Trinidad and Tobago, 2003

It is indeed a

signal honour for me to extend to you, Sir and to the

Government and people of the sister Caribbean

Community (CARICOM) State of Saint Lucia our

heartfelt congratulations on your election to the high

office of President of the General Assembly at its fifty-

eighth session. We are confident that, under your

experienced and pragmatic leadership, the Assembly

will address in a forthright manner the many and varied

challenges which confront the international community.

My delegation is equally confident, Sir, that the

developing-country perspective that your presidency

will bring to our deliberations will serve to highlight

the plight of the weak and the vulnerable among us, as

we struggle to come to terms with the realities of

contemporary international relations.

Mr. President, please allow me the opportunity to

express our satisfaction at the astute leadership shown

by your predecessor, His Excellency Mr. Jan Kavan of

the Czech Republic, and at the many initiatives that he

pursued during his tenure, including those in the areas

of institutional strengthening and the prevention of

armed conflict, in an attempt to restore to this body its

central role, as mandated by the Charter. I also applaud

his inclusive approach to advocacy, evinced by his

short but fruitful visit to Trinidad and Tobago in

February this year to engage in a brief, interactive

high-level dialogue with the heads of State and

Government of the Caribbean Community on the work

of the Assembly and on some of the major issues

before this global forum as they relate to small States.

It would be remiss of me if I did not compliment

the Secretary-General, Mr. Kofi Annan, on his sterling

performance in the face of the myriad crises since our

last session. We have total confidence in his continuing

stewardship of this unique world body. My delegation

wishes to assure him of the total support of the

Government and people of the Republic of Trinidad

and Tobago for his untiring efforts to ensure the

continued relevance of the United Nations in the

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pursuit and achievement of the Organization’s

objectives.

Trinidad and Tobago joins the rest of the

international community in expressing our profound

sorrow at the tragic loss of life suffered most recently

by men and women of the United Nations while on a

humanitarian mission in Iraq, as a result of the

bombing on 19 August 2003 of the United Nations

office in Baghdad. We shall forever remember them in

our prayers, together with those others who, over the

years, have made the supreme sacrifice in selfless

service to the Organization and, by extension, to

mankind. We are of the view that consideration should

be given to the erection of a fitting memorial here, at

United Nations Headquarters in New York, to honour

all those who have given their lives in the field in the

service of the United Nations.

The United Nations cannot retreat from its global

responsibilities in the face of even such an atrocity. We

are firmly convinced that the United Nations — born

out of the destruction wrought by the Second World

War and representing the collective hope of mankind to

spare future generations from the scourge of war —

must rise to this difficult challenge and continue to

play an even more central and proactive role in

managing world affairs, particularly with respect to the

maintenance of international peace and security.

The challenge before us is to make the world

peaceful and secure. That is a particular concern of

small States, which must rely on the international rule

of law, on the strict observance by all States of the

purposes and principles laid down in the Charter of the

United Nations, and on the collective security

mechanism of the Security Council in order to

guarantee their right to a secure, sovereign and

peaceful existence. We must therefore work to

strengthen the rule of law worldwide as well as the

capacity of the United Nations to engage both in

conflict prevention and in the management of global

crises that disrupt international peace and security. It is

also of paramount importance that all Member States

commit to and uphold the multilateral approach in our

collective efforts to attain those ends.

Nowhere is there a more pressing need for peace

and security than in the Middle East. Clearly, a just and

lasting peace is in the interests of both the Palestinians

and the Israelis, who have been constant witnesses to

death and destruction in their respective societies and

who have watched as their once promising economies

have been devastated by the unceasing instability in the

region. Peace continues to be elusive, notwithstanding

the latest best efforts of the Quartet, whose road map

for measured and reciprocal steps within a specific

time frame enjoys the support of the overwhelming

majority of the international community.

There can be no peace and prosperity for that

region without the political will of leaders on both

sides of the conflict. Neither can there be progress on

the path of peace without focused and sustained effort

on the part of the international community in providing

the necessary political support to the parties directly

involved. My delegation is of the opinion that, under

the present circumstances, consideration should be

given to deployment of a United Nations force so that

realistic and mutually acceptable confidence-building

measures can be put in place, thereby restoring some

measure of security to Palestinians and Israelis alike.

In Iraq, the goals of the international community

at this time must be the restoration of a climate of

peace and security and the creation of the conditions

that are necessary for the building by the Iraqi people

of a peaceful, secure and prosperous society. The

United Nations has a pivotal role to play with regard to

both nation-building and the political transition in Iraq.

We therefore call for greater coherence among the

members of the Security Council, and urge them to

adopt such measures as are necessary in the security

interests of all concerned to bring that situation within

the parameters of international political legitimacy and

so give free rein to the aspirations of the Iraqi people.

Threats to international peace and security are

certainly not posed by State actors exclusively. The

activities of organized criminal groups engaged in the

illegal drug trade and in the illicit trade in small arms

and light weapons pose a serious threat to the peace

and stability of some States, despite the efforts made at

all levels.

Since the events of 11 September 2001,

Governments the world over have joined forces even

more resolutely in their condemnation of terrorism and

have endeavoured to give effect to all the measures

called for in the relevant decisions of the Security

Council, including by subscribing to all international

treaties aimed at combating terrorism in all its forms

and manifestations. The international community must,

however, also turn its attention once more to

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addressing the root causes of this now-global

phenomenon with a view to alleviating — if not

removing altogether — the more pressing concerns that

provide a basis for acts of terror.

Even as we remain resolute in the war on

terrorism, and focus on the traditional issues of peace

and security, we must be mindful of the need to make

progress on the internationally agreed Millennium

Development Goals, which world leaders outlined at

the Millennium Summit in 2000. The challenges we

face are not confined to the issues of peace and security

as defined in their traditional sense. Indeed, success in

dealing with threats to international peace and security

may ultimately depend on the progress we make in

overcoming poverty and in dealing with injustice,

intolerance, deprivation and diseases such as malaria,

tuberculosis and the HIV/AIDS pandemic.

The HIV/AIDS pandemic is one of those non-

conventional threats that are fast approaching global

crises. Even though Africa remains the hardest hit, the

disease is spreading fast in Asia and in Eastern Europe.

In the Caribbean — which is second only to sub-

Saharan Africa in HIV/AIDS prevalence rates —

HIV/AIDS is a major development challenge

threatening to reverse years of hard-won human

development gains and increase poverty levels. The

General Assembly has just concluded a high-level

debate on HIV/AIDS, and my delegation trusts that that

meeting will provide the necessary impetus and lay the

groundwork for further meaningful support for the

Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria.

Unless those with the capacity to contribute come

forward with additional resources, many, many more

lives will surely be lost.

Without a secure and peaceful international

environment, and in the absence of a sustained effort

on the part of our development partners to live up to

the commitments made at major United Nations

conferences, there can be no meaningful and sustained

global economic advancement for Africa as it seeks to

implement the New Partnership for Africa’s

Development, or for the least developed countries, the

landlocked countries or the small island developing

States.

Trinidad and Tobago continues to attach high

importance to the need for the international community

to pay special attention to the unique challenges and

problems which confront small island developing

States and to full and effective implementation of the

Barbados Programme of Action for the Sustainable

Development of Small Island Developing States. It is

for that reason that we participated actively last year in

the preparatory process for the World Summit on

Sustainable Development. We were pleased that the

Johannesburg Plan of Implementation reinforced the

view that small island developing States are a special

case in terms of both the environment and

development.

The Johannesburg Summit also recognized that,

although small island developing States continue to

take the lead in the path towards sustainable

development, they remain increasingly constrained by

the interplay of adverse factors such as their small size,

fragility, isolation and vulnerability.

It is for this reason that Trinidad and Tobago will

play host next week to the Caribbean small island

developing States regional preparatory meeting, one of

four regional meetings being held by small island

developing States in order to identify and develop

inputs for the review of the Barbados Programme of

Action. Implementation has been the Achilles heel of

the Programme of Action. Small island developing

States have taken the lead in our efforts to achieve

sustainable development. We need, however, the

support of the international community.

We trust that the international meeting to review

the Barbados Programme of Action for the Sustainable

Development of Small Island Developing States, to be

held in Mauritius in 2004, will not only better enable

us to evaluate the Barbados Programme of Action, but

ultimately lead to an enhanced level of political

commitment and increased financial and technical

assistance for small island developing States on the

part of the international community.

Another issue of the utmost concern to the

Government of Trinidad and Tobago and, indeed, to all

CARICOM Governments, is the continued trans-

shipment of nuclear waste through the Caribbean Sea.

The reassurances of adequate safeguards do not

constitute guarantees against the potentially

devastating impact of an accident on our economies

and ecosystems. We therefore once more call upon the

States concerned to cease this practice.

Recent events have also pointed to the challenges

faced by many countries in the area of governance. The

Government of the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago,

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which was elected in recent multi-party elections that

were peaceful, free and fair, is committed to efficient

and transparent Government, to ensuring respect for

human rights and the rule of law, to the devolution of

resources and decision-making to the local levels of

government, and to the meaningful participation of all

its citizens in the formulation of public policy.

The Government has also set itself the goal of

achieving developed country status by 2020, with the

aim of providing to all its citizens by that date a high

quality of life in all areas, including education, health,

employment, housing, transportation, telecommunications,

water and electricity. This the Government hopes to

achieve by allocating a sizeable portion of its national

budget to programmes of human-resource development

and of economic infrastructure and institutional

development, as well as social programmes aimed at

the eradication of poverty.

But our national goals can only be achieved if our

domestic efforts are complemented by efforts at the

international level to achieve greater international

economic stability and a more equitable distribution of

resources among States, and if the benefits of free trade

are more widely shared, particularly by those countries

whose incorporation into the world economy places

them at a disadvantage vis-à-vis their developed

country partners. The new opportunities occasioned by

globalization and trade liberalization, which we

consider to be a positive force for good, should be

available to all, and not to just a privileged few. We

must avoid further marginalization of the vulnerable

States among us. Given the central role of trade in the

achievement of economic expansion, the failure of the

recent World Trade Organization meeting in Cancún to

agree on issues critical to developing countries does

not augur well for our future economic well-being or

for that of the least developed, landlocked and small

island developing States among us. We are hopeful for

greater flexibility on the part of our developed

countries’ negotiating partners in Geneva next

December, which is necessary if any progress is to be

achieved.

The quest for economic and social justice for all

peoples cannot be divorced from the fervent desire of

all peoples to live in freedom and without fear for their

lives. The growing religious and ethnic diversity of our

societies highlights the ever-present need for mutual

respect for and tolerance of the diversity that today is a

characteristic of many communities. The lack of such

tolerance and respect has fuelled once again in our

lifetime the horrific crimes of genocide, crimes against

humanity and war crimes.

To deter the commission of such crimes in the

future, and in order to deal with flagrant abuses of the

fundamental human rights and freedom of the

individual, including the right to life, liberty and

security of the person, the international community

established the International Criminal Court (ICC),

which this year has made substantial progress in

establishing its principal organs, through the election

of its Judges, Chief Prosecutor, Deputy Prosecutor and

the Registrar.

The ICC does not represent victor’s justice, but a

universal and shared symbol of morality based on the

fundamental principle that those individuals who

commit the serious crimes within the jurisdiction of the

Court will, with the broad support of the international

community, be brought to trial before such a tribunal,

but only where their national Governments are unable

or unwilling to do so.

Trinidad and Tobago remains committed to the

efficient and effective functioning of this permanent

International Criminal Court, and deplores all efforts to

undermine its integrity and the commitment of its

States Parties to carry out in good faith the obligations

into which they have freely entered through their

adherence to the Rome Statute of the ICC. We call for

wider adherence to the Statute by all States, so that it

may one day have universal application. Only a

universal commitment by all States to strive to

eliminate the culture of impunity for such heinous

crimes will successfully stem the tide of the horrific

events that continue to mar our world.

Several speakers in this general debate have

referred to the crisis in multilateralism and the need for

the reform of the United Nations to make it more

relevant to present day realities. It is in this context that

the Government of the Republic of Trinidad and

Tobago welcomes the call made by the Secretary-

General in his statement to the General Assembly on

23 September for a thorough restructuring of the post-

Second-World-War institutional architecture of the

United Nations through the reform and strengthening

of its major organs. His stated intention to pursue an

approach through the modality of a panel of eminent

persons enjoys the full support of the Government of

Trinidad and Tobago. We would not wish at this time,

13

to prejudge the outcome of the work of such a panel,

but would hope that it will recognize the role that small

States play in international affairs.

We expect the panel’s final recommendations to

take the form of specific proposals for amendments to

the Charter that will be able to command the widest

possible support of the international community at the

highest political levels. The reform exercise must have

as its ultimate objective the strengthening of the United

Nations and an enhancement of its capacity to respond

to the new global challenges.

We must also ensure that the long overdue reform

of the Security Council takes place. Expansion of the

Council’s membership to make it more democratic and

representative can only confer greater legitimacy on

the Council and on the Organization as a whole.

Most importantly, we must better empower the

General Assembly, the most representative of all the

organs of the United Nations, to play its role more

effectively as the chief deliberative and policy-making

organ of the Organization.

No other institution has the inclusiveness or the

legitimacy that the United Nations has. We must

therefore spare no effort to make it a more effective

instrument in the service of all the peoples of the

world.

In conclusion, the stark international situation

calls for more, not less, international cooperation in

facing the countless challenges that confront countries

large and small. We must seek to implement urgently

new and better policies aimed at the prevention of

armed conflict. We must make fuller use of the few

opportunities for economic and social progress that

present themselves. We must demonstrate the necessary

political will to maintain a peaceful and secure

international environment that is conducive to the

uplifting and well-being of all humanity.