Allow me at the
outset to congratulate His Excellency Mr. Theo-Ben
Gurirab, Foreign Minister of Namibia, on his election as
President of the fifty-fourth session of the General
Assembly. His talent, skills and experience in international
affairs guarantee the wise conduct and direction of this
session.
Our gratitude goes to the outgoing President, His
Excellency Mr. Didier Opertti.
Since the beginning of the fifty-third session of the
General Assembly, my country, Bosnia and Herzegovina,
has achieved remarkable progress in implementation of
the Dayton/Paris Peace Accords — progress, I might even
dare to say, that is encouraging. The progress is visible in
the further strengthening of peace, improvements in
efficiency and the stabilization not only of common
institutions but also of the institutions of both Entities as
well as of local government bodies. This progress is also
evident in the further promotion and affirmation of
democratic values, human rights and freedoms and even
in the return of displaced persons and refugees.
This progress has also been noted in numerous
reports by authoritative international representatives and
institutions from the Council of Europe, the European
Union, the Organization for Security and Cooperation in
Europe (OSCE), the High Representative and participants
in the Stability Pact Summit. All of them confirmed that
we have been moving in the right direction.
I do not want to suggest that the progress that has
been made is spectacular and that we in Bosnia and
Herzegovina, or the international players involved in my
country, are filled with great joy. Nonetheless, despite all
the criticism and all of the shortcomings, progress is
obvious, and that is a fact worthy of our attention, if for
no other reason than that it is proof that Bosnia and
Herzegovina is starting slowly and surely to move away
from political, humanitarian, economic and almost every
other form of stagnation. It is also proof that Bosnia and
Herzegovina is moving away from the state of deep
internal mistrust, doubt and reservation which has for a
long time existed between the two Entities and different
constitutive people, and between their political leaders and
representatives in common institutions. It is also a
reflection of the state of mind and general mood among
the citizens. I believe that it would not be too optimistic
to claim that those positive results and developments are
evidence of a higher potential and the growing will to
find a way out of the difficult and depressing state in
which Bosnia and Herzegovina was a prisoner for almost
a whole decade.
Of course, there are still many issues which we need
to work on regarding the Peace Agreement
implementation and the implementation of the conclusions
of the Peace Implementation Council contained in the
Bonn and Madrid documents, although it also cannot be
disputed that, unfortunately, we have reached unbalanced
results in the two Entities.
36

However, this year the common institutions of Bosnia
and Herzegovina have been working with greater
effectiveness, intensity and coordination. Furthermore,
272,000 displaced persons and 343,000 refugees have
returned to both Entities. However, the return remains one
of the most difficult and painful humanitarian, economic
and political issues, especially the so-called minority return.
On different levels, the minority return is still being slowed
down, manipulated, blocked and politically exploited.
However, we are not accepting the situation. Minority
return is not coming off our agenda; rather, it is
increasingly becoming an indicator of success,
demonstrating the capabilities and responsibilities of many
political leaders from the local to the State level. The public
at large — the voters — are monitoring and assessing this
process daily. The return of refugees under conditions set
by us is the barometer of reconciliation, respect for human
rights and stability in general.
Reform of the judicial system has also been initiated,
and it is aimed at the complete professionalization,
modernization and independence of judges and prosecutors,
in accordance with the norms and standards of the
democratic societies of contemporary Europe and the world.
The reconstruction of the Ministry of the Interior is also
under way, as well as the modernization, professional
training and education of local police. The recruitment of
policemen and policewomen reflects the demographic
picture of the population. Finally, there has also been
progress in cooperation with the International Criminal
Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia, although such
cooperation is still not complete in the region as a whole.
Starting with the current school year, children in the
schools of Bosnia and Herzegovina are attending classes in
accordance with new programmes which reflect the present
time and look to our common future. The school
programmes exclude contents which, according to the
common multinational commissions and international
representatives, could represent a threat and a danger to the
fragile confidence and understanding of the young
generations.
Significant results have been achieved through a
programme of economic and infrastructural reconstruction.
But the restoration of industrial capacity has brought it up
to only one third of its pre-war level. We still have a high
number of unemployed and socially dependent categories.
That is why Bosnia and Herzegovina will need international
assistance for a longer period of time. However, that would
be an investment not only in our future but in the future of
everyone.
Activities are under way in regulating the sensitive
but vital field of public information in both Entities. A set
of regulations on the organization and functioning of
broadcasting is in the process of being drawn up.
Significant measures have been undertaken in the sphere
of economic reform. In addition, the customs law has
entered into force, the reform of the banking system and
financial transactions has been launched and the first
results have been achieved in the privatization of small
enterprises. Preparations for the privatization of larger
public enterprises and industrial conglomerates, which
were an inheritance from the socialist period, are under
way.
Bosnia and Herzegovina is speeding up its activities
in these and many other areas as a reflection of its strong
orientation towards the building of democracy and civil
society, an open market economy and the enlargement of
human rights and, by doing so, it is meeting the
conditions for admission to the Council of Europe and
getting closer to the European Union and trans-Atlantic
institutions. Bosnia and Herzegovina has increased its
cooperation with the European Union and North Atlantic
groupings, at the same time benefiting from the various
forms of support and assistance that those institutions
have provided to us. In that regard, Bosnia and
Herzegovina was particularly encouraged by the adoption
last year of the European Union Declaration on special
relations with Bosnia and Herzegovina. The Consultative
Task Force established pursuant to that document has
intensified its work in assisting us to overcome a number
of technical, legal and organizational problems in the
relationship between Bosnia and Herzegovina and the
European Union. This has strengthened the functioning of
State and Entity institutions and is enabling us to
cooperate more successfully with the European Union.
For these and many other results which cannot be
mentioned because of the time limitations, we have to
thank the international community, which gave direct and
indirect assistance, and we are especially grateful to the
High Representative, who used his right to impose
solutions when we in Bosnia and Herzegovina were
unable to reach agreement through the normal democratic
process. All of those efforts should warn us that the
presence of the international community and its role in
Bosnia and Herzegovina is still indispensable; it remains
a guarantor that life in Bosnia and Herzegovina will move
towards normalization. I believe that one of the most
convincing pieces of evidence of the progress which we
are witnessing in Bosnia and Herzegovina was its
organization and hosting of the Summit of the Stability
37

Pact for South-Eastern Europe, which took place on 29 and
30 July this year in Sarajevo. As the Assembly may recall,
Sarajevo has hosted leaders of the States members of
European Union, the Russian Federation, Canada, the
United States of America, Japan, the Central and Eastern
European countries, the most important multilateral
institutions, such as this one, and, of course, the countries
of South-Eastern Europe — the very members of the
Stability Pact.
At that historic event, the common institutions of
Bosnia and Herzegovina, the bodies and organizations from
both Entities and many individual actors of all nationalities,
confirmed not only their abilities and their capabilities, but
also their belief in and readiness to make joint endeavours
in their respective and common interests. I am deeply
convinced that the numerous offers of congratulations and
recognition which were forwarded to us on that occasion
from the many prominent European and world heads of
State gathered in Sarajevo were more than a simple
expression of diplomatic courtesy.
As a unique contribution to the objectives of the
Stability Pact, Bosnia and Herzegovina and Croatia have
signed the border agreement, thereby removing this
sensitive issue from our respective agendas. We are
convinced that the Stability Pact and the declaration
adopted in Sarajevo have opened new perspectives to
Bosnia and Herzegovina, as well as to all the other
countries in the region. This has given birth to a stable and
definite solution to a series of catastrophic events of
Biblical proportions and the fast recovery of peoples and
countries that have paid an extremely high price for
ignorance, for political and military adventurism and for
flagrant violations of the norms of international relations
and international humanitarian law.
The guarantees of the success of the goals of the
Stability Pact — peace, prosperity and security for our part
of the world — indeed depend upon the determination and
preparedness of the European Union, the OSCE, the
Council of Europe, the United Nations and the North
Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO), as well as other
international organizations, institutions and regional
initiatives. The guarantee of their accomplishment also
depends upon the fact that the European Union and the
United States of America have made the Stability Pact a
priority in their new trans-Atlantic programme, and the
European Union and the Russian Federation have made the
Pact the priority in their political dialogue.
Bearing all of this in mind, we in Bosnia and
Herzegovina are determined to embrace the Stability Pact
in its entirety, to build on it and to accomplish our
objectives through concrete contributions to its success,
through our own initiatives and creative activities and
through the development of regional cooperation within
the framework of multilateral and bilateral agreements.
In that context, I wish from this podium once again
not only to reaffirm the indispensable role of the
Organization in the implementation of the Dayton/Paris
Agreement and the Stability Pact, but also to reiterate my
gratitude for all the efforts, contributions and many
sacrifices made for Bosnia and Herzegovina. We have
witnessed in this past decade the capabilities and
efficiencies of international organizations, and especially
of the United Nations. At the same time, unfortunately,
we have noticed some weaknesses and imperfections that
endanger the role of the Organization as a vital and
irreplaceable Organization for the twenty-first century.
I believe that none of us has any doubts that the
United Nations is ready and able to pursue its noble
mission to continue to strengthen and develop its purpose
and ideals in the coming century. Even if the United
Nations has not achieved all of its goals, it was able to
safeguard global peace, initiate and make possible
sustainable development, appease many injustices
worldwide and, on top of all that, to come to very clear
visions about its own reforms.
The United Nations started reforming itself several
years ago but has not yet finished this task. This path
should indeed be vigorously pursued. I am of the view
that if the United Nations had the courage to change the
world, it can and must find the determination to change
itself more quickly and to adapt itself to face the
challenges of the next century. The millennium summit
could be envisaged as a great opportunity for heads of
State and Government of Member States meeting in the
year 2000 to verify and adopt a large part of these
reforms.
Bosnia and Herzegovina has thus far been to a
greater or lesser extent an object of consideration within
many international organizations and forums. The time
and the context that dictated such a position are
fortunately coming to an end. We are now becoming
aware of the necessity of
38

taking a more active, creative and responsible role in
international relations. That is why we observe with a more
critical eye the duties that we have taken on as a full
member of the family of nations, but that we have not yet
carried out or accomplished fully. Such an orientation is
more a result of the fact that we feel more self-confident
and are more and more trustful towards our friends and
partners in the United Nations and other international
organizations, forums and initiatives. An expression of this
is the decision taken by Bosnia and Herzegovina to reduce
its military expenses by 15 per cent in the hope of giving
an example to other nations.
Allow me to conclude this statement by quoting a
brilliant diplomat who once said, “People and States act
wisely only after they have exhausted all other
alternatives.”


I am honoured to be
afforded this opportunity to extend my delegation’s
congratulations to Mr. Gurirab and his country, Namibia, on
his election to the high office of President of the General
Assembly at its fifty-fourth session. His considerable
diplomatic experience is well known, and there is little
doubt that the affairs of this session will be conducted with
expeditiousness, skill and competence. At the same time, I
wish to express my delegation’s appreciation and gratitude
to his immediate predecessor, Mr. Didier Opertti, for the
able manner in which he presided over the fifty-third
session.
Let me extend my delegation’s thanks to our
Secretary-General, Mr. Kofi Annan, for the excellent and
exemplary leadership qualities he has displayed during this
critical period for the United Nations and the international
community. The Commonwealth of Dominica welcomes
and congratulates the three new Member States — Kiribati,
Nauru and the Kingdom of Tonga — on their admission to
the United Nations. We pledge to work with them on
matters of mutual interest.
I take this opportunity to convey my country’s deepest
condolences to the Governments and the people of the
Bahamas and the United States for the loss of life and
destruction of property caused by hurricane Floyd. I also
express my Government’s sentiments regarding the victims
of the earthquakes in Greece, the Republic of China on
Taiwan, Turkey, and, just recently, Mexico. Our sympathy
is also extended to the victims of the nuclear accident in
Japan.
The Commonwealth of Dominica is supportive of the
ongoing United Nations reform programme, the intent of
which is to create a system geared to eliminating waste and
duplication and making more efficient use of the
Organization’s resources. At its creation the United
Nations was charged with responsibility for the
maintenance of international peace and security, and the
numerous United Nations missions currently in place
around the globe are testimony to the Organization’s
efforts to meet its Charter obligations in this regard.
However, we continue to maintain that the restructuring
and revitalization process should result in creating an
Organization with the capacity, compassion and
effectiveness to meet the many serious economic, social
and humanitarian problems confronting the majority of
citizens in the global village.
We are not unmindful of the great contributions that
the United Nations system has made to the improvement
of health, the eradication of diseases and the rising levels
of education and living standards in various parts of the
world. Additionally, the United Nations has been at the
forefront of efforts to focus international consciousness on
human rights abuses, while it continues to be the last
hope for the many thousands displaced each year as a
result of political, religious or ethnic conflict.
But poverty eradication remains an unfulfilled
promise. Today, increasing numbers of people live in
conditions of poverty, with no access to adequate medical
care, basic education or even clean drinking water. We
recognize that poverty eradication is a task to be
undertaken not by the United Nations system alone, but
in partnership with the international community, which
must come to the realization that improvement in social
and economic conditions is less costly than having to deal
with the consequences of sustained economic deprivation
and social degradation. The time for engaging in that
partnership is now.
As for the reform of the Security Council, the
Commonwealth of Dominica supports the work of the
Open-ended Working Group and its efforts at reconciling
the many outstanding issues and differences among
Member States. We believe that any meaningful reform
of the Security Council should reflect present-day
economic and geographical realities and must provide for
a reasonable expansion of its membership and equitable
representation for regional groupings, with no
differentiation regarding the rights of permanent members.
The Commonwealth of Dominica applauded the
decision of the people of East Timor, as expressed in the
popular consultation of 30 August 1999. We must
therefore deplore and condemn the acts of violence visited
upon the people of East Timor by those determined to
21

nullify the results of the consultation and maintain the
colonial status quo. We commend the United Nations for its
work in making the consultation possible and we strongly
support the decision of the Security Council to authorize the
establishment of a multinational peacekeeping force to
protect the people of East Timor as they seek to assert their
right to self-determination.
The Commonwealth of Dominica wishes to address
once again the issue of legitimate representation for the
Republic of China on Taiwan and its people in the United
Nations. The Republic of China on Taiwan, a model of
democracy in the Asian region, is able and willing to carry
out the obligations contained in the Charter of the United
Nations. Over the past few decades, the Republic of China
has made tremendous strides in economic development,
thus enabling it to make a contribution to poverty
alleviation through economic assistance programmes in
developing countries. Dominica is concerned that an
industrialized country, with a democratically elected
Government, that exercises sovereign authority over a
defined geographical area with a population of 22 million
people, is denied membership of the United Nations. This
situation must be addressed in order to ensure that the
citizens of the Republic of China on Taiwan have a
representative voice in the United Nations and its related
agencies.
The recently concluded special session of the General
Assembly on small island developing States provided an
opportunity to review the 1994 Barbados Plan of Action.
The recognition of small island developing States in that
regard is a significant milestone in the history of the United
Nations. The follow-up action and the importance which the
international community places on the implementation of
the many proposals and recommendations will serve to
determine not only the success of the special session, but
also the credibility of the United Nations and the usefulness
of these conferences.
As a small island developing State which has always
recognized the importance of conservation of the
environment, Dominica made a commitment at the Rio
Summit to vigorously pursue sustainable development. Two
years later, Dominica participated in the Global Conference
on the Sustainable Development of Small Island Developing
States in Barbados and has tried at the national level to
implement the Plan of Action within the limits of our
resources.
The Barbados Plan of Action recognizes the
importance of coastal and marine resources to the
sustainable development of small island developing States.
The Commonwealth of Dominica is acutely aware of that
importance. Prudent use of our coastal and marine
resources over many years has contributed immensely to
the economic well-being and sustenance of our citizens.
Moreover, the successful implementation of our
eco-tourism development programme relies heavily on the
maintenance and preservation of the marine and biological
resources present in the seas around our island State.
Those resources are under constant and serious threat
from a number of sources, such as illegal waste-dumping
with impunity by foreign-owned ocean liners; overfishing
by non-indigenous fishing fleets; and the use of the
Caribbean Sea for the transshipment of nuclear waste and
other hazardous substances.
The Commonwealth of Dominica, together with
other members of the Caribbean Community
(CARICOM), continues to view the dangerous practice of
the transshipment of nuclear waste and hazardous
substances through the Caribbean Sea as a potentially
serious threat to the fragile ecosystem and to the
livelihood and well-being of the people of the region, and
we call upon the States engaging in that practice to
demonstrate some regard for our justifiable concerns. We
earnestly seek the support of the international community
in our ongoing effort to halt the shipment of these
dangerous materials through the Caribbean Sea. Further,
members of CARICOM call upon the General Assembly
to recognize the Caribbean Sea as a special area in the
context of sustainable development and urge the
international community to support the concept and its
development.
The Commonwealth of Dominica is appreciative of
the United Nations for paying special attention to the
issue of small island developing States at the special
session of the General Assembly. One sincerely hopes
that this same recognition and support will be in evidence
during the World Trade Organization (WTO) Ministerial
Conference later this year, when small island developing
States seek to address their particular concerns and
circumstances.
The Commonwealth of Dominica, like most small
vulnerable States, faces increasing challenges from
globalization; particularly in the area of multilateral trade
negotiations. Due to resource constraints, developing
countries are having difficulties in meeting the
commitments which they made at the Uruguay Round.
Yet we are on the eve of making further commitments at
the new round of WTO negotiations to be launched in
22

Seattle in December. The negotiating process itself exposes
developing countries to the growing disparities of the
multilateral trading system. We run the risk of developing
countries being further marginalized unless these
negotiations give full recognition to their special
circumstances, and in particular to those of small vulnerable
economies. Small vulnerable economies will continue to
require differential treatment for some time as a means of
facilitating their integration into the world economy.
My country’s experience with the WTO has not been
a positive one. The economy of Dominica and those of the
other Caribbean banana-producing countries are heavily
dependent for their export earnings on this single crop. The
WTO banana ruling has contributed to a significant decline
in our banana exports. Our bananas are cultivated by small
farmers whose main source of income could be wiped out
as a result of the WTO ruling, resulting in increased
unemployment and poverty in the rural areas.
We need to find a solution to the banana dispute that
will allow our farmers to continue to earn a living. There
is a growing recognition of the need for a tariff rate quota
as the most acceptable solution. However, the North
American multinational banana companies are insisting on
a simple tariff, which will ultimately lead to the demise of
the small banana producers in the Caribbean and other
African, Caribbean and Pacific States. We continue to
receive assurances that it is not the intention of our
neighbours to the North to hurt the Caribbean producers,
but their actions indicate otherwise. Moreover, they insist
on applying a strict interpretation to the multilateral trading
rules, which displays a callous disregard of the plight of
small banana farmers. The rules of the WTO must not be
applied in a manner which is detrimental to the
development process of small vulnerable States.
My focus on issues presently facing the region would
be incomplete without a brief but sincere appeal to this
body to address the plight of the citizens of our sister island
Cuba. As we progress to a new century, the United Nations
must continue to condemn the prolonged economic
blockade of Cuba.
This unjustifiable action is unconscionable,
unreasonable and a direct infringement on the rights of the
people of Cuba to pursue a peaceful existence, economic
prosperity and self-determination. Dominica therefore joins
other members of the international community in calling for
an end to this blockade. We should all seek more amicable
methods of settling bilateral disputes.
As a nation preparing to celebrate its twenty-first
anniversary of independence on 3 November 1999,
Dominica will continue to equip itself and its citizens to
meet the challenges of the global environment and the
new millennium. The Government of the Commonwealth
of Dominica has endeavoured to ensure that its policies
and programmes continue to provide the leadership,
institutions and infrastructure necessary to attain that goal.
The President returned to the Chair.
Strengthened by our rich cultural heritage, as
manifested in our Creole music, dance and other forms of
expression, we are convinced that the world would be a
safer and better place if the people of the world learned
to respect and tolerate each other’s culture, religion and
traditions.
It is in this spirit that Dominica reaffirms its
commitment to the ideals of the United Nations and
pledges to do all in its power to support the efforts of all
States, particularly those of the vulnerable small island
developing States. The challenges facing Dominica are
many, but I am confident that with the support of all
Member States and with the help of God we shall prevail.


In electing
you unanimously to preside over its at the fifty-fourth
session, Sir, the General Assembly paid a well-deserved
tribute to your country, the sister Republic of Namibia,
which in November 1989, under the auspices of the
United Nations Transition Assistance Group, organized
that land's first free and fair elections, which marked the
successful culmination of the legitimate, heroic struggle
of the Namibian people for independence, under the
leadership of the South-West Africa People's Organization
6

(SWAPO) and its President, His Excellency Mr. Sam
Nujoma. Now, following this happy sequence of events, we
are now pleased to see Namibia at the helm of this historic
session of the General Assembly, represented by you
yourself. On behalf of the delegation of Senegal, Sir, I
convey to you our warmest, fraternal congratulations; we
wish you every success in your high post.
I wish also to convey my sincere and warm
congratulations to your predecessor, Minister Didier Opertti,
on the competent, committed and authoritative way in
which he guided the work of the fifty-third session of the
General Assembly.
Finally, I wish once again to offer Secretary-General
Kofi Annan my encouragement as he continues, with
energy, intelligence and vision, to carry out his delicate
tasks authoritatively and successfully in a particularly
difficult global context. I feel bound to say that his election
to head the Secretariat of the United Nations was a source
of pride for Africa and a source of satisfaction for all
peace- and justice-loving countries. During the Secretary-
General's visit to Senegal, Mr. Abdou Diouf, President of
the Republic of Senegal, made it clear that the Senegalese
Government was committed to and actively supported the
Secretary-General.
I take genuine pleasure and great joy in welcoming
among us the delegations representing the Republic of
Kiribati, the Republic of Nauru and the Kingdom of Tonga,
which have just been admitted as full-fledged Members of
the great United Nations family. These admissions attest to
and bolster the universal character of our Organization, thus
helping strengthen its aims and principles.
Allow me to use the idea of universality to explain
and justify, if that is necessary, my country's unreserved
support for the admission of the Republic of China, with its
22 million inhabitants, as a full Member of the United
Nations and its specialized agencies. The Republic of
China — a democratic country concerned with safeguarding
and promoting human rights, a world economic Power
recognized by nations, and, last but not least, a nation that
maintains trade relations through commercial delegations —
shares with deep conviction our common faith in the noble
ideals of peace, solidarity and cooperation enshrined in the
Charter. That country, for the sake of the principle of the
universality of our Organization, should take its place once
more. Simple justice requires this, and the ideals embodied
in our Charter dictate it, because it is in the name of these
principles that other States are admitted as Members of this
Organization, which I welcome.
Our fifty-fourth regular session, we must all agree,
is an event of great historical and political significance.
Historical, because it is the penultimate session — or the
last, depending on how you look at it — of the twentieth
century, the century in which it was born, after two world
wars and other great calamities for humankind, the
consequences of which are still being felt.
This century has also been one of light, with
tremendous advances achieved by the human race in
various fields, particularly in science and technology. This
session takes on special political importance because it is
an irreplaceable tool in the service of peace, international
security, cooperation and the promotion of human rights
and is a timely opportunity for dialogue, reflection and
preparation for the great encounters of the coming
millennium.
At the threshold of the third millennium, we should
wonder and think together, in the framework of this
Organization, about what kind of peace, development and
solidarity we should build in the coming century. It is a
recognized fact that current changes, the range of whose
effects in the political, economic and social spheres
cannot be foreseen, call inevitably for a deep-going
reform of the United Nations and impose a need to adapt
the Organization to the demands of the times. Thus, we
need to be clear-sighted, creative and realistic and make
innovative, broad-ranging and constructive proposals that
can be translated into concrete actions taken solely in the
interests of all our peoples and all our nations, which
make up the family that we call humankind.
In this respect, reform of the Security Council is a
major test of our resolve to modernize this important
body, which we need to endow with greater transparency,
greater democracy, greater authority and greater
legitimacy — in short, greater credibility.
Many proposals have already been made, but in
restructuring this key organ of the system, we need to go
beyond them, demonstrating creativity and a willingness
to compromise, considering only the interests of this
Organization at the service of humanity. From this
standpoint, in the Algiers Declaration, the States of Africa
unanimously recalled the legitimate demands embodied in
the Harare Declaration adopted by the Conference of
Heads of State and Government of the Organization of
African Unity (OAU).
The pressing need to adapt the United Nations
system to the realities of the coming century should,
7

nonetheless, not obscure current acute needs associated with
the maintenance and promotion of peace in the world. In
this spirit, as the international community celebrates the
100th anniversary of the Hague Peace Conference, I wish
to say how much we welcome certain significant advances
towards peace in Africa.
We commend the Peace Agreement signed in Lomé
on 7 July 1999, thanks to the tireless efforts of the
Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS)
and President Eyadema, in the context of the Sierra Leone
conflict. We also commend the Abuja Peace Agreement and
the additional protocols in the context of the Guinea-Bissau
conflict, thanks to the mediation of ECOWAS, under the
chairmanship of Nigeria and Togo. Senegal strongly
supports the Governments of Sierra Leone and
Guinea-Bissau in their efforts to build peace, to move
resolutely towards national reconciliation and to implement
a policy of economic and social recovery in their countries.
In the same spirit, the signing last 10 July, in Lusaka, of
the Ceasefire Agreement among the principal parties to the
conflict in the Democratic Republic of the Congo is another
cause for satisfaction and hope.
I would also like to touch on the Lockerbie affair in
the hopes that the attitudes of the countries offer the
possibility of a successful outcome.
Last, but not least, my country expresses the warmest
hope that the referendum process under way in Western
Sahara will be completed as early as possible in accordance
with the letter and spirit of the United Nations settlement
plan adopted in 1991, as well as that of the Houston
agreements, with full respect for the inalienable rights of all
inhabitants of Western Sahara to participate in the
referendum. Allow me — and I think this is the right place
to do so — to pay humble tribute to the memory of
King Hassan II.
Finally, we hope that with the assistance of the great
Powers and the cooperation of Indonesia, the situation in
East Timor will be brought under control by the United
Nations in order to ensure that the legitimate rights of the
Timorese people prevail.
These significant breakthroughs should not make us
overlook the situations in Angola and Somalia, or the
conflict between Ethiopia and Eritrea, where, in spite of the
praiseworthy efforts of the OAU, there has been no serious
sign of a final settlement. We must therefore continue our
efforts because our only salvation lies in peace and in
reconciliation.
In this sense, the evolution we have witnessed in the
Middle East gives us grounds for hope, the hope of
finally seeing a climate of complete trust and confidence
and a sincere resumption of negotiations between Israelis
and Palestinians and between Israel and the Arab
countries, with the rights of the peoples of the region
respected. My country, having presided over the
Committee on the Exercise of the Inalienable Rights of
the Palestinian People ever since its creation, reaffirms its
support for and solidarity with the fraternal people of
Palestine, the Palestinian Authority and its head, President
Yasser Arafat, which have been struggling now for more
than half a century for the creation of an independent and
sovereign Palestinian State.
We solemnly reaffirm our support for the Bethlehem
2000 project which has the objective of celebrating in
Bethlehem, on Palestinian soil, the second millennium
since the birth of Christ.
Furthermore, the Israeli Government seems now to
want to work resolutely for peace. We urge it to continue
on this path. It is the only approach that responds to the
situation of the peoples of the subregion and to the
hardships connected to the constraints imposed by
globalization.
Before concluding the subject of peace and security,
I would like to state that my country supports any move
to protect, safeguard and promote the rights of women
and children. Its legal code has been modified to translate
that choice and those convictions into its own domestic
law.
I should like now to deal with the other dimension
of peace: development cooperation. The United Nations,
responding once again to its mission to serve the peoples
of the world, has, during the major conferences of the
decade, provided a framework for the definition of a
coherent set of programmes based on consensus. These
programmes continue to inspire our common efforts
towards sustainable development.
But a careful review of the realities of this century
now coming to a close lead us to note that our
achievements have been seriously undermined by the
contradictory tendencies that are a hallmark of humanity
as it enters the third millennium. The lack of sufficient
sustained growth in the world as a whole means that the
global economy is facing great risks in the years to come.
Indeed, because of a lack of sufficient growth, trade
tensions are threatening to increase between
8

underdeveloped countries and around them, and thus the lag
in development can only increase, increasing the mob of
uncontrolled emigration.
In addition, the gap that has been emerging over many
years is becoming increasingly clear. On the one hand we
see a small number of regions enjoying a high standard of
living or rapid development. In these countries the volume
of trade, of interdependence and competition is increasing.
On the other hand, there is a group of countries — more
numerous and more populous — in which the standards of
living are poor and stagnating. They are for the most part
not involved in this ever-tighter network of commercial,
financial and industrial exchanges. It is difficult for them to
find markets for their products, they suffer from capital
flight, and businesses avoid setting up in these countries.
However, over the last four years, the gross national
product of Africa has grown at an annual average rate of
4.5 per cent, resulting in a year-on-year increase in per
capita incomes. This is particularly remarkable because the
progress is attributable, above all, to internal adjustment
efforts rather than to external phenomena. Nevertheless,
despite this macroeconomic performance, most African
countries do not possess the basic means for ensuring
sustainable growth in a future of a kind that would enable
them to achieve their poverty-reduction objectives in
keeping with the medium-term goals set at the World
Summit on Social Development in Copenhagen, because the
required rate of growth is in the order of 8 per cent per
year.
While it is true that the slow pace of integration of
African economies into the global economy has protected
most of these economies from the most violent shocks of
recent financial crises, the other side of the coin is that
Africa is not in a position to take full advantage of
globalization, which could increase the resources available
for productive investment. However, the developing
countries will not and cannot escape the effects of
globalization. We would therefore like to stress here — in
particular to our African partners in various initiatives such
as the second Tokyo International Conference on African
Development (TICAD II), the United States/Africa forum
and the negotiations between the European Union and
Africa, the Caribbean and the Pacific — the need to
encourage the efforts that have been undertaken,
particularly in the elimination of the rigidities and
imbalances that persist in the global economy.
In this regard, it might be worthwhile to reaffirm the
commitment that joins the developing and the developed
countries within the World Trade Organization and
involves recognition of the need to make significant
efforts so that the developing countries — the least-
developed in particular — are assured of a share in the
growth in world trade in keeping with their development
needs.
But also, an examination of the way the principles
of the multilateral trade system created at the Uruguay
Round have been implemented reveals that commitments
have not been honoured: many obstacles impede access
by products from the South in general, and from African
countries in particular, to Northern markets. Tariff
barriers, sliding-scale increases in duty rates, anti-
dumping measures and animal and plant hygiene
measures all represent acts and attitudes that impede trade
and that affect our exports — and, thus, our trade
surpluses. That is why we venture to hope that the Seattle
Round in November this year will take into greater
account not only the concerns of the developing countries
positions by removing obstacles to their complete
participation in world trade on the basis of the principles
of justice and equity — particularly by working to reduce
and eliminate the restrictive and distorting effects that the
aforementioned barriers, laws and measures have on
trade — but will also take into consideration social rights
and sustainable development as inalienable elements in all
world trade.
Given the significant efforts by the African countries
to achieve their recent economic performance levels, it
will be a Herculean task in terms of resources for them to
achieve and maintain 8 per cent annual growth in their
gross domestic product, in order to reduce poverty. We
should like to take this opportunity to welcome the new
international climate for finding a solution to the African
debt crisis, particularly given that the total of this debt —
estimated at $350 billion in 1998 — represents 300 per
cent of Africa's export earnings.
To this end, the proposals by a some G-8 countries,
the United Nations Conference on Trade and
Development and other organs of the United Nations, as
well as the recent studies by the Bretton Woods
institutions, are signs of a new realism, i.e., that most of
the debt cannot be repaid, that the debt is a major
obstacle to balanced growth in African countries, and that
the current machinery for debt settlement, in particular the
Heavily Indebted Poor Countries Debt (HIPC) Initiative,
is too slow, too selective and imposes too many
conditions. The principal members of the World Bank and
the International Monetary Fund (IMF) must accept the
9

idea, among others, of increasing the resources for the
HIPC significantly by selling gold reserves.
Furthermore, despite the pressures within the donor
community to reduce aid volumes, the economic
performance of Africa and the continent's commitment to
structural reform can be maintained only on the basis of
expansion, not contraction: increased development
assistance is essential if we are to achieve the fundamental
objectives of development.
Finally, despite the praiseworthy efforts of our various
countries to implement economic and financial reforms,
inflows of direct foreign investment remain marginal.
In highlighting these major factors in the current
global economic situation, I am far from wishing to shirk
an enduring truth: sustainable development is the individual
responsibility of each State. The need for the international
community to find a more global and more judicious
solution to the debt problem in no way detracts from the
need for African countries to manage their economies
better.
This attitude towards debt will be put into practice by
the definition and implementation of a high-quality
macroeconomic framework; by a significant intensification
of efforts towards national thrift to accompany international
financing; and by respect for the state of law, transparency,
control and responsibility in the management of public
affairs. Thanks to the guidance and choices of Mr. Abdou
Diouf, President of the Republic, my country subscribes to
these fundamental principles, on which the policy of the
Government of Senegal is based.
I have particularly stressed questions of peace and
development because we live on a continent where peace is
threatened every day by underdevelopment and where
development efforts are made precarious by the absence of
peace. It is therefore important that efforts to consolidate
peace in Africa be accompanied by extraordinary efforts to
increase the quality and quantity of development assistance
in order significantly to reduce our debt and increase the
flow of productive investment to our continent and to
establish, if not a Marshall Plan for Africa, at least a plan
for financing its development.
My delegation fervently hopes that, at the dawn of the
twenty-first century, the opportunity will be found to revive
international cooperation for development in order to build
a more humane world. I am convinced that we have the
means and the intelligence; we must also summon the
political determination to do so. Thus, in order to improve
interaction, Africa for its part has agreed to promote
economic integration and to go one step further by
creating a union of African States. This was the sense of
the Syrte Declaration adopted on 9 September 1999 at the
Fourth Extraordinary Summit of heads of State of the
Organization of African Unity, convened on the happy
initiative of Mr. Al-Qadhafi.
I am convinced that the wealthy nations are clearly
aware of their various and diverse responsibilities and that
they will not shirk their obligations. Indeed, should they
do so, God forbid, the eternal night of hideous poverty
will blanket almost the entire world. I express the genuine
hope, willingly undertaken and profoundly shared by all
nations, that we cannot remain indifferent to anything that
is human. I am therefore convinced that, together, we can
save humanity.


On behalf of the delegation
of Jamaica I extend to you, Sir, our congratulations on your
election to the presidency of the General Assembly at its
fifty-fourth session. You and your country, Namibia, are
graduates of the United Nations, steeped in its principles,
faithful to its causes and committed to its goals. We have
full confidence that your leadership will continue to guide
us this session in the adoption of constructive decisions
which will serve to strengthen the role of the Organization
in world affairs.
We express our appreciation to the outgoing President,
Mr. Didier Opertti, Minister for Foreign Affairs of
Uruguay, for his outstanding work in conducting the
business of our last session. We congratulate the
Secretary-General for his report (A/54/1) outlining the
activities of the Organization over the past year and
containing his vision for its future work.
Jamaica welcomes the three States that this year have
joined the membership of the United Nations: the Republic
of Kiribati, the Republic of Nauru and the Kingdom of
Tonga. Their presence will enrich our deliberations as
they bring their particular experiences and perspectives to
influence the direction and work of the Organization.
Their admission coincides with the holding of the special
session of the General Assembly on small island
developing States which over the last two days addressed
the particular vulnerabilities of these States, which merit
special attention within the international community.
The three nations we welcome today are also linked
to Jamaica through the Commonwealth of Nations. This
year the Commonwealth celebrates its fiftieth anniversary,
and we salute its achievements in cooperation —
especially in promoting the development objectives of its
membership — including the recent initiatives to address
the special problems of smaller States.
The widening of the gap between rich and poor and
the increasing marginalization of a large number of
developing countries within the world economic
framework are urgent matters demanding the attention of
the international community. The reasons for these trends
are well-known: superior endowments of natural
resources; early advantages in modernizing production
processes; high levels of capital accumulation and
technological development — all have helped consolidate
the dominance of the developed countries in world
production and trade. Countries which started later in the
day will not find it easy to close the gap.

And it is not true that the developing countries have
only themselves to blame. Most of us have implemented
programmes of structural adjustment and stabilization
policies, but we have found that the current orthodoxy of
free markets and a development model based on
liberalization, deregulation and privatization is not providing
the promised benefits in trade and investment flows. There
is evident need to review the prescriptions and to promote
a development policy which takes into greater account the
specific socio-economic context of developing countries and
to devise more equitable arrangements in international
economic relations.
In an interdependent world, the human dimension of
the development equation, especially the growing incidence
of poverty and all its manifestations, must continue to be a
matter of concern to the entire global community. It is
therefore essential that we seek to establish a better
framework for development cooperation and to implement
an agenda for development as a matter of priority within
the United Nations system.
Currently, what we are seeing is a withering of interest
and diminished commitment on the issue of cooperation for
development and a hardening of attitudes in an atmosphere
which preaches competitiveness and the survival of the
fittest. It is clear to us that special arrangements are needed,
not only in relation to special categories of countries, but
also in relation to commodities, where serious problems
would result from the rigorous application of the dogma of
free trade. Regrettably, even where such special
arrangements exist they are under threat.
The challenge to the banana regime established within
the framework of the Lomé Convention and the ruling of
the World Trade Organization (WTO) panel, which has
now led to negotiations for an amended regime, sends a
message which is particularly discouraging and signals the
indifference of some countries to the plight of others. The
end result is not yet determined, but at this time the
economies of some Caribbean States face a danger not just
to their prospects for economic stability and growth, but to
their very survival. Many appeals have been made which
have gone unheeded. More than anything else, the banana
controversy has signified the extent to which the interests
of small producers are at the mercy of those in a position
of dominance in the world economy and world trade.
Another discouraging trend is the diminished
significance and reduced contributions of donor countries in
the area of development cooperation. At a time of the
increasing incidence of poverty and a looming threat of
marginalization, levels of official development assistance
have been steadily decreasing at both the bilateral and the
multilateral levels. In the case of the United Nations
Development Programme (UNDP), technical assistance
has been shrinking, especially over the last five years. In
1994, contributions to UNDP were in the region of $1.1
billion. This has steadily declined to the current level for
this year of $718 million.
We have been supporting initiatives for reform in
order to promote better coordination and greater
efficiency and cost-effectiveness in the delivery of
technical assistance in the operational activities of the
United Nations. What we have seen, however, is that the
reform process seems more directed at generating cost
savings and achieving a pooling of resources without
increasing the quantum of funding available for
development cooperation under the auspices of the United
Nations. The process under way is one of contraction of
United Nations-related development activities at the
country level and a withering-away of the role of the
United Nations in an area of critical importance for
developing countries. The reduced impact of the United
Nations at the country level is already significant and
comes at a time when the needs are greater than ever.
We call for a new commitment to development
cooperation, a new global partnership between the
developed and the developing countries and a new
dialogue to review the policies and principles directing
international economic relations, and for a new
dispensation with regard to policy prescriptions affecting
the development process. Without this, developing
countries will be engulfed in the perils of globalization
with consequences not just for economic welfare, but for
the viability of political structures and social stability.
There are also other, more insidious dimensions of
globalization, especially those which impinge on the
security of States, which we must consider. Within the
growing internationalization of markets facilitated by
improved technology and policies of liberalization, the
spectre of transnational crime has grown to significant
proportions, especially in the illicit trade in narcotics and
small arms. Together, these instruments of death and
destruction represent a significant danger to the internal
security of many countries, fostering criminal activities
which serve to destabilize and corrupt the social order, to
undermine democratic institutions and to increase
lawlessness.
2

We believe that this growing trade in weapons, which
promotes organized crime, terrorist activities and drug
trafficking, requires the urgent attention of the international
community. Jamaica therefore welcomes the arrangements
for the holding of the first international conference on small
arms, which is to take place in the year 2000. We look
forward to this as a good opportunity to develop a
programme for implementation by Member States to control
the scale and distribution of these weapons.
On reviewing the broader issue of international
security, we have to note developments which give rise to
concern and anxiety about the future of the world order and
the role of the United Nations. The Organization should
become engaged wherever international peace is threatened
and where conflicts break out. Although the danger of
global conflict arising from ideological confrontation has
now, in large measure, receded, the world is still full of
threats to peace.
Wars continue to be waged at the regional level,
primarily as a result of regional rivalries and unresolved
territorial disputes. At the national level, ethnic strife and
political divisiveness have continued to fuel internal
conflict, leading to heavy loss of life and economic
disruption and affecting regional stability from the
spill-over of refugees to neighbouring States.
We endorse the Secretary-General's strategy of quiet
diplomacy and urge him to use his influence wherever
possible to forestall the outbreak of conflict and to promote
peace and reconciliation between disputing parties. In
accordance with the principles of national sovereignty, he
will need the cooperation and support of Member States in
his efforts for the maintenance of peace, as delicate
problems can arise in relation to any process of diplomatic
intervention with respect to the role to be undertaken by the
United Nations and appropriate regional organizations.
During the past year, events in the Balkans have raised
profound questions about the principle of intervention, the
use of force, the scale of military enforcement and the role
of the Security Council. The debate on these questions has
revealed differing perspectives, elements of consensus and
varying positions on the applicable principles of
international law. In recent times, we have witnessed
atrocities committed as a result of the practice of ethnic
cleansing as communities rise up against each other to
settle old grievances. We all must continue to condemn
these practices and understand the need for some kind of
action to halt such excesses which violate international
humanitarian norms.
However, the principles of international law affecting
the sovereignty of States and the use of force should not
be brushed aside. We believe in the adoption of an
approach which has the confidence of the international
community whereby diplomatic and any necessary
enforcement action is taken or authorized by the
multilateral institutions entrusted with safeguarding
international peace and security. The Security Council has
the primary responsibility. It should not be ignored and
disregarded in favour of unilateral action on the part of
any State or group of States.
While the situation in the Balkans has dominated
international attention over the past year, more attention
should be given to the situation in Africa, where even
more serious problems have arisen involving ethnic strife
and political turmoil, affecting neighbouring States and
creating humanitarian emergencies. As the
Secretary-General has observed in his report, too little
attention has been given to the conflicts arising in Africa
despite the enormous toll in loss of life and in disruption
and suffering resulting from armed insurgencies and
inter-State conflict. However, we are encouraged by the
process taking place in the West African region affecting
Liberia and Sierra Leone. We must pay tribute to the
work of the Economic Community of West African States
(ECOWAS), which has shouldered the burden of peace-
building in these two States so battered by civil conflict.
We also note with appreciation the efforts of the
Organization of African Unity (OAU) in regard to the
situation in the Great Lakes region and hope that the
Lusaka Agreement will form the basis for reconciliation
and peace. The situation in Angola remains a tragic one
for the country, and the international community should
remain united in support of measures taken against the
UNITA insurgency and to bring an end to the nightmare
which has for so long impeded the progress of that
country.
We are distressed by the continuing problems in the
Horn of Africa. We continue to support regional efforts
towards peacemaking between Ethiopia and Eritrea and
welcome the OAU framework agreement which has been
worked out to assist the parties to reach a settlement. We
urge the Secretary-General to continue to maintain close
contact with the parties in all the areas of tension, with
the aim of promoting peace and stability, and to foster a
spirit of reconciliation so that African States may be able
to concentrate their efforts in confronting the critical
challenges of economic and social development.
3

In the Middle East, while the situation still remains
troublesome, there are some signs of renewed hope with the
revival of the peace process and the emergence of a more
positive climate for making progress towards a settlement.
We welcome the signing of the Sharm el-Sheikh
Memorandum earlier this month and urge the parties to
move towards accommodation, to seek to realize the
legitimate rights of all parties as the basis for a just and
durable peace. The challenge is formidable and the solution
will require statesmanship and courage.
In South-East Asia the outbreak of violence in East
Timor is a matter which has caused deep concern. As there
is an obvious need for ensuring the safety of the inhabitants
of the territory, we fully support the deployment of the
international force which is now in the territory to maintain
order. It is necessary now to contemplate the next step,
which will be to devise arrangements for the political future
of the territory.
In our area of Latin America and the Caribbean there
remain a number of unresolved territorial disputes but our
expectation is that States in our region will use available
mechanisms to resolve such disputes by peaceful means. In
the Caribbean our efforts are directed towards developing
greater integration both within the Caribbean Community
and within the wider ambit of the Association of Caribbean
States, ACS. This is part of our regional effort towards
establishing a regime of peace and cooperation in the
Caribbean Sea. In this regard, I should express our ongoing
concern over the remaining remnants of cold war politics in
our region. The continuation of the embargo against Cuba
is a source of tension and carries the risk of conflict, which
is particularly troubling for neighbouring States. In the
spirit of the friendly relations we enjoy with Cuba and the
United States, we call for dialogue, the normalization of
relations and an end to policies of confrontation and
exclusion.
Small countries have an important interest in ensuring
that peace and stability is a permanent feature of the world
order. In the absence of military power we depend on
diplomacy and on the United Nations and its machinery and
international adherence to its principles to safeguard and
protect those who are militarily weak. It is in our interest
to seek to strengthen and uphold all the multilateral
institutions dedicated to this effort. The Security Council,
which has such an important role in this structure, should
be given the fullest support in meeting its responsibilities.
This is best achieved through the democratic participation
of the United Nations membership in the work of the
Council, which serves to strengthen its effectiveness and to
give it greater credibility within the international system.
Jamaica supports that process and aspires for
membership of the Council for a two-year period
beginning next year. We do so out of a motivation to
make our contribution as a small State in the management
of international peace and security. We are driven by a
strong commitment to multilateralism and to upholding
the principles of the Charter and by a determination to
exercise a careful and balanced judgement in relation to
all issues affecting peace and security which may come
before us. It will be our goal to assist the Security
Council to work effectively and to act decisively. We will
seek to involve the broader membership in its
consultations and to influence the discharge of the
Council's responsibilities with fairness and with full
respect for the legitimate interests of all parties, within
the broader interest of international peace and security.
The work of the United Nations in the area of
humanitarian relief has always been an important part of
its operations, and this is the area in which its work has
had the most direct impact and practical meaning at the
level of the people. This is particularly so in the delivery
of emergency relief in natural disasters. The increase in
the scale and intensity of earthquakes, hurricanes, floods
and famine in recent times has increased the demands on
the system, and there is an obvious need to maintain
capability and readiness in the relevant agencies. At the
same time, we should support the various initiatives for
disaster prevention, including the enforcement of stricter
building codes, improved drainage systems, the exchange
of scientific knowledge, increased monitoring and the use
of early-warning systems to protect ourselves and mitigate
the damage.
Much more can be done to avert disasters in those
areas where members have greater control and power.
Man-made disasters create a tragic problem of refugees,
which otherwise is often the result of war, persecution or
political turmoil. The tragic plight of refugees uprooted
from their homes and forced to flee is a sad and
disturbing picture, and even more so for the neighbouring
States, which are often poor countries that do not have
the means to handle heavy inflows.
As we have seen from the Secretary-General's report,
one of the distressing practices in recent conflicts has
been the deliberate targeting of civilians and humanitarian
workers. This unacceptable flouting of humanitarian
norms is a matter of serious concern for us and indicates
the need for further elaboration of principles of
international humanitarian law applicable in time of war.
4

Our review of the state of the world in the economic,
political and humanitarian dimensions suggests the need for
greater effort in building political commitment and
investing resources for achieving common goals. Too many
of the old problems remain unresolved, and our unity of
purpose is too often compromised by political differences
and considerations of narrow economic interests. At a time
of increasing globalization, the reality of interdependence
should be leading us in the other direction — towards
mutual respect, tolerance, understanding and partnership in
a world of diversity, for these are the true foundations of
multilateralism.
As we close this century and approach the new
millennium, we should do so in the hope of reaching
greater achievements by acting in concert to uphold our
ideals of humanity and to fight the common enemies of
mankind: war, poverty, human suffering and injustice. This
should be our firm resolve.


I am
pleased to convey to you, Sir, the assurances of my
greatest esteem on your election as President of the
General Assembly at this session. On behalf of the
Government of the Republic of Yemen, I congratulate
you on your assumption of this high office. We are
certain that under your distinguished and capable
21

leadership the work of the General Assembly will be
crowned with success.
The democratic process in our world today is
undergoing real expansion and is receiving the attention of
all nations, whatever their creeds, races or regimes. It is
further consolidated by being increasingly linked to human
rights, in particular the rights to sustainable development,
global knowledge, equality, justice, peace and stability.
The Republic of Yemen has linked itself in complete
unity to the democratic process and has made it a
continuous process towards comprehensive development.
Both State and society are tirelessly struggling to make
democracy in our country a firm and established system,
evolving daily in order to ultimately form an integral
system for the conduct of political, social and economic
life.
On 23 September 1999, the Republic of Yemen, for
the first time in its history, held free and direct elections for
the presidency of the Republic, reflecting the credibility of
the country’s political regime and its constitutional
commitments requiring the holding of direct elections for
the presidency for five-year terms. This is proof that
democracy in Yemen has become established as a firmly
rooted principle and a unique and unrestricted option for
achieving a peaceful change of government respect for
human rights, and for enhancing people’s role and
participation in sustainable development and cultural
progress.
Democracy in Yemen appeared in its highest form in
the direct presidential elections, which reflected the free
will of the people and the need for development and
stability. The results of the direct secret ballot showed
participation in all parts of the country by 66 per cent of all
registered voters. The President-elect of the Republic of
Yemen for the forthcoming term, Ali Abdullah Saleh,
obtained 96 per cent of the votes. A new term and a new
era will begin on 3 October this year, when the directly
elected President will take the constitutional oath before the
Yemeni Chamber of Deputies.
The wish of the people to achieve democratic progress
reflects their need for stability and for an end to states of
emergency in their lives. This goes hand in hand with their
desire for a future that embodies radical change in the
economic, social and cultural fields. It also requires serious
practical action on the part of Governments and
international and regional organizations to support
development in emerging democracies, and to supply
them with means of growth and the transfer of
know-how. Sustainable development would then
accompany and safeguard democracy, and the linkage
between development and democracy would be a
condition for progress and a motivating force for
cooperation and human integration among all nations of
the world.
Sixteen States convened the Forum on Emerging
Democracies in Sana’a, the capital of Yemen, and issued
an important instrument called the Sana’a Declaration,
with a view to intensifying the concepts, framework and
applications of the democratic process in real life, and to
achieving broad popular participation and the affirmation
of human rights in those countries.
I wish to reaffirm here the announcement of
President Ali Abdullah Saleh that the Republic of Yemen
would like to host the International Conference of New or
Restored Democracies to be held in Asia in 2003.
Our world today is witnessing profound changes that
essentially represent the remnants of the cold war and that
are, at the same time, new harbingers of hope that
forthcoming changes will be in the interest of peace,
economic progress and development, and that the people,
political leaders and intellectuals have absorbed the
lessons to be derived from ideological and racial conflicts,
power politics and their tragic clashes. The only way to
prepare the way for peace and stability is through the
language of dialogue, the rule of law, stable relationships
and the absence of fear, doubt and uncertainty. Dialogue
will for ever remain the only way to extinguish fires,
spread the spirit of tolerance and coexistence and promote
the values of cooperation, solidarity and integration
among all active forces and actors in the cause of peace.
The position of the Republic of Yemen regarding
world events consists of our commitment to the principles
of peaceful coexistence, non-interference in the internal
affairs of other States, non-use or threat of force in the
settlement of disputes and peaceful negotiations and
dialogue in the settlement of all issues, including border
issues between States on a no-fault basis.
As a member of the international family and an
active participant in regional organizations, Yemen
unequivocally affirms its sincere desire to contribute to
the maintenance of security and stability in the Arabian
22

Peninsula, the Gulf, the Red Sea, the Horn of Africa and
the Indian Ocean. The Republic of Yemen calls upon all
States and peoples to continue their sincere and diligent
efforts to achieve tangible progress in the ongoing dialogue
between all parties concerned in these regions. The desired
goal is to arrive at mutual understanding, balanced
relationships and firm bases for the achievement of
coexistence and harmony among States and peoples, the
consolidation of peace and the securing of the necessary
conditions for development and cooperation.
The Republic of Yemen demonstrated in practice the
credibility of its positions of principle, its respect for
international law, its wholehearted desire for stability and
peace in the region and its awareness of the importance of
such peace for international economic, commercial and
maritime relations. Yemen proved that when it accepted
unconditionally the decision of the arbitration tribunal
regarding the sovereignty dispute over the Yemeni island of
Greater Hanish, which lies in the Red Sea between Yemen
and the neighbouring State of Eritrea, thereby furnishing a
prime example of how peaceful solutions to differences and
disputes between States can be achieved by international
arbitration.
We hope that the island-related dispute between the
United Arab Emirates and the Islamic Republic of Iran will
be settled peacefully in accordance with internationally
recognized principles and rules relating to the settlement of
such disputes, and in keeping with the desire to achieve
peace, stability, development and cooperation in our region.
In accordance with these firm premises and guidelines,
the Republic of Yemen will remain faithful to the principle
of the rejection of violence and the combating of terrorism
in all its forms, whatever its motives and sources, and
regardless of whether it involves individuals, groups or
States. Our country is combating this phenomenon with all
its might. It believes that terrorism has become a worldwide
phenomenon meriting investigation at the international level
and the creation of integrated mechanisms and rules to
contain it and to counter its effects, with a view to
ultimately eliminating it.
The Assembly might agree with me that there is now
an urgent need to review the policy of imposing
international embargoes and sanctions. Experience has
demonstrated their ineffectiveness in achieving the goals
and purposes for which they were adopted and the
tremendous harm they have visited upon people, not
political regimes, especially the middle and lower strata of
the population and vulnerable social sectors such as
children, women and the elderly.
The situation in Iraq attests to this. The need for a
total and final lifting of the sanctions imposed on the
Libyan Arab Jamahiriya has also become self-evident,
after recent developments and the Libyan leadership’s
compliance with the Security Council resolutions
concerning the Lockerbie affair. We also call for the
lifting of the sanctions imposed on the Sudan, which is
currently holding an internal democratic dialogue for the
achievement of unity and national concord.
Wars and clashes result only in human tragedies, in
the form of displacement, imprisonment, forcible
detention and flight from war zones in search of refuge
and safe havens. In this context, my country emphasizes
the need to deal in a humane and civilized manner with
the question of prisoners, the missing and those who are
forced into hiding as a result of wars, conflicts and
clashes of all kinds.
In this regard, we have great hope that the issue of
Kuwaiti and other prisoners will meet with a humane and
objective solution that will help to create an atmosphere
conducive to reconciliation and to the achievement of
harmony, peace and stability in the region.
It is known that societies that host refugees fleeing
from areas of war and oppression bear heavy burdens and
sustain tragic consequences, and that their peoples face
serious environmental and health hazards. Those societies
also face considerable economic and financial hardships
as a result of hosting refugees. It is indeed regrettable that
the humanitarian work done for refugees by certain
countries should have disastrous, tragic results for those
countries. This is what is happening today in the Republic
of Yemen as a result of the steadily increasing daily
influx of refugees from the Horn of Africa, which is
ablaze with regional and civil wars and local dissension.
The Republic of Yemen calls upon the international
community to assume its responsibility with regard to this
humanitarian issue, which weighs heavily on the Yemeni
State and society, by increased efforts on the part of the
Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for
Refugees and a more concerted international alliance
among all donor countries able to provide emergency and
long-term assistance. Allowing the persistence of such
inhumane phenomena and conditions reflects a tragic
deterioration in human rights and an alarming regression
in the values of civilized nations. We undoubtedly need
23

to develop mechanisms and devise the necessary means for
coping with such situations. This is the very essence and
substance of the work of the United Nations.
At the same time, we wish to emphasize that the time
has come for renewed solidarity and efforts on the part of
the United Nations, the international community and all
parties concerned with a view to finding practical solutions
to the situation in Somalia that will help restore the unity
and territorial integrity of Somalia and bring security and
stability to the region.
The peoples of the world seek a peace that is based on
justice, equality, respect for human rights and the absence
of tyranny, abuse and double standards. Accordingly, the
Republic of Yemen, which has supported and given its
blessing to the efforts towards a peaceful settlement in the
Middle East, believes that a comprehensive, just and lasting
peace must be based on the restoration of all legitimate
rights to the Palestinian people, first and foremost of which
is its right to establish its independent State on its national
soil, with Jerusalem as its capital, and likewise the
restoration of Israeli-occupied territories to the Syrian and
the Lebanese peoples.
At a time when we are positively and with renewed
optimism discussing the peace process in the region, Israel
must realize that a just, comprehensive and lasting peace
is a genuine goal for the people of the area. Furthermore,
it is a regional, international humanitarian goal that will
help open a new page in the life and relations between
peoples and help end the tragedies of the past. It will
hopefully assist in overcoming all rancour and grudges and
in providing opportunities for tolerance between creeds,
cultures and races. All this would constitute a genuine
starting point for stability, trust and mutual understanding
among the States and peoples of the region.
As we approach the end of the second millennium, we
are confronted with a reality exemplified in the increased
speed and movement of political, economic and social
variables, whose ramifications and relationship with other
contrasting factors are becoming increasingly more
complex, in terms of time and space.
We are all therefore called upon to cooperate and to
respond responsibly for the creation of a healthy climate for
the building of a new world order based on justice, freedom
of choice, tolerance and genuine partnership in all
governmental and non-governmental activities at the
regional and international levels. The ultimate goal is to
permanently ensure a balance of interests and a sense of
involvement in all that is humane and noble and, in
concrete terms, in a productive and useful life for all
mankind.
Since one of our primary goals is the reform of the
United Nations and, in particular, the Security Council
and the international institutions, we are giving this goal
our full attention and support. At the same time, we
commend the Secretary-General for the initiatives and
measures he has taken towards the goal of reforming the
United Nations, its mechanisms and its methods of work,
which would broaden democratic practices and achieve
transparency of work and effectiveness of participation.
In this context, we reaffirm our welcome and
support for the Open-ended Working Group established
for this purpose. We call for the continuation and early
completion of its work, taking into full account the
importance of a full understanding of the essential
variables in international relations in recent years.
I reiterate my esteem for the President of the
Assembly, and I thank all those participating in the
current session. May peace and God’s mercy and blessing
be upon you.