Dominica, 1996

It is indeed a pleasure

for me to extend my delegation’s congratulations to

Ambassador Razali and his country, Malaysia, on his

election to the high office of President of the fifty-first

session of the General Assembly. I entertain no doubt that

17

he will be able to draw upon his proven diplomatic skills

and considerable experience to guide the affairs of the

General Assembly in a creditable and exemplary manner.

Permit me also to express my appreciation and thanks to

his immediate predecessor, Mr. Diogo Freitas do Amaral of

Portugal, for the competence which he demonstrated in

presiding over the historic fiftieth session of the General

Assembly.

The United Nations was established 51 years ago with

a focus on the maintenance of peace and security, and

while that remains the objective, the linkage between peace

and economic and social development, enshrined in the

Charter, must be recognized and strengthened if the world

is to escape the inexorable consequences of the

continuously widening gap between rich and poor nations.

We were led to believe that the peace dividend resulting

from the end of the cold war would provide the engine for

greater economic development. Obviously, that has not

materialized. Indeed, the opposite has occurred. The

developing world continues to experience a steady

shrinkage of development assistance. And at this critical

juncture, small island States, already hampered by size,

geographic location, topography and climatic conditions, are

having their very existence threatened by the policies and

practices of multinationals, made all the more formidable

by overwhelming support from their Governments.

The production and export of bananas are vital to the

economic viability of the Commonwealth of Dominica, as

they are to all the islands of the Windward group. The

banana industry in the Windward Islands accounts for less

than 5 per cent of world production. The producers are

small landowners; the production costs are relatively high;

and any attempt by the Windward Islands producers to sell

their products on the open market would be suicidal.

Recognizing the peculiar difficulties of Windward Islands

producers and their traditional access to the European

market, the European Union has established a regime

reserving less than 10 per cent of its market for bananas

from the Caribbean. That regime is now under attack from

multinationals in Latin America and elsewhere, with huge

resources augmented by the power, prestige and political

might of their national Governments.

In the struggle to save an industry critical to our

economic survival, our political stability and our democratic

traditions and institutions, we call upon the international

community to take note of the very real possibility of social

upheaval and political disaster in the region if this challenge

to the European Union regime were to succeed. It is rather

incongruous that the same forces that are at the forefront of

the effort to establish democratic institutions and

representative governments in certain parts of the world

are also engaged in an enterprise which, if successful, is

calculated to destroy the free and democratic way of life

in the eastern Caribbean. The international community has

an interest in seeing that these small societies remain free

and stable, and it has an obligation to ensure that that

freedom and stability subsist.

The scourge of illicit drug traffic and drug abuse

must continue to be of great concern to the international

community. The problem knows no boundary, it respects

no ideology or power, it makes no distinction between

rich and poor, North and South, East and West. Its engine

is driven by the prospect of huge fortunes amassed

clandestinely and quickly. Universal in its destructive

force, the illicit drug problem presents a unique challenge

to the world. The Commonwealth of Dominica has taken

steps, commensurate with its limited resources, to deal

with the problem at the national level, and it is a party to

cooperative regional arrangements aimed at impeding the

trans-shipment of illicit drugs through the Caribbean

region. Recognizing, however, that the problem is

demand-driven, we must make it clear that the prospects

for success in this effort will remain dim unless there is

a greater undertaking by the major consumer centres to

reduce the demand for the product.

Connected with international drug trafficking is the

illegal trade in arms and, tangentially, international

terrorism. The twin evils of illicit arms and international

terrorism have as their purpose the destruction of innocent

lives, the violation of the fundamental tenets of the

civilized world and the subversion of the democratic

freedoms of all mankind. An unprecedented effort by

Members of the United Nations will be required if we are

to control the illicit trade in arms and extinguish the

threat of terrorism. Compounding the problem is the legal

trade in conventional weapons of increasing sophistication

and destructiveness. With regard to nuclear weapons, the

Commonwealth of Dominica believes that the Non-

Proliferation Treaty and the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-

Ban Treaty are merely way-stations on the road to the

desirable end of a world free of all such arsenals.

We are extremely concerned and aggrieved by the

continuing practice of trans-shipping nuclear waste and

other hazardous substances through the Caribbean Sea.

Assurances of safe procedures and infinitesimal risks are

unconvincing, particularly when such trans-shipments are

made through the Caribbean Sea during the hurricane

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season and at a period of heightened seismic activity in the

Caribbean region.

The Commonwealth of Dominica, together with other

members of the Caribbean Community (CARICOM)

continues to view this dangerous practice as a potentially

serious threat to the fragile ecosystem and to the livelihood

and well-being of the people of the region, and we call

upon the States engaging in the practice to demonstrate

some regard for our justifiable concerns. We earnestly seek

the support of the international community in our ongoing

effort to halt the shipment of these dangerous materials

through the Caribbean Sea.

For several decades, the Republic of China on Taiwan

has exercised and continues to exercise sovereign authority

over a defined geographical area inhabited today by 21

million souls. This year, the process of political reform

achieved its ultimate goal when, for the first time in

history, the President of the Republic of China on Taiwan

was democratically elected in free and fair elections.

Democracy is alive and well in the Republic of China on

Taiwan. The peace and security of the region are not

threatened today, nor have they ever been threatened, by the

Republic of China on Taiwan. Indeed, the Republic of

China’s human rights record, its commitment to market

economy and multilateralism and its economic assistance

programmes have served to enhance the prospects for

peace, security and stability in the area and beyond.

As the members of the European Parliament stated in

their resolution of 17 July 1996, the Republic of China on

Taiwan can play an important beneficial role in the

international community, and it is clear that the exclusion

of the Republic of China on Taiwan from the world’s

councils, from the United Nations and its specialized

agencies, and from the major international financial

institutions concerned with development and the eradication

of poverty is a detriment to us all. The Commonwealth of

Dominica believes that on the principle of universality, the

Republic of China on Taiwan should be admitted as a

Member of the United Nations.

Just over two years ago the world applauded the

progress that had been made in the bilateral negotiations

between Israel and its Arab neighbours in the Middle East,

and we expressed cautious optimism with respect to the

eventual resolution of the conflict and the progress towards

a full and just peace in the region. Recent events have

given reason for pause, however. We recognize that a

solution to the problem in the Middle East can only be

achieved through the energies of the States in the region

and their genuine commitment to peace. But the

international community and the United Nations in

particular have an interest — indeed, a duty — to

facilitate and assist the process towards the realization of

the legitimate hopes, aspirations and security needs of the

peoples in the area.

The Commonwealth of Dominica abhors the concept

of national laws having extraterritorial jurisdiction and

serving as underpinnings for illegal secondary boycotts.

We are particularly troubled by the potential use of these

instruments by large and powerful States to compromise

the territorial integrity and national sovereignty of small

States like ours.

The restructuring and reform of the United Nations

system continues in the face of a forced financial crisis

that undermines the very result intended by the reform

programme, namely, an Organization with the capacity to

discharge its worldwide obligations effectively and

efficiently. We continue to be supportive of the efforts to

exercise budgetary restraints, to reduce waste and to

eliminate unnecessary duplication, but we caution against

a programme of retrenchment detrimental to the existence

of programmes designed to assist small developing

nations. Indeed, we believe that the end-product of the

reform of the United Nations should be an Organization

better equipped to be an effective force for development

and economic growth.

In this age of globalization, the United Nations

continues to be an important agent for economic growth

and development and a vital instrument in maintaining

world peace. The Commonwealth of Dominica recognizes

and applauds the achievements of the United Nations in

those areas. The capacity of the Organization to meet the

challenges of the years ahead will depend on our

collective will and commitment to effecting measurable

improvement in the human condition.