SOLIDARITY AND CONSTRUCTIVE ENGAGEMENT WITH DEVELOPED WORLD NEEDED FOR SUCCESS IN STRUGGLE FOR PEACE AND DEVELOPMENT IN AFRICA, ASSEMBLY TOLD

Press Release
GA/9774

SOLIDARITY AND CONSTRUCTIVE ENGAGEMENT WITH DEVELOPED WORLD NEEDED FOR SUCCESS IN STRUGGLE FOR PEACE AND DEVELOPMENT IN AFRICA, ASSEMBLY TOLD

Assembly Continues General Debate

Africans needed and deserved hands-on solidarity and constructive engagement with the developed world if they were to succeed in the struggle for peace and development, said Mompati S. Merafhe, Minister for Foreign Affairs of Botswana, said this afternoon as the General Assembly continued its general debate. The struggle for peace and security in the continent remained an all- consuming preoccupation.

Thanks to the decisive actions of the Security Council and the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS), Sierra Leone could see a real light at the end of the tunnel, Sama Banya, Minister for Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation of Sierra Leone, said as it continued its general debate. New arrangements for the marketing of the country’s diamonds would not only end the illegal trade, but also bring sanity into the system to the benefit of the country.

Despite the new wealth of nations, 1.2 billion people lived on less than one dollar a day, and the 32 poorest African countries did not earn much more than the richest man on earth, said Domingo L. Stazon, Jr., Secretary of Foreign Affairs of the Philippines. The future belonged to the world’s people, the affluent and the destitute, the strong and the weak. It was time to buckle down to work and ensure that, by 2015, all children would be able to complete primary schooling as education was the best tool for protecting human rights, for promoting democracy and for advancing good governance.

The Minister for Foreign Affairs of Thailand, Surin Pitsuwan, said that the most effective way to ensure poverty reduction and promote sustainable development was to empower peoples with the capacity to help themselves. Aksoltan Ataeva, Minister for Foreign Affairs of Turkmenistan, said that there must not be one yardstick for developmental models. A singular model of global development based on the philosophy of some could lead to disaster. Common progress lay not in a single set of principles but in broad consideration of a combination of ideas.

Jaswant Singh, Minister for External Affairs of India, said that while gross domestic product (GDP) growth rates and selective indicators might point to growth in an economy, the elimination of poverty and enhancement of the

General Assembly Plenary - 1a - GA/9774 23rd Meeting (PM) 19 September 2000

quality of life and creation of real choices must be integral to the process of assessing the success of development efforts. He pointed out that promised resources from developed countries had failed to materialize even though developing countries had done commendable work in the implementation of Agenda 21.

The more advanced developing States had benefited disproportionately from the tremendous increase in foreign direct investment over the last decade, Roosevelt Douglas, Prime Minister and Minister for Foreign Affairs of the Commonwealth of Dominica told the General Assembly this afternoon. Raising living standards in his country had been made much more difficult by the negative impact of globalization and trade liberation, which accrued benefits only to the rich and developed countries. The fact that foreign direct investment did not bridge the gap was unfortunate, since a climate of good governance and stable, democratic institutions -- prerequisites for investment development -- existed in Dominica.

Other topics addressed during the debate included the threat of weapons of mass destruction, the spread of HIV/AIDS, the need for reform of the United Nations and the degradation of the environment.

The President of the General Assembly, Harri Holkeri (Finland), announced during the meeting that Sierra Leone had made the necessary payment to reduce its arrears below the amount specified in Article 19 of the United Nations Charter. [Article 19 stipulates that a Member of the United Nations which is in arrears in the payment of its financial contributions to the Organization shall have no vote in the General Assembly if the amount of its arrears equals or exceeds the amount of the contributions due from it for the preceding two full years.]

Also speaking this afternoon were the Foreign Ministers of Bangladesh, Guyana, Sudan and the Congo.

This Assembly will reconvene at 10 a.m., Wednesday, 20 September, when it will continue its general debate.

General Assembly Plenary - 3 - Press Release GA/9774 23rd Meeting (PM) 19 September 2000

Assembly Work Programme

The fifty-fifth regular session of the General Assembly met this afternoon to continue its general debate. It was expected to hear from the representatives of Sierra Leone, Thailand, Turkmenistan, Philippines, Botswana, Bangladesh, India, Guyana, Sudan, Congo, and the Commonwealth of Dominica.

Statements

SAMA BANYA, Minister for Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation of Sierra Leone, said that the United Nations Security Council had deployed over 13,000 peacekeeping troops in Sierra Leone, the largest in any country at any one time. In collaboration with his Government, a special court was being set up to try all those guilty of the most horrendous and atrocious crimes against humanity. Following the unwarranted criminal abduction by the Revolutionary United Front (RUF) of hundreds of United Nations Mission in Sierra Leone (UNAMSIL) troops, the civil society of his Country had organized a peaceful demonstration to appeal to Foday Sankoh for the unconditional release of the hostages. As soon as the demonstrators had reached his residence, Mr. Sankoh’s men had opened fire on the unarmed and defenceless crowd.

He said that under the Lome Agreement, Mr. Sankoh had been appointed Chairman of the Strategic Mineral Resources Commission. He had used his position to secretly open negotiations with a number of people for the exploration and sale of Sierra Leone’s diamonds. His Government had signed the Lome Agreement in the belief that it would put an end to the atrocities being inflicted on defenceless civilians, especially women and children. Although the RUF leaders had lost any right to the provisions, his Government would revive the Agreement, particularly the disarmament, demobilization and rehabilitation programme.

The resolution of the Security Council on the ban of the sale of illegal diamonds from Sierra Leone, the so-called “Blood Diamonds”, was welcome, he said. The proceeds from that illegal trade had served to fuel the rebel war machine. His country was confident that the new arrangements for the marketing of their diamonds would not only end the illegal trade, but also bring sanity into the system to the benefit of the country. Thanks to the decisive actions of the Security Council and the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS), Sierra Leone could see light at the end of the tunnel. The forthcoming trials of those who had committed such horrible crimes would be a signal to would-be adventurers that such impunity would no longer go unpunished.

No words could express the thanks and gratitude of the people of Sierra Leone to the Security Council, to the International Community as a whole and to the troop-contributing countries, he said. Following the occupation and destruction of the economic areas, the carting away of resources, the displacement of hundreds of thousands of people and the wanton destruction of life and property, he appealed to the international community to continue and intensify their humanitarian assistance and to support programmes for rebuilding the country. SURIN PITSUWAN, Minister for Foreign Affairs of Thailand, said although the recent economic and financial crisis had brought devastating consequences for millions of people across the Asia-Pacific region, it had helped refocus the attention of governments on the need to protect the most important of any economy’s assets -- its people. The value of pursuing people-centred development had become even greater. Development was a means to promote people’s welfare and interests rather than an end in itself. It should take into account the interests and welfare of future generations.

One of the most unfortunate consequences of globalization was the “globalization” of the drug and narcotics problem, he said. Illicit production and trafficking in narcotics had eroded the economy’s resources, generated a host of social problems and sapped the human potential. It was a global problem that affected people directly, both users and non-users. Thailand had spared no efforts in tackling the drug problem at the national level, and together with the United Nations International Drug Control Programme would host the international Congress “In Pursuit of a Drug Free Association of South-East Asian Nations (ASEAN) 2015: Sharing the Vision, Leading the Change” in Bangkok in October.

International efforts would have to be strengthened and sustained if the international community was to make a dent in the problem of HIV/AIDS that had already affected more than 36 million people worldwide. He hoped that regional and international cooperation in preventing and alleviating the HIV/AIDS problem would emphasize the exchange of AIDS-related technologies and techniques for the prevention and alleviation of HIV/AIDS, as well as the sharing of knowledge on affordable HIV/AIDS-related drugs. He supported the proposal for a special session of the General Assembly to be convened in 2001 to address the problem.

The most effective way to ensure poverty reduction and promote sustainable development was to empower peoples with the capacity to help themselves, he said. There was no better way to achieve that than through education and training. Thailand attached great importance to human resources development. Human security could only take firm root if the basic needs of peoples were fulfilled and peoples were free from social and economic threats to their well being. He called upon the international community to redouble its efforts to assist displaced persons wherever they might be. As host to 100,000 displaced persons and over a million illegal economic migrants, his country attached great importance to that issue and hoped that it would be resolved soon.

AKSOLTAN ATAEVA (Turkmenistan) said that the twentieth century had been a time of sharp contrasts and contradictions. There had been two world wars, multiple natural and nuclear disasters and the continuation of age-old conflicts. That century had also seen the collapse of the former Soviet Union, which had worn the outer-shell of friendship, but inside had been “worm-eaten”. Out of that rubble had risen many States, such as her own, searching for independence, trying to untangle the knots of their previous existence. Sadly, some of those knots had become even more tangled and threatened to accompany the newly-risen States into the next century. “We must unravel these knots,” she said. Earth was “the house we all share” and it was the duty of all to work to achieve peace and prosperity.

Globalization was the priority problem facing the international community, she continued. With both positive and negative aspects, that “decisive trend” affected the world on all levels, including economically and socially and, particularly, in relation to international law. The effects of globalization in that area were indeed cause for concern and required constant monitoring, as the values and ideals of some must not hold sway over others. Moreover, there must not be a single yardstick for developmental models. A singular model of global development based on the philosophy of some could lead to disaster. Turkmenistan was against this approach. Common progress lay not in a single set of principles but in broad consideration of a combination of ideas.

She went on to say that an important aspect of such broad consideration was dialogue among civilizations. Such a dialogue obliged actors to have respect for a whole range of cultural ideas, making it possible to search for more ways to bring the world together. Dialogue had made it possible for Turkmenistan to ensure stability within the State and build relationships with its neighbors in the region.

She said that the situation in Afghanistan was of great importance to her country. It was clear that any interference, particularly the use of force, would only make the situation worse. The idea of sanctions was particularly counterproductive. Dialogue would produce more positive results. Turkmenistan as a friendly, neutral neighbour of Afghanistan, favoured a positive conclusion through a solution reached under the aegis of the United Nations. Indeed, her country had been making every effort to get the belligerents to sit down at the table and talk. Another concern was the legal status of the Caspian Sea. The realization of the enormous potential of the Caspian was currently being impeded. Countries in the region must be willing to face new realities and bestow a new status upon it.

DOMINGO L.SIAZON, JR, Secretary for Foreign Affairs of the Philippines, said that ethnic strife, religious extremism, economic inequality and social injustice continued to fuel conflict. Despite the new wealth of nations, 1.2 billion people lived on less than one dollar a day, and the 32 poorest African countries did not earn much more than the richest man on earth. And despite the grinding poverty of billions, the world spent $145 per capita on military forces. The world had to do better –- much better.

Above all else, he said, the future belonged to the world’s people, to both the affluent and the destitute, to both the strong and the weak. With everyone’s direct involvement in charting and realizing their common destiny, the door was open to the fullest flowering of humanity’s potential. Wiring the world’s cities onto the information grid of the twenty-first century was indeed a wise investment. It was time to buckle down to work and ensure that, by 2015, all children would be able to complete primary schooling, as education was the best tool for protecting human rights, for promoting democracy and for advancing good governance, he added.

To sustain the United Nations capacity to carry out its tasks, deep institutional reforms must take place, he said. A more energetic and financially stable world organization, led by a pro-active General Assembly and strengthened by a truly representative and transparent Security Council, must emerge. Preventive diplomacy must be the principle tool in warding off conflict. United Nations peacekeeping operations must be prosecuted with clear and well-defined mandates, adequate resources and strong international support, wherever they took place. What must be built was a new global order where human security went beyond mere military security; where law upheld human dignity and both people and State upheld the law; and where political pluralism and cultural diversity were requisite for the attainment of common human objectives.

Development was particularly difficult for countries saddled by mountains of crippling debt, he said. Some $1.6 trillion was now owed by developing countries. In the meantime, development assistance was declining. He appealed to member States to fulfill the Official Development Assistance (ODA) promises made three years ago.

MOMPATI S. MERAFHE, Minister for Foreign Affairs of Botswana, said that on the African continent, the struggle for peace and security remained an all- consuming preoccupation. All the efforts of the leaders of Central and Southern Africa, which produced the Lusaka Agreement, had so far come to naught. A crucial element of the Lusaka Agreement was that there must be dialogue in the Democratic Republic of the Congo if international efforts spearheaded by the United Nations were to bear fruit. Regrettably, there was no such dialogue in progress and, instead, a festering stalemate in the implementation of the Lusaka Agreement was threatening its integrity. He hoped that the Congolese leaders would soon recognize that without the implementation of the Lusaka Agreement in full, their country would be bereft of any hope for peace. Furthermore, he hoped that those who had not yet embraced the Arusha Peace Agreement would soon do so, if peace were to be achieved in Burundi.

The United Nations was making steady progress in Sierra Leone following initial mishaps, he said, and the size of the United Nations force should be enough to frustrate the bandits of the RUF. However, the United Nations or even ECOWAS could not impose the future stability of Sierra Leone. It was the people of Sierra Leone themselves who must embrace the logic of peace through national dialogue and reconciliation. The silence of the guns in the tragic war between Eritrea and Ethiopia could not have been more welcome, he said. The region had more than enough problems; famine was stalking the area evoking earlier episodes of human devastation. In peace, the international community would hopefully be able to assist the affected areas without hindrance.

The struggle for peace in Africa, if it was to be successful, must be prosecuted on two fronts, political and economic, he said. The Secretary- General’s report on the Causes of Conflict in Africa had not fallen on deaf ears. The African continent had been changing for the better for some time. They had come to accept that good governance and the rule of law, far from being sinister neocolonialist concepts, meant simply accountability and transparency on the part of those who were entrusted with the responsibility of running the affairs of their nations. On the economic front, people did not eat democracy or good governance. Democracy in an environment characterized by abject poverty was an endangered species. The western world would do well not to simply shout at Africans, pontificate about human rights and deprecate the continent’s endemic instability. Africans needed and deserved hands-on solidarity and constructive engagement with the developed world if they were to succeed in the struggle for peace and development.

It was no secret, he said, that the United Nations, to which we all professed unflinching commitment and devotion, was perpetually tottering on the brink of insolvency. The United Nations must be strengthened in order to secure the future of mankind. A crucial part of reform and adaptation was the reconfiguration of the Security Council. The Council needed a heavy dose of democratization and accountability. The peacekeeping arm of the United Nations must be strengthened to make good or deliver on our Charter’s pledge. The lessons learnt in Kosovo, East Timor and, more recently, Sierra Leone, had taught us that the United Nations needs better trained and well equipped troops, as well as innovative, imaginative and realistic mandates from the Security Council.

AL-HAJ ABDUS SAMAD AZAD, Minister for Foreign Affairs of Bangladesh, said human rights was a sacred trust for the people of his country because they had been victims of human rights abuse. The person who had championed the cause of fundamental rights, Bangabandhu Sheik Mujibur Rahman, had been murdered along with almost his entire family in 1975. Some of the assassins had managed to escape justice by finding asylum in foreign lands. If human rights were to dominate the agenda of the new century, he urged the international community for its cooperation in bringing those self-confessed killers to Bangladesh to face justice.

In the past decade, the international community had made tremendous progress in recognizing the challenges and adopting programmes of action in the areas of social development, human rights, environment, population, human settlement, food security and women and children. “Let us resolve that the next decade will be the decade of implementation,” he said. Bangladesh was making increasingly higher investments in its people and had focused on the rights of women and children. It had become party to most of the international instruments relating to their rights.

Unfortunately, he said, efforts towards sustainable human development in his country had been set back by calamities beyond its control. Sometimes they had consisted of natural disasters like floods, cyclones and tidal bores. Sometimes they had consisted of silent killers like dengue fever. Two-third of the Bangladesh population was at risk due to arsenic contamination of drinking water. The Government had responded to that crisis with urgency and determination in collaboration with international agencies and non-governmental organizations. Adequate emphasis had been given to ensure alternative sources of safe drinking water for the community, he noted.

To ensure peace and development, one must move ahead with an agenda for real disarmament, he said. The nuclearization of the South Asian region was cause for concern. As one of the least developed regions in the world, South Asia could not afford to get into a race for nuclear weapons. He considered peace and development to be fundamental rights. The United Nations and its Member States must continue to espouse and promote a culture of peace. Bangladesh had taken the initiatives for the international observance of the millennium year, and the first decade of the twenty-first century respectively, as the Year for Peace and Decade for a Culture of Peace and Non-Violence for the Children of the World.

JASWANT SINGH, Minister for External Affairs of India, said that disarmament was essential to engender a greater sense of security among Member States. India had been and would continue to be on the forefront of efforts towards global nuclear disarmament and genuine non-proliferation. The situation with regard to the entry into force of the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty and the lack of progress, on a programme of work at the Conference on Disarmament in Geneva showed the importance of building a consensus on issues that affected international and national security. He reiterated that India did not wish to stand in the way of the entry into force of the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty.

The illicit transfer, manufacture and circulation of small arms were also matters of deep concern to the world community, he said. Terrorism was the global menace of our age, and even as the international community worked together to stamp out the trade in small arms and light weapons, attention must be focused on the users of such weapons: the terrorists. He urged all Member States to work to strengthen the international consensus and legal regimes against terrorism.

The need for expansion of the membership of the Security Council, in both permanent and non-permanent categories, was self-evident, he said. The impact of the action of the Council was felt primarily by the developing countries and yet they had little impact in its decision making. An unrepresentative Council would lack the range and depth of sensitivity, perceptiveness and understanding of the realities that it would have to deal with. He reaffirmed India’s willingness to take on the responsibilities of permanent membership. There was also a growing feeling among Member States that the functioning role of the General Assembly had to be made more effective.

Developments in Fiji since May had caused great concern, he said. The international community should exercise its collective authority and influence to bring Fiji back to the road of democracy and the rule of law. It appeared, he went on, that the world had forgotten Afghanistan. The conflict in that country continued on account of the Taliban’s pursuit of the mirage of military success. It also continued because of outside support, military and financial, to the Taliban. The conflict adversely impacted the peace and security of the entire region. The Taliban and their mentor must heed the world’s demands and abandon the path of conflict.

To address the root causes of poverty meaningfully, firm international commitments were needed, he said. Developing countries and their people could not thrive on a diet of advice and goodwill alone. The process of globalization had produced new potential for sustained economic growth. The benefits of globalization, however, had not percolated to the vast sections who lived in poverty. Enhanced poverty, unemployment and consequent social disintegration had often accompanied globalization. This posed a major challenge. While gross domestic product (GDP) growth rates and selective indicators might point to growth in an economy, the elimination of poverty and enhancement of the quality of life and creation of real choices must be integral to the process of assessing the success of development efforts.

CLEMENT J. ROHEE, Minister for Foreign Affairs of Guyana, said that a high level of tension existed in the governance of the global economy. As many developing countries had discovered, the market was often blind to their particular circumstances and needs. Their concerns had raised serious questions about the fairness of the trading system. The gap between the richest and the poorest countries had widened so dramatically that urgent action must be taken to avoid a major human disaster. The hostile international environment in which they found themselves, not only frustrated their economic and social development, but also rendered the strengthening of the democratic process extremely difficult. While globalization had benefited strong economies, it had weakened many developing countries. The weak could not compete and were eventually marginalized.

The majority of developing countries continued to be crippled by weak infrastructure, he said. Trade liberalization had also led to rapid growth in imports by developing countries while their own exports remained sluggish and their trade deficits widened. Meanwhile, ODA had fallen to its lowest level since 1970. The challenge for the international community was to redress such inequities in the global economy in a comprehensive and sustainable manner, to ensure the smooth integration of developing countries into the globalizing world economy. Developing countries were not asking for charity –- merely the opportunity to develop their potential and take their rightful place in the international economy.

A helpful measure would be to integrate transition periods into current economic models and make provisions for targeted assistance to small economies, he said. Another would be to provide significant debt relief and debt cancellation as necessary, together with development assistance to boost the overall productive capacity of developing countries. Developed countries could also assist in promoting regional integration, as well as South-South cooperation, to allow developing countries to benefit from the many complementarities that they possessed. Equally indispensable was the establishment of a Global Development Fund. He had noted the Secretary- General’s initiative to forge a “global compact” between the United Nations, the private sector and non-governmental organizations in an effort to maximize the development effort. Such a strategy could indeed enhance cooperation on a wide array of global issues.

The international community must recognize the close link between development, peace and stability, he said. At the international level, the principles of the Charter, as well as the laws which civilized nations had come to accept, must be respected to provide an environment conducive to development. While many of the proposals made in the Secretary-General’s report would undoubtedly help to contain the threats to peace and development, he feared that they would be insufficient. It was for this reason that Guyana had placed an item on this year’s agenda entitled “A New Global Human Order”.

MUSTAFA OSMAN ISMAIL, Minister of External Relations (Sudan) said that the right to development was a basic human right. In order to guarantee that right, it was imperative to establish a just and democratic world order that ensured fair terms of trade between rich and poor countries, raised the level of ODA to poor countries and alleviated the debt burden. That was the only viable means for enabling developing countries to share in the benefits which globalization and the information revolution offered.

Turning to reform of the agencies and practices of the United Nations, he said that Member States continued to call for reform of the Security Council by expanding both its permanent and non-permanent membership and making its working methods more transparent and democratic. In that regard he noted the Sudan’s candidacy for non-permanent membership on the Council for 2001-2002. He also said that the call to reform the international sanctions regime was gaining acceptance within the Security Council and other United Nations agencies. Sanctions had caused great damage to the societies and peoples of the States where they had been imposed, in particular vulnerable groups like women, children and the elderly. The Sudan added its voice to ongoing efforts to lift the sanctions on Iraq. In the same context, he reaffirmed the importance of the territorial sovereignty of Iraq as well as Kuwait. He called for a just and urgent solution through cooperation and understanding between the parties.

Of the situation in his own country, he said that he understood the concerns of the international community over the ongoing conflict there. He emphasized, however, that the Sudan had been confronted with a war by a rebel movement seeking to undermine its territorial integrity and the safety and security of its people. And today, more than 10 years after the implementation of the Operation Lifeline Sudan (OLS) Agreement, rebel forces were still repeatedly violating its terms. It was clear that it was now necessary to revise the agreement. In the South, he said, rebels continued to violate the partial ceasefire. That had created obstacles and security complications, which in turn impeded the delivery of humanitarian relief to the affected citizens of the area. He called on the Assembly to pressure the rebel movement to stop using locations such as schools and hospitals as “shields”, and to fulfil its obligations by halting military operations.

The Government of the Sudan continued its efforts at national reconciliation through direct and indirect contacts with the opposition groups. Agreement had been reached to hold a national conference in which all political and social forces in the country would participate, and where all issues pertaining to national unity, freedom and democracy would be discussed. Peaceful settlement of disputes was a principle objective of the United Nations and the Sudan adhered to that objective and endeavoured to realize it.

Two years had passed since the United States military aggression had resulted in the destruction of the Al-Shifa pharmaceutical factory in his country. Immediately following that incident, the Sudan had asked the Security Council to send a fact-finding mission to verify United States allegations concerning the nature of the factory and its financing. Despite doubts about those allegations within the international community -- and even expressed by some American media -- the United States Government refused to admit its mistake. That attitude had deprived children and the poorest populations in the Sudan of medicines at a price less than half of the international rate. He said his country would continue to urge the Security Council and the Assembly to send a fact-finding mission to verify the allegations made by the United States

RODOLPHE ADADA, Minister for Foreign Affairs, Cooperation and la Francophonie of Congo, said the debate was not about whether one was for or against globalization. Globalization was under way, but if it was to produce all its benefits, the interests of developing countries must be taken into account. In that context, matters of development assistance, of debt and of access to markets of developed countries must be envisioned as conditions for a more fruitful and mutually advantageous cooperation between North and South.

It was of the utmost importance to preserve and manage the shared environment along principles of sustainable development. Developed countries and developing countries, governments and the private sector all had to pay the price, in the name of solidarity, to eliminate any pretext for those who sometimes say they had no other way but to degrade the environment. That was all the more the case in safeguarding the indispensable fauna and flora and, particularly, the forests of developing countries. The Congo, as an equatorial country, had made a solemn commitment to the sustainable management and use of its forest.

Whenever it was necessary, the Congo did its utmost to strengthen the links of brotherhood and cooperation with neighbouring countries. In that context, he drew the attention of the international community to the north- eastern part of his country, where there was an influx of refugees and displaced persons because of the conflict in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, with which it shared a 2000-kilometre frontier. He renewed his call for robust assistance to the populations in distress, which had been all but forgotten by the international community.

The Congo had also been shaken by internal conflicts. Peace had been re-established after the signing of ceasefire agreements last year, thanks to mediation by the President of Gabon, to whom he extended his gratitude. Since then, the Congo had faced the future, which consisted of consolidation of the peace, national reconciliation, restructuring the country and relaunching the democratic process. A draft constitution would be submitted to the transitional parliament by March 2001. An interim post-conflict programme had been adopted, and the support of the international community was indispensable for its purposes, he said.

ROOSEVELT DOUGLAS, the Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Commonwealth of Dominica, described the recently concluded Millennium Assembly as exceptional for the number of world leaders who attended the historic event. While the Declaration adopted at its conclusion set forth laudable values and principles, it was nevertheless a "strikingly sad chronicle" of the deplorable and abject conditions that affect the lives of most of the

world's population, specifically debilitating and abject poverty; economic deprivation; oppression and injustice; and inadequate or non-existent health care in the face of the HIV/AIDS epidemic.

Prime Minister Douglas stated that raising living standards in his country had been made much more difficult by the negative impact of globalization and trade liberation, which accrued benefits to the rich and developed countries. In fact, globalization had resulted in greater inequality and marginalization, and a widening of the gap between rich and poor nations.

He also took issue with the alarming tendency of the rich and powerful to fashion international trading rules and organizations for the purpose of giving them a decided edge in international commerce. They also advanced the concept of free trade for income enhancement in the developing world, but maintained protectionist policies for selected items of trade and simultaneously denied market access. A case in point was the World Trade Organization (WTO) and its dispute with respect to the European Union's banana regime, which has resulted in economic stagnation and dislocation in the Windward Islands. Dominica's fledging financial services sector was similarly subjected to attack from the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), which alleged that several Caribbean nations were guilty of establishing tax havens.

Dominica's development programmes and strategies continued to be affected by the decline in ODA. The fact that foreign direct investment did not bridge the gap was unfortunate, since a climate of good governance and stable, democratic institutions -- prerequisites for investment development -- existed in Dominica. He felt obliged to say that the more advanced developing states had benefited disproportionately from the tremendous increase in foreign direct investment over the last decade.

In 1994 the Global Conference on the Sustainable Development of Small Island Developing States reaffirmed its commitment to sustainable development programmes that enhanced the quality of life. As one of the Small Island Developing States, Dominica had to deal with the problem of the safe disposal of solid and liquid waste, which could result in marine pollution and coastal degradation. It was true, as the Rio Declaration on Environment and Development said, that Small Island Developing States would be constrained in meeting the challenges they faced without the cooperation and assistance of the international community. The Prime Minister concluded by stressing the need to include all Members -- whether from developed, developing or least developed countries -- in sharing a future based on the premise of the United Nations Charter.

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