Dominican Republic, 2007

On behalf of the Government and the people of the

Dominican Republic, it is a pleasure to extend our

warmest congratulations to Mr. Srgjan Kerim of the

former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia upon his

recent election as President of the General Assembly.

We would also like to take this opportunity to greet the

members of the General Assembly.

During the four years following the Millennium

Summit of 2000, the Dominican Republic went through

a crisis, during which our national currency was

devalued by 100 per cent. Our working class had to

double its efforts simply to meet their basic subsistence

needs. Drug trafficking and high levels of crime gained

a foothold, and our credibility went down worldwide.

According to the statistics of the World Bank, the

United Nations Development Programme and the

Economic Commission for Latin America and the

Caribbean, more than 1.5 million out of the 9 million

Dominicans sank into the lowest levels of poverty. At

that time, we were facing one of the most dramatic

crises in the modern history of the Dominican

Republic.

Since we took the reins of administration in 2004,

the Dominican Republic has managed to recover the

confidence of investors and entrepreneurs. We have

been able to reactivate economic growth. We have been

able to reduce inflation. We have increased jobs and

improved social conditions and quality of life for the

Dominican people.

However, exactly when we began, just like the

phoenix rising from its own ashes, a gloomy

international picture threatened to darken our prospects

for future growth. In recent weeks, for example, the

price of oil on the international market has reached an

unprecedented rate, and projections point towards

continued increases. These price increases are

asphyxiating our economies.

Similarly, in recent times, as a result of changes

on the international stage, free zone companies in the

Dominican Republic, alongside those in Mexico and

Central America, have been losing their competitive

edge to Asian countries. This drop in competitiveness

has resulted in the loss of jobs, production stagnation

and a shortage of new investment.

Moreover, while the price of oil is rising, and

with the prices of goods in the global economy

fluctuating, we also find ourselves unexpectedly

affected by price increases for food. All of a sudden we

are surprised by the news that owing to the elimination

of export subsidies in Europe, the price of milk has

increased on the international market. The same has

occurred, although for different reasons, with the cost

of corn, soybeans and wheat as well as with other

products that comprise the basic nutrition of the family.

Because of the climbing prices of those products, the

cost of chicken, turkey, bread and eggs have also risen.

As will be appreciated, we are facing a dangerous

situation which could lead our people towards

widespread famine and, consequently, a plunge into

extreme poverty. Those factors have led to a vicious

cycle that is spreading throughout the global food

chain, while, in spite of the plea for free trade,

producers in the world’s most powerful countries

remain protected. As an example, while a United States

farmer has access to state-of-the-art farming

equipment, the most modern facilities and

technologically proficient staff, that farmer also

receives government subsidies of approximately

US $750,000 per year. Furthermore, the farmer might

produce a pound of corn for a mere 7 cents.

At the same time, Félix David García Peña, also a

corn farmer, who belongs to the Association of Farmers

in San Juan de la Maguana in the southern part of the

Dominican Republic near our border with Haiti, is

struggling alone to make ends meet and to lead a

decent life. His farming equipment is outdated. His

tractor emits clouds of smoke every morning when he

attempts to turn it on. His facilities are dilapidated. He

receives no government subsidies since the

Government is in no financial position to help him, and

his production cost for one pound of corn is 12 cents,

almost double the production cost of the subsidized

United States farmer. When we asked Felix how we, as

the Government, could help him, he stated, “I don’t

want anything. All I want is fair trade to be able to sell

my corn.

The fact is that the challenges of globalization are

having a marked impact on countries like the

Dominican Republic. What we are experiencing is the

interdependent character of current international

trends. What seems to be a distant or remote event

nevertheless has a direct impact on the daily lives of

our peoples.

Another example that illustrates the undeniable

interdependence of all nations on earth is climate

change. That topic is not new to our discussions in this

Organization, but with each year that passes we find

ourselves closer to the predicted disasters.

In the Dominican Republic, we are already

experiencing the impact of climate change in various

ways: an increase in the volatility and frequency of

floods, droughts and hurricanes that destroy our

ecosystem, our biodiversity and our infrastructures.

Also, we are experiencing increased coastal erosion

and loss of beaches as well as frequent bleaching of

our coral reefs, thus reducing our marine biodiversity

and making tourism less attractive.

Given all those challenges presented by

globalization, a country like the Dominican Republic

asks itself: where is international solidarity, where is

cooperation between peoples, how are we going to

address together all of those challenges which affect

most of the peoples of the world?

The truth is that there cannot be solidarity when

there are those in the world who seek to accumulate

wealth even while others suffer. There cannot be

cooperation when there are people who think only of

conducting business without taking into account the

pain and anguish of others.

The United Nations system was created to

promote solidarity and cooperation, and it is only fair

to recognize that there is no other organization at the

world level that has the prestige, capability and

vocation of the Members of this world Organization.

However, this grand forum of humanity, established

after the enormous sacrifices of the Second World War,

must also reform itself, if it intends to fulfil the ideals

that inspired its creation, as enshrined in the Charter at

the San Francisco Conference.

The current structure of the United Nations is no

longer adequate today. The structure still corresponds

to the cold-war period, even though humankind has

advanced beyond an era when all events of importance

were determined by the rivalry of two super-Powers.

Now, in the twenty-first century, we in the

Dominican Republic do not truly comprehend why the

President of the World Bank must be an American and

the Managing Director of the International Monetary

Fund, a European and why major global decisions are

the responsibility of only five countries.

As one of the founding Members of the United

Nations, the Dominican Republic aspires to a position

on the United Nations Security Council as a

non-permanent member. In that position, we would

strive to be a voice in favour of the weak, those

without protection or shelter, the forsaken of the world.

That is our sole aspiration. The Dominican Republic

will uphold, responsibly and with conviction and

determination, the values and principles the

Organization has pledged to represent, as a beacon for

peace, human dignity and the civilized coexistence of

all inhabitants of the Earth.