Guyana, 1998

In just 15 months, our world will

enter a new millennium, leaving behind it a chequered

past to face the challenges of a yet uncharted future. It is

not too early to contemplate this historic conjuncture and

to give some thought to how best we may deal with the

uncertainties ahead.

This fifty-third session of the General Assembly

offers, we believe, a timely opportunity for such

reflection. Your leadership, Mr. President, will be

essential to the success of our exploration. We are assured

that your diplomatic experience and skills, demonstrated

in the service of your native Uruguay, will contribute

greatly to the success of our deliberations.

To your predecessor, Mr. Hennadiy Udovenko of the

Ukraine, we offer our sincere appreciation and thanks for

the admirable guidance which he provided the Assembly

over the past year.

Our gratitude is extended to the Secretary-General,

Mr. Kofi Annan, for the inspired direction which he has

given to our Organization. From the report that he has

been good enough to present us on the activities of the

last 12 months, we are able to see clearly those areas

where our stated goals have been reached and, equally

importantly, those which require our further attention and

effort.

Certainly, among the developments that are most

heartening is the spread of democracy within recent times.

It is a happy coincidence that this year we celebrate the

fiftieth anniversary of the Declaration of Human Rights,

which embodies the principles of democracy. The

democratic system has emerged as a popular form of

government for many States Members of the United

Nations. Guyana has rejoined this growing majority.

Unfortunately, this had to come after hard struggles and

our people experienced three decades of lost opportunities

under an undemocratic regime. Only last December, for

the second time this decade, elections were held under

international scrutiny, leading to the re-election of my

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Government to office. However, despite the fact that the

outcome was adjudged by international observers to be free

and fair, the minority opposition refuses to abide by the

result. Consequently, the will of the electorate has been

questioned. Unfortunately, this negation of elections

conducted in a free and fair manner is not limited to

Guyana and increasingly requires our attention. Naturally,

my Government cannot tolerate this state of affairs, nor

should the United Nations, which by its Charter is called

upon to protect the gains of new and restored democracies.

It is vital that the international community and the

United Nations rally in support of our efforts to achieve

better governance and to guarantee the enjoyment of all

human rights by our citizens. We need to go beyond the

holding of periodic elections to ensuring the observance of

the rule of law and building the institutions upon which

democracy must rest.

Regrettably, many of our democracies are severely

limited, in terms of their own resources, in their ability to

satisfy these pressing needs. As a result, hard-won gains are

under constant threat of erosion. We firmly believe that it

is in the interest of the international community as a whole

to assist in the strengthening of the democratic system as a

bulwark against encroachment by oppressive regimes. Only

through such cooperation can the democratic ideal take root

and flourish throughout the world. On our part, we will

staunchly defend the gains of our people and we are

resolved not to allow ourselves to slide once again into the

darkness of dictatorship.

Needless to say, the spread of democracy within States

must be matched by democracy among States. The United

Nations was founded in 1945 on the premise of the

sovereign equality of all States. This principle is the rock

upon which international cooperation among peoples has

been built. In their operation, therefore, all organs and

agencies within the international system must be cognizant

of the views and wishes of all States. Developing countries

in particular need to be adequately represented in these

bodies to ensure that their concerns are addressed.

In this scheme of things, we attach great importance

to reaching general agreement on how the Security Council

must be transformed into an organ that enjoys the

confidence and support of all States. Clearly, the body

which was created in the aftermath of the Second World

War is no longer appropriate to the circumstances of

todayâs world. Sorely needed now is a more representative

and transparent Council that can adequately address new

threats to international peace and security. Accordingly, we

encourage the Working Group that was created to reform

the Council to persist in its search for a suitably reformed

Council.

Our task is made especially urgent by the realization

that, despite our perseverance, the achievement of

international peace and security remains a frustrating will-

oâ-the-wisp. There are today more peacekeeping

operations than the international community appears able

or willing to sustain. Some have been reasonably

successful, and, others appear to promise eventual

settlement. Most, however, seem to be ending with little

to show for the considerable investment of time and

money.

One can only conclude from these varying results

that increasingly we will have to turn to preventive

diplomacy, peacemaking and peace-building to fully

address and treat the root causes of tension.

We are also constantly reminded that,

notwithstanding the abatement in East-West tensions, the

dangers of a nuclear catastrophe are still very real and

present. It is impossible to guarantee, in an unstable world

such as ours, that nuclear weapons will not be used, either

intentionally or inadvertently. Only a complete prohibition

of such weapons, binding upon all States, can reduce the

risk of nuclear disaster. My Government therefore urges

the international community to move swiftly to a total

elimination of these weapons coupled with an undertaking

to discontinue their production.

At the same time, we must redouble our efforts to

curb the flow of conventional weapons, which serves to

fuel conflagrations in trouble spots throughout the world.

We must also intensify our search for a collective system

of security upon which all States can rely for protection.

Peace, as has been so aptly said, is not the mere

absence of war. True peace can only come if it is built on

a foundation of sound economic and social development.

The foremost obstacle to peace is poverty, which, when

it can be borne no longer, explodes with a vengeance. It

is imperative, therefore, that the problem of poverty be

squarely addressed by the United Nations with a view to

halving its incidence by the year 2015. Reaching this

target will require concerted action by both developed and

developing countries. The developed countries have a

vested interest in the economic prosperity of developing

countries, since they represent important markets for their

exports. A renewal of the dialogue between the industrial

and the developing nations is urgently needed to achieve

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the eradication of poverty. My Government intends to make

this a primary goal during this yearâs session of the

Assembly.

Notwithstanding the onerous debt obligations and a

physical infrastructure which we are tackling as a priority,

Guyana has come a long way in overcoming poverty and

maximizing its full growth potential. Thus, we continue to

rely heavily on external assistance for our economic

development. We are therefore particularly concerned by

the rapid diminution of resources made available for

financing by both bilateral donors and multilateral agencies.

While private investment flows have a role to play in the

development process, they are still far too selective to be of

benefit to weak economies. We need to be assured of the

continued provision of official development assistance,

sufficient investment flows, technological transfer and trade

opportunities that would allow for adequate development.

As we move into the next century, we have to

recognize the reality that developing countries are extremely

vulnerable to changes in the world economy. The present

course of globalization and liberalization has led to

marginalization of the poorer countries. Guyana is a case in

point. We have returned to the democratic fold and have

achieved fairly high growth rates despite structural

adjustment programmes. But after a few years, we are now

faced with a steep drop in prices of our main export

commodities, the drying up of developmental aid, adverse

global weather conditions and so forth. At the end of the

day, our people face tremendous hardships.

We are being told that growing investment is needed.

We open our economies to work with the private sector for

development, and we see investment being directed away

from the poorer countries, making them incapable of

modernizing their economies. There is a need for a global

consensus to assist developing countries to complete their

transition so that they can be equal players in the

globalization process.

The alternative is to continue to ignore the danger

signals which are becoming more and more evident. And,

as usual, the rich countries will be able to solve their

problems, but will do so at the expense of the poorer

countries. The gap between the poor and rich will become

greater, and conflicts will continue. The narcotics trade,

mass migration, international crime, poverty and other ills

will put severe strains on new and restored democracies.

As we have become painfully aware, threats to our

environment also impinge on our peace and security. Global

warming and climate changes have increased the

vulnerability of small States such as Guyana to a wave of

natural disasters. The El Niño phenomenon recently

inflicted on our country a period of intense drought,

taking a heavy toll on our economy.

In our continuing efforts to develop our country and

meet the needs of our people, especially those living in

poverty, my country remains dedicated to the preservation

of the environment and the sustainable development of

our resources. We are concerned, therefore, that when we

seek to exploit our forest and other resources for the

benefit of our people, we face criticisms from those who

accuse us of disregard for the environment.

These reproaches are entirely ill-informed, if not

mischievous. A land of abundant and pristine forests,

Guyana runs no risk of deforestation. We have in fact put

in place firm legislative and administrative arrangements

to ensure the conservation of our natural resources.

Moreover, under the Iwokrama rain forest project, we

have set aside almost a million acres of these forests for

research by the international community into the

preservation of biodiversity and the sustainable use of the

forests.

The four pillars which I have listed — democracy,

economic and social development, human rights and the

elimination of poverty — are indispensable to the

construction of peace. Events in the post-war period have

not only confirmed this fact, but have also shown that the

building of peace and development must be the work of

the international community. Persuaded of the need for

enhanced multilateralism, my Government is committed

to the realization of the late President Cheddi Jaganâs

vision of a new global human order. The thrust of his

proposal sought to reduce the ever widening and

dangerous gap which exists between countries in the

North and those in the South.

Recalling the Marshall Plan, which served to rebuild

Europe from the ashes of the Second World War,

Mr. Jagan argued for a similar enterprise to eradicate

poverty, promote good governance and bring development

to all peoples. Only through such enlightened cooperation

can the world enjoy the blessings of peace. I wish,

therefore, to renew his plea and to call for early

agreement on the establishment of a more just and

equitable system of international relations. With the

necessary determination and effort, we can make the

twenty-first century a golden age for all humanity.

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