YouSaid · the spoken record

Musa

THE RECORD WRITES THIS SPEAKER AS MUSA

lines on the record: 65
first: 1989-09-24
most recent: 1992-09-24
sittings or episodes: 3
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

“We must all reaffirm our commitment to full and effective implementation of the Declaration and the Plan of Action of the World Summit for Children. It is for the children that we must construct a world system that will guarantee the quality of life necessary to ensure their well-being. The challenge is there for us. All we can do is begin the task; the children must pursue it. We must begin now if the children are to have any chance at all. We must do so with a sense of urgency. Time is running out. This is the moment to act with God's help and the support of peoples represented here at the United Nations.”
1992-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 47 (1992)
“In this context, we cannot but agonize at the terrible toll that drug abuse and drug trafficking are taking on our young people. We must redouble our efforts in the fight against these evils. Adequate resources must be mobilized internationally and made available for the interdiction and eradication of drugs, as well as for treatment and rehabilitation. We harbour no illusions about the enormity of our task or about the chances of our succeeding in creating a just and peaceful world. But, no matter what the odds, we must make a solemn commitment to give it our best shot. We owe it to the millions who have gone before us and who have struggled against injustice and poverty. We owe it to the suffering peoples of our time. Above all, we owe it to the children who will inherit the world we make for them.”
1992-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 47 (1992)
“Governments in our hemisphere alone were to reduce their military budgets to a level 20 per cent below 1990 figures, a minimum of $50 billion would be available at the end of that period for the war on poverty. Let us not forget that poverty and misery have principally affected women and young people; they have borne the brunt of the hardships produced by structural adjustment policies. We must make a firm commitment to implement a gender perspective aimed at the integration and mobilization of women as full participants in, and beneficiaries of, the development process. At the same time, we must take special measures to provide young people with the education and employment that will allow them to lead healthy and productive lives.”
1992-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 47 (1992)
“We can all breathe easier now that the threat of a nuclear holocaust has been reduced. But while none of us died as a result of the cold war, during all those years millions died from poverty, and hundreds of millions suffered hunger, malnutrition, lack of education, poor housing and the indignity of unemployment. The tragedy is that the system continues to take its toll. Now that the cold war is ended, are we not entitled to expect something more than triumphalist declarations of this fact? It is unforgivable that, while military budgets remain so largely disproportionate to any rational security need, children are dying from hunger or preventable disease. If, over the next five years.”
1992-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 47 (1992)
“The task of bringing them closer together is made easier by Guatemala's recognition of Belize as an independent sovereign State, and we are confident that with goodwill on both sides there will be a satisfactory resolution of Guatemala's territorial claim, which is still outstanding. Another important principle that our Organization is pledged to respect is that of universality. This session is enriched by the presence of 20 new Members, and we must support the call for a return of the Republic of China to the international community. We cannot continue to ignore the reality of 20 million people organized in a State, and we are confident that those people are capable of making a useful contribution to our work at the United Nations. We all rejoice at the end of the cold war.”
1992-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 47 (1992)
“Closer to home, we are committed to an expanded Caribbean Community (CARICOM), as recommended by the West Indian Commission in its report entitled "Time for Action". The Commission recommended that CARICOM initiate proposals for the establishment of an Association of Caribbean States directed to both economic integration and functional cooperation, with membership open to all CARICOM member States, the other island States of the Caribbean and the Latin American countries of the Caribbean littoral. The Commission's recommendations are being carefully studied, but we can say that the concept of an expanded Caribbean Community has always been on Belize's agenda, not least because we are both a Caribbean and a Central American country, and we feel called upon to provide one of the vital links between the two subregions.”
1992-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 47 (1992)
“There is an urgent need to reform the United Nations system. In particular, the Security Council must be democratized. As His Excellency Boutros Boutros-Ghali, Secretary-General of the United Nations, states in his report, "An Agenda for Peace", "regional action as a matter of decentralization, delegation and cooperation with the United Nations efforts could not only lighten the burden of the Council but also contribute to a deeper sense of participation, consensus and democratization in international affairs". (A/47/277, para. 64) In our hemisphere we support moves to strengthen the Organization of American States and its related institutions and join the efforts to make them more effective mechanisms for addressing our common concerns.”
1992-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 47 (1992)
“But we cannot talk about creating a peaceful world unless we first acknowledge that the world is not in peace and identify the major causes of this situation. We consider it more important to prevent conflicts than to separate combatants after conflict has broken out. One cannot speak about keeping the peace when there is no peace to be kept. We believe, therefore, that the United Nations should concentrate much more on a new, expanded role of peace-building. However, we can work effectively together only if the structures we use to define and implement our common strategy are based on the very principles we proclaim. We cannot espouse democracy in our various countries while our own collective Organization is not only profoundly undemocratic but based on a world power relationship that is no longer valid.”
1992-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 47 (1992)
“We are one people with many cultures, many languages, many distinct ways of life, many different creeds. We are one tapestry, but with many different threads. We must respect these differences, or there will never be peace. The phenomenal growth in migration all over the world should convince even the most sceptical that it is in everyone's interest to learn to respect the diversity of peoples. This phenomenon, while creating tensions in the short term, will, we believe, enhance the probability of all of us learning to live with people whose cultures are in many ways different from our own. Either that, or we condemn ourselves and our children to perpetual strife. When we struggle together for justice for all and we learn to respect nature and humanity, we give ourselves the opportunity of creating a world in peace.”
1992-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 47 (1992)
“We are about to pass a comprehensive environment protection law. We are also struggling to come to terms with the demands of maintaining biodiversity. The regional report, "Our Own Agenda", reminds us that "diversity of life forms is indispensable for the survival of the biosphere and the human species. Biodiversity is acknowledged today as a common value, and its conservation is of a high priority for all". We also believe, however, that we the world community will never succeed in respecting and preserving biodiversity if we do not respect and preserve homodiversity. Our biggest incentive to preserve the environment is to preserve the human species and enhance its prospects for sustainable development. While it is true that we are all Earth's children, we are also enriched by differences.”
1992-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 47 (1992)
“We are destroying the planet by conscious acts of devastation, and the double tragedy for us in the South is that even when these acts take place within our jurisdictions we are rarely the authors and hardly ever the beneficiaries of their short-term gains. While we accept the responsibility for conserving our common environment, we cannot unilaterally close off options for development to our people when their need is so great. What is needed is effective international cooperation that, recognizing our interdependence, compensates us for our efforts. We in Belize are taking this responsibility seriously. We have set aside more than a quarter of the country's land mass as environmentally protected areas; we have resisted the seductions of mass tourism and opted for sustainable eco-tourism.”
1992-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 47 (1992)
“Perhaps the greatest contribution to world peace and development made by modern environmentalists has been to remind us of what our ancestors instinctively knew: that we cannot use the Earth's resources for our own benefit, but that if we wish to survive we have to respect the Earth in all its diversity. Since that fateful landing 500 years ago, the assault on nature in our hemisphere has resulted in an ecological destruction unprecedented in world history. Countless numbers of plant and animal species have been permanently lost to humanity. The real tragedy, however, is that in this supposedly enlightened age the destruction continues.”
1992-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 47 (1992)
“As our Caribbean novelist George Lamming said recently: "The first and most decisive blow struck at the Plantation, destroying its hegemony, was the triumph of the Haitian war of independence." Yet today the democratic triumph of the Haitian people is frustrated as President Aristide remains in exile. As a Caribbean country we cannot remain silent in the face of this injustice. Neither can we condone the systematic strangulation of another Caribbean nation in violation of all norms of international law. Justice must be for all. It cannot be selectively dispensed.”
1992-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 47 (1992)
“My delegation earnestly calls on all parties involved rapidly to conclude negotiations for a just solution to the Palestinian question and on this body to do everything possible to facilitate the process, beginning with the effective enforcement of all relevant United Nations resolutions. In the Arabian Gulf region, as in other regions, we must be alert to any violations of the principle of territorial integrity. We cannot condone the acquisition by force of an island, no matter how small, or of any territory. In our hemisphere the people of Haiti continue to suffer gross violations of human rights under a military dictatorship that deprives them of the first fruit of their decades-long struggle for democracy. We in the Caribbean feel a special concern for - indeed a special debt towards the people of Haiti.”
1992-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 47 (1992)
“The international community must help the South African people to defend the advances made so far and to advance the negotiations rapidly so that the people of South Africa may soon be able to start building a truly democratic State, free of the blights of racism, repression and exploitation. The people of Palestine, those in the territory and those scattered in the cruel diaspora, cry out for immediate and effective action to allow them to exercise their rights to their territory, to self-determination and peace. The institutionalized denial of the rights of Palestinians in the occupied territories continues unabated - starting with the right to life and passing through all categories of rights. How can we allow such denial and abuse to continue on the threshold of the twenty-first century?”
1992-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 47 (1992)
“We deem it necessary to echo the words of the Jakarta Message of the Tenth Summit of the Non-Aligned Movement: no country should use its power to dictate its concept of democracy and human rights or to impose conditionalities on others. Human rights must be addressed on the basis of universality, individuality, impartiality and non-selectivity. The situation in South Africa today, while mitigated by glimmers of hope, still presents a picture of daily massive abuse of human rights of black people. Apartheid, by whatever name, is still firmly in place. We cannot be complacent about the one-step-forwards, two-steps-backwards syndrome that has apparently settled on the politics of that suffering country.”
1992-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 47 (1992)
“The new international order must ensure for countries of the South adequate access to compatible technology, respect for the principle of gradualism for free and fair trade, just and stable prices for our products, food security, an end to the North's practices of protectionism and non-tariff barriers, adequate financial flows and the provision of investment funds that produce mutually beneficial results. There is now a growing international recognition of the universal validity of the protection of human rights and fundamental freedoms. We welcome this growing trend towards democratization in our region and in the world.”
1992-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 47 (1992)
“It would be a first step in the process of constructing a new world order that will enable sustainable development to take place based on a new socio-economic strategy that puts people first. We wish to emphasize that to achieve sustainable development we must build a new international order based on principles different from those that now govern international relations. We must reach agreement on a common strategy that respects the principles of non-intervention in the internal affairs of States and the right of each country to select its own path to development. In this day and age there is no place for the unilateral use of force and for claims made by States to exercise extra-territorial rights.”
1992-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 47 (1992)
“Nor is it that we have not been producing wealth. Since 1982 Latin America and the Caribbean have been transferring a net US$20 billion to US$30 billion every year to the industrial world. The poor are subsidizing the rich. The external debt of our region has not been reduced but has escalated alarmingly, from US$285 billion in 1981 to US$500 billion today. At the same time, the application of structural adjustment policies has enormously increased the social debt in so many countries of the region since the burdens of payment have fallen disproportionately on the poor, their plight worsened by sharp cuts in social programmes and public services. Cancellation or reduction of the debt of underdeveloped countries would be an act of justice.”
1992-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 47 (1992)
“And so we feel compelled to add our modest voice to the rest of humanity's and propose the outlines of policies that will give us all a chance to pursue and maintain sustainable development and social equity. With the Assembly's indulgence, I will say a few words about three critical and interrelated blocks we believe must be used to build a new world order: justice, respect and peace. Justice for all. Five hundred years after, it cannot be right that 200 million people in our Hemisphere are living in critical poverty. This cannot be right because, among other things, our region, Latin America and the Caribbean, is rich. With 8 per cent of the world's population, that region possesses 23 per cent of the world's potentially arable land, 46 per cent of the tropical forest, and 31 per cent of the available surface water.”
1992-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 47 (1992)
“Just a few days ago the people of Belize celebrated the eleventh anniversary of independence. On that occasion the Financial Times of London wrote about Belize as an oasis of calm with a promising future: "Its judicial, political and educational systems work reasonably well ... It is possible to be optimistic about tomorrow." Our goal is to become more productive, more competitive and more adaptable to the changes that lie before us at the dawn of the unfolding century. But even as we celebrated, we reminded ourselves of the need for fundamental changes in the present world order if people around the world are to achieve their expectations for a better quality of life.”
1992-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 47 (1992)
“How can you oppress them and not care to feed or cure them, and work them to death to satisfy your greed?" We are not here to lament tragic occurrences of a distant past, but to record the facts of an unacceptable present reality, for the world order whose foundations were laid then continues to this day. At this historic juncture of world history, we are called upon to create a new world order, an order based on justice and respect, an order that can produce peace. We should be in a better position than ever before to launch a united struggle to achieve this goal. We have seen the consequences of injustice and intolerance, and we are waking up to the obvious that we live on one planet, and that the welfare of one is inextricably linked to the welfare of all.”
1992-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 47 (1992)
“It took humanity inexorably along the path to economic globalization and interdependence in all spheres. It also led to the creation of many dual worlds: in our Hemisphere, the European world and the indigenous world, the white world and the black world; the rich and the poor; the dominators and the dominated. And on our planet this tragic dichotomy is writ large in the great divide between North and South. The sermon of the Catholic Friar Antonio de Montesinos delivered in 1511 was and remains a telling message to the world. "Tell me," he said, "what right have you to enslave them? What authority did you use to make war against them who lived at peace on their territories, killing them cruelly with methods never heard of?”
1992-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 47 (1992)
“On behalf of the Government and people of Belize I extend congratulations to Mr. Stoyan Ganev of Bulgaria on his election to the presidency of the forty-seventh session of the General Assembly. We are confident that he will steer the Assembly with wisdom and energy. My delegation also pays special tribute to the Secretary-General for his untiring efforts in bringing us closer to peace. Five hundred years ago the Colombus enterprise set off a chain of events that created the world we know today. Some may find in this anniversary cause for celebration, but the peoples of the Americas, of Africa and of Asia mourn the ruthless exploitation of nature and humanity that was unleashed by those events. The enterprise brought Christianity to the Western Hemisphere. It led to the creation of one world.”
1992-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 47 (1992)
“The recently concluded World Summit for Children has provided a fresh impulse to press for the goals of adequate nutrition, primary health care and basic education for all our children in the decade ahead. These may not be the issues that attract headlines in our newspapers and electronic media, but they are no less deserving of our highest priority. It is this investment today that will determine tomorrow's future. Life in the twenty-first century for our children and future generations will be determined by how we can best manage to overcome the challenges of our time. The young people of today do not understand the logic of war. We can learn a great lesson from them and give peace a chance. This is our hope and prayer.”
1990-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 45 (1990)
“In Belize our government and people share a firm commitment to protecting our forests, our wildlife, our coral-reef system and our natural resources for generations of Belizeans yet unborn. But there are new challenges to our environment which require attention and assistance. There is, for instance, the phenomenon of rapid urban development, which demands new and innovative strategies and resources to deal with the issues of water and sewerage, garbage collection, sanitation, slum clearance, housing development and urban planning with proper amenities for healthy living. The effectiveness of Government responses and municipal action to these issues will largely determine human development in our growing cities of tomorrow. We are encouraged by the political resolve of the world community to give children a better future.”
1990-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 45 (1990)
“The demand for, production of, traffic in and illicit consumption of narcotics threaten the physical health of people and the political, economic, social and cultural structures of nations. Belize is deploying a major effort, in collaboration with neighbouring States, such as Mexico, and all friendly Governments, to eliminate this serious threat to our societies. The development challenge of the 1990s brings with it the clear realisation that sustainable development must be perceived as a matter of global ecological security. In 1992 the world community will convene in Brazil to discuss environmental concerns. We look forward to the adoption of a global plan of action to reverse the degradation of the environment and ensure its preservation.”
1990-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 45 (1990)
“This is unacceptable." Technical co-operation from our partners in development must be restructured if it is to help build human capabilities and national capacities. As the UNDP report for 1990 points out, in many developing countries the amount of technical assistance flowing each year into the salaries and banks of foreign experts far exceeds the national civil service budgets. More successful technical co-operation in the 1990s requires that programmes should focus more on national capacity-building - through the exchange of experience, the transfer of competence and expertise and the fuller mobilisation and use of national development capacities. This development challenge has become all the more pressing in many of our societies because of the scourge of drugs.”
1990-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 45 (1990)
“The challenge we face is to manage economic growth, to make better use of our human resources, to develop the productive sector of the economy while addressing the basic needs of our people for food, water, education, housing, health care and, of equal importance, the creation of jobs - the assurance of human dignity. The primary responsibility for attaining those objectives is ours; but a favourable external environment is vital for the support of human development strategies for the 19908. In the words of Barber Conable, President of the World Bank: "increased flows of financial development assistance are needed if developing countries are to succeed in implementing poverty reduction strategies. Official aid flows have fallen as a percentage of industrial countries' gross domestic product, just as the need has been most acute.”
1990-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 45 (1990)
“It has been rightly said that true development should be measured not by growth rates but rather by what has been termed the quality of life. The decade of the 19903 must focus on human development, particularly in the least developed and developing countries. Belize subscribes to the view that human freedom is vital for human development; that people must be free to exercise their choices; that the process of development must create an environment in which people individually and collectively may develop their full potential and have a reasonable chance of leading productive and creative lives.”
1990-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 45 (1990)
“Promoting peace and economic development is still the challenge we face. We meet in the shadow of the Gulf crisis with its attendant economic uncertainties caused by the heavy increases in fuel prices. We meet as the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) reports that over a billion of our fellow human beings live in absolute poverty, that nearly 900 million adults are unable to read and write and that 40,000 children who could be saved die every day in our world because of underdevelopment and poverty. In many countries in Africa and Latin America the 1980s have witnessed stagnation, or even reversal, in human achievements. With the decline in commodity prices and the continuing high prices for manufactured goods and oil, the inevitable result is the worsening unequal exchange affecting most of the third world.”
1990-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 45 (1990)
“For this reason, the Belize delegation recalls with satisfaction the successful meeting earlier this year of the Follow-Up Committee of the International Conference on Central American Refugees (CIRBFCA). We commend the efforts of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) and the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), as well as the pledges of the international donor community, in response to the needs of our societies, affected by the thousands of refugees who have come to our shores in search of peace and in hope of a better life, the ask for the continued co-operation of the international community in dealing with this phenomenon, whose social impact on small countries such as Belize can be devastating, unless addressed in a timely and constructive manner.”
1990-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 45 (1990)
“The holding of national elections and the establishment of institutions committed to the democratic process are the objectives to which Belize, as a member of the Caribbean Community (CABICOM), is committed to assisting in every way possible. The Prime Minister of Belize has been personally engaged in this endeavour, along with former United States President Carter. It is our hope and prayer that the people of Haiti will be allowed to emerge from the long night of terror and tyranny into a dawn of peace, justice and freedom. We turn now to the problem of refugees in Central America. Refugees and displaced persons remain a humanitarian problem of Herculean magnitude.”
1990-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 45 (1990)
“In our own region, Belize applauds the elections and peaceful transfer of power in Nicaragua as в significant step in the resolution of the conflict in that country, and in Central America as a whole. The former President of Nicaragua, Mr. Daniel Ortega, and President Violetta Chamorro have made an invaluable contribution to the cause of peace in that troubled region. We are of course aware that many problems still remain in establishing democracy and in national reconciliation. The situation in El Salvador continues to be of concern, enmeshed as the country is in a civil war in which there can be no winners. Peaceful dialogue, respect for human rights and the rule of law are the essential ingredients for a just and lasting peace for the people of El Salvador. The search for a democratic path in Haiti continues.”
1990-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 45 (1990)
“We reaffirm our support for the international community’s maintaining a firm stand against the South African racist regime until apartheid is eliminated and the majority of the South African people can exercise their basic right to equal opportunities and equal participation in the political process. A few days ago, we witnessed the unification of East and West Germany. This remarkable transformation evolved through the will and the work of the people of Germany. We wish the new State well, and anticipate that this move will usher in a period of reconciliation, peace and co-operation in line with a new world order. Unified Germany should be an inspiration to the people of the Korean peninsula in their search for mutual confidence as a means to resolve an ideological dispute, to the benefit of mankind.”
1990-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 45 (1990)
“The implementation of all relevant United Nations resolutions, which could guarantee independent statehood to the Palestinians and also Israel's security, must be the objective of a United Nations sponsored international conference. Belize also reaffirms its full solidarity with Lebanon in that country's legitimate demand for the unconditional withdrawal of all occupation forces. We must bring an end to the senseless bloodshed in that ravaged country. Belize avails itself of this opportunity to welcome Namibia's membership of the United Nations. We salute the leaders of Namibia and the crucial role of the United Nations in the negotiating process that led to Namibia's independence. My delegation also welcomes Mr. Nelson Mandela back into the world of struggle for the liberation of his people.”
1990-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 45 (1990)
“The international stand taken against the Iraqi aggression, the imposition of sanctions, is logical and imperative. At the same time, we support the efforts to find a diplomatic solution to the crisis in the Gulf which would result in the withdrawal of Iraqi forces from Kuwait. This crisis dramatises the crying need for peace and justice in the entire Middle East. Cannot this crisis be converted into an opportunity for a comprehensive peace settlement? The Arab-Israeli conflict, with the struggle of the Palestinian people for justice and their right to self-determination and independence at its core, has rightly been an issue of central concern to the entire international community.”
1990-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 45 (1990)
“Some years ago, the Independent Commission on International Security Issues - the Palme Commission - recommended a structure for preventive peace-keeping, involving fact-finding missions and military, collective security forces, all to be deployed in advance of armed conflict. Is it not time for us to re-examine these proposals, and move to strengthen the United Nations security system? The recent events are a chilling reminder that even in these times of apparent peace, small, vulnerable States must be on guard to protect their sovereignty and territorial integrity. We cannot condone the invasion of Kuwait, whatever the pretext for it. Aggression cannot be tolerated. The use of force to settle differences cannot be permitted.”
1990-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 45 (1990)
“The United Nations was created at San Francisco after the Second World War for the express purpose of maintaining international peace and security. Chapter VII of the Charter contains a blueprint for an international security system with an enforcement capacity to deter aggression and prevent local disputes from erupting into firmed conflict. Had it been implemented, it could have gone a long way towards establishing the rule of law worldwide, and saving the world both from the scourge of war and from the waste of resources on the instruments of war. But the Charter's promise was not kept.”
1990-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 45 (1990)
“Javier Peres de Cuellar, whose dedication and energy continue to inspire us. My delegation welcomes the Principality of Liechtenstein to the family of nations, and looks forward to an increasing role for the smaller States in our guest for global harmony. This session of the General Assembly takes place at an extraordinary time for the world. The crisis of the past few months in the Persian Gulf brings home forcefully the realisation that peace is more than the absence of war. The easing of East-West tensions and the arms control agreements between the super-Powers brought a new hope for peace and a high degree of optimism. The end of the cold war coincided with an incredible wave of human freedom sweeping across many continents, but the semblance of peace was shown to be structured in a fragile framework.”
1990-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 45 (1990)
“Your appointment can without a doubt b· regarded as a tribute to Malta, with which we share a Commonwealth heritage and membership of the Movement of Non-Aligned Countries. Malta is an example to the smaller States within this Organisation, and its importance has been noted in its delegation's ardent efforts on issues such as aging, the protection of the environment and the promotion of the concept of the common heritage of mankind. Your own accomplishments, Mr. President, and your special concern for human rights, stand you in good stead to steer the Assembly through the current session. I also wish to express my delegation's appreciation to Major-General Joseph Garba for his accomplishments during the forty-fourth session of the General Assembly. Allow me to pay a deserved tribute to our Secretary-General, Mr.”
1990-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 45 (1990)
“The work of this Organisation over the past year has heightened the reality of the United Nations as a dynamic, credible and strong institution that is responsive to the new challenges facing the international community. We are particularly impressed by the conclusions reached at the special sessions of the General Assembly on apartheid, the international fight against drugs, international economic co-operation and the plight of refugees, and more recently by the effective measures taken by the Security Council on the crisis in the Gulf. Against that backdrop, the delegation of Belize is heartened at your election as President of the General Assembly at its forty-fifth session. We wish you well and assure you of our co-operation in your challenging task.”
1990-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 45 (1990)
“We can achieve greater productivity and expanded trade if we liberate the creative energies of out people and remove the barriers to an interdependent global economy. If we do act effectively together, we may be able to look back on this time as a turning point in building a more peaceful and just world - a new world, a far better world - one in which the eternal dignity of man is respected.”
1989-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 44 (1989)
“Our ability as a people to provide the values and ideals that will guide the next generation will determine the course of social realities in the twenty-first century. As a policy, the Government of Belize supports public and private initiatives in the promotion and defence of human rights, and particularly the rights of the child and of women. As soon as it is practicable, Belize will accede to and ratify the convention on the rights of the child and the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women, end give practical effect to them by force of law. All this requires action new. The future is now. We can promote political freedom if we also promote economic freedom. We can aim for a high quality of growth while at the same time providing for the equitable distribution of the fruits of growth.”
1989-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 44 (1989)
“We are committed to protecting Belize's natural resources and environment to maintain a harmonious ecological balance, but we must take a holistic approach to the environmental challenge. We must promote and protect the environmental qualities of life in the fullest sense by extending economic choice and opportunities, for poverty is the ultimate environmental degradation. A fundamental environmental task for the decade ahead is the promotion of sustainable agriculture to feed our people. We must meet the growing environmental challenge by expanding economic freedom. True and lasting economic development must necessarily include maintaining ecological balance. Our societies in the third world are undergoing serious strains in the care of children and in guaranteeing women equal opportunities in education and employment.”
1989-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 44 (1989)
“All Lebanon wants is to be left alone so that it can find Lebanese solutions to Lebanese problems. Outside interference can only hinder this. The global issue which today holds centre stage is the environment. In the coming decade, the world must deal much more effectively with problems resulting from the degradation of the environment acid rain, ocean pollution, nuclear and toxic waste, ozone depletion and climate change. Industrial countries account for over 75 per cent of carbon dioxide emissions, the main cause of global warming. Clearly, therefore, the major responsibility to reduce emissions rests there. Belize has its own concerns our rain forests, our coral reef system and our flora and fauna are gifts of God which we have a duty to protect for generations of Belizeans yet unborn.”
1989-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 44 (1989)
“No just and lasting peace can be achieved in the Middle East until the legitimate rights of the Palestinian people are recognized, including their right to self-determination and a homeland, without compromising Israel's security. At a time when the Palestinian leadership under Chairman Yasser Arafat is offering important peace initiatives, my delegation looks forward to the early convening of the International Peace Conference on the Middle East under the auspices of the United Nations, with the participation of the Palestine Liberation Organization and all parties on an equal footing. In the case of Lebanon, it is our hope that the current cease-fire will be respected by all the parties concerned and that Lebanon will be given the opportunity to recover from the destruction and violence which has occurred.”
1989-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 44 (1989)
“Belize continues to associate itself with those who are committed to keeping up the relentless pressure on South Africa until our brothers and sisters eventually triumph using all possible means in their just and legitimate struggle. On Namibia, we trust that the Security Council will lend its full weight to ensuring that South Africa proceeds to disband all its paramilitary and commando units which still threaten the implementation of political progress towards Independence. Even at this late stage, the international community must remain vigilant to ensure that South Africa does not succeed in subverting the process towards democratic elections in Namibia. Belize recognizes the urgency of achieving a just and comprehensive settlement of the Arab-Israeli conflict, the core of which is the question of Palestine.”
1989-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 44 (1989)
“Despite some progress and relaxation of political tensions in conflicts on the continent, the minority white racist Pretoria regime continues its intransigence, oppressing and exploiting the already dispossessed black majority in South Africa. The apartheid policy of this terrorist settler rule administration remains today as the glaring obstacle in the path of peace, stability and development in that region. Belize does not entertain notions that apartheid, as a crime against humanity, can be reformed. We insist on the total eradication of all vestiges of this system, which is an affront to any standard of human dignity.”
1989-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 44 (1989)
“We will therefore shortly be launching a major campaign using all available resources in our educational system to focus national attention on the inherent dangers associated with the use of illicit drugs. We also plan to establish a drug rehabilitation centre and welcome international support in this endeavour. We wish to record our support for the related proposal of our sister Caribbean Community (CARICCK) State of Jamaica, which calls for the establishment of a multinational anti-drug task force within the United Nations system. This is a welcome opportunity for countries to pool their resources and intelligence capabilities against the well-organized, well-financed, and better-equipped drug cartels. And we can do so without infringing on the sovereignty of any nation.”
1989-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 44 (1989)