STATEMENT
BY SENATOR THE HONOURABLE JULIAN R. HUNTE
MINISTER OF EXTERNAL AFFAIRS, INTERNATIONAL TRADE AND
CIVIL AVIATION OF SAINT LUCIA TO
THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY ON THE ELECTION OF THE PRESIDENT
OF THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY FOR THE FIFTY-EIGHT SESSION
6 JUNE 2003
Mr. President,
Mr. Secretary-General/Madam Deputy Secretary-General, Excellencies,
ladies and gentlemen,
I wish
to express my appreciation and that of the Government of
Saint Lucia to the Group of Latin American and Caribbean
States for its endorsement of Saint Lucia's candidature
for the presidency of the General Assembly at its fifty-eighth
session. I wish also to thank members of this Assembly for
the confidence placed in me in electing me as their incoming
President. My endorsement and election are a source of great
pride and satisfaction to my Government and to me.
Allow me to assure you, Sir, that you have the continuing
support of my Government, which will continue to work with
you and Member States in guiding the affairs of the General
Assembly through this most difficult period.
Events over the last two years have proven beyond any shadow
of a doubt that no nation is an island unto itself. No nation
can protect its people completely from cross-border problems.
The unprecedented challenges that face our Organization
- ranging from HIV/AIDS and, recently, SARS, to transnational
crime and terrorism - know no borders and respect no boundaries.
Only international cooperation offers any hope that, collectively,
we can overcome the problems that threaten humanity as a
whole.
There can be no nation in today's world that does not value
the role or recognize the importance of the United Nations
as the premier Organization addressing the myriad challenges
that confront our global community. Some continue to question
the relevance of the United Nations without offering a viable
alternative that respects the very principles of democracy
and rights they propound within their own borders. The truth
is that, worldwide, people are deeply committed to the United
Nations. People do sincerely believe that the world would
be a safer, more secure place and that all would have a
better standard of living if the Charter of this body were
to be respected and upheld. Therefore, although there may
be cause for concern, we have no reason to despair about
the United Nations and the principles and multilateral approaches
for which it stands.
While the United Nations remains vital, there is no doubt
that it requires some reform. No institution created in
the conditions that existed more than half a century ago
can claim to remain relevant in all its aspects unless it
keeps pace with a rapidly changing world. We must therefore
look to the future in determining the role which the United
Nations will play in the service of humanity - a role that
respects the rule of law, that upholds the principles of
democracy, that reinforces machinery for curbing violations
of human rights, that promotes gender equality, that acts
against tyranny no less than it acts against aggression,
and that offers opportunity for the poor to rise out of
poverty even as it ensures economic and social advancement
for all peoples. The United Nations must remain vigilant
to the role it must play, as solutions are formulated and
implemented for critical international issues of peace and
security, whether in Iraq, the Middle East or Africa.
I wish to assure Member States and the Secretary-General
of my deep commitment to the United Nations and pledge to
do my part to enhance its relevance for all nations and
peoples. It is my intention as President of the General
Assembly to focus the Assembly's efforts on the full implementation
of the outcomes of more than a decade of United Nations
summits and conferences and the United Nations development
agenda, including the Millennium Development Goals, for
unless we address such critical and pressing issues as poverty,
HIV/AIDS, the environment and the vulnerability of small
States with deeds and not just words, global stability will
be a desired but ever elusive ideal and safety and security
will remain in peril.
I am keenly aware that the General Assembly must always
be responsive to its membership and to the international
environment in which it functions. I wish to assure the
Assembly that it is my firm intention to reach out to all
Member States and regional groups, and to the Secretary-General
and his staff, in seeking to build consensus on the broad
range of issues the General Assembly addresses, including
those that may be controversial or potentially divisive.
In such an approach lies the real revitalization of this,
the most important organ of the United Nations.
When in September of this year I receive the baton of President
from you, Sir, the Assembly will, in one seamless moment,
continue its critical work as the United Nations organ -
larger than any one nation - imbued with the authority of
all nations and empowered to safeguard the welfare of all
peoples. No other body is so empowered.
It is notable that the presidency of this singularly important
world body will pass to a representative of the smallest
country ever to hold this office. Thus will the United Nations
reaffirm its faith in the equal right of nations, large
and small, as enunciated in the Charter.
I am confident that I will have the full cooperation of
the members of the Assembly, the Secretary-General and his
staff, and the principal organs of the United Nations in
building firm foundations for a future in which the peoples
of the world can develop and prosper in a climate of peace
and cooperation.
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