ADDRESS
BY
OF
THE REPUBLIC OF SURINAME
HER
EXCELLENCY MRS. MARIA E. LEVENS
ON
THE OCCASION OF THE
55TH
SESSION OF THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY
OF
THE UNITED NATIONS
NEW
YORK, 16 SEPTEMBER 2000
Your Excellencies,
Mr. Secretary‑General,
Mr. President,
Distinguished Delegates,
Ladies and Gentlemen,
On behalf of the Government and People of the
Republic of Suriname, I would like to first of all join previous speakers in
extending my congratulations to you, on your assumption of the office of the
Presidency of the 55th
Millennium session of the General Assembly of the United Nations.
I am convinced, that your vast experience and wise
leadership will lead us to a successful outcome of this historic Session.
Allow me to also pay tribute to your predecessor,
His Excellency Theo‑Ben Guirirab, for the outstanding and fruitful way,
in which he has guided the work of the 54th session of the General
Assembly.
My delegation wish to express our deep appreciation
to Secretary‑General Kofi Annan, for his continuing and tireless efforts
in steering the United Nations through the unchartered waters of world‑affairs,
while adapting it to the new global forces of change.
We welcome Tuvalu into the family of nations and the
Republic of Suriname looks forward to working together in forging the
principles and goals of the organization.
Mr. President,
This Millennium Assembly is an unique opportunity to
take stock of and to reflect on the recent experiences with the phenomena of
globalization, which continues to dominate developments in the economic,
political and cultural field at both the national and international level,
affecting the daily lives of millions of people, their institutions as well as
the relations between states.
While recognizing, that globalization can be a
powerful and dynamic force to promote economic growth and development, it also
represents risks" and new challenges to individuals and nations alike.
The fact of the matter is, that globalization has
generated new economic disparities, since the benefits of globalization remains
highly concentrated to only a few countries, and has brought about increased
vulnerability and economic instability, in particular to the least developed
countries and to the structural weak and vulnerable small states.
Many of these countries have difficulty in coping
with the increased competition arising from trade liberalizations and lack the
capacity to take advantage of the new opportunities brought about by
globalization, which in turn put them at risk of marginalization if not
entirely excluded from it, the so called big losers of globalization.
It is for this reason, that at the highest political
level, during the recently held Millennium Summit consensus was reached that
globalization must be considered in the wider context of development and of our
shared responsibility to ensure, through a more inclusive, transparent and
participatory decision‑making process in international economic issues,
that the benefits of globalization are accessible to all on an equitable
footing.
We also concur with the view that the United
Nations, as the most universal forum, has a crucial and central role to play in
forging understanding and consensus among its members, so as to create more
opportunities for all, and indeed not to leave billions of people in a state of
poverty and exclusion. We look forward to concrete actions to be taken in this
regard.
Mr. President,
The economic, security and political problems which
have dominated the world scene at the end of the 20th century are still present today and continue
to hamper that the unprecedented advancement in communication and information
technology result in a world free from want, fear and environmental
degradation.
We have learned from past and recent experience,
that only through dialogue between the North and the South, based on genuine
partnership, shared responsibilities and a spirit of global solidarity,
humanity will be able to overcome the central problems and challenges in the
new millennium.
All nations have a collective responsibility to
address current global concerns such as underdevelopment and acute poverty, the
growing inequality within and among nations, violent conflicts and civil wars
which causes untold human suffering in the South and is fuelled by the global
arms bazaar, environmental degradation, refugees and migration, HIV/AIDS and
other threats to public health, bridging the digital divide and the emergence
of global criminal conglomerates.
In the context of the aforementioned we welcome the
initiative taken by the Secretary-General to create a digital task force with
the aim of bridging the digital divide.
In order not to lag behind in our present era,
dominated by the advances in ICT, the President of the Republic of Suriname has
launched a national ICT initiative in his inaugural statement on August 12 this
year, to catch the "Internet Express", without delay and to promote
national access to information and communication services at all levels of
education and all areas of public domain.
We also welcome the recent Dialogue in Miyazaki,
Japan between the G‑77 and the NAM‑Troika and the G‑8 Foreign
Ministers on issues of common concern and we look forward to the forging of a
new strategic partnership between the "South" and the
"North", which will facilitate concerted action on key area's of
concern and urgent development challenges facing the countries of the South in
the new millennium.
Mr. President,
In April last, the developing countries met in
Havana and in a renewed spirit of cooperation, solidarity and shared
responsibilities they agree to close ranks and implement an action oriented
program, which will assist the developing countries in bridging the gap with
their more affluent partners from the North.
Although essential in contributing to development,
South‑South cooperation is not a replacement of North‑South
cooperation, while better relations between the members of the South, will
contribute to better relations between the South and the North.
We therefore appeal to the international community
to assist the South in implementing the agreed conclusions of the Havana South
Summit.
In this regard we continue to call on the North to
honour their commitments in providing Official Development Assistance in
accordance with the agreed targets of their Gross Domestic Product (GDP).
Mr. President,
Unfortunately globalization and trade liberalization
have not created for small and vulnerable States the necessary conditions to
accelerate growth and development.
On the contrary, these countries have been further
marginalized in world economic affairs and are threatened by the provisions of
the WTO, demanding an end to the special and preferential arrangements, enacted
solely to level the playing field.
The Government of Suriname expresses its sincere
appreciation to the EU for their continued support to the ACP countries in the
framework of the Lome IV arrangements.
However these measures offer to the small developing States insufficient opportunities to be able to compete successfully in today's highly competitive environment.
We therefore reiterate our request for the early
adoption of a vulnerability‑index by the international community, so as
to consider assistance to these countries, based on their specific
vulnerabilities and not solely on their GDP.
We are pleased that in the Millennium declaration an
appeal was made to enact such a vulnerability index.
Mr. President,
Recently the twelve presidents of South America
assembled in Brasilia to discuss daunting issues that are common to the region
and to seal their political will and support as a firm foundation for enhanced
cooperation among their respective countries.
We thank the Government of the Federative Republic
of Brazil for so gracefully hosting this Summit. The declaration coming out of
that meeting has in its content and spirit underlined the necessity of closer
cooperation between our countries in order to be able to adopt successfully to
the demands of globalization.
Mr. President,
At the dawn of the new millennium the Government of
Suriname considers it of crucial importance that member states achieve tangible
results in the areas of disarmament, arms control and non‑proliferation
of nuclear weapons in maintaining peace and reinforcing international security
for all states.
Our common goal therefore must remain in the complete
eradication of all nuclear weapons and the curbing of the illicit trafficking
in small arms, mostly used in today's deadly internal conflicts such as in
Africa and other parts of the world.
My Government, although not completely satisfied,
has embraced the consensus reached at the meeting of States Parties to the Non‑Proliferation
Treaty, as a step in the right direction and expresses its hope that the
upcoming international event which will take up the fight against the illicit
trafficking in small arms, will yield to the expectations of establishing
effective rules and regulations dealing with this scourge.
Mr. President,
The reform of the Security Council remains crucial
for our efforts to make the United Nations more effective in dealing with
global peace and security issues.
It has however eluded us so far to reach consensus
on how to restructure and reform this important body as a consequence of
differences among the member states with respect to the scope and nature of the
needed changes.
My Government reiterates its view that the
membership of this Council should be increased with members from both the
developed and developing world and considers in this context the proposals
presented by the NAM as instrumental.
We also believe that agreement must be reached on
defining the relationship between the Council and other principal organs of the
United Nations, such as the Economic and Social Council and the General
Assembly.
We are of the opinion that the Security Council
should focus its actions on creating a peaceful security environment, while the
temporarily established United Nations involvements related to socio‑economic
and political development in affected countries, should be coordinated by the
Economic and Social Council and/or the General Assembly. Such an arrangement,
which is based on the Charter provisions, will undoubtedly contribute to
greater effectivity and efficiency of the United Nations presence, while
limiting the influence of national policy considerations on its activities.
Transparency and further improvements in its working
methods should continue to be on the agenda of the reform process, including,
the rights of troop contributing nations to be part of the decision making
affecting their soldiers in peacekeeping missions.
Let us use the momentum created by the Millennium
Summit to strengthen our resolve in reaching a consensus on this matter as soon
as possible.
Mr. President,
The Government of Suriname wishes to underscore the
importance of the United Nations as the universal forum to enable member states
to reach consensus on issues related to peace, security, development and
international economic cooperation.
Its Charter embodies lofty and noble principles
which remains valid as of today as was reiterated by all the Heads of State and
Government at the recently held Millennium Summit. In order to make the United
Nations a more effective instrument in the hands of the world people, we must
continue to be guided by these principles in conducting national and
international affairs.
In this regard it is essential to honour the
commitment with respect to providing the financial means in a timely and
predictable manner, in order to enable the United Nations to fulfill its
mandates.
My delegation believes that there is some room for
an increase in the contribution by some member states, which are paying less
than their capacity to pay.
However we do not agree to reduce the contribution
of member states as a consequence of domestic policy consideration, since we
firmly believe that the principle of capacity to pay for the expenses of the
United Nations as embodied in the United Nations‑Charter remains fair and
reasonable.
Finally, Mr. President, we must bear in mind, as we
enter the new millennium in an emerging "global village", that we are
one human family in all our diversity, living on one common homeland (planet
earth), and we must therefore cooperate in creating a more just, more
sustainable and more peaceful world, in which everyone will live in a clean
environment with a fair distribution of earth resources, indeed, as the
Secretary‑General has called for in his Millennium Report: a world free
from Want, free from Fear and without compromising the ability of our planet to
provide for the needs for our children and for future generations to come.
My country, stands ready to play its part and
to contribute to this, our common endeavor.
I thank you, Mr. President