Haiti, 1998

It is a true pleasure for me to address the General

Assembly once more. I wish first of all to echo previous

speakers in congratulating you most warmly, Sir, on behalf

of my delegation, on your election to the presidency of the

General Assembly at its fifty-third session. I take this

opportunity also to express our gratitude to His Excellency

Mr. Hennadiy Udovenko for the excellent work carried out

under his presidency.

To the Secretary-General, Mr. Kofi Annan, we

reaffirm our confidence in his outstanding endeavours to

preserve peace and to promote development.

To all participants in the fifty-third session, I wish the

greatest success in the interests of all our peoples.

Ten days ago hurricane Georges passed through the

Caribbean region, striking several of our countries with its

fury and leaving considerable damage in its wake. I wish to

express deepest sympathy, on behalf of Haiti, to our

brotherly Governments and peoples who, like us, were so

hard hit by this unavoidable disaster.

The provisional toll in Haiti is quite heavy: 150 dead

and dozens missing — more than 500,000 victims all told.

There was considerable material damage to agriculture and

to infrastructure: roads and bridges were destroyed and

crops devastated in several regions. The total cost of these

losses is estimated at approximately $200 million.

International solidarity was quickly displayed in the

wake of this disaster. I would therefore like to thank all the

friendly Governments, international institutions and non-

governmental organizations for the support they have given

us thus far.

While the present situation is serious, our concern for

the future is even greater. With over 60 per cent of our

agricultural production destroyed, the outlook is extremely

bleak. We fear that once emergency aid is no longer being

provided in the coming months there will be a severe

shortage of foodstuffs and basic goods. We therefore appeal

to the international community to extend considerable

assistance to our efforts to restore and rebuild the affected

zones and to support our measures to solve the public

health problems that will arise. In this regard, we invite

delegations to support draft resolution A/53/L.2/Rev.1,

which will soon be introduced to the General Assembly,

as a first step in this direction.

Profound changes have taken place in international

relations in the course of the last 10 years. The lessening

of ideological confrontation and the strengthening of

interdependence among nations have provided new

opportunities for closer cooperation among States. The

phenomenon of globalization, which is characterized by

unprecedented ties between human activities throughout

the world, has expanded further and has been propelled

by spectacular growth in communications.

Some had anticipated a more peaceful and united

world in the next century. Yet, less than 500 days away

from the year 2000, the international picture is frankly

disconcerting. New hotbeds of tension have arisen in

many regions of the world, while no substantial progress

has been made to resolve various age-old conflicts. That

is the case in the Middle East, where we hope that the

recent discussions held this week in Washington will

serve to permanently revive the peace process that has

been stalled for more than a year.

We deplore the armed conflicts that have brought

untold suffering on populations, be it in Kosovo, Angola,

Afghanistan, the Great Lakes region or elsewhere. The

Republic of Haiti invites the parties concerned to seek a

solution to their problems through dialogue. The

international community must also continue to carry out

efforts to restore peace to these regions.

International terrorism, of which we had hoped to

have seen the last, has re-emerged in a troubling fashion

with the terrible events that have taken place in Africa

and Northern Ireland. In condemning these acts, Haiti

calls on the international community to adopt effective

measures to combat this threat to international security.

Elsewhere, the world is facing a real challenge

whose consequences are incalculable on more than one

front. I am referring to drug-trafficking and its related

crimes — arms-trafficking, organized crime and money-

laundering.

The problem of drug-trafficking continues to threaten

the integrity of our territories, to weaken the foundations

of our societies and to undermine the health of our

peoples. Combating this scourge requires further

cooperation at the bilateral, regional and international

levels, as was highlighted at the special session of the

General Assembly devoted to the drugs problem. Haiti,

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which has unfortunately been used as a transit country for

some of the drugs headed for markets in consumer

countries, has adopted a vigorous policy that has already

begun to bear fruit. This involves the drafting of legislative

measures against drug-trafficking and money-laundering;

the establishment of a body entrusted with combating

trafficking in narcotic drugs; the development of

cooperation with neighbouring countries; and accession to

international instruments in this area.

In speaking of the dangers threatening the future of

mankind, I must refer here to the existence of considerable

stockpiles of weapons of mass destruction, in particular

nuclear weapons. The Republic of Haiti welcomes the

recent progress achieved in the reduction of these weapons.

It will continue to support wholeheartedly the efforts of the

international community for their complete elimination.

In this connection, Haiti deplored the nuclear tests

recently carried out by India and Pakistan, which have

contributed to increasing tensions in that part of the world.

It invites those countries to become parties to the Treaty on

the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons and to sign the

Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty.

The global economic situation at the end of this

century has also given rise to many concerns. The

phenomenon of globalization, which is characterized by a

liberalization of market forces, which, according to

numerous observers, should accelerate growth and promote

development, has above all been marked by greater

inequality and sluggish growth. The income gap between

North and South has continued to widen. In 1965 the

average per capita income in the G-7 countries was 20

times that of the world’s seven poorest countries; by 1995

that figure had almost doubled.

Today poverty continues to grow throughout the

world. Entire populations are victims of the serious

problems of malnutrition and abject poverty. Health care

and education are inaccessible to millions of people. There

has been further destruction of the environment throughout

the world, threatening the very survival of mankind. Even

more than the countries of the third world, which have been

battered by these global developments, the least developed

countries — including my country, Haiti — find themselves

ever more marginalized and must face a worsening of the

standard of living of their peoples. The feeling of despair

is increasingly spreading among younger generations facing

a seemingly gloomy future. All of this poses serious threats

to the very stability of our countries. This situation cries out

for the international community to redouble its efforts to

combat poverty. United and concerted long-term action

that mobilizes considerable resources is essential if we

wish to achieve satisfactory results.

The magnitude of current problems poses a major

challenge to the international community. The United

Nations, whose primary mission is to ensure world

security and to promote economic and social progress for

people, is the ideal forum to discuss these questions and

to search for solutions that take everyone’s interests into

account. It must be able to play the role that has been

entrusted to it in order to create a global situation of

peace, which will facilitate development through

cooperation for all peoples. It must respond to this

challenge by using its resources effectively and by

adapting itself to changes in international relations.

In this regard, the delegation of Haiti welcomes the

reform process initiated by Secretary-General Kofi Annan

to breathe new life into the Organization and to better

enable it to face the increasingly complex problems of

today’s world. The initial measures approved by the

General Assembly have enabled United Nations bodies to

work more coherently and consistently. We hope that

further measures to be considered at this session will

strengthen the capacities of the United Nations to carry

out its activities.

Reform in the Security Council, which has been

discussed for five years now, is of capital importance

given the role played by that organ in the maintenance of

international peace and security. Haiti continues to call for

greater openness in the functioning of the Council and for

greater participation in the decision-making process, so

that its decisions reflect the general opinion of the

international community as a whole and not only the

position of the members of the Council.

In this context, the envisaged increase in its

membership must take into account more systematically

the principle of equitable geographical distribution. Every

effort must be made to ensure that the universality of all

the planet’s inhabitants is reflected in the United Nations

system.

In this respect, we welcome the dialogue between

the People’s Republic of China and Taiwan. A positive

outcome to this dialogue will allow for progress in this

area.

This year we are celebrating the fiftieth anniversary

of the adoption of the Universal Declaration of Human

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Rights. By enshrining the principle of the respect of

fundamental human rights and by ensuring their promotion,

the United Nations has made a considerable contribution to

the development of an international system to protect the

fundamental freedoms and ensure the emancipation of

peoples throughout the world.

Along these lines, my delegation welcomes the fact

that the international community has finally acknowledged

that the right to development is an intrinsic part of

fundamental human rights. But that acknowledgment is not

sufficient. We must work to ensure full respect for that

right by establishing programmes and by mobilizing

sufficient resources.

Today human rights are a reality that no Government

can ignore. In Haiti respect for human rights is guaranteed

in the Constitution, and the Government is committed to

ensuring the full enjoyment of those rights by all. In this

context, reform in the judicial machinery that will allow for

the consolidation of the state of law is now being

implemented. Regrettably, however, the very complex

situation resulting from a twofold electoral and

governmental problem has made it difficult for institutions

to function normally and to cooperate with the international

community. To overcome this handicap, the President of

the Republic, Mr. René Préval, is resolutely undertaking

every possible effort.

Democratic institutions necessarily have a role to play,

but given the regrettably slow process of democracy-

building, the hoped-for results have not yet been achieved

despite the numerous initiatives undertaken. It is

encouraging to note, however, that these expectations and

initiatives have been undertaken within the framework of

the provisions of the Constitution, which guarantees that a

viable solution will be found.

Similarly, the head of State has consulted all levels of

Haitian society in order to set up a new electoral council

that will be responsible for organizing, in accordance with

the Constitution and as soon as possible, free, fair and

democratic elections at the municipal and legislative levels.

He will do everything in his power to guarantee the

participation of all sectors in these elections, which, duly

carried out, will help us overcome the governmental crisis

that has arisen.

Despite the unfavourable circumstances that have

darkened the horizon at the dawning of the third

millennium, we must not lose hope in a better world. In

order to do that, we must further develop cooperation,

strengthen our partnerships and work together to improve

our peoples’ standard of living in a world where so many

natural disasters and environmental phenomena remind us

of our duty to solidarity. The United Nations is the ideal

framework for joining our efforts to achieve this common

goal.