STATEMENT BY HONOURABLE PIERRE CHARLES Mr. President, Allow
me to start by congratulating you warmly, Mr. President, on your election
to the high post of President of this respected global forum and to
wish you success during your tenure. Your election to the post of President
of the General Assembly is indeed an honour
and a source of pride for all St. Lucians,
as well as for your brothers and sisters in the Organization of East
Caribbean States (OECS), the CARICOM, and Your Presidency is as such, a CARICOM/LATIN AMERICA Presidency, and your record of prudence and diplomatic skills will certainly be instrumental in meeting the lofty goals sought commonly by all of our nations and peoples. I take this opportunity
to congratulate your predecessor, His Excellency Jan Kavan, for the leadership he provided to 57h
session of the General Assembly, a session which
brought out clearly the many challenges confronting the United Nations
in this decade. The Delegation of the ' Over the last nine months, the relevance of the United Nations has become a burning issue worldwide. We must all appreciate that it remains the only universal multilateral institution with the capacity to address the complex set of global problems of the 21" century, ranging from peace and security to development. Mr. President, Today's world is entangled in a web of complex problems that threaten global security. These problems, which require urgent attention from the United Nations, include HIV/AIDS and other diseases, poverty, marginalization of indigenous people, terrorism and global crime, the growing scarcity of freshwater, global warming, the spread of light arms which threaten peaceful countries like Dominica, nuclear proliferation, armed civil conflicts and the refugees they give rise to, trafficking in humans, and unfair trade rules that contribute to growing poverty in the developing countries. All of these problems require a strong and effective multi-lateral organization, enjoying the trust and confidence of the people on this planet, and capable of articulating collective approaches towards some solutions. Mr. President The world has changed considerably, yet present institutions for global governance-the United Nations, World Bank, International Monetary Fund, and the World Trade Organization- continue to operate on outdated political and economic foundations. The legitimacy, effectiveness and credibility of the UN continue to erode in face of the "democratic deficit", that was an integral part of the original design, but needs to be remedied now. The reform of the Security Council and of the General Assembly is indispensable to restoration of the moral authority lost because of failure to enforce resolutions. Effective governance, predicated on the principles of accountability and transparency to the people of the member states, is a highly desirable objective that we must strive for. I wish to reaffirm my country's total commitment to, and support for the United Nations. Mr. President: Let me take this
opportunity to pay tribute to Sergio Viera
de Mello, Special Representative of the Secretary-General, other staff
of the United Nations, and the citizens of The return to peace and stability in future. The Coalition forces must give a clear
mandate to the United Nations for the creation of a multinational force,
led of course by the main troop contributors, in order to ensure the
security of Mr. President, While the attention of the international community
is focused on restoring peace and security in Mr. President, The fight against international terrorism remains
a priority for We welcome the assistance of the Commonwealth in a review of our legal system to allow its alignment with the global strategy to fight terrorism, as well as the guidance of the Counter Terrorism Committee. The numerous terrorist actions this year
in Mr. President, The United Nations Year of Freshwater has helped the world
community to focus attention on the millions of poor people who lack
access to clean sources of water. Mankind faces a great challenge as growing scarcity of freshwater becomes a reality of this century. This is clearly an arena for constructive global action by .the United Nations. Let us hope that the concern and attention remain a core part of the continuing engagement with the Millennium Development Goals. Mr. President, My delegation is indeed pleased at the tremendous progress made by the International Criminal Court over the last year. We have moved one step closer to punishing war crimes, genocide, and crimes against humanity. Mr. President, This year is an important year for the As a peace-loving people, we hold in high esteem the right to self-determination and the full, fair and unhindered expression of the will of the people. We reaffirm our commitment to the rule of law, good governance at all levels, and deepening of our longstanding democratic tradition. In As we struggle to eradicate the mono-crop nature of our economy, a remaining vestige of the colonial period, we are determined to anchor our future economic foundation on the following pivots: sustainable agriculture, renewable energy, eco-tourism, information technology, financial services, and water resource management. Our resolve to build a new economic order is based on our assertion of the principle of responsibility for our own development. Our efforts at economic re-engineering urgently require
a complement of new foreign direct investment, ODA transfers, technology
transfer, and deepening of cooperation with member states and global
civil society. We remain hopeful that our donor partners will soon translate
into action the ODA commitments they made at Mr. President, Our call for "special and differential treatment"
in the trade arena continues to resonate loudly. The outcome of the
World Trade Organization meeting in Mr. President, Let me take this opportunity to commend UNAIDS for
organizing the High-level plenary meeting in respect of the implementation
of the Declaration of Commitment on HIV/AIDS which took place on Monday,
September 22. This meeting will only be successful if it renews the
resolve of member states to accord a higher priority to national integrated
efforts to fight the disease, which is exacting a toll on the youth
and adult populations of African and The I also wish to recognize the great
initiative of President George W. Bush for the global fight against
HIV/AIDS. It is a bold and assertive commitment, which will contribute
much-needed financial resources for the global campaign, particularly
on the African continent, and in the Mr. President, In 2004, the Decade of Indigenous
People will come to an end. The Decade was
important from the standpoint that it did, for the
first time since Indigenous people around the world continue to face marginalization and wallow in abject poverty. The world community must demonstrate greater responsiveness to improving their condition through more generous contributions to the Voluntary Fund. Mr. President, Mr. President, Mr. President Next August, the International Meeting
for the 10-year Review of the Barbados Programme
of Action on Small Islands Developing States will
be held in Mr. President, The International community must pay greater attention to the social and economic vulnerabilities faced by Small Island Developing States. The sudden adjustment to trade liberalization and WTO trade regime has contributed to the economic decline in many small island states. Averting the rapid descent into a downward economic spiral, and social dislocation in SIDS requires a wider embrace and understanding of our call for special and differential treatment in the trade arena. The Dominican Delegation believes that we have an
obligation to be responsible to future generations by ensuring that
they will have an earth that is safe, secure and can sustain life. Let
us not forget the commitments we made last year at the World Summit
for Sustainable Development (WSSD), especially regarding SIDS. We reiterate
our concern once again about all manifestations of climate change, and
our opposition to continuing trans-shipment of nuclear wastes through
the We therefore call on all member states to support and participate in the Mauritius Conference for the ten-year review of the Barbados Program Of Action next August. We also appeal to corporations, private foundations, bilateral and multilateral organizations to lend support for significant participation of civil society organizations, particularly from AOSIS member states, at this conference. Mr. President The delegation
of the The problem of
SARS ably demonstrated that progress towards the noble goals of the
United Nations is only impeded by not integrating
the Republic of China on The situation regarding the Republic of China must be addressed to ensure a more meaningful contribution to global peace, security and poverty eradication. In conclusion, Mr. President, We call also for the leadership role of the UN in the quest for peaceful
resolution to the conflicts in I thank you. |