Grenada, 1995

The world is aware that the

fiftieth session of the General Assembly marks a major

milestone in the global events that have charted and guided

international affairs. My delegation is pleased to be a part

of this world Organization.

My delegation wishes to congratulate His Excellency

Mr. Diogo Freitas do Amaral of Portugal on his election

to the presidency of the fiftieth session of the General

Assembly. We take this opportunity also to thank

Mr. Amara Essy, Minister for Foreign Affairs of Côte

d’Ivoire, for his exceptional performance in the conduct

of the proceedings of the forty-ninth session.

My delegation wishes to make due mention of the

efforts and achievements of the Secretary-General, His

Excellency Mr. Boutros Boutros-Ghali. His optimism as

he confronts the challenges that face this Organization

and his determination in his will to find solutions to many

of the daunting problems of a world fraught with political,

economic and social changes have contributed, in a large

measure, to the successes and gains recorded by the

United Nations.

The success of the United Nations Mission in Haiti

is one achievement to celebrate, when the duly-elected

President, Jean-Bertrand Aristide, was reinstated following

the removal of the military almost a year ago. Democracy

and the rule of law and order are of paramount

importance to the peoples of the Caribbean region who

cherish freedom, justice and law and order. Grenada

continues to support United Nations initiatives undertaken

in collaboration with other hemispheric organizations to

build on the processes that are being put in place to

ensure sound social and economic development where

democracy can flourish.

Grenada applauds the ongoing process of

democratization in South Africa and supports the initiatives

undertaken by the South African Government, assisted by

the international community, to enhance the lives of its

entire population.

Grenada welcomes, too, the building of the peace

process in the Middle East with the expansion of Arab

control over Arab settlements within the West Bank,

although it is recognized that much work has yet to be done

if we are to see lasting peace in that region.

My delegation is hopeful that similar attempts at

peacemaking in the Balkans will result in bringing the

warring parties together to work out a negotiated settlement

to the conflict.

The world stands at the threshold of a new era, a time

of great challenges and a time of significant promise. The

choices that we make will determine whether we experience

economic, social and political successes or failures. The

international economic environment is rapidly being

transformed as new centres of economic power and new

partnerships are established. Indeed, these new economic

realities have important implications for the survival of

small and vulnerable economies such as Grenada’s, which

are so heavily dependent on a favourable external

environment.

It can hardly be disputed that the traditional economic

and trade relations on which Grenada relied for so long are

now being threatened and could shortly cease to exist. The

process of adjustment to the new hemispheric challenges

resulting from the entry into force of the North American

Free Trade Agreement on 1 January 1994; the conclusion

of the Uruguay Round agreements of the General

Agreement on Tariffs and Trade; the establishment of the

World Trade Organization; the call for the establishment of

a free-trade area of the Americas by the year 2005; and the

formation of the Association of Caribbean States will

undoubtedly pose challenges which will require adjustments

on the domestic level, particularly on the part of our

manufacturers.

Furthermore, these recently formed and soon to be

established trading blocs will significantly transform the

trade policy framework in which developing island

economies will have to operate into the twenty-first century.

While these will offer us new trading opportunities,

particularly in the medium to long term, they will in the

short term cause us to face many transitional problems,

mainly because of the erosion of preferential access that

we now enjoy in major markets of the developed world.

It is in this context, therefore, that Grenada issues a

call to the developed world to work with us as we

formulate appropriate policy responses to realize the

benefits from and adjust to the changes in the global

trading system. It is to be emphasized that the new

European Union regime for bananas, though not in

essence an effect of the Uruguay Round, will result in

major losses in export revenue for all the Windward

Islands in the Caribbean. Moreover, the challenge of this

limited preferential arrangement by some of our closest

allies in the developed world is cause for serious concern.

I must remind this distinguished gathering that the

issue of bananas has much more than economic

significance. Indeed, the heavy dependence on this

agricultural commodity by thousands in our islands

must — I repeat, must — be underscored.

In fact, the destruction of the banana industry would

lead to serious hardships and could constitute a threat to

our traditionally sound democratic process. Sustainable

human development in our small island States could be

severely threatened.

My delegation wishes to make it clear that, while

Grenada embraces the philosophy of trade liberalization,

tolerance and an understanding of our cause on the part

of larger economies are necessary. We cannot hope to

develop without a significant inflow of technical

assistance, foreign capital and technology.

We therefore call on the countries in the developed

world to provide us with this much-needed assistance in

order to ensure that we can participate effectively in this

emerging “New World Trade Order”.

My delegation will continue to argue that moves

towards global trade liberalization and reciprocity should

complement and not obstruct the efforts of less developed

countries to implement positive structural reforms.

Grenada, for its part, has already commenced the process

of substantially reducing import tariffs and other barriers.

What is now sought is a recognition of these

initiatives and a negotiating framework in which our

ability to achieve greater market access is enhanced,

while our economic and financial restructuring can take

place in a manner and time-frame appropriate to our

special circumstances.

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Grenada continues to support the view that special and

preferential treatment cannot continue in perpetuity. But it

must be recognized that the special needs of the relatively

less developed countries must be taken into account. The

challenge, therefore, is how to design an acceptable

reciprocal arrangement among unequal partners that will

promote prosperity through free trade and integration in our

world without endangering the process of sustainable social

and economic development. It is crucial, therefore, that the

developed countries assist the developing world to create

domestic capabilities that will enhance its capacity to draw

benefits from trade liberalization and will soften the burden

of adjustment to the new requirements of global free trade.

The question of the environment and of sustainable

economic development remains at the heart of our concerns.

It is also a central issue for small island developing States

in particular, and developing countries in general.

If we continue to reaffirm that human beings are at the

centre of sustainable development and that they have a right

to a healthy and productive life in harmony with nature,

action must be taken at all levels and, all the more so, at

the international level, to facilitate the process. This would

ensure that developing countries, and particularly small

island developing States, are provided with the know-how

and the resources to enable the implementation of the

decisions and recommendations arising out of the United

Nations Conference on the Environment and Development

in Rio in 1992, the United Nations Global Conference on

the Sustainable Development of Small Island Developing

States in 1994 in Bridgetown, Barbados and the many other

significant global Conferences.

The vulnerability of small island States and the threat

to our fragile ecosystems were recently manifested by the

passage of hurricanes Iris, Luis and Marilyn. Our economic

viability and sustainable economic growth are indeed at

stake. In this regard, Grenada looks forward to the

fulfilment of pledged commitments by developed countries

to assist small island developing States achieve sustainable

development.

The role of science and technology in development

must be underscored. My delegation calls upon developed

countries to provide developing countries with the necessary

access to biotechnologies to promote and facilitate

sustainable economic growth.

Information technology and human resource

development are key elements towards social and economic

progress — elements which would enable us to improve

our productivity and competitiveness in priority areas as

we move into the twenty-first century.

The United Nations was created by men of vision,

courage and foresight who understood the need for

cooperation among nations and for hope over despair.

Undoubtedly, the United Nations, in its “Agenda for

Development”, has succeeded in bringing to the world’s

attention the need for a re-evaluation of the role of the

United Nations in development, taking into account such

critical issues as the empowerment of women, the

alleviation of poverty and hunger and the link between

development and population, human rights and the

creation of an environment for world peace and security.

The social forces of poverty are among the leading

causes of environmental degradation and a significant

contributor to the loss of biological diversity. Poverty and

unemployment also contribute to greater social problems,

among which is the illicit traffic in narcotics. Efforts to

eradicate the traffic in illicit drugs can have little effect at

the national and international levels unless commitments

are made and agreements are entered into to develop

programmes aimed at the alleviation of poverty.

My delegation is hopeful that the follow-up to the

World Summit for Social Development, held in

Copenhagen in March this year, will embrace those

principles which call for social inclusion and which

facilitate the development of strategies to ensure that

youth, the disabled and the elderly play a more

meaningful role in social and economic development.

Indeed, the Fourth World Conference on Women,

which ended only last month in Beijing, has given

impetus to the need for programmes that speak to the

issues of women in development and, most critically, the

empowerment of women in local communities, enabling

their full participation at all levels in the process of

national development.

Grenada is encouraged by the new spirit of

international cooperation built on a shared partnership

between multilateral financial institutions and

Governments. However, the models suggested for

economic development have not been sufficiently tested

and are often ill-suited to meet the needs of the society in

which they are applied, sometimes resulting in disastrous

social and economic consequences.

While we seek to put in place all the necessary

measures to ensure the efficient and effective management

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of our domestic affairs, we strongly urge multilateral

institutions to include in these models for development a

component that provides skills training and, in particular,

training in the use of technologies to enable young people

to find productive employment in the private sector and to

facilitate the process towards equitable social and economic

development.

My delegation also supports the United Nations

response to security and international humanitarian needs

and encourages greater emphasis on human-rights

monitoring.

We live in an era of changing norms and of emerging

nations and democracies, where no institution or country

can stand alone. In this connection, the reforms currently

being undertaken within the United Nations system should

yield more positive results — greater collaboration and

cooperation on issues, rather than confrontation and

disunity. New, emerging economic nations or Powers are

eager to take their rightful place in institutions and agencies

once dominated by traditional super-Powers.

Grenada also believes that in this era of reform and

restructuring within the United Nations due consideration

should be given to a composition of the Security Council

that reflects the geopolitical and economic realities of our

time.

On this auspicious occasion, as we celebrate the

fiftieth anniversary of the United Nations, let us reaffirm

our commitment to the principles of the Charter which

guides this Organization. Grenada not only wishes to

emphasize adherence to these principles, but has worked to

establish conditions under which all peoples may exercise

their equal and inalienable rights.

In his opening statement the President of the General

Assembly at its fiftieth session stated:

“the United Nations has ceased to be an

intergovernmental organization with a limited

membership and has become the only international

organization that is universal. Efforts must be made to

ensure that all States that are not yet Members should

seek to be admitted in the near future. For the same

reason, the most serious penalty imposed on a

Member State should never be expulsion, but rather

suspension”

for an indefinite period

“, for the United Nations must, as a matter of

principle, include all the world’s countries.” (Official

Records of the General Assembly, Fiftieth Session,

Plenary Meetings, 1st meeting, p. 7)

But as we meet today the Republic of China on

Taiwan and its more than 21 million people remain

excluded from participation and representation in the

United Nations. It is on the basis of that principle of

universality that Grenada urges all Members to consider

that, in renewing our oaths, we should forthwith seek to

right this wrong. The inclusion of the Republic of China

will be an added contribution to global cooperation in

fields such as trade, economic development,

environmental protection, sustainable development and

multilateral efforts to fight drug trafficking. Moreover, the

Republic of China is committed to the promotion of

international development assistance to developing

countries.

Grenada wishes to urge again that an ad hoc

committee be set up at the earliest possible time to

consider the special case of the Republic of China on

Taiwan and respond positively to its wish to join this

world Organization.

My delegation is confident that improved

cooperation between developed and developing countries

and the consolidation of related agencies and programmes

would lead to enhanced prospects for the discovery of

solutions to global problems and for the promotion of

sustainable economic, social and cultural development.

As we look forward to celebrating the fiftieth

anniversary of the Untied Nations, and as individual

nations formulate plans and strategies to move into the

twenty-first century, which poses as many challenges as

it presents opportunities, let us recommit ourselves to the

noble principles of the Charter, guided by the spirit of

partnership and cooperation, ever united in our efforts to

achieve peace, democracy and prosperity for all our

peoples.