Suriname, 1998

Before starting my

statement, I should like to express, on behalf of my

delegation, our sympathy to the victims and their families

in the path of the destructive Hurricane Georges through the

countries of our region, including Caribbean sister nations.

I call upon the United Nations and its humanitarian

agencies to render all possible support to the countries and

the peoples afflicted.

Allow me to extend my congratulations to you,

Mr. President, on your election to preside over our

General Assembly at this session. I would also like to

express my appreciation to Mr. Hennadiy Udovenko for

his important contribution during the last session.

In addition, may I also thank the Secretary-General,

Mr. Kofi Annan, for his continuous efforts to transform

our United Nations into a more effective instrument for

promoting peace and enhancing the well-being of the

people of the world as we move into a new millennium.

The restructuring of the Security Council with a

view to properly reflecting the present international

economic and political reality and to meeting the new

challenges of the next millennium is of fundamental

importance. My delegation believes that the discussions

should not be limited to the mere expansion of the

Council, but should rather address the improvement of its

effectiveness and its adherence to the principle of our

Charter that all States are equal. We would like to

emphasize that my delegation fully underscores the

position taken by the Non-Aligned Movement, most

recently at its twelfth summit meeting in Durban, South

Africa.

Suriname is pleased with the call by the Secretary-

General for greater cooperation between the United

Nations and regional organizations in preventing conflicts.

In the western hemisphere, it is mainly the Organization

of American States and the Caribbean Community

(CARICOM) which have often demonstrated their

capabilities of overcoming seemingly insurmountable

hurdles by preventing or ending conflicts between and

within member States.

Allow me to raise some matters of equally serious

international concern that require urgent attention. A

disturbing and despicable phenomenon, which we all must

condemn in the strongest terms, is the senseless attacks

on and even killing of international civil servants,

including United Nations field officers. Since these heroic

men and women are contributing to the cause of

humanity, crimes committed against them must be treated

as crimes against humanity and punished accordingly.

Recent terrorist attacks in Africa, Europe and elsewhere

have once more shocked the international community and

have left us in a state of dismay.

5

The Republic of Suriname condemns international

terrorism and welcomes the conclusion of regional

agreements and mutually agreed declarations to combat and

eliminate terrorism in all its forms and manifestations.

My Government deeply deplores the fact that the

process for durable peace and reconciliation in the Middle

East has again been stalled and the current situation

continues the great suffering of the Palestinian people and

uncertainty for the people of Israel. We call upon all sides

to re-establish mutual confidence and call on the

international community to exert every influence on the

parties concerned to save the peace process.

It is recognized that the phenomenon of globalization

presents a challenge for the Caribbean region, and requires

fundamental changes in our economies and in the

developmental process of the region, while increasing the

risk of marginalization for all vulnerable economies.

In this regard, we share the view that the small

Caribbean States should be granted a reasonable period for

adjustment to the changing international environment, in

order to enable us to improve our competitiveness, and a

non-reciprocal preferential system must be maintained

during that transition period. This will allow for a more

realistic transition, which will eventually facilitate better

adaptation of our economies.

More than ever, the interdependence of States has

become clear, now that the negative consequences of

globalization have recently manifested themselves in a

dramatic manner for many of our member States. I

therefore make an urgent appeal to all responsible actors

involved in the world economy, including the international

financial institutions and monetary authorities, to adjust

their relevant policies so as to redress the structural,

financial and economic imbalances and adverse effects that

have risen.

We call upon all nuclear-weapon States to accede to

and fully implement the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of

Nuclear Weapons and the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban

Treaty. We are convinced that the new Department for

Disarmament and Arms Regulation will bolster the capacity

of the United Nations to pursue these objectives, bearing in

mind the ruling by the International Court of Justice in July

1996 that the use of, or the threat to use, nuclear weapons

is contrary to international humanitarian law.

As we commemorate the fiftieth anniversary of the

Universal Declaration of Human Rights, Suriname wishes

to reiterate its commitment to these rights. At the same

time, my Government holds the view that it is equally

important not to focus our attention solely on the

fulfilment of civil and political rights; we should also

focus on the fulfilment of the social and economic rights

of our peoples.

It is in this respect that Suriname believes that the

implementation of the “Right of Development”, in

particular for peoples in the developing world, must be

given equal attention by the international community.

What should be stressed in this context is that human

rights and sustainable human development are

interdependent and mutually reinforcing. The promotion

of human rights is, indeed, of particular relevance in a

globalized world, with its potential to marginalize the

weak and small States, particularly those with limited

resources.

Suriname takes part in the General Assembly debate

with a sense of pride, since it has demonstrated to the

world its acceptance of responsibility for the protection of

the environment by preserving one of the most pristine

forests on this globe for conservation purposes. My

country has recently created the Central Suriname Nature

Reserve, comprising 1.6 million hectares and 12 per cent

of the territory of the Republic of Suriname. This nature

reserve, one of the largest nature reserves in South

America and possibly the single most pristine tropical

area on Earth, is our gift to humankind for eternity. I

consider this gift a special contribution to, among other

things, the safeguarding of one of the fundamental human

rights of the world population, namely, the right to life.

We hope that other nations will follow this example and

commit themselves to the protection of the forests of our

world.

The information superhighway facilitates the

exchange of information and can also contribute to the

development and the promotion of public awareness

worldwide. However, I must also express my sincere

concern about the possible negative consequences of the

misuse of this form of technology, which could have

adverse effects on all strata of our communities, including

our youth. It deserves serious consideration to develop

and implement legislative measures to prevent any form

of misuse of this form of technology, without in any

respect jeopardizing the fundamental right of free

expression.

As a result of the twentieth special session of the

General Assembly, devoted to the world drug problem,

6

Suriname is now in the final stage of organizing a

subregional conference on the drug problem, the aim of

which is to establish a plan of action in cooperation with

Guyana, Venezuela, Brazil and France, in order to

effectively combat this form of organized crime.

Finally, I am pleased to conclude that since our last

Assembly reform of our Organization has been well on its

way, with a renewed emphasis on economic, social and

development activities, and the need to implement its

mission of peace, development and human rights in a more

effective manner.

We must continue to revitalize the United Nations,

since it is our universal instrument for concerted action in

the pursuit of our noble aim of the betterment of

humankind. It bears repeating, again and again, that the

majority of the key conflicts in the world, and the threats

to the world community, can only be solved or averted

through the strengthening of our multilateral mechanism.

The United Nations must be that mechanism. Our

combined political will should be its new life; a new life

for the challenges of the new millennium.