Suriname, 2012

On behalf of Mr. Desiré

Delano Bouterse, President of the Republic of Suriname,

I avail myself of this opportunity to extend to Mr. Vuk

Jeremić my congratulations on his election as President

of the General Assembly at its sixty-seventh session.

The wealth of experience that he brings to this body

will certainly assist him in successfully discharging his

duties. We pledge our full support and cooperation.

Allow me to salute his predecessor for his skilful

leadership at the sixty-sixth session. We wish him

well in his future endeavours. To Secretary-General

Ban Ki-moon we pledge our support for his valuable

contribution in advancing the purposes and principles

of the Organization.

In his annual statement last week, in which he

introduced the 2013 national budget, the President of

Suriname highlighted Suriname’s strengths and the

opportunities and challenges we are facing as a young,

vibrant member of the international community. As

refiners and exporters of crude oil and its derivatives, as

well as producers and exporters of gold, a combination

of windfalls in earnings related to the trade of those

commodities and the application of prudent fiscal

policies, have resulted in a politically and economically

stable environment. That stability in turn has become

conducive to solid domestic and foreign investments

in the more sustainable sectors, in which agriculture and tourism score high. The design and construction

of relevant infrastructure demonstrate Suriname’s

potential to be a player on the supply side of strategic

commodities.

President Bouterse also presented a social package

in which education and health care figure prominently.

He made the point that strong international ratings are

encouraging indicators for investors. However, the

citizens of Suriname who lack the right opportunities

will share in the achievements only if the Government

is able to present them with a package comprising job-

oriented education at an academic as well as a vocational

level, adequate health services, sports facilities, access

to potable water, information and communications

technology facilities and proper waste disposal. The

challenge of financing such an improved social package

makes it necessary to empower our production and

service sectors by providing funds and know-how to

our entrepreneurs.

Suriname, as a young nation, is experiencing an

ongoing decolonization process that involves both its

structure and its mindset. Building a nation of half a

million people constitutes an enormous challenge when

at least seven different ethnic and cultural traditions

originate from the Americas, Africa and Europe, while

a considerable part of the population traces its roots to

India, Indonesia, China and the Middle East. .

Suriname is known for the presence of a synagogue

located next to a mosque in the heart of the capital

Paramaribo, while Christian churches coexist with

Hindu temples and places of worship with a strong

African affinity. We are proud to state that we have

been able to convert that challenge into a unique and

exemplary benefit and that the divide-and-rule policy

of colonial days is gradually disappearing, making way

for mutual respect, tolerance and peaceful coexistence,

which redound to the advantage of all our citizens.

Suriname is a country blessed with an exuberant

array of biodiversity. That splendid gift of the Almighty

must be cherished and protected to the fullest extent.

It needs to be mapped out in a way that allows for

responsible use. The challenge we face is responding to

the genuine developmental needs of our people, while

at the same time respecting and preserving biodiversity

for future generations, and indeed for humankind.

My country has committed itself to that cause

by, among other actions, creating a nature reserve of

1.8 million hectares. We have accepted the obligation to educate our small gold miners in the use of modern

technology that will not only prove more lucrative and

safe but also respect the need for a clean environment,

allowing for potable water and profitable agriculture.

Suriname must remain green and smart.

Suriname is very much aware of the fact that

while we have solid advantages as a nation, we can

only survive and prosper by adapting to a world that is

becoming more and more interdependent. Having been

blessed with oil reserves, trillions of cubic metres of

fossil water reserves, along with hundreds of rivers,

swamps, creeks, arable land and minerals, including

gold, copper, granite, rare earth and more, Suriname

has become a focal point in view of the ever-growing

scarcity of those commodities.

In order to maintain and enhance our political

stability, we must deepen and widen our eco-commercial

position and be able to keep our country and people

safe from any outside intervention and interference.

Suriname has engaged in a serious quest for integration

with its immediate neighbours — Guyana, France

and Brazil — at a bilateral and, wherever possible,

tripartite level. Suriname is also a devoted participant

in the historic movement of regional integration that is

growing in form and substance. We are active members

of the Union of South American Nations, the secretariat

of which will be based in Suriname as from July 2013.

We are committed to the creation of a Caribbean

Community multinational corporation, giving a more

meaningful basis to the single market and economic

goals put in place since 2006. As one of the founding

members of the Community of Latin American and

Caribbean States, we continue to be dedicated to the

integration mechanism of the Americas, remaining

committed to the principles and objectives of the

Organization of American States.

Although our region is making enormous strides in

furthering democracy and development, we must draw

the attention of the international community to the lack

of progress in assisting one of the most disadvantaged

countries in the Western Hemisphere, namely Haiti.

We call on the international community to honour its

pledges to assist the Government and people of Haiti in

their efforts to rebuild their beloved country.

Furthermore, our quest for integration will never

be complete if we continue to accept the isolation of our

sister nation, Cuba, as a consequence of the unjustly

imposed economic and trade embargo. Once again, we firmly call for an immediate end of those coercive

measures, which cause so much suffering to the people

of Cuba.

When Suriname became a Member of the United

Nations 36 years ago, we were little aware of the

importance of a number of issues not specifically

dealing with decolonization. Now we have grown

in our understanding. We realize that a properly

functioning United Nations, including a democratically

based Security Council, has the potential to become

the single most important stabilizing factor in a world

that has moved from bipolarity to multipolarity. In the

world of ever-shifting economic, political, diplomatic

and military Powers, the themes of the sixty-seventh

session of the General Assembly were appropriately

chosen.

We specifically want to draw the Assembly’s

attention to the need for dialogue in situations of

conflict. In our understanding, it is not easy for Powers

that have grown accustomed to controlling other

nations to grasp fully what it means to move away from

dominance and dependence to interdependence and the

need for dialogue in solving real or alleged conflicts.

Both the United States of America and the Federative

Republic of Brazil clearly endorsed the concept in their

statements at the opening of our general debate.

We urge all Member States in general and the

former colonial Powers in particular to accept the new

reality of our world by categorically refraining from

applying their own standards in judging the outcome of

other countries’ democratic structures and aspirations,

disrespecting the internationally accepted principles of

territorial integrity, sovereignty and independence of

nations all over the world.

It is within that framework that I quote the closing

remarks at the presentation of the 2013 national budget

by Mr. Desiré Delano Bouterse, President of the

Republic of Suriname:

“As regards the sovereignty of our beloved

Suriname as an independent nation, our principal

task is none other than to respect and to defend the

sovereignty of our nation against all violations and

attacks from outside.

“Whenever and by whomever our sovereignty

is being challenged, our legitimate Government

has no other duty than to defend and safeguard the

entrusted sovereignty of the country”. The United Nations was built on the ashes of the

Second World War, and we pledged to save successive

generations from the scourge of war. The peaceful

settlement of disputes is the only avenue through

which we can ensure that the planet will be saved from

annihilation. That principled stand must be applied

to all areas of conflict, whether the conflict is in the

Middle East, Africa, the Americas or anywhere else in

the world.

The target date for achieving the Millennium

Development Goals is fast approaching. The year

2015 will be a decisive year when world leaders will

gather once again to assess the implementation of the

commitments made. We underscore the importance

of creating well-being for all and providing greater

opportunities for the vulnerable in our society by giving

full access to high-quality education at all levels and

affordable and high-quality health care and services, as

well as realizing the commitments to gender equality

and the empowerment of women.

It is necessary to increase the ability of women all

over the world to bring about change, to ensure that

they can exist in an environment free from violence

and conducive to their well-being, including access to

decent employment, services and housing.

We acknowledge the global burden and threat of

non-communicable diseases. In moving towards the

full implementation of the Political Declaration of the

High-level Meeting of the General Assembly on the

Prevention and Control of Non-communicable Diseases

(resolution 66/2, annex), as well as other commitments

we have made, we stress the importance of multisectoral

actions, strengthening health systems, ensuring the

availability of adequate and sustained resources, as

well as enhanced international cooperation through

effective partnerships. Suriname has increased its

efforts in the fight against those often overlooked silent

killers.

The United Nations Conference on Sustainable

Development concluded without an agreement on a

clear commitment with regard to the financing of

sustainable development. That is a very serious matter,

considering the threat of climate change, among others,

to a successful outcome of the efforts of small States

like Suriname to achieve sustainable development. The

international community cannot abandon its obligation to provide the necessary means to combat the serious

consequences of overconsumption, pollution and carbon

emissions, which threaten to undo our achievements

aimed at protecting the environment and securing the

well-being of our peoples. We continue to expect the

United Nations to spearhead the efforts for technical

assistance and to advance continued dialogue.

Suriname is deeply concerned with regard to the

basis on which countries in development are classified

in the international financial institutional framework.

Such classifications, without due consultations,

negatively affect the type and level of assistance that

a country can receive from international financial

institutions. We can only characterize those decisions

as undemocratic and as a virtual punishment of

our achievements in improving our socioeconomic

situation.

In conclusion, I wish to solemnly declare that

Suriname will always put its faith in multilateralism

through its unwavering support for the principles

and objectives enshrined in the Charter of the United

Nations.