Mr.
President, I have the pleasure of congratulating you on your
election as President of the General Assembly at its fifty-
fourth session. Confident that your experience and ability
will strongly influence the successful outcome of the
proceedings of this session, I assure you of my delegation's
readiness to cooperate with you in fulfilling your task.
I would like to avail myself of this opportunity to
express my thanks to His Excellency Didier Opertti Badán,
President of the General Assembly at its fifty-third session,
for his contribution to the achievements and success of that
session. It is also my pleasure to express appreciation for
the efforts that Secretary-General Kofi Annan has exerted
in order to enable the Organization to fulfil its role in
promoting international peace and security and in furthering
international cooperation. I also extend the sincere
congratulations of the State of Bahrain to the Kingdom of
Tonga, the Republic of Nauru and the Republic of Kiribati
upon their admission to the United Nations.
On 6 March 1999, the State of Bahrain announced to
the people of Bahrain and to the world the sad news of the
passing away of His Highness Shaikh ‘Isa Bin Salman Al-
Khalifa, may God grant him peace and mercy. He was a
great and humane emir who loved people and was loved by
the people by virtue of the remarkable traits he exhibited,
which are the embodiment of the Bahraini character:
loyalty, tolerance and civility. He, may God bestow His
mercy upon him, championed national independence, the
Constitution, the consultative process and the erection of
the State institutions and the rule of law. He championed
development, comprehensive renaissance and diversification
of the national economy. He championed Gulf cooperation
and Arab solidarity through the most difficult times and
situations. He championed peace and international
cooperation and genuine friendship among all peoples.
These causes were the legacy of the late emir, whose
approach will continue to be the beacon that guides
Bahrain as it moves forward along its national path and
as it pursues Gulf cooperation, Arab solidarity, regional
cooperation with neighbours and international cooperation
with one and all.
In view of this session’s special momentousness, as
it is being held at a juncture between the end of a century
and the beginning of a new millennium, it behoves us to
pause and reflect on the experience of the United Nations
over the last half century. It should again be emphasized
that, as we approach the third millennium, we ought to
direct our actions in consonance with the principles and
purposes of the United Nations Charter, which are aimed
at enhancing peace and economic and social development,
in the interest of the world as a whole and on the basis of
equality, justice and respect for law.
The Organization’s experience of more than 50
years, with all its successes and setbacks in dealing with
crises and in addressing the challenges facing the world,
has demonstrated that the benefits of past experience
should be taken into account as we prepare for the future.
In this way we would be better equipped to contribute to
the building of a new world and a brighter future and
would be better committed to the United Nations. Some
of that experience has proved that departure from the
United Nations principles, Charter and resolutions has
strained relations among many States and caused regional
disputes and ethnic conflicts that have threatened security
and stability in numerous regions of the world. Yet
humanity has accomplished much during the last half
century, particularly through United Nations involvement
in the maintenance of international peace and security,
sustainable development and international cooperation.
Such United Nations endeavours deserve our appreciation
and commitment so that we can alleviate the human
suffering of those who are beset by poverty and lack of
security, stability and the basic requirements of a life of
dignity.
17

Hence, our common agreement on enhancing the
vitally important role of the United Nations during the
forthcoming millennium as the embodiment of the
international community’s conscience and its hope of
building a better world in which our common human
aspirations, as enshrined in the Charter, can be realized.
Bahrain’s experience on the Security Council during
the past two years has demonstrated that small countries are
capable of effectively contributing to the causes of
international peace and security. That experience has also
reaffirmed Bahrain’s convictions, most notably its
adherence to the principles of the United Nations Charter
and international legality, which reflect the will and desire
of the international community to live in security, tolerance
and peace. It has also confirmed the importance of
strengthening the principles of equitable geographic
representation and transparency as important values and
principles in international relations. Such principles would
enhance the Security Council’s role in maintaining peace
and security and help develop its ability to function
effectively. Therefore, it is essential that efforts be exerted
to reform the Council so that it can adequately reflect
political realities and cope with the changing international
climate during the next century.
The role of the Security Council in dealing with the
questions of peace and security requires that the processes
of peacekeeping and peace-building be interrelated in order
to prevent the renewal of conflicts; hence Bahrain’s request
for the convening of an open meeting during its term as
President of the Council last December, to consider the
relationship between peacekeeping and peace-building. The
extensive participation of members of the Council and other
Members of the United Nations bears witness to the
conviction of many Member States that such linkage is
essential for the integration of political action with action
in the field of economic and social development.
Bahrain’s enthusiasm and interest in taking part in
joint efforts to reach solutions for issues of peace and
security have been demonstrated by its active and
constructive participation whenever the Security Council
has dealt with such questions. By virtue of the expertise
that it has gained, Bahrain will be active, both within its
region and at the international level, in furthering the
principles of security, peace and stability.
Since the beginning of Bahrain’s modern revival, our
country has been building a modern State and a developed
civil society on the basis of developing, preparing and
qualifying the individual to deal with the demands of our
time and to participate positively in present and future
transformation. As a result, Bahrain has been able to build
an open and developed economy that has made it possible
for the country to realize comprehensive and sustainable
human development, as reflected in its remarkable
ranking in the human development index for five
consecutive years. This is also reflected in the reports of
the United Nations Development Programme, whose
contributions and efforts in the field of development in
many States we commend.
The State of Bahrain has long been aware of the
importance of human development and has thus drawn up
plans and policies for the development and utilization of
the capabilities of Bahrainis in all fields. It has also
enacted legislation encouraging women to join the
workforce and to enter the labour market. Thus, the
percentage of Bahraini women in the entire public sector
labour force reached 33.5 per cent in 1998, and the total
number of women in the private sector labour force has
reached 20 per cent. The State of Bahrain takes pride in
this achievement at the regional and international levels.
It makes available equal opportunities to both men and
women in the fields, inter alia, of education, health care
and social welfare, as these are basic priorities of human
rights for which Bahrain’s efforts have been applauded by
United Nations human rights bodies and experts.
In its new era under the leadership of its emir, His
Highness Shaikh Hamad Bin Isa Al-Khalifa, Bahrain will
continue on its course, which has allowed it to assume a
prominent place economically and socially, thereby
becoming an example of progressive development that
takes into account both the global dimension and the
preservation of its heritage and traditions.
Over the last two decades, the Gulf region has
witnessed serious and painful events, the ramifications of
which continue to pose a threat to the security and
stability of this vital region, which is an important hub for
world trade and for mutual, beneficial exchange between
various nations of the world.
Those events have demonstrated that the
maintenance and preservation of regional security can be
based only on respect for and strict observation of
principles that the State of Bahrain has always advocated,
most notably respect for the status quo and the
inviolability of established boundaries. Relations among
countries of the region should be based on the principles
of good neighbourliness, mutual respect and non-
interference in the internal affairs of other States.
18

Recognition of each State's national sovereignty is an
essential factor for the preservation of security and stability
in the region, as is the settlement of disputes by peaceful
means acceptable to the States concerned.
Accordingly, and reaffirming its consistent position
with respect to a number of regional and international
questions and its keen interest in the maintenance of
security and peace in the world, particularly in the Gulf
region, Bahrain again calls on Iraq to implement relevant
Security Council resolutions, especially those relating to
weapons of mass destruction and the release of prisoners of
war and detainees of Kuwaiti and other nationalities.
At the same time, Bahrain urges anew that efforts be
continued with a view to alleviating the suffering of the
brotherly Iraqi people resulting from sanctions. It is also
eager to ensure the independence, unity and territorial
integrity of Iraq and opposes any interference in its internal
affairs.
In the interest of security, stability and peace in the
Gulf region, Bahrain wishes to emphasize again its support
for all efforts aimed at settling by peaceful means the
dispute between the United Arab Emirates and the Islamic
Republic of Iran over the three islands, namely Abu Musa,
Greater Tunb and Lesser Tunb, all of which belong to the
United Arab Emirates. In this respect, Bahrain wishes
success to the work of the Tripartite Ministerial Committee
formed by the Gulf Cooperation Council to solve the
dispute in a manner that would lead to the establishment of
good and normal relations with the Islamic Republic of Iran
on the basis of the principles of good neighbourliness,
mutual respect and observance of mutual interests.
In conjunction with the questions of security and
stability, it is imperative that we re-emphasize the danger
of territorial claims aimed at changing established, inherited
and traditionally accepted boundaries. Bahrain therefore
welcomes the resolutions adopted by the summit of the
Organization of African Unity (OAU) held in Algeria in
July 1999 which confirmed the adherence of member States
to the principles set out in the OAU Charter and OAU
resolutions in respect of inherited and traditionally accepted
boundaries.
During the last three years, the Middle East peace
process has encountered a setback which froze and almost
completely destroyed the process, owing to the rigid
positions and contradictory policies of the previous Israeli
Government. Now that a new Government has taken over
and has made promises regarding its readiness to revive the
peace process, Bahrain, having endorsed that process from
the very beginning and having consistently worked
towards its success, expresses its hope that the new Israeli
Government will translate its promises into full, complete
and faithful implementation of all the agreements reached
and will be responsive to international efforts to make the
peace process a success.
Accordingly, the State of Bahrain has welcomed the
latest Palestinian-Israeli agreement on the implementation
of the Wye River accords signed at Sharm el-Sheikh as
a positive step towards a final settlement between the two
parties and the enhancement of the peace process among
all other parties.
The Arab side has repeatedly confirmed its
commitment to the peace terms reflected in the principles
of the 1991 Madrid Conference and the relevant United
Nations resolutions. It believes that achievement of a just,
comprehensive and lasting peace in the region should be
the strategic option that would obligate Israel to recognize
legitimate Arab rights, to comply with the relevant
resolutions of international legitimacy, including Security
Council resolutions 242 (1967) and 338 (1973), to respect
the right of the Palestinian people to have their own
independent State with Jerusalem as its capital, to fully
withdraw from all occupied Arab territories, including the
Syrian Arab Golan Heights, to the boundaries that existed
on 4 June 1967 and to withdraw from Lebanese territory
pursuant to Security Council resolution 425 (1978).
The success of the peace process and the
achievement of a just, comprehensive and lasting peace
will undoubtedly have a bearing on the future stability
and development of all the countries and peoples of the
region.
At the same time, we wish to stress the importance
of intensifying efforts to make the Middle East, including
the Gulf region, a zone free of all weapons of mass
destruction, including nuclear weapons.
The world has witnessed this year positive
developments in respect of an issue that was a source of
deep concern to the international Organization and the
international community, namely the question of
Lockerbie. We should like here to commend the Libyan
Arab Jamahiriya for complying with relevant Security
Council resolutions, as well as the other parties in the
case for the cooperation they have displayed. We also
welcome the suspension by the Security Council of
sanctions against Libya and express our appreciation of
19

efforts exerted by the Governments of the brotherly
Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and South Africa and by the
Secretary-General, as well as the concerned regional
organizations, which have led to agreement on the case. We
hope that this will lead to the complete lifting of sanctions.
The easing of the Kosovo crisis by virtue of the return
of refugees and displaced persons to their homes and
villages has imbued the international community with hope
and satisfaction. However, the whole world has seen
shocking images of the crimes of ethnic cleansing and the
terrorizing of innocent people and of the human suffering
that has beset the people of Kosovo, including the
displacement of about one million Kosovars, mass graves
and the destruction of villages and homes. It is incumbent
upon the international community to unfailingly guard
against and to address the causes of the phenomenon of
racism and all its manifestations.
In view of its keen interest in the maintenance of
international peace and security, the State of Bahrain calls
upon the United Nations and the international community
quickly to intensify their efforts, in cooperation with the
competent regional organizations, to settle the ongoing
conflicts in various regions and among a number of States.
These include the tense situation between Ethiopia and
Eritrea and internal strife in Afghanistan, Somalia, the
Democratic Republic of the Congo, East Timor and other
parts of the world.
Other sources of concern are the phenomena of
terrorism, violence, organized crime and related activities
such as transnational drug and weapons trafficking that
continue to pose a threat to all societies. To address these
problems the State of Bahrain supports the call by the Arab
Republic of Egypt for the convening of an international
conference, under the auspices of the United Nations, with
a view to drawing up a comprehensive strategy to combat
and eliminate these phenomena.
Since the end of the Second World War, the world
economy has experienced tremendous changes on the
international trade landscape, including the emergence of
giant trade conglomerates and a revolution in the fields of
technology, information and communications.
About half a century after the establishment of the
International Monetary Fund (IMF), the World Bank and
the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT), the
international community was able to establish the World
Trade Organization (WTO) in order to undertake the
responsibility of establishing frameworks for world trade in
the forthcoming decades. Now, with the advent of the
twenty-first century and the rise of economic
globalization, the international community has to set
ambitious goals, most notable of which are the eradication
of poverty and the pursuit of economic and social
development.
Although the positive and constructive position taken
recently by the Group of Eight regarding the settlement of
the problems of indebtedness has created an atmosphere
of confidence and satisfaction, two important points
should be stressed. First, the burden of repaying the
remaining balances and the servicing of debts should not
interrupt the growth and integration of the national
economies concerned into the world economy. Secondly,
it is essential to create a favourable environment for the
promotion of economic and trade cooperation between
States on the basis of equality and mutual benefit and
within a framework of transparency of capital markets, in
addition to facilitating the transfer of technology and
encouraging international investment, which would
enhance development and growth for all, as well as
facilitating the equitable integration of the economies of
developing countries into the world economic system.
This will enable the world economy to avoid any other
shocks that are liable to have a universal impact.
The State of Bahrain is pleased and willing to
contribute to international efforts aimed at achieving
increased international economic cooperation, due to its
stability and strategic location, and the trade and
investment environment it enjoys — elements that have
helped it attract foreign capital and enhance its standing
as an advanced financial and commercial centre.
With the imminent approach of a new century, the
world has witnessed major historical changes precipitated
by technological and scientific advances, a
telecommunications revolution, a rapid flow of
information, a trend towards open global markets and a
widening scope of interaction between nations, cultures
and civilizations. All this serves as a harbinger signalling
the advent of a better world for humanity as a whole. Yet,
while we appreciate the positive aspects of such advance,
we are duty-bound to warn against the dangers that
accompany those positive aspects. Those dangers raise the
following questions.
To what extent can poor countries benefit from the
technological revolution? If they cannot, then the
revolution will serve only to widen the gap between the
poor and the rich. To what extent can scientific advance
20

and globalization solve the various environmental problems
that endanger the entire world, if such a solution is not
linked to solving the problems of development in poor
countries, on the one hand, and to curbing and rationalizing
consumer and welfare trends in rich countries, on the other?
To what extent can globalization of capital flows and
markets facilitate the flow of investments into developing
countries and boost their export capacities in a manner that
would enhance the development of their economies and
their contributions to the world economy? To what extent
can the potential of such advance and globalization be
utilized to help prevent the proliferation of weapons of
mass destruction, address ethnic conflicts, settle disputes
and eliminate the threat of international terrorism? To what
extent can this advance and globalization be utilized to
enhance opportunities for improving the quality of
education, culture and worldwide intercultural knowledge,
with a view to upholding the ideals of peace, equality and
brotherhood among the entire human race?
With the advent of the third millennium, it behoves us
to consider and reflect upon the accomplishments of
humanity, on the one hand, and the horrible human
suffering that has beset thousands of individuals as a
consequence of disputes, conflicts and poverty, on the
other. We believe that the United Nations is the principal
forum for such reflection and consideration so that solutions
can be found for these disputes and conflicts. It is Bahrain’s
conviction, in this connection, that the international
community can enhance its standing and its values during
the next millennium and ensure a better destiny for itself,
through the achievement of peace, security, solidarity and
cooperation within a framework of universal human
partnership and pluralism. Bahrain regards these elements
as essential for the survival of the planet and calls for
strengthening the role of the United Nations system, as it is
the trustworthy custodian of our accomplishments and
aspirations, so that it can carry out its task to the fullest
extent. We are confident that mankind can reach higher
levels of advancement, development and growth through
coordination and cooperation within the United Nations and
other regional organizations. It is our hope that the new
millennium will usher in a new era of abundance wherein
the world will be endowed with security, peace and
stability.


Allow me at the outset to congratulate you warmly,
Mr. President, on your well-deserved election and to assure
you of the delegation of Monaco's full cooperation in
assisting you in the discharge of your lofty mandate. Your
role in your country's exemplary struggle for independence
and for the dignity of the Namibian people are deeply
meaningful for us.
I should like also to thank the members of the General
Assembly for entrusting to my country one of the vice-
presidencies of this fifty-fourth session, at the same time as
Monaco is commemorating the fiftieth anniversary of the
accession of His Most Serene Highness Prince Rainier
III — my father. I wish to assure the Assembly that the
delegation of Monaco will strive to be worthy of this
honour and to work closely with the other members of the
Bureau — whom I congratulate on their election — and the
members of the Assembly, to ensure that this session, the
last of the century, produces effective, concrete and
tangible results.
I avail myself of this opportunity to thank also
Mr. Didier Opertti, President of the fifty-third session of
the General Assembly, for his dedication and accessibility
and for the competence and diplomatic skill with which
he guided our work.
I should like also to congratulate and warmly
welcome the three new States Members of the United
Nations — the Republic of Kiribati, the Republic of
Nauru and the Kingdom of Tonga. The Government and
people of Monaco are particularly pleased to greet these
three countries of the Pacific, with which we share a
number of concerns about the protection of the oceans
and seas. We assure them of our readiness to enter into
and develop a solid and fruitful cooperation with them.
Finally, I should like most sincerely to express my
satisfaction, as many have already done from this rostrum,
at the resumption of the peace process in the Middle East
and the immense hopes to which it has given rise.
Since the general debate of the previous session,
many distressing events have unfolded, some of which
have had serious consequences that will last for years.
The conflict in Kosovo, with the thousands of refugees
and the massive suffering that it caused, was one of the
most obvious. The whole of the United Nations system
was mobilized, in a way that has certainly never happened
before, to assemble the resources required to come to the
aid of the populations in distress. The armed intervention
and the decisive role played by the International Criminal
Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia at The Hague, brought
to bear in defence of the principles of humanity and
human rights, seem to foreshadow a strengthened
determination on the part of the international community
to enforce respect for the fundamental values of justice
and human dignity that inspired the San Francisco
Charter.
We offer our sincere encouragement to the United
Nations Interim Administration Mission in Kosovo as it
strives, despite the major difficulties in its way, to
implement the provisions of Security Council resolution
1244 (1999). We wish courage, perseverance and success
to the men and women responsible for carrying out that
noble mandate of ensuring security, extinguishing the
flames of hate and restoring good-neighbourly relations
among the communities.
12

I should also like to emphasize the crucial role played
by the United Nations in holding the election on self-
determination in East Timor and in the protection operation
that our Organization has recently launched to come to the
aid of the civilian population there. We are following
developments on the ground extremely carefully, and we
hope that implementation of Security Council resolution
1264 (1999) will proceed without hindrance or delay.
In this context, we should recall the very enlightening
debate held by the Security Council on 12 February on the
issue of the protection of civilians in armed conflict, during
which the subject of internal conflicts, which have now
become more numerous than those between States, was
discussed at length. It was recalled that such conflicts fall
under the purview of the 1949 Geneva Conventions, whose
fiftieth anniversary we have just commemorated, especially
the provisions of the Fourth Convention. Article 3, which
is common to all four instruments, imposes rules of conduct
that are binding on the High-Contracting Parties, whatever
the circumstances and nature of the conflict. That article
categorically prohibits any kind of attack on the life and
physical and moral integrity of the person, as well as the
passing of sentences and the carrying out of executions
without previous judgement or indispensable judicial
guarantees.
On 16 and 17 September, a further debate took place
in the Security Council on the same issue, the positive
result of which was the adoption of resolution 1265 (1999),
which makes considerable demands on both States and the
international community as a whole. It stresses in particular
that it is incumbent on States to put and end to impunity
and to prosecute those responsible for genocide, crimes
against humanity and serious violations of international
humanitarian law. The Principality of Monaco unreservedly
endorses these recommendations, which we consider to be
extremely important.
We have very high hopes for the establishment of the
International Criminal Court as a means of better
preventing war crimes and crimes against humanity. The
Principality of Monaco was one of the first signatories of
the Statute, which was adopted last year.
In Kosovo, in East Timor and in conflicts that are
often forgotten or that receive no recognition, particularly
those in Africa, it is the weakest and the most vulnerable,
particularly children, who suffer most. With the tenth
anniversary of the United Nations Convention on the Rights
of the Child taking place on 20 November, it is up to us
now more than ever to see to it that children, in peace as
well as in war, are strictly protected from all forms of
violence and subjugation. Following on from the
presidential statement of June 1998, Security Council
resolution 1261 (1999), adopted on 25 August, will, we
hope, make a decisive contribution to resolving the
distressing problem of the fate of children in times of
armed conflict.
My country, which is committed to that end, has
been host to a number of international non-governmental
organizations dedicated to the protection of children.
These associations are working hand in hand with the
United Nations specialized agencies. For its part, the
Principality of Monaco is actively contributing on a
regular basis to steps taken to improve the lot of the most
disadvantaged children.
Just as children need to be protected, women, too,
deserve the keenest attention from the international
community. Many forms of discrimination and
injustice — indeed, cruelty — including genital
mutilation, which is the cause of much pain and
humiliation, are still too often tolerated. They represent a
number of obstacles to women's achieving their full
potential. In a report recently submitted to the
Subcommission on the Promotion and Protection of
Human Rights, a non-governmental organization known
for its competence and precision denounced the
unacceptable treatment still being endured by women in
many countries, be they young girls, wives or mothers. I
should like in this connection to emphasize the high
regard in which we held the high-level debate that took
place in the Economic and Social Council last July on the
role of jobs and work in the elimination of poverty,
emphasizing in particular the advancement of women.
Women's access to jobs, as well as to education and
professional training, has been widely encouraged. It is
one of the areas of concern of the Government of the
Principality, which is taking specific measures in the
social and educational fields in order to deal with the
issue. Respect for equality between men and women in
daily life, as well as in the development of their
professional careers, in both public and private sectors, is
essential if we are to improve the situation of women and
combat the precariousness and poverty that often affect
them much more than men. We are particularly aware of
that. The substantial involvement of women in political
and economic decision-making can also contribute to
ensuring greater social justice, while stimulating and
balancing the economy. The authorities of my country are
convinced of this and are striving to take steps to adjust
13

and complete the legislation of Monaco so as to ensure that
in every respect it is in conformity with the requirements of
the United Nations Convention on the Elimination of All
Forms of Discrimination against Women, so that Monaco
can soon become a party to that essential instrument.
Because of the complexity and irrevocably globalized
nature of today's economy, it has become necessary, now
more than ever, to achieve greater balance at both the
national and international levels. Existing inequalities,
whatever their origin, must necessarily be reduced to make
sure that the dangerous gap separating the industrialized
countries from the most disadvantaged countries does not
grow wider. The Ministers of Economics and Finance of 44
States and Governments members of the International
Organization of La Francophonie were able to devote
themselves to that subject during their first meeting, which
took place in Monaco on 14 and 15 April last.
Those leaders, like those who met in Geneva at the
July substantive session of the Economic and Social
Council, recognized that globalization, if poorly controlled,
could have serious consequences for the future of all
nations. Stepped up trade and investment, and the adoption
of policies of liberalization — sure engines of growth —
have not yet enabled everyone to enjoy significant
development. We must guard against some being barred
from progress and from the benefits of the major trends in
the world economy, something that could have serious
consequences.
Aware of that danger and of the deterioration in
international relations it could cause, ministers of the
economy or of finance of Francophone countries, meeting
in Monaco, recognized the need for better supervision of
the human and social effects of ongoing economic
processes, including structural adjustment policies. They
stressed the importance of maintaining, or indeed
increasing, official development assistance, while adopting
appropriate measures to encourage private investment. They
indicated their grave concern at the unbearable burden of
external debt for many countries. The Government of
Monaco shares that grave concern.
The Monaco Declaration issued at the end of their
meeting by ministers of the economy or of finance of
Francophone countries solemnly recalled the fundamental
link among economic development, democracy and good
governance. The Declaration stressed the importance of
upcoming multilateral trade negotiations, noted the mission
of the World Trade Organization to encompass all members
of the international community, and stressed the importance
of improving the international trading system so that it
will make a greater contribution to sustainable
development and to meeting the real expectations of
peoples. It also invited the world financial community to
maintain its assistance to development, through both
official and private contributions.
The Principality of Monaco, which joined the
Intergovernmental Agency of La Francophonie in
organizing this first meeting, is committed to contribute
actively to implementing the Monaco Declaration and to
encourage the establishment of a permanent Francophone
centre for gathering and exchanging economic
information; the recent summit of heads of State or
Government of Francophone countries, held at Moncton,
Canada, from 3 to 5 September, agreed to establish such
a centre in Monaco.
Supported by many world leaders, the Jubilee 2000
campaign to cancel debts that the poorest countries are
finding it difficult to repay enjoys wide backing. Given
certain modifications, it seems to us to be of great
interest, if only because it will enable countries
experiencing great difficulties to resume unhindered
progress towards development. Here, my country's leaders
are duly appreciative of the decision taken at Cologne last
June by the heads of State or Government of the seven
major industrialized countries and of Russia to reduce
significantly the external debt of some 40 such countries.
I reaffirm Monaco's unswerving determination to
meet its international obligations and its firm commitment
to the values of human rights and humanitarian principles,
and wish to affirm that the highest authorities of my
country are devoting close attention to progress in the
sphere of disarmament. The limitation and reduction of
nuclear weapons is a constant concern of the Government
of the Principality. In our view, universal ratification of
the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons
(NPT) — which, to our great satisfaction, was indefinitely
extended in 1995 — should be promoted, as should the
complete application of the comprehensive safeguards
system of the International Atomic Energy Agency,
whose remarkable International Laboratory of Marine
Radioactivity we have been honoured to host since 1986.
The year-2000 conference of States parties to the
NPT will be decisive. Here, my country praises those
countries, some of them close friends, that have made
major sacrifices to dismantle a portion of their nuclear
arsenals while taking great care with the processing of the
fissile materials extracted from them. We unreservedly
14

share the view of Governments that favour the formulation
and adoption of international rules to prohibit the
production of fissile materials intended for the production
of nuclear weapons and explosives.
The Government of the Principality considers that
controls intended to prevent transfers of materials and
equipment that could be used for the manufacture of
nuclear weapons should be strengthened, but it strongly
favours improved international cooperation for the peaceful
uses of nuclear energy — given, of course, all the
necessary precautions with respect to environmental
protection.
The Principality of Monaco earnestly hopes for an
early end to all nuclear-weapons tests; the threat that these
weapons pose to mankind has often, and rightly, been
denounced. We are convinced that the accession of all
Powers to the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty
(CTBT) — which my father, the reigning Prince, ratified on
20 November 1998 — would be a giant step towards
limiting these dreadful weapons of mass destruction. As a
party to the CTBT, the Principality would wish to see
greater commitment to that important treaty. We welcome
the existence of nuclear-weapon-free zones established on
the basis of arrangements freely entered into by the States
of various regions, and hope that strengthening confidence
and international security will ultimately lead to the spread
of such zones.
Let me recall the keen interest of the Principality of
Monaco in the implementation of the 1993 Paris
Convention on the Prohibition of the Development,
Production, Stockpiling and Use of Chemical Weapons and
on Their Destruction, to which my country has been a party
since 1 June 1995, and of the 1972 Convention on the
Prohibition of the Development, Production and Stockpiling
of Bacteriological (Biological) and Toxin Weapons and on
Their Destruction, our instrument of accession to which was
deposited on 30 April 1999.
My country welcomes the measures adopted at
Maputo, Mozambique, last May, at the first Meeting of
States Parties to the Convention on the Prohibition of the
Use, Stockpiling, Production and Transfer of Anti-personnel
Mines and on Their Destruction, which entered into force
in Monaco on 15 March 1999.
Engaged from the very beginning in the fight against
these deadly devices, which strike hardest at civilian
populations, particularly the elderly, women and children,
Monaco signed and quickly ratified this instrument. My
country is fully determined to continue its efforts to
contribute to eliminating these weapons once and for all.
When, on 12 November 1998, the Principality of
Monaco signed the International Convention for the
Suppression of Terrorist Bombing, it wanted to make a
formal commitment and to place clearly on record its
position in this regard. Through me, Monaco confirms
that decision before the Assembly, once again
condemning all forms of terrorism, which blindly and
mercilessly strikes too many innocents, as we have had
occasion once again to note recently.
In this spirit, it is appropriate to pay a special tribute
to the United Nations Mission in East Timor for the role
it is playing and for the courage its representatives are
displaying, notably the members of the international staff
that remained in place under the gravest of threats.
In this connection, I should like once again to
forcefully reaffirm our complete solidarity with United
Nations personnel, some of whom this year have lost their
lives, been injured, or suffered violence and other grave
offenses. Monaco, which was among the first countries to
ratify the Convention on the Safety of United Nations and
Associated Personnel, deplores in the strongest terms and
condemns without reserve the inadmissible acts of
aggression and intimidation of which they have been
victims. We take this opportunity to salute the first among
United Nations personnel, the Secretary-General, who
enjoys our highest esteem for his actions at the head of
the Organization, particularly during periods of crisis and
in the extremely difficult circumstances with which he is
regularly confronted.


I am pleased to convey
to the President on behalf of the delegation of Gabon, our
warmest congratulations on his well-deserved election to the
presidency of the General Assembly at its fifty-fourth
session. In addition to the tribute his election pays to
Namibia, it is eloquent testimony to both his personal and
professional qualities. We hardly need to point out that he
was one of the principal architects of Namibia's
independence. Today, the President has the honour of
presiding over the last Assembly session of the century and
of leading the United Nations towards the new millennium.
Allow me through you to assure him of my delegation's
complete and wholehearted cooperation.
To his predecessor, Mr. Didier Opertti, Minister for
Foreign Affairs of Uruguay, I extend my deepest gratitude
for the work accomplished during his term of office.
I congratulate the Secretary-General for his initiatives
and actions towards peace and security worldwide.
To the three new Member States, the Republic of
Kiribati, the Republic of Nauru and the Kingdom of Tonga,
which have just joined the great United Nations family, I
convey my warmest congratulations.
I am convinced that this session will enable us to
share our thoughts on the increasingly complex challenges
that our Organization must face if it is to create the
necessary conditions for the maintenance of international
peace and security and for economic and social
development.
We are entering a major period of transition marked
by the end of one century and the beginning of another,
so it is beyond necessary for the international community
to see to it that the new millennium is spared the scourges
that sap humankind's strength.
During this century that is now coming to its end,
the world has undergone a rapid acceleration in the pace
of history and a thorough transformation as a result of
combined effects of the explosion in the numbers of new
technologies, the expansion of trade and the breathtaking
increase in the role played by markets. The scale of this
transformation, which affects all aspects of people's lives,
is today so great that no nation can escape its influence.
Unfortunately, nations are not all in the same boat:
some steadily accumulate progress and prosperity while
others seem destined to a bottomless pit of destitution. I
am thinking here specifically about the African countries
which, unlike the rest of the world, have not yet taken
advantage of the profound changes in the world, and
whose access to the so often trumpeted shared prosperity
is denied. I am thinking also about one and a half billion
men and women around the world who live on less than
a dollar a day, and the billion adults who can neither read
nor write. I am thinking too about the 300 million
Africans who eke out their lives in a state of abject
poverty on the outer margins of the global village.
Add to this bleak picture the heavy burden of debt,
which is strangling our economies, compromising any
attempt at development and reducing us to the level of
modern-day slaves at the tender mercy of our creditors.
The budgetary resources allocated to service external
debt overwhelm all efforts to meet the most basic needs
of our people. It is therefore crucial that the recurring
problem of debt should be considered not only in terms
of socio-economic indicators but also taking into account
a State's efforts to combat poverty.
While welcoming the recent initiative undertaken at
Cologne by the Group of Seven and Russia with a view
to cancelling the debt of the most heavily indebted
countries, the Government of Gabon is nevertheless
disappointed by the fact that the eligibility criteria for
those countries are so restrictive; for it must be recalled
that debt, like poverty, is a constant threat to the stability
22

of States. Therefore, the burning question of global
proportions that we must all face is how to take advantage,
both individually and collectively, of the current prodigious
global prosperity and the enormous accumulation of wealth
created by globalization in order to substantially reduce the
poverty of nations and of their people.
As the Minister Fischer of Germany said recently,
“Africa must not be a loser in globalization. The
rich countries of the North have not only a duty, but
also an interest, in assisting their poorest neighbours
in the southern hemisphere to seize the opportunities
that globalization offers them and to allow them to
participate more equitably in the global economy”.
My country feels that the time has come for the
international community to seriously tackle the unavoidable
problem of the eradication of poverty, at least in its most
extreme form. We share the firm conviction that our
Organization must promote, in the words of the Charter,
“higher standards of living, full employment, and
conditions of economic and social progress and
development”.
This would be the first step towards eliminating the
imbalances that are among the underlying causes of many
conflicts around the world, for a world in which some make
progress while others fall behind carries within it the seeds
of its own instability. Can we therefore move towards a
new concept of the idea of security that no longer focuses
on the security of nations alone, but that focuses above all
on the well-being of peoples? The sine qua non condition
for sparing future generations from the scourge of war is to
move from a culture of war towards a culture of peace.
There are genuine reasons to be concerned about peace
and stability in the world. Maintaining international peace
and security, a task assigned to our Organization, has been
severely put to the test by the outbreak and persistence of
a number of crises. In this regard, Africa has become the
main theatre of these devastating crises, which result in
countless victims, refugees and displaced persons.
In spite of this regrettable situation, we have seen
some encouraging signs concerning the restoration of peace
in certain African subregions. The recent signing of the
peace Agreement by all the parties to the conflict in the
Democratic Republic of the Congo, including all the rebel
movements, now opens up the way for a lasting settlement
of the conflict. We urge all the parties to translate into
action the will they expressed in signing the Lusaka
Agreement on 10 July 1999. It is now urgent for the
international community, and for the Security Council in
particular, to take the necessary steps for the full
implementation of the Agreement without delay.
In the neighbouring Republic of the Congo, the
authorities have again recently expressed their willingness
to engage in dialogue with the opposition. In return, the
opposition has also made clear its intention to take part in
an inter-Congolese dialogue in order to achieve lasting
peace.
The recent Lomé Agreement on Sierra Leone is also
a positive sign of a return of lasting peace to that country.
My country is pleased with the resumption of the
peace process in the Middle East and urges the complete
application of the Wye Plantation agreements, as well as
full compliance with the agreements signed in the past.
Despite all of this progress, we cannot overlook the
fact that important efforts still have to made in Angola as
a result of UNITA's refusal to implement the Lusaka
agreements.
Likewise, despite the prospects that are beginning to
appear, the border dispute between Ethiopia and Eritrea
still remains a burning issue.
According to the most recent report of the Secretary-
General, Somalia is, unfortunately, still without State
institutions. The time has come to reintegrate that country
into the concert of nations.
Guaranteeing lasting peace and security is today a
collective matter. Although the primary responsibility for
the maintenance of peace falls to the Security Council, it
is appropriate for the United Nations to encourage the
development of regional peacekeeping and security
mechanisms, in accordance with Chapter VIII of the
Charter. Significant progress has been made in Central
Africa in preventing and managing conflicts within the
framework of the United Nations Standing Advisory
Committee on Security Questions in Central Africa. The
implementation of the early-warning mechanism and the
creation of the high council for peace and security in
Central Africa are perfect examples of this.
It is also worth mentioning the joint military
exercises to be held by the member States of the
Committee in Gabon during the first half of the year 2000
23

to simulate peacekeeping operations. Furthermore, in
preparation for the military exercises that will be held in
Gabon within the framework of strengthening African
peacekeeping capabilities, a military-diplomatic seminar
took place in Libreville in June 1999, with the participation
of 51 countries and international organizations.
In the last few weeks, the Security Council has held
public debates on such vital topics as children and civilians
in armed conflicts. And five days ago, I had the honour of
participating in another public debate of the Security
Council on small weapons. This matter is part of the United
Nations efforts to work towards complete disarmament.
Indeed, the illegal circulation of massive quantities of light
and small-calibre weapons in the world hampers
development and represents a real threat to international
peace and security. The nature of these weapons
unfortunately helps fuel the sad and widely condemned
phenomenon of the use of children as combatants in the
many conflicts that break out around the world. The same
applies to large-scale banditry.
In any case, we cannot envision a world at peace if
the international community does not actively mobilize to
help developing countries emerge from the vicious circle of
underdevelopment-violence-underdevelopment. If luck has
heretofore spared us from the horrors of war, Gabon is not
immune to the backlash of the armed conflicts that plague
some of our neighbours. As Security Council resolution
1208 (1998) clearly indicates, asylum countries pay a heavy
price for their solidarity with people driven out of their
homes as a result of combat. The consequences of refugee
flows on the security, environment and economies of host
countries are sometimes incalculable, especially when the
presence of combatants among the refugees is used as an
excuse for troops to carry out raids in the host country.
Even though we live in peace and have never
experienced a domestic or inter-State war, Gabon
nevertheless shoulders its share of the burdens of war. We
are facing massive migratory flows that are leading to
serious internal upheavals, and we recently welcomed some
50,000 refugees.
Given the extent of the situation, for which my
country was not prepared, the President of the Republic of
Gabon organized on 11 August last a mini-summit in
Libreville with the participation of a number of his peers
from the subregion. That summit considered the possibility
of Africans' taking greater control of the question of
refugees and displaced persons, with the support of the
international community.
On that occasion, President Bongo proposed the
creation of an African agency for emergency humanitarian
intervention. I would urgently appeal to the international
community to provide greater assistance to African
refugees. We strongly hope that an emergency programme
can be set up that would relieve their suffering and
facilitate their return to their country of origin. The
international community has the means to do so, as it has
proved in other situations.
I would like to take advantage of this opportunity to
pay warm tribute to Mrs. Sadako Ogata, United Nations
High Commissioner for Refugees, who, during the
international action taken in favour of Kosovo, heightened
the international community's awareness of the particular
situation of African refugees.
Let me now tackle the question of development from
the perspective of my country's experience. As in other
African countries, the socio-economic situation of Gabon
is precarious. I shall not then resort to clichés such as
saying that my country is an “African emirate” because of
our potential in raw materials, to the extent that today we
are the only sub-Saharan nation to be classified by
international financial and monetary institutions as an
upper-middle-income country. As a result, we are denied
access to flexible conditions for our loans and for our
debt service.
However, the Human Development Index, which
places us in 124th place, clearly shows that Gabon is in
a very similar situation to that of other African countries.
That is why we have undertaken all of the necessary
structural reforms to join the global economy and to
participate in subregional and regional integration. We
have liberalized our economy by lifting tariff and non-
tariff barriers and restrictions as well as by instituting
customs and tax reform. We have privatized our principal
semi-public corporations in order to make them more
effective and competitive. We have created a new
juridical and institutional environment that is stable and
will encourage investment and promote the expansion of
the private sector. Finally, we have set up effective
provisions for cooperation and regional integration in the
framework of the Economic and Monetary Community of
Central Africa and of the Economic Community of
Central African States.
The stage has been set, but the actors — meaning
the investors — have not yet made their entrance. Foreign
direct investment has thus far systematically avoided our
continent.
24

We feel, however, that the world economy stands to
gain by taking advantage of the immense potential of the
African market, which will soon have a billion consumers
in a continent that is overflowing with oil, gold, diamonds
and other raw materials required by industries of the North.
My country's leadership is dedicated to the promotion
of democracy and the institutions that guarantee it— hence
all of the political changes we have experienced and are
experiencing, which have made Gabon an example of a
smooth transition from a single-party regime to political
pluralism.
It is against this backdrop that recently, in the
presence of international observers and for the second time
since the advent of political pluralism, free and fair
presidential elections were held in my country. The
President of the Republic, El Hadj Omar Bongo, was re-
elected in a peaceful social and political context, a
guarantee of democratic legitimacy.
Democracy which is accompanied by good
governance, the rule of law and respect for human rights is
the most important factor in the transition towards a culture
of peace. For lasting peace is a prerequisite for the exercise
of all the rights and obligations of peoples, and it is the
only soil in which democracy and development can take
root.
It is therefore up to the United Nations system and its
Member States to ensure that these goals and principles, so
dear to us, become a reality for all in the new millennium.


My delegation is delighted to
congratulate the President on his election. My delegation's
hearty congratulations are made even warmer as he has the
privilege and the honour to take the fifty-fourth session, as
President of the General Assembly, from the twentieth into
the twenty-first century. A similar unique place in history
will not be observed for another hundred years. We are
confident, in view of his past heroic leadership of the South
West Africa People's Organization (SWAPO), and now as
the Foreign Minister of Namibia, he will conduct our
deliberations with vision and dynamism.
My delegation also wishes to express our grateful
appreciation to Mr. Didier Opertti of Uruguay for his skilful
and productive conduct of the proceedings of the General
Assembly at its fifty-third session.
My delegation welcomes to the family of nations the
Republic of Kiribati, the Republic of Nauru and the
Kingdom of Tonga and offers hearty congratulations.
As the curtain makes its slow descent upon the
twentieth century, bringing it to its inevitable close, there is
a prevailing mood of reflection and anticipation. Rightly so,
as a connection between past, present and future is being
made, for we cannot appreciate the present without
knowledge of the past if we hope to ensure the future. And
indeed, historically speaking, the past is never past, for
what is past is prologue.
In retrospect, for some developing countries the period
of the 1980s was considered a lost decade because of the
heavy burden of debt servicing, falling commodity prices,
negative economic growth, unemployment and structural
adjustment. In the 1990s, the catchwords seemed to be
“sustainable development”, “environmentally friendly”,
“good governance”, “globalization”, and “poverty
alleviation”. These phrases seem to be the legacy of the
cluster of United Nations summits of the 1990s: the
Conference on Environment and Development in 1992, on
Human Rights in 1993, on Small Island Developing States
in 1994, on Population and Development in 1994, on Social
Development in 1995, on Women in 1995, on Human
Settlements in 1996 and on Food Security in 1996. In all
these high-level meetings, the centrality of the human
person in sustainable social, economic, and cultural
development was emphasized.
Grenada believes that the concept of sustainable
development is shared responsibility on the part of
developed and developing countries. Its global character
must be recognized so that there can be more sharing of
knowledge, ideas, information and resources.
Consequently, the region from which I come, the
Caribbean, strongly urges our more developed partners
urgently to make available new and additional sources of
funding and technological transfer to enable us to comply
with the obligations the international Conventions demand
of us. In short, the concepts of the global village and
globalization should be premised on giving, caring and
sharing.
Sustainable development is not possible without
respect for the whole range of human rights — economic,
social, cultural, civil and political. Indeed, human rights
are meaningless in an environment of poverty and
deprivation. The United Nations High Commissioner for
Human Rights, Mrs. Mary Robinson, has said, aptly, that
perhaps the largest scale of human rights violations today
is the fact that one fifth of humanity lives in absolute
poverty. World Bank estimates reveal that over 35 per
cent of people in the Caribbean basin live below the
poverty line. This situation threatens the very existence of
civil societies there.
Moreover, the plight of certain small Caribbean
States is further compounded by the World Trade
Organization's inhumane rulings over the European Union
banana regime. We are still baffled over the attitude of
our traditional ally and certain friendly Latin American
countries over the modified version of the banana regime.
We are hopeful, though, that a satisfactory compromise
will be arrived at soon. If so, the economies of the small,
banana-producing countries would be saved from the
shocks of a banana industry become non-existent.
I stress that there is an urgent need to unite our
efforts in a common framework to alleviate the problems
associated with critical poverty in order to restore some
form of human dignity in our countries.
To the observer with no inside knowledge of the
working of the United Nations and its specialized
agencies, the series of meetings to review what has
already been reviewed, and perhaps in some cases already
implemented, seem as complex as quantum physics and
exercises in repetitive and confusing rhetoric.
Nevertheless, since the conceptual and structural
framework of sustainable development is shared
responsibility, my delegation is hopeful that the recently-
24

ended special session to review the implementation of the
1994 Barbados Programme of Action for the Sustainable
Development of Small Island Developing States has given
some impetus to the creation of this global partnership we
all desire. We are equally hopeful that the project proposals
submitted by Grenada will be favourably considered and
appropriate funding made available to execute them.
The Caribbean Sea is a unique body of water
bordering a large number of States, with overlapping
exclusive economic zones, vulnerable to the elements of
nature and also to man-made disasters. The Caribbean Sea
is indisputably the lifeblood of the countries of the
Caribbean Community — one half of whose population
lives on the coastline, where 20 per cent of the regional
gross domestic product is produced — and provides
employment for more than 25 per cent of the labour force
in tourism and the fishing industry. Sustainable
management and development of the Caribbean Sea and its
resources would benefit not only the Caribbean people but
also the international community as a whole.
Moreover, recognition of the Caribbean Sea as a
special area within the context of sustainable development
would provide the jurisdictional authority necessary to
control the passage of ships carrying toxic and hazardous
wastes and chemical and radioactive materials in Caribbean
waters. My delegation urges this special recognition of the
Caribbean Sea for all of the reasons I have stated.
We are mindful that we do not own the Earth; we are
simply holding it in trust for succeeding generations. We
are admonished not to treat the land with contempt and
remember that from it we came and to it we shall return.
Grenada is absolutely clear about its commitment to
the principles of the United Nations and therefore reveres
the ideals which informed those principles. Grenada thus
places a premium on fairness and justice in the conduct of
international affairs. It is in this context that the
Government of Grenada wishes to request that a fresh look
be taken at United Nations General Assembly resolution
2758 (XXVI) of 1971, as a matter of simple justice and
fairness to the people of the Republic of China. This
humanitarian-minded and democratically inclined country
has used its hard-earned resources to help developing
countries to help themselves, by providing training,
expertise and capital for developmental projects and other
forms of technical assistance in several critical areas. The
noble efforts of the Republic of China reminds one of the
great Chinese philosopher, Confucius, and his thoughts on
giving a man a fish and teaching a man to fish, Grenada
applauds the sacrifices of the Republic of China in this
regard.
Indeed, the Republic of China has wrought an
economic miracle, to the point where it is the fourteenth
most important trading country and its foreign reserves
rank among the top in the world.
The international community cannot simply ignore
the aspirations of such a dynamic and generous people,
and should thus ensure that the fundamental right of the
22 million people of the Republic of China on Taiwan to
participate in the activities of the United Nations be fully
respected.
Equally, in the name of humanity and justice,
Grenada calls for the lifting of the economic embargo
against the Republic of Cuba. World opinion is definitely
swayed towards this, and consequently overwhelming
support is given year after year to the relevant resolutions
at the United Nations on this issue. Sadly, though,
enforcement is still outstanding. As we are about to close
another chapter in the history of mankind, we appeal to
the Government of the United States of America to once
more take the lead in showing its humane qualities and
ease the pain and suffering of ordinary Cubans. It should
therefore suspend all sanctions unconditionally.
As we look to the new century we must urge that
there be a Middle East of peaceful coexistence,
particularly between Israel and the Palestinians.
We certainly hope that past events in the Balkans —
particularly in Yugoslavia — will not be repeated; and
that the principle of self-determination will be respected
globally, the situation in East Timor being a case in point;
that the various pockets of conflict around the world will
be resolved amicably; and that any changes contemplated
within the United Nations system will take into account
the concerns and aspirations of smaller nations.
Grenada believes that, with the collective efforts of
all States and the purposeful involvement of the United
Nations, democracy, social justice, good governance,
solidarity and the economic prosperity of all our Members
could be achieved.
25

Finally, my country extends its concern and sympathy
to the victims of the earthquake in Turkey and, more
recently, to our friends in the Republic of China on Taiwan,
a country so helpful to us in the promotion of sustainable
development.
We are also mindful of the situation in East Timor and
hope that as soon as order and security are restored,
independence, for which the majority voted, will take root.


In taking the floor
on behalf of the delegation of the Republic of Benin, I
would like first of all to express my heartiest
congratulations to the entire Bureau of the fifty-fourth
session of the General Assembly. I would also like to
express my satisfaction at seeing the Foreign Minister of
Namibia, Mr. Theo-Ben Gurirab, presiding over the
Assembly at this session, the last of the century and of the
closing millennium.
At a time when the United Nations more than ever is
called upon to act in the interest of the peace and well-
being of humankind, Benin takes pride in seeing a
representative of Africa holding that important post. I
would assure him of my delegation’s full cooperation and
support, for it will be under his enlightened presidency that
the Organization will stride forward into the twenty-first
century. We see this felicitous and remarkable coincidence
as a definite assurance of the success of the important
debates we will be holding and a sign of hope that the
decisions to be taken will so direct our actions as to ensure
that the coming century is one of peace, progress and
development, for the African continent in particular.
Allow me at this stage to pay tribute to Mr. Didier
Opertti, Minister for Foreign Affairs of Uruguay, for the
outstanding work he did in the service of the Organization
throughout the fifty-third session of the General Assembly.
I wish also to pay a highly deserved tribute to our brother,
Mr. Kofi Annan, the Secretary-General of the United
Nations, for the unstinting devotion that he has
demonstrated since his election and for the undeniable
successes that he has achieved for the United Nations in
particularly difficult circumstances.
I should like here to reaffirm the full support and
confidence of the Government of Benin as we pursue the
lofty and legitimate goal of giving the United Nations the
means of tackling the challenges that await us on the
threshold of the first century of the new millennium.
I should like also to congratulate and warmly
welcome the three new States Members of the United
Nations — the Republic of Kiribati, the Republic of
Nauru and the Kingdom of Tonga.
This session of the General Assembly is beginning
at a particularly important moment in the history of
humankind, for, after a century of deeds and events
fraught with all kinds of consequences, the entire
international community is preparing to move forward
into the first century of a new millennium. We who have
been privileged to witness this twofold historical
transition should not ignore the great responsibility that
we have borne throughout the century that is now closing
and the equal responsibility that we will have to shoulder
throughout the one that is about to begin.
The challenges that face us are many and range
across all human areas of activity. It is our conviction that
if we so desire, we can make the next century an era of
peace, security, development, understanding and concord
among peoples. In order to do this, we will have to
promote and strengthen worldwide cooperation, in
particular in tackling the serious problems that the century
that is now ending will have bequeathed to the one that
is now beginning.
Combating poverty should, it seems to me, be one of
our priorities, because poverty is a factor of
destabilization and a source of conflict and war,
particularly in Africa.
The holding of the millennium summit in September
2000 will be a historic opportunity for us to strive to
strengthen peace, security and stability, for which all
peoples of the world yearn.
We could hardly overemphasize the close
relationship among development, peace, security,
democracy and human rights, and we all share the
responsibility of day by day translating these words into
reality. We can overcome poverty.
30

The international community is in a position to put an
end to the atrocities and the savagery that have been on the
rise recently in all continents. To this end, it is essential for
the process of revitalization, restructuring and
democratization in the world Organization, begun under the
authority of the Secretary-General, to be continued so as to
enhance its effectiveness in carrying out the urgent tasks
that it will face at the beginning of the third millennium.
Benin is at peace within its borders, with its
neighbours and with the whole of the international
community. But we are seriously disturbed by the appalling
conflicts that continue to devastate and destabilize our
continent.
We are ready to continue to support the efforts of
Africa itself and those of the great Powers in the context of
the prevention, settlement and sustainable management of
conflicts.
Here I wish to pay tribute to the Organization of
African Unity (OAU) and certain subregional organizations
such as the Economic Community of West African States
(ECOWAS) and the Southern African Development
Community for their bold initiatives aimed at bringing
peace and security to Africa.
I have no wish to forget or to minimize the
contribution of other countries, but I wish in particular to
pay tribute here to the tremendous sacrifices made by the
peoples of West Africa and in particular by the people of
Nigeria in the context of the ECOWAS Monitoring Group
(ECOMOG) to help the West African subregion to put an
end to war and insecurity, which hamper development and
economic progress.
I wish also to welcome the bold resolutions adopted
by the Heads of States at the OAU Summit in Algiers, as
well as the initiatives of the subregional organizations in
West Africa and in the Great Lakes region, which attest to
strengthened political resolve to reverse the course of
events in a positive and constructive direction. These
endeavours deserve to be sustained and strengthened by
international solidarity.
The example of Kosovo is there to remind us of the
key importance of prompt and determined action on the
part of the international community in order to restore and
maintain peace. The distressing events in East Timor are
another eloquent example of this.
Allow me in all honesty to state here that human
rights are universal and indivisible. If we wish to build a
united and peaceful international community, let us not
introduce into the defence, protection and promotion of
human rights any conditionalities or preferences, be they
geographical, cultural, geostrategic or others.
In this age of rapid globalization, we must realize
that the risk of marginalizing the weakest economies and
the most vulnerable peoples is very real; it is a mortal
danger. Fortunately, there is still time to avert it. If we
are to succeed, our vision for the twenty-first century and
our prospects for the future must be clarified and
strengthened by the effective implementation of the
various plans and programmes of action adopted since the
beginning of this decade within the framework of the
United Nations system.
In this context, the situation of the developing
countries, the least developed countries in particular,
deserves more attention from the international community,
which should endeavour to create favourable conditions
for those countries to develop. In this respect, we cannot
evade the anguished question of the future of Africa on
the threshold of the third millennium, particularly given
the debt burden and the deterioration in the terms of
trade. These are sad realities which are killing at least as
many people as are dying from AIDS.
Fortunately indeed, Africa can cease to be the
continent of bad news. Today, it has the ability and the
will to make it so. Throughout the decade that is now
drawing to a close, the international community has
repeatedly stated that Africa must be a priority. Mindful
of the need for that continent to achieve economic
progress, the United Nations has worked out appropriate
strategies and embarked on specific development
programmes. But none of those initiatives will have any
impact on the development of the continent if African
countries themselves, supported by their development
partners, do not redouble their efforts to carry out the
necessary reforms and mobilize the necessary resources.
While we clearly reaffirm our own responsibility, we
must also say that for Africa better economic performance
necessarily involves a rapid and lasting solution to the
problems caused by external debt; inputs of the new and
additional financial resources required to meet the
growing need for funding; transfers of new and
appropriate technology; promotion of a genuine, open and
fair system of international trade; and appropriate
incentives for our efforts to diversify and modernize our
31

economies. What we need in this age of globalization is a
genuine solidarity pact.
This new partnership with Africa should set out to
enable all African countries to enjoy the benefits of
globalization. This implies mobilizing and pooling the
efforts of the whole international community, inspired by
the same vision of a common destiny and a new philosophy
of sharing. That vision of development prompted the
Government of Benin to host, in February 1999 in Cotonou,
a conference of United Nations Development Programme
Resident Representatives working in Africa to consider the
problems of development in Africa in the coming
millennium. The conference identified the major problems
that African countries face at the close of the twentieth
century: social and political upheaval; poverty; problems of
access in meeting essential social needs; population
pressure; the debt burden; and economic marginalization,
among others. The conference also highlighted the assets
and potential of the continent: significant natural and human
resources; cultural wealth; a spirit of sharing; and a sense
of solidarity.
Accordingly, the conference recommended another
approach for Africa's development, based on the promotion
of peace and security within and between States; real
integration of Africa into the world economy; and the
creation of an African regional observatory for
globalization. It would be regrettable if these highly lucid
and relevant analyses and findings came to nothing because
the United Nations Development Programme itself is stifled
by a lack of resources.
In keeping with those recommendations, Benin,
together with several other African countries, has
undertaken far-reaching political and economic reforms to
improve the living and working conditions of its people,
particularly those in rural areas. The measures include
action to stabilize public finances, liberalize the economy,
develop the private sector, stimulate economic growth,
combat corruption and preserve social peace and political
stability through the establishment of a State based on the
rule of law that respects democratic principles and
fundamental rights and freedoms.
Against that background we are striving, tirelessly and
resolutely, to ensure that the democratic process takes firm
root in Benin. Our young democracy has just successfully
completed an electoral process culminating in the renewal
of Parliament before the deadline set by the Constitution. In
a few months' time we will be holding local elections to
elect mayors and councillors to help entrench democracy
at the grass-roots level.
However, despite these significant efforts and
sacrifices, we know that our political and economic
structures will continue to be fragile and vulnerable so
long as poverty and disease continue to lay waste to our
towns and countryside, so long as HIV/AIDS is not
conquered or, at least, contained at the same levels as in
Europe and America, and so long as insecurity and
appalling internal and regional conflicts continue to undo
the work of the African peoples and enrich a few arms
manufacturers and traffickers.
I should like to extend the recognition and gratitude
of the people and Government of Benin to all its
development partners, to the Powers which have realized
that today poverty more than ever is a matter for all of
us, wherever it may be found, and that violations of
human rights involve us all wherever they may take
place. I wish once again to express our thanks to all those
who are assisting us in our activities aimed at making
Benin, indeed Africa in general, a haven of peace,
political stability and successful, integrated development.
During its fifty-first session, the General Assembly
accepted Benin's offer to hold the Fourth International
Conference of New or Restored Democracies and
encouraged it to do so, no doubt because of our efforts,
which I have just outlined, to maintain peace, democracy
and the constitutional rule of law. I am convinced that the
fourth International Conference of New or Restored
Democracies — the first that Africa will have the honour
and privilege of hosting, following the conferences held
in the Philippines, Nicaragua and Romania — will be an
opportunity for all the friends of Africa — indeed, all the
friends of democracy — to pool their experience and to
work together to consolidate a political system that,
32

unfortunately, is not yet the most widespread of
phenomena. The Cotonou conference, scheduled for early
December 2000, can have significance and impact only if
all democrats agree to make a sincere contribution; this
would enable democracy all over the world to take a crucial
qualitative leap forward.
For this reason, I fervently appeal to all those of
goodwill, and to all development partners eager that
democracy, the rule of law and good governance should be
solidly established in every one of our States and on all
continents, to lend their material and financial support and
their experience to the preparation, organization and
convening of the Cotonou conference. We earnestly hope
that the Cotonou conference will enable us to build on
existing achievements in the maintenance of international
peace and security.
Peace, security and sustainable human development
are the themes that my delegation would like to see as the
banner of this session of the General Assembly, the last
before the year 2000: peace above all, so that the founding
cry of this Organization, “never again”, may in the new
millennium become a reality for all peoples and for all
individuals.


As the curtain falls on
the twentieth century, this time-honoured institution, the
United Nations, rejoices in the presence of two
distinguished Africans at the helm. The outstanding
freedom fighter of Namibia, Mr. Theo-Ben Gurirab
occupies our presidential perch, while our principled,
purposeful and persuasive Secretary-General, Kofi Annan,
like the proverbial Ol’ Man River, keeps rolling along,
relentlessly serene in his pursuit of world peace and
human development. If Africa is the last impression of
the twentieth century, poetic justice demands that it must
be our first preoccupation in the twenty-first century. This
international forum must readjust the balance over
centuries. We must pay for our dereliction of duty over
Rwanda and the Congo. We must remove the remaining
vestige of apartheid, and we must make a quantum leap
in eliminating poverty and disease by addressing the
causes of poverty.
The Caribbean has always leapt over the restrictions
of size and resources to embrace the global vision of a
liberated world, and the liberation of Africa plays a
24

seminal role in this process. Caribbean thinkers such as
Padmore, C.L.R. James, Professor Arthur Lewis, Dr. Eric
Williams and Dr. Walter Rodney have all sought to
sensitize the world to the catalytic role which Africa must
play in global development.
We recognize, however, that an essential condition for
fulfilling this role must be the overcoming of the
underdevelopment that plagues that continent. But if we are
to progress in that direction, we must first boldly admit that
disunity among the countries of Africa has much to do with
this condition. In an era when other geographic regions and
continents have been uniting for economic advancement,
the African continent remains divided. The time has come,
therefore, for the Organization of African Unity (OAU) to
go further than just making declarations of unity. Pan-
Africanism must not continue to remain stunted, as it was
at the threshold of the sixties. African leaders and statesmen
must show the resolve and the unwavering character of
Nelson Mandela, and give African children, born and
unborn, hope in the future of Africa.
In this regard, the results of the recent Algiers summit
of the OAU are therefore most welcome, for the summit
has demonstrated a new sense of urgency and commitment
on the part of the new leaders of Africa. The United
Nations must not fail to support this progressive
development. For our part, Saint Lucia, mindful of the
African heritage of our people, will exhort our Caribbean
colleagues to consider applying for associate status with the
OAU and to consolidate further our solidarity in the
African, Caribbean and Pacific (ACP) forum.
Our call for unity is not being sent only to our
brothers in Africa. It goes out also to all developing
countries, be they in the Caribbean, Latin America, Asia or
elsewhere. If we in the developing world are to have a
better future in the new millennium, if we are to obtain any
benefits from the new international systems that are
evolving around us, we cannot depend only on the goodwill
of the countries of the developed world. There must be
unity of action and purpose among us; there must be an end
to the in-fighting, the skirmishes, and the wars between us.
The South-South Summit in Havana next year will provide
an excellent opportunity for cementing solidarity on issues
of common concern and deciding on a forward-looking
agenda for the development of our people.
In the Commonwealth Caribbean, we the members of
the Caribbean Community (CARICOM) can be proud of
the 25-year integration movement in which we have been
engaged. We are in the process of completing arrangements
for the creation of a single market and economy and for
the establishment of a Caribbean court of justice that will
be the final appellate court for CARICOM member
countries. But, certainly, we must recognize that while we
have made progress, we have not gone far enough. In
October, the heads of Government of the Caribbean
Community will meet in a special session in Trinidad and
Tobago to consider the future governance of the
Caribbean Community. We urge the leaders of
CARICOM, in what will be their final meeting of the
century, to take decisions on the future of CARICOM that
will erase from the memories of West Indian people all
the hurt, all the pain, all the disappointments of our failed
attempts at closer political union during this century. Let
the occasion for their October meeting be the springboard
that catapults West Indians into what will truly be a new
era. Let our people enter the new millennium with a
CARICOM that will be fully integrated, economically and
politically.
We can extend this tableau to embrace the Non-Self-
Governing Territories of our region. My Government was
pleased to have hosted, in May of this year, the annual
United Nations seminar of the Special Committee on
Decolonization to review the economic, political and
constitutional developments in the remaining small island
Non-Self-Governing Territories. This highly successful
seminar brought together representatives from
Governments and non-governmental organizations and
experts from the Caribbean and Pacific regions. This
important activity resulted in the adoption by the Special
Committee of targeted recommendations in the
furtherance of the decolonization of these Territories. To
this end, we strongly support a second decade on
decolonization to focus on the socio-economic, political
and constitutional development of the remaining small
island Territories, which are integral components of both
the Caribbean and the Pacific regions.
But the realization of these regional goals turns on
the full emergence of Cuba as a vital and creative force
in the integration and development of the Caribbean. This
emergence is frustrated by the inability of the United
Nations to harness the political will to remove the
inhumane sanctions imposed by the United States on the
Cuban people, despite the successive overwhelming votes
religiously taken every year in the Assembly. At the fifty-
third session of the General Assembly, 157 countries
voted in favour of resolution 53/4 to end the economic
embargo against Cuba. The totally callous disregard for
the cumulative will of the Assembly is the touchstone
which characterizes the relationship between the super-
25

Power leviathan and the 187 Lilliputian nations that talk
and vote in this forum. Where is the democracy of which
we speak? Where is the mutual respect for sovereign
nations? Where is the humanity?
The events in Rwanda, Kosovo and East Timor have
drawn serious lessons for the international community. The
spectre of an effete United Nations looking on helplessly
while Member nations intervene unilaterally is a nightmare
on the eve of the new millennium. It is for this reason that
Saint Lucia strongly supports the call by Secretary-General
Kofi Annan for the United Nations to be empowered to
take action, whether militarily or otherwise, to stop crimes
against humanity.
Saint Lucia remains concerned at the systematic
weakening and marginalization of the United Nations. In
this regard, attention is drawn to its operational activities
and its development programmes, particularly the United
Nations Development Programme (UNDP). We call on
donor countries to reconsider the effects of the budget cuts
on regional and country programmes.
We need a United Nations that not only carries out its
peacekeeping and humanitarian capacities, but one that also
plays a central role in the governance of globalization and
trade liberalization to ensure that globalization is about
development.
Our common humanity must demonstrate itself in our
prompt response to natural disasters in each other's
countries. The people of Taiwan have been the most recent
victims of devastating earthquakes, which claimed the lives
of thousands of innocent people. We commiserate with
them. It is at such critical moments that the spirit of
brotherhood must emerge. There was a surge of hope at the
news that the People's Republic of China had pledged
assistance to the Taiwanese across the Taiwan Strait. Let us
hope that the Creator is working in a mysterious way to
bring about the peaceful and mutually agreeable
reunification of the Chinese people on this occasion of the
fiftieth anniversary of China.
Our own island State of Montserrat continues to
struggle to recover from the destruction caused by volcanic
eruptions. Yet the international community continues to
exclude this small island from concessional assistance on
the basis of its high gross national product per capita,
calculated from its small population and inflows of
assistance, mainly from the United Kingdom. The United
Nations, in particular the Committee for Development
Policy, must take the lead role in the revision of the criteria
for concessional assistance to include vulnerabilities and
qualitative data including openness of the economy and
economic shocks. The sustainable development of small
developing countries will remain a dream unless these
fundamental structural and systemic biases are addressed.
Saint Lucia is particularly concerned about the
exclusion of transnational corporations from the rules of
engagement the World Trade Organization (WTO) sets
for trade, since a large percentage of the financing for our
development comes from trade in one commodity. Saint
Lucia will continue to call for an integrated approach to
the consideration of trade and finance in the context of
the upcoming conference on financing for development
and for the participation of all actors, including the
Bretton Woods institutions and the WTO, under the
leadership of the United Nations.
The dispute over the arrangements for the marketing
of bananas has been particularly distasteful. People in
member countries of the European Union are being
punished through sanctions by the United States for the
support of their Governments for the banana marketing
regime. That country continues to promote the interests of
its multinational companies involved in the banana trade
at the expense of smaller economies. There are at the
moment proposals on the table designed to put in place a
new WTO-compatible system for the marketing of
bananas in Europe. All parties, particularly producing
countries, are of the view that a tariff rate quota system
is the most viable regime for all concerned. A
continuation of the tariff rate quota is essential for
ensuring that the market continues to generate adequate
prices.
Yet the United States transnationals engaged in the
industry are instead promoting a simple or linear tariff
mechanism that will have disastrous effects for Caribbean
producers. Saint Lucia and other ACP countries have
expressed dissatisfaction with this recommendation. We
again implore all European Union member States to
revisit this choice and to consider its implications for
Saint Lucia and other ACP countries. We are inherently
unequal trading partners, and the WTO should not subject
small economies to liberalization and unbridled
competition on an equal footing with economies and
corporations far more advanced than they are and expect
them to survive. Saint Lucia again calls on the
international community, including the WTO, to
differentiate between trading partners and promote fair
trade through special and differential treatment, not on a
voluntary basis, but as a contractual obligation.
26

Saint Lucia has been in the forefront of the fight for
the survival of small island States. To quote the words of
the President of the United States in his recent address to
the Assembly,
“We must refuse to accept a future in which one part
of humanity lives on the cutting edge of a new
economy, while the other lives at the knife edge of
survival” (A/54/PV.6).
Globalization has left us on the knife edge of survival.
We are thankful to Europe for empathizing with our
vulnerabilities, and we regret that they have attracted the
wrath of sanctions for their pains. Between the rhetoric and
the reality lies the gaping wound of disillusion and despair.
President Clinton rightly posed the question:
“Will globalism bring shared prosperity, or will it
make the desperate of the world even more
desperate?” (supra).
Saint Lucia can confidently attest to the truth that the
small States and the developing world are desperate, and
that their desperation is compounded by the fact that the
global preoccupation with money and markets is fast
destroying the values and sacred norms in our respective
countries.
“Ill fares the land, to hastening ills a prey
Where wealth accumulates, and men decay”.
(Oliver Goldsmith, The Deserted Village)
The decadence and moral turpitude that has taken over
our paradise of an island is unbelievable. The conspiracy
that threatens to decimate our bananas has left us with
tourism as a strategy for diversification. The twin monsters
of drugs and crime promise to overrun us, and the filth that
spews from cable television pours into our homes. Some of
these homes are nothing more than vile little hovels whose
inhabitants are sustained at night by religion and
unemployed by day. The decay is all-pervasive, and women
from nearby territories are imported to ply their sordid trade
in strip-tease joints.
We have lost our innocence; this is the surest legacy
that globalization has visited upon us. We cannot be
swayed by the rhetoric of partnership when the relentless
logic of globalization is geared to decimate, to marginalize
and to eliminate. The developing world must focus closely
on the Seattle Round and ensure that the wide sweep of
liberalization and open markets does not wash us away. If
the dogmatism and inflexibility of powerful States threaten
our survival, then we must band together in a “Trade
Union of the Poor” to seek justice and humanity. No
poison is a necessary drink, and we cannot be expected to
swallow globalization's cup of hemlock for the greater
glory of the shapers of the new millennium. We want a
new millennium shaped by all Member States, addressing
the needs and interests of all, and beneficial to all.
We share our apprehension with this body. We will
work in the embrace of its wise Charter, but we would
describe globalization in the words of the Irish poet
William Butler Yeats:
“And what rough beast, its hour come round at last,
Slouches towards Bethlehem to be born?”
(The Second Coming)