Solomon Islands, 1999

Let me express my

sincere congratulations, Sir, on your election as President of

the General Assembly at its fifty-fourth session. Under your

leadership, I am confident the Assembly will effectively

address the issues before it.

My Government salutes the Secretary-General, the

Secretariat and the United Nations agencies for their

dedication and commitment to building peace and

confidence around the world. The Solomon Islands also

applauds the Secretary-General’s programme of

modernization and revitalization of the Organization,

aimed at creating a more effective United Nations to

better serve the development needs of its Members, thus

ensuring peace and security in the twenty-first century.

My country will be a committed partner in achieving this

goal in the new millennium.

The Government and people of the Solomon Islands

warmly welcome the admission of our sister nations —

the Republic of Nauru, the Republic of Kiribati and the

Kingdom of Tonga — as new Members of the United

Nations. This makes the principle of universality, as

stipulated by the United Nations Charter, a near reality. It

is also further testimony that the United Nations is

indispensable. Its body of international laws is central to

the protection and security of our small island States.

While there have been important successes for the

international community, peace and development in many

parts of the world remain precarious. The past decade has

witnessed the increase in the world’s illicit drug problem

and its related crimes, terrorism, large-scale movement

and trade in small arms and the proliferation of nuclear

weapons and weapons of mass destruction. Equally

alarming is the rise in local and regional conflicts in

various parts of the world and the threat they pose to

national and international peace, stability and

advancement. Poverty, meanwhile, remains a major

obstacle to the economic progress of many developing

countries, especially the least developed. In addition, the

economic threats associated with globalization and trade

liberalization have increased in recent years.

For small island developing States like the Solomon

Islands, post-cold-war security now embraces human,

environmental and economic dimensions. The most

important asset of any country is its people. In a small

island developing State like mine, investment in human-

resource development is not only vital, but a critical

prerequisite to embracing national peace, stability and

economic prosperity.

In this connection, the Barbados Programme of

Action for the Sustainable Development of Small Island

Developing States, as reiterated by many representatives

at the special session earlier this week, remains a valid

blueprint for the sustainable development of small island

6

developing States, including my country. The environmental

and economic vulnerabilities of small island developing

States present major difficulties to our efforts to achieve

sustainable development. Climate change and sea-level rise

are matters of survival for the small island developing

States. Annex I parties must fulfil their commitment under

the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate

Change.

The increasing incidence and magnitude of natural

disasters are particularly alarming. On the other hand, the

overall decline in official development assistance flows, the

erosion of trade preferences, falling primary commodity

prices and limited market access could severely harm our

small and fragile economies. Hence, greater international

support is required for the successful implementation of the

Barbados Programme of Action in the future.

My Government recognizes the importance of good

governance to advance human development and to promote

sustained economic growth. We are taking measures

towards this end. The call for good governance, however,

must be accompanied by the necessary resources and the

creation of an enabling regional and international

environment.

Allow me to outline the views and some of the steps

taken by my Government to address some of the

aforementioned issues, including our efforts to create and

strengthen accountable administrative and financial

institutions, as well as the appropriate policies and

legislation.

When my Government assumed office in September

1997, we were confronted with a major financial crisis in

the public sector. The domestic financial system was

overburdened with public debt, which the Government was

unable to service. Additionally, the Asian financial crisis in

late 1997 further deepened the crisis in the domestic

economy. The public service was unable to deliver goods

and services effectively and efficiently. The private sector

became stagnant. This state of affairs demanded an urgent

overhaul of the public sector and the need to create a

vibrant private sector. Short-term, medium-term and long-

term measures had to be taken.

Thus, my Government responded with a series of

policy statements committing itself to a broad-based

programme of policy and structural reforms. The overall

goals of the policy and structural-reform programme are to

foster financial and macroeconomic stability, to establish a

more effective and efficient public service and to create an

environment for the private sector that is conducive to

viable growth and sustainability.

It is obvious that, although we have the primary

responsibility to implement our reform initiatives, we

cannot do it alone. The experiences of small economies

that have undertaken similar reforms indicate that such

reforms can be accelerated by access to capital — often

grant in aid — technical assistance, technology transfers,

assured markets for primary commodities and links to

new market locations. Therefore, the political will that my

Government has demonstrated has to be supplemented by

significant international support if we are to fulfil the

aspirations of our people.

I am grateful to our bilateral and multilateral

development partners for the positive response they have

shown so far towards our reform initiatives. Additional

assistance will be required to implement, in particular, our

medium-term development strategy and our public sector

investment programme.

Peace and development are mutually interdependent.

In this connection, the current insurgency on the island of

Guadalcanal is a big set-back to our development efforts.

It has already affected various sectors of the economy and

caused the displacement of more than 30,000 people.

While the crisis may not be comparable to major conflicts

in other parts of the world, its net result in human loss

and suffering is relative. This crisis has to be understood

in the context of our smallness, our limited resources, our

ethnic and cultural diversity and our history. The Solomon

Islands, with a population of 400,000, has more than 80

different languages. Thus, if the insurgency is left to

escalate, it could seriously threaten national peace and

security.

My Government is, therefore, firmly committed to

an early resolution of the conflict. The engagement of the

Commonwealth special envoy is a preventive measure to

bring about reconciliation between the parties concerned.

I wish to acknowledge the assistance of the

Commonwealth Secretariat in this regard. Three

agreements to settle the crisis have been reached. We are

working very hard to ensure their implementation.

I am also grateful for the prompt response of the

United Nations Secretary-General to my request for a

United Nations mission to assess the humanitarian aspects

of the crisis. My Government is committed to working

closely with the appropriate United Nations agencies to

implement the recommendations of that mission. We also

7

appreciate the humanitarian assistance of our development

partners, including the Red Cross, to the displaced

population. My Government is fully aware of the need to

pursue the necessary policies and programmes for nation-

building through the creation of long-term development

strategies that promote social cohesion and national unity.

My Government attaches great importance to regional

cooperation, security and development. The political,

economic and environmental regional organizations in our

region, including the South Pacific Forum, the South

Pacific Environmental Programme, the Pacific Community,

the South Pacific Forum Fisheries Agency and the South

Pacific Geoscience Commission, provide vital mechanisms

for policy advice and action on issues of regional concern

and interest, especially in the areas of the environment,

population, fisheries resources management and

vulnerability index. The Solomon Islands has benefited

from their contributions and thus will continue to support

and actively participate in their activities. The thirtieth

South Pacific Forum meeting, to be held in Palau next

week, provides an opportunity for us to discuss how best to

strengthen regional cooperation in order to effectively cope

with the challenges of the new millennium and to harness

the opportunities it will bring.

Furthermore, my Government will continue to support

the efforts of the Government of Papua New Guinea to

rebuild peace and confidence on Bougainville. We also note

the contributions of other South Pacific neighbours and of

the United Nations in this process.

The Solomon Islands further welcomes the progress

made in the last decade in the decolonization process in

New Caledonia. We reiterate our support for the aspirations

of the Kanaks of New Caledonia to attain self-government

and political independence. The process towards self-

determination for other remaining non-self-governing

territories, including Guam and French Polynesia, must also

be facilitated. The United Nations is well placed to continue

to facilitate this process.

My Government is concerned about the deterioration

of law and order in East Timor following the referendum

on self-determination. The parties concerned must now

honour the outcome of the referendum. Violence must not

be used to deny the choice that was made by the

overwhelming majority: the chance to move forward. The

Solomon Islands appreciates the leading role of Australia

and New Zealand in the international peacekeeping mission

in East Timor.

At this juncture, let me renew the support of the

Solomon Islands for the appeal of the 22 million people

of the Republic of China on Taiwan to be represented in

the United Nations and its related organizations. Taiwan

is capable of and willing to fulfil the obligations

contained in the Charter of the United Nations. Its

outstanding economic success has enabled it to play a

positive role in promoting world trade and in eradicating

poverty. It has rendered development assistance, including

technical training and technology transfer, to developing

countries, including my own. It has responded to United

Nations appeals for emergency relief and rehabilitation

assistance to countries that have suffered from natural

disasters and wars.

Regarding the accomplishments of the Republic of

China on Taiwan, are these not sufficient to merit

diplomatic recognition from the international community?

Taiwan's membership in the United Nations system would

contribute substantially to the security and stability of the

Asia-Pacific region and of the world in general. It would

also provide an effective basis for peaceful dialogue. The

process of self-realization, supported by the United

Nations, has resulted in the membership of North and

South Korea in the United Nations. The United Nations

ought to give similar consideration to the question of

Taiwan. Ideally, the membership of the Republic of China

on Taiwan, together with the People's Republic of China,

will make a stronger United Nations. The Solomon

Islands would welcome the opportunity to work through

the United Nations system to achieve a peaceful and just

resolution.

My Government joins those who spoke before me in

supporting the call by the Secretary-General to accord

high priority to preventive action to address the rise in

local, national and regional conflicts. Are the current

mechanisms available to the United Nations adequate to

effectively resolve small-scale armed conflicts? Is there a

role for regional organizations to make a contribution to

this preventive approach? The reform of the Security

Council should include consideration of a workable and

effective preventive strategy. In addition, a

reconfiguration of the United Nations regional groupings

is necessary to reflect present-day realities and to

accommodate the interests and concerns of Member

States.

Perhaps the most profound challenge for the next

century is how to deal with the imperatives of

globalization, that is, capitalizing on its positives and

mitigating its negatives. In other words, the challenge of

8

globalization in the new era is not to halt the expansion of

global markets, but to find the rules and institutions for

stronger governance to preserve the advantages of global

markets and competition within a framework of cooperation

to enhance human progress.

Only the United Nations and other international

institutions have the scope and the legitimacy to generate

the principles, norms and rules that are essential if

globalization is to benefit everyone. Developing countries,

in particular the least developed, need international support

to build the capacities to enable us to become more

effectively and beneficially integrated into the global

economy. Debt relief, new and additional resources for

development and better diverse trade opportunities are

required to facilitate this process.

The Millennium Assembly, to be held in September

2000, affords a unique opportunity for all States to discuss

and exchange views on how best to address the many

challenges facing us. My Government looks forward to

participating actively in this important gathering. Equally

important are the special session of the General Assembly

to review the implementation of the outcome of the World

Summit for Social Development and Further Initiatives: the

review of the Beijing Fourth World Conference on Women;

and the Third United Nations Conference on the Least

Developed Countries, to be held in the year 2001.

Finally, the United Nations needs adequate financial

resources to achieve its objectives. The current financial

difficulties do not bode well for the Organization. Member

States must honour their Charter obligations and pay their

dues in full, on time, and without conditions. Despite our

own economic and financial constraints, my Government

has settled most of its arrears to the United Nations,

including contributions to the regular budget for 1999 and

peacekeeping operations.

This century has witnessed vast advances in transport

and communications technology, the increase of global

trade and wealth and improvements in the area of

international peace and security. New information and

communications technologies have driven globalization.

Unfortunately, these achievements, including the benefits

and opportunities of globalization, have not been widely

enjoyed and distributed. Global governance of globalization

must focus on human security, development, equity, ethics,

inclusion and sustainability. Let us unite in the spirit of the

new millennium to build a better world to live in.