Dominica, 2005

Mr. President, please

allow me, on behalf of the Government of the

Commonwealth of Dominica, to extend our

congratulations to you on your assumption of the

presidency at the sixtieth session of the General

Assembly. My delegation is confident that, with your

experience and diplomatic skills, you will preside over

the Assembly with the effectiveness and the dedication

required to take us through the agenda of the sixtieth

session. We extend to your predecessor, Mr. Jean Ping

of Gabon, our sincere appreciation for his stewardship

of the fifty-ninth session and for his tireless efforts to

guide the preparation of the outcome document. Our

warm tribute is also due to the Secretary-General for

his unqualified dedication to this institution.

Allow me at the outset to convey our deepest

sympathies and condolences to the Government and the

people of the United States of America in the wake of

the deaths and widespread destruction caused by

Hurricane Katrina. We remain concerned about the

potential devastation that Hurricane Rita is likely to

unleash in coming days.

One week ago, world leaders gathered here at the

historic High-level Plenary Meeting and demonstrated

their collective political will to overcome the many

challenges facing the world. They charted a clear

direction for a future of peace and prosperity for all

humankind. They reaffirmed their commitment to

achieving the Millennium Development Goals

(MDGs), underscored the continuing relevance of the

United Nations and its indispensable role in the

collective management of the many problems faced by

the global community, and provided clear

recommendations for the reform of the Organization.

The outcome document, while falling short of our

expectations, presents a platform for multilateral

solutions to the broad range of global problems related

to development, peace and security, human rights, the

rule of law and the reinvigoration of the United

Nations. The Commonwealth of Dominica is

committed to the Millennium Development Goals and

embraces the renewed pledge to save humanity from

the scourge of war, disease, famine and poverty. We

will work with all Member States to ensure a future

based on hope and prosperity instead of one of despair

for the poor and the marginalized of this world. We

now have before us the monumental task of ensuring

implementation and tangible outcomes.

Fulfilling that task, which our esteemed leaders

have accorded to us, requires the determined will of all

Member States. It will also require a commitment to

the collective will and a retreat from preoccupation

with self-interest and narrow national agendas. If

nothing else, the sixtieth session should go down in

history as the session at which we, the Member States,

renewed our commitment to the ideal that inspired the

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visionary founders: building a peaceful and prosperous

world in which all peoples live together in harmony,

free from want and fear.

Dominica, a small island developing State,

welcomes the particular attention given in the outcome

document to the special needs and vulnerabilities of

small island developing States. It is a source of great

encouragement to us that the Member States of the

United Nations have demonstrated an appreciation of

the challenges that confront all small island developing

States.

The Mauritius Strategy for the Further

Implementation of the Barbados Programme of Action

is a realistic and attainable blueprint that underscores

the pivotal areas for interventions to build the capacity

of small island developing States to confront their

various sustainable development challenges. We

appreciate the support of our friends and development

partners and appeal for their continuing commitment to

the proper and effective implementation of the

Mauritius Strategy.

Progress in the development arena will require

strong political will for the implementation of the

commitments we have undertaken and which we

reaffirmed together in the outcome document of the

High-level Plenary Meeting. These concern primarily

the implementation of the Millennium Development

Goals and the revitalization of the international

partnership for development, with the attendant

mobilization of financial resources, as well as the

fulfilment of the commitment made by many

developed countries to reach the target of 0.7 per cent

of their gross national product for official development

assistance by 2015. Dominica takes this opportunity to

express its appreciation to those countries that affirmed

their intention to fulfil their obligations in that regard.

My delegation feels strongly that the consensus

we reached in the High-level Plenary Meeting

represents a good foundation for a greater consensus

towards achieving the development priorities of the

developing countries. The United Nations must play a

pivotal role in ensuring that the issues of trade, debt

relief, investment and industrial modernization receive

the highest priority if the global objective is to raise the

standard of living of the people of the developing

countries.

We congratulate the Group of Eight for the

commitment adopted at the Gleneagles Summit, giving

much-needed debt relief to 18 heavily indebted poor

countries. However, a similar initiative is now required

for small island developing States and middle income

developing countries that are being strangled by heavy

debt burdens and the simultaneous erosion of their

preferential trading arrangements.

South-South cooperation has been growing over

the last two decades, and through that mechanism

many avenues have opened for enhanced trade

relations and cooperation in the transfer of know-how

and technology. Dominica welcomes the establishment

of the South Fund for Development and Humanitarian

Assistance and the generous initial pledges of the

Governments of Qatar, India and China to this Fund.

Equally deserving of commendation is Venezuela’s

initiative in the Caribbean, called Petrocaribe, which

will help Caribbean countries to respond to the

challenges posed by the high price of oil.

Aid without trade cannot be a viable proposition

for small island States like Dominica. We are fully

cognizant that only trade can be the engine of growth

and development. Dominica and other banana-

producing States in the Caribbean have had difficulties

responding to the stance of multinational corporations

from the United States and allied Latin American

countries that have challenged the preferential access

for our bananas in the European Union. We hope that

reason will prevail, as we count on a fair resolution of

the present banana trade impasse in Europe. Only a

positive outcome will avert a future of persistent

poverty for banana farmers and workers in the

Caribbean.

Let me reiterate that small, vulnerable island

States like Dominica need time to adjust to the

transition to a fully liberalized global trading regime.

Dominica has made admirable progress towards

realization of the MDGs, but such gains could simply

vanish like a thief in the night if we lose the

preferential access to the European market for our

bananas in 2006. For this reason we appeal to the

international community to demonstrate the necessary

political will to ensure that the Doha Development

Round takes these concerns into account in the quest

for a fair and equitable trading system for the benefit

of all our people.

The frequency of devastating storms in Asia, the

Caribbean and the southern United States and long

periods of drought in Africa require a more coordinated

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and organized international response. The United

Nations needs to significantly enhance its capacity to

respond in a timely manner to disasters in the more

vulnerable developing countries. Last year many

Caribbean countries were battered by hurricanes, and

the Eastern Caribbean nation of Grenada was in the

unfortunate situation of facing the onslaught of two

major hurricanes in one calendar year. Grenada still

needs additional assistance from the international

community, and we appeal to all Member States to lend

such assistance.

Dominica has had its share of hurricane

devastation. Late last year we experienced devastation

from a series of earthquakes which inflicted significant

damage on our fragile infrastructure. We continue to be

vigilant and have put in place a national disaster

strategy to mitigate the adverse effects of such

disasters on our population. My delegation once again

reiterates the appeal made last year in this Hall by

Prime Minister Roosevelt Skerrit for the creation of a

global insurance fund to assist countries devastated by

natural disasters. We call on the international

community to fully implement the Hyogo Framework

for Action 2005-2015, adopted at this year’s World

Conference on Disaster Reduction.

Climate change is wreaking havoc on small

island developing States. It is time for all Member

States to accept that climate change and global

warming are real and that they are caused by human

activity. All Member States must implement the

provisions of the Kyoto Protocol.

My delegation is concerned about the continuing

instability in Haiti. We support the role of the United

Nations Stabilization Mission in Haiti, but we

appreciate that its limited size and resources are

inadequate to respond to the complicated political

situation in which Haiti finds itself. Caribbean

Community and Common Market (CARICOM) States

have already committed technical assistance for the

elections and are cognizant that elections alone will not

bring stability to Haiti. Stability will require the

accelerated disbursement of pledged financial

resources, more rapid implementation of social and

economic project activities, and peacebuilding

initiatives.

Terrorism remains a great threat to peace and

security at the national, regional and international

levels. Dominica condemns all acts, methods and

practices of terrorism. The recent attacks in London

and in Egypt underscore the danger of terrorism, which

transcends national boundaries and does not

distinguish between peoples, cultures or religions.

Dominica is making a great effort to comply with the

obligations of the various counter-terrorism

conventions and pledges its support for the conclusion

of the comprehensive convention on international

terrorism.

My delegation regrets the failure of the outcome

document to address non-proliferation and

disarmament in the area of weapons of mass

destruction. Relative stability in today’s world should

not make us complacent and lead us to compromise on

the need for total disarmament. Our continuing lack of

action on this issue has not served to enhance global

security with respect to the threat posed by these

weapons.

Small arms and light weapons pose a great

challenge to the maintenance of peace and security in

the Caribbean region. Narcotics trafficking has brought

with it increased circulation of small arms and light

weapons, which has led to a sharp increase in crime

and fatal injuries. Dominica therefore welcomes the

agreement on an international instrument that would

enable States to identify and trace illicit small arms and

light weapons in a timely and reliable manner. What is

still needed, however, is a legally binding international

instrument that will regulate, control and monitor the

illicit trade in small arms, including their transfer to

non-State actors.

Dominica is appreciative of the recognition

accorded to indigenous people in the outcome

document. As part of our commitment to the Second

International Decade of the World’s Indigenous People,

my delegation will work with other Member States

towards the submission to the General Assembly of a

draft declaration on the rights of indigenous peoples.

The future of the United Nations depends on full

implementation of an institutional reform agenda that

addresses revitalization of the General Assembly,

reform of the Security Council and improved

governance in the Secretariat. General Assembly

revitalization must result in the strengthening of the

Assembly’s vital role as the chief deliberative,

policymaking and implementation-monitoring body of

the United Nations. The Secretariat needs to urgently

address eroding public confidence through timely

33

implementation of the proposals for improvement in its

management and oversight. Reform of the Security

Council must be pursued to enhance the Council’s

accountability, transparency and efficiency. Such

reform must, at a minimum, ensure that the Council’s

membership is more representative and remedy the

continuing imbalance in the representation of Africa in

the permanent membership.

We welcome the initiative to establish a

Democracy Fund. Consistent with our support for the

promotion of fundamental human freedoms and values,

we support the establishment of a Human Rights

Council. We also support the proposed Peacebuilding

Commission as an advisory body.

Let me conclude by saying that we have a loaded

agenda for the next decade, and that there are

numerous challenges ahead. We wish to emphasize that

that agenda can be realized only through multilateral

action. As we look ahead to 2015, we have the

honourable duty to make the United Nations truly serve

the people of this global village. We have the

obligation to ensure that we the peoples of the United

Nations can truly live our lives in larger freedom.