WORLD TRADE ORGANIZATION RULINGS COULD DESTROY BELIZE BANANA INDUSTRY, FOREIGN MINISTER TELLS GENERAL ASSEMBLY

1 October 1997

Press Release
GA/9319

WORLD TRADE ORGANIZATION RULINGS COULD DESTROY BELIZE BANANA INDUSTRY, FOREIGN MINISTER TELLS GENERAL ASSEMBLY

19971001 Antigua and Barbuda Terms Rulings Tantamount to Act of War; Afghanistan, Algeria, Lao People's Democratic Republic, Estonia, Haiti, Benin Also Speak

The banana industry of Belize might be destroyed by the efforts of the very countries that claimed to be its partners in the fight against illicit drugs, the Minister for National Security, Foreign Affairs and Attorney General of Belize, Dean Olivier Barrow, told the General Assembly this afternoon, as it continued its general debate.

He said recent negative rulings by the World Trade Organization (WTO) on the European Union Banana Regime demonstrated the dangers inherent in unbridled liberalization shorn of consideration for the special needs of small, vulnerable and disadvantaged economies. If the prosperity of southern Belize was to be sacrificed to some new economic orthodoxy, it would not be long before anti-narcotics efforts were similarly sacrificed. The immutable "law of the market" was very much a two-edged sword, he added.

The Representative of Antigua and Barbuda, Patrick Albert Lewis, said the undoing of the Lomé Agreement had damaged the small banana-exporting countries of the Organization of Eastern Caribbean States and was tantamount to an act of war. Yoked by the recent WTO ruling, the banana industry in the Caribbean Community (CARICOM) States would collapse, leading to social dislocation ultimately manifested in political catastrophe.

He added that the International Monetary Fund (IMF), the World Bank and the WTO were promoting global markets, where small countries of the Caribbean were unprotected. The alternative to participation was marginalization, but if all countries had to participate fully, selective linking processes that took national circumstances and cultures into account were needed.

The Foreign Ministers of Algeria, Lao People's Democratic Republic, Haiti, Benin, the Vice-Minister for Foreign Affairs of Afghanistan and the representative of Estonia also made statements. The representative of Canada spoke in exercise of the right of reply.

The Assembly will meet again at 10 a.m. Thursday, 2 October, to continue its general debate.

Assembly Work Programme

The General Assembly met this afternoon to continue its general debate. Speakers were to include the Deputy Prime Minister of Belize; the Foreign Ministers of Algeria, Lao People's Democratic Republic, Haiti and Benin; the Vice-Minister for Foreign Affairs of Afghanistan; and the representatives of Estonia and of Antigua and Barbuda.

Statements

TRIVIMI VELLISTE (Estonia) said the current session of the General Assembly should be a decisive landmark in the renewal and restructuring of the United Nations. His Government offered its full support to the Secretary- General in his efforts to reform the Organization. It was hoped that Member States would agree on a generally acceptable scheme for reform.

The aim of the reform was to adapt the Organization to its new challenges, making it more effective and efficient, he said. "We are now remodelling this Organization to make it compatible with the twenty-first century. The world has changed; the United Nations has to change with it." Those changes should include having criteria for the appraisal of performance, implementing result-based budgeting, and enhancing cost-effectiveness.

Estonia supported cutting the number of agenda items and consolidating the representation of different United Nations funds and programmes in Member States on common premises under one flag, he said. Such "United Nations Houses" would enhance the visibility of the Organization and provide a valuable source of information about its activities. In Estonia, a United Nations House could gain valuable expertise from the work of the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), which had helped establish many vital programmes there.

He said the Assembly must, at its current session, assess the impact of the Secretary-General's proposed reforms on the programme budget for 1998-1999 and define a new scale of assessments for Member States. Estonia would like to see a more transparent scale based on the capacity of a State to pay. The main prerequisite for putting the Organization on a sound financial footing was for Member States to clear their arrears to the regular and peacekeeping budgets.

Estonia welcomed the appointment of Mary Robinson as High Commissioner for Human Rights, and supported the plan to merge the Centre for Human Rights and the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights, he said. It was also important that the United Nations human rights machinery should be adequately funded.

Two major events had occurred in the past year in the field of economic and social cooperation, he said. The first was the adoption of the Agenda for Development, and the second was the special session of the Assembly to review the implementation of Agenda 21, the global plan of action for sustainable development adopted in 1992. While the special session had acknowledged the positive results achieved since then, it also expressed concern over worsened

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overall trends for development. The Assembly should give further political impetus to the mandates and tasks defined at the session.

Over the past five years, Estonia had become party to more than 40 bilateral and multilateral environmental agreements and conventions, he said. Its goal was to provide the present generation with a safe, good- quality living environment and promote a strong and diversified economy without compromising future needs.

Member States should continue efforts to make the Security Council more representative and to improve its working methods, he said. Estonia supported enlargement in both permanent and non-permanent membership, and supported Germany and Japan as new permanent members of the Council. Developing countries of Asia, Africa and Latin America should also be represented on a permanent basis.

Peacekeeping remained an important activity of the Organization, he said. Together with Latvia and Lithuania, Estonia intended to contribute a battalion of peacekeepers to United Nations operations. The Baltic countries preparedness to contribute a joint battalion proved their readiness to assume responsibility, as well as their right to choose their own means of security.

United Nations reliance on the expertise and capacity of regional organizations would help avoid duplication and allocate scarce resources in the most effective manner. Examples of such cooperation included joint United Nations actions with the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) and with the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO). Estonia associated its future with full membership in both NATO and the European Union.

DEAN OLIVER BARROW, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for National Security, Foreign Affairs, and Attorney General of Belize, said the international community had been promised that the renewed United Nations system being sought by the Secretary-General would become more effective and efficient. His extensive and far-reaching reform proposals were designed to achieve greater unity of purpose, coherence of effort and flexibility in response. He applauded the attempt to strengthen and streamline the United Nations, enhancing its institutional capacity.

One major hindrance to the Organization's capacity was its dire financial situation, he continued. He noted proposals by the Secretary- General designed to ensure a viable financial basis for the Organization. However, greater clarification was needed if financial solvency was to be assured and he was not entirely convinced that the creation of a revolving credit fund would alleviate the situation. He would rather see implementation of measures for harsher censure in cases of tardiness in meeting obligations. The Organization should be granted some measure of autonomy in generating revenue from sources currently outside national administrations. Streamlining, downsizing, or retrenchment by any name had a human cost. In the eagerness to integrate Secretariat entities, the critical thrust and focus of various departments and programmes should not be lost.

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He hoped that the reform proposals to achieve greater coordination and cooperation among the United Nations agencies and entities, which helped nations like his pursue sustainable development, would not compromise their effectiveness and responsiveness. The argument that a development dividend could be realized by a shift of resources from administration to development activities was not persuasive. Any possible administrative savings could hardly be adequate enough to make significant progress in eradicating poverty.

Turning to the nineteenth special session of the General Assembly, which was called to review implementation of Agenda 21 of the United Nations Conference on Environment and Development (UNCED), he said he was heartened that practical agreements reached at the "Earth summit plus 5" included those of major concern to small island developing States, such as climate change, tourism and natural disasters. Belize, a country with a low-lying coastal plain, several coral atolls and more than 100 coral islands, experienced similar challenges as those facing small island developing States.

Countries like Belize depended upon the United Nations to steer the way in building the new framework within which developed and developing nations could interact, he said. The role of the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) and the regional commissions in examining issues pertinent to globalization and development, and the effective promotion of developing countries into the international trading system, was especially key. The recent negative rulings by the World Trade Organization (WTO) on the European Union Banana Regime demonstrated the dangers inherent in unbridled liberalization shorn of consideration for the special needs of small, vulnerable and disadvantaged economies. Preferential access regimes represented a real and sincere effort to enable small developing countries to: produce for the international marketplace; offer their societies a chance at a decent standard of living; and assure them a special stake in the global economy.

Economic thinking has changed, but the conditions of poor countries had not, he said. Small, primary-producing States could not compete on equal terms. Calls for comprehensive capital inflows and the technical assistance necessary to achieve the structural adjustment to equitably participate in the new trading arrangements went unheeded.

Countries like his own expended huge amounts of limited resources to address concerns which, in a small State, threatened national security, he

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said. The global nature of the problem required international cooperation, not unilateral devices that did not respect national sovereignty. International cooperation must avoid political and economic unilateralism. For example, the Belize banana industry "may well be destroyed by the efforts of the very countries that claim to be our partners in the fight against illicit drugs". If the prosperity of southern Belize was to be sacrificed to some new economic orthodoxy, it would not be long before anti-narcotic efforts were similarly sacrificed. The immutable "law of the market" was very much a two-edged sword.

He said the equitability and the universality principles conferred urgency on the claim for consideration of "The Republic of China on Taiwan". Some 21 million people living in a prosperous democracy should be entitled to a discussion of their circumstances. The situation must be reviewed in a manner consistent with the rights of the parties and the spirit of the Charter.

PATRICK ALBERT LEWIS (Antigua and Barbuda) said the most talked about aspect of United Nations reform was the question of equitable representation and increase in membership of the Security Council. He stressed that any expansion of the Council should include developing countries with representation from Africa and Latin America and the Caribbean. Also, certain restrictions should be placed on the use of the veto.

The International Monetary Fund (IMF), the World Bank and the WTO were all promoting the emergence of a global market where the small countries of the Caribbean were forced to adapt with their businessmen, accepting the reality that the concept of protected markets was disappearing, he said. There was a need to reduce the speed of the globalization thrust since dominant governments and institutions were setting deadlines and establishing agendas with severe demands that most other actors found difficult to follow. The alternative to participation was marginalization. If all countries were required to participate fully, then there was clear need for selective linking processes that took national circumstances and cultures into account.

The undoing of the Lome Agreement and the injury which that hostile act had inflicted on the small banana-exporting countries of the Organization of Eastern Caribbean States was tantamount to an act of war, he said. Yoked by the recent WTO ruling, the banana industry in the States of the Caribbean Community (CARICOM) would collapse, leading to social dislocation ultimately manifested in political catastrophe.

The June special session of the General Assembly to review the implementation of Agenda 21 had been, in part, a clear recognition that the threat to the global commons was still a profound reality. There was continued over-exploitation and degradation of what had been bequeathed to mankind, and there had been failure to capitalize on the promise and accomplishments of the 1992 UNCED. People had not been made partners in the

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process of sustainable development, and governments needed to do more to involve them through education by mass media, schools, public debate and public presentations. The industrialized countries must take the lead in changing their patterns of production and consumption to save the global environment and assist developing countries to meet their people's basic needs, to eradicate poverty and achieve economic growth.

The precipitous fall in official development assistance (ODA) had shifted the burden for sustainable development unfairly to developing countries, destroying in the process the equitable balance that had been struck at Rio, he continued. Private capital in the form of foreign direct investment, once touted as the panacea for sustainable development in developing countries, had shown only selective benefits to some countries and had bypassed the vast majority. He called on multilateral and bilateral donors to increase their support for women's organizations in countries such as his to enable them to play an active role in the developmental process.

The CARICOM States had broken new ground in the integration arrangement, he said. Haiti had joined and there had been further movement towards the CARICOM single market and economy. When Protocol II was ratified, the ground would be laid for the free movement of factors of production among the countries which had agreed to be bound by its provisions. A plan was being developed for the sustainability of both tourist and airline industries in the region. Approval had been given to a comprehensive human resource development plan for the specific purpose of building a more creative and productive workforce in the Caribbean.

AHMED ATTAF, Minister for Foreign Affairs of Algeria, said the international community was facing the challenge of finding new concepts and practices that involved all countries, not just great Powers. New balances must be found to forge a world order based on the ideals and principles of the Organization.

The challenges had an economic aspect, with the growth of globalization, he continued. Still other challenges included terrorism, international crime, drug trafficking and threats to the environment. To have a real impact, the United Nations must adapt to those new challenges. The Secretary-General's reform proposals were an effort to meet those challenges. However, the importance of international disarmament efforts and development initiatives should not be affected by the proposed reform measures.

On the financial front, he said the Secretary-General's proposals, such as the one to create a revolving fund, were worthy of consideration. However, a genuine and lasting solution to the United Nations financial crisis demanded that all countries pay their assessed contributions in full and on time.

Any revision of the United Nations Charter demanded crucial and careful consideration, he said. Reform of the Security Council should reflect

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political changes in the world. Any expansion of its membership should ensure a balanced representation, both in permanent and non-permanent seats. Statements by the Ministers of Non-Aligned Countries in New Delhi in April and heads of State and government of African States in Harare in June provided guidelines on the issue and should be considered.

Among the new threats faced by the international community was the threat of terrorism, he said. Greater international action was needed against that scourge, which was one of the most serious threats to global democracies and peace and security. To fight terrorism, effective use must be made of every international achievement to guide United Nations action, based on judicial, legal and multilateral measures. An international convention against terrorism would be one of the main and most effective measures, he added. The international community must deprive terrorists of any sanctuary and strictly enforce legal instruments to combat it.

He said a just and lasting solution to the situation in Western Sahara was a constant concern of his Government. The recent agreement based on talks between Morocco and the Popular Front for the Liberation of Saguia el-Hamra and Rio de Oro (POLISARIO), under the auspices of the Secretary-General's Special Envoy, James Baker III, represented major progress towards a settlement of the situation. His Government welcomed that "promising development". Algeria would continue to contribute to the efforts of the Secretary-General's Special Envoy to hold a referendum, which would allow the people of Western Sahara to exercise their right to self-determination without conditions.

Turning to the situation in the Middle East, he said recent actions by the Israeli administration were at the heart of the deterioration of the peace process. Israel should end its unilateral actions, which were contrary to the spirit and the letter of the agreements it had entered into. The Iraqi people continued to suffer from under Security Council sanctions, which had gone on far too long. The Libyan people also endured sanctions which were unjust and invalid.

In Africa, democracy and pluralism were taking root and unprecedented economic development produced new directions, he said. The treaty establishing the African Economic Community was based on a spirit of cooperation, and the international community should support those efforts. In spite of costly structural adjustment programmes by countries of the South, in an effort to join the international economy, they were still hindered by stifling debt burdens and an alarming decline in development assistance. Those tendencies were in contrast to the economic growth in the industrialized world and must be addressed.

SOMSAVAT LENGSAVAD, Minister for Foreign Affairs of the Lao People's Democratic Republic, said his Government was delighted by the increasing dialogue and cooperation among States. At the same time, it was alarmed by

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ethnic, racial and other tensions and conflicts, which could threaten international peace and security.

In reviewing various situations around the world, he said in Europe the Dayton Accords had given new hope for Bosnia and Herzegovina. In Africa, conflicts of a tribal nature were fierce. The international community and the countries concerned must redouble their efforts to settle their problems. In the Caribbean, the United States should also redouble its efforts to settle its differences with Cuba. On the Korean Peninsula, the accords concluded at four-party talks in New York recently were an important part of efforts to reduce tensions there.

In South-East Asia, the admittance last July of his own country and Myanmar to the Association of South-East Asian Nations (ASEAN) was of historic significance, he said. Recent events in Cambodia were a source of concern. The international community still respected the authority of King Norodom Sihanouk as the head of State.

In his country, the people were united in their political stability and multi-ethnic way of life, he said. The fourth election of the National Assembly would take place in December. In the economic sphere, a new programme in effect since 1986 had led to growth. Unfortunately, this year there had been losses because of natural disasters and the economic downturn in South-East Asia. His country aimed to promote bilateral relations with its neighbours and integrate its economy with the region and the world. It supplied hydroelectricity to countries in the region, exported goods made from natural resources and enjoyed a vibrant tourist industry. The Government wished to transform the Laotian economy into an industrialized one. In closing, he said, his country had taken a number of national and international measures to contribute to world efforts to combat illicit drugs.

FRITZ LONGCHAMP, Foreign Minister of Haiti, said Haiti had worked to establish a national system based on the rule of law and free of violence. Progress was being made in establishing the new democratic system and in creating civil systems.

No effort had been spared to end human rights abuses, he continued. The National Police had replaced the Haitian armed forces, who had been primarily responsible for those offences. Created two years ago, the National Police force required continued support as it gained experience. In establishing a judicial system, attention was being given to the Haitian people's need for justice.

However, success in the economic and social areas had not yet been achieved, he continued. The fact that the needs of people were not being met made the new democratic system fragile. Economic reforms, both national and those affecting international trade, were under way. Poverty eradication was

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also under way. For the new democracy to be viable, lasting development must be achieved, he said.

Welcoming the Secretary-General's proposals on reform, he said Haiti supported clustering the United Nations programmes around major themes. Any reform must give development the focus it deserves. On Security Council reform, he said Haiti called for an increase in transparency and broader participation in decision-making efforts of the Council. Council expansion must achieve equal geographic representation. However, regardless of reform, without financial resources the Organization would not be able to cope with the serious problems it now must confront.

Poverty continued to gain ground despite past international efforts to eradicate it, he said. The eradication of poverty, particularly in least developed countries, required the provision of additional resources, well-defined priorities and adequate programmes. Those countries with wealth must support that effort. Addressing regional issues, he said Haiti had recently established machinery for consultations with the Dominican Republic. Haiti had also recently joined CARICOM and would work to achieve the objectives of the Community.

A. ABDULLAH, Vice-Minister for Foreign Affairs of Afghanistan, said that earlier today the Taliban had aerially bombarded Mazir-i-Sharif. It was the sixteenth such event in two days, which to date had claimed a total of 150 lives of mostly women and children. The past 12 months had seen an endless series of edicts issued by the Taliban in areas of Afghanistan that they claimed to control. Under those edicts, they had imprisoned every woman and terrorized every man. Their latest act was to arrest the European Union Commissioner on Human Rights, her aides and a group of visiting international journalists. The group was eventually released, but not before two of its members were beaten with a rifle butt.

His Government still identified Pakistani intervention and interference in Afghanistan's internal affairs as the root cause of the prolonged conflict, he said. Pakistan constantly alleged that the Taliban controlled two thirds of Afghanistan, including Kabul, where peace prevailed. However, according to the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO)/World Food Programme (WFP) Crop and Food report, the north, a region not controlled by the Taliban, contained 65 per cent of the population. Pakistan claimed that the Afghan ethnic Pashtuns formed the absolute majority, but no valid statistic would claim any ethnic group in Afghanistan constituted more than 37 per cent of the population.

If Pakistan continued its perpetration of ethnic hatred in Afghanistan, a consequential escalation of ethnic cleansing would threaten the national unity of his country, he said. The Government of Afghanistan had also transmitted ample information about the involvement of Pakistani military personnel in Afghanistan, which was contrary to a call from the General

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Assembly last year for all States to refrain from any outside interference in Afghanistan's internal affairs. Pakistan, by proposing the "vacant seat" formula for Afghanistan, was striving to expel a country from the United Nations that had been a Member of the Organization before the birth of Pakistan.

The General Assembly unanimously adopted a resolution on 17 December 1996, by which it expressed full support for Afghanistan. The Assembly stated that it was strongly committed to the sovereignty, independence, territorial integrity and national unity of Afghanistan. The Assembly also expressed its concern at the continued supply of armaments to Afghan parties. Unfortunately, since last year, the supply of armaments from abroad had massively increased and was part of a programme of action by the Pakistani intelligence service.

His country shared the view "that the main responsibility for finding a political solution to the conflict lay with the Afghan parties", he said. The Taliban favoured, encouraged and assisted by the cross-border political and military support, considered their only responsibility that of waging an aggressive war aimed at conquering the entire Afghan territory by crushing all resistance movements. The Assembly had called upon all Afghan parties to immediately cease all armed hostilities, to engage in political dialogue aimed at achieving national reconciliation and a lasting political settlement of the conflict, and establishing a fully representative and broad-based transnational government of national unity. The Taliban leaders had opted for a military programme aimed at the conquest of all Afghan territory and had not shown any serious interest in national reconciliation, political settlement and power-sharing in a broad-based government. Taliban's aggressive attitude was encouraged by the military intelligence services of Pakistan.

He said that his Government honoured its commitments regarding the safety and full freedom of movement of United Nations personnel and appealed to all donor agencies not to abandon Afghanistan. Further, his Government had agreed to the formation of the United National Islamic Front for the salvation of Afghanistan, which was the foundation for an enlarged body representing all ethnic groups in Afghanistan. The declaration launched an appeal in favour of the peace process and was addressed to the Taliban and the Pakistani Government.

Turning to reform of the Security Council, he said the transparency of the Council's working methods and decision-making process were matters that should be dealt with immediately.

PIERRE OSHO, Foreign Minister of Benin, said the Secretary-General had prepared a vast programme of United Nations reform which would allow the Organization to meet future challenges. The Secretary-General's proposals were relevant and Benin supported the bulk of them. However, it was not a good idea to eliminate the Committee on Development Planning. Rather than

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replace it with expert groups, the Committee should be retained. The Office of the Special Coordination for Africa and the Least Developed Countries should be strengthened by increasing its resources. Also, the Secretary- General had failed to mention means to review implementation of the New Agenda for Africa. He said that Security Council expansion must reflect today's economic and political realities. Expansion must achieve a suitable geographic representation and it should include two permanent and two non-permanent seats for the African Group. Security Council reform should also include elimination of the veto.

Globalization had become a matter of great concern, he said. United States President William Clinton had recently emphasized that the United Nations must see to it that economic globalization did not increase disparities between the rich and the poor.

The New Agenda for Africa focused on shared responsibilities and the involvement of the whole international community in Africa and its efforts to achieve economic development, he said. Since the Agenda was established six years ago, the total volume of ODA had declined by one third. The Agenda would only succeed if there was a vast mobilization of international resources. While the primary responsibility for development was that of the African countries, the often restrictive nature of loans was a hindrance. He called for a new international system within which the developed countries would benefit. Despite their efforts, a mountain of problems remained in Africa. Africa's development partners must envisage a system of financing with a centralized funding mechanism for its distribution in support of economic and social development.

Right of Reply

MICHEL DUVAL (Canada) said he wished to clarify an aspect of the statement made this morning by the Foreign Minister of the Democratic Republic of the Congo. The Minister had said that some members of the Security Council had objected to the establishment of a temporary multinational force for what was then called Eastern Zaire. However, Security Council resolution 1080 (1996), which called for establishment of the force, had been adopted unanimously on 15 November 1996.

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