Suriname, 2001

My delegation cannot

find the words to convey its sadness about the plane

crash that occurred in a residential area in New York

this morning. At moments like these, silence speaks for

itself. The Government and the people of Suriname

offer their heartfelt condolences to the families of all

the victims. We pray that our love and friendship may

bring comfort and peace to all who have been affected

by this tragedy and by the horrific attacks on 11

September.

During the United Nations Year of Dialogue

among Civilizations, the need for dialogue is proving

to be essential throughout world. In Suriname, we have

always tried to apply the concept of dialogue.

Suriname is a small country with a multi-ethnic

population. Our ancestors came to Suriname

generations ago from West Africa, China, India,

Indonesia, Europe and the Middle East. We have been

fortunate that, owing to mutual respect and

understanding, in Suriname these groups have lived

together and are living together peacefully. More than

ever, we realize that this harmony should be treasured

and nurtured, since we can no longer take peace and

harmony for granted.

Our Government plays a very important role in

this peaceful coexistence, because we have strongly

promoted and actively worked for mutual respect and

consensus. We believe that for people to be actively

involved in the development of the country, they must

be able to see themselves represented in national and

local government. We strongly promote such consensus

democracy in Suriname, for this power-sharing

arrangement has stimulated all ethnic groups to be

tolerant and respectful of each other's political

ideologies, cultures and religions. Our Government and

our people firmly uphold the principle of freedom of

religion, as well as of tolerance and respect for each

other's forms of cultural expression.

In the same vein, the indigenous people of

Suriname live in the interior with their own cultural

and religious beliefs. The needs and rights of

indigenous people are dealt with at the highest level in

our Government. Their views and concerns are shared

with the central Government through continuous

dialogue. My Government therefore looks forward to

the first conference of the Permanent Forum on

Indigenous Issues, scheduled to take place in May

2002.

We know, and have experience of the fact, that

people's primordial attachments become stronger at

times of need and despair. The grief of families from

the United States of America and other parts of the

world has been deeply felt, and all over the globe many

families and groups have turned to each other for

comfort. Our hearts go out to all of the victims of the

11 September attacks and their families.

We cannot yet assess all the social and economic

effects of those attacks. However, we have already seen

the devastating effects on the Caribbean in terms of

loss of income in, for example, tourism and trade.

Natural disasters have also affected our area, and my

delegation sympathizes with the people of the

Caribbean, especially those of Belize and Cuba, whose

countries were recently struck by hurricanes Iris and

Michelle.

As a member of the Caribbean Community, we

know that we have grave problems in the region.

Limited access to global markets because of stringent

trade rules and World Trade Organization (WTO)

regulations have resulted in increased poverty in our

region. Suriname pleads for an institutional

arrangement between the United Nations and the WTO

so as to allow developing countries easier access to that

body.

We have further expanded and deepened our

regional ties. In this respect, we would like to express

our gratitude to the countries of the western

hemisphere which have offered us assistance and

shown their support for including us in the various

integration movements.

We in the Caribbean enjoy a high level of

democracy and are guided by the rule of law. Our

Governments have been actively involved in creating

5

an environment to attract foreign investors and to

increase the production of goods and services. We still

need assistance. The promises made by the developed

countries in the Millennium Declaration of 2000 have

not yielded an increase in official development

assistance. We, the countries in development, need

equal opportunities.

If we, as the international community, agree that

human-centred development is at the top of our agenda,

we need to understand that we have to achieve it

together. If our goal is to eradicate abject poverty, we

must make an effort to achieve that goal. Cutting in

half by 2015 the number of people living on less than

$l a day is one of the main goals we want to achieve

for the benefit of the truly disadvantaged.

The International Conference on Financing for

Development, to be held in March 2002 in Mexico,

will give both developed and developing countries an

opportunity to reach concrete agreements and make

arrangements for resources for development. If we do

not take the opportunity offered by that Conference to

work towards sustainable development for all people in

the world, we will miss a great chance to achieve a

more equitable distribution of global wealth.

If we do not take that opportunity, we will also

miss the chance to intensify our struggle to combat

deadly diseases such as HIV/AIDS and malaria, which

affect millions in the world. We in the Caribbean have

committed ourselves to continue the struggle against

HIV/AIDS in our region. We must not lose sight of the

fact that people are still dying every day of this

disease. It is up to us, the international community, to

find solutions and improve the lives of those billions of

people who are faced with global problems such as

extreme poverty, HIV/AIDS, malaria, tuberculosis and

illiteracy, as well as problems resulting from the debt

burden, the refugee issue, environmental degradation

and the widening gap between rich and poor.

Suriname has made great efforts in gender

equality, and, with the assistance of the United Nations

Development Programme, we have begun training

programmes in gender sensitivity. We have women in

high-level positions, and it gives me great pleasure to

tell the Assembly that our current delegation consists

mainly of women. We are pleased with this

development in my country, but we still have a long

way to go.

Our commitment to the role of women has

prompted my country to work on a draft resolution in

the Third Committee of the General Assembly on

mainstreaming the situation of older women into

society, to ensure that that part of the population will

not be marginalized further in our societies.

Ageing has become a subject of increasing

concern to the international community, for it raises

significant social and cultural questions, as well as

questions of economic stability. My Government will

join the international community and the United

Nations to address and support the United Nations

initiative to achieve a society for all ages. We should

come up with appropriate strategies to collectively deal

with these issues during the Second World Assembly

on Ageing.

Human development constitutes one of the key

pillars of the development policy of my Government.

People, especially our children, are our country's

greatest treasure. This is why looking after their well-

being is placed high on our national agenda. Suriname

is looking forward to the Special Session on Children

that has been postponed to 2002.

Suriname hopes that the World Summit on

Sustainable Development of 2002, in Johannesburg,

and the assessment of the Earth Summit of June 1992,

will lead to recommendations and commitments for the

implementation of real sustainable human development

in a globally sustainable environment. Protecting the

environment is the responsibility of all countries.

Suriname took a first step in conserving biodiversity

for contemporary and future generations by

establishing the largest protected nature reserve in

South America three years ago. With this first step, we

hope to encourage other countries in the world to

protect the environment, and to work together on the

many emerging global environmental threats.

Suriname is extremely concerned about the trans-

shipment of nuclear waste through the Caribbean Sea,

but we are pleased to see that so many countries have

ratified the Kyoto Protocol.

The ever-widening global digital divide that

prevents developing countries from benefiting fully

from the advancements in information technology is a

concern that we have discussed in various international

forums, but it still needs much more of our attention.

6

The effects of globalization have not been

favourable to most developing countries. However, we

have come to understand and experience that our world

is an interdependent one, and we cannot turn back this

clock. The attacks of the 11 September have shown us

how interdependent we are. The loss of lives was

directly felt in the United States and in more than 80

countries in the rest of the world. The economic effects

are also being felt in all parts of the world.

In conclusion, the Secretary-General and the

United Nations received the Nobel Peace Prize this

year at a time when the world was still trying to

comprehend the horrific attacks of 11 September on the

United States. Suriname hopes that this distinguished

award will encourage the United Nations to continue

its important work for human rights, peace, social

justice, human development, human-rights education

and economic prosperity for all the peoples of the

world. We congratulate the Secretary-General on this

prestigious award and his re-election. And we

congratulate Mr. Han on his election as President and

look forward to his guidance and leadership during the

fifty-sixth session of the General Assembly.

As members of the United Nations family, we are

called upon to practice tolerance and to live together in

peace with one another as good neighbours. Because of

the devastating consequences of 11 September, we

have the obligation to look closely at the root causes of

terrorism. The causes of terrorism have to be discussed

and dealt with to protect all our peoples and interests.

For the world is our home, and we are the people who

live in it.