Barbados, 1993

Permit me, Sir, on behalf of

the Government and people of Barbados, to express our

profound appreciation of the high honour which the

international community has done to our region by your

unanimous election to the presidency of the forty-eighth

session of the General Assembly. As I join all those who

have offered you congratulations from this rostrum, I feel

bound to note with pride the considerable diplomatic skill,

experience and commitment which you bring to the Chair

and which allow my delegation the confidence to anticipate

a most successful and satisfactory session.

May I also commend your predecessor, Mr. Stoyan

Ganev, for having safely guided us through the demanding

deliberations of the forty-seventh session.

We particularly thank the Secretary-General for his

valiant efforts to secure international peace and security.

Barbados welcomes Andorra, Eritrea, the Czech

Republic, Monaco, Macedonia and Slovakia to membership

of this great Organization, which we are sure will benefit

from their participation.

It augurs well for the outcome of this session of the

General Assembly that it has started against a backdrop of

some success - however tenuous - in Haiti, in South Africa

and in the Middle East. The cases of the Middle East and

South Africa, especially, represent triumphs of diplomacy

and patient negotiation. In this regard, no praise is too high

for Norway’s outstanding contribution in guiding seemingly

intractable enemies along the difficult and daring path

towards peace. As we in Barbados laud such a remarkable

achievement, we hope fervently that it will lead soon to the

long-sought goals of an Israel within secure boundaries and

a homeland for the Palestinian people, goals envisaged in

Security

Council resolutions 242 (1967) and 338 (1973). We dare to

hope, too, that that reality, once achieved, will lead to a

lasting peace in the region.

In South Africa, despite the carefully orchestrated

campaign of violence and terrorism aimed at subverting

every effort to create a non-racial, democratic South Africa,

President de Klerk African National Congress President,

10 General Assembly - Forty-eighth session

Nelson Mandela have, with truly remarkable courage and

foresight, brought their country to the point where the

transition to democracy has now been enshrined in the laws

of South Africa. Barbados rejoices that a date has been

fixed for the holding of universal elections, and we welcome

the establishment of the Transitional Executive Council to

prepare for those elections.

In praising those two leaders, we must not overlook the

significant contributions of the President of the Pan-

Africanist Congress, Mr. Clarence Makwetu, and the many

patriots on all sides, present and past, who have made and

continue to make their various contributions, sometimes even

to the extent of the supreme sacrifice. The encouraging

progress in South Africa demands and deserves, no less than

the process in the Middle East, the wholehearted support of

the international community.

The issue of Haiti is a matter of extreme importance to

the peace and security of the people of the Caribbean. You

are well aware, Sir, that the Heads of Government of the

Caribbean Community were long convinced that the

unfortunate and unacceptable state of affairs resulting from

the overthrow of the elected President of Haiti could be

resolved only through the intervention of the Security

Council, the valiant efforts of the Organization of American

States notwithstanding.

The fact that the Governors Island Agreement was

signed so soon after the adoption of Security Council

resolution 841 (1993) would seem to justify our consistent

position. Today we continue to be apprehensive over the

level and nature of the widespread turmoil in Port-au-Prince,

turmoil which seems designed to delay, if not derail, the

return of President Aristide to his rightful place. The

international community in general, and the Security Council

in particular, must not sit idly by, merely expressing regret

at the sorry state of affairs in that unhappy country. The

Security Council - indeed, all of our countries - must be

prepared to take whatever action is necessary to ensure that

the murders and assassinations cease. All parties must be

made to honour the Governors Island Agreement and the

results of the 1991 elections.

There is another issue which the people of the

Caribbean have contemplated with more or less trepidation

during the past 34 years. And although none of them might

have an immediate solution to offer, many believe that

nothing would bring more joy to the people of the region

than the announcement of an impending rapprochement

between the Republic of Cuba and our great neighbour to the

north. In the light of recent international events, Barbados

refuses to believe that only between these two countries can

no path to a peaceful resolution of their conflict be found.

Four years ago in Barbados we celebrated the 350th

anniversary of parliamentary practice. And it is in that

context that we applaud the United Nations for its role in the

conduct of successful elections in Angola and Cambodia.

While we are pleased at the post-election progress being

made in Cambodia, we are concerned about the deterioration

in Angola. We urge the international community to be more

vigilant in monitoring events in Angola. The comity of

nations has a duty to ensure that the results of free and fair

elections are accepted and respected by all parties - in Haiti,

in Angola, in Cambodia or wherever else there is

involvement by the United Nations in any such process. No

party anywhere should ever be allowed even to think that the

international community would tolerate the frustration of

properly conducted election exercises.

Barbados remains convinced that the international

community must adopt an integrated approach to peace, an

approach which concentrates on building and preserving

peace rather than on mere peace-keeping. Barbados

therefore appreciates the attention currently being paid by

this Organization to international security and peace-keeping.

Indeed, we welcome the recent adoption of General

Assembly resolution 47/120, endorsing the Secretary-

General’s "Agenda for Peace". We recognize that, in the

search for consensus, the interests of all parties have not

been fully addressed, but we consider that the reforms

recommended represent a useful first step towards the

enhanced role the United Nations is called upon to play in

the promotion of international peace and security.

International peace and security can hardly be attained

if the global environment continues to be sullied by rampant

human rights abuses. Barbados welcomes the advances

contained in the Vienna Declaration and Programme of

Action of the World Conference on Human Rights,

particularly the re-emphasis of the universality of human

rights and the right to development as a human right.

However, we must here reiterate that the widespread

resurgence of racism, xenophobia, religious intolerance,

ethnic conflicts and various other forms of human rights

abuses pose a most serious threat to the peace and security

of all of us.

The proposal to create a post of high commissioner for

human rights was such a contentious issue at the World

Conference for Human Rights that it has been referred to

this session for action. Barbados considers that before such

a post is established the following considerations should be

taken into account. First, the mandate of the high

Forty-eighth session - 12 October l993 11

commissioner should be satisfactorily defined. Secondly,

there should be adequate safeguards to ensure the

commissioner’s independence and neutrality. Thirdly, the

office of the high commissioner should not be manipulated

to achieve the political ends of any State. Fourthly, the high

commissioner should be empowered to investigate alleged

human rights abuses across all borders, and not on a

selective basis.

Barbados believes that preventive measures taken to

guarantee international peace and security must also include

efforts to safeguard basic social and economic rights.

However, we are equally convinced that not enough is being

done to address development problems. We concur in the

Secretary-General’s view that respect for human rights, the

rule of law and democracy cannot survive outside a

framework of adequate development. Where access to food,

clothing, shelter, education, health and the opportunity for

gainful employment is denied, democracy cannot flourish.

In spite of 50 years of unprecedented technological

progress, in many parts of the world abject poverty still

persists. An estimated 1.1 billion persons, or one-fifth of

humankind, are unable to afford even minimally acceptable

levels of food and shelter. This problem, though

concentrated largely within the developing world, has

transcended national boundaries and now affects persons in

the developing and developed countries alike. Low

commodity prices, lack of investment capital, the inability to

secure access to world markets, and high unemployment and

low productivity have contributed to the marginalization of

millions of unfortunate persons.

Particularly hard hit are our young people, among

whom disillusionment and despair have already begun to

take their toll, driving a growing number of them to resort

to various forms of anti-social behaviour, including drug

trafficking and drug abuse. This desperate situation will not

disappear because of speeches denouncing poverty, or the

adoption of resolutions calling for its elimination. Rather,

we must urgently adopt radical measures designed to attack

and eliminate the conditions which fuel the growing and

unacceptable levels of poverty in our societies.

Barbados considers that social development will be

among the greatest challenges facing the United Nations in

the twenty-first century. We therefore regard the

convocation of the World Summit on Social Development,

scheduled for Copenhagen in 1995, as a clear signal that

social development has become a priority issue on the world

agenda. Barbados believes that that Summit will provide the

international community with an opportunity to direct

attention to the acute problems relating to development. Our

conviction is that the focus of the development debate must

be shifted to human development and that bold initiatives

must be taken to combat poverty and to lighten the burden

which structural adjustment places on the most vulnerable in

our societies - our women and our children.

Barbados is heartened by the Secretary-General’s

"agenda for development" proposal and looks forward with

interest to reviewing the report requested in General

Assembly resolution 47/181. We also welcome the timely

initiative taken by the Government of Papua New Guinea, an

initiative in which I understand you yourself, Mr. President,

have no small interest. My delegation hopes that this matter

will be given the serious and urgent consideration it merits.

Among the deterrents to development, drug trafficking

remains one source of grave concern to the Governments of

the Caribbean. Apart from the tragic consequences that drug

addiction has for the health of our people, illegal drugs

constitute the single most pervasive ingredient of increased

crime in our societies. In Barbados, for example, the

majority of criminal cases brought before the courts involve

directly or indirectly some linkage to drugs. Penal and

health systems are being stretched to their limits, while the

financial implications of enforcement and rehabilitation are

staggering. Not even developed countries have yet been able

to eradicate from their societies drug abuse and its

mirror-image, drug trafficking. Developing countries are

still further disadvantaged by their chronic inability to take

on the powerful drug cartels and the narco-terrorists with

any hope of real success. The problem is transnational in

scope.

It is therefore imperative that the Global Programme of

Action adopted at the 1990 special session on drugs be

implemented as soon as possible and that cooperation at the

bilateral, regional and multilateral levels be enhanced. The

role of the United Nations Drug Control Programme is vital

to this process. Barbados looks forward to the four

high-level special plenary meetings scheduled to take place

during this session. We expect that further measures to

combat the universal scourge of drug abuse will emerge,

along with the provision of the adequate funding necessary

to achieve these ends.

It has been a year now since the United Nations

Conference on Environment and Development was convened

in Rio de Janeiro. Since that time, other matters - primarily

matters of peace and security - have helped to push

environment and development issues out of the limelight.

The meeting of the Commission on Sustainable

Development, charged with the responsibility of monitoring

the implementation of Agenda 21, served to remind us that

12 General Assembly - Forty-eighth session

sustainable development must continue to receive serious

attention from the international community. The

Commission succeeded in generating the necessary political

will to impart a powerful impetus to national action for the

implementation of Agenda 21. We can ill afford any loss in

momentum.

This brings me to the Global Conference on the

Sustainable Development of Small Island Developing States,

which the Government of Barbados has offered to host. The

Conference will take place in Barbados from 25 April to 6

May 1994. The Government and people of Barbados are

honoured that the international community has, in accepting

our offer, placed its confidence in our capacity to host

successfully a conference of this size and importance. The

Conference will be the first of the follow-up activities of the

United Nations Conference on Environment and

Development (UNCED) to be completed. It presents an

early opportunity for the implementation of the commitments

reached at the Rio Earth Summit. As such, the Conference

also represents a test of the political will of the international

community to match the solemn commitments of Agenda 21

with real action towards more sustainable development.

My colleague the Minister of the Environment, Housing

and Lands of Barbados recently briefed the Preparatory

Committee of the Global Conference on the Sustainable

Development of Small Island Developing States on the

progress of preparations for the Conference. My delegation

will submit details on further progress when the item comes

up for discussion in the substantive Committee. However,

let me at this stage put on record my Government’s

appreciation of the spirit and atmosphere which prevailed in

the Preparatory Committee. Unfortunately, the meeting of

the Preparatory Committee fell victim to the emergency

conference-servicing measures announced by the

Secretary-General on 26 August 1993 and for that and other

reasons the preparatory process did not go as far as it might

have. Barbados shares the view, expressed by many

delegations attending the meeting of the Preparatory

Committee, that it would be dangerous to leave finalization

of the preparatory process until April 1994 in Barbados.

Given the number and complexity of the issues left

outstanding from the Preparatory Committee, Barbados is

convinced that some arrangements must be put in place to

continue the preparatory process. We therefore look forward

to working with interested delegations towards reaching

agreement on an appropriate mechanism for continuing the

preparatory process prior to the commencement of the

Conference.

The Barbados Conference will provide the basis for the

building of a partnership for the implementation of the

decisions taken at Rio. The international community will be

afforded the opportunity to signal its commitment to move

forward towards more sustainable patterns of development

in a pragmatic, realistic manner, based on practical,

achievable goals. The people of Barbados look forward

eagerly to welcoming representatives of each and every

Member State in April 1994.

The threat of natural disasters to the sustained

development of small developing countries must not be

underestimated. Barbados applauds the efforts of all those

associated with the International Decade for Natural Disaster

Reduction, to lessen the vulnerability of those communities

most susceptible to such disasters. We consider it essential

that response capabilities in this area be improved with all

deliberate speed.

Barbados is collaborating closely with the Caribbean

Disaster Preparedness Agency, the Caribbean Regional

System, and with the Pan American Health

Organization/World Health Organization to continue to

improve its capacity to bounce back from the effects of a

grade five-hurricane or to be able to come to the aid of any

of our Caribbean neighbours who may fall victim to any

natural disasters. I am happy to be able to report that across

our region we have succeeded to some degree, at great

expenditure of effort and resources, in improving our

capability to mitigate the effects of natural disasters.

Barbados supports wholeheartedly the current initiative

of the United Nations to fashion a safer environment for all.

The Organization is now called upon to expand its activities

over wide areas of the globe. The new freedom of action

reflects the current geopolitical reality. A new configuration

of power is taking shape. While it is too early to determine

the outcome we must seek to mould this new phenomenon

into an instrument for the preservation of peace and security

and for the alleviation of human suffering everywhere.

The Secretary-General has not missed an opportunity in

recent times to highlight the dichotomy with which he is

faced. He continues to point out that additional mandates

are being heaped upon the Organization as a result of the

new climate without a corresponding willingness to provide

adequate resources for their execution. Barbados strongly

supports the expressions of concern by the Secretary-

General. We urge all Member States to do the best they can

to correct this unsatisfactory situation. It is clear that there

are some States whose capacity to pay may temporarily

outstrip their actual ability to pay, but it is unconscionable

for those who can pay not to do so. I trust, Mr. President,

that under your expert guidance the General Assembly will

finally be able to take appropriate measures to address the

Forty-eighth session - 12 October l993 13

financial crisis threatening the very existence of the

Organization.

Barbados accepts that the Security Council must always

be allowed to function without unnecessary hindrance. We

recognize equally clearly the principle of accountability.

The Council has served its purpose well in the past, but

changing times and circumstances dictate the need for an

enhanced participation.

Twenty-seven years ago as a member of my country’s

first delegation, I sat in this Hall and listened to the then

Prime Minister, the Right Honourable Errol Barrow, deliver

his inaugural address to the Assembly at its twenty-first

session.

In the intervening years though much has changed

much has remained the same. Small countries like mine still

belong to the submerged two thirds of the world’s

population, and where we manage by our own painful efforts

to raise our living standards we are faced with the prospect

of graduation. To be faced with graduation on the one hand

and structural adjustment on the other is to be caught

between Scylla and Charybdis. Once again Barbados would

urge with all the power at its command that the constant

threat of graduation be lifted from the vulnerable economies

of small, developing countries.

In looking back over those 27 years with their ups and

downs, their triumphs and disappointments, through

prosperity and adversity, graduation and structural

adjustment, as Mr. Barrow was on that day, I too am

reminded of John Bunyan’s Mr. Valiant For Truth when he

said:

"Tho with great difficulty I am got hither,

Yet now I do not repent me of all the trouble I have

been at to arrive where I am."