DEMOCRATIC REPUBLIC TO THE

UNITED NATIONS

317 EAST 51ST STREET, NEW YORK, N.Y. 10022

Statement

H.E. Mr. Somsavat LENGSAVAD

Deputy Prime Minister, Minister for Foreign Affairs, Head of

Delegation of the Lao People's Democratic Republic at the 55th Session

of the General Assembly of the United Nations

New York, 16 September 2000

Mr. President,

At the outset, I would like, on behalf of the delegation of the Lao People's Democratic Republic, to congratulate you on your well-deserved election to the presidency of the Fifty-fifth session of the General Assembly. We are confident that our Assembly stands to gain a great deal from your able leadership and from your wide knowledge in international affairs.

Let me also take this opportunity to congratulate the outgoing President H.E Mr. Theo-Ben Gurirab, Minister of Foreign Affairs of Namibia, for the guidance he provided to the Fifty-fourth session of the General Assembly.

Mr. President,

The Twentieth century has been an epoch of great technological and scientific discoveries and achievements. This is indeed one of the positive things about the past century that we all can be proud of. However, this same past century has brought enormous calamities and left manifold complex problems as we enter the Twenty-first century. Certainly, we have to accept the responsibility of resolving them and to succeed in addressing this daunting task, we must lay down sound basic foundations aimed at encouraging and building peace and international cooperation for development. This is the lofty goal of our new age that we should all strive to achieve it.

Mr. President,

To prepare for the new Millennium, a number of international conferences were held on different issues under the auspices of the United Nations such as the World Summit on Children in New York, the Earth Summit in Rio, the World Social Summit in Copenhagen, the International Conference on Women in Beijing, the UNCTAD X in Bangkok, and other international conferences of equal importance. The main objectives of these assemblies are aimed at solving the multifaceted problems that have occurred in the world with a hope that the new millennium will face a minimum risk in every aspect and that humankind will concentrate its intelligence and resources on developing economy, civilized culture and prosperity in equality, in a just and peaceful environment free from violent confrontation, concern for poverty, disease and others. However, the objectives set forth by these conferences have not lived up to our expectations. In addition, new challenges that are far more complex have erupted in the light of globalization.

The South Summit of the Group of 77 and China which was held in Havana, Cuba, in April this year, has rightly identified the positive and negative sides of globalization and put forward a collective guideline for future action. The conference was of the view that the unsolved problems are the well-known issues of the growing debt, the unfavourable world trade measures imposed on goods from the developing countries, in particular, the least developed ones, the human resources that have not yet been developed to cope with new technologies and others. Overall, all these issues need to be seriously dealt with together between the North and the South so as to remove the challenges and make use of favourable opportunities that will lead to a North-South cooperation based on equality and mutual interest as explicitly expressed in the Havana Declaration.

Mr. President,

The achievements made by humankind in the past century are of immense value. We believe that if these achievements are correctly used, happiness and prosperity would be brought to the new generation of the next century. Nonetheless, we are yet concerned over the challenges that the new generation has to face. Today many young girls and boys worldwide have not enjoyed happy lives and lacked opportunity for education. Moreover, they are subject to exploitation for the purpose of pornography, prostitution and drug addiction that destroy their own future, their families, the society and, subsequently, become the source of international terrorism.

Similarly, the gender issue is also of great importance. Although equality between women and men is respected and women participation in social life has increased, the poverty and violence continue to be the major obstacles that affect women's life. To successfully tackle this problem, countries over the world should help each other and devote the necessary resources in this domain.

Drug abuse continues to be a subject of major concern for the international community. In the Lao PDR, the Lao Government has implemented, with the cooperation and assistance from friendly countries and international organizations, in particular the UNDCP, a number of projects with a view to remedying the effects of the drug abuse. The experience has shown that people in the area of poppy cultivation continue to remain poor. Therefore, in order to definitely solve this problem, it is imperative to carry out alternative development projects, ensure food security, enable people to earn more in cultivating alternative crops than in poppy and traditional cultivation. The Lao Government is determined to continue its efforts on drug control and supervision. It is our hope that the international community will lend a strong helping hand to us to overcome our difficulties at the earliest for the bright future of our children.

Mr. President,

While the world is entering the new millennium, a number of regional conflicts have been satisfactorily settled, thus responding to the aspiration of the affected nations. However, at the same time, many other regional conflicts remain unsolved and continue to cause pains and sufferings to the people who are directly involved.

In the Middle East, durable peace has not been ensured, the inalienable national and fundamental rights of the Palestinian people have not yet been exercised. We welcome the resumption of peace negotiations between Israel and the Palestine Liberation Organization. The two parties should seize this opportunity to write a new page of history based on peaceful coexistence and economic cooperation among the peoples in the region. In this perspective, we look forward to seeing the establishment of an independent Palestinian State and the respect for an existence of all States in this region, thus ensuring durable peace and cooperation between the nations, in particular between the Arab States and Israel.

The economic, commercial and financial embargo applied to the Republic of Cuba continues to cause enormous difficulties and huge damage to the Cuban people. In compliance with the relevant resolutions of the UNGA, we urge that an end be put to this restrictive commercial practice, which runs counter to the principles of the UN Charter, international law and the present world trend.

The Lao PDR follows closely the situation in the Korean peninsula. We welcome the outcome of the Korean Summit between Chairman Kim Jong I1 of the National Defense Commission of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea and President Kim Dae Jung of the Republic of Korea in Pyongyang last June which has laid down an important foundation in responding to the aspirations of the Korean people for the peaceful reunification of Korea and the settlement of problems in the Korean peninsula through peaceful negotiations, contributing thereby to the promotion of peace, stability and cooperation in the region.

Mr. President,

On December 2, 2000, the Lao PDR will commemorate its 25th Anniversary. Over this period, the Lao people have upheld the spirit of patriotism, self-sufficiency, self-strength and attracted assistance and cooperation from the international community. They have made tremendous accomplishments in national construction. As a result, their living standard has gradually improved. The most outstanding achievement attained for the first time in the country's history is that we have reached self-sufficiency in rice production and even have a surplus for export. The socio-economic infrastructure has been continuously expanded, the state is governed by the rule of law, freedom and democracy are respected and constantly promoted. The solidarity of the Lao people of all ethnic groups has been further strengthened. All this has become the fundamental factor to ensure political stability and social order. Thanks to the renovation policy consistent with the market economic mechanism, the development of the people's right to self-master and the open-door policy in its international relations, we are convinced that the Lao PDR will be able to rid itself from the status of underdevelopment in the near future.

Mr. President,

The globalization has unevenly imposed an impact on development of every country due to different degrees of development in each nation. While some developing economies are making use of these increasing economic opportunities, a large number of developing countries continue to be marginalized and thereby not in a position to benefit from this process. Most countries in the developing world continue to face problems of access to markets, capital and technology. Many are obliged to undertake painful structural reforms not in conformity with their realities, causing undesirable negative impact that impedes their integration into the world economy. Against this backdrop, there is a need to build a favourable environment that would enable the developing countries to compete in the world trading system and fully benefit from globalization. In this regard, the United Nations has a crucial role to play in order to help make this happen.