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The Honourable Justin L. Simon QC
Attorney-General and Minister of
Legal Affairs
Antigua and Barbuda
ADDRESS
TO THE
UNITED NATIONS
GENERAL ASSEMBLY
on the occasion of the
General Debate
of the 61st Session
United Nations General Assembly
27
September, 2006
United Nations
New
York
Madam President
Distinguished Heads
Excellencies
Antigua and Barbuda joins the other members of
the United Nations in congratulating Her Excellency Sheikha Haya
Rashed Al Kalifa on being elected President of the 61st
Session of the United Nations General Assembly. Madam President, we
wish you success in all your efforts and assure you of our full
co-operation.
I would also wish to thank and congratulate
your predecessor Mr. Jan Eliasson for his profound leadership of the
60th regular session of the General Assembly.
I wish also to convey the appreciation of the
Government of Antigua and Barbuda to Mr. Kofi Annan for his many
years of service to the United Nations and for his overall
dedication to the pursuit of world peace and development. Every year
brings new and unique challenges which add to the burdens of the
office of the Secretary General, and this past year has been no
exception. In bidding Mr. Annan farewell, on behalf of the
Government and people of Antigua and Barbuda, I pay tribute to his
indomitable courage over the past ten years, and say to him: success
is never final and failure is never fatal; it is courage that
counts, and you Sir, have risen to the challenge when it counted
most.
Madam President,
Among the many accomplishments of the Twentieth
Century was the establishment of the United Nations. And among the
accomplishments of the United Nations in its 60 years of existence
is its advocacy of decolonization by peaceful means; its advancement
of the concept of sovereignty as a natural right of all nations and
all peoples; and the awareness it has brought to the international
community that in this era of globalization the majority of
humanity are afflicted not by inter-state wars, but by the ravages
of
poverty, hunger, disease, environmental
degradation, and human rights violations.
We are aware of the awesome task of
implementing the reform measures for this organization. We are
however encouraged by the significant achievements made since the
adoption of the Outcome Document of the 2005 World Summit. We are
pleased that some progress has been made in areas such as the
establishment of the Human Rights Council, the Central Emergency
Fund, the launching of the Peace Building Commission, and agreement
on a counter terrorism strategy.
Respectfully, Antigua and Barbuda
joins this community of nations in underscoring the importance of
social and economic development, basic human rights and their
importance to the maintenance of international peace and security,
mutual respect, and lasting goodwill among nations.
Madam President,
Slavery is today perhaps the most
under-recognized crime against humanity in spite of its vicious
displacement and brutal treatment of an entire race. Next year,
2007, marks the 200th anniversary of the abolition of the
trans-Atlantic triangular slave trade. The fourteen (14) member
countries of the Caribbean Community, whose people are principally
of African slave descent, are committed to bringing this anniversary
to the attention of the world, and we look forward to your unanimous
support in the United Nations General Assembly of our forthcoming
resolution, and your joining us in the appropriate recognition of
this event which foreshadowed the abolition of slavery.
Madam President,
In a few weeks, on November 1st, Antigua and
Barbuda will celebrate twenty five (25) years of political
independence. As we take stock of our challenges and experiences in
nation-building and our actions in attempting to achieve and
maintain a decent standard of living for our people, our progress
report is one mixed with successes and failures punctuated with hope
and frustration. Madam President, the reality is that we are a
politically independent, small-island nation with limited
resources, existing in an economically interdependent yet fiercely
competitive world.
Our challenges are many, but, emerging from a
colonial dominated past, we are indeed proud of our history as an
independent democratic state where people of whatever race creed or
political affiliation are free to express and exercise all basic and
fundamental human rights, which are inherent features of the United
Nations legal framework. However, for a politically independent
nation like ours to survive in this economically interdependent
world, this requires effective multilateralism and the forging of
real international partnerships. In other words, our future depends
on our ability to work well with each other within a spirit
of understanding and respect, given our diverse cultures and
economies.
Madam President,
Antigua and Barbuda is acutely aware of the
importance of partnerships and of the necessity of working within a
multilateral framework to meet the challenges we face as a young
developing nation. This brings me to the importance of the United
Nations in its role as a melting pot of ideas for constructive and
positive action. Madam President, the UN’s development agenda is an
ambitious, noble, worthy, and necessary one. Were we to accomplish
the goals we have set within the specified timeframes, it would be a
testament to the greatness of humanity. My government and people
therefore support any process of reform of the United Nations that
will enhance the level of representation in all its principal
organs, increase its effectiveness, and improve its legitimacy. It
should be more democratic in its representation, more reflective of
modern-day geopolitical realities, and more timely and effective in
delivering on the outcomes of its many international conferences,
summits, and agreements, including, of course, the Millennium
Declaration.
Madam President,
We are wholeheartedly in agreement with those
who believe that multilateralism should not be subverted and that
the UN’s framework for the peaceful resolution of international
conflicts should not be undermined or replaced by unilateralist
tendencies.
Additionally, in our efforts to revamp and
revitalize the various development organs of the United Nations we
should pay particular attention to the vulnerability of states.
Madam President, when the entire GDP of a country can be wiped out
by a single common-place natural disaster, that country’s economy is
most definitely vulnerable. When the economic mainstay of a country
can be cut off by activities and events that occur in another
country many many miles away, that country is indeed vulnerable.
When a country’s economic activity can be effectively stymied by
the failure or refusal of another country to abide by international
rules, accepted norms, and arbitral determinations,
that country’s economic prospects are certainly vulnerable. For
small island states like us, such vulnerability is our greatest
insecurity.
Over the years Antigua and Barbuda has joined
the rest of the world in mourning immeasurable losses from natural
disasters – be it monsoon flooding, sub-Saharan drought, or Asian
tsunamis. Our Caribbean sub-region is particularly susceptible to
the annual ravages of a hurricane season from June (which the
popular ditty says is “too soon”) to October (when it may be “all
over”). My country’s government feels that a review of existing
international disaster relief funds and an increase in the amount of
financial resources made available, are necessary for the
elimination of this sad state of economic vulnerability of so many
nations.
Madam President, with regards to international
peace and security, the Government of Antigua and Barbuda does not
believe that war benefits any country – not the warrior, not the
vanquished, not the passive onlooker. As leaders of nations,
international peace is the greatest gift we can give to our peoples
and to our children. Hence, a world where friendly diplomatic
relations and dispute-solving discussions between countries are
promoted, is a world in which our children and grandchildren will
inherit a legacy worth cherishing. Our present day values and our
hope for a better tomorrow have been reason enough for my country’s
compliance with a significant number of UN-mandated anti-terrorism
treaties. Terrorism breathes insecurity and places a severe
financial burden even on countries and communities far removed from
the actual terrorist act. We join others in encouraging the members
of the United Nations to continue to deal comprehensively with the
threat of terrorism by all means necessary, including the promotion
of and respect for religious, cultural and ethnic tolerance. We must
of necessity be more responsible when we speak as influential world
leaders. With the growth and development of technology, all the
world’s a stage that William Shakespeare never foresaw. It therefore
behooves us all to constantly and continuously mind our exits and
our entrances and the many parts that we play on the global stage.
Madam President,
Today we join a list of countries who have,
time and again in these hallowed halls, repeated the clarion call
for greater action by the international community to realize the
laudable objectives and full intentions of the United Nations
Charter in the areas of meaningful development financing, and the
concept of fair trade. Secretary-General Kofi Annan is politically
correct when he said a few days ago from this very podium: “global
partnership for development is still more a phase than a fact –
especially in the all important area of trade”. Too often we take
corrective steps at home on the domestic level, to create, in the
jargon of the UN, “an enabling environment”. Yet we see little or no
real and tangible results because developed countries do not deliver
on their commitments but continue, in spite of their rhetoric, to
support or continue systematic imbalances in the international
trading system.
Madam President, Antigua and Barbuda in spite
of its limited resources and its highly vulnerable economy has
embarked upon a strategy of economic diversification guided by the
rules and regulations of the World Trade Organization. Yet, even as
we play by the rules, the unfair trading practices of some of our
international partners threaten to diminish the modest economic
gains that we have made in recent times. Madam President, we need to
ask ourselves: Are we really serious about raising standards in the
developing world? Are we serious about sustainable development?
Madam President, rest assure that in spite of
the continuing rhetoric, we in Antigua and Barbuda will continue our
efforts to achieve a high standard of living and improved economic
and social wellbeing for our 80,000 people. We will continue to
partner with our sister countries within the OECS and CARICOM
sub-regional groupings. We will continue our advocacy for good
environmental stewardship and the advancement of the fundamentals of
sustainable development at home, in our region, and beyond. In
addition, we will continue to insist on nationally-owned development
strategies as we seek deeper North-South AND South-South
co-operation for more meaningful, tangible, and lasting development.
I thank you, Madam President. |
