Dominica, 1998

It is my distinct honour and

privilege to address this body once again. In doing so, may

I take the opportunity to offer, on behalf of the

Commonwealth of Dominica, sincere congratulations to

you, Sir, on your assumption of the presidency of the

General Assembly at its fifty-third session. My thanks are

also extended to Ambassador Udovenko, who so ably

guided the fifty-second session.

Our Secretary-General, Mr. Kofi Annan, has been

indefatigable in his efforts to bring about peace in various

countries and regions. To him we express our thanks and

congratulations. Last year, I extended an invitation to him

to visit the Caribbean. He has not yet done so. The

invitation remains open.

The Caribbean region continues to demonstrate its

commitment to the democratic process. Since we last met

in this forum the people of several of our States, within

the provisions of the existing rules, freely expressed their

will as to who should lead them into the new millennium.

Our assertion that democracy is alive and well is not

a reflection that all is well in the region. The Charter of

this Organization imposes an obligation on all its

Members to work for the peace, security and economic

and social development of all peoples of the world. As

we seek to discharge that obligation, it behoves us to be

constantly cognizant of those factors and events which

would militate against our success. Some of these are

natural and unavoidable; others are man-made and

regrettable.

The Caribbean was only a few days ago severely

impacted upon by one such natural disaster, Hurricane

Georges. The damage inflicted was extensive, particularly

in St. Kitts and Nevis, Antigua and Barbuda, Haiti and the

Dominican Republic. On their behalf, I urge this body to

generously respond to their expressed need for assistance in

the reconstruction work. But the Charter obligations of the

United Nations call for more than an ad hoc response

arrangement. We must first recognize the acute

vulnerability of small States to natural disasters such as

hurricanes, floods, volcanoes, earthquakes and so on, and

their intrinsic limitations in mitigating and responding to

them.

What is being proposed, therefore, is the establishment

of a disaster reconstruction fund under the auspices of the

United Nations, the resources of which would be available

for quick and effective response to the needs of small

States post disaster. And there is still more that must be

done. Global warming and the greenhouse effect must be

halted.

There are on the agenda of this fifty-third session of

the General Assembly many matters of profound

importance to the Commonwealth of Dominica and the

Caribbean Community as a whole. These include

macroeconomic policy questions on trade and development;

the revitalization of the economic growth and development

of developing countries; the United Nations Decade for the

Eradication of Poverty; the protection of the global climate

for present and future generations of mankind; and

cooperation between the United Nations and the Caribbean

Community.

That cooperation is nowhere more necessary than in

our fight to maintain the integrity of the market for our

bananas. Our fight is against some very powerful members

of this very United Nations, which seem determined to

derail our democracy, upset our efforts to eradicate poverty

and undermine the peace and security of our region.

The people of the Commonwealth of Dominica and

the people of the Caribbean Community look to the United

Nations to intervene on their behalf. The people of the

Commonwealth of Dominica and the Caribbean Community

are firm in their conviction that globalization and trade

liberalization cannot be allowed to result in the

marginalization and economic disintegration of small

developing States.

We seek a level playing field on which our people can

engage meaningfully in trade and development, rather than

be for ever subjected to the aid-and-dependency syndrome.

Our expressed desire to hold on to our banana industry,

which has served us well, in no way reflects any

misunderstanding of the reality of the current trade and

economic environment.

We in the Commonwealth of Dominica are actively

engaged in the diversification of our economy, involving

the agricultural, tourism and service sectors. We have

made progress towards improving air access to our

country and are providing increased opportunities for our

children to receive secondary and tertiary education.

We consider the recent naming of one of our

national parks, Morne Trois Pitons, as a World Heritage

site to be a resounding statement of our commitment to

the preservation and effective utilization of our

environment.

It is a source of comfort to us that all this has been

achieved in an environment of social and political

stability. We must, however, sound the warning bells, as

we note with great foreboding the practice by some of

deporting to our countries hardened criminals who have

learned and practised their trade in their adopted

homelands for several decades. In like manner, the

unwarranted disruption and dismantling of families

through inhumane immigration laws requires the attention

of this Organization.

I respectfully submit that in all our deliberations and

actions, as indeed in every aspect of human endeavour,

the aspirations and legitimate expectations of the people

must be central. The 21.5 million people of the Republic

of China on Taiwan aspire to be represented in this body.

They have a legitimate expectation that their country, a

founding Member of the United Nations, should have its

membership restored. We cannot but lend them our

support. Ours must be a policy of inclusion.

A cursory look at our agenda reveals 21 items

dealing with the financing of United Nations

peacekeeping or observer missions, all associated with

war, threats of war, “ethnic cleansing”, terrorism and the

like. This suggests that although much has been achieved,

much more must be done. We must focus our attention on

the preservation of peace and security, thereby reducing

the need for the restoration of peace and security.

There should be no compromise in the fight against

terrorism, whether it be in Kenya, Tanzania or Northern

Ireland. We note and are glad for the encouraging signs

emanating from the Middle East. We should take our cue

from the famous British politician who said “To jaw-jaw

2

is better than war-war”, and seek to settle our disputes

peacefully in the spirit of our Charter.

By the time this fifty-third session of the General

Assembly comes to a close, many speeches will have been

delivered from this podium, articulate, substantive speeches,

delivered by men and women who together hold and wield

enormous power.

The peoples of the world have heard us talk. But is

that all they want from us? I submit that the answer is a

resounding no. They want action. An agenda that includes

165 items suggests that much work lies ahead of us. Yet I

propose one additional task: that the Secretary-General and

his able team of professionals subject all of our speeches to

detailed scrutiny and analysis and, in keeping with the

directive of the Summit of the Americas, let us “put words

into deeds”.

In this way, we will give the lie to those critics who

claim this place is only a talk shop, and demonstrate to

them that it is indeed an action station.

The Commonwealth of Dominica and the Caribbean

Community hold dearly to the principles enshrined in the

Charter of the United Nations. We are firmly committed to

working with all Members and nations to bring about an

improved quality of life for all the peoples of this world.