Marshall Islands, 1993

On behalf of the

people and the Government of the Republic of the Marshall

Islands, I warmly congratulate Ambassador Samuel Insanally

on his election as President of what promises to be a historic

session of the General Assembly. I would also like to

express my country’s profound appreciation to his

predecessor, Mr. Stoyan Ganev, Foreign Minister of

Bulgaria, for his superior guidance during a time of

unprecedented change.

We are gathered here at a crucial juncture in human

history when numerous changes are becoming apparent.

Few of us ever imagined that we would witness in our

lifetimes the dismantling of the Berlin Wall, a handshake

between the leaders of Israel and the Palestine Liberation

Organization, the peaceful separation of Eritrea from

Ethiopia after decades of war, or the transition to a

Government in South Africa that is truly representative of its

people. In the current international climate we can be

optimistic about the peaceful resolution of the difficult

problems of our time. However, at the same time our world

witnesses these triumphs of the human spirit, it also faces

grave new problems, such as the tragedies that are unfolding

in Bosnia and Herzegovina and in Somalia.

The new order will require fundamental changes in the

attitudes and thinking of nations and all mankind. Gone are

the clearly defined divisions of super-Power conflict. In

their place are a myriad of problems, suppressed during the

cold war, that are now resurfacing. The confrontation

between East and West has given way to more intricate

problems, without readily apparent solutions. There are no

easy answers for bringing restraint to the extremes of ethnic

and religious nationalism, or promoting human rights and

sustainable development. Yet the past few months have

shown the real progress that can be made on even the most

intractable problems. Rather than wringing our hands, we

must draw upon the diversity of views represented in this

grand Hall and upon the examples of those who dedicated

their lives to the struggle to bring peace to the world.

The world’s billions are increasingly looking to the

United Nations for solutions. However, as currently

structured and financed, the United Nations by itself cannot

accommodate the breadth and gravity of the many problems

it faces. It is our view that the Organization must be

carefully re-evaluated to ensure its effectiveness in a

situation of new realities. We support the creation of an

Office of Inspector General and will continue to study the

various proposals for expansion of the Security Council

membership.

As proud Members of this body, we cheer our

Organization’s successes and are troubled by its few

setbacks. The Marshallese people mourn the loss of

members of United Nations peace-keeping missions, which

are bravely endeavouring to maintain peace and provide

assistance to those in danger.

Allow me, for a moment, to address the special

situation of the island nations. The physical limitations of

islands and their lack of natural resources, which larger

nations might regard as insurmountable barriers, we, by

necessity, view as challenges to overcome. Throughout

history, islanders have displayed a remarkable degree of

innovation and adaptation, which has allowed us to survive

numerous natural and man-made disasters. Our people and

way of life were not deterred by the horrors of modern

weaponry from which the Marshallese people suffered

during the nuclear testing. Despite the end of the super-

Power arms race, the world must still confront the grave

dangers of nuclear testing, nuclear proliferation, and the

production, transit and disposal of nuclear material. The

Marshall Islands will forever have a special interest in the

dismantling of nuclear weapons because many Marshallese

people are still prevented from returning to their ancestors’

homeland.

As survivors of that legacy, we very much welcomed

the nuclear-testing moratorium. We are greatly distressed

that this moratorium has now been broken by one of the

nuclear Powers, and we would appeal to the others not to

follow this path. I should like to lend my Government’s

voice to the voices of others that have called for negotiations

on a lasting and effective comprehensive nuclear-test-ban

treaty that will enjoy universal adherence. It is the wish of

the people of the Marshall Islands that no one else should

have to endure the same hardships and physical harm that

we did. We pray for a world free from nuclear testing and

intend to participate actively in the steps leading to such a

treaty.

We were proud to be one of the first signatories of the

Convention on the Prohibition of the Development,

Production, Stockpiling and Use of Chemical Weapons and

on Their Destruction earlier this year in Paris. We will do

our part to contribute to the goal of the abolition of that

immoral class of weapons and commend the many officials

who worked on the Convention for their tireless efforts.

Perhaps the most effective way to avoid the grave

consequences of nuclear weapons is to address the problem

at its source by prohibiting the production of weapons-grade

plutonium. We therefore look forward to working on a

treaty to this effect, and we commend the United States and

others for taking the lead in this regard.

The islands of the Pacific are especially vulnerable to

the dangers posed by transport of nuclear material. We hope

that such shipments will cease. If they are to continue, the

States responsible must take every precaution to ensure that

the safety of States along the sea lanes and the high seas is

ensured.

All of humanity is shocked by the brutality of

nationalist and ethnic conflicts raging throughout the world

today. The possibility of introducing nuclear weapons in

these disputes threatens global peace and security and raises

the spectre of death and suffering on a magnitude never

before witnessed. My Government will continue to support

all efforts to limit the spread of nuclear weapons.

The efforts of the International Atomic Energy Agency

(IAEA) in the area of nuclear safeguards merit special

praise. I am very pleased to report that last week the

Marshall Islands was accepted as a member of the IAEA,

and we look forward to contributing to the work of the

Agency. We are confident that the Agency’s vast expertise

in the area of protection from radiation can shed light on the

matter and at the same time come up with remedial

treatment for the many Marshallese victims afflicted by

numerous cancerous diseases resulting from nuclear testing.

My Government warmly applauds the increased

attention by the world community to human rights and

democratic institutions. Although it fell short of some of our

expectations, this year’s World Conference on Human Rights

was an important milestone in the efforts to protect the

rights of individuals and vulnerable sectors of society.

Perhaps more important, the Vienna Declaration and

Programme of Action clearly demonstrated that respect for

basic human rights and fundamental freedoms can exist in a

context of cultural diversity.

As important as the Vienna Declaration is, it is

meaningless without the means to enforce its provisions.

We will therefore continue strongly to support efforts aimed

at creating a post of United Nations High Commissioner for

Human Rights and a Special Rapporteur for Women’s

Rights, and we will continue to study proposals for an

international court with jurisdiction to consider cases of

human-rights violations.

Tomorrow’s leaders are today’s children. With this in

mind, we must ensure that our children are well prepared to

accept the mantle that will be passed on to them. For

decades, the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) has

advanced this objective with determination, and we are

especially appreciative of its assistance to the Marshallese

children. We are proud to have recently ratified the

Convention on the Rights of the Child, and we encourage

others to do the same so that the world may attain

UNICEF’s goal of universal adherence by the year 2000.

The Marshall Islands are endowed with natural beauty

and a rich cultural heritage. The development potential of

Forty-eighth session - 6 October 1993 3

our islands resides in the preservation of their fragile

environment. Because our land area is so limited, we treat

it with the greatest respect and conserve it as best we can.

Given the small land area of our atolls, we face

constraints to agricultural and industrial development. As

the pressure from a growing population increases in my

country, additional demands are made on our resources.

Regrettably, we have become increasingly dependent on

imports to meet basic human needs.

The long distances from markets of many islands result

in especially high transport costs. In our case, we are almost

2,000 miles from the nearest major market for our goods.

Consequently, transport costs raise the cost of goods to

levels that are often not competitive. Even with competitive

products, restrictive trade barriers further limit our access to

markets. We are hopeful that the negotiations of the General

Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT) will produce a

trade agreement that is equitable and fair to all nations.

The Marshall Islands welcomes with gratitude the

recently approved country programme of the United Nations

Development Programme (UNDP). It would be especially

welcome if this plan of action could assist my country

significantly along the road to sustainable development. The

spirit of cooperation that was exhibited at the first round-

table meeting in 1991 is evident in this programme. It is

hoped that this will be the first step in a long and fruitful

partnership and that the UNDP will become more responsive

to the special needs of the Marshall Islands. Like many of

the island States in the region, the Marshall Islands is not a

traditional recipient of overseas development aid, and we

have few bilateral partners. Given its regional expertise, we

are pleased that UNDP is becoming a major focal point for

our development assistance. UNDP understands the

complexities of the Pacific region and the development

challenge for the island States. We hope that the UNDP

budget for the region will not be cut back any further. The

Pacific is a vast area, and the logistical challenges faced by

the field office in Suva, Fiji, are daunting.

Sustainable development is a primary objective of

Government planning. We are increasingly aware of the

limits that constrain our development potential. We want to

prosper on the resources that we have, but we do not want

to repeat mistakes that others have made on their road to

development. I commend our neighbour, Papua New

Guinea, for the important work it has initiated to integrate

sustainable development into the framework of international

relations.

The Marshall Islands is a small nation, and we

increasingly feel the strain caused by our expenditures on the

United Nations. We are, of course, very grateful and proud

to be a part of this body, but we are becoming worried at the

scale of new contributions, particularly for peace-keeping

operations. The burden of membership is not shared equally

by every citizen of the world, and we would like to see this

inequity in contributions addressed in some way. If one

looks at the cost of United Nations membership on a per

capita basis, one sees that the island States are among the

very top contributors.

The vulnerability of small islands to natural disasters

and to fluctuations in the world economy make it difficult to

quantify the well-being of our people. Calculations of per -

capita gross domestic product and other traditional economic

indices do not accurately represent the standard of living in

the islands. Perhaps other criteria could be devised to reflect

the complexities of our situation.

The Marshall Islands was one of the first countries to

ratify the Conventions adopted at the Rio Conference on the

environment. Developments subsequent to the Rio summit

have been closely observed by the Marshall Islands

Government. It is our sincere hope that the process initiated

at Rio de Janeiro will succeed, so that our islands can be

saved from possible destruction by global climate change.

The Global Conference on the Sustainable Development of

Small Island Developing States will increase world-wide

understanding of the vulnerability of our islands. The

Government of Barbados is to be thanked for generously

offering to host that Conference next year. We are,

however, a little disturbed by the response by some donor

countries to the Conference. It must be reiterated that the

Conference has its mandate from Rio and from the forty-

seventh session of the General Assembly, and that it should

be considered as a test case for sustainable development. It

will be an attempt to address issues that are specific to small

island States in their quest for sustainable development. The

will of the global community to live up to the promises

made in Rio will face its first test, and the implications of

the outcome of the Conference will be significant to all.

Throughout history the sea has united my people and

has been vital to our lives. It provides our nourishment; it

is a source of income; and our culture and traditions have in

large part been shaped by the ocean. The majority of our

population derives its livelihood from ocean-based activities,

and our territorial waters abound with fish that can feed

people around the world. Clearly, our fate is tied to the

ocean. Today, however, our way of life is threatened by a

rise in the level of the very ocean that has given us life for

4 General Assembly - Forty-eighth session

thousands of years. We are greatly appreciative of the

efforts and attention given to the problem by the world

community, most notably in the Framework Convention on

Climate Change, signed at the Rio Earth Summit, which my

Government is proud to have ratified.

However, for a low-lying atoll like the Marshall Islands

the Framework Convention may have come too late. We are

eager that funds from all sectors of the United Nations

system, especially the Global Environment Facility, be made

available for the purpose of adaptation to a rise in the sea

level. We also realize fully that changes required of

residents of industrialized countries will entail considerable

sacrifice, at least initially. However, countless studies have

shown that steps to reduce carbon-dioxide emissions would

greatly benefit those countries in the future.

The threat to the Marshall Islands is imminent. Our

way of life is threatened. My country is threatened with a

loss of identity and culture. We are powerless in the hands

of others and my country may cease to exist as a result.

I would like everyone in this Hall to visit our corner of

the world before it disappears. I hope that 30 years from

today our islands will not have been swamped by the sea

and that we will be able to invite you again, rather than

referring you to a page in a history book. For many, the

Marshall Islands may be little more than specks on the map.

The peoples of the Pacific hold a very different view of the

world: that the world would be greatly diminished by the

loss of even one of the diverse cultures that have been

crafted by mankind.

Let us strive during the coming months to work in

tandem and to endeavour to fulfil the grand aspirations and

lofty goals that this Organization represents. As we do this,

allow me to offer a Marshallese proverb to guide our work:

"Jouj eo mour eo, lej eo mij eo" - "Alone we cannot survive,

but together we are strong".