Distinguished
Mr.Kofi Annan Secretary General of the United Nations,
Distinguished
Co-Presidents of the Millennium Summit,
President
of Finland, Ms. Tarja Halonen President of Namibia,
Mr.
San Nujoma,
Distinguished
Heads of State and Governments,
Distinguished
Delegates:
The
proposal to convene this Summit could not have been better timed or more auspicious, in
that it offers an opportunity for the community of nations to engage
in a fruitful process of reflection on how to meet the challenges and needs of the new
millennium.
Deliberating
on the role of the United Nations in the twenty-first century means defining the
expectations, which Governments must try to fulfill at the international level, in a world
that is calling increasingly for the practice of certain values in order to promote
effective solidarity among all the peoples of the Earth.
We
Heads of Government should all thank the Secretary-General of the United Nations for
organizing this meeting and giving us this opportunity to deliberate on the issues covered
extensively in the report which he has presented to this Millennium Summit.
Only
a few days ago, on 16 August, I had the honour to be inaugurated Constitutional President
of the Dominican Republic. I have come to this high-level meeting, therefore, to very
briefly describe be some of the hopes and aspirations of the Dominican people.
Dignity
of the human person, equality between men and women, social progress to improve living
conditions, poverty eradication, a life of peace and without fear - these, briefly, are
the aspirations and hopes of the Dominican people and the general framework
within which the Dominican Government expresses its willingness and its determination to
ensure that, in our country, the process of globalization of all humankind's cultural
manifestations that characterizes this new millennium will have a genuinely human face.
While
immersing ourselves in globalization and the market economy, we will never relinquish the
demands of equity and social justice that flow from our hopes and aspirations.
If
much-vaunted macroeconomic equilibrium is to be truly beneficial and equitable, then what
we need are effective State institutions, transparent management of public affairs,
respect for human rights, universal participation in decision-making on issues of
universal concern and the creation of a sound physical infrastructure.
However,
we also, and above all, need substantial, generous investment in education, health,
employment, food and, ultimately, poverty eradication and environmental protection and
enhancement. In other words, it is absolutely essential that, as a matter of priority,
public spending should be devoted to solving peoples, pressing social problems.
Only
when we are able to design policies aimed at achieving those goals will we be in a proper
position to join and operate in the global economy on competitive, equal terms. This, I
repeat, is the attitude which defines the aspirations and hopes of the present Government
of the Dominican Republic.
My
presence at this Summit is proof and confirmation of my country's faith in the United
Nations, of which it has been a member since 1945. The Secretary-General's report, which
seeks to define the role of the United Nations in the twenty-first century, is guided by
an obvious commitment to reform and democracy. That is because, while the principles of
the Charter of the United Nations have, over time, proved to be *valid and, on many
occasions, effective, it must be admitted that the power structures created for it in 1945
cannot meet the demands of the international relations that have evolved from the
globalization process. Now, more than ever, the United Nations must serve to strike the
right balance among all the States of the Earth.
Moreover,
the necessary reform of the Charter of the United Nations must ensure that the
globalization process benefits everyone, thereby transforming solidarity into a norm of
international conduct that helps to uphold the general interest of the whole of humankind.
We
are surely all agreed that the main responsibility for upholding the general interest and
seeking to ensure the happiness of our peoples rests primarily with us and with the
Governments which we lead, but it is not denying that responsibility to point out that
often, both in the past and nowadays, our own guilt has been compounded by the guilty
complicity of certain international interests.
As
a result, poverty, insecurity, terror,violence, prejudice and environmental degradation
are the responsibility not just of individual Governments but also of that indivisible
humankind in which we must all feel responsible for everything.
This
brings me to the situation currently faced by the Republic of Haiti and the Dominican
Republic. We have often described the relationship between our two countries as a marriage
with no possibility of divorce. We realize that it is basically Haiti's economic situation
that is causing the daily influx of illegal immigrants from that country to ours, but the
international community must also realize that the Dominican Republic does not have the
capacity to shoulder the social burden represented by the presence
of hundreds of thousands of our Haitian neighbours in our territory.
Our
Government is doing its utmost to deal with this situation in a spirit of understanding
and absolute respect for human rights. Any incidents that may be occurring in the border
area are not part of a State policy, and I can assure you that we have taken steps to deal
with any troublesome situation.
The
Government of the Dominican Republic is fully prepared to undertake jointly with Haiti
development plans that will help to raise the standard of living of the residents of
border towns and villages.
The
Dominican Republic will have an immigration law that is based on rational principles,
applicable to all aliens without distinction living legally or illegally in its territory.
However, it cannot solve on its own a problem that concerns all of us and which only a
collective decision and collective participation can help to solve definitively. I
therefore appeal to the United Nations and my fellow Heads of State to assume our
collective responsibility for tackling this serious situation.
As
I said earlier, the time has come for solidarity, and it is we Governments that must vow
that the United Nations, faced with the uncertainties of globalization, will be the
guarantor of the healthy material and spiritual development of all peoples and an
implacable judge against violence, insecurity, prejudice and environmental degradation.
Only thus, sharing the same hopes and aspirations, will we have peace.
Thank
you very much.
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