YouSaid · the spoken record

Miller

lines on the record: 54
first: 1994-09-24
most recent: 1995-09-24
sittings or episodes: 2
sources: un-general-debate

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“Both must act responsibly and within both the letter and the spirit of international law. Barbados is confident that Member States can rise to this collective challenge. The machinery is already in place — in particular, the Open-ended High-level Working Group on the strengthening of the United Nations system. Barbados will participate fully in this historic session. It will work to revitalize and strengthen this unique institution, where humanity’s greatest hope for peace, security, development and social justice resides. Together, we can forge a renewed United Nations capable of fulfilling the promise enshrined in “We the peoples”.”
1995-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 50 (1995)
“Women bring their unique perspective to the development process — and without it, the whole is impoverished. Implementation of these expanded programmes is crucial. They must be carried out with commitment and dispatch. But even with expected improvements in efficiency, these critical tasks cannot be accomplished unless the United Nations system is placed on a sound financial footing. This is why we urge early action to solve the acute financial crisis of the Organization. All States, big and small, powerful and weak, learn that power must be exercised responsibly. The big and strong have a special role to play in a reformed United Nations, particularly in the maintenance of peace. It is unrealistic not to recognize this. But the small and weak also have their own vital contribution to make.”
1995-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 50 (1995)
“Barbados supports the structure for such reform contained in “An Agenda for Peace”, and salutes the Secretary-General for his distinctive leadership on this crucial issue. In the economic and social fields, the United Nations must intensify its support to the development effort of developing countries. Barbados supports the framework for an “Agenda for Development”, prepared by the Secretary- General. The United Nations now has before it a comprehensive development agenda created by the continuum of United Nations Conferences in New York, in Rio, in Vienna, in Barbados, in Cairo, in Copenhagen and in Beijing. Barbados reaffirms the central role of women in development, which is acknowledged in the respective Programmes of Action of all these Conferences.”
1995-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 50 (1995)
“But let not calls for better management and increased efficiency cloud any lack of resolve by the more fortunate among us to discharge their international responsibilities, or hamper the Organization’s capacity to fulfil the mandates entrusted to it by Member States. The United Nations has before it a daunting task. It must enlarge the Security Council to better reflect the realities of membership since 1965 as well as the geopolitical changes in the global environment. In particular, it must redesign its peace-keeping machinery to cope with the changing nature of conflicts in today’s world — namely, conflicts mainly within nations, not 8 General Assembly 22nd plenary meeting Fiftieth session 13 October 1995 between nations.”
1995-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 50 (1995)
“Reform of the United Nations must not mean an abandonment of international cooperation and a retreat into isolationism by the strong and powerful among us. The growing interdependence on which the welfare of all our people depends makes isolationism an irresponsible fantasy. The problems that beset us — the degradation of the environment, the plight of the poor and the dispossessed, narco-trafficking and money-laundering, human rights abuses, and, especially, ensuring the equal rights of women and children — can be solved only through more intense international cooperation. Let us by all means streamline this Organization and its allied agencies. Let us make them more effective in the delivery of programmes of direct benefit to our peoples.”
1995-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 50 (1995)
“And just as Governments cannot, domestically, retreat from that moral function of fostering peace and upholding justice and liberty, neither can they do so internationally. Barbados supports the reform process. A reformed United Nations system should be cost-effective and efficient. The process should be orderly and informed by solid analytical work, with decisions based on rigorous evaluation of the mandates and performance of affected institutions and their relevance to the changing demands of developing countries. In this connection, Barbados believes that the abolition of the United Nations Industrial Development Organization and the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development would be premature. Restructuring of these institutions may well be warranted, but due process should first be served.”
1995-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 50 (1995)
“The framers of the Charter demonstrated this foresight in the Preamble, not with the words “We the Governments”, but with the words “We the peoples”. And as we approach the new millennium, the slow but sure triumph of peoples over institutions is becoming increasingly evident. An appreciation and analysis of these global changes is critical to a reformed United Nations if it is to meet the challenge of the twenty-first century while remaining faithful to the original ideals of the Charter. But good governance still is, and always will be, the best instrument for the expression of the popular will. Government is, after all, when exercised responsibly and accountably, a profoundly moral vocation.”
1995-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 50 (1995)
“Increasingly, States find themselves restricted in their capacity to control or influence the flow of international capital, other than by providing hospitable conditions to attract it. Moreover, there is an emerging consensus on the reordering of the role of the State in economic development, in the direct creation of wealth and in the complementary nature of the public and private sectors. A significant feature of this changed world is the emergence of non-governmental organizations as a major influence in domestic and international public policy. Barbados welcomes this participatory power of civil society, which has deepened and enriched the debate on international issues and helped shape the global agenda to better reflect the popular will.”
1995-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 50 (1995)
“The destabilizing threat of related cartels to the democratic order in small States is particularly serious. While Barbados has been put on full alert, we recognize our limited capacity to effectively police our own borders. We deeply appreciate the bilateral assistance in this area, and will continue to work closely with other regional partners and related international bodies to combat this global cancer. The year 1995 is a special one for the United Nations. It is a year for solemn reflection on the mission and achievements of the Organization, and for new directions to meet the challenges ahead. The world we face is characterized by increasing globalization of production, liberalization of trade, and an explosion of information technology.”
1995-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 50 (1995)
“Barbados therefore supports the moratorium on the testing of nuclear weapons in place, and urges nuclear 7 General Assembly 22nd plenary meeting Fiftieth session 13 October 1995 Powers to heed the call by the international community to refrain from any activity that violates the spirit of the Treaty. As an island State whose people depend on the sea for a large part of their livelihood, Barbados is gravely concerned about the potential danger to its fragile marine ecosystems. We are therefore implacably opposed to the transshipment of nuclear materials and hazardous wastes through the Caribbean basin. International terrorism, transnational crime, drug trafficking and money-laundering, are matters of grave global concern, particularly to a small country like Barbados.”
1995-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 50 (1995)
“Barbados applauded the decision of the United Nations last May when it extended indefinitely, the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons (NPT). But now the spirit of this agreement has become a casualty of recent events. Barbados deeply regrets the decision by some States to resume nuclear testing, which runs counter to the spirit of the NPT and the commitment by nuclear weapons States to exercise the utmost restraint, pending entry into force of a comprehensive nuclear-test-ban treaty. As a small island developing State and a non- nuclear-weapon State, Barbados has a vested interest in the non-proliferation of nuclear weapons and the disarmament of existing nuclear stockpiles.”
1995-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 50 (1995)
“Haiti is a prime example of a vulnerable small island State receiving, at long last, the support and protection needed from its neighbours and the international community. Much still needs to be done if Haiti’s recovery and development, long neglected in the face of political turmoil, are to be assured. We urge the international community to stay the course with Haiti. We know that progress will be uneven, but we applaud the Government’s commitment to the democratic process. Haiti is a Caribbean country with which Barbados shares strong bonds of history and culture. The Haitian people can be assured of our support in their struggle to nurture its fledgling democracy, and improve the economic and social conditions of its people.”
1995-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 50 (1995)
“Barbados shares the anguish of the people in the strife-torn countries of Africa, in particular, Rwanda, Burundi, Liberia, and in similar areas of conflict around the world, and hopes for early progress towards lasting peace in those areas. At the same time, we welcome the positive developments in the peace process in Angola and that between Israel and Palestine. We hope that a peaceful and durable settlement to the problems elsewhere in the Middle East may soon be reached. In Haiti, where democracy is beginning to take root, Barbados is proud to have participated in the multilateral initiatives and mission which resulted in the return of Haiti’s democratically elected government. The return of President Aristide underscores this continuing success and this continuing process.”
1995-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 50 (1995)
“We recall words of the late Sir Winston Churchill today: But Bosnia has not been the United Nations “finest hour”. But let us not forget that the United Nations is no more, no less, than the collective will of the Governments it serves. For vulnerable small States, United Nations protection is critical. Developing countries, particularly those least able to afford it, bring no influence to bear on major peace- keeping decisions, yet must pay their assessed share of peace-keeping costs, diverting scarce resources from the development effort. Barbados welcomes the encouraging signs which have recently emerged from the peace process between the parties of former Yugoslavia, and hopes that an end could be soon brought to the strife and bloodshed in this war-torn region.”
1995-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 50 (1995)
“My delegation therefore calls for the steady implementation of the commitments and recommendations contained in General Assembly resolution 49/122 of 19 December 1994. As a small vulnerable State, Barbados views some areas of the global political scene with deep concern. Following the end of the cold war, the people of the world yearn for an era of peace and economic prosperity — but peace, so far, has proved elusive. The outbreak of violence and ethnic strife has reached unspeakable levels of human suffering, taxing the capacity of the United Nations support system to the limit. In the case of Bosnia and Herzegovina, the large majority of Member States looks on in agony and helplessness at a crisis which has called into question the very credibility of the Organization and the integrity of its peace-keeping function.”
1995-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 50 (1995)
“They do not, and cannot, measure our vulnerability, the resilience or lack of resilience of our economies and entire societies in the face of natural disasters and rapid global economic change. It is in this broad context that Barbados has given the highest importance to the Global Conference on the Sustainable Development of Small Island Developing States, which my country had the honour to host last year. The Programme of Action, adopted by consensus, underscores the role which the stewardship of small island States plays in the preservation of the global commons. We urge international action to step up the support pledged in the Declaration of Barbados and the Programme of Action.”
1995-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 50 (1995)
“Clearly, short-term assistance and the sympathy of the international community, while crucial, are not enough. Small size also means that our entire society, not just areas of it, is equally vulnerable to dislocations of the global economic system, including currency and 6 General Assembly 22nd plenary meeting Fiftieth session 13 October 1995 commodity price fluctuations, new international trading arrangements, and the changing fortunes of the major industrial economies. Notwithstanding these natural or man-made constraints, many small island States, including my own, have achieved rising per capita incomes and improved human development indicators but such indices provide only an approximate measure of the present, based on the past.”
1995-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 50 (1995)
“For us, what happens outside our borders, beyond our control, whether man- made or natural, sometimes has more impact on our way of life than anything we may do at home. One hurricane can wipe out, in a matter of hours, an entire small island economy. Only three weeks ago, Hurricane Luis wrought such devastation on a number of our Caribbean neighbours, causing major set-backs in their economic development. We extend our sincere sympathy to our brothers and sisters at this time of distress. Barbados is cooperating fully with others in helping to restore normal life to these Caribbean Member States. For small island States, how we recover from disasters such as this, and perhaps more important, how we work towards ensuring that we make ourselves less vulnerable: these are paramount to our survival.”
1995-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 50 (1995)
“Through its extensive network of organs and specialized agencies, the United Nations system has made tangible and lasting improvements in the lives of men, women and children all over the world. But that old order has come to an end, and we face anew a world of tumultuous global change. Barbados sees this world through the eyes of a member of the small island developing States — joint products of decolonization and the relative geopolitical stability that the United Nations has ensured since our independence. As a group, we have had mixed success in transforming the legacies of colonial tutelage into genuine and sustained development for our peoples. As small and fragile members of the global community, we are constantly reminded of our own economic and political vulnerability.”
1995-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 50 (1995)
“Fifty years ago, the United Nations rose from the ashes of a devastating world war. Understandably, the Organization was shaped and influenced by the experience of that war and by the coalition of Powers that prevailed in 1945. It also grew to reflect the forces underpinning the post-war system of international relations — a system characterized by that paralysis of international political will known as the cold war. Yet, to its credit, the United Nations has fostered remarkable progress on such vital issues as decolonization, development and human rights, as well as on a wide array of international standards, which we have come to take for granted.”
1995-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 50 (1995)
“It is my pleasure to congratulate you, Sir, on your election as President of this historic fiftieth session of the General Assembly. The Barbados delegation shares the confidence expressed in your leadership, and offers our full cooperation as you preside over the deliberations of this landmark event. I also commend your predecessor, His Excellency Mr. Amara Essy, Minister for Foreign Affairs of Côte d’Ivoire, not only for his outstanding stewardship of the Assembly during the last year, but for the vision and direction he has given to the ongoing work designed to fashion the United Nations of the twenty-first century. Let me also take this opportunity to extend a warm welcome to a fellow member of small island developing States, the Republic of Palau, whose admission to the United Nations took place in December 1994.”
1995-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 50 (1995)
“It is Barbados’ belief that the challenge that will confront the United Nations in the era ahead will lie undoubtedly in the humanitarian sphere. This Organization is the only universal body with the legitimacy to take up this challenge. But if it is to meet this challenge successfully, it must be made more efficient, effective and alert. In this context, prevention must supersede reaction. As we celebrate the fiftieth anniversary of the Organization next year, "We the peoples" must renew our commitment to this unique body and strive to ensure its relevance to the twenty-first century. Mr. President, be assured of Barbados’ commitment to these endeavours.”
1994-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 49 (1994)
“Kamau Brathwaite, who, only a few days ago, received the Neustadt International Prize for Literature: "Sa/hell crumbles into these flickering miles Miles of the silences of holes Of the cold dry moon in our belly Marrow burning its protein into its sound Skin smouldering to ash Holocaust of dome - there is no music anywhere Heads propped up on sticks of skeletons Bald headed children naked of all else But large deep agate space-age eyes" Global stability will be difficult to maintain if the cries of the majority of the world’s peoples, whose lives are marked by a lack of food, shelter and education and 10 who are afflicted by poverty, disease, and other forms of social misery, continue to go unheeded and are merely reflected as glaring statistics in United Nations reports on the world’s social situation.”
1994-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 49 (1994)
“The United Nations will have reached a remarkable milestone in 1995 as it celebrates 50 years of tireless service to the goal of enabling all mankind to live in dignity and enjoy better standards of life in larger freedom. While it is fitting that we acknowledge this milestone with appropriate ceremony, we must recognize that the United Nations will be called upon to face challenges in the twenty-first century that could be immeasurably more difficult than those of the previous era. Global stability will depend more and more on the ability of the United Nations to promote economic and social justice than on its ability to silence guns. The kind of challenges I have in mind are poignantly etched in the following quotation from an unpublished work in progress entitled "The Rwanda Poem" by the distinguished Barbadian poet and writer Mr.”
1994-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 49 (1994)
“Several useful views have emerged over the past year during the discussion of the Open-Ended Working Group on the Question of Equitable Representation on and Increase in the Membership of the Security Council. We look forward to an intensification of these discussions during the forty-ninth session. Any enlargement of the Council must only be contemplated within a context that deals also with the issue of equitable geographical representation, the question of the veto, and the question of increasing the transparency of the operations of the Council and its accountability to the wider international community. Decisions arrived at hastily to deal with only one aspect of the issue, or merely to respond to an arbitrary deadline of next year’s celebrations, will not provide a lasting solution to this critical issue.”
1994-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 49 (1994)
“We must remind ourselves that the improvement of human well-being is the fundamental criterion to which the development objective must respond. There is little value in short-term economic growth if the measures used to attain it result inevitably in social disintegration. The Barbados delegation therefore strongly supports the view of the South Centre that fresh approaches must be sought and a new social contract established if social, political and economic objectives are to be reconciled. The United Nations is the appropriate forum to ensure that this reconciliation of objectives can be promoted in a universal, transparent and democratic manner.”
1994-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 49 (1994)
“The betterment of the economic and social conditions of that majority deserves a central place in the deliberative and decision-making bodies of the United Nations and must be the principal objective of an Agenda for Development. An Agenda for Development must promote a new consensus on international cooperation for development and an integrated approach which is people-centred. Furthermore, it must be based on creating a new cooperative relationship between the United Nations and the Bretton Woods institutions, one which recognizes the fundamental importance of the social dimension to development. The policies pursued by these institutions over the past decade, particularly within the framework of structural-adjustment programmes, have left a legacy which convinces us of the need for radical reform.”
1994-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 49 (1994)
“We have taken careful note of the Secretary-General’s report to the forty- eighth session in this regard and look forward to giving detailed consideration to the recommendations which he will present in his report to this session. While we recognize that the United Nations has an inescapable responsibility for the maintenance of international peace and security, we must acknowledge also that peace and development are indivisible. The root causes of most conflicts are to be found in the legacy of poverty and dispossession that underdevelopment engenders. While we agree that the world body must of necessity respond to critical conflict situations as they arise, it must at the same time be pointed out that the vast majority of the world’s population does not live in a state of war or civil conflict.”
1994-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 49 (1994)
“We believe that in the emerging new world order it is more critical than ever for the United Nations to be capable of fulfilling its role as the primary guarantor of the security and independence of small States, and as the protector of the powerless and economically vulnerable who form the vast majority of its membership. It is also important for the small, but morally authoritative, voices of this world body to continue to stress the absolute necessity for the 9 international community to use equitably and responsibly the powers conferred upon it in the Charter. Over the past year, priority attention has been given in the work of the General Assembly and the Economic and Social Council to the task of elaborating an Agenda for Development as a necessary corollary to, and indeed a prerequisite for, the "Agenda for Peace".”
1994-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 49 (1994)
“Barbados welcomes the recent decision of the Commission on Narcotic Drugs to establish a working group to pursue areas of collaboration with the Commission on Crime Prevention and Criminal Justice in maritime trafficking. We are also encouraged by the progress the Working Group has made on the draft statute for an international criminal court and support the recommendation by the International Law Commission that the General Assembly convene an international conference of plenipotentiaries to study the draft statute and to conclude a convention on the establishment of an international criminal court. My Government has always been a strong supporter of the United Nations.”
1994-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 49 (1994)
“At its forty-ninth session, the General Assembly must now seek with equal vigour to implement the other important measures of the Vienna Declaration. Barbados urges that the Working Group on Human Rights pursue its mandate in a coherent, transparent and balanced manner in order that the long- term interests of human rights may be truly served. Barbados believes that every human being is entitled to the unfettered enjoyment of all human rights and that the ultimate human right is the right to life. In this context, we urge that the Assembly give serious consideration at this session to the harmful impact that illicit drug trafficking, organized transnational crime and terrorism have on the effective enjoyment of human rights.”
1994-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 49 (1994)
“The legal framework and the established human rights machinery have been greatly strengthened by the Vienna Declaration and Plan of Action adopted by the World Conference on Human Rights held at Vienna in June 1993. The Conference affirmed that democracy, development and respect for human rights and fundamental freedoms are interdependent and mutually reinforcing, and especially emphasized that the right to development is a basic human right. At its forty-eighth session, the General Assembly honoured the Latin American and Caribbean region by appointing His Excellency Mr. José Ayala Lasso of Ecuador as the first United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights as a first step in implementing the Vienna Declaration.”
1994-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 49 (1994)
“Barbados considers that these meetings are of vital importance and that their core themes demand the adoption of a meaningful programme of action that would demonstrate a firm commitment to the oft-repeated concept that the human being should indeed be placed at the centre of development. Poverty, unemployment, gender equality, children’s rights and other integrated issues must be tackled with the same urgency and resolve as other aspirations of the Charter if this Organization intends to signal a true turning-point in its human-development strategy. The United Nations has contributed significantly to promoting and ensuring respect for and observance of human rights since the adoption of the Universal Declaration on Human Rights on 10 December 1948.”
1994-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 49 (1994)
“I am also reminded that we too need to work on areas highlighted by the population Conference proceedings: difficult issues such as reducing maternal mortality, addressing the needs of special groups such as youth, and looking at how our policies and programmes further women’s empowerment. Still, I am heartened by the openness of the United Nations processes to the contributions of citizens’ groups alongside Governments, and will watch with great interest the progress at the social summit and women’s conference. These conferences, together with the 1990 World Summit for Children and the 1992 Rio de Janiero Conference, extend along a continuum which urges action to look into the difficulties faced by our citizens and at how Government policies can relieve the uneven pressures which are put upon women.”
1994-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 49 (1994)
“We owe a debt of gratitude to Ms. Nafis Sadik, Mr. Fred Sai and the rest of the Conference leadership, who pushed for and achieved a broad consensus on many difficult issues which fall into the realm of the population and development dialogue. For my country, the outcome of the International Conference on Population and Development and the Plan of Action confirm much of the effort which has been spent on improving women’s access to family planning and health services. I stand before the Assembly as an example of the progressive attitude which Barbadians hold regarding women’s status and leadership potential.”
1994-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 49 (1994)
“The wise observation by the Secretary-General that “development is a fundamental right and the strongest foundation for peace” has been recognized by the General Assembly, which in recent years has been giving priority attention to social development by convening a number of international conferences devoted primarily to social and economic issues, as envisaged in Article 55 of the Charter. The recent International Conference on Population and Development spoke volumes about the changing nature of international dialogue and the changing role of 8 women. In greater numbers and with greater strength, civil society in the form of non-governmental organizations worked alongside Governments to craft a plan of action which might realistically address the reproductive health of women and the broader needs of women in the development process.”
1994-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 49 (1994)
“On 16 November, the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea will come into force, 12 years after it was opened for signature at Montego Bay. We welcome the recent developments which have enhanced the prospects of universal participation in the Convention and look forward to the inauguration of the work of its relevant organs. We look forward too to the successful conclusion next year of the Conference on Straddling Fish Stocks and Highly Migratory Fish Stocks, and to the adoption of a legally binding regime to regulate the conservation and management of these threatened stocks.”
1994-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 49 (1994)
“Earlier this year, 116 countries and 150 non-governmental organizations were represented at the Global Conference on the Sustainable Development of Small Island Developing States, held in Barbados. The first follow-up activity to be held in fulfillment of a mandate from the International Conference on Environment and Development, the "Earth summit", the Conference aimed to develop a blueprint of priority actions for the implementation of Agenda 21 in the specific context of small island developing States. The results of the Conference will shortly come before the General Assembly for its endorsement at this session. We urge the international community to lend its full support to the measures proposed to ensure sustained follow-up and implementation of the proposals contained in the Barbados Programme of Action.”
1994-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 49 (1994)
“Barbados fully supports the aims of the Association and welcomes its establishment as an important step in the consolidation of the regional integration effort. But our aims to foster development across the Caribbean will not be complete until all of the partners are free to participate on an equal footing. In this regard we believe the time has come to remove the last vestige of cold-war rivalry from our hemisphere. We join the international community in appealing to the United States to lift its punitive economic embargo on Cuba and to facilitate the economic reintegration of that neighbouring State into the world economy. We urge that political will be found to resolve the remaining differences between the two countries through further dialogue.”
1994-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 49 (1994)
“Its stated aims are: to promote, utilize and develop the collective capabilities of the Caribbean region to achieve sustainable cultural economic, social, scientific and technological advancement; to develop the potential of the Caribbean Sea through interaction among member States and with third parties; to promote an enhanced economic space for trade and investment with opportunities for cooperation and concerted action, in order to increase the benefits which accrue to the peoples of the Caribbean from their resources and assets, including the Caribbean Sea; and to establish, consolidate and augment, as appropriate, institutional structures and cooperation agreements responsive to the various cultural identities, developmental needs and innovative systems within the region.”
1994-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 49 (1994)
“This year also, building on the foundations laid by many statesmen of the Caribbean and on the ideas most recently developed by the West Indian Commission, the leaders of 25 States whose shores are washed by the Caribbean Sea met at Cartagena, Colombia, to sign the Convention establishing the Association of Caribbean States. The Association will bring together in their common pursuit of development 40 Caribbean-basin States, countries and territories with a total population of 200 million.”
1994-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 49 (1994)
“The private and public sectors of our subregion are collaborating more and more, while, at the same time, intergovernmental cooperation has increased. The political dialogue between Heads of Government is flourishing, and economic cooperation is expanding. Concerted efforts are also being made to boost intraregional trade and to improve the economic, social and cultural well-being of our peoples. This year the Caribbean Community celebrated its twenty-first anniversary. A pioneer among integration movements in our hemisphere, CARICOM has sought to respond to the reality that Caribbean peoples share a common destiny, which is best realized through coordination and cooperation in pursuit of their economic, social and political well-being.”
1994-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 49 (1994)
“The Governments of the Caribbean Community are committed to playing their part in this vital phase of the process, and to this end have agreed to provide assistance, in concert with other members of the international community, in the development of a civilian force as a professional organization for maintaining the peace and respect for human rights in Haiti. They are also prepared to make available to the constitutionally appointed authorities in Haiti a cadre of officers from the public 7 service of the member States of CARICOM to provide training in public administration, the conduct of elections and other activities in support of the institutionalization of the democratic process. As we look across the Caribbean Community, we see much that gives us cause for hope.”
1994-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 49 (1994)
“But as we in CARICOM have warned on numerous previous occasions, the ballot box is merely the beginning of the democratic process. The international community must now orchestrate a massive effort to put in place the institutional infrastructure necessary to maintain and strengthen the fledgling Haitian democracy and to bury forever the ghosts of the past. The reconstruction of Haiti entails the creation of conditions that will ensure that the rights and freedoms of all Haitian people are respected. It must also respond effectively to the critical development needs of the Haitian population and to their just aspirations to share equitably in the resources of their country.”
1994-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 49 (1994)
“The clear terms of resolution 940 (1994) must be honoured in full, and the power of a brutal and lawless military and its callous leadership effectively and permanently neutralized. As stated by Prime Minister Owen Arthur of Barbados in his recent address at the White House on behalf of the Heads of Government of the Caribbean Community (CARICOM): “Where democracy has taken root, it should be encouraged to grow and to flourish. Like the Soviet Union and South Africa, Haiti too deserves its rendezvous with democracy. The Haitian people wished for it. They suffered for it. They voted for it. And now they are dying for it.” Haiti’s rendezvous with democracy has now begun in earnest. Hope is finally returning to a people that for a very long time had felt that all was lost.”
1994-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 49 (1994)
“For too long a just and equitable solution has not only eluded the countries in our own hemisphere, but eluded also the grasp of the Security Council of the United Nations. We are greatly encouraged that the deployment into Haiti of the multinational force took place under peaceful circumstances and that the spectre of a bloody confrontation was averted. The participation of Barbados in the multinational force and the United Nations Mission in Haiti, authorized by Security Council resolution 940 (1994), is testimony to our commitment to ensuring that the will of the Haitian people is finally respected and their lawful President and his administration restored to office without delay.”
1994-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 49 (1994)
“We will encourage the development of tourism and the international financial services and informatics sectors to their fullest potential. We will create a business-friendly environment that will be conducive to new investment, both local and foreign. We will facilitate the growth and development of the small- business sector and encourage entrepreneurship. A radically restructured Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Foreign Trade and International Business, under my direction, has been put in place to spearhead this endeavour. Against this background, the people of Barbados view with concern the tragic situation of Haiti. For far too long Haiti has been a burden on the collective conscience of the region.”
1994-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 49 (1994)
“With few resource endowments, our survival must depend exclusively on the skills of our industrial and committed people and on the God-given beauty of our natural environment. The new Government has responded immediately to that challenge in its manifesto "Charter for Change", a fundamental policy document that represents a solemn compact by this Government to work together with its citizens in seeking for Barbados a strong, strategic position in the global community of nations as we approach the twenty-first century. We are determined to use the opportunities created by the technological and communications revolution to overcome the obstacle of size and to harness our natural and strategic assets to convert Barbados into a full-service economy.”
1994-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 49 (1994)
“Yet, sadly, what we in Barbados take for granted, others close by in our own hemisphere still struggle to achieve. My country, Barbados, has gained international recognition for its comprehensive network of social services, its people-oriented development policies and its high quality of life, which have earned it first place in the developing world in the United Nations Development Programme’s Human Development Index. The present Government of the Barbados Labour Party fully recognizes the challenges that lie ahead for a small, middle-income country like Barbados to sustain that achievement in an international economic environment that continues to marginalize the small and fragile in the developing world.”
1994-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 49 (1994)
“Barbados hopes that future resolutions on the Middle East will be reflective of these advances and will serve as a fillip to the parties engaged in the negotiation process as they strive to achieve a comprehensive peace in accordance with Security Council resolutions 242 (1967), 338 (1973) and 425 (1978). The people of Barbados went to the polls on 6 September and, in an incident-free election, voted a new Government into office. I am honoured to be a part of that new order. The democracy that Barbados practices 6 is ingrained in the culture and habits of its people. For them, freedom of speech and association and freedom to vote at regular intervals for a Government of their choice and to have the Government installed in an immediate and orderly transfer of power are the simple and natural norms of life.”
1994-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 49 (1994)