Fifty-seventh General Assembly

Plenary

9^th Meeting (PM)

INEQUITABLE DISTRIBUTION OF GLOBALIZATION’S BENEFITS IS FERTILE SOIL

FOR EXTREMISTS, SAY SPEAKERS IN ASSEMBLY’S GENERAL DEBATE

As the fifty-seventh General Assembly continued its general debate this afternoon, top government ministers from small island developing States as well as from other developing nations urged the international community to craft a new strategy to redress the inequities of globalization -- one which promoted equal opportunity as well as equal participation, and which addressed the root causes of other global ills.

Timothy Harris, Minister for Foreign Affairs and Education of Saint Kitts and Nevis, said that during this session the Assembly had the critical task of exploring ways for developing countries to finally make use of the much-lauded benefits of globalization.  While globalization was not a bad thing, it was certainly being managed badly -- twisting the current global economic structure so that it rewarded the powerful and punished the weak.  Rather, globalization must include true universal equity and be advanced through shared responsibility and good governance.

"What we want is attainable", he continued, "and we call on the United Nations to facilitate, develop and promote mechanisms where partnership, collective responsibility and mutual respect are allowed to flourish".  He said the principal goal of globalization should be to level the playing field so that equal opportunities were provided for all.  Only when the hungry were fed, the vulnerable made strong, and the disenfranchised were empowered could the world be free of anarchy, terrorism and conflict. 

Kamal Kharrazi, Minister for Foreign Affairs of Iran, wondered if it was even possible to envisage "beneficial globalization" when private international capital and foreign direct investment were concentrated in a limited number of countries or when developing nations did not receive the necessary technical assistance to enhance their capacities for production and manufacturing.  Globalization would bear fruitful results only if it was accompanied by a non-selective and non-discriminatory approach, he said.  It must also provide equal opportunities for all within the framework of global partnership.

He said an open, equitable, transparent and non-discriminatory international trading system would be a prerequisite for achieving the goals of economic growth, closing the gap between the haves and have-nots, and ensuring sustainable development in the developing countries.  Many of those issues must be addressed in the fight against terrorism as well, he continued.  Related ills such as

occupation and violation of sovereignty, and increasing injustice and discrimination, were also worthy of examination in that regard.  He suggested the convening of a world summit on the matter, which would seek to develop an inclusive, definitive and generally acceptable definition of terrorism.

Echoing many of those sentiments, Louis Michel, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Foreign Affairs of Belgium, said the struggle against terrorism must be based on effectiveness and not lead to distortion of the nature of democratic life in a legally constituted State.  The fundamental rights of everybody in the world must be defended.  Moreover, military means were not enough to put an end to the horrible phenomenon of terrorism.  Poverty, injustice, exclusion and humiliation were fertile grounds for extremists, because they took advantage of people’s hopelessness.

He said recent United Nations conferences and summits in Monterrey, Rome and Johannesburg had come to the same conclusions and had identified the same causes.  There was a need for a loftier idea of cooperation, not deriving from paternalism but from mutual respect.  Once the conferences were over, however, poverty was still there and one had the impression that those who had expected so much had been offered only empty rhetoric.  The Millennium Development Goals must become the reference for the work to be done by the United Nations.

Somsavat Lengsavad, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Foreign Affairs of the Lao People’s Democratic Republic, said globalization had brought numerous challenges to the majority of the world, in particular to the developing countries.  While those countries had adopted measures to cope with their unique problems, they still faced the challenge of financing and of developing human resources capable of handling new technologies.  He feared the Johannesburg Summit had failed to respond to the strong aspirations of developing countries in addressing the issues of the environment and sustainable development. 

Violent conflicts were raging in many parts of the planet, he said.  The United Nations had a greater role than ever in resolving disputes and extinguishing new flashpoints.  He called for the reform of the Organization -- and in particular reform of the Security Council -- so as to enable it to meet the formidable challenge of poverty eradication and the promotion of sustainable development. 

Ministers from the following countries also addressed the Assembly this afternoon:  Armenia, Jordan, Malta, Hungary, Greece, Angola, Andorra, and the Bahamas.

The Assembly will hold a high-level plenary at 9 a.m. tomorrow on review and appraisal of the United Nations New Agenda for the Development of Africa, including how to support the New Partnership for Africa's Development (NEPAD).

Background

The General Assembly met this afternoon to continue its general debate.

Statements

LOUIS MICHEL, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Foreign Affairs of Belgium, said after September 2001 all democratic forces throughout the world had felt a moment of terror and fear.  That irrational violence had threatened the democratic values of the world.  The free world had come together in solidarity with a view to survival.  Today, one needed to move beyond fear. Now, more than ever, one had to believe that those that offered hope were the people of the world in their great diversity.  The struggle against terrorism must be based on effectiveness and not lead to distortion of the nature of democratic life in a legally constituted State.  The fundamental rights of everybody in the world must be defended.

He said military means were not enough to put an end to the horrible phenomenon of terrorism.  Poverty, injustice, exclusion and humiliation were fertile grounds for extremists, because they took advantage of people’s hopelessness.  The conferences of Monterrey, Rome and Johannesburg had come to the same conclusions and had identified the same causes.  There was a need for a loftier idea of cooperation, not deriving from paternalism but from mutual respect.  Once the conferences were over, however, poverty was still there and one had the impression that those who had expected so much had been offered only empty rhetoric.  The Millennium Development Goals must become the reference for the work to be done by the United Nations.

He also attached great importance to follow up on the implementation of the Durban Programme of Action, as combating intolerance and racism was essential.  Unless past injustices were recognized, there was no solid basis for working towards the future.  Gender equality was also essential in a civilization of progress towards democracy.  The General Assembly must be revitalized, and membership of the Security Council must be increased.  His country had been in the forefront of establishing the Rome Statute and it was resolved to uphold its integrity.  He urged the international community to offer the International Criminal Court the necessary resources.

The issue of Iraq was a challenge to all because it involved questions such as the need to eliminate the threat to the international community and ensuring the credibility of the Organization.  It also entailed determining whether a country had weapons of mass destruction, whether a country with legal obligations to the United Nations was going to apply them and whether the use of military action was a problem under international law.  He “solemnly and formally” appealed to Iraq to implement unconditionally the resolutions adopted by the United Nations.  It was the only way to avoid recourse to force.

SOMSAVAT LENGSAVAD, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Foreign Affairs of the Lao People’s Democratic Republic, said the current session was taking place at a time when Member States had entered the third year of implementing the Development Goals adopted at the Millennium Summit.  While some progress had been made, much more needed to be done.  Globalization had brought numerous challenges to the majority of the world, in particular to the developing countries.  While those countries had adopted measures to cope with their particular challenges, they still faced the problem of financing and of developing human resources capable of handling new technologies.  The Johannesburg World Summit had failed to respond to the strong aspirations of developing countries in addressing the issues of the environment and sustainable development. 

Violent conflicts were raging in many parts of the planet, he said.  The United Nations had a greater role than ever in resolving disputes and extinguishing new flashpoints.  He called for the reform of the Organization so as to enable it to meet the formidable challenge of poverty eradication and the promotion of sustainable development, in particular the reform of the Security Council. 

His Government shared the international community’s deep concern over the excessive use of force in the Middle East, he said.  Only a politically negotiated settlement acceptable to both parties under international supervision would bring peace, stability and cooperation to the region.  Such a settlement must be preceded by respect for the inalienable right of the Palestinian people to establish an independent and viable State of their own, living side by side with Israel in peace and security within internationally recognized borders.  In the Caribbean region, the Lao People’s Democratic Republic reiterated its call for the lifting of the economic, financial and trade embargo against Cuba by the United States.  An end to that obsolete policy would not only mean effective compliance with various United Nations General Assembly resolutions but would also promote economic prosperity and cooperation in the region. 

Regarding the Korean Peninsula, the Lao Government welcomed such positive recent developments as the Inter-Korean Ministerial Talks, and the preparations for negotiation between the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea, the United States and Japan.  While many countries were taking advantage of globalization, the landlocked developing countries were still marginalized due to their geographical disadvantage.  Over the past year, his country had striven to seize all opportunities offered by the globalization process to safeguard national interests and promote development cooperation in the region and in the world.

VARTAN OSKANIAN, Minister for Foreign Affairs of Armenia, said that the economic prosperity of a nation hinged on internal, regional and international stability, and that stability in turn depended on cooperation and good will.  “In our region, despite the existence of various conflicts, we continue to be hopeful that democratic processes will create civil societies with responsible leaders committed to the resolution of political issues”, he said.

He said that the international community’s challenge continued to be to adopt policies that would contribute to the peaceful solution of conflicts.  In order to adopt correct policies, criteria had to be adopted which would help characterize and judge each case on its own merit, realistically taking into account the real situation on the ground, in order to reach such lasting solutions.

On relations between Armenia and Azerbaijan on the issue of Nagorno Karabagh, he said the people on the ground on all sides had demonstrated their readiness for peace, for political and economic stability.  “We who are entrusted with transforming these efforts and desires into a just peace must approach our task honestly and responsibly”, he said.

MARWAN MUASHER, Minister for Foreign Affairs of Jordan, said his country had been in the vanguard of every international effort to deal with terrorism.  Jordan had suffered from terrorism and its evils.  Terrorists had struck at its national symbols, citizens and interests.  The eradication of terrorism was a common goal of all States and societies.  There were, however, surreptitious tendencies to link terrorism to a specific religion or culture.  Effective repudiation of those inclinations was imperative. 

The current situation in the Middle East was extremely dangerous, he said.  Israel’s reoccupation of the Palestinian Authority’s territories, together with certain measures, such as closures and siege, had created intolerable living conditions for the Palestinian people.  Israeli measures to strangle the Palestinian people -- economically and politically -- had reached inadmissibly serious levels.  Israel must make the first move by ending its occupation of Palestinian towns and its punitive policies.  It was in Israel’s interest to pursue constructive policies towards the Palestinians in order to restore mutual confidence and to rehabilitate the values of reconciliation and coexistence. 

He called on Israel to implement Security Council resolution 1402, which provided for full Israeli withdrawal from all Palestinian cities.  The only viable course for addressing the Palestinian-Israeli question lay in the resumption of the peace process within the agreed frameworks -- established on the basis of complete Israeli withdrawal from all Arab territories occupied in 1967 and the establishment of an independent Palestinian State with East Jerusalem as its capital.  He trusted that Israel would be forthcoming in response to the balanced initiative adopted by the Arab leaders at the Beirut Summit last March.  That plan was a pledge by Arab States to conclude peace agreements with the State of Israel in return for its complete withdrawal from the Palestinian, Syrian and Lebanese territories to pre-June 1967 border lines.

Jordan supported efforts to draw up a clear road map leading to the implementation of President Bush’s commitment, he said.  A clear timeline for all phases should be set so that the deadline for the birth of the independent Palestinian State would not go beyond 2005.  Moreover, an international supervisory mechanism to ensure the implementation of measures should be created.  He hoped that that scenario would be examined in the Quartet meeting in New York within the next few days, with a view to adopting a plan of action and creating the basis for a comprehensive international obligation. 

The most appropriate means of resolving outstanding matters between the United Nations and Iraq was to ensure the immediate and full implementation of all relevant Security Council resolutions, he said.  If conditions were met, the people of Iraq would be saved from military action, which would further aggravate their suffering.  He invited Iran to be responsive to the calls by the United Arab Emirates to reach a peaceful settlement of the problem of the three islands under dispute. 

JOE BORG, Minister for Foreign Affairs of Malta, said that although the objectives of the Summit for Sustainable Development in Johannesburg could not all be reached, a plan of action with specific targets to tackle key development problems had been adopted.  He hoped that plan would attract the necessary additional resources that to its implementation possible.

As a co-sponsor of the resolution establishing the Ad Hoc Commission on the Reproductive Cloning of Human Beings, he said the deliberations there had brought to the fore a consensus on the need to respond to the challenges posed by scientists who were unwilling to recognize the deep moral implications of their actions.  The time was ripe to give the Commission a clear mandate to negotiate a Convention.  At the twentieth anniversary of the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea, the role of the instruments of international law should be recognized for the contribution they made to the prevention of conflict and of threats to international security.

He said the complex changes to national legislation necessary to allow for Malta’s ratification of the Rome Statue should be presented to Parliament soon.  The International Criminal Court was born of the atrocities carried out during the last century; it was the product of lessons learned over time and of the widespread political determination to create a credible deterrent to would-be perpetrators of the most heinous crimes.  The establishment of the Court also represented a major breakthrough in international law -- a crucial one now that terrorism had imposed itself high on the international agenda.

Malta’s location at the centre of the Mediterranean provided opportunities for trade and development.  Its strategic location, however, was now also the scene of another socio-economic phenomenon:  the poverty divide that cut across the Mediterranean Sea.  The disparities of wealth impelled thousands of people from the southern Mediterranean to entrust their lives and hopes to traffickers.  The imperative of narrowing the wealth divide across the Mediterranean was one of the philosophical cornerstones of the Euro-Med Process, which sought to bring together the European Union and 12 Mediterranean States.  Accession of Malta to the European Union would enhance its ability to promote peace and prosperity within the Mediterranean.

LASZLO KOVACS, Minister for Foreign Affairs of Hungary, said that since 11 September 2001, the fight against international terrorism was high on the agendas of many nations, and Hungary was no exception.  It had consistently acted in conjunction with its allies and the international community and had taken the necessary domestic legislative measures to implement the decisions of the international community.  Just this week, Hungary's Parliament had ratified the International Convention on the Suppression of Financing of Terrorism, and his nation was now party to all relevant United Nations instruments.

Turning next to global challenges and new types of security risks, he welcomed the efforts achieved thus far by the Government of Afghanistan with the help of the international community.  On Iraq's non-compliance with Security Council resolutions, he said it was regrettable that the country's regime refused to cooperate with the United Nations.  The international community could not disregard the threat that posed to the Middle East region and the world at large.  Hungary would work with its allies and partners to ensure that Council resolutions were implemented and that a broad coalition was built to prevent the Iraqi regime from producing and using weapons of mass destruction.

He went on to say that the United Nations had a decisive role to play in tackling other major global challenges such as drug-trafficking, money-laundering, corruption and transnational organized crime.  New types of security threats, including regional instability, armed conflicts and natural or man-made catastrophes, now tended to exacerbate those ills.  He added that in order to deal with threats posed by weapons of mass destruction, the next logical step following the 2002 review cycle of the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons (NPT) was the early commencement of the Fissile Material Cut-off Treaty.  He added that challenges posed by "deliberate diseases" such as anthrax required reinforcement of national public health and civilian defence capabilities.  International cooperation and complementary preventive measures for such bio-hazards were also critical.

GEORGE PAPANDREOU, Minister for Foreign Affairs of Greece, said there were no simple answers to the world’s new challenges, but there was a place to find solutions:  the United Nations.  The world needed a strong United Nations.  In the previous century, Greece had gone through numerous wars and trials, including civil war and famine.  Today, conflict continued to rumble not far from Greece.  All efforts must be made, for example, to ensure a secure Israel and a Palestinian State. 

Greece, he said, championed the enlargement of the European Union, which was a community of values and the biggest peace project in the region.  The European Union was building not only a community of nations, but also a community of values, he continued.  Greek’s upcoming presidency of the Union would focus on transatlantic relationships.  The United States and European Union shared common values, such as cultural diversity, which was at the heart of the European project.  The Union was building a new neighbourhood of peace, cooperation and democracy.  A case in point was the efforts of Greece and Turkey to create a framework to solve existing problems.  Athens and Ankara had concluded a number of agreements designed to ease tension and strengthen common interests.  While differences remained on certain issues, the two nations had come a long way. 

Shared values, however, were being tested on Cyprus, he said.  Negotiations for accession to the European Union would soon be finalized.  He hoped a free, united Cyprus would join a free, united Europe.  If a political settlement was not reached, Cyprus would join alone.  Greece shared the vision of Cyprus as a federal State with a single citizenship and no foreign troops on its soil, and the vast majority of the Cypriot populations agreed that the two populations could live together.  United Nations resolutions on Cyprus must be respected and honoured. 

The situation in Iraq, he said, challenged respect for the principles of international law and international organizations.  Those principles must be safeguarded but actions on Iraq must be embedded in respect for the Iraqi people.  All political avenues for resolving the situation must be explored. 

Greece would make good on its commitments to sustainable development, he said.  The International Criminal Court was a commitment of the community of nations to allow no crimes against humanity to go unpunished.  The same values lay at the heart of the Olympic Truce, which the Millennium Declaration had endorsed

-- the values of democracy, human rights and peace.

KAMAL KHARRAZI, Minister for Foreign Affairs of Iran, said that today's world -- marked by expansive diversity and new technological influences -- should have at its democratic centre the humane and fundamental principles of peace and security, freedom and independence, justice and fairness.  A genuine and effective fight against terrorism must include an attempt to identify the underlying root causes of terrorism as well as a concerted effort on the part of the international community to address them.  Issues such as deepening poverty, underdevelopment, occupation, violation of sovereignty, and increasing injustice and discrimination worldwide were all worthy of examination in that regard.  Further, he suggested that a wise and principled approach to addressing terrorism should include full international cooperation on and participation in a world summit on the issue.  He added that any attempt to correlate terrorism with any form of religion should be avoided.

As a victim of the most brutal acts of terrorism, Iran regarded the fight against that scourge a top priority, he said.  Also, Iran remained dedicated to the cause of promoting international solidarity, peace and security, and observed the current trend of international disarmament negotiations with great concern.  Iran was particularly concerned that the Conference on Disarmament had been stuck for five years in a discussion of its organization of work.  It was also concerned by the behaviour of one permanent member of the Security Council -- holder of the largest arsenal of nuclear weapons -- and its rejection of the Comprehensive Nuclear Test-Ban Treaty (CTBT) and its withdrawal from the Anti-Ballistic Missile (ABM) Treaty.  The only way to address that State's persistent unilateralism was to strengthen international disarmament and arms control instruments through multilateral negotiations.

Globalization, he said, would bear fruitful results only if it was accompanied by a non-selective and non-discriminatory approach.  Globalization must also provide equal opportunities for all within the framework of global partnerships.  He wondered if it was even possible to consider globalization beneficial when private international capital and foreign direct investment were concentrated in a limited number of countries, and when the developing nations did not receive the necessary technical assistance to enhance their capacities for production and manufacturing.  An open, equitable, transparent and non-discriminatory international trading system would be a prerequisite for achieving the goals of economic growth and sustainable development in the developing countries. 

Continued brutalities in Palestine, he said, once more indicated that solutions not grounded in justice and realism would fail to bring durable peace.  The Palestinian people had a right, under the Charter and international law, to persist in their struggle to restore their inalienable rights.  Occupation must be condemned, and so must labelling those fighting to liberate their homeland as terrorists.  Finally, Iran believed that respecting the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Iraq, compliance by Iraq with Security Council resolutions, and the subsequent lifting of international sanctions against that country was the only way to address the current situation there.  Iran was against any unilateral action or military intervention in Iraq, and the United Nations must play the leading role in that regard.

JOAO BERNARDO DE MIRANDA, Minister for External Affairs of Angola, said that important advances had been made by the international community in the fight against terrorism.  Because of a global and coordinated effort, major terrorist networks had been dismembered.  Reiterating Angola’s strong condemnation of terrorist acts, including the one against the United States on 11 September, he pledged his country’s continued commitment to the strict implementation of Security Council resolution 1373.

He said experience had shown that belated and ineffectual reactions to situations led to the escalation of protracted and intractable conflicts, especially in Africa.  In his own country, he said, the peace process would soon be concluded with the completion of the political tasks still pending under the Lusaka Protocol.  “Now in peace, Angola is more than ever ready and willing to take on its role as a sister nation in Africa and the world.  In the coming days, it will assume the presidency of the Southern African Development Community (SADC), the most important regional organization for the economic integration of southern Africa.”

He noted that Angola was also a candidate for a non-permanent seat in the Security Council in the elections scheduled for the current session of the General Assembly.  In both bodies, Angola intended to contribute actively towards an environment of stability, fostering the development and economic welfare of its people.  Of central concern was the issue of peace in Central Africa, particularly in the Democratic Republic of the Congo.  Only with peace would it be possible to avert the widespread destabilization of the region.

On the Middle East, he said that a renewed escalation of violence might hamper current initiatives towards the peaceful settlement of the Palestinian conflict and the termination of the Arab-Israeli crisis.  He urge the parties to return to the negotiating table and to find a political settlement that would serve the best interests and the security requirements of all the peoples of the region.

JULI MINOVES-TRIQUELL, Minister for Foreign Affairs of Andorra, said the current session seemed caught between the tragic past and an uncertain future.  The 11 September attacks and the war in Afghanistan had taken place in the past year.  Would there be an intervention in Iraq, more attacks in America, Europe or elsewhere, he asked?  Andorra was a small country, nestled in the protected valleys of the Pyrenees, that had been peaceful for nearly a thousand years.  Two models of five centuries ago embodied its understanding of the future:  God’s providence and the wheel of Fortune.  God’s prohibition against suicide -- shared by the three great religions of the West -- had been broken by the suicide attacks of 11 September.

He said when the terrorists attacked the United States, they also attacked the future:  the future of tolerance, not controlled by fate but by mankind.  The attacks demanded a strong response, such as the mission in Afghanistan and the continued destruction of Al Qaeda.  That was the kind of response the perpetrators of the violence would understand.  But violence bred violence and the future of violence was simple destruction -- nothing.  There was a risk of entering into an endless war against a shadowy enemy, which might prove to be hard to win completely.  Yet, he said, it must be won.

Against violence, the first and strongest line of defence was the rule of law, with diplomacy to shape it.  That was why his country trusted the United Nations to lead the world from its history of violence towards its common future.  Regarding Iraq, he supported the role of the United Nations and would follow carefully the debates in the Security Council.  In the wake of “9/11” he recognized both the need for the rule of law and the cause of that need:  the vulnerability of all people to malevolent attack.  The motto of Andorra was “Virtus Unita Fortior”, United We Stand.  It was a recognition that together, people were stronger.

Nothing could justify the attack of 11 September, but it was important to consider the roots of violence.  If people felt excluded from the future, their alienation gave them a mad and violent certainty.  There was a need to rebuild an inclusive and tolerant idea of the future, an idea that was all too easily forgotten in war.  “We must recognize the power of our vulnerability, for in this recognition we recover our strength, our vision of a common future and the will to act together.  It is together that we will win the war against terrorism”, he said.

TIMOTHY HARRIS, Minister for Foreign Affairs and Education of Saint Kitts and Nevis, said the Assembly's agenda this year should include, among other things, building partnerships for development, striving to ensure global economic equity and, most critically, extracting the much-lauded benefits of globalization.  He added that all those things were needed to ensure that technologically deficient countries as well as those heavily dependent on agriculture were able to compete.  Indeed, there was much work ahead if the international community wished to bridge the gap between rich and poor societies.  "The United Nations must evolve as a dynamic and receptive body in order to stem the tides that threaten us", he said.

While globalization was not a bad thing, it was certainly being managed badly -- twisting the current global economic structure so that it rewarded the powerful and punished the weak.  He said the profound changes wrought by globalization did not necessitate abandoning the principles and values that bound the global community:  globalization must include true universal equity and be advanced with a view towards shared responsibility and good governance.  He believed that the United Nations was uniquely positioned to respond to that challenge, and therefore questioned attempts to transform certain of its organs, such as the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), into advisory bodies, moving them away from development assistance which poor countries needed now more than ever.

He said the principal goal of globalization was to level the playing field so that equal opportunities were provided for all.  Only when the hungry were fed, the vulnerable made strong  and the disenfranchised were empowered could the world be free of anarchy, terrorism and conflict.  "What we want is attainable", he continued, "and we call on the United Nations to facilitate, develop and promote mechanisms where partnership, collective responsibility and mutual respect are allowed to flourish". 

He went on to say that representation in the Organization was crucial to all multilateral efforts to make the world a better place.  To that end, he drew the Assembly's attention to the status of the people of the Republic of China on Taiwan.  Membership in the United Nations was a celebration and validation of a people’s fundamental human rights.  He therefore lamented the stalemate that continued to keep the people of the Republic of China on Taiwan excluded from the United Nations family.  That situation was particularly troubling as their participation in international activities such as providing technical assistance and development assistance often surpassed that of many Member States.  It had been regrettable that the Organization had been thus far unable to come up with a meaningful and practical formula to allow people on both sides of the Taiwanese Straits to resolve that impasse.  He also reiterated his delegation's call to strengthen efforts to halt the trans-shipment of nuclear waste through the region.

FREDERICK A. MITCHELL, Minister for Foreign Affairs and the Public Service of the Bahamas, said his country supported measures to bring the perpetrators of the 11 September attacks to justice, and to prevent terrorism in all its forms.  He said the Bahamas was still seeking to recover from the effects of the unemployment created by the attacks by taking steps to rebuild its economy.

To face the challenge, the country had initiated changes to its domestic law and, through the United Nations, the Commonwealth and the Organization of American States, had become parties to international conventions to bolster its capacity to play its role in the fight against those attacks on its way of life.  The Bahamas believed that there was no better legacy for future generations than an earth that was safe, secure and that could sustain life.

He said that the Bahamas was concerned about the present economic order and wondered whether globalization and trade liberalization could function as a vehicle for progressive change in all countries large and small, developed and developing.  “We are committed to adapting to change, but at a pace and in a manner and form that is consistent with the way we live”, he said.  The Bahamas was the unwitting transit point for illegal activities, such as the smuggling of human beings and the illicit trade in narcotic drugs.  It was working closely with the United States and other neighbouring countries to address those issues.

On the Middle East, he said that the conflict between Israel and the Palestinian people was a matter of concern.  The Bahamas therefore supported the peaceful settlement of that issue in accordance with all applicable United Nations resolutions.  The Bahamas was equally concerned about developments in Africa, and as part of the African Diaspora it wished to see Africa prosper, to see its wars cease and to see equitable policies extended to all of the many and varied people of that continent.

The Bahamas, he said, also supported Security Council reform and believed that the time had come for it to take the hard decisions.  It must agree to a practical programme of reform that took fully into account the need for equitable membership and for a more democratic and transparent Council.

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