Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, 2000

I take this opportunity to congratulate the

President of the General Assembly on his election. I

am confident that his vision and energy will guide this

session to a successful conclusion.

I also thank Mr. Theo-Ben Gurirab, who led the

fifty-fourth session of the General Assembly with

distinction and efficiency.

I commend Mr. Kofi Annan, the esteemed

Secretary-General of this Organization, for the

thoughtful recommendations which he has put forward

in his report to the Millennium Summit entitled “We

the peoples: the role of the United Nations in the

twenty-first century”. His vision and stewardship have

proved to be vital factors in advancing the work and

mission of the United Nations at this critical time in the

history of the Organization and the world.

I join the previous speakers in welcoming the

nation of Tuvalu as the 189th and newest Member of

the United Nations family. Our newest entrant is also

the smallest Member country of the Organization, with

a population of 10,000 and a land area of nine square

miles. It was very pleasing to my delegation to see the

leader of that nation proudly take his place among the

other leaders of the world in what was the largest

gathering of heads of State or Government ever

assembled in one place, the Millennium Summit. There

is a special affinity between the countries of the

Caribbean Community (CARICOM) and Tuvalu. We

are among the smallest constituents of the

Organization. We share similar historical and

constitutional experiences. We face the same

environmental threats. We look forward, with

confidence, to a future involving the creative

29

utilization of the phenomenal developments in the area

of information technology.

My country's Prime Minister, The Right

Honourable Sir James F. Mitchell, joined other leaders

from the Caribbean Community, of which he is the

current Chairman, in denouncing the growing

insensitivity towards and disregard for the interests of

small developing countries on the part of the powerful

in today's world. In his address to the Millennium

Summit the Prime Minister noted that while our

religious heritage has taught us how to reach across the

boundaries of nations through the very inspirational

guideline, “love your neighbour as yourself”, small and

vulnerable island States such as our own are being

victimized by the application of international rules

crafted by the mighty to serve their own purposes,

oblivious to the concerns, and consequences for the

well-being, of others. We are all affected by the

modalities of the global village which we inhabit,

through revolutionary developments in communication

technology. Indeed, we have all become neighbours,

and yet the competition among the world's peoples has

become fiercer, with the rich countries surging ahead

and widening the gap with poor countries. This gap is

now related not only to material wealth, but also,

frighteningly, to the ability of less developed countries

to compete in the accepted medium of communication,

because of the existence of an ever-widening digital

divide.

The Millennium Summit concluded with the

adoption by world leaders of a Declaration affirming

the importance of the United Nations and the need to

strengthen its peacekeeping operations, as well as

making commitments to targeted reductions in poverty,

the levels of inhuman living conditions experienced by

impoverished nations around the world, the incidence

and spread of HIV/AIDS and the provision of basic

education for all children. On the other hand, we are

aware that the current world order is rapidly falling out

of step with today's realities and that there is a pressing

need for the international community to come together

and address the numerous challenges before us.

We must acknowledge that efforts to address old

issues, like world poverty and its distribution, as well

as new ones arising from globalization, the rapid

growth of information technology and the resulting

digital divide, the consequences of the environmental

degradation of our planet, HIV/AIDS and gender

issues, among others, have largely been inadequate.

Our common and daunting task is therefore to ensure

that this globalized world will be beneficial for all and

not just for some. More than ever before, there is an

urgent need to foster a consciousness of universal

moral values in order to deal with present-day

problems, all of which are assuming an increasingly

global dimension. The promotion of peace and human

rights, the settling of armed conflicts, both within and

among States, the protection of immigrants, the

safeguarding of the environment, the battle against

terrible diseases, the fight against drug and arms

trafficking, money laundering and economic and

political corruption are issues which no nation,

regardless of how wealthy or powerful, can

successfully address alone. They concern the entire

human community and must be addressed and resolved

through common universal efforts.

My country, a small State in the Caribbean, has

always been aware of its interdependence with other

countries for its prosperity and security. We have

moved to advance our interests through multilateral

cooperation in the Organization of Eastern Caribbean

States (OECS), CARICOM, the Organization of

American States (OAS), the Association of Caribbean

States (ACS), the Commonwealth and the institutions

of the United Nations system. For a small developing

country like Saint Vincent and the Grenadines,

multilateralism is not an option; it is an integral part of

our policies and programmes to enhance our standard

of living and create a better life for all of our people. I

therefore reiterate my country's commitment to and

support for the work of the United Nations and its

agencies in this regard.

The Millennium Summit provided an appropriate

opportunity for the assembled leaders to rededicate

themselves to the attempt to have an impact on and

change for the better the quality of life of the world's

poorest people, who are trapped in a vicious cycle of

deprivation and suffering. The Summit will have

proved worthwhile if it is remembered not as a highprofile event to make the transition to a new

millennium, but as an event that made the transition

from words to deeds. The times demand nothing less.

The security, welfare and development of people

must, in the context of any new world order, dominate

the attention of the world's multilateral financial

institutions, as well as of the United Nations. We must

undertake sustained and concerted efforts to free our

people from poverty, hunger, illiteracy and disease.

30

While micro-credit and other poverty-alleviation

programmes have been successful, much needs to be

done to eradicate poverty. In this era of plenty, millions

still suffer from hunger.

We had curbed old diseases like malaria, cholera

and tuberculosis, but they have reappeared in new and

drug-resistant forms. Deadly diseases like HIV/AIDS

are spreading at an alarming pace. The leaders of the

Caribbean Community have placed combating this

pandemic at the top of the regional agenda. This

scourge has already claimed the lives of over 10

million people. It is projected to claim the lives of over

200 million by the year 2010, the majority of them in

sub-Saharan Africa.

The developed world is not spared, either.

Worldwide figures indicate that 34 million people are

living with the disease, over 18 million have died since

the beginning of the epidemic and over 13 million

children have become orphaned. In the Caribbean

region, the disease now threatens the human resource

development efforts of CARICOM and could reverse

the social and economic gains of the countries in that

subregion. The prevalence rate in the wider Caribbean

is estimated at 172 cases per 100,000 people, the

highest rate of prevalence in the Americas, and second,

in terms of the growth rate, to sub-Saharan Africa. A

United Nations AIDS survey in 1999 showed that over

360,000 adults and children in our region were living

with the disease. There is no immunity. International

cooperation in the medical, ethical and legal fields

must be intensified if the disease is to be contained.

We cannot preach about human rights and the

universality of the United Nations while at the same

time ignoring the aspirations of over 23 million people

in the Republic of China on Taiwan. It is the view of

the Saint Vincent and the Grenadines delegation that

the time has come when serious consideration should

be given to the eligibility of the Republic of China on

Taiwan to become a Member of the United Nations. In

this regard, my Government is urging that the subject

be placed on the agenda of the fifty-sixth session of the

General Assembly. We urge every Member State of this

noble Organization to give its full support to this

worthy initiative for a country whose democratic

credentials cannot be challenged.

Saint Vincent and the Grenadines welcomes the

progress made in the Middle East peace process thus

far, and expresses the hope that through dialogue,

compromise and goodwill, the dream of lasting peace

may become a reality.

If countries like Saint Vincent and the Grenadines

are to survive globalization, the international

community must give careful and urgent consideration

to the following measures: the revitalization of growth

in developed countries; the lowering of interest rates;

access to the world's markets for the products of

developing countries; the reduction of debt and the

debt-service burden; the reversal of the deteriorating

situation in the marketing arrangements for primary

products produced in the developing countries;

economic diversification; increasing the levels of

official development assistance and humanitarian aid;

reductions in net capital flows from bilateral and

multilateral sources; and combating the negative

consequences of the graduation of some countries like

ours, by international financial institutions, from

concessionary funding arrangements.

Saint Vincent and the Grenadines shares the

concerns of other developing countries with regard to

the general decline in official development assistance

and the flow of foreign direct investment to developing

countries. We look forward to the consultation on

financing for development planned for 2001.

The changing world environment dictates the

need for the revitalization and restructuring of the

various organs of the United Nations organizations, but

my Government attaches very high priority to the

revitalization and strengthening of the role of the

United Nations in promoting international cooperation

for sound development, including economic

development. We share the view that the United

Nations should be encouraged to develop its full

potential in the area of international economic

cooperation and should be endowed with the requisite

resources to contribute to solving the serious economic

and social problems facing developing countries in

their efforts to achieve sustained economic growth and

development.

We commend those donor countries that have

made financial contributions to the South Pacific

Applied Geoscience Commission to assist the

development of an environmental vulnerability index,

and call for the early adoption by the international

community of a vulnerability index that would serve as

a guide for multilateral financial institutions and the

31

United Nations on the specific vulnerabilities of

developing countries.

Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, like other

small island developing States in the strategically

located Caribbean, continues to be plagued by the

endemic problems of the production, trafficking and

consumption of illicit drugs and psychotropic

substances. This modern day scourge continues to pose

serious problems which threaten to destroy the social

and moral fabric of our communities. My Government

is fully committed to the ongoing process of

cooperation with other countries to counter these

illegal activities. In this regard, I wish to reiterate in

this forum our complete support for the Multilateral

Evaluation Mechanism (MEM), developed by the

member countries of the Organization of American

States (OAS) to monitor countries' cooperation in the

international fight against the drug trade. I also take

this opportunity to urge that more resources be

allocated through collaborative efforts by the

international community to encourage farmers to keep

away from the production of illicit crops.

In his address to the Millennium Summit, the

Chairman of the Caribbean Community (CARICOM)

spoke of the outstanding and invaluable record of good

governance and respect for human rights and

democracy in the entire Caribbean region. These are

aspects of our society of which we are eternally proud.

Recently in Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, our

constitutional democracy was put to the test through

open expressions of dissent, but withstood the ordeal

through dialogue and compromise. My Government is

pleased to put on record its appreciation to the

Vincentian people for upholding democratic values and

respecting the supremacy of the constitution and the

rule of law as fundamental principles by which our

beloved country exists and governs itself. I also wish to

express gratitude to CARICOM, to the Organization of

Eastern Caribbean States (OECS), to the churches, to

the National Youth Council, to the Chamber of Industry

and Commerce, to the Employers' Federation and to

many individuals and other institutions for their

invaluable contributions in bringing about a swift

resolution of the matter. My Government has long

recognized the urgent need for constitutional reform

and will continue to work with other interested parties

to bring about meaningful change that would seek,

among other things, to strengthen the foundations of

our democracy. As full members of this body, we have

seen, at close quarters, the importance of constitutional

reform in the promotion of democracy, stability and

economic development.

We also recognize that constitutional reform is

crucial to strengthening our own integration processes

within the Caribbean Community, including the

establishment of a Caribbean court of justice, to be,

inter alia, the authoritative body adjudicating on

matters pertaining to the interpretation and

implementation of the provisions of the Treaty of

Chaguaramas, which established CARICOM.

Many matters of profound importance to Saint

Vincent and the Grenadines and the Caribbean

Community as a whole are included in the agenda of

this fifty-fifth session of the General Assembly. These

include: sustainable development, the future of United

Nations reform, the International Criminal Court and

human rights, the death penalty and financing for

development.

I wish, once again, to focus the attention of this

noble gathering to the issue of the Caribbean banana

trade with the European Union (EU). The facts are well

documented. Banana exports to the European Union

from my country and similarly from Dominica, Saint

Lucia and other African, Caribbean and Pacific (ACP)

countries are crucial to the economies of these

countries and represent over half of all export earnings

in some cases. The industry provides substantial

employment for many families in Dominica, Saint

Lucia and Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, my own

country.

Saint Vincent and the Grenadines is appreciative

of the efforts of the European Commission and other

parties which seek to bring about an amicable and

equitable solution to the dispute. However we are

deeply concerned that, should the tariff quota regime

be eliminated as a means of ensuring conformity with

the 1999 World Trade Organization (WTO) ruling, this

would have immeasurable harmful consequences for

our economy. It will lead to the destruction of the

Caribbean banana industry and negatively affect other

ACP supplying States where exports are also crucial to

the economy.

The two alternative solutions being proposed by

the European Commission, that is a first come, first

served system, along with a tariff rate quota and, if that

proves impracticable, moving directly to a tariff only

system, would prove to be disadvantageous and

32

disastrous for the Caribbean industry. Neither system

ensures access.

We therefore urge the interested parties to the

dispute to use their substantial influence to bring about

the much-needed breakthrough which will facilitate a

resolution that is acceptable to all parties. An

efficacious settlement of this long-standing issue will

support our efforts, as a small economically vulnerable

island State, in eradicating poverty and maintaining

peace and economic security, which are vital for the

achievement of economic diversification within a

reasonable period of transition.

While we recognize that there are structural and

inherent disadvantages that inhibit our ability to

compete with highly integrated operations on the

market, we ask that an equitable solution be sought in

order to allow our people to engage meaningfully in

trade and development, rather than be forever subjected

to the aid and dependency syndrome. Our expressed

desire to hold on to our banana industry, which served

us well, in no way reflects any misunderstanding of the

realities of the present day trade and economic

environment.

My delegation also wishes to express its concern

over the procedural obstacles raised in Geneva within

the WTO that would prevent consideration of the

waiver requested in respect of the new ACP-EU

Partnership Agreement if it includes bananas without

advice on how the regime will be formed. My country

and other members of the Caribbean Community have

been actively engaged in diversifying our economies

throughout the last quarter of the last century. This has

involved activities in the agricultural, manufacturing,

tourism and service sectors. In Saint Vincent and the

Grenadines, as a direct corollary of this thrust, we have

improved air access to our country and my Government

continues to prioritize the education of our people to

prepare them for the opportunities that will accrue.

My Government will continue to honour its

commitments to all international agreements to which

it is signatory. In furtherance to our international

obligation we have signed the following: the United

Nations Convention on Contracts for the International

Sale of Goods, the Convention on the Recognition and

Enforcement of Foreign Arbitral Awards, the United

Nations Convention on the Carriage of Goods by Sea,

the International Convention Against the Taking of

Hostages and the Convention on the Prevention and

Punishment of Crimes against Internationally Protected

Persons, including Diplomatic Agents. All of these

instruments were deposited with the Secretary General

during the Millennium Summit.

During his speech at the Millennium Summit,

Prime Minister Mitchell stated that:

“Small island States such as our own, with

an enviable record of good governance and

human rights, have seen the mighty in the banana

trade using the international rules — crafted by

them — impede our economic growth.”

Similarly, the verdicts that have been imposed by

the Organization for Economic Cooperation and

Development (OECD) on our financial services,

without any deference to our rights to be heard,

demonstrate total disregard for the well-being of small

vulnerable States attempting to diversify their

economies. I echo Prime Minister Mitchell's sentiment,

“Where is the fairness in free trade?”

Offshore financial services is one of our chosen

avenues of economic diversification. We believe that

we are capable of offering a useful, professional and

mutually beneficial service to our clients. Accordingly,

in 1995 we embarked on a comprehensive legislative

exercise to ensure that we would put in place a

regulatory and supervisory framework to adequately

administer the conduct of international financial

businesses operating in Saint Vincent and the

Grenadines. In our efforts to further strengthen our

regulatory regime against money laundering activities,

we enacted six additional pieces of offshore legislation.

Saint Vincent and the Grenadines is committed to being

a responsible member of the international community,

including by playing its part in the war against money

laundering. We believe that those who toil to build a

better life for themselves, their children, their

grandchildren and any other beneficiaries, should be

afforded the right of privacy in their affairs. Such

people should have access to facilities that will

preserve that privacy, and the opportunity should be

created for them to optimize and maximize their

wealth. It is, however, important to note that whilst we

believe in the preservation of privacy, we are also

resolute in efforts to ensure that persons of undesirable

character and conduct are not allowed to take

advantage of the opportunities that are available in our

international finance sector.

33

My country and others in the Caribbean

Community are deeply concerned that the so-called

harmful tax initiative of the Organisation for Economic

Cooperation and Development (OECD) is designed to

frustrate tax competition, and that it threatens the

sovereignty of small island States desperately seeking

creative avenues for survival. Such action on the part

of the OECD could encourage the creation of a tax

cartel, thereby removing the possibility of lower taxes

from those who wish to legitimately escape them

through the exercise of free choice. It would also close

off an area of diversification and economic activity in

which poor developing countries can be competitive

and which they have actively promoted for a long time.

The unilateral practices of the OECD, the Financial

Stability Forum and the Financial Action Task Force

also impact negatively on the burden of taxation in

wealthy countries, impair the competitive capacity of

Caribbean jurisprudence in the provision of a global

financial service and stifle economic growth in the 47

blacklisted countries, with all the concomitant evils.

The small island States of the Caribbean are

among those countries most at risk from the adverse

effects of climate change. Already, many of our islands

are experiencing those effects in areas that impact

directly on the important tourism sector of our

economies. We are also prone to extremely damaging

natural disasters, especially hurricanes and storm

surges, which visit us annually with increasing

frequency and ferocity. Our diverse region also

experiences droughts and floods, volcanic eruptions

and earthquakes, with equally devastating effects, if

less regularly than the pleasantly named perennials.

The continued committed support of the international

community is crucial in complementing the work of

those States in addressing these serious problems.

Our survival as a region is intimately interwoven

with our environment. Our physical and economic

limitations should not be further burdened by the transshipment of hazardous waste through our waterways.

Such actions are a flagrant violation of our human

rights and an affront to our sovereign dignity. We

therefore reiterate the call for the Caribbean Sea to be a

nuclear-free zone in the context of sustainable

development.

In closing, I take this opportunity to pay tribute in

this forum to one who has upheld the highest ideals of

the Charter of the United Nations, through service to

our country, to the Caribbean and to the international

community. I speak of the Prime Minister of Saint

Vincent and the Grenadines and current Chairman of

the Caribbean Community, The Right Honourable

Sir James F. Mitchell. For 34 years he has served as an

elected member of our legislature. He has seen our

country through the stages of constitutional

development from crown colony to internal selfgovernment, and finally, as our longest serving Prime

Minister, to a fully independent State. For us in Saint

Vincent and the Grenadines, it is difficult to

contemplate public life without him. His address at the

Millennium Summit was his last to this body, for he

has decided to demit office as Prime Minister before

the twenty-first anniversary of our political

independence, on 27 October 2000. Sir James Mitchell

has made us all proud by his long, dedicated and

visionary service. The initiatives taken by him in the

area of land reform, which empowered people through

land ownership, are exemplary. I think it is appropriate

that, on behalf of Vincentians everywhere, I extend

sincere gratitude to him from this rostrum.

The challenge is ours: to turn our words into

action and to agree on a common vision of our future.