Trinidad and Tobago, 1997

On behalf of the

Government and people of the Republic of Trinidad and

Tobago, I have the distinct pleasure and honour to extend

sincere congratulations to you, Sir, and to the Government

of Ukraine on your election to the presidency of the

General Assembly at this fifty-second session. I am

confident that, under your able leadership, the urgent and

important issues which face the General Assembly at this

critical time in the history of the United Nations will be

advanced.

I would also like to express my profound

appreciation to your predecessor, Ambassador Razali

Ismail of Malaysia, for his excellent stewardship over the

last session. His inimitable and dynamic style has left a

distinctive mark on the modus operandi of the General

Assembly. Ambassador Ismail deserves our

commendation for his efforts to advance the work of the

General Assembly on issues such as the reform of the

Security Council, the Agenda for Development and the

nineteenth special session of the General Assembly to

review and appraise the implementation of Agenda 21.

Trinidad and Tobago remains committed to the

principles enshrined in the Charter of the United Nations.

Today, as we approach the twenty-first century and a new

range of issues demands our attention as nation States,

our commitment to the United Nations is no less focused,

no less poignant. Trinidad and Tobago continues to

believe in the efficacy of the United Nations, a body now

at a critical point in its evolution. We applaud Secretary-

General Kofi Annan, who has presented perhaps the most

extensive reform proposals in the history of the

Organization. A restructured Organization will be better

poised to respond more readily to the challenges of the

next century. There is no doubt about the need of the

international community for the United Nations. No other

body remotely approximates its universality of

membership and it remains the most appropriate forum

for addressing the interrelated issues of peace, security

and sustainable development.

While the international community must address

these perennial issues, we need at the same time to

confront the daunting tasks of providing humanitarian

5

assistance and reconstructive aid and ensuring the

promotion of good governance, democracy and human

rights. In this post-cold-war period, the United Nations

must strive to build an international community based on

peace, justice, equity, democracy and the rule of

international law.

Trinidad and Tobago is concerned about the rise in

political conflicts and tensions and the unresolved long-

standing disputes which continue to threaten international

peace and security. Increased efforts must be made by the

international community to address these conflicts through

peaceful means. Trinidad and Tobago wishes to restate its

commitment to the non-use of force in the conduct of

international relations and the peaceful settlement of

disputes. We will continue to support United Nations-led

peacekeeping missions and do our part to further

democracy, as exemplified by our participation in the

election processes in such countries as Haiti, El Salvador,

Nicaragua, Namibia and South Africa.

This General Assembly will address yet again the

continuing quest for a just and lasting peace in the Middle

East. At this delicate period in the peace process, Trinidad

and Tobago believes that durable peace will be achieved

only if all parties to the dispute adhere to the relevant

United Nations resolutions and implement the agreements

and guarantees to which they have committed themselves

in bilateral and multilateral negotiations.

We in the Caribbean region appreciate the support

given by the international community to the Government

and people of Haiti. This support has contributed to the

progress made so far in the building of democracy and the

strengthening of its institutions. We are convinced that the

recent decision to extend the mandate of the United Nations

Transition Mission in Haiti was necessary to consolidate

gains already made. We must continue to provide material

and other support to strengthen Haiti’s democracy and its

economic development. These are necessary pillars for the

establishment of durable peace and stability in that country.

Trinidad and Tobago, as a member of the Caribbean

Community (CARICOM), pledges to continue to do its part

in consolidating this process. It is in this context that we

welcomed Haiti as the fifteenth member State of

CARICOM at the meeting last July of the Heads of

Government of CARICOM, which was held in Montego

Bay in Jamaica. Trinidad and Tobago continues to

participate in the efforts of the international community in

this transition period, as evidenced by the fact that a

Trinidad and Tobago national, Ambassador Colin

Granderson, is the Executive Director of the Organization

of American States/United Nations International Civilian

Mission in Haiti. It will also be recalled that Trinidad and

Tobago, as part of a hemispheric effort, participated in the

military mission that restored the democratically elected

President to Haiti and our efforts have continued at both

the civilian and military levels after that objective was

achieved.

In the post-cold-war era, the world has witnessed an

escalation in the abuse of human rights, including some

cases of genocide and other heinous crimes against

humanity. Trinidad and Tobago has always been

concerned about such atrocities. Trinidad and Tobago is

proud of the role it played in reintroducing on the

international political and legal agenda the question of the

establishment of a permanent international criminal court.

The Government of my country is heartened by the

increasing support for the establishment of the

international criminal court and we welcome the

substantial progress made thus far by the Preparatory

Committee for its establishment. Trinidad and Tobago

urges Member States to continue their constructive and

active participation during the forthcoming sessions of the

Preparatory Committee. We further urge wider

involvement in the process so as to ensure the successful

negotiation of a widely acceptable statute, which will be

finalized at a conference of plenipotentiaries to be held in

Rome in the summer of 1998.

It is because of this concern for the promotion and

protection of human rights and our absolute condemnation

of acts of genocide and crimes against humanity that

Trinidad and Tobago participated at the highest level

through our President, Mr. Arthur N. R. Robinson, at a

conference in Italy on reining in impunity for

international crimes and serious violations of fundamental

human rights. That conference addressed issues pertaining

to the ongoing work of the Preparatory Committee and

unanimous support was expressed for a permanent

international criminal court to ensure that perpetrators of

such crimes are brought to justice.

Linked to the considerations of peace and security

are the myriad socio-economic problems which continue

to undermine the stability of our nations. In this regard,

the international community has sought to respond by

convening a series of world conferences to analyse the

global situation and provide blueprints for action at the

national, regional and international levels.

6

A continuing concern for the Government of Trinidad

and Tobago remains the failure on the part of the

international community to provide adequate resources for

the accelerated implementation of the commitments made

at these conferences. Any reform of the United Nations

system aimed at delivering mandated programmes in a

more efficient manner must therefore take this factor into

account.

The World Summit for Social Development, which

was held in Copenhagen in 1995, highlighted the urgent

need to eradicate poverty and to develop policies to

promote social and economic equity. In October 1996, as a

follow-up to the World Summit for Social Development, a

Caribbean Ministerial Meeting on Poverty Eradication was

held in Port-of-Spain, Trinidad and Tobago. The assembled

Ministers developed a Plan of Action on poverty

eradication, which is guiding Governments of the region in

the elaboration of their own national plans. In this regard,

the Government of Trinidad and Tobago has adopted and

is vigilantly pursuing as one of its primary objectives a

policy of sustained economic growth with equity, with

special emphasis on poverty eradication.

My Government recognizes the central role of

education and its impact on the eradication of poverty and

we have begun to reform the curriculum to give all children

equal access to quality education as we strive continuously

in Trinidad and Tobago towards achieving a “total quality

nation”. Education, in itself, is central to the Government’s

objective of producing a total quality nation, in which all

our citizenry strives for excellence, is committed to the

highest standards, is technologically equipped to deal with

the realities of a knowledge-based work environment and is

afforded opportunities for life-long learning.

In addition, the Government of Trinidad and Tobago

has established mechanisms for addressing the scourge of

poverty and societal inequities through the following

initiatives.

First, we established a change-management unit for

poverty eradication and equity-building, which reports to a

Ministerial Council on Social Development. This Council

was launched in October 1996, with the assistance of the

Poverty Strategies Initiative of the United Nations

Development Programme (UNDP). The Government

applauds UNDP’s support.

Secondly, we set up a Committee on Social

Displacement. The Committee’s terms of reference include

the development of holistic plans to provide relief to all

homeless and destitute persons.

Thirdly, expenditure on several other social safety-

net schemes has been significantly increased in order to

deal with problems and issues affecting women, the

elderly, children, adolescents, the disabled and the

dispossessed.

These measures have been recognized and indeed

reflected by UNDP in its 1997 Human Development

Report, which lists Trinidad and Tobago at the top of the

human poverty index rankings. According to the Report,

Trinidad and Tobago is among those countries which

have reduced human poverty to a human poverty index

value of less than 10 per cent.

We must all continue to support efforts for the

eradication of poverty in accordance with agreed

programmes and plans of action. The assault on poverty,

especially rural poverty, must take into account the

special needs of women and their full integration in the

development process.

Trinidad and Tobago therefore welcomes the

progress achieved by the United Nations in following up

the Fourth World Conference on Women, held in Beijing

in September 1995, which had as one of its primary

objectives the need to accord high priority to gender

issues. It welcomes as well the appointment of a high-

level official as a special adviser to the Secretary-General

on gender issues and the advancement of women.

Social and economic problems transcend national

boundaries and therefore require international solutions

based on strengthened global partnerships to support

action. When the Prime Minister of Trinidad and Tobago,

The Honourable Basdeo Panday, addressed the fifty-first

session of the United Nations General Assembly, he

identified a number of social problems which pose a

particular threat to the stability and integrity of small

States. Among the problems he mentioned were drug

abuse and drug trafficking and the associated problems of

money laundering and trafficking in small arms, as well

as terrorism and social disintegration.

Trinidad and Tobago therefore welcomes the

convening of the special session of the United Nations

General Assembly on illicit drugs, to be held in New

York in June 1998. This session should provide an

appropriate opportunity for Governments to review

progress made in implementing the Global Programme of

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Action on drugs adopted in February 1990 and serve to

intensify drug-control strategies and cooperation worldwide.

The drug scourge and its attendant consequences

require action at different levels. To that end, Caribbean

Governments have decided to establish a criminal justice

protection programme that would facilitate cooperation in

the confidential protection of witnesses, jurors, judicial and

law enforcement personnel and their families. If this

programme is to be successfully implemented, additional

training and technical assistance from the international

community and agencies such as the United Nations

International Drug Control Programme will be required.

The United Nations has a critical role to play, but it is

the responsibility — indeed, the duty — of every State to

act aggressively in this regard. Conscious of its

responsibility, the Government of Trinidad and Tobago has

embarked upon initiatives to curb the illicit drug trade and

eradicate the associated downstream activity of money

laundering.

These initiatives are in keeping with international

conventions and declarations, such as the United Nations

Convention against Illicit Traffic in Narcotic Drugs and

Psychotropic Substances, the Commonwealth Scheme

relating to Mutual Assistance in Criminal Matters and the

Inter-American Convention on Mutual Assistance in

Criminal Matters. Trinidad and Tobago has also entered

into bilateral agreements with other countries to foster

cooperation with regard to arresting the growth of

transnational crimes associated with trafficking.

Our Government has declared its commitment to

eliminating the threats to the stability, security and safety

of our society that emanate from the scourge of the illicit

drug trade. Some of the measures taken include the

following.

The first measure is the signing of an agreement on

maritime counter-drug operations with the United States of

America. This bilateral mechanism has already proved to be

very effective in dealing with the pernicious drug trade.

The second measure is the extension of the

Government’s powers of extradition and the negotiation of

agreements with countries with which it does not now have

extradition agreements. We are renegotiating existing

agreements to make extradition procedures more effective.

Trinidad and Tobago is also fulfilling its obligations under

existing extradition treaties.

The third measure is the serious implementation of

money- laundering drug laws. The illicit gains of the drug

trade and the resource base of drug criminals are being

attacked. The property and profits of drug lords are being

confiscated as a result of measures which have been

introduced in my country.

Also, a task force to counter narcotics and money

laundering has been established and the Government is

pursuing law reform in the area of bank secrecy.

Another measure is that Trinidad and Tobago —

with the cooperation of other CARICOM Governments,

Canada, Britain and the United States of America — has

created a witness protection programme. In addition, we

are establishing the criminal justice protection programme

to which I alluded earlier.

Finally, we continue to seek bilateral and multilateral

assistance in various forms, such as equipment, personnel,

aircraft and maritime support in our relentless fight

against illicit drugs.

Earlier I referred to the efforts to reform this

Organization. One of the key issues that will engage the

attention of delegations at the fifty-second session is the

question of the reform of the intergovernmental

machinery. We are particularly interested in efforts at

reform and reconstruction, especially as they relate to the

development activities of the United Nations. We view

with satisfaction the Secretary-General’s proposal,

introduced last March, that the new structure of the

Secretariat should serve to bolster support for Africa’s

development, South-South cooperation and the sustainable

development of small island States.

Trinidad and Tobago welcomes the recent decision

of the nineteenth special session of the General Assembly

to hold a comprehensive review of the United Nations

Global Conference on the Sustainable Development of

Small Island Developing States. That Conference, which

was held in Barbados in 1994, was of historic

significance, marking as it did the recognition on the part

of the international community of the special situation and

needs of small islands.

The Barbados Declaration and Programme of Action

have as their overall objective the management of

environmental problems, the management of our vital

natural resources and the improvement of human-resource

capability and institutional requirements for sustainable

development of small island States in the overall context

8

of Agenda 21. We look forward to the full support of the

United Nations and the international community when the

comprehensive review and appraisal of the implementation

of the Barbados Programme of Action takes place in 1999.

A new phase of international cooperation for the

Caribbean region was heralded in May 1997 at the first

meeting of the secretariats of CARICOM and the United

Nations, from which emanated a work programme for the

implementation of special projects. We commend this

initiative and are confident that this new relationship will be

of benefit to the people of the Caribbean region.

The volcanic eruptions in Montserrat bring to the fore

the vulnerability of small islands to natural disasters. This

phenomenon and other environmental problems have

received increased recognition since the 1992 Rio

Conference on Environment and Development. Trinidad and

Tobago shares the anguish felt by the citizens of the

Caribbean island of Montserrat, which is fast becoming

uninhabitable. CARICOM member States have responded

within their limited capabilities to the disaster, and we will

continue to provide logistic and other support.

To this end, Trinidad and Tobago, in response to the

plight of the Government and people of Montserrat, has

pledged financial and technical assistance, medical and

other relief and engineering personnel, and has been

involved in the establishment of a CARICOM village in the

northern part of the island of Montserrat — a decision that

was taken at the recent conference of CARICOM Heads of

Government. Within our available resources, Trinidad and

Tobago will continue to be of assistance.

The special concerns of small island developing States

were also incorporated in the recently adopted Agenda for

Development. The Agenda recognizes the fact that

economic development, social development and

environmental protection are interdependent and mutually

reinforcing components of sustainable development, and are

the basis for the achievement of a higher quality of life for

all people. The Government of Trinidad and Tobago

attaches great significance to this issue. We are therefore

pursuing economic, social and infrastructural development

in a sustainable way which avoids environmental

degradation, conserves our natural resource endowment and

helps to build and maintain a long-term national capacity to

support rising standards of living for the population, as well

as opportunities for self-actualization.

Recent steps to promote sustainable development in

Trinidad and Tobago in the area of environmental

management include: the establishment of an

environmental management authority and drafting of a

national environmental policy; the development of

environmental standards; the preparation of a water

resources management strategy; the development of a

national parks and watershed management project; and the

commissioning of a study to assist in establishing a policy

framework and facilities for the management of oil and

hazardous wastes.

Trinidad and Tobago has also ratified several

international conventions relating to the environment: the

Montreal Protocol on Substances that Deplete the Ozone

Layer; the 1994 United Nations Framework Convention

on Climate Change; the 1994 Basel Convention on the

Control of Transboundary Movements of Hazardous

Wastes and Their Disposal; and the 1996 Convention on

Biological Diversity.

In the area of macroeconomic policy, we have

proceeded to liberalize the trade and exchange regimes to

foster enhanced competitiveness; streamline the incentive

framework; privatize State-owned enterprises to promote

increasing levels of private investment; promote

entrepreneurial activity through, among other measures, a

venture capital regime; and to modernize and strengthen

intellectual property legislation to encourage investment

and the transfer of technology.

In the social sector, the Government has focused on

rationalization and restructuring of the social service

delivery system; expanding access to education for the

school-age population; rationalization and strengthening

of the health services through the health sector reform

programme; regularization of squatter communities;

restructuring of the unemployment relief programme to

allow for skill acquisition through on-the-job training; the

establishment of a community development fund to

provide financing for the delivery of basic social services

and infrastructure to the poor and vulnerable population

groups and communities; and the provision of institutional

support for the strengthening of non-governmental

organizations and community-based organizations to assist

in this regard.

Trinidad and Tobago is a cosmopolitan society in

which the human rights of each individual are

constitutionally guaranteed. We endeavour to achieve the

cherished ideal of a truly democratic nation, in which all

persons live together in harmony, with equal opportunities

for all, in order that each individual may contribute to the

process of national development. In this context, one of

9

the primary goals of the Government of Trinidad and

Tobago has been to seek to wider participation in the

decision-making process through a strengthened local

government machinery in a manner that will promote the

empowerment of local communities in the pursuit of

development efforts and the promotion of good governance.

In a similar vein, the United Nations, with the

diversity of its membership, must harness individual and

collective strengths to advance the interests of all Members

of the Organization as we move into a new millennium. In

this regard, Trinidad and Tobago welcomes the ongoing

discussions aimed at reforming the membership and

working procedures of the Security Council. It is our hope

that this process will result in a Council whose composition

more accurately reflects the wider membership of the

General Assembly and whose working procedures are more

open and inclusive than has previously been the norm.

We all need to work steadfastly to improve the image

of the United Nations from one of goal-setting to one which

facilitates prompt action by Members in a manner that is

consistent and wide-ranging and takes into account the

special needs of the most vulnerable among us.

It is incumbent on all Member States to imbue our

Organization with a renewed sense of self-confidence, faith

and optimism and to work in a global partnership to

achieve the goals and ideals of the United Nations. We owe

this legacy to present and future generations.