YouSaid · the spoken record

Olhaye

THE RECORD WRITES THIS SPEAKER AS OLHAYE

lines on the record

63

first

1989-09-24

most recent

1994-09-24

sittings or episodes

2

sources

un-general-debate

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1. “It is high time, therefore, that the premier international development agencies realized the uniqueness of this group of countries and devised an appropriate, novel philosophical basis and theoretical framework for a specific, far-reaching, responsive and humane development strategy. Needless to say, this requires courage and iconoclastic vision on the part of those institutions. The Belgrade Declaration of the Non-Aligned Movement cautions feat "there can be no stability, nor better prospects for the world without reducing the disparities in the level of global development". We are hopeful reason will prevail to stave off a looming crisis that may engulf an important segment of mankind.”

   1989-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 44 (1989)

2. “Perhaps it is a matter not so much of deficiency in the strategy as of its true relevance to the level and pattern of development of most developing countries, in particular in Africa, where zero economic growth has been the characteristic trend, despite the presence of the largest per capita number of foreign advisers in the world. That undeniably lies at the heart of the problem. If that is not the case one may well ask why it is that economic and social conditions in Africa today are significantly worse than 25 years ago given the substantial infusions of financial and technical assistance from the World Bank, the IMF and the developed countries.”

   1989-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 44 (1989)

3. “Most of the initiatives designed to alleviate the debt burden seem, regrettably, to share a common strategy linking debt relief or debt rescheduling arrangements to medium-term adjustment programmes, with a strong element of structural reforms, which, in International Monetary Fund (IMF) and World Bank parlance, "are aimed at reducing economic distortions and financial imbalances". More often than not such a strategy does not achieve the desired objective. Instead, it engenders untold hardship and domestic civil turmoil, not to mention, of course, the inevitable political dimension of the impact of structural adjustment.”

   1989-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 44 (1989)

4. “The proper understanding of African debt crisis, therefore, requires it to be placed within the framework of the concomitant adverse developments in commodity prices and resource flows and the ongoing efforts of adjustment." At this juncture, we wish to record our profound satisfaction at the timely and generous decisions to cancel the entire outstanding public debts of over 30 African countries by France, Canada, Belgium, Italy and the United States of America.”

   1989-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 44 (1989)

5. “The adverse effects of the crippling external debts are far-reaching and unfathomable, with debt servicing swallowing up over 40 per cent of export earnings in the case of Africa. According to the Economic Report on Africa, 1989, of the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa: "The continuing rise in the volume of debt and debt ratio underscores the excessive burden imposed on African economies and their vulnerability to adverse external developments.”

   1989-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 44 (1989)

6. “While the long-term growth prospect has policy implications for improving human capital, mobilizing domestic savings and promoting exports, we need at the same time to give recognition to the inherent structural problems. Some of .these will be insurmountable so long as external constraints - such as dwindling export earnings, a dearth of finance for development and the staggering debt-servicing burden - play a major role in the continuing unsatisfactory macro-economic performance of the African economies. These constraints severely limit efforts towards economic restructuring and policy reforms intended to enhance recovery and bring about sustained growth and development.”

   1989-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 44 (1989)

7. “In the words of David Newsom, former Under Secretary of State and current Director of the Institute for the Study of Diplomacy at Georgetown University: "To declare victory new, and to imply that the end of the cold war makes issues in the third world of less relevance, is to ignore regions in which serious global problems have arisen in the past and may again." The African continent faces formidable challenges in the 1990s in its efforts at improving the living standards and quality of life of its populations. The worsening economic performance, against the background of severe drought conditions deteriorating terms of trade, weak international demand and high debt-servicing costs, continues to be a source of grave concern.”

   1989-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 44 (1989)

8. “The gains thus achieved in the international political arena, both in atmosphere and in substance, ought to be translated into practical action. They need not remain the exclusive preserve of the super-Powers; nor need they be directed only towards political and economic liberalization in the East. It would be inconsistent with moral justice and social equity if the improved climate of East-West relations bred complacency and neglect of third-world issues.”

   1989-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 44 (1989)

9. “Gorbachev, who convincingly has stated that "Soviet security cannot be achieved at the price of the insecurity of other countries." All this has serious implications for the many countries with protracted conflicts in their backyards as well as across their borders. Whether lasting settlements to the long-simmering disputes are to be found at the local level, through super-Power co-operation or through the United Nations, this definitely is the most auspicious moment for peace. Let us seize it; let us give peace a chance. We are extremely encouraged by the positive developments in peace-making and peaceful overtures that have been demonstrated everywhere, at both the domestic and the regional level.”

   1989-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 44 (1989)

10. “In taking stock, therefore, of our past problems we ought to be careful not to be misled by false impressions of accomplishment. The reality is that standards of living dropped, political instability increased and sustained economic growth diminished. In all to many instances this malaise was associated with the absence of reliable infrastructure, inadequate education, chaotic housing and social problems. It is a relief of some kind that the new perceptions in international relations seem to underscore genuine concessions, relative predictability and enhanced credibility. No one, perhaps, is better qualified than the Soviet leader, Mr.”

    1989-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 44 (1989)

11. “It was, indeed, an era characterized by a massive build-up of arms and troops as it naturally also embraced regional conflicts and the superiority of national security interests as a political strategy. The developing countries, closely lumped together as the third world, not only became the ideological, proxies or testing grounds, but were coveted prizes in the underlying politics of the big-Power rivalry. In the intervening years these poor countries have been alternately confused and exhilarated by the apparent choices open to them, so that often local, social and economic imperatives have been subordinated to broad political initiatives. Even bread-and-butter issues involving basic human needs have lacked the desired focus.”

    1989-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 44 (1989)

12. “Javier Perez de Cuellar, in both his quest for enduring solutions to the numerous intractable conflicts and his efforts to enhance the awareness of crucial developmental problem. We highly value his unruffled stewardship as he perseveres in steering us carefully away from collision and confrontation towards co-operation and consensus-building. The changes that are now taking place in the domestic and foreign policies of the countries of eastern Europe have fundamentally affected the climate of international relations. For more than four decades the world has been plunged in divisions and tensions as a result of political polarizations, which has inevitably placed a tremendous burden on mutual respect and concurrence.”

    1989-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 44 (1989)

13. “Allow me at the outset, on behalf of my delegation and on my own behalf, to extend our warm brotherly felicitations to Mr. Garba of Nigeria on his unanimous election to the presidency of the forty-fourth session of the General Assembly. His long-proved record in public and international service, coupled with his bread diplomatic skills and his keen sensitivity to the manifold issues before us, makes him uniquely qualified to guide us ably in our deliberations. I wish also to take this opportunity to convey to his predecessor, Mr. Dante Caputo, our sincere appreciation of the fine leadership qualities he brought to bear on the conduct of the last session. We are proud to recognize, as usual, the quiet but effective diplomacy deployed relentlessly by the Secretary-General, Mr.”

    1989-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 44 (1989)