The Bahamas, 1996

The Government of the

Commonwealth of the Bahamas warmly congratulates

Ambassador Razali on his election to the presidency of this

fifty-first session of the General Assembly. His skills as a

distinguished diplomat are well known and, coupled with

the cooperation of Member States, will create the requisite

conditions for a successful Assembly. I wish to assure

him of the full support of my delegation as he presides

over the deliberations of this body.

I wish also to express my delegation’s appreciation

to his predecessor, His Excellency Mr. Diogo Freitas do

Amaral of Portugal, who effectively guided the work of

a most historic and memorable fiftieth session. We wish

also to thank the Secretary-General for his leadership of

the Organization over the past year.

The Bahamas is indeed honoured to have been

elected to serve as a Vice-President of the General

Assembly at the fifty-first session. I wish to thank all

Member States for their support in our realization of this

achievement.

Our deliberations during the last session provided an

opportune environment for stocktaking and evaluation, as

well as the opportunity to look ahead and consider how

we ought to proceed for the next 50 years. The solemn

Declaration which we adopted at the end of the Special

Commemorative Meeting, highlighted the international

community’s continued commitment to the United

Nations and to the purposes and principles of the Charter

by which it is governed. The Bahamas is convinced that

the United Nations remains the primary world body with

the capacity and political will to bring together the

disparate elements of the international community, so as

to face and deal with the challenges of the twenty-first

century.

The Bahamas, like other countries, would wish to

see a strong and effective United Nations. It is our view

that the three-tiered reform process currently under way

in the political, economic and social and administrative

areas represents an important step in that direction. We

must remain diligent and focused in our work so as to

transform the United Nations into a structure equipped for

the fulfilment and support of the myriad demands of

Member States.

In the area of political reform, the Bahamas

continues to support the enlargement of the Security

Council to enable it to become more effective,

representative, democratic and transparent. We are

disappointed that after another year of discussion little or

no progress has been made. We urge all Member States

to exercise flexibility so as to expedite agreement on this

important matter.

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We acknowledge the need to strengthen the United

Nations system in the economic and social fields. Action

must be taken to reduce duplication and to improve

coordination among the various agencies, including the

Bretton Woods institutions.

There is a clear need for reform and greater efficiency

in the administrative and financial areas. The discussions in

the respective high-level Working Groups established to

examine these areas have been useful. However, few, if

any, meaningful decisions have been taken to date. We urge

Member States to increase the momentum, so as to put in

place the requisite measures to strengthen the efficacy of

the Organization. At the same time, the Bahamas urges and

appeals to Member States to make a more determined effort

to meet their financial obligations to the Organization. We

are aware that the assessment system needs reform. Thus,

we should take the opportunity provided by this session to

agree on an equitable scale of assessment for the next

triennium. The scale of assessment, when finalized, should

take into account all relevant circumstances, including the

special circumstances of archipelagic island developing

countries and the need for the development of a

vulnerability index. The Bahamas also wishes once again to

urge the international community not to use high per capita

gross national product (GNP) as the sole measurement of

capacity to pay when it considers the question of criteria

for the scale. The Bahamas, as well as a number of other

countries, has repeatedly argued that high per capita GNP

is not an accurate measurement of a country’s wealth.

Indeed, it presents a skewed and distorted picture of the

economic reality in my own country when one takes into

consideration the duplication of infrastructure and social

services.

In our efforts to reform this Organization, we must

guard against engaging in reform for reform’s sake. The

restoration of the dignity of the individual must remain our

primary focus. The extent to which we neglect this highest

of priorities is the extent to which human rights abuses and

inequities will abound, giving rise to tensions and conflicts

on various levels, like those that have been witnessed by

the international community in recent years with the

escalation of civil wars and ethnic strife in many parts of

the world. A total breakdown in society is the ultimate

consequence of such activities, which completely

overwhelm national resources and consume inordinate

amounts of international energy which could be far more

meaningfully expended. To achieve meaningful reform we

will have to change our focus significantly. It will require

a shift in paradigms, where issues previously neglected will

have to be brought to the fore.

We need to be reminded that economic and social

security directly influence political security. They must

therefore be addressed in an integrated manner. We must

guard against the additional threat of economic might

being translated into military power, which not only

sidelines and marginalizes the disadvantaged and

dispossessed but also threatens our peace and security.

Our efforts must be aimed at raising the standard of

living and quality of life of the world’s most

underprivileged. Despite impressive economic growth in

many countries, human development continues to move

at a snail’s pace, particularly in developing countries. We

must find a way to balance economic growth and human

development so as to ensure the sustainability and

livelihood of future generations.

We are merely proposing for the international

community what is already in place in the Bahamas. The

promotion and protection of human rights, the

advancement of women, social justice, equality and

development continue to receive priority attention from

the Government of the Bahamas. We are fully committed

to securing a social environment in which our citizens can

live in harmony, prosperity and security, without fear or

intimidation. Many of the recommendations contained in

the plans and programmes of action of the recent world

conferences have already been implemented in the

Bahamas, and we will continue to put in place the

necessary infrastructure to facilitate the implementation of

those recommendations which have not yet been put into

practice.

Our past actions have brought us to a day of

reckoning. The wealth of oceans once deemed

inexhaustible has proven finite. Global warming is no

longer a prognostication, but a present condition. What is

at stake here is the future of our planet and the lives of its

inhabitants. The Bahamas urges that the special session

for the review of Agenda 21 in 1997 be viewed as an

opportunity to re-examine our strategy and to correct past

mistakes. The Bahamas hopes that the special session will

focus on practical proposals and not try to renegotiate

Agenda 21. Definitive priorities and a recommitment to

sustainable development should be set out, taking account

of the recognized peculiar problems of small developing

States and the international community’s commitment to

provide resources to such States.

The Bahamas is concerned that protection be

provided to the fragile and vulnerable economies of small

States in a global community which is moving towards

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the strengthening and development of trading blocs. The

new international trade regime has put small States at a

disadvantage with the expectation that they liberalize their

markets and open their borders in conformity with the

obligations and commitments of the World Trade

Organization. The playing field must be levelled so that due

regard can be given to the fragile domestic economies of

these States and their macroeconomic position. If the

developed countries are demanding protection for their

sensitive domestic industries, then similar demands by

developing countries with respect to their domestic industry

should not be viewed as a request that is unreasonable or

inconsistent with current international trends.

A review of current events reveals new threats to the

fragile peace process in the Middle East. The Bahamas

urges the parties concerned to make every possible effort to

restore order, to refrain from acts of violence and to

reactivate the peace process, which enjoyed the widespread

support of the international community. We commend

President Clinton for his initiative in inviting Middle East

leaders to Washington for discussion aimed at defusing this

volatile situation and thus, hopefully, restoring confidence

in the peace process.

Ongoing conflicts in Africa are of grave concern. The

international community should see it as its duty to support

measures for the prevention and resolution of conflict in the

countries concerned and to address the economic and debt

burdens that have crippled Africa. Although the African

countries themselves have made strenuous efforts towards

readjustment and recovery, they continue to require the

assistance of the international community.

The Bahamas welcomes the approval by the Group of

Seven of a debt-relief plan for the world’s poorest nations.

The debt-relief measure, which will release as many as 20

of the poorest countries from up to $7.7 billion in debt, will

go a long way towards providing the needed relief for those

countries in their economic growth and development.

The Bahamas is pleased to note that after four years

of devastating warfare free elections have taken place in

Bosnia and Herzegovina. We note the appointment of a

Special Representative of the Secretary-General on the

question of Cyprus, and we urge the parties concerned to

continue to seek a just and viable solution to that conflict.

Violence perpetrated against the people of Cyprus cannot be

condoned.

Notwithstanding the considerable and praiseworthy

efforts of the United Nations and the Organization of

American States, Haiti still remains unstable to a degree

that threatens the stability of the entire region, with a

continuing outflow of immigrants seeking a better way of

life in other countries. The majority of such immigrants

retreat to the Bahamas.

It is regrettable that, notwithstanding the assistance

of the international community, many areas of great

concern remain to be effectively tackled in Haiti.

Attempts to restore democracy are constantly hindered by

the absence of the conditions necessary to support them.

We are therefore left with a population surrounded by

much activity, but one whose daily existence remains

meagre at best. The consequences are predictable, namely,

unrest and increased violence. It is therefore not sufficient

to continue business as usual. The peculiar nature of the

situation in Haiti requires specific, focused and targeted

action that addresses causes and not effects, one in which

initiatives provide direct benefits to the Haitian people.

The Bahamas views with much regret the continued

escalation of the nefarious drug trade, particularly in the

Latin American and Caribbean region. We must double

our efforts to fight this terrible scourge, and it is our hope

that the special session in 1998 will result in a renewed

commitment to fight and eradicate this illicit activity.

We are also of the view that efforts must be renewed

to address the problem of the traffic in small arms, which

has increased to alarming proportions in recent times. We

are particularly concerned about the large number of

small arms that are smuggled into the Caribbean

countries. We urge the countries that manufacture and sell

arms to impose stricter arms control measures and

provide assistance to vulnerable States to reduce this

threat and increase the latters’ capability to combat such

illegal activity.

At the same time, the international community must

voice unanimous disapproval and condemnation of the

unrelenting increase in crime and the rise of terrorism that

is currently confronting the international community. The

Bahamas regrets the failure to reach international

consensus on dealing swiftly with those grave areas of

concern. We urge that every effort be made to implement

the relevant agreements already in force and to put in

place any additional measures required to deal with these

reprehensible activities.

The proliferation of arms, both conventional and

those designed for mass destruction, poses a serious threat

to humanity. Thus, the Bahamas welcomed the recent

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adoption of the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty

and intends to add its name shortly to the growing list of

signatories. Anti-personnel land-mines present an insidious

challenge to development and human dignity, and we

should move towards a complete ban on such treacherous

tools of murder.

The Bahamas denounces the continued trans-shipment

of nuclear material and hazardous waste through the

ecosensitive Caribbean Sea. In this respect, the entire

Caribbean Community is in agreement. Indeed in 1992, the

Heads of Government of the Caribbean Community

declared that the Caribbean Sea should be a nuclear-free-

zone for purposes of shipment, storing or dumping of any

radioactive or hazardous substances or toxic waste.

The Bahamas is encouraged by the steps taken by the

second regular session of the International Seabed Authority

at its meeting at Kingston last August, which are geared

towards ensuring the effective functioning of the Authority.

Among the issues before the General Assembly this

session is the matter of the international criminal court. We

exhort the General Assembly to continue its work on this

item so as to enable the convening of a conference of

plenipotentiaries in 1998 to adopt the statute of the court,

thus fulfilling a lacuna in the existing international legal

order.

As members are aware, the Bahamas is an archipelagic

nation which, by any measure, is a small State with a

population of less than 300,000. However, we are a proud

people and strong in our belief in justice for all and in the

inalienable rights of all people, as enshrined in the Charter

of this noble Organization.

It is in this spirit of justice and fair play that over the

past two years we have repeatedly recorded our support in

the General Assembly for the efforts of the 21 million

inhabitants of the Republic of China on Taiwan as they

entreat the Organization to examine the merits of

establishing a committee to analyse in depth the

implications, both now and for the future, of continuing to

preclude those 21 million souls from formal representation

in the General Assembly by way of membership in the

United Nations.

The Bahamas again calls on the nations of the world,

as Members of this august and united international body of

nations, to hear the plea of those 21 million souls on the

island of Taiwan and to consider what is just and right for

them as they too seek to avail themselves of the benefits

of membership in the United Nations.

The next 50 years will be painful and exacting as we

attempt to ensure that the pitfalls of the past are avoided.

Many changes will be required. In effecting change, we

must ensure that it is profitable, for while change is

inevitable, progress is not. The tendency to hold onto the

old way of doing business in the midst of necessary

change will remain our greatest challenge. As we seek to

balance our efforts, it must be remembered that

transformation in one area does not necessarily relegate

all others to irrelevance.

Many reasons have been proffered for the present

state of affairs. Not surprisingly, none of them seem to

involve the proponents. While everyone talks about the

future, few are willing to make the necessary sacrifices to

secure it. Rhetoric boils with urgency, but talks move

slowly, and action is even more halting.

The uncharted waters ahead remain daunting, defined

by bilious seas of unrelenting, sophisticated, transnational

criminal activity, which is tearing at the very fabric of

society. Environmental degradation has exposed the Earth

to permanent damage. Navigation of these seas requires

us to rise above platitudes and empty promises. We must

repudiate the adversaries of peace.

Our evaluations during the past session confirmed

the continuing validity of the United Nations as the

principal mechanism for addressing world concerns.

Despite its uneven accomplishments, the United Nations

facilitates collaboration for the resolution of societal ills,

whatever their origin. The structure and machinery of the

United Nations must be such that we are encouraged to

continue to use the relatively calm chambers of this forum

for our deliberations. This is the only safeguard we have

against countries’ being tempted to take their disputes out

to sea.