YouSaid · the spoken record

Percival James Patterson

lines on the record

61

first

1997-09-24

most recent

2005-09-24

sittings or episodes

3

sources

un-general-debate

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1. “There is a special need for financing arrangements to develop production capabilities, infrastructure and environmental protection programmes. Small island States suffer other disadvantages. The Caribbean is renowned for its natural beauty, but it is also vulnerable to a range of frequent natural disasters. To the physical limitations in resources and economic scale have been added the hazards of nature. Even as I speak, the people of the small island of Montserrat are struggling to maintain their existence in their own land, two thirds of which has been destroyed by a volcano that resumed activity just over two years ago. As a member of the Caribbean Community, Montserrat's plight is of grave concern to all CARICOM States.”

   1997-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 52 (1997)

2. “It demonstrates not only the vulnerability of small economies, but also the extent to which we are at the mercy of those whose calculations seem oblivious to the interests of our survival. Small economies operate under severe resource constraints and need to conserve the natural environment, which is a precious resource. That is why countries members of the Caribbean Community (CARICOM) attach special importance to international recognition of the peculiar circumstances and needs of small island developing States, as highlighted in the Barbados Programme of Action, which was adopted by the United Nations Global Conference on the Sustainable Development of Small Island Developing States. It is with great disappointment that we note how little progress has been made to implement the Programme of Action.”

   1997-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 52 (1997)

3. “Nothing would better fulfil the lofty ideals of our founding fathers than an immediate global assault on poverty, ignorance and disease. To win the battle, I call upon this Assembly to emphasize the creation, application and dissemination of knowledge in every corner of the Earth. Liberalization and globalization, as they are being practised, have not shown the capacity or willingness to take into account the genuine interests or practical possibilities of small States. This is the painful lesson that we as Caribbean producers of bananas have learned. The recent panel ruling by the World Trade Organization (WTO) in Geneva on the European banana regime threatens to ruin the economies of the smaller States of the Caribbean, thereby endangering the economic stability of the entire region.”

   1997-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 52 (1997)

4. “The empowerment of all of the 5 peoples of our countries is of paramount importance to the advancement of our societies. Such empowerment requires that priority attention be given to human-resource development and human-capital formation, and to the optimal utilization of all the available human and natural resources of our time. Increasingly, where this has not already started, our programmes of education and training will have to be redesigned and refocused to enable our peoples to function effectively in the emerging knowledge-based world economy. Applications of science and technology and advances in telecommunications must become all-pervasive factors to be effectively and appropriately utilized for the benefit of our peoples.”

   1997-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 52 (1997)

5. “The new trading system is skewed in favour of the economically powerful. It is becoming more and more apparent that free trade, as practised by its loudest advocates, is not necessarily fair trade. For developing countries, access to larger markets remains difficult, owing to a variety of protective barriers. And where special and historical market arrangements for small producers still exist, these are now under threat from alliances of powerful governmental and private interests. We developing countries cannot afford to shut ourselves off from what is taking place around us. The pace of change is at times bewildering, but we cannot say, “Stop the world, I want to get off”. We must make use of the positive elements of modernity, organization of work and efficiency, to build the kind of society we wish to leave to our children.”

   1997-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 52 (1997)

6. “Expected transfers of resources from increased trade and investment flows have not materialized, while the burden of debt remains a major constraint on development. Simply put, the rich are getting richer and the poor are getting poorer. Unless we redress the imbalance — and quickly — the disparities will increase exponentially. To avert imminent disaster, there has to be a reversal of the pattern of transfer of technology and more liberal access to the markets of developed countries. In all this, the United Nations has a decisive and strategic role to play. It should direct and channel international cooperation to correct distortions and inequities in the system, and contribute to the creation of an international economic environment facilitating economic growth and the benefits of development for all.”

   1997-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 52 (1997)

7. “In a world where we note with increasing concern the absence of appropriate measures by multilateral financial institutions to relieve the burden of debt, we are bound to question whether the economic measures applied in the last few years represent the only way for developing countries to orient their economies. We cannot accept that the impoverishment of millions is a necessary cost of future world growth. Globalization and liberalization, which have led to the breaking down of so many barriers between nations, are not removing the barriers between rich and poor. The process seems instead to be widening the differences and deepening the divide. The benefits of increased production and the expansion of global trade have been unevenly spread. Many developing countries are being increasingly marginalized in the process.”

   1997-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 52 (1997)

8. “Whatever cloud of uncertainty may hang over the future, we must not fail to lay the foundations of a more stable and equitable world order which fosters greater hope and wider opportunities for mankind. As we seek to strengthen the fabric of international security, there needs to be a concentrated focus on the root causes of instability, conflict and confrontation everywhere. The danger signals are unmistakably clear. The coexistence of a world of wealth and prosperity and a world of poverty and misery is too profound a contradiction to be ignored. It lies at the heart of an emerging crisis. More than one billion human beings are still condemned to abject poverty. The despair and frustration which form their daily experience breed tension and trigger instability which are bound to erupt from time to time.”

   1997-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 52 (1997)

9. “We feel confident that the Authority will be able to discharge its mandate efficiently as a completely autonomous institution. We are constantly reminded that we are approaching a new century and a new millennium. This new era provides exciting possibilities and, at the same time, poses formidable challenges. It requires of us a creative effort to find new directions and a continuing search for fresh solutions. The fluidity and changing currents in world affairs demand constant adaptation and adjustments to meet contemporary realities. Some old disputes remain unresolved, and an array of new problems continues to enter the international agenda. The situation in the Middle East should not be allowed to remain forever a source of anxiety and frustration. The rise of ethnic violence and intercommunal conflict must be halted now.”

   1997-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 52 (1997)

10. “Exactly 35 years ago, Jamaica became a Member of the United Nations by one of its first acts as a sovereign nation. We did so in recognition of the central role in the management of global affairs which only the United Nations can fill and from our desire to participate as an equal partner in that process. Ever since then, Jamaica has actively sought to contribute in a constructive spirit to the building and strengthening of the international system. One concrete result of these efforts is the location in Jamaica of an offshoot of the system, the International Seabed Authority, established under the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea, which is generally acknowledged to have been a signal achievement in extending the reach of international cooperation.”

    1997-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 52 (1997)

11. “Mr. President, your election to preside over the fifty-second session of the General Assembly is a fitting and well-deserved result of your distinguished service for your country in the international community. I also wish to convey our appreciation to Ambassador Razali Ismail of Malaysia for so ably directing the work of the fifty-first session, and to congratulate him for a job well done. I join those who have spoken before me in welcoming the Secretary-General, Mr. Kofi Annan to this, his first General Assembly session since his assumption of office. Already he has impressed us with his sincerity of purpose and his willingness to take bold initiatives. He can always rely on Jamaica’s full cooperation and support 4 as he seeks to steer the United Nations towards the new millennium.”

    1997-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 52 (1997)