Suriname, 1996

May I first join preceding

speakers and congratulate you most sincerely, Sir, on behalf

of the Government and the people of the Republic of

Suriname on your unanimous election to the presidency of

the fifty-first session of the General Assembly. On behalf

of my delegation, I pledge you our full support as you carry

out the weighty and challenging responsibilities of your

office. I also wish to pay tribute to Mr. Diogo Freitas do

Amaral for the excellent and exemplary manner in which

he presided over the fiftieth session of the General

Assembly.

The dynamic and extraordinary manner in which

Mr. Boutros Boutros-Ghali has accomplished his mission as

Secretary-General in difficult circumstances of financial

constraints and wars within and among Nations, and his

fostering of social and economic development, has earned

our sincere gratitude. My Government believes that notable

endeavours have been undertaken by His Excellency

Mr. Boutros Boutros-Ghali to shape the future of the United

Nations in accordance with the needs and aspirations of

today’s world.

As members may know, the people of the Republic of

Suriname, availing themselves of their fundamental

democratic right through fair, free and secret elections on

23 May and 5 September 1996, have elected the new

political leadership of the country. As testimony to this

democratic process, I stand before the Assembly on behalf

of my Government and people as the newly elected

President of the Republic of Suriname.

My Government believes that the main challenge

facing us is the difficult task of reversing the current

tendency towards the social disintegration of the nation into

a process of nation- building and creating social harmony.

The need for this is even more pressing, considering

that Suriname has a small population, composed of different

ethnic and indigenous groups and that the living conditions

of large segments of its population have deteriorated

significantly. One of the fundamental problems in meeting

this challenge lies in the development of an economy that

is diversified and not dependent on just one economic

sector — and even less, dependent on a single donor

country.

In order to ensure that our people have the actual

enjoyment of human rights in the widest sense of the

word, a social system will be created that will focus

attention on guaranteeing every citizen minimal social

security; creating a society in which the quality of life is

equal for all and harmony is safeguarded; offering

Surinamese women greater opportunities to develop their

potentialities and to participate in the social structures, as

well as enhancing, in the widest sense of the word, the

care for the Surinamese child; providing for the basic

needs of the people, such as food supply, health care,

education, housing, public transport, water supply,

employment, passable roads and affordable energy supply;

and guaranteeing the protection of property by means of

adequate security.

The Government of Suriname is aware that the

realization of these tasks will demand great efforts from

the Government itself and from the entire population. In

this endeavour we shall work to bring about the

administrative and budgetary decentralization of the

administration through the strengthening of people-

oriented democracy by giving participatory democracy the

scope to develop.

The decentralization of legislation and administration

will be given further attention, to facilitate regional and

local development, with the full participation of regional

and local structures. The necessary conditions will be

created for an integrated approach to the development of

the districts and the interior, so as to eliminate

development lag in these regions. We fully realize that the

responsibility for achieving this goal lies primarily with

the Government and the people of Suriname. We

acknowledge, however, that we live in a larger world, in

a period in which having friendly relations is of eminent

importance. In accordance with international law, and on

the basis of the Charter of the United Nations and the

principles of the Non-Aligned Movement, Suriname will

establish and maintain relations with friendly nations and

international and regional organizations throughout the

world.

Close relations with countries that are our

neighbours from a historical, cultural or geographical

point of view, especially France, Brazil and Guyana, and

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with Venezuela, the Kingdom of the Netherlands and the

United States of America, will be maintained and deepened.

Furthermore, we will strengthen our efforts for full

integration into the subregion, into the wider Caribbean

region and into the Americas through our membership in

the Caribbean Community and the Association of Caribbean

States and through our participation in the free-trade zone

to be established in the year 2005.

This approach demands a more business-like stance in

multilateral and bilateral relations as concerns the principles

of equality, mutual respect, and the interest and protection

of our national sovereignty.

One of the most important characteristics of our era is

the transitional phase we are going through, in which new

ideas, new Powers, new values and norms have arisen,

leaving their mark on both national and international

politics, on the national and international economy, and on

the formation and content of international relations. The

United Nations, which plays a crucial role in defining

international relations and creating favourable conditions for

peace, stability and development, reflects this transitional

process.

In considering the need to redefine the role and tasks

of the United Nations in the post-cold-war era, some people

question whether the United Nations still has a role to play

in the international arena. As far as Suriname is concerned,

the United Nations, as a centre of multilateral relations, has

demonstrated its ability to play a unique role in the

achievement of overall human development on a global

scale. The United Nations has also demonstrated an

extraordinary capacity for giving primacy to the ideals and

aspirations enshrined in its Charter, and has indeed proved

to be effective in the pursuit of such essential tasks as the

maintenance of peace and security and the promotion of

development.

Along these lines, we would like to emphasize that the

continuation of the United Nations as a centre for

multilateral discussion and action is indispensable. We

acknowledge the need, however, to redefine its functions.

First, there is a clear need to reform its bureaucratic

structures in order to make it more effective and efficient

and to bring it more in line with the aspirations of the

majority of the world’s population. Secondly, we must

abide by our obligations under the Charter of the United

Nations to provide the necessary funds for its proper

functioning, even though a restructuring of the current scale

of assessed contributions could be considered.

We believe that if the United Nations is considered

as a train of peace and development on these two tracks,

humankind will embrace our Organization, which will

help us to move forward into the twenty-first century.

On the eve of the new millennium, it is imperative

for the international community to seek solutions to

pressing problems, of which abject poverty may well be

the most compelling. The solemn commitments of the

World Summit for Social Development and the launching

of 1996 as the International Year for the Eradication of

Poverty and the period 1997-2006 as the United Nations

Decade for the Eradication of Poverty have our full

support. There is evidence the world over that continuing

poverty, if not addressed adequately, will result in social

disharmony and in economic and political disorder, and

will become a threat to national and international peace

and stability, thereby negatively affecting the growth and

consolidation of democracy and human rights.

Let it be understood that all efforts to combat the

scourge of illicit drug trafficking, terrorism and organized

crime will prove to be fruitless unless we present a united

front to eradicate poverty.

Suriname has drawn unexpected international

attention by its resolve to employ its timber resources for

the development of its people. My Government is aware

of the concern of the international community as to the

possible consequences of an unsustainable use of our

forest. There are many examples throughout the world on

how we should not proceed, and we have learned from

those experiences.

In order to strike a proper balance between our

actual needs for development and the needs of future

generations, the Government of Suriname will abide by

the commitment expressed through its contribution at the

Rio Conference in 1992 and to the subsequent

investigations and deliberations at various levels of

society in conjunction with foreign investors. In all these

endeavours we will continue to be cautious, with due

regard for the interests of potential investors, the interests

of our indigenous people and the need to protect the

interests of future generations.

We hope that the international community will also

abide by its obligation to provide the necessary

technological and financial assistance, thus contributing to

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the achievement of these goals. In this respect we look

forward to the coming review meeting on the

implementation of Agenda 21.

The Government of the Republic of Suriname is very

concerned about the problem of illicit drug trafficking,

because it poses special security problems for countries

such as Suriname, which have insufficient resources to

guard its hundreds of miles of shoreline and vast,

underpopulated land areas. Therefore, as part of our policy

of maximum cooperation in the fight against drugs, we

have entered into cooperation agreements with many

countries in Latin America and the Caribbean, especially

with those States adjacent to Suriname. In this context, I

should like to mention the recently established and much

appreciated cooperation between Surinamese police

authorities and the drug enforcement agencies of the

Government of the United States of America. However,

finding an adequate solution to the drug problem will

depend in no small measure on whether equal attention is

given to both the supply and the demand sides of this

phenomenon.

While reflecting on the issues facing our world and

amidst the many challenges to creating global solidarity, my

Government wishes to express its serious concerns over the

developments in the Middle East, which have resulted in a

virtual discontinuation of the historic peace process. We

hope that the parties concerned and the international

community will succeed in bringing the peace process back

on track. The agony of bloodshed and the loss of lives must

be avoided, and there are no alternatives to dialogue and

peace.

I am deeply honoured to have had the opportunity to

address this body on a number of issues that are of prime

importance to the Government and the people of the

Republic of Suriname. I would like to conclude by

reiterating our commitment to contribute to the creation of

a new world order characterized by the eradication of

poverty and based on a more just distribution of wealth and

on an atmosphere that augurs well for peace and global

improvement of the quality of life on this beautiful planet.