UN General Assembly
2003

some countries are on the agenda, we should not divert our attention from the development issues that can undermine the future of developing countries. Considerable resources will be devoted to security questions, when only a tiny share of this amount would be enough to meet the needs of the developing countries. The environment is another area of concern. We support previous statements by representatives of the island States of the Pacific, and we continue to encourage countries that have not yet done so to ratify the Kyoto Protocol as soon as possible. How can we explain to our peoples that certain international obligations are priorities only for the small States, whereas the super-Powers seem hardly to be concerned about them, or are even hostile to them, and yet do not hesitate to impose a series of conditions which contribute to the underdevelopment of small States and which we could describe as political and economic interference? The unilateral imposition and maintenance of the ban on the sale of products containing kava in Europe is an example of this discriminatory attitude. The