UN General Assembly
1990

If the 45 years of existence of this Organisation has taught us anything, it is that the United Nations is a durable and highly viable organisation and that the vision of the founding fathers was far-sighted. Now that the United Nations Charter has been fully recognised as a valid and essential guide, we cherish the hope that it can meet the challenges of the 1990s and beyond. Two years ago I already had the pleasure of informing the Assembly about the new phase Suriname had entered into as a consequence of the genuine desire of the Surinamese people for democracy. But then it was already clear that the transformation of the political and social order would not be an easy task. In fact, diverging interests in society have been impeding the realization of the objectives set by the Government for this phase of the democratization process, in which prime consideration is given to the strengthening of a common awareness, a general societal participation and a national consensus in the interest of a sustained national development.