Suriname, 2010

On behalf of the

Government and the people of the Republic of

Suriname, I take this opportunity to congratulate

Mr. Joseph Deiss on his election to preside over this

sixty-fifth session of the General Assembly. I am

pleased to see Switzerland, one of the newest members

of the Organization, occupying this high office,

especially since his country has a long-standing and

constructive record regarding international neutrality

and respect for international order. I am convinced that

his diplomatic experience, as well as his well-known

in-depth knowledge of current international issues, will

enable him to successfully discharge the important

responsibilities of his office. As one of the Vice-Chairs,

Suriname pledges its full support for his work agenda

for this session.

I wish to express our appreciation to Mr. Ali

Abdussalam Treki for his unwavering efforts in

steering the Assembly’s work at its sixty-fourth

session.

I also pay tribute to the Secretary-General,

Mr. Ban Ki-Moon, for his leadership and guidance of

this Organization throughout the past years of crisis

and turbulence.

It is a great honour for me today to address the

Assembly, as a leader who recently received a mandate

from the Surinamese people to realize sustainable

economic and social development through our own

efforts and with the support of all friendly nations.

Twenty-seven years ago I had the honour to

address the Assembly. I then stated:

“by the same token, we are dismayed by the fact

that, in spite of the presence of the Organization

on the international scene for almost four

decades, its lofty goal of creating an international

order based on respect for international law and

the peaceful settlement of disputes seems today to

be as elusive as ever”. (A/38/PV.28)

Today we can conclude that things have not

fundamentally changed.

The challenge we face is that of striking a proper

balance between full recognition of the sovereignty of

the individual Member States of the United Nations

and the apparent need for global governance regarding

the global issues that endanger the very survival of our

planet and its inhabitants. We are not there yet. It has

become obvious to Suriname that this balance can be

achieved only when participants in the international

arena refrain from using military force and/or

economic coercion. We have even seen States abuse

their own legal system to force their political will on

another nation.

Restricting ourselves to the Caribbean region, the

Republic of Suriname is deeply concerned about the

persistence of the imposition for almost half a century

of the economic, commercial and financial embargo

imposed against Cuba with the aim of changing

developments of that nation’s political, economic and

social road map. Those coercive measures cause

unnecessary hardship and have severe effects on the

rightful development and well-being of the Cuban

people. Suriname therefore joins Member States which

since 1992 have consistently been calling in vain for

the rejection of the unilaterally imposed embargo

against Cuba. As is the case on the national level, the

international community will prosper only when all

values protected by the rule of law are distributed

equally, notwithstanding the asymmetry that

characterizes international relations.

13 10-55103

My country finds itself at a crossroads in its

history. The electorate gave its leaders a mission to

create a society in which everyone participates and

everyone shares in what the country has to offer,

meeting their basic material means, and in which

solidarity prevails. The aim is the creation of a just

society in which people can develop themselves to

their highest potential and become international role

models and leaders in areas in which our society

excels. No one will be left behind in this task of

nation-building. My Government pledges not to waste,

but to protect, our national inheritance and assets for

future generations and the world. Moreover, we will

seize every opportunity to generate greater national

wealth.

We will devote special attention to groups who in

the past have had limited scope for development. In

this regard, I refer to our indigenous peoples and our

countrymen living in tribal communities. Our intention

is to gradually break the cycle of their isolation and

considerably improve their quality of life.

When we look at the many national challenges

facing us, it is clear that our task will not be easy. In

almost all sectors of the economy and society we have

suffered enormous neglect, and there has been a

decline, stagnation and reversal of national growth. As

a result, today many segments of our society have

become desperate and hopeless. We therefore need a

bold new visionary approach to give our people what

they justly deserve as co-owners of a nation endowed

and blessed with so many riches.

However, we need to overcome two huge

challenges that since decolonization have haunted and

blighted our national destiny as a people.

First, we must dismantle any lingering remnants

of the colonial police State which blocks and obstructs

the establishment of a free, democratic, constitutional

State based on the pillars of an independent judiciary, a

Government free of corruption, a legislature that acts

in the interests of the people, and a free and

independent press committed to the honest

dissemination of information.

Another major challenge that we face is the

transformation of our society from an economy which

is merely a source of profit for foreign interest groups

into one that is based and built on a healthy

interdependence. Suriname needs a new national

economic approach created by Surinamers and for

Surinamers.

We realize that we are part of the global

community, which as a result of technology is

gradually turning into a global village, fostering

intensive relations in both a negative and a positive

sense. Despite all the resources and knowledge at our

disposal, we are still faced with what seems an

insurmountable challenge: to rid the world of extreme

poverty, to ensure adequate education for our children,

to stem the tide of infectious and other diseases, or to

take responsible decisions on environmental

sustainability. We have to recognize that with today’s

interdependence many challenges transcend national

borders and that the ability of countries, in particular

developing countries, to make progress on many of the

international development goals does not merely

depend on domestic policy choices. An international

enabling environment in this regard is of increased

significance.

Climate change is a global threat that will affect

developing countries in a most devastating way.

Suriname, with its low-lying coast, belongs to the top

10 countries which will be seriously affected by sea-

level rise. This is ironic, because we are not culpable

for the excessive levels of greenhouse gases in the

atmosphere, but we are about to bear a heavy part of

the brunt.

According to the United Nations Environment

Programme, global biodiversity loss is high, so high

that 2010 has been declared the International Year of

Biodiversity by the United Nations in order to attract

attention to this global problem. In this respect,

Suriname could serve as an example for the world, as

its laws to save forest and biodiversity date from the

middle of the past century. We are proud to state here

today that Suriname is rightly called the greenest

country on Earth for its 90 per cent forest cover.

That having been said, it is ironic that a country

such as Suriname, with such a good environmental

track record, is overlooked and that the world’s efforts

are concentrated on countries that are using their

resources unsustainably, thereby sending the wrong

message globally. We believe that we should tackle this

problem head on, starting at home, moving towards our

immediate neighbours and from there to the subregion

of South America and the Caribbean, thus creating a

10-55103 14

substantial force at the world forum dealing with the ill

effects of climate change.

It seems that the standing forest and the wealth of

Suriname’s biodiversity are being taken for granted by

the global community, as there are no structures in

place to provide incentives to continue on the path of

sustainability. Despite that, we promise that our

choices for development will duly respect a proper

balance between nature and development.

Various high-level meetings have been organized

to address issues of common concern, such as the fight

against HIV/AIDS, the negative effects of climate

change, arms proliferation, the effects of the global

economic and financial crisis and transnational

organized crime and its associated ills.

At this time it is necessary to draw special

attention to the issue of non-communicable diseases,

which is of great concern to all of us. The initiative of

Caribbean Community leaders, subsequently endorsed

by the Commonwealth, to organize a high-level

meeting of the General Assembly in 2011 to address

the rising incidence and prevalence of

non-communicable diseases is very important. It

highlights the ever-growing need for the international

community to join forces in addressing this global

barrier to development.

Although non-communicable diseases are

currently not a part of the indicators for assessing

progress in the achievement of the Millennium

Development Goals (MDGs), they undoubtedly have a

negative impact on those Goals. We can no longer

ignore this emerging health crisis, which

disproportionately impacts the poorest people, pushing

them further into poverty and deprivation. Therefore,

the global development agenda needs to include

measures to address this problem, if we do not wish to

jeopardize the accelerated achievement of the MDGs

by 2015.

We are aware of poverty and extreme human

suffering resulting from natural disasters. We

empathize with the peoples of Haiti, Pakistan, China,

Chile and all other countries where major weather

patterns have wreaked havoc. Suriname is of the

opinion that all nations should effectively and

adequately contribute to the alleviation of the dire

needs of our fellow citizens of the world. These people

deserve more than expressions of sympathy; they

deserve to see that promises made to them are kept.

Finally, we want to share our thoughts on the

structural causes of poverty and the resulting ill effects

on societies. My Government believes that education

related to survival skills and production is the only way

to effectively eradicate poverty. Money given to poor

people for the sake of one’s own conscience is an

absolute waste. Accordingly, we ask ourselves whether

we should continue to use the phraseology “fighting

poverty” or should instead start talking about pursuing

wealth. Therefore, the slogan of my country in our

lingua franca is: “Broko a pina, tek yu gudu”, which

means “Break away from poverty, by pursuing wealth”.