Vanuatu, 1992

I join in

the congratulations extended to you. Sir, on your election as President of the

General Assembly at its forty-seventh session. Your election symbolizes the

great changes taking place throughout the world, and is a tribute to your

country and to your people, as well as to you yourself.

I should also like to pay a special tribute to you your predecessor,

Mr. Samir Shihabi, the former Permanent Representative of Saudi Arabia, for

the manner in which he presided over the affairs of the General Assembly

during its forty-sixth session.

There can be no doubt that there has been no period in our lifetime when

the world has enjoyed greater hope for a lasting international peace than it

does now. The gradual reduction of tension and the eventual elimination of

antagonisms between the world's two foremost military Powers have had dramatic

results in nuclear disarmament, and ultimately contributed to the end of the

cold war. Today, the widening circle of democracy holds out the promise of an

international environment that could become even more conducive to the

attainment of international peace and security.

None the less, many problems persist and plague the Earth, threatening

our never-ending search for justice, equality and peace. Democracy, so

cherished and championed, within certain national borders, is often less

cherished, if not disregarded, when it comes to the interests of the large and

powerful countries, on the one hand, and those of the smaller and economically

weaker States, on the other.

Moreover, nationalism, which could, and should, be a progressive vehicle

for unifying peoples, rather than dividing them, has on occasion been

encouraged to manifest its narrowest and most intolerant forms. In too many

parts of the world, old ethnic antagonisms have been reawakened and are being

exploited by demagogues who are very adept at using these antagonisms to serve

their selfish and short-sighted ambitions. Unfortunately, far too often the

victims of this demagoguery have no recourse to any legal mechanism that might

spare their lives and end their suffering.

Tragically, we have seen certain scenarios played out far too often. At

first, the world sits idly by and barely notices the insulting words and the

offensive speeches that are made. Then, even more inflammatory rhetoric is

spouted, and eventually stones are hurled. Next, individuals are assaulted in

the streets and their homes are invaded and vandalized. Before too long,

conditions deteriorate irreparably.

For some, that constitutes a point of no return. Ignorance, which breeds

hatred, accelerates and races forward unchecked, building its own momentum

with ever-increasing destructive force. Entire neighbourhoods or villages are

placed under siege. The demagogues, by now totally intoxicated by the false

power of the forces they have unleashed, will always try to claim to be

defending the loftiest ideals. In fact, they are simply following their

basest instincts.

Vanuatu has long been disturbed by the hesitancy and reluctance of some

members of the international community to address this very troublesome

issue. In the past we have warned that failure to examine the causes of

ethnic antagonisms or intercommunal conflicts, failure to devise peaceful ways

to resolve them, could only lead to a situation in which, one day,

international peace and security would be quite seriously threatened by such

developments. Regrettably, that day has now arrived. Thus, while some of us

have never had more reason to rejoice and others have never had more reason to

mourn, still others have never faced a less certain future.

What possible joy can a mother in the Balkans feel when she buries her

young son whose life was ended by an unknown sniper's bullet? What possible

joy can a father in Somalia feel when he watches his daughter die a slow and

painful death from starvation? What can possibly ease the terror that fills

the hearts of defenceless and innocent refugees who find themselves caught in

the vice of political and social indifference or who behold the chaos in

native lands they had always considered havens of justice and equality.

While some rightly rejoice over the end of the cold war and the spread of

democracy, others are homeless and continue to suffer the pangs of hunger

often the result of economic deprivation. Still others mourn the sudden and

violent end of the lives of their loved ones and wonder anxiously whether they

themselves will survive to see the next sunrise. While some are able to

applaud what has been achieved, others can only contemplate the long road

still to be travelled.

From South Africa to Afghanistan, from Cambodia to Haiti, from Bosnia and

Herzegovina to East Timor, from the heart of Europe all the way to the sunny

South Pacific, people are suffering some for a long time now because of

the difficulties of all kinds that they face, and the international community

must still shoulder the major responsibility.

All these ideas are emphasized in the Secretary-General's remarkable

report entitled "An Agenda for Peace". He has made a thought-provoking

analysis, and we find this document to be a very good starting-point for

much-needed discussions as we approach the fiftieth anniversary of the United

Nations and as mankind prepares to enter the twenty-first century.

The international political environment is not the only environment that

concerns us. Much has been written and much has been said about the Earth

Summit held this past June in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. It remains to be seen

what will be done as a follow-up to that very important meeting.

We are pleased to note that some very positive measures have already been

taken. The United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) is to be commended for

having made a significant financial contribution to Capacity 21. Canada has

indicated that it will follow suit. We trust that others also will do so very

soon. This important initiative will help the developing countries formulate

national policies and legislation in support of the environment and

sustainable development. It will focus on the technical training of human

resources and the strengthening of regional and national institutions. More

importantly, it will show how serious the developed countries of the North are

about the extensive multilateral commitments necessary to breathe life into

our post-Rio journey.

At this session of the General Assembly a number of important measures

should be taken as follow-ups to the Earth Summit. Among these, of course, is

the establishment of a high-level commission on sustainable development. It

is our hope that the commission's secretariat will be situated at United

Nations Headquarters here in New York and that the commission will meet in New

York so that all countries will have an opportunity to participate in, and

contribute to, the commission's important work. Situating the commission's

secretariat elsewhere and holding its meetings outside New York would without

any doubt result in sharply reduced participation by a large number of

developing countries and would limit the commission's effectiveness.

Furthermore, we feel that situating the commission in New York would be most

cost-effective for the United Nations and would stimulate the very necessary

interaction between the commission, UNDP, the United Nations Population Fund

(UNFPA), the World Bank and the other multilateral agencies that are so

essential to making the follow-up to Rio meaningful and effective.

We strongly believe, as do our colleagues in the Alliance of Small Island

States (AOSIS), that the decisions made with respect to the site of the

commission's secretariat, the venue of its meetings, its size and its

composition will be critical in determining whether there will be universal

participation and transparency in the work of the commission. Our major

concern is that this matter not be decided on any ground except what is likely

to lead to the most effective functioning of the commission and its productive

interaction with other agencies.

During the current session of the General Assembly, an intergovernmental

committee to negotiate a convention on drought and desertification will also

be established. Vanuatu intends to participate actively in that committee's

work and to lend its support to those countries most immediately threatened by

drought and desertification. We feel that addressing this problem is one of

the greatest challenges facing the international community.

Another of the very important measures the General Assembly will consider

as a follow-up to the Earth Summit is the proposal to hold a world conference

on the sustainable development of the small island States. Such a meeting is

long overdue. We hope a resolution on convening the conference will be

adopted by consensus and that the essential objective of the conference, which

AOSIS is proposing be held in Barbados, will be to ensure concrete and

meaningful action by the international community to assist the world's most

vulnerable, yet very frequently overlooked, countries. We appeal to all

countries to lend their support to this conference and to join us in the warm

and friendly atmosphere of Barbados next June in order to continue our journey

together on the road charted by the Rio Conference.

Vanuatu is not only a small island State but also a least developed

country. We therefore have a real concern for our economy as well as for

political democracy. Thus, we aspire also to economic development.

Therefore, we join in the appeals for measures to correct the trade

imbalances, to reduce the debt burden, and to establish fair prices for our

commodities. We believe that measures must be taken to overcome these

scourges of underdevelopment.

This subject is of such great importance that we approach the question of

the reform and restructuring of the United Nations development system with a

great deal of hope that creative approaches will be devised and effectively

utilized in the post-cold-war period.

We are pleased and proud to report that next month our Parliament in

Vanuatu will act on legislation required for the ratification of the United

Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, and the Convention on

Biological Diversity. We strongly feel it is essential that these conventions

be ratified, enter into force and be strictly adhered to at the earliest

possible moment.

We are also pleased that there is finally a convention banning chemical

weapons. We pray that those who possess such weapons and those who would

possess them will see the wisdom of becoming parties to that legal

instrument and forever banning those horrible tools of death.

Environmental disasters that have recently struck countries as diverse

and geographically distant from each other as the Bahamas, France, Nicaragua,

Pakistan and the United States suggest that the world has not a moment to

spare if we are to avoid the potential global calamity that could result from

mankind's long-term abuse of the environment. Precautionary, preventive

measures should be taken now; otherwise it will most assuredly be too late.

For decades, the peoples of the South Pacific have seen their region

utilized for the testing of nuclear weapons, for the dumping of radioactive

wastes and, most recently, for the destruction of chemical weapons. Our

region paid high and unwanted costs for technologies from which we received

comparatively little benefit. Today, we South Pacific leaders are very

concerned about plans to ship plutonium through our waters. We trust that

those who are involved in these plans will heed our voices while we still have

voices to be heard.

I conclude by joining in the welcome that has been expressed to all of

our new Members. Theirs has not been an easy path to statehood, international

recognition and membership of the United Nations. We salute their

perseverance and their vision of their own futures. We stand ready to join

hands with them in forging a more effective, more representative and more

responsive United Nations. In that way we shall help to create a more

democratic international order a world order that is democratic in fact as

well as in word; a world order that respects all countries, whether large and

powerful or small and vulnerable.