Marshall Islands, 1999

Mr. President, on

behalf of my delegation, I congratulate you on your election

to preside over the General Assembly at its fifty-fourth

session. I bring you warm greetings from His Excellency

President Imata Kabua of the Republic of the Marshall

Islands. He asks that I bring to the attention of the General

Assembly the various concerns that we wish to see

addressed this year.

As the Assembly knows, the Marshall Islands was

chosen for nuclear testing activities for the good of

mankind. It did not turn out to be so fortunate for many of

our people. The testing displaced many, and many were

affected by the contamination. The Marshall Islands

continues to be haunted by a legacy of nuclear testing and

the destruction that accompanied it. My own home island,

Utirik, was severely affected, and as I speak today we feel

that there has not been a full reckoning of this dreadful part

of our history. We have spoken about the medical effects,

the high costs of treating the victims and the costs of

rehabilitating the affected areas. A recent study has proved

that the thyroid cancer rate in the population alive at the

time of the testing is very high. We are experiencing the

effects of these ailments decades after the end of the tests.

The medical and social problems that were caused do not

seem likely to go away.

That being said, there are some positive developments

arising from our talks with our former Administering

Authority. Recent discussions have highlighted the need to

move forward with positive measures, and this is something

we fully support. The problems we face are, however, very

difficult, and the international expertise we require is

simply not forthcoming. We therefore reiterate the call we

made at the 1995 Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) Review

Conference that such expertise for medical measures, as

well as scientific and technical assistance, must be made

available. We have sought to have the year 2000 Review

Conference fully reflect this concern. If these issues are

not addressed, it is our considered view that

non-proliferation and nuclear disarmament in general will

be a hollow achievement.

I am grateful, Mr. President, for the efficient manner

in which you conducted the proceedings of the twenty-

second special session. That session will serve as a

highlight among our achievements this year, and I hope

that it will usher in a new dawn of international

cooperation with the small island developing States.

The concerns that were raised at the special session

need not be repeated here. However, we must now look

at how to integrate these concerns into other work of the

United Nations in the field of sustainable development. It

would be counterproductive if the outcomes from last

week were not fully reflected in our other deliberations.

The full agenda before the Second Committee is

indicative of the continued concern with these issues. We

will seek to ensure full reflection of the special session at

the appropriate time. At the national level we will do our

part through the National Commission on sustainable

development. At the regional level we will cooperate with

the other organizations of the Pacific island countries.

The interlinkages between various conventions and

sustainable development efforts have always been clear to

my delegation. We are deeply concerned with climate

change and the devastating effect it may have on our

livelihood, culture, natural resources, the economy and

our very existence. Climate change is with us now. It

must be stressed that bad weather is not climate change.

However, the extreme events that have been observed in

recent years are indications of what is to be expected

from climate change. Climate change is the disease, and

what we are observing are the symptoms.

In the Pacific we have experienced a number of

severe weather events and changes to our normal climate.

Kiribati and the northern Cook Islands have become

wetter, while Fiji and Tonga have become drier. In Samoa

the difference between daytime and night-time

temperatures has decreased. The southern Cook Islands

and Tonga have also become warmer. The drought that

hit the Marshall Islands last year was so bad that

households could not get even two hours of fresh water

per week.

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For small island developing States it is not just a

question of waiting to see what the research will say. We

have to take action now. What happens to the small islands

will impact on the rest of the world sooner rather than later.

We also expect that the industrialized countries will take

precautionary measures. Anything less is an invitation to

the genocide of island peoples around the world.

The industrialized countries should urgently reduce

their emissions, and others should follow suit. We ourselves

are taking steps to limit our already very small emissions.

Part of our effort is to develop our renewable energy sector.

In this regard, I am pleased to inform the Assembly that the

Government has approved a solar energy policy. The first

stage will be a project to install solar panels on all the outer

island health centres and one of the high schools. With the

support of the United Nations Trust Fund for New and

Renewable Sources of Energy and the Government of Italy,

we hope to begin implementing this project very soon, as

well as the overall policy. The policy will assist us in

generating sustainable livelihoods in the outer island

communities.

The Marshall Islands was honoured to host the

Alliance of Small Island States workshop on climate change

this year, and we commend the outcome to all

Governments. We would like to express our appreciation to

Italy, Norway, the United States, Canada and Switzerland

for supporting the workshop and the United Nations Trust

Fund for providing the experts.

As the custodian of three-quarters of a million square

miles of ocean, the Marshall Islands is continuing its

endeavours to seek equitable solutions for the governance

of the oceans. We are cognizant that the activities that take

place in our neighbouring seas will have an effect on the

sustainable development of the marine resources within our

exclusive economic zone.

Unsustainable fishing practices such as the use of drift

nets and small mesh sizes must therefore be banned

forever. The Marshall Islands has been working together

with the Pacific island countries to develop a regional treaty

that would address implementation of fisheries conservation

and their sustainable management. Various aspects of

importance include the need for data collection, vessel

monitoring systems, and greater support for our patrol

boats. We also need to look at limiting the fleets permitted

to fish in our waters; this would also assist us in further

developing our domestic fleet.

My Government applauds the efforts of the Pacific

Forum, in particular the Permanent Representative of

Papua New Guinea who, in cooperation with the Rio

Group, has brought this matter forward. We will continue

to seek common-sense solutions to the vexing problems

that confront us in ocean matters.

The Ministry of Internal Affairs of the Marshall

Islands has responsibility for and is predominantly

focused on the social development and improvement in

the lives of our people in the outer island communities.

One such example is the solar power project I mentioned.

We are constantly engaged in seeking solutions to address

these concerns, one such event being national economic

and social summit. Through the outcome of that summit,

we are striving to bring about the partnerships that these

communities require for their economic and social

development. Many exciting new ideas have come

forward, especially for the development of agriculture,

fisheries and sustainable tourism. What is lacking is

concerted donor support, but we are hopeful that with

detailed and pragmatic proposals this situation will

change.

Earlier this year, at the Preparatory Committee for

the follow-up to the Copenhagen Social Summit, I

outlined some of the problems we face and the possible

solutions we proposed. Those ideas are still valid. My

delegation will continue to stress the need for support for

these efforts during this session and at the special session

on social development next year.

Women’s rights are a cornerstone of the Marshall

Islands Constitution. As a matrilineal society, we have a

cultural attachment to the promotion of the rights of all

people, but especially for the women of our society. We

have in place a unit in the Ministry of Internal Affairs to

assist in the implementation of our policy on women and

to address the achievements of women in our society. I

can inform the Assembly that a national caucus of women

was recently established to increase further their

involvement in the political decision-making process. My

delegation will actively participate in the preparatory

work for the special session on the implementation of the

Beijing Conference to be held next year.

Equally important to the Marshall Islands are human

rights in the general sense. We have tried to give practical

implementation to the ideals that we all hold dear. The

Marshall Islands Constitution defines respect for human

rights as the fundamental obligation of the Government.

It sets out the basic parameters for the holding of free

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elections, the right of free speech and thought, and the right

to economic and social development. We hold these

principles in high regard, and indeed we are currently in the

process of holding general elections to the Parliament and

to the local governments. The elections are free and fair,

and open to the most stringent oversight to ensure there is

no interference in the free choice of the people.

In line with our efforts to consolidate our democracy

and our free institutions, we are looking at the opportunities

in the various human rights instruments of the United

Nations. I hope to be able to report soon that we will

become party to the most important of these instruments,

even though I would contend that our Constitution already

gives full voice to these rights. In this regard, we were very

heartened to hear what the Secretary-General had to say on

the subject. We think that he pinpointed the real issue here:

that it is people who are the most important, that it is

adherence to human rights that we must safeguard. We will

support all efforts to see to it that new initiatives are given

proper consideration.

As a small but determined democracy, the Marshall

Islands supported the inclusion of the agenda item on the

need to examine the exceptional international situation

pertaining to the Republic of China on Taiwan and ensure

that the fundamental right of its 22 million people to

participate in the work and activities of the United Nations

is fully respected. We hope to achieve a resolution of this

matter in the near future. There is still a need for an ad hoc

committee to be established to examine the matter further.

The United Nations has come a long way on the path

to reform, which we all know is an ongoing process, never

a single event. My delegation congratulates the Secretary-

General for his outstanding efforts: he deserves our full

support and thanks. But the reforms so far made are in

jeopardy because of the continued non-payment of

contributions by certain Members. This is intolerable and

cannot continue: the support from Member States cannot

falter. We must all pay our dues on time, in full and

without conditions.

As part of this reform process, we too have noted the

anomalies in the regional groupings here at the United

Nations. We think it is high time to review this matter, as

Australia, New Zealand, Papua New Guinea, Fiji and

Samoa have all eloquently pointed out.

There is also a need to finalize the reform of the

Security Council. In this regard, I wish to thank the

delegation of Italy for its reasonable and logical

contribution to our debate on this matter.

We must also ensure that the United Nations

agencies are responsive to the special needs of the

developing countries. The Marshall Islands has benefited

to some extent from various United Nations Development

Programme (UNDP) projects. We feel that more can be

done, and we look forward to increasing our cooperation

with United Nations agencies, such as UNDP, the United

Nations Population Fund (UNFPA), the United Nations

Children's Fund (UNICEF) and the United Nations

Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization

(UNESCO) and others.

In conclusion, Mr. President, you can count on the

full support and cooperation of the Marshall Islands

delegation to assist you in bringing our deliberations to a

fruitful conclusion.