and technical expertise. But we will

comply.

The international community has mustered an

impressive effort to fight the plague of terrorism. In

this midst of this, however, we must not lose sight of

the fact that terrorism will not be eradicated by one

victory in one war. It behooves us as world leaders to

look deeper into the causes of violence and terror. It is

the firm belief of my Government that marginalization

of the poor and underprivileged creates a hotbed for

extremism and lawlessness.

We in Saint Vincent and the Grenadines and the

wider Caribbean have triumphed over the evils of

slavery and colonialism to emerge with a truly noble

civilization. We are a people made up of races from the

four corners of the earth who have melded into one

beautiful whole. We are democratic in our governance

and tolerant in our attitudes. We are a hard-working,

industrious people. We are proud. It is not in our nature

to seek alms from the rich. But, Mr. President, it is

self-evident that an economy such as ours, which is

almost totally dependent on agriculture and tourism,

needs help if we are to survive and prosper.

The influence of the multinational Chiquita and

Dole banana companies has been working for years to

destroy the industry of our banana farmers. The World

Trade Organization (WTO), of which we are a member,

seems bent on widening the gulf between rich and poor.

We are not optimistic about the outcome of this week’s

economic Ministerial Meeting in Doha. A farmer

working one or two acres of mountain land and eking

out a living cannot compete with the giants who control

thousands of acres in the Central American countries.

Mr. President, if you take away that which feeds

us, you must offer something in return. That is why the

upcoming conference in Mexico on financing for

development is of seminal importance to the small and

developing countries of this world. It is time for the

economic giants of the world to stop paying lip service

to the idea of financing for development and to put into

practice real and workable means for the poor,

underprivileged and vulnerable nations to join the

mainstream. We need the commercial barriers erected

by those intent on maintaining their hegemony to be

removed. We adhere to the adage “Trade, not Aid”. But

this is not yet a realistic option and, in the present

climate, will not be for the foreseeable future. We hate

asking for charity. We merely ask that promises be kept

and commitments adhered to. As a small island

developing State, we need relief from the burden of our

foreign debts, high interest rates and other unfair

international trade constraints. We need the Bretton

Woods institutions to perform their function in a

democratic and just manner.

HIV/AIDS remains rampant worldwide. The

recent grave disaster in the United States of America

has pushed other burning issues of the day off the

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world agenda, but people have not stopped dying of

AIDS. The 26 million who have been forecast to

succumb to the scourge in the next 10 years will still

succumb. In the same way that the United States and

the European Union were able to persuade drug

companies to produce drugs to combat anthrax at a

fraction of their normal cost, the same drug companies

should be persuaded to produce affordable treatment

for this plague, which is causing a national security

threat to many poor countries.

The state of affairs of HIV/AIDS has reached

circumstances of extreme urgency in our country. The

Caribbean is now only second to sub-Saharan Africa in

having the fastest rise in the incidents of HIV/AIDS.

We are not equipped to handle this crisis. We are not

able to afford the drugs to treat our people. Therefore,

our people are dying — dying in their hundreds and

thousands. This world crisis, unlike terrorism, is one of

which we know exactly what is required. Do we have

the will to provide the necessary means in order to

resolve this problem? The special session of the

General Assembly last June on HIV/AIDS ended with a

global commitment to combat this disease. Are we

living up to our commitment?

Prior to 11 September, our Government

implemented sound fiscal policies that resulted in

positive economic growth for our country. However,

after that infamous day, the economic outlook turned

extremely bleak. Our burgeoning tourist industry has

suffered tremendously, with employment taking an

especially heavy blow. Hotel occupancy dropped to a

15-year low. There seems to be no end to the ripple

effects on the industry. Just as people were beginning

to fly again, we had the tragedy in Queens on Monday.

This plunges us deeper into economic gloom and the

real and frightening possibility of recession looms ever

closer.

Following the admission of Tuvalu to the United

Nations last year, we were very close to realizing the

principle of universality set forth in the Charter of the

United Nations. Now, only one remaining country

awaits admission to the United Nations. That country,

as we all know, is the Republic of China on Taiwan.

The Republic of China’s impressive record of

economic and political development is one of the most

persuasive reasons to eliminate the United Nations sole

exception to universality. Fifty years ago, Taiwan was a

poor and underdeveloped society. Fifty years later, the

Republic of China on Taiwan has become an affluent

and prosperous country, with a per capita gross national

product of around $14,000, annual trade of over $300

billion and a gross national product of $320 billion.

Although the Republic of China is only the one

hundred thirty-eighth largest country in the world in

terms of lands and the forty-sixth largest in terms of

population, it is today the world’s seventeenth largest

economy, the fifteenth largest trading nation, the eighth

largest investor, the fourth largest holder of foreign

exchange and the third largest exporter of information

technology products.

Under our principle of universality, we cannot

continue to exclude a country with such an impressive

record of achievements. The time has come to open our

doors to the Republic of China on Taiwan.

The situation in Afghanistan calls for immediate

action on the part of the United Nations to fill the

power vacuum left by the departure of the ruling

Taliban from the capital, Kabul. We must make sure

that the new administration is representative of all

factions and we must further ensure that the suffering

and starving people receive immediate humanitarian

aid to ensure their survival through the coming winter

months.

Finally, I must reiterate that we are encouraged

by the efforts undertaken by the United Nations to

work towards a society that ensures security and human

dignity for all in the future. The future looks good if

we all work together for the betterment of mankind. I

assure the Assembly that my Prime Minister, Mr. Ralph

Gonsalves, and the Government and people of Saint

Vincent and the Grenadines are fully committed to

supporting the United Nations in these endeavours, and

may God direct all of us on this path.