Statement by His Excellency Mr. Fathulla Jameel Minister of Foreign
Affairs of the at the Fifty-eight session of the United Nations General Assembly 29 September
2003 Check against delivery Mr. President, Mr. Secretary-General, Distinguished Delegates, Ladies and Gentlemen. Allow me at-the outset to convey to you, on behalf of my delegation, our sincere congratulations on your election as the President of the fifty-eighth session of the General Assembly. It is, indeed, an added pleasure for my delegation to see such a distinguished personality from a sisterly small island state preside over this august Assembly. Allow me also, Mr. President, to
extend my delegation's profound gratitude and appreciation to your predecessor,
His Excellency Mr. Jan Kavan, former Deputy
Prime Minister and former Minister of Foreign Affairs of the I would also like to take this opportunity, on behalf of my delegation, to express our deep appreciation to the Secretary-General, His Excellency Mr. Kofi Annan, for his dedication and untiring work in promoting the noble principles of this Organization. I also wish to congratulate him in particular for his courage and foresight with which he has proposed last week the much-needed reforms to this Organization. I sincerely wish him every success in carrying them forward. I would also like to take this opportunity
to express my delegation's sentiments of sadness and deep sorrow for
the tremendous loss suffered by the international community in the recent
terrorist bombings in Mr. President, Terrorism has always menaced the human race in one form or the other. Yet, never before have we witnessed acts of terrorism so organized, so frequent and so lethal, threatening international peace and security in its entirety. The Baghdad bombing and other violent eruptions elsewhere in the world grimly remind us that serious threats to world peace and security remain, undermining the noble principles that so far had contributed to the survival of the world order and the sustenance of the values that we upheld. Much has been done. Yet the persistence of these deplorable acts signals our failure to address the fundamental causes of these threats. Bold decisions need to be taken swiftly to address them. Since my country fell victim to a brutal terrorist attack in 1988, we had tried, on many occasions, to impress upon this Assembly the threats to small states by increased international terrorism. A decade and a half later, the heat of terrorism is affecting us all irrespective of our physical size, economic strength, political power or military might. For some small states, the danger is graver as a terrorist onslaught could severely threaten even their sovereignty and independence. Therefore, let me emphasize the importance of providing support and assistance to the small states in the implementation of the Security Council resolution 1373, and strengthening their institutional capabilities in this important field. We should all recognize that the strength and stability of the international security system or any political order would be determined by the strength of its weakest members, and not just the endurance or the prevalence of the strongest among them. The Mr. President, The structural impediments facing Small Island Developing
States (SIDS) like the Mr. President, Globalization of the world economy and liberalization
of the multilateral trading system are continuing to marginalize the
developing countries, especially the Least Developed Countries. As tariff barriers fall,
so does the potential for the developing countries to compete effectively
in the open market. Hopes were dashed at My delegation believes
that greater commitment to the implementation of the Brussels Programme
of Action (BPOA) for the Least Developed Countries is a prerequisite
if we are to halt and reverse the deteriorating situation of the LDCs.
While I express my appreciation of the donor community's willingness
to help the LDCs in accelerating their growth and sustaining their development,
and to achieve the Millennium Development Goals, it must be said that, the Mr. President, As I have stated on many occasions, the As I emphasized in my statement before this august Assembly last year, the structural weaknesses of our economy can have grave implication on my country's development should it be deprived of the preferential access to markets and of the concessional capital that it has critically relied upon. The Committee for Development Policy (CDP) has fully recognized the special
circumstances of small states like the Although the criteria for inclusion in the list of LDCs and graduation therefrom have been regularly reviewed and refined, the criteria still fail to capture the entire range of structural and other handicaps. We are glad that the CDP is continuing its work on the refinement of the criteria. We also believe that, of the three criteria for graduation, the Economic Vulnerability Index (EVI) need to be a requisite criterion, in order to ensure that the country will not elapse back into a lower status of development after the dooming graduation. The UNCTAD profile of the Mr. President, In accordance with the decision taken at its 2003 substantive session
in Mr. President, After a glimmer of hope for the revival
of the Middle East peace process, we are again witnessing an unprecedented
deterioration of the situation in Mr. President, The international community should maintain the high priority it has accorded to disarmament and arms control efforts, without any discrimination among nations or regions, to make the world a more peaceful place. The international community must strengthen and improve the enforcement of the non-proliferation regime. In this context, we believe that the United Nations must not only be at the centre of the multilateral processes, but should remain the principal player in grappling with important global issues. We believe, with unity of purpose, bilateral, regional and multilateral approaches, with complementarity to each other, can lead to the resolution of these issues. Mr. President, The need to reform the United Nations,
as emphasised by the Secretary General, to
face the challenges of a changing world remains paramount. We are convinced
that the United Nations with its universal membership is not only the
sole and legitimate body responsible for the preservation and maintenance
of international peace and security but also the unique body, capable
of realizing the goals for a better and secure world for mankind.
Therefore, the United Nations should never be allowed
to be marginalized or be digressed from its role and the principles
of its Charter. The Thank you Mr. President. |