YouSaid · the spoken record

Barrow

THE RECORD WRITES THIS SPEAKER AS BARROW

lines on the record: 156
first: 1985-09-24
most recent: 1995-09-24
sittings or episodes: 6
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

“Again, I take note of the recent efforts of this Organization to improve the position of women in the upper echelons of the United Nations Secretariat. As regards refugees, it would be disingenuous to call for their enhanced protection without acknowledging the severe problems which host countries increasingly face. For instance, we in Belize do the best we can, but overcrowding a slender raft - even in a relative haven of calm - can bring dire consequences to all its occupants. Nevertheless, I am happy to report to this Assembly that Belize’s record of human rights is good and worthy of emulation. Our Constitution is founded on the principles of justice and respect for the fundamental freedoms of all our people, and our laws and practices fully conform to the mandate of our Constitution.”
1993-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 48 (1993)
“In this connection, I single out for special mention the Secretary- General’s ongoing formulation of an agenda for development and the determined spirit of the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) to strengthen its mission and revamp its machinery. This, however, is but a beginning of what must be a crusade for development. The last set of issues I shall address are social, political, cultural and humanitarian. First, we must do much more to ensure that women are accorded their proper rights in the domestic and international orders. No longer should we merely echo the litany that women’s development is indispensable for economic development. We must ensure that women are accorded equal rights in all spheres. Furthermore, they must urgently be given equal representation in our political, social, cultural and other institutions.”
1993-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 48 (1993)
“We must be afforded an adequate transition period to adjust our economic and production activities. I would wish, therefore, to take this opportunity to call on the countries members of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development to identify and dedicate significant financial and technical resources to assist small countries in developing alternative products. Of course, current trends in official and private financial flows to the developing world suggest that this is a cry that will fall largely on deaf ears. On a more positive note, permit me at this juncture to applaud the apparent resolve of the United Nations organs for development assistance to improve their efforts at coordination.”
1993-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 48 (1993)
“It is a bitter pill to swallow, even as we watch the protectionist squabbling among developed countries that has prevented the successful conclusion of the Uruguay Round of Multilateral trade negotiations under the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT). Of course, it would also result in massive economic dislocation followed inevitably by social and political unrest in our countries. Nevertheless, we acknowledge that we must in the long run identify alternative commodities that we can produce efficiently and with comparative advantage. I must stress, however, that we are hard pressed to find the resources required for comprehensive research, development and Forty-eighth session - 13 October l993 17 promotion programmes for new products.”
1993-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 48 (1993)
“The most recent and prominent of these are of course the North American Free Trade Agreement among Mexico, the United States of America and Canada, and the Single European Market. And so, in some areas at least, the march towards wider trade liberalization and true market economy moves inexorably forward. But we in the South also see that our economies and life as we know them are threatened by these developments; our preferential access to markets steadily erodes and our terms of trade consistently worsen. What we are in fact concerned about here is the pressure to open up our borders prematurely to the free flow of agricultural and other products from the more developed countries.”
1993-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 48 (1993)
“Furthermore, in the original Somalia intervention, we see strong confirmation of the continuing vitality of the principle of "freedom from want" - for all of us will remember that the avowed objective of the current exercises in that beleaguered country was to bring food, comfort and succour to its suffering people. Thus, I believe, we are seeing the reaffirmation of freedom from want as a human right. At the same time, I would urge the Assembly to take firm steps to ensure that food no longer be used as a weapon by parties to civil and international conflicts. In all this we are acutely aware of the shift in world trading patterns brought on by the formation of new trading blocs.”
1993-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 48 (1993)
“Nevertheless, there have been dramatic ideological, geopolitical and economic changes during the late 1980s. As these changes have occurred, needs have increased but resources have not. Yet we have heard rumours that various initiatives to bring economic justice to this planet are no longer necessary. I respectfully suggest that nothing could be further from the truth. In fact, such controversial movements as the one to establish a new international economic order were merely, as we have intimated, the reiteration of an established principle. That is, those initiatives were the renewal of an order, not a new order.”
1993-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 48 (1993)
“This last, as far as we can determine, is the only one of its kind in the entire Commonwealth Carribean. These measures bear testimony to my Government’s determination to wage a total war on corruption and to make Belize the model of a just, honest and democratic society. I turn next to issues relating to international development and economic relations. For over 30 years, the Organization has painstakingly sought to spell out that the right to development and the duty of the privileged to assist the underprivileged are firmly based in international law and public policies. This right and duty were part of the "freedom from want" principle, one of the founding principles of the 1942 wartime coalition that was the first to be called the "United Nations". Freedom from want had nothing to do with ideology and great-Power rivalry.”
1993-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 48 (1993)
“At the same time, we lend our voice to those who call for the accountability of all inter-governmental organizations to independent auditors and inspectors. My Government attaches the greatest importance to integrity and decency in public life. We applaud such international efforts as the forthcoming anti-corruption conference to be held in Mexico later this year to plan national strategies for fighting corruption. And we in Belize have recently taken our own action to strengthen the legal infrastructure necessary to banish the scourge of political corruption. In just three months since taking office, we have introduced four major pieces of legislation in our Parliament. They are the Prevention of Corruption in Public Life Bill, the Ombudsman Bill, the Contractor General Bill and the Freedom of Information Bill.”
1993-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 48 (1993)
“We also hope for a concrete programme of action at next April’s Global Conference on the Sustainable Development of Small Island Developing States to be held in Barbados. One area in which we must redouble our efforts at cooperation is the moral environment. In numerous Member countries the people have clamoured for cessation of corrupt practices in government and business, both national and international. Now, we are extremely happy to observe that the Secretary-General has established the new post of Assistant Secretary-General for Inspections and Investigations. In so doing, he has made it clear that the moral environment of our organization must be sanitized. We must support him in this endeavour.”
1993-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 48 (1993)
“In that connection, intensive cooperation by Governments and by private industry, pursuant to the Montreal Protocol on Substances that Deplete the Ozone Layer, as amended, has led to a significant decline in the rate of expansion of the hole in the ozone layer. My other example is the cooperation of foreign and domestic agencies with the Governments of my country, Belize and Costa Rica, which has contributed to substantial 16 General Assembly - Forty-eighth session success in our conservation efforts. Cognizant of these successes, we appeal for intensive cooperation in all aspects of the ecosphere, including the termination of ocean and terrestrial dumping, the halt of desertification and the reduction of the causes of global warming.”
1993-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 48 (1993)
“I will address the question of economic cooperation at a later stage in my remarks. At this point, I wish to train the spotlight on cooperation in the area of ecospheric concerns. As regards the ecosphere, Belize considers that the early and universal ratification of the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea is of paramount importance. It will be recalled that the Convention imposes myriad duties of cooperation. In that way, the weak, and not only the strong and mighty, will inherit the Earth and its waters. We have seen two recent examples of successful efforts at cooperation in the ecosphere. The first involves the ozone layer.”
1993-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 48 (1993)
“The most important of the steps which my Government believes should be taken is reform of the Security Council. It is self-evident that in these times of turmoil and increased United Nations activity the agenda item of equitable representation on, and increase in membership of, the Council looms large. Belize has recently submitted a paper to the Secretary-General, detailing our ideas on this all-important topic. I wish to turn next to international cooperation. I believe that there exists an international legal obligation to cooperate in good faith. It is anticipated in the Articles on principles and purposes and other provisions of the United Nations Charter, and is reiterated in such Declarations as the friendly relations Declaration of 1970 and the 1974 Charter of Economic Rights and Duties of States.”
1993-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 48 (1993)
“Needless to say, we would be happy to make our contribution in concert with other countries in our area. Either pre-existing regional security mechanisms and/or new bilateral and multilateral arrangements might serve as the vehicle for small country efforts at cooperation. As a backdrop to all this, the provisions of the Charter relative to peacemaking must be strengthened. In particular, a standing United Nations force under unified United Nations command should be considered and the Military Staff Committee must be made fully operational. In keeping with the Secretary-General’s quest to improve efficiencies, strict military discipline of United Nations forces must be established and there must be improved coordination at Headquarters and in the field.”
1993-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 48 (1993)
“But recent experience has now shown that large and difficult operations of the Bosnia and Somalia type stand little chance of success without the active participation of major Powers. In this context, we welcome President Clinton’s speech in this session of the Assembly, offering to commit United States troops to the United Nations Bosnia operation under certain conditions. Yet there is still a role for small States. And we in Belize would be prepared to offer training facilities to the Organization as a contribution to increasing the efficiency of peace-keeping forces. This would be in accordance with Article 43 of the Charter, which calls for member Governments to make available to the Security Council "assistance and facilities ... necessary for the purpose of maintaining international peace and security".”
1993-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 48 (1993)
“Likewise, the international law relating to neutrality must be thoroughly modernized to proscribe and severely punish trafficking in arms. This must be not only in situations of belligerency, but also in cases of insurgency, rebellion and other armed conflict, both internal and international. The recent salutary reinvigoration of this Organization’s peace-keeping mechanisms must be furthered. This is a time when the United Nations is increasingly being called upon to act as a peacemaker in troubled and turbulent regions of the world. It is to the Organization’s credit that it has risen to the occasion by undertaking complex and challenqinq assignments around the globe. There was a time when United Nations peace-keeping forces could successfully be composed of contingents from the so-called third world countries.”
1993-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 48 (1993)
“Forty-eighth session - 13 October l993 15 I urge that during this session we take the first major step to right these imbalances, which affect global peace and security. Just as the Helsinki model is one way forward, we hope that another is the International Tribunal on war crimes, the judges of which this Assembly recently elected. Among other steps which might be taken are the following: Governments must forswear profiteering from the sale or sponsorship of the sale of armaments. There must be an expansion of regional and subregional systems of cooperation and coordination in the cognate areas of security, narcotics interdiction and counter-terrorism. This body must make firm recommendations for the development and rigid enforcement of domestic neutrality laws everywhere.”
1993-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 48 (1993)
“Above all, we commend the Secretary-General for his vision in "An Agenda for Peace". Despite all these promising developments, however, the overall outlook for world security remains bleak. In far too many places the peace is disrupted by fratricidal struggle. Everywhere the crushing burden of armaments - to employ a famous expression used by President Roosevelt and Winston Churchill in 1941 - bids to drive our planet off its established course. The Second World War was partly fought, and this great Organization was largely established, to eradicate programmes of ethnic genocide. Now, nearly 50 years after the birth of the United Nations, we are experiencing several such programmes on a massive scale.”
1993-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 48 (1993)
“We welcome the finalization of the demarcation of the boundary between Kuwait and Iraq, which was accomplished by the Iraq-Kuwait Boundary Demarcation Commission on 20 May 1993. We also welcome the adoption by the Security Council of resolution 833 (1993), in which it guaranteed the inviolability of the boundary between the two States. Encouraging, too, has been the consolidation of the broad consultative mechanisms for confidence-building, security, human rights and cooperation originally established for Europe in the Helsinki Conference and now substantially expanded. Such structures have considerable value, and we understand that our colleagues in the countries members of the Association of South-East Asian Nations (ASEAN) are in the process of developing a similar mechanism with a distinct ASEAN character.”
1993-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 48 (1993)
“In the Caribbean we have hopes that the long-suffering people of Haiti will be rewarded by the return of its legitimate government. Recent developments in South Africa are clearly very encouraging, and we are confident of the success of the transition to majority rule, which will be heralded by the non-racial elections scheduled for April 1994. Then, in the midst of continued strife in the Middle East, we believe we see positive signs of the way forward with the dramatic opening between the people of Palestine and the State of Israel. At long last there seems a real possibility of the Palestinian people’s right to self- determination coexisting with the State of Israel’s right to safe and secure borders.”
1993-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 48 (1993)
“In particular, we note with satisfaction that the brief hiccup of the events in the Republic of Guatemala in May and June does not appear to have seriously flawed that country’s efforts at permanent redemocratization. We are happy that the new government there has publicly confirmed Guatemala’s recognition of sovereign and independent Belize. Diplomatic relations between our two countries can once again proceed apace; and we shall continue the work for the preservation of bilateral and regional security and the search for a lasting solution to the issues that still bedevil us. In accordance with the principles enunciated by this Organization, such a solution must be on the basis of mutual respect for peace, for the rights of both countries to self-determination and for the integrity of each other’s land and sea territory.”
1993-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 48 (1993)
“In these five years, some of the changes occurring in the global prospect have been favourable, and many of these are attributable to this Organization, which, under its distinguished Secretary-General, has been striving to fulfil the mandate of its Charter and find ways and means to cope with problems not necessarily envisaged by the framers of that Charter. In the brief tour d’horizon of the international scene which I shall undertake today, the first matter I wish to address is peace and security. We are very gratified by the positive developments that have occurred in several places. Uppermost in our minds is our own subregion of Central America. There we have been heartened by the movement of several of our neighbours towards reconciliation and social justice.”
1993-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 48 (1993)
“Over the five years since I last appeared in this Hall, many things have changed in the world. In Belize we, too, have experienced change. On 30 June 1993 the people of Belize voted, through peaceful elections, for a new government. Once more we have demonstrated the stability of our democratic institutions and the maturity of our polity. In an age when the so-called global trend towards democratization seems at times to be a process that moves one step forward and two steps back, we in Belize are justly proud of our record.”
1993-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 48 (1993)
“Let me at this time also record my delegation’s appreciation of the most able manner in which the outgoing President, Mr. Stoyan Ganev, conducted the work of the General Assembly at its forty-seventh session. 14 General Assembly - Forty-eighth session In addition, may I take the opportunity to welcome formally to the United Nations family the six countries - the Czech Republic, Eritrea, Monaco, the Slovak Republic, The Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, and Andorra - which have joined the Organization this year. Allow me also to offer, on behalf of the people and the Government of Belize, our deep sympathy to the people and the Government of India for the heavy death toll and considerable material loss caused by the devastating earthquake on 30 September.”
1993-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 48 (1993)
“The delegation of Belize takes immense pride, Sir, in your election to the presidency of the General Assembly at its forty-eighth session. This is the first time in the history of the Organization that a Commonwealth Caribbean national has been chosen to superintend the deliberations of the General Assembly. Your election is, thus, not only the highest tribute that could have been paid you, but is also the accomplishment of your country, Guyana, and of the wider Commonwealth Caribbean. As a part of the latter, Belize may be forgiven for any note of self-congratulation that creeps into the encomiums we heap upon you today. In that regard - and we say this only slightly with tongue in cheek - we note that almost your first act of wisdom upon assuming office was the selection of a very excellent Belizean as presidential spokesperson.”
1993-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 48 (1993)
“We need to make it work or concede our civilization for ever to an encroaching jungle that promises only impenetrable shadows and darkness at noon.”
1987-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 42 (1987)
“The agreement in principle concluded between the United States and the Soviet Union will for the first time eliminate an entire class of nuclear weapons, and perhaps signals a new era of super-Power co-operation in the long journey towards total nuclear disarmament. The framers of our Chatter, were no unsophisticated people, nor was their vision one of utopian unreality. They conceived a system that combined lofty ideals with functional pragmatism. They devised a mechanism to mediate the competing claims of the just and the strong. They carved a moral landscape out of a barren prospect. Today, in a strife-ridden world, the United Nations system remains an assertion of our collective being, an affirmation of our humanity. We need to make the system work.”
1987-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 42 (1987)
“The Secretary-General has stressed the need for a concerted, comprehensive and truly worldwide effort to combat the plague of illegal drugs. My own Government has been nationally militant in the fight against narcotics abuse, and we have also joined in the international United Nations-sponsored efforts aimed at eradicating this menace. Earlier this year we hosted a conference designed to produce more effective strategies for regional co-operation. Perhaps the greatest threat facing mankind is the possibility of a nuclear Armageddon. Accordingly, we welcome the recent potential breakthrough in the struggle to curb the nuclear arms race.”
1987-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 42 (1987)
“In accordance with United Nations resolutions we continue to call for a cease-fire and internationally supervised elections as the means to a comprehensive political settlement which allows the Kampuchean people their inalienable right to independence. The divided Korean peninsula must be reunited, and the process of reunification should take place through direct dialogue and negotiations between North and South Korea. It is imperative that the deeply rooted mistrust and hostilities between the two Koreas be replaced with the understanding and goodwill which are surely not beyond the capacity of a people whose culture is 5,000 years old. The fact of worldwide drug abuse and illicit trafficking is no less a danger to international order than the prospect of military confrontation and war.”
1987-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 42 (1987)
“The attention of the General Assembly shall remain focused on Afghanistan so long as the situation in that tragic country continues to create tensions that threaten international peace. Again, we call for the immediate withdrawal of foreign troops from Afghanistan and for genuine attempts at national reconciliation. The power of self-determination must be conceded to the Afghan people so that the millions who fled their country may soon escape the misery and indignity of refugee life and return to their homeland. The essential ingredient of the solution to the problems in Kampuchea also involves the withdrawal of foreign troops.”
1987-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 42 (1987)
“Similarly, the independence of Namibia has been too long denied. Considerations of linkages cannot be allowed to stand in the way of Namibia' s freedom, self-determination and dignity. In the Middle East few would wish to contemplate the horrors that an expanded war in the Persian Gulf would entail. The Secretary-General's call for a cease-fire between Iran and Iraq must be heeded, and other interests would do well to reduce their military presence as one means of allowing United Nations diplomacy to take hold. Every effort must be made to encourage the process of dialogue in other Middle Eastern affairs. It continues to be our hope that an international peace conference will be able to reconcile the need for a Palestinian homeland with the right of Israel to exist within secure borders.”
1987-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 42 (1987)
“Those are the tangible consequences of the United Nations system from which our constituencies benefit. Even as we applaud the results of United Nations developmental actions, we bemoan the inefficacy of some of its political pronouncements. In particular we are deeply troubled by the inability of United Nations resolutions to bring any real comfort to the millions of South African blacks suffering under the inhuman yoke of apartheid. The time has surely come for all Member States to agree on the measures necessary to exorcise a Pretoria regime that has forfeited any claim to civilized regard. We appeal particularly to those nations whose conceptions of real-politik have inclined them to treat as less than urgent the misery of the oppressed. We ask that they act now in helping to extirpate the abomination that is apartheid.”
1987-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 42 (1987)
“Expenditures by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, the United Nations Development Programme; the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization and the United Nations Children's Fund have brought measurable advantages to peoples all over the world. When doubts are cast on the usefulness of this body, many States can point to the improved agricultural techniques' that have led to an increase in national productivity, to the programmes of education, immunization and sanitation that have improved the quality of life for their citizens and to the new skills and technologies that have enabled their policies to function and survive in the global village.”
1987-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 42 (1987)
“But, faced with the greater demands made on those resources by those whose only recourse for survival has been an exodus from their homes, the act of sharing can become almost unbearable. Conditions must be created to make it an exercisable option for refugees and others deprived of their heritage to return to the land of their birth and fashion their own destiny. Political and economic strategies must be devised to give back the future to those wandering masses. It is therefore pleasing to note that, for all the criticisms faced by the Organization, a large part of United Nations efforts has been directed towards the salvaging of countries from conditions of ignorance, deprivation and homelessness.”
1987-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 42 (1987)
“Only with guaranteed access for their products and realistic terms of trade can small States hope to meet their obligations and establish growth. A new international economic order would also advance the cause of world peace, for it would remove many sources of national and international tension that have as their underlying causes inadequate responses to basic human needs. The spectre of the migration of millions of peoples from their native lands, be It in Africa, Asia or Latin America, crossing into neighbouring territories seeking refuge, strains the Imaginations and resources of the most well-intentioned. Most of our countries are already struggling with the intractable problem of distributing the limited resources available to our natural citizens.”
1987-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 42 (1987)
“But even as we attempt to move ahead we come hard upon the realities of an inequitable international economic order. Markets for our products are unstable, commodity prices are low and protectionism has evolved from a device to a policy. Recognition of this situation points inevitably to the importance of multilateral co-operation in trade, money and finance and development. The need for strengthening the multilateral process as a means of ameliorating inequities in global economic relations becomes even more imperative when we consider the open advocacy on the part of some donor countries to tie bilateral aid to political conformity. Barriers to reciprocal trade need to be broken down, and the developed world must open its markets to the developing countries.”
1987-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 42 (1987)
“The guest for national dignity can succeed only when we satisfy the economic needs of our peoples: their need for food, clothing, shelter and jobs. For its part the young nation of Belize has already embarked upon the process of diversification from mono-crop preoccupations. An expanded and export-oriented economic base has been created, and we have widened our commercial relations while narrowing our trade gap. The production of bananas, citrus fruit and cacao has been increased. We have commenced an expansion in tourism, bearing in mind the need to preserve our plural culture and our ecological heritage. We have also continued the balanced exploitation of our forest resources and welcomed a new aquaculture industry, while trying to broaden our maritime fisheries.”
1987-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 42 (1987)
“Indeed, the Republic of Guatemala insisted on the cession o£ Belizean land as the price for a settlement. Comforted by the continuing support which enlightened nations of the world community give us, Belize totally rejected the Guatemalan position. Nevertheless, we have agreed to continue talking. Developments have taken place in Guatemala which incline us to feel that the April position was no more than a temporary hiccup in the negotiating process and that the formula can still be found for peaceful and active coexistence between neighbours. We look forward not only to a diplomatic accommodation with Guatemala but also to the economic co-operation that would surely follow. For the preservation and consolidation of political independence fulfil only part of the obligations of sovereign Governments.”
1987-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 42 (1987)
“After six years of uninterrupted enjoyment of independent nationhood Belize has forged its own international personality and established itself firmly among the nations of the world. There is no room in the contemplation of our continued existence for the encouragement of the pretension to all or part of our territory by another State. With the passage of time, with the universal acknowledgement of our independent reality and against the background of the democratic transformations emerging in our region, my Government feels that there is now a favourable climate for some degree of normalization to take place in relations between Belize and Guatemala. I say this despite the fact that the talks which took place in April of this year between the two countries failed to produce a breakthrough.”
1987-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 42 (1987)
“Of interest to us also is the recent Initiative by Saint Lucia and Saint Vincent and the Grenadines towards unification of the eastern Caribbean States. While full consultation with the people of those nations would be essential before any proposal for political union could be implemented, there are obvious advantages to be gained from unity. Better use of regional expertise, a larger market for domestic goods and more effective and less costly representation abroad are all sufficiently important that they should not be countered with automatic and unthinking assertions about the pre-eminence of political independence. In the case of my own Government we have been encouraged to redouble our efforts to seek an honourable end to the long-standing problem with our neighbouring Central American State of Guatemala.”
1987-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 42 (1987)
“We understand the people's determination to participate fully in deciding the future direction of their country, and we are conscious that free and fair elections are the first step along the path to political stability, economic recovery and the reduction of social misery. We therefore urge the Government of Haiti to ensure that the already precarious transition to constitutional rule is not further imperilled. A return to democracy Is also imminent in the Caribbean nation of Suriname. Belize applauds that country's decision to allow international observers to be present at the elections set for November. We hope that the current difficulties can be overcome and the time-table set adhered to, so that political power can be handed back to the people as scheduled.”
1987-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 42 (1987)
“External forces acting on the basis of ideological opportunism should not be allowed to defeat indigenous political will. The process of democratisation in Central America must be worked out in site, and not according to some received wisdom stamped " Made in the metropolis". The initial promise of success of the Central American peace accord owes much to the determination of the leaders and peoples of the isthmus. That such a breakthrough could have occurred signals the possibilities for solutions to other hemispheric crises. Belizeans are profoundly concerned that national violence once again threatens to consume the independent Republic of Haiti.”
1987-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 42 (1987)
“The plan has already advanced the peace process in Central America and has generally been hailed as providing the basis for a workable and just resolution to the region's problems. It seems to us in Belize that if the future of Central America were to be left entirely in the hands of Central Americans, the agreements reached at Esquipulas could provide a real blueprint for the pacification of the region. But there are, as always, the complicating realities of geopolitics. Indeed, external interests have already intervened to give an East-West dimension to a conflict whose origins are rooted in local conditions. In these circumstances, it is clear to my delegation that all of Latin America needs to speak out in support of what is proposed by the region to solve a conflict in the region.”
1987-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 42 (1987)
“We do not expect the United Nations to provide all the answers or to substitute for those necessary bilateral arrangements which must still be concluded directly between developed and developing nations But we do expect the United Nations generally to advance the interests and ideals of the world community and to endorse, facilitate and aid those national and regional initiatives which sustain the international order. One such regional initiative that lends itself to United Nations approbation and support is the recently concluded Central American peace plan. That accord has emerged within the context of the Contadora initiative but is fashioned by the five States themselves involved in the Central American conflict.”
1987-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 42 (1987)
“The United Nations does succeed in playing a moderating role in world affairs by making use of its global recognition and the public relations strength of its imprimatur or sanction. It is churlish not to concede that the United Nations has at least ensured that we do not return to the long-abandoned days of avowedly Darwinian international politics. As a small country, Belize understands too well the significance of a truly international forum whose collective authority is the ultimate guarantor of the sovereignty, integrity and dignity of small States everywhere.”
1987-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 42 (1987)
“If the nay-sayers are to be silenced, the force of numbers - particularly in the General Assembly - must be used in an equitable fashion. The temptation to engage in strident and automatic name-calling must also be resisted so as to preserve pristine the moral force of our pronouncements. Responsibility and restraint must once again form the basis of debate and resolution. Then there will be no room for the argument that those Western democracies whose views do not necessarily coincide with those of the third-world majority would do best to turn their backs on us. We will still be an imperfect institution in an uncertain world, but that admission should spur us all into a search for ways to increase the effectiveness of our Organization, not question its fundamental importance as the embodiment of International ideals.”
1987-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 42 (1987)
“The notion of sovereign equality and the principle of majority rule are the very foundations of the moral authority of the United Nations system. And the right of developing countries to use their numerical strength to influence the world view expressed by this forum is the essence of an attempt at global democracy. Nevertheless, it is a truism that every right carries a corresponding responsibility. Accordingly, the equality principle which informs the conceptual basis of our Organization must go hand in hand with the responsibility principle, which ought to underpin our decisions, resolutions and programmes of action. The surest way to erode a right is to abuse it. And it is the perceived abuse of the process of majority rule that has generated the fiercest criticisms of this Organization.”
1987-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 42 (1987)
“It is one measure of its responsiveness to changing circumstances that the United Nations has latterly been examining its financial arrangements in order to make the Organization more viable and to quiet some of the voices of discontent. My delegation therefore applauds the new consensus mechanism agreed on by the budgetary committee. The arrangements represent a workable compromise which reflects the concerns of the larger contributors while preserving the all-important principle of equality of Member States. We can have no truck with the suggestion that small States should be United in the exercise of their sovereignty by some diminished status in the United Nations system. Such an idea is antediluvian and regressive in the extreme.”
1987-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 42 (1987)
“Assailed by the criticisms of its detractors and beset by the woes of financial crises, the United Nations system nevertheless continues to articulate the vision of its founders and to provide a moral and practical framework for the ideal of an enlightened world order. The proliferation of new States and the awesome developments in the technologies of destruction have combined to make the management of international relations a far more complex business than the framers of the Charter could ever have imagined. The challenge for the United Nations system has been to keep pace with the requirements of the contemporary era and to become more than a political talking shop and more than a sprawling and soulless bureaucracy.”
1987-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 42 (1987)
“I wish at the outset to extend my personal congratulations, and those of the delegation of Belize to the President on his unanimous election to his high office at the forty-second session of this Assembly. We follow in the footsteps of a great diplomat and friend of Belize, Mr. Humayun Rasheed Choudhury of Bangladesh, to whom I express sincere appreciation for his untiring efforts to generate harmony among the representatives of the world during the forty-first session. A special word of thanks is also due Mr. Javier Perez de Cuellar, our esteemed Secretary-General, whose guidance and statesmanship continue to sustain this Organization in its guest for peace in the world.”
1987-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 42 (1987)