PRESS CONFERENCE BY PRIME MINISTER OF JAMAICA

Press Briefing

PRESS CONFERENCE BY PRIME MINISTER OF JAMAICA

At a Headquarters press conference this morning, Prime Minister Percival James Patterson of Jamaica told correspondents that the proposed reforms of the United Nations system should ensure that the Organization continued to focus on those issues which were of concern to the majority of the world's population.

Mr. Patterson, who is also the current Chairman of the Council of Heads of Government of the Caribbean Community (CARICOM), said reforms should be geared towards broadening the basis of participation and decision-making without enhancing the already considerable powers vested in a few large States.

The Prime Minister said his country was engaged in dialogue with other nations at various levels on the Secretary-General's reform proposals. They included the Group of 77 developing countries, the Non-Aligned nations and the 16-member group convened by the Prime Minister of Sweden in August.

Prime Minister Patterson said the reform package must advance the cause of the international community as whole and must take into full account the changes that had taken place in the world since 1945. Pledging the commitment of the Caribbean region to a cooperative effort to achieve global equity and prosperity, the Prime Minister said the United Nations must reflect the hope and aspirations of all mankind for sustainable development, for lasting security and for enduring peace.

Addressing other global issues from the perspective of developing States in general and small developing States in particular, the Prime Minister said the entire Caribbean was concerned about the slow pace of disarmament, especially in respect of conventional weapons and small arms. The international treaty to ban anti-personnel landmines should be universal because the existence of these mines continues to wreak havoc on civilian populations in many parts of the world.

The Prime Minister also expressed his concerns about the illicit trafficking in drugs and guns and promised that his country would continue to forge wider international collaboration to deal with the scourge.

Mr. Patterson called on the international community to come to the aid of the victims of the recent volcanic eruption in Montserrat. He said CARICOM would continue to help the Government and people of the country in their time

Jamaica Press Conference - - 25 September 1997

of need. He had met yesterday with British Foreign Secretary Robin Cook in New York and received his assurance of continued support for the British-ruled island.

Asked why many developing countries had responded cautiously to the Secretary-General's reform proposals, Prime Minister Patterson said there were sections that some nations were not happy about, but that the package must be taken as a whole. It was impossible to have a package that would command universal support. The willingness to accord some countries the right of veto in the Security Council, for instance, was inconsistent with the current move towards democracy and universality. He could not possibly support the extension of the right of veto to other members of the Council besides the current five. Mr. Patterson said it was difficult to understand why some nations wanted a reduction in their contributions while insisting on maintaining their rights and powers. Reforms must not only be about participation but about procedures as well.

Explaining that reforms were not simply about cost-cutting, the Prime Minister said the United Nations must do better, not less. Reforms must ensure that the United Nations had the capability to respond to the problems and challenges of today's world which were vastly different from those of 1945.

Responding to the recent World Trade Organization (WTO) panel decision on the European Union-ACP (African, Caribbean and Pacific) Banana Protocol, the Prime Minister said any move to dismantle that agreement would be injurious to the vital interests of the banana-producing Caribbean nations. It was illogical to expect those nations to liberalize their economies and open up their markets to exports while being denied access to a traditional market. The region wanted fair trade and not just free trade and that fairness had to take into account size.

Asked whether he had discussed their concern with representatives of the United Nations during his visit, Mr. Patterson said he had not. But he said the issue was discussed with United States President William Clinton in Barbados last May and that they received assurances that the United States would not want to hurt the Caribbean economies. The recent WTO ruling could lead to the extinction of the economies of a number of Caribbean States.

Speaking on the social cost of globalization and free market economy, the Prime Minister spoke on the need to arrest the widening disparities between the rich and the poor. Economic reforms, though desirable, had led to a lot of suffering and hardship in the developing world.

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