YouSaid · the spoken record

Navinchandra RAMGOOLAM

lines on the record: 196
first: 1996-09-24
most recent: 2013-09-24
sittings or episodes: 8
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

“I should like, on behalf of my delegation and of the Government and the people of the Republic of Mauritius, to congratulate you, Sir, on your election as President of the General Assembly at its sixtieth session. We are confident that you will be able to discharge the responsibilities entrusted to you. I want to assure you, as I did during our meeting this morning, of my delegation’s fullest cooperation during your tenure of office. I would also like to convey my delegation’s gratitude and appreciation to Mr. Jean Ping of Gabon for the outstanding manner in which he conducted the affairs of the General Assembly at its fifty-ninth session. As Africans, we are proud of his exemplary stewardship. My delegation also wishes to express its appreciation for the tireless and dedicated efforts of the Secretary-General, Mr.”
2005-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 60 (2005)
“As we are about to commemorate the fiftieth anniversary of this century’s seminal document on human rights, we consider that we owe it to these Illois to fully re-establish their rights, including the right of return.”
1998-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 53 (1998)
“We reiterate our call to the former colonial Powers to enter into constructive bilateral dialogue with my Government for the early restoration of those territories to the sovereignty of Mauritius. Regarding the Chagos archipelago, this Assembly should also be reminded that some 1,500 inhabitants — the so-called “Illois” — were coerced to leave their homeland to clear the way for a military base. Most of the families, who had lived for generations on these islands, were moved to the main island of Mauritius, victims of the then prevailing cold war. Today, after more than 30 years, they still experience tremendous difficulties adapting to their present conditions. Many yearn to be resettled on these islands.”
1998-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 53 (1998)
“In this respect, we welcome the stand taken by both India and Pakistan in exercising self- restraint. We reiterate our position that any international instrument for the elimination of nuclear arsenals should be non-discriminatory in nature. Security for all will be achieved only when that threat is completely eliminated. Global nuclear disarmament and the total elimination of all weapons of mass destruction must remain our ultimate goal. Finally, as on past occasions, we would like to bring up once more before this Assembly our lasting claim on the sovereignty of two territories which were taken from our patrimony: the island of Tromelin and the Chagos archipelago.”
1998-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 53 (1998)
“No nation can live under a dome, with its climate isolated from the rest of the world. No country can on its own fight international drug traffickers or terrorism. We therefore condemn unequivocally all forms of terrorism and call for enhanced international cooperation to combat and prevent its occurrence. While social, economic and trade matters are increasingly — and with good reason — occupying centre stage in international forums, crucial problems of security and disarmament continue to retain their capacity to derail our efforts for development. Earlier this year we were reminded of the dangers for humanity of the proliferation of nuclear weapons and the attendant risks of a new arms race. No country can feel genuinely secure as long as the threat of nuclear weapons exists from any quarter.”
1998-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 53 (1998)
“We will soon introduce in our own National Assembly a protection of human rights bill, which will provide for the establishment of a National Human Rights Commission. At the continental African level, participants at the Third Conference of African Women Parliamentarians, which Mauritius was privileged to host, adopted the Port Louis Declaration, calling for increased political commitment at all levels for the promotion of gender 9 equality and the empowerment of women. We in Mauritius are taking legislative measures to translate our commitment into practical reality. We have now become even more aware of the need to seek global solutions to our common problems. Climate change, illicit drug-trafficking and terrorism are problems which require a coordinated international approach.”
1998-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 53 (1998)
“My Government therefore welcomes the recent adoption in Rome of the Statute of the International Criminal Court. (spoke in English) My Government believes that respect for human rights is but one facet of the indispensable foundation of the harmonious development of a country. Democracy and transparent and accountable government, as well as effective participation by civil society, are the other essential ingredients for successful development. Considering the complex sociocultural and ethnic mix of our population, we have taken great care to ensure that all our citizens, regardless of their origins or gender, have equal access to education, adequate health care, proper housing and employment opportunities.”
1998-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 53 (1998)
“At this historic moment, we wish to recall the preamble of the Charter of our Organization, which proclaims our “faith in fundamental human rights, in the dignity and worth of the human person, in the equal rights of men and women and of nations large and small”. We also reaffirm our profound belief in the equality of all rights — social, economic and cultural, as well as civil and political. Today, Governments can no longer flout the rights of their citizens without being subjected to the censure of the international community. Yet millions of inhabitants of many parts of the world remain deprived of their fundamental rights by oppressors and tyrants who govern by force. We have observed with horror the atrocious crimes against the dignity and worth of the human being committed during recent conflicts.”
1998-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 53 (1998)
“While much has been achieved since the Rio Earth Summit, we deplore the fact that the initial momentum and urgency appear to have been lost in sterile and fractious debate. I urge that we address these questions, on which our very survival depends, with renewed earnestness and a greater sense of shared responsibility. (spoke in French) In December we will celebrate the fiftieth anniversary of the adoption and proclamation by this Assembly of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. For us, that will also provide an opportunity to recall another milestone in the history of human rights: the adoption by the French Constituent Assembly of the declaration of the rights of man and of the citizen more than two centuries ago.”
1998-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 53 (1998)
“Mauritius was a major player in launching, 15 years ago, the Indian Ocean Commission and, more recently, the Indian Ocean Rim Association for Regional Cooperation. The Assembly will appreciate that an island State like Mauritius would be interested in the protection of the marine environment. We recommend for the particular attention of the General Assembly the report of the Independent World Commission on the Oceans, according to which the very survival of the human race over the long term is jeopardized by the abuses to which the world’s oceans are subjected. We have to address as a matter of priority the three most immediate dangers identified by the Commission: the overexploitation of marine biological resources, the dumping of toxic waste and the harmful effects of global warming.”
1998-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 53 (1998)
“For the reasons I have just mentioned, small economies require time and space to adjust to the new world trade order. We therefore reiterate the need for the maintenance of non-reciprocal trade regimes until such a time as we are adequately prepared. The Lomé Convention is a model of North-South cooperation. The proposed United States African Growth and Opportunity Act could become another. Together with the other members of the Southern African Development Community (SADC) and the Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa (COMESA), we would like to reaffirm our total support for its passage. Mauritius has always accorded the highest priority to regionalization to break out of its insularity and enlarge its economic base.”
1998-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 53 (1998)
“We therefore deeply deplore the decline in the levels of official development assistance among the major donor countries. Today, they stand at a historical low. We are now, more than ever, far off the target of 0.7 per cent of gross national product recommended by this Assembly. This trend must be reversed. 8 Mauritius took the initiative recently of highlighting the specificities of small island economies in the context of the World Trade Organization (WTO) and the negotiations of a successor agreement to the Lomé IV Convention. As a result, recent ministerial declarations adopted by both the WTO and the OAU now contain explicit references to small economies and their high vulnerability. This reality is now gaining recognition within the Bretton Woods institution.”
1998-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 53 (1998)
“Regional cooperation is another positive feature of the new Africa, working through groupings such as SADC, the Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa (COMESA) and the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) to facilitate cross-border trade leading to the ultimate establishment of an African Economic Community. But for Africa to realize its full potential, several serious constraints will have to be overcome. The international economic environment should be made less hostile to Africa. Africa’s shares of world trade and foreign direct investment still remain at a paltry level. The debt burden has become in itself a crippling factor and needs urgently to be alleviated. We also cannot sufficiently emphasize the importance of official development assistance in this regard.”
1998-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 53 (1998)
“We note with satisfaction the continuous positive economic growth that most sub-Saharan countries have enjoyed lately. I had the privilege to participate in a round table together with the Deputy President of South Africa earlier this year, at the World Economic Forum in Davos, on the new competitive Africa. The consensus was that Africa stands at the threshold of a new era — an era of opportunity and dynamism. We are at the dawn of an African renaissance. Governments in Africa are becoming increasingly democratic and responsive, putting more emphasis on economic development, greater openness, market-oriented policies and greater economic reform.”
1998-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 53 (1998)
“This difficult problem figured prominently on the agenda of the summit which Mauritius hosted a few days ago, after it was addressed earlier by the Victoria Falls meeting and the Pretoria special SADC summit. I wish to renew here our appeal to all parties involved in this conflict to solve their differences peacefully through political dialogue and diplomacy. In the Indian Ocean region to our immediate southwest, Mauritius is participating fully in the efforts of the Organization of African Unity (OAU) and of the countries of that region to seek a peaceful resolution to the crisis facing the Comoros on account of separatist activities by a group on the island of Anjouan. Mauritius fully supports the unity and territorial integrity of the Federal Republic of the Comoros. Fortunately, however, all is not gloom when we survey Africa.”
1998-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 53 (1998)
“It is sad indeed that year after year the number of potential flashpoints seems to grow more numerous. The situation in many regions of Africa remains a cause for great concern. The peoples of the continent can ill afford the pointless strife and violence visited upon them at a time when the priorities should be economic and social development. We in Africa naturally have to bear the primary responsibility for assuring lasting peace for our peoples. This is precisely what the leaders of the Southern African Development Community (SADC) are striving to achieve. In his statement to this Assembly, on Monday, President Nelson Mandela, current Chairman of SADC, mentioned the ongoing conflict in the Democratic Republic of the Congo.”
1998-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 53 (1998)
“This is a great challenge for a large majority of nations, particularly the least developed ones. We know only too well that a number of developing countries are among the most vulnerable and are not yet ready to integrate into the global economy. When I last addressed this Assembly, I dwelled at some length on the generally grim situation in Africa, which remains one of the most intractable challenges to the world community. It is a continent rich in natural resources and yet afflicted by widespread poverty. Peace and development in Africa have been, for more than a decade, the subject of endless debates and resolutions at the United Nations. But we know that sustainable development in Africa is conditional upon the achievement of a strife-free continent.”
1998-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 53 (1998)
“All countries are now inextricably linked as distances between them become increasingly immaterial through great leaps in information technology and communications. The tremors triggered by the crises of the South-East Asian economies and, more recently, the turmoil in the world financial markets have shown in a dramatic way the dangers of the contagion effect. Even those countries which are trying to be efficient and competitive face the possibility of external shocks because of the volatility of capital markets. 7 I believe that the world community should devise creative and effective mechanisms to prevent emerging economies which have put in hard work from losing the fruits of liberalization. We must not go back to the inward-looking strategies of the 1960s. We must continue to open our economies, but with greater caution.”
1998-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 53 (1998)
“We welcome his efforts to lead a reformed and more effective United Nations into the twenty-first century to better carry out our mission of peace, development and human rights. We wish to assure him of our total support in the continuation of the reform process. We are alive to the intense debate on the reform of the Security Council. We reiterate our position that the Security Council should be enlarged and made more democratic and representative. In this respect, we reaffirm our commitment to the stand taken by the Non-Aligned Movement at the recent Summit in Durban. In recent years the world has been profoundly transformed by the powerful forces of globalization and liberalization.”
1998-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 53 (1998)
“Our presence here today is, for my delegation and my country, cause for some celebration. This is the thirtieth anniversary of our first participation in the General Assembly. Upon the attainment of our independence in 1968, the father of the nation, the then Prime Minister Sir Seewoosagur Ramgoolam, addressed the United Nations. I join the speakers before me in congratulating Mr. Opertti on his assumption of the office of President of the General Assembly at its fifty-third session. I would also like to thank his predecessor, Mr. Udovenko, for the manner in which he conducted the work of the previous session. I wish to commend our Secretary-General, Mr. Kofi Annan, for his wise leadership and vision, which have been a source of renewed confidence in the future of this Organization.”
1998-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 53 (1998)
“We hope to resolve these differences through quiet diplomacy and dialogue. The cold war has died, but the need for peace and security lives on. The state of affairs in the world today challenges us but must not daunt us. Against this background, the principle of meliorism — that the world may be made better by human effort — should prevail in our actions. Those who have the means and capabilities to help should not waver or shy away at the call of the United Nations. 14 These are some of the ideas that I wanted to share today. It is my hope that we will all join in a global partnership for the achievement of a better and stronger United Nations at the service of the peoples in whose name we stand here.”
1996-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 51 (1996)
“After this overview of the world situation, allow me to speak of a matter of national interest to us. One of the fundamental principles to which we all subscribe is that of respect for the sovereignty of Member States. Interference in the internal affairs of States and disregard for their national sovereignty has often been a source of tension and conflict. Now that the cold war is behind us and we move towards ever greater economic, commercial and cultural integration, we should be able to find amicable answers to questions of sovereignty. Mauritius has sovereignty disputes regarding the Chagos Archipelago and Tromelin Island with two countries with which we have historically close and friendly ties. These differences were referred to as friendly disputes by Sir Seewoosagar Ramgoolam, architect of our independence and father our nation.”
1996-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 51 (1996)
“And it is equally imperative that the Working Groups of the General Assembly should complete their task of producing an effective and credible programme for reform. It seems to us self-evident that, after 50 years, some revision and redesign is necessary. We think, with Shakespeare, “When we mean to build, We first survey the plot, then draw the model; And when we see the figure of the house, Then we must rate the cost of the erection; Which if we find outweighs ability, What do we then but draw anew the model In fewer offices...?” (King Henry IV, Part 2, Act I, Scene 3) Some have come to this Assembly in order to complain that the world and the United Nations are not doing enough. But we should inquire of ourselves first: What are we doing to advance or to hinder these causes upon which, in principle, there is such remarkable agreement?”
1996-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 51 (1996)
“Furthermore, with regard particularly to the position of Mauritius on the recent decision on the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty, we stood by the principle that we have always applied to other issues in the past, namely that of fairness and non- discrimination against any party. It is therefore imperative that we give renewed momentum to the disarmament process in general, and address the flaws of the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty urgently. In order to meet the challenges of the next century, we believe that it is urgently necessary to pursue the reform of the United Nations. It is vital that the Security Council should be enlarged and made more representative and balanced among its permanent members, and should include developing countries such as India.”
1996-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 51 (1996)
“While I have addressed development issues mainly, we should not overlook the crucial question of disarmament. The principled stand of Mauritius in the field of disarmament has always been to advocate a world free of nuclear weapons as well as chemical and other weapons of mass destruction. On the question of nuclear weapons, we once again reaffirm our total commitment to nuclear disarmament, and hope that the world community will make all efforts to secure unanimity around the views expressed in this Assembly by Member States that have some difficulties with some treaty provisions.”
1996-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 51 (1996)
“This instrument has to a very large extent helped in consolidating the links between the ACP States and the European Union. It has permitted the growth of trade, economic, political, social and cultural development, for both developed and underdeveloped countries. However, the successor agreement to Lomé IV will have to take into account the changing pattern in world trade and the acquired benefits under the Lomé Conventions, and in this context we shall wait for the publication of the green book on the subject commissioned by the European Union. The Sugar Protocol, which provides for guaranteed prices and quotas for the ACP sugar-producing countries, has been instrumental to a large extent in the socio- economic development of Mauritius.”
1996-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 51 (1996)
“Improvements in telecommunications facilities, the adoption of advanced technology for the transmission of 13 information in real time and the use of more rapid and reliable modes of transportation have all contributed to giving regionalization a new dimension in political and economic issues. Hence, the prospects for ensuring a more balanced global development process are more real and attainable. The decades-old partnership between African, Caribbean and Pacific (ACP) States and the European Union through the Lomé Conventions, the fourth of which will come to an end in the year 2000, has served as an excellent instrument for trading agreements between the African, Asian, Pacific and Caribbean countries and the European Union.”
1996-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 51 (1996)
“In addition, we have witnessed a new interpretation of the concept of regional blocs as purely geographical units that make use of their own individual characteristics to experiment, and to test political, economic and social reforms programmes within a smaller geographical entity before challenges are confronted on a worldwide scale. Regionalization is increasingly being viewed by aid donors and international financial institutions as a means to promote overall economic development and to create an enabling environment that will attract foreign direct investment in specific regions. This process has also changed the way in which international businesses and multinational corporations are restructuring their activities.”
1996-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 51 (1996)
“We have witnessed in recent years the growing significance of regional accords and blocs in determining and fashioning the orientation of multilateral financial and trading systems and institutions. We believe that regionalization is a necessary step towards a more liberal global environment inasmuch as it allows the less endowed countries and regions with specificities of their own to experiment and to test the political, economic and social reforms of their programmes. A similar approach has been adopted by the more advanced countries and regions, as evidenced by the emergence of the North American Free Trade Agreement and the consolidation of existing groupings, such as the European Union and the Association of South-East Asian Nations, to mention just a couple of them.”
1996-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 51 (1996)
“The association has the distinguishing feature of having adopted a tripartite approach comprising government, the private sector and the academic community, to ensure as wide a consensus as possible. Mauritius is convening a ministerial meeting in the first week of March 1997 to give political blessing to the Indian Ocean rim association for regional cooperation. The Indian Ocean region can now serenely look forward to playing its role, as a serious regional partner in the international arena, in the effort to uplift the standard of living of the peoples of the region. I am sure that the international community will lend its full support to this nascent regional grouping, in line with the often repeated appeal for South-South cooperation.”
1996-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 51 (1996)
“Indeed, the Indian Ocean region was the only one in the world which did not have such a platform to discuss the economic and social development policies of its countries in a coordinated manner. I am pleased to inform the Assembly this year that the Mauritius Indian Ocean Rim Initiative has gathered considerable momentum. The Initiative, which started with only seven countries, has doubled its membership to 14 countries. A charter has been drawn up to provide the relevant framework within which to develop and implement regional cooperation programmes. In addition, in contrast with some existing regional blocs, it has adopted an outward-looking approach, so as to be compatible with the multilateral system.”
1996-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 51 (1996)
“Our actions at the national level will be matched by our contributions at the international and regional levels, in concert with all our partners, to advance on these same issues. Through our membership in regional and subregional organizations, we are undertaking, in close partnership with neighbouring countries, to advance and promote the same objectives that I have defined. Only one year after joining the Southern African Development Community (SADC), Mauritius has become an active member, putting its skills and knowledge in sectors where it has acquired valuable experience at the service of fellow members. Mauritius informed this Assembly last year that it had initiated a process for the creation of a regional cooperation platform in the Indian Ocean region.”
1996-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 51 (1996)
“We are convinced that this will create a climate more conducive to investment and will enhance the creative and entrepreneurial spirit of our people. While the pursuit of happiness has perforce to be individual and private, it cannot be to the detriment of the collective good. The protection of the environment is one endeavour that has to be undertaken collectively at the national as well as the global level. Only if mankind as a whole takes care to ensure the integrity of our planet can we envisage a future for generations yet to be born. It is up to us to ensure the viability and ecological health of the planet we shall bequeath to those who come after us. My Government will pursue on its own national territory a vigorous policy of conservation and rehabilitation of natural resources.”
1996-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 51 (1996)
“Our overriding objective will be to ultimately make the economy work for the people and not the people work for the economy. While a Government’s overall objective is to improve the well-being of the people, sound economic 12 policies alone will not make our countries prosper. In order to create the right environment for the economy to flourish there must be good governance. This is also a moral imperative. The history of mankind inevitably moves in the direction of greater freedom, more transparency, wider accountability in all sectors of public life and greater access to information held by public agencies relating to citizens. My Government is committed to a continuing process of democratization which will reinforce our institutions by creating wider confidence in them.”
1996-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 51 (1996)
“Mauritius fervently hopes that the sister island of Fiji will soon be able to resume its rightful place in the comity of nations by correcting the inequities written into that nation’s constitution in a moment of tension, when racist passions were unbridled. We would be pleased to share with the people of Fiji our own constitutional experience of a pluricultural society. In my own country, only 10 months ago in a free and democratic election, the people voted overwhelmingly for change. The Government has pledged to render our democratic process even more transparent and unequivocal. The numerous strategies and policy objectives enunciated by the new Government at the beginning of the current legislature, earlier this year, aim precisely at confronting squarely the problems that we face on all the issues that I have broached.”
1996-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 51 (1996)
“Somalia and Liberia seem to descend endlessly into chaos, while Burundi threatens to blow up again. We are concerned by recent indications that parties to the Middle East peace process may be giving in to the temptation of pandering to extremist fringes. We owe peace to this Holy Land and to the generations to come. We owe it to the memory of two statesmen who laid down their lives to this cause. The resolute pursuit of peace is the only way to defeat the assassins, those who felled President Sadat and Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin. In the Commonwealth family of nations to which we belong, the uniqueness of which is its very diversity, a number of Member States are blighted by this affliction.”
1996-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 51 (1996)
“We look to Europe, Africa, the Far East and the Indian subcontinent for our cultural inheritance. Our people cross many divides. Therefore, we are able to witness and sense the impact of the rapid development of the modern world upon these different cultures and peoples more quickly, because we are a part of them. And I can tell the Assembly that what we see gives us cause for concern. As the old world order passes and a new one replaces it, we are going through a period of transition fraught with pitfalls and dangers. We cannot but be dismayed at the number of countries that are falling prey to the ancient and deadly sirens of ethnicity and narrow nationalism that appeal to man’s baser instincts of intolerance and xenophobic fear. Our continent of Africa seems particularly affected.”
1996-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 51 (1996)
“My Government will continue to support the cause of democracy and human rights in Africa and wherever in the world such support is required. Mauritius will later this month host the twentieth session of the African Commission of Human and People’s Rights, which commemorates the tenth anniversary of its African Charter. This session of the Commission will undertake, with the participation of non-governmental organizations and other interested elements of civil society, an assessment and reevaluation of the implementation of the Charter and prepare a five-year plan of action which we are confident will greatly help strengthen and improve the situation of human rights in our continent. My country, whose only resources are the stability of its democracy and the enterprising spirit of its people, comprises many races, cultures and religions.”
1996-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 51 (1996)
“Measures should also be designed to promote the growth of real democracy and good governance, for economic prosperity must go hand in hand with democracy and the rule of law. It may seem temporarily otherwise. It may seem that the creation of wealth can, for a while, be separated from the yearning of the people and of individuals to be free, but sooner or later the force of the aspirations which prosperity brings will burst forth, as the waters burst from the dam. Surely we must look with dismay at many areas of our world in which human rights are discounted or denied. A case in point is Myanmar, where a democratic vote, held in 1990, has been defeated and denied by force, and where the house of the elected leader of the people is kept under constant surveillance and surrounded by soldiers.”
1996-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 51 (1996)
“If we are to bring Africa into the general march of the economies of the world towards progress and prosperity, we must begin, at the highest level, to coordinate and to chart a course for Africa to join in. Piecemeal aid and occasional intervention on the occasion of awesome disasters will not be enough. Therefore, we welcome the Group of Seven’s commitment in Lyon to a partnership for development and to the elimination of trade barriers to exports from developing countries. These barriers must come down. But we question whether this and private investment alone will be sufficient. Swift and dramatic debt relief for countries in need of it is essential. We welcome the lead provided by the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund (IMF) in this regard, but it must be followed by decisive and urgent action.”
1996-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 51 (1996)
“The countries of sub-Saharan Africa last year attracted only 3 per cent of the foreign direct investment into the developing world, compared to 20 per cent for Latin America and the Caribbean and 59 per cent for East Asia and the Pacific region. Life expectancy is placed at 50.9 years, the lowest among developing countries. At the same time, a new and more demanding international economic order is emerging, one in which Africa is beginning to feel overwhelmed and isolated from the mainstream of world economic development. If some of its nations have not yet caught up with the industrial revolution, what hope have they, unaided, of reaching the heights of the technological and information revolutions which are sweeping the developed countries of the world towards new horizons.”
1996-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 51 (1996)
“Decade after decade, many of the nations of Africa have seen their efforts at development frustrated by natural and man-made disasters, poor governance and a hostile international environment. Foreign aid has not had the desired impact on the progress of these countries, and the poorer nations have accumulated huge and unmanageable debt which they labour, with inadequate tools, to support. As the Assembly knows, of the 36 poorest countries in the world, as classified by the United Nations Development Programme in the human development index, 29 are in Africa. The majority of them have per capita incomes lower than they were 20 years ago.”
1996-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 51 (1996)
“We are embarked upon a great and necessary experiment, and that is why the work of the Secretary-General is so important. Here I should like to pay tribute to Mr. Boutros Boutros-Ghali, whose contribution has been so valuable in recent years. It is particularly appropriate that this great office should be filled, as we move into the next millennium, by a representative of Africa, for Africa remains the great intransigent challenge which the world has scarcely yet begun to face. Only through the renewed and concerted determination of this Organization and the vision of cooperation and mutual responsibility which it represents is there any hope of successfully meeting the extraordinary difficulties which the next century will bring.”
1996-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 51 (1996)
“However, we often seem to suffer from a paralysis when it comes to actual implementation of these good intentions. This Organization was the response of the human race to the catastrophic experiences of two world wars and to scientific discoveries and inventions which confronted us with unprecedented choices. It was an expression of faith in the power of human beings to be rational in the face of these choices and to choose the paths of peace and progress instead of war and destruction. But sometimes its voice has seemed very faint and far off in the midst of the terrible troubles that have afflicted us since then. Some have begun to mutter of the ineffectiveness of the institution and to complain of the cost. I am convinced that those criticisms do not begin to express the whole truth about the work that is done by this Organization.”
1996-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 51 (1996)
“Hearing and reading the speeches of world leaders to this Assembly, I am struck by the extraordinary degree of unanimity between them — how much we seem to agree in principle but how little on the right course of action; on the necessity of diplomacy and discussion as the primary path to peace; on the necessity of according to every man, woman and child the fundamental rights and freedoms which this Organization has, over the years, done so much to establish; on the necessity of providing equal opportunities for men, women and children in all our societies; on the necessity of protecting the environment; and on the need to ensure that mankind moves forward together on the path of development. In all these noble and commendable aims we are united.”
1996-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 51 (1996)
“I join all those who have gone before me in congratulating you, Sir, on behalf of Mauritius, on your accession to the office of President of the General Assembly at its fifty-first session. I also thank Mr. Freitas do Amaral of Portugal for his skilful stewardship of the fiftieth session.”
1996-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 51 (1996)