YouSaid · the spoken record

Frederick A. Mitchell

lines on the record: 90
first: 2002-09-24
most recent: 2015-09-24
sittings or episodes: 5
sources: un-general-debate

Every line below is reproduced as it was said and linked to the record it came from. Nothing here is summarised or generated. Directory · Search · Corrections

“The Bahamas commends the United Nations for the convening and the outcome of the High-level Meeting on the Rule of Law at the National and International Levels last Monday. The Bahamas has committed itself to the principle of the rule of law and to ensuring the continuation of good governance for the benefit of the entire populace of the Bahamas. The Bahamas is committed also to adhering to the rule at law at the international level and to upholding the principles of the Charter of the United Nations. The Bahamas commends the convening in June 2012 of the third biennial review of the United Nations Global Counter-Terrorism Strategy. The Bahamas unequivocally condemns terrorism in all its forms and manifestations and reiterates its commitment to the fight against terrorism and to the Strategy’s full implementation.”
2012-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 67 (2012)
“It was not based on petulance but on the simple fact that the United Nations in all its organs and manifestations must live up to its creed that all nations in this body are equal, and not create the impression that some are more equal than others. Our delegation will continue to ensure that the guiding principle of that equality and equity is adhered to strictly. I would like to congratulate Mr. Vuk Jeremić on his assumption of his duties as President of the General Assembly at its sixty-seventh session and to assure him of my delegation’s support and cooperation throughout. I also commend his predecessor for his stewardship over the previous session. I also wish on this occasion to express thanks for the stellar work and contribution to our country of our Permanent Representative to the United Nations, Ambassador Paulette A. Bethel.”
2012-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 67 (2012)
“I wish to say, before my printed remarks begin, some words not circulated in the text. It is a particular privilege and honour to represent my country in this forum, having returned here through the magic of democracy after five years. For the first time since the general election in May, our country now reaffirms its re-engagement in and with the world community. We are part of the larger Caribbean region, and in that context we took part in a meeting with the Secretary-General of this body. We thank him for his courtesy. However, it is important that the representation of the Bahamas on regional engagement with the United Nations not be misinterpreted as a complaint about lack of attention by the Secretariat.”
2012-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 67 (2012)
“Let us emerge from this stronger, more unified and determined to act to achieve the goals adopted 60 years ago to promote social progress and better standards of life in larger freedom. The peoples of our nations demand and deserve nothing less. Now, more than ever, we need the United Nations.”
2005-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 60 (2005)
“Let me take this opportunity to thank Mr. Kofi Annan for his fine work in leading the United Nations through treacherous seas over the past years. We will shortly celebrate the sixtieth anniversary of the signing of the Charter of the United Nations. Looking back over the past 60 years, there is much of which we can justifiably be proud. There are some cases where we must accept that the international community failed to live up to its legal and moral obligation to act for the benefit of people in need. There are some cases where our decisions were dominated by big-Power pragmatism and doubtful legalisms, as opposed to moral certainty and philosophical clarity. As we move forward, let us be sure that we learn from our mistakes as well as our successes. We have engaged in a process of reflection, which at times has been painful.”
2005-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 60 (2005)
“We reaffirm our support for the Secretary-General with respect to the bold measures that he promised in his report entitled "In larger freedom" (A/59/2005), and we believe that he should be given the necessary level of authority and flexibility to fulfil his function as our chief executive officer. However, that is not to say that we support those proposals from other quarters that would seek to transfer power from the General 7 Assembly to the Secretary-General in matters such as the redeployment of resources. The General Assembly is and should remain the principal policy organ of the United Nations, with absolute powers in the area of setting priorities. The Bahamas also looks forward to continuing discussions on the reform of the Security Council, particularly in relation to the Councilís working methods.”
2005-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 60 (2005)
“If we lose our common humanity in the process, the other side will win. We must also ensure that a spirit of cooperation and assistance permeates our international cooperation efforts on this issue, as we unite to fight a common enemy. Over the past year, various issues related to the management of United Nations programmes and funds have been highlighted in the world media. Our Organization has been plagued by allegations of corruption and abuse. Therefore, during the months leading up to the present session, the Bahamas welcomed the opportunity to engage constructively in consultations to ensure a successful outcome on the question of management reform of the Organization.”
2005-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 60 (2005)
“The Bahamas is pleased to note the adoption by the General Assembly on 13 April 2005 of the International Convention for the Suppression of Acts of Nuclear Terrorism. We hope to be in a position to sign the Convention in the near future. We are resolute in the fight against the attacks on innocent people going about their daily lives by those pursuing dubious and nefarious political ends. The vicious attacks in London and Sharm el-Sheikh this year demonstrate clearly the urgency of our task. However, we must also remember that the fight against those who would attack our common civilization can never be used as an excuse to curtail the rights and freedoms of our citizens, and we must ensure that all counter-measures must conform to both the letter and the spirit of international human rights law.”
2005-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 60 (2005)
“The Bahamas, like many other countries, would have strongly preferred to reach agreement on legally binding commitments on the marking and tracing of such weapons. Nonetheless, we hope that this tool will provide some of the necessary political will and momentum to make real progress in halting the illicit accumulation and spread of small arms and light weapons. We also look forward to adopting concrete commitments in the near future to regulate the activities of brokers of small arms and light weapons. In addition, the Bahamas continues to call on developed countries to take the same extraordinary measures they use in seeking to stop the trafficking of drugs into their countries to stop illegal arms from reaching our shores from their countries.”
2005-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 60 (2005)
“I should like to mention in particular the admirable performance of the Bahamas in its counter-narcotics effort and the superb record of our country's police in terms of dismantling drug-trafficking organizations, as well as our hard work to improve the country's ability to combat money-laundering. It is a fight that we pledge to continue. The Bahamas, like other transit countries, is experiencing the negative social impact of illegal activities associated with that trade. The deadly nexus between illicit drugs and small arms and light weapons and other criminal activities is undermining the economic and social fabric of our nation. We therefore welcome the conclusion in June of the work of the Open-ended Working Group on the marking and tracing of small arms and light weapons.”
2005-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 60 (2005)
“We have consistently pointed out that the Bahamas does not produce such substances and is not the ultimate destination for them. That, however, does not stop the countries that consume the drugs from blaming countries like ours for the scourge. It is very unfair to do so. It is clear that consuming nations must increase their efforts to reduce demand within their borders. We continue to cooperate with the United States and other countries in that international fight. Our successful efforts and those of the broader region have been acknowledged by our international partners in the fight.”
2005-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 60 (2005)
“At that time we must undertake an honest appraisal of what we have achieved and where we are failing short, and we must determine the way forward towards achieving the full implementation of the Declaration of Commitment. In addition, the Bahamas has seen useful ideas advanced by the United States of America, the World Health Organization and the Pan American Health Organization, to prevent a bird flu pandemic. We would like to take this opportunity to alert the world that we must fight to stop such an eventuality, and pledge our support in doing so. By virtue of its geographical location, the Bahamas is an unwitting transit point for illegal drugs from producing countries south of our borders to consumer countries to the north.”
2005-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 60 (2005)
“The Bahamas is a leader in the fight against HIV/AIDS in the Caribbean region, and has been recognized at the international level for the progress made in turning the tide against that disease in our country. We pay tribute to Dr. Perry Gomez, our lead physician in the fight against HIV/AIDS and, indeed, to my predecessor at this rostrum, Mr. Denzil Douglas from Saint Kitts and Nevis, as well as to all the other caregivers throughout the world. We welcome this body's reaffirmation at the highest levels of the fight against that disease. In this context, the Bahamas looks forward to the high-level five-year review of the progress made in 6 implementation of the Declaration of Commitment on HIV/AIDS, scheduled to take place in June 2006.”
2005-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 60 (2005)
“We once again reiterate our grave concern about the serious threat posed to the security and economic development of Caribbean countries by the trans-shipment of nuclear waste through the Caribbean Sea, and continue to call on States involved in such trans-shipments to desist from that practice. In this context, I wish to highlight the continuing efforts of the Caribbean region to designate the Caribbean Sea a special area in the context of sustainable development. The achievement of sustainable development will require healthy, productive populations that are able both to contribute to and benefit from social and economic progress. The unrelenting spread of HIV/AIDS continues to threaten that progress in all countries, but particularly in the hardest hit developing countries.”
2005-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 60 (2005)
“With the warming of the Earth's surfaces and oceans, we have seen an increase in the incidence of natural disasters, many of them causing untold loss and damage. We have an opportunity, however, to address the adverse effects of climate change. We have a chance to make a statement here during this session that we will not neglect our common but differentiated responsibility to protect our environment and to send this message to Montreal, where, in November this year, the Kyoto Protocol can finally begin to take on a more substantial form. For countries such as the Bahamas, the threat of devastation as a result of natural disasters is exacerbated by man-made hazards.”
2005-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 60 (2005)
“Last year in this Hall, we said that the native peoples of our region were so familiar with the violent storms that plague the region in the summer months that they called them hurricanes. Today, we are seeing those storms hit with a savagery unknown in recent times. It leads us to question whether we are now being confronted by cyclical change or by climate change. Either case places front and centre the need for public policy on sustainable development and the implementation of the Mauritius Strategy for small island developing States. The Bahamas, much of whose land is barely five feet above mean sea level, wishes to highlight the need to undertake global action to address the problems of climate change.”
2005-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 60 (2005)
“From this rostrum last year, the Bahamas called for the convening of a global forum to address the unfairness of unelected bodies imposing mandates that are unfunded upon developing economies like ours in the region, without our countries having an opportunity to be heard and to influence the result. We call once again for such a forum, and pledge that the Bahamas will continue to work towards levelling the playing field, particularly in the financial services sector. The images of destruction in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina are all too familiar to many small island developing States. The images have been sobering, as we realize that even the biggest and strongest of us has to grapple with the difficulties associated with the recovery from such a destructive force of nature.”
2005-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 60 (2005)
“It is also important that we not overlook issues of global governance and institutional reform. It would be nearly impossible for small States, in particular, to sustain meaningful gains from the process of globalization without a voice and without participation in international decision-making and norm-setting bodies. It is for that reason that the Bahamas is encouraged by the discussions that took place during the high-level dialogue on financing for development, held earlier this year, which confirmed that there is a place for the United Nations in all aspects of global standard-setting and assessment. The dialogue clearly demonstrated that there is a need to address the democratic deficit in many of the international economic, financial and trade institutions.”
2005-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 60 (2005)
“Haiti today is paying the price in a real way for having charted the way towards freedom in this hemisphere when, in 1804, it struck a blow for the freedom of Africans in the West. Today, we repeat what the American Christian Bishop, T. D. Jakes, said 5 in the National Cathedral in Washington last week when praying for the victims of Hurricane Katrina: it is what we do that counts, but what we say we will do. Haiti is of major interest to us in the Bahamas, because, given the circumstances of its economy and its national politics, the Bahamas and the region are facing increased pressure from illegal migration from Haiti and the threat of instability. It is incumbent upon all of us in the United Nations to do all that we can to help resolve the issues in Haiti.”
2005-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 60 (2005)
“Our view is that greater attention from our developed partners must therefore be paid to that region in transition, looking towards investment, particularly in education, support for the delivery of health care and continued support for democratic governance. It is not charity that is required, but a sound, sensible investment in our common future. Haiti is our poorest member in the region and is perhaps the example from which it is best to draw lessons. We want to thank Brazil and the many sister countries of Latin America that have risen to the challenge with men and materiel. But while much has been given, there are many pledges of donor aid that have not materialized as they should. It is a complaint throughout the developing world that donors make pledges of financial and material support but do not follow through on those pledges.”
2005-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 60 (2005)
“The region is neither poor nor rich. It falls in between, having accomplished most if not all of the Millennium Development Goals. But as we watch the development of globalization, there is a tendency to forget that this region of relatively few people and small nations requires the continued support of the developed world. Nowhere is this more evident than in the decisions taken on sugar and bananas. There is a symbiotic relationship between the region and the developed world, with many of our people leaving the region to help to sustain the way of life of the developed world. There is a major transformation right now in economies throughout the region.”
2005-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 60 (2005)
“His statement last week was perhaps his final statement to this Assembly as Prime Minister. The Bahamas - and the region joins us, I am sure - salutes Mr. Patterson as he retires from active public life. Mr. Pattersonís example in Jamaica is one that we know well enough in the Caribbean region. It is the example of democratic governance and the traditions of regular elections and accountability to the publics whom we serve. The history of democracy in our region has also produced for the region an enviable standard of living in many ways. This way of life has been described by the Prime Minister of Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, The Honourable Ralph Gonsalves, as the "Caribbean civilization" - one that did not develop without significant investment in our people and that cannot be sustained unless that investment continues.”
2005-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 60 (2005)
“The High-level Plenary Meeting held last week, at which so many heads of State and Government were represented, served as a timely and much-needed reminder of the need for us all to recommit ourselves to the purposes and principles of this Organization. At a time when some have begun to question the purpose of this Organization, the Bahamas reaffirms that the United Nations remains the best chance for all States, large and small, to achieve peace, security and sustainable development for our peoples. One of the leaders who spoke last week was the Most Honourable P. J. Patterson, Prime Minister of Jamaica. On April of 2006, Mr. Patterson demits office after more than a decade in the service of his people and the Caribbean region as Prime Minister, and a generation as a parliamentarian and Government Minister.”
2005-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 60 (2005)
“It is my honour to congratulate you on your election to the presidency of the sixtieth session of the General Assembly. I also wish to pay tribute to the tireless efforts of your predecessor, Mr. Jean Ping, for the manner in which he guided the work of the fifty-ninth session. I wish to extend the condolences of the Right Honourable Prime Minister of the Commonwealth of the Bahamas, Perry Christie, and the Government and people of the Bahamas to the Government and people of the United States in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina last month. This is a scene with which the people of the Bahamas are regrettably all too familiar, and we continue to offer our assistance and support in any way possible.”
2005-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 60 (2005)
“The Bahamas is a small country whose voice, without the indispensable forum provided by the United Nations, would be lost or at best ignored. Here, irrespective of size and wealth, we have the ability to speak with equal voice and to vote with equal power on matters that affect the quality of our lives today and that will impact the type of world that we leave in place for future generations. This is why it is vitally important that we preserve and respect the integrity of this Organization. Member States are bound to come here for redress and should not act unilaterally outside the bounds of the Charter. The Bahamas reaffirms its commitment to the purposes and principles of the United Nations as enshrined in its Charter. I leave the Assembly with that commitment here today.”
2002-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 57 (2002)
“There should be peace between them. We support the peaceful settlement of this issue in accordance with all applicable United Nations resolutions. Every people deserves to have a State to call its own in peace and security. The Bahamas is concerned about developments in Africa. As part of the African diaspora, we wish to see Africa prosper, wars cease and equitable policies applied for all of the many and varied people of that continent. We support the reform of the Security Council. The Bahamas believes that the time has come for us to take the hard decisions and to agree to a practical programme of reform that takes fully into account the need for equitable membership and for a more democratic and transparent Council.”
2002-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 57 (2002)
“In addition to Haitian-Bahamian bilateral efforts to address this problem, the Bahamas believes that targeted international initiatives, with the cooperation of the Government of Haiti, represent the best hope for the Haitian people. Illegal immigration from Cuba also adversely affects us. The Bahamas continues to call for the normalization of relations between Cuba and the United States of America. We believe that such normalization would be central to solving that dimension of the migration problem. The Bahamas welcomes the entry into force of the Rome Statute on 1 July 2002 and the establishment of the International Criminal Court as a critical tool in the fight against violations of humanitarian international law and crimes against humanity. The conflict between Israel and the Palestinian people is a matter of concern.”
2002-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 57 (2002)
“Given our longstanding and developing relations with Haiti, positive steps taken to provide assistance and support for Haiti give us great hope. We are especially pleased with the efforts of the Inter-American Development Bank to work with the Government of Haiti to remove the existing financial hurdles that impede development efforts. We also welcome the recent Organization of American States (OAS) resolution and the announcement by the United States that it would contribute additional resources to the OAS special mission in Haiti. Illegal migration from Haiti causes a serious drain on the resources of the Bahamas.”
2002-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 57 (2002)
“The Bahamas is the unwitting transit point for illegal activities: the smuggling of human beings and the illicit trade in narcotic drugs. The United States is the ultimate target. We are also suffering from increased violent crime from guns smuggled into our country from the United States. These guns are terrorizing our society. The Bahamas is working closely with the United States and other neighbouring countries to address these issues. There must be a 30 stronger effective action to reduce demand for drugs in the receiving country. There must be more effective action taken to stop the flow of illegal guns. The Bahamas has taken an active interest in the peace and stability of its sister CARICOM State, Haiti.”
2002-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 57 (2002)
“We raise questions about whether globalization and trade liberalization can indeed function as vehicles 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 are consistent with the way we live. The Caribbean Community (CARICOM), of which the Bahamas is a part, has taken up the challenges of ensuring a degree of stability among its member countries in the face of globalization. But the Bahamas believes that more can and must be done to assist our Caribbean Community to adapt to these externally imposed changes through equitable and sensitive trade policies and by reform of the international financial institutions and their lending practices.”
2002-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 57 (2002)
“We in the Bahamas have ably demonstrated our determination to play our part in these endeavours. We have been credited regionally and internationally for our model programmes, particularly in respect to our treatment of and efforts to control the spread of HIV/AIDS. We especially wish to thank the World Health Organization and the Pan American Health Organization, now celebrating its hundredth year, for the cooperation they have extended to the Bahamas and for their stellar work in the area of international health. We wish to commend the recent initiative to provide antiretroviral drugs to countries of the Caribbean to assist in the fight against HIV/AIDS. The Bahamas is concerned about the present global economic order.”
2002-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 57 (2002)
“The Bahamas is particularly concerned about HIV/AIDS and the slow progress in fighting the disease. The critical question on HIV/AIDS and all the other issues is: Where do we go from here? This body has made important commitments to the world. There are reviews, platforms and programmes of action. Our respective publics may be forgiven for their cynicism and the criticism levelled that the United Nations is a talking shop. Our view, however, is that it is better to talk than fight. Talking is, in fact, a form of action and there is no doubt that, with regard to HIVAIDS, discussion of the problem is central to the solutions. But our respective publics are looking for and require more immediate money and direct action. We must not be accused of inaction in the face of human suffering and adversity.”
2002-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 57 (2002)
“We do not accept that, because the risk of accidents is remote, the transhipment of nuclear waste should be allowed to continue. We make the assertion today and ask for the transhipment to cease. The Bahamas joins in urging the early ratification and implementation of the Kyoto Protocol and in reaffirming its commitment to sustainable development and to the Political Declaration and the Plan of Implementation of the World Summit on Sustainable Development. The international community faces a broad range of political, economic, social and cultural issues. We have made inroads, but not sufficient to stem the spiral of persistence of poverty, hunger, human rights abuses, crime and diseases, particularly HIV/AIDS, or to address the vulnerability of small island developing States.”
2002-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 57 (2002)
“The environment is not only the biological medium that supports the life of the people of the Bahamas, but it is also the central reason for our economic success. The Government has therefore given high priority to preserving and protecting the environment, and has taken practical steps to do so. We reiterate our concern expressed at the Summit about the threat posed to small island developing States by all manifestations of climate change, including the rise in sea levels. We have repeatedly expressed our grave concern to some of our industrialized partners about the trans-shipment of nuclear waste through the Caribbean and about the disastrous effects it might have on the economies of the Bahamas and the Caribbean. Tourism is our primary industry. An accident involving spent nuclear fuel will almost certainly destroy it.”
2002-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 57 (2002)
“We have initiated changes to our domestic law and we have, in the United Nations, the Commonwealth and the Organization of American States, become parties to international conventions to bolster our capacity to play our necessary role in the fight against these attacks on our way of life. We will continue to give our full support to international efforts to eliminate this scourge. At the same time, we are 29 keen to ensure that in this fight the fundamental rights and freedoms of our citizens are not eroded. The Bahamas believes that there is no better legacy that we can leave to the generations to come than an Earth that is safe and secure and that can sustain life. We firmly believe that there can be development without harm to the environment. We emphasized that point at the World Summit on Sustainable Development.”
2002-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 57 (2002)
“The first anniversary of the 11 September attacks on the World Trade Center in New York and the Pentagon, near Washington, D.C., and the tragedy in Pennsylvania, were commemorated just a few days ago. On that occasion, the Bahamas reiterated its condemnation of those acts as attacks on our values and on our civilization. Such acts must not go unpunished. We therefore support measures to bring the guilty to justice and to prevent similar attacks in all their forms and manifestations. We are resolute in our views on this. We pause to remember the families and friends in countries around the world who lost loved ones in those attacks. In our own country we are seeking to recover from the knock-on effects of the unemployment the attacks caused. We are taking steps to rebuild our economy.”
2002-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 57 (2002)
“We reject parochialism as a justification for obfuscating the true intent and will of a people as expressed through the ballot box. The Government of the Bahamas believes in good governance at all levels as a fundamental human right. As an adjunct to that right, we have committed ourselves to deepening our long-standing democratic tradition. General elections are not the end of the story. The citizen must continue to have a role in the governance of the country. Civil society must be actively encouraged to develop and engage in the affairs of the country. The Bahamas is committed to consulting its people on all matters of national importance. This becomes critical as our country examines its role and fulfils its obligations to other Member States on the bilateral and multilateral levels.”
2002-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 57 (2002)
“Today, I reaffirm the commitment of the Bahamas to the United Nations Charter and to the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. The Government and the people of the Bahamas believe in the United Nations, and will continue to support it and to uphold the founding principles on which its effectiveness and success depends. We reaffirm our commitment to the rule of law, and an abiding respect for the right to self- determination, the sovereignty of nations and the right of people everywhere to expect that their Government, freely and democratically elected, will protect their rights. We urge world leaders to accept that the freely expressed will of the people is their sole claim to legitimacy and that the will of the people should not be subverted by any means.”
2002-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 57 (2002)
“The Bahamas looks forward to welcoming the Democratic Republic of Timor-Leste to the United Nations when it takes its place in the Assembly in just a few weeks. The Bahamas is also pleased to welcome Switzerland to this family of nations. The world has agreed that the United Nations is a place where nations large and small are equal, where disputes of an international character may be resolved peacefully, and where the use of force is supported only in accordance with the United Nations Charter. The Bahamas and all other nations represented here have signed on to this contract, a contract that, in our view, is inviolate and must be honoured. This should not be a matter of convenience and, in our view, applies to all nations, large and small.”
2002-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 57 (2002)
“On behalf of Prime Minister Perry G. Christie, the Government and the people of the Commonwealth of the Bahamas, I congratulate you most warmly, Sir, on your election to the presidency of the fifty-seventh session of the General Assembly. The Bahamas is confident that this session will be steered to a fruitful conclusion under your able guidance. You and the other members of your equally competent Bureau may be assured of the full support of the Bahamas in the performance of your duties. I take this opportunity also to congratulate your predecessor from the Republic of Korea for his skilful leadership during the fifty-sixth session. The right to self-determination and the full, fair and unhindered expression of the will of the people are principles held in the highest esteem by the Bahamas.”
2002-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 57 (2002)