UN General Assembly
1999

an agenda for development as a matter of priority within the United Nations system. Currently, what we are seeing is a withering of interest and diminished commitment on the issue of cooperation for development and a hardening of attitudes in an atmosphere which preaches competitiveness and the survival of the fittest. It is clear to us that special arrangements are needed, not only in relation to special categories of countries, but also in relation to commodities, where serious problems would result from the rigorous application of the dogma of free trade. Regrettably, even where such special arrangements exist they are under threat. The challenge to the banana regime established within the framework of the Lomé Convention and the ruling of the World Trade Organization (WTO) panel, which has now led to negotiations for an amended regime, sends a message which is particularly discouraging and signals the indifference of some countries to the plight of others. The end result is not yet determined, but at this time the economies of some Caribbean States face a danger not just