YouSaid · the spoken record

Tannis

THE RECORD WRITES THIS SPEAKER AS TANNIS

lines on the record: 149
first: 1980-09-24
most recent: 1983-09-24
sittings or episodes: 4
sources: un-general-debate

Every line below is reproduced as it was said and linked to the record it came from. Nothing here is summarised or generated. Directory · Search · Corrections

“We in the Assembly must address once again the very grave danger to world security posed by international terrorism, which now appears to make a target of a diplomat for no reason other than that in the discharge of the functions of his office he speaks for his country and thereby personifies his country. We must bring our minds to bear on this problem so that those who perform duties similar to our own work can do so in greater safety. No self-respecting nation can permit itself to be blackmailed by the dark deeds of the terrorist. No self-respecting nation can submit to the will of terror.”
1982-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 37 (1982)
“Such admission, in the view of my country, would assist in the promotion of peace and might well contribute to the realization of the national aspiration for the reunification of the divided countries. Although past experience has in no way suggested that there is reason for optimism, it has shown that admission has lowered the threshold of tension between divided countries, increased contacts in different areas and permitted a greater degree of dialogue. There is a place for both the Republic of Korea and the Democratic People's Republic of Korea in the Assembly. It is time the wounds of division were healed. The process of healing can begin here. Friends of both the South and the North should make this process possible.”
1982-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 37 (1982)
“Consequently, in divided countries, when restraint has been shown it deserves praise, and the Governments must be further encouraged to seek the negotiating table as the best and most practical way to a solution. They should renounce the resolution of any dispute by means other than those the Charter envisages, even though they may not be Members. Not all these divided countries seek or can seek admission to the United Nations, but those that can and do seek admission should be admitted, either together or individually, without the possibility for any of the five permanent members of the Security Council exercising a veto against such admission.”
1982-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 37 (1982)
“Ultimately there should be an end to the international arms race in general, for which a few countries are responsible. It is they that possess the real capacity to fuel the arms race; and once they show the will it can and will cease. One of the continuing, lingering problems with which the Assembly is confronted is the creation of conditions conducive to the reunification of countries divided because of political and ideological differences or differences of language or religion. It must be a source of great hardship when the fabric of life in the parts of a divided country is torn. When there is little or no contact and when it is difficult for friends or families to be reunited, there is the temptation to want to resolve the problem by other than peaceful means.”
1982-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 37 (1982)
“There are very rare occasions when this Convention is violated and, when it is, it is as a result of traumatic shocks within a national society. Similarly, what has been achieved in the area of diplomatic reciprocity should prove to be no more difficult in verifiable inspection to achieve disarmament. Willingness to agree to inspection is an indication of acceptance of how crucial inspection must be in reaching agreement on disarmament." It must not be thought that it is only the United States of America and the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics that are concerned, for all mankind is concerned. We, the others, the silent spectators, are all deeply concerned. There should and must be an end to nuclear proliferation, through a balanced reduction of the existing terror.”
1982-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 37 (1982)
“What should then be decided will be who would do the inspection and how such inspection should be carried out—whether by a team selected and controlled by this world body and answerable only to this world body or otherwise. This would actually mean that there would have to be a re-examination of the national concept of sovereignty and territorial jurisdiction. There can be no diminution or compromise of authority in giving to another an entitlement that would be reciprocal. This is the whole concept of ambassadorial and consular representation which specifically limits national jurisdiction on national soil and which encroaches upon national sovereignty in certain cases. This is now an internationally accepted principle set forth in a Convention.”
1982-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 37 (1982)
“Therefore, in order to eliminate this element of fear and doubt, which is the result of suspicion and mistrust, inspection and verification must be accepted as an inescapable provision of any such treaty. Any genuine desire to achieve disarmament must realistically accept that States have to move in the direction of an open-door policy rather than a closed-door policy. The prerequisite for reaching agreement on disarmament seems to be the ability of the parties to convince each other that no advantage is sought over the other and that there is nothing to hide by thereby guaranteeing the right of access to each other's territory for inspection.”
1982-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 37 (1982)
“I spoke at length at the 23rd meeting of the twelfth special session on disarmament, and I do not propose to add anything further to what I said then except to welcome the start of discussions between the super-Powers on nuclear disarmament in the hope that it will be treated in as serious and urgent a manner as the gravity of the situation warrants. However, I would like to read out one portion of that statement: "Given the suspicion and distrust that exist between countries, it can be appreciated that there are tremendous obstacles to be overcome in bringing about real and lasting disarmament. "Countries that have been suspicious of each other for years, and still are, will not suddenly believe each other's words.”
1982-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 37 (1982)
“In a world replete with border disputes, civil terrorism and guerrilla unrest, and territorial claims, especially in this hemisphere, prudence and caution should make the negotiating table attractive. The path to a negotiated settlement or the resolution of disputes by discussion can at times be slow; yet this in itself should in no way frustrate the process. The results of quiet, painstaking diplomacy, even if the disputes are ultimately resolved through the process of arbitration, have always so far been more beneficial than the results of war.”
1982-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 37 (1982)
“Nevertheless, we should not ignore the Charter or resolutions of the United Nations without at the same time appreciating the adverse effect this must have on its total responsiveness. For small States such as Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, it should be obvious that it is necessary to ensure at all times that the United Nations is strong and responsive to problems, with the ability, through the collective will of the Assembly, to enforce its authority with regard to regional and world peace for the good of all mankind, since it is the best guarantor of the protection and independence of such States. Too often nations avoid the peaceful path and resort to arms, with unforeseen results.”
1982-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 37 (1982)
“The question for the General Assembly is no longer independence itself but where do we go from here to bring about independence for Namibia. The question of what progress is being made by the contact group on the implementation of the United Nations plan is speculative but this is still probably an area where results could be achieved. Let us intensify our actions to ensure that this issue is resolved before the Assembly meets for its thirty-eighth session. As a Member State, we shall continue to state that the greatest challenge to the effectiveness of the Assembly lies in the deliberate erosion of its authority by its members. Perhaps Saint Vincent and the Grenadines may have unwittingly been an offender already.”
1982-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 37 (1982)
“For yet another year a regime in South Africa which refuses to recognize racial equality and which has institutionalized the dehumanizing system of apartheid against the black majority within its borders persists by every ruse and various stratagems to frustrate the aspirations of a people that wishes to be no longer a ward but a proud people in a free and equal country. The question of independence for Namibia should not be linked to any pre-condition, particularly when it is an issue not related to Namibia itself, but of a third State. Understandable, from a South African point of view, as that concern may be, no one should allow a direct and separate issue to be beclouded by what is, in our view, an extraneous consideration.”
1982-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 37 (1982)
“Saint Vincent and the Grenadines urges the representatives of Iraq and the Islamic Republic of Iran to give support to the resolution of the Security Council and the sentiments of the General Assembly and, within the limits permitted, persuade their Governments to take such differences as exist to the conference table and endeavour to resolve them within the terms of the Charter of the United Nations and resolutions of the Security Council and the Assembly. Yet another year approaches without the inhabitants of Namibia having the right to determine their future as a free and independent people.”
1982-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 37 (1982)
“The armies of the contending forces should agree to withdraw, at all points, within their respective borders and begin negotiations with a view to concluding a peace treaty. If there are any Member States which can in some measure exercise influence on one side or the other, or both, they should do so before this dread malignancy takes on incurable proportions—before it spreads even further, with dire consequences for peace in that region and for world peace. One cannot permit reason to be blind or deaf in a dispute. It is like searching for a tiger while blind and deaf, only to be destroyed by it.”
1982-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 37 (1982)
“It should and must. The Kampucheans should be left in peace to determine their future by dialogue and through a freely supervised electoral process. The Iraqi-Iran war, although not one in which foreign troops are the interventionists or the protectors of their perceived but often misjudged interests, is nevertheless a terrible war, being fought with the most sophisticated types of conventional weapons in an important and sensitive part of the world. It is not for Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, at this stage, to attempt to apportion blame before being fully apprised of all the facts; it is enough to recognize that this senseless slaughter of the flower and youth of both countries is a reckless squandering of an important national resource.”
1982-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 37 (1982)
“It is wrong for any outside Power to impose itself by force of arms on another country or by direct intervention decide who should administer a country. It is all the more heinous when to achieve that result it occasions untold human suffering. Those foreign troops now in occupation of Kampuchea should be removed. Our national concern is that we cannot be indifferent to human suffering, regardless of when or where it may occur but especially when it occurs under the domination of a foreign Power determined to demonstratethat might is right. Let the people decide whether they wish the new Coalition or the present Phnom Penh Government. The foreign troops occupying Kampuchea have caused, in addition to the loss of lives and property, severe refugee problems in neighbouring countries. Will this unremitting foreign intervention never cease?”
1982-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 37 (1982)
“Let it hold discussions with the Afghan nationalist fighters with a view to ending the conflict; let it agree to the holding of elections under United Nations supervision and secure observer status for such a team; let it negotiate, if possible, a neutral Afghanistan, but this should not be a pre-condition for the holding of free and fair elections. I appeal further to the occupying Power to start the process now and show the greatness and compassion of which it is capable. We of the Assembly must all work unceasingly to bring to an end the cycle of suffering, death and destruction occurring in that once quiet and peaceful country, now turned into a divided, suffering and unhappy land. The Kampuchean question is another very sad continuing episode.”
1982-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 37 (1982)
“Providing for these refugees is utilizing a substantial portion of the resources of international relief organizations. AH this must make one wonder what purpose is served by a continuing stalemate with blood, death and suffering as the end-product. The image of the occupying Power internationally is being affected, and the validity and wisdom of its political and military objectives must be questioned. Without asking for a response, I am sure that Afghanistan is an embarrassment to that occupying Power. It has touched a lever which it now wishes, quite likely, it had never touched, yet still somehow refuses to release. I appeal to the occupying Power to show that great courage which I know it possesses, and of which it is capable, and set a small country free to determine its own future as it wishes.”
1982-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 37 (1982)
“Whatever may be the stated reason for the presence of those foreign troops—whether in support and at the request of the present Government or otherwise—it is evident that a significant segment of the population, indeed a majority, is opposed to the Government and to the presence of those foreign troops. The fact is not contestable, since poorly equipped Afghans at great expense, in terms of loss of life and property, and at great suffering—both to combatants and to non-combatants—continue to wage resistance to an occupation of their country which they consider to be undesirable. Neighbouring States have over 3 million—or about one fifth—of the Afghans as refugees, placing great strain on the resources of those countries. Pakistan alone has over 2.7 million.”
1982-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 37 (1982)
“Lebanon should now be given the opportunity to become a unified country and to live and trade in peace. Its new President and Government must be given the support of the international community to make this possible. It is for the President and his Government to decide when all non-Lebanese troops should leave their country. When it is clear that the Lebanese army, with international financial support, is firmly in control, they should, on request, all immediately depart. The international community must not appear to be indifferent to the fate of Afghanistan, a relatively small country of 15.5 million people. Foreign troops are in that country. The presence of those troops is being contested by the inhabitants of that country—the Afghans.”
1982-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 37 (1982)
“There are now three options to be examined in the search for a peaceful solution to this Middle East crisis: first, the much-criticized and by some rejected Camp David accords; secondly, President Reagan's initiative; and, thirdly, the plan adopted at the Twelfth Arab Summit Conference, at Fez.The opposing leaders should now come together and, with assistance, so orchestrate their actions that an effective and lasting peace can come to the area. Those who can encourage this process must do so, so that peace can come to a troubled and tortured land, Lebanon; so that peace can come to a strife-prone and strife- torn region, the Middle East; so that peace can exist between the Israelis and the Arabs, based on a just settlement of the Palestinian problem: a homeland.”
1982-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 37 (1982)
“It is therefore ridiculous for either side to refuse to accept the existence of the other. For either side to continue to take firm and unyielding positions on this issue could lead to other even more tragic events which, while they must redound to the shame of the perpetrators and be to the utter disgust and anger of civilized people must not occasion guilt among us for any failure on our part to put an end to this impasse.”
1982-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 37 (1982)
“No country, however large can allow itself to become an international outcast; still less one that is small, even though it is in possession of a powerful military machine. We all need the goodwill, friendship and support of each other. Total isolation must be the worst tragedy with which any country can be beset. Israel must in its own interest cease actions which suggest that it has a total disregard for international opinion. If we, inside and outside the Assembly, accept facts, however unpalatable they may be, apparent problems may become soluble and inexcusable and unpardonable Christian barbarities such as occurred in west Beirut may not recur. The fact is that Israel exists in the hearts of all Israelis and as a State. The fact is that the PLO exists in the hearts of all Palestinian people, wherever they reside.”
1982-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 37 (1982)
“It is a most callous, inhuman display of brute military might which, while it may have achieved its political and military objectives, has released other possible adverse international forces which may be contained only if Israel withdraws its troops immediately and without pre-conditions from Lebanon and thereafter shows a willingness to accept that if it is to live within secure boundaries, as Security Council resolution 242 (1967) of 22 November 1967 stipulates, there must be an accepted corollary that it is the inalienable right of the Palestinian people to have a homeland. The recent massacre now brings this need into sharper focus. Countries have to be careful that they do not, even by winning a war, lose the respect and goodwill of the international community as Israel has now done so successfully.”
1982-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 37 (1982)
“That that act should have been committed on the soil of one Member State by another and that the army of the country ravaged is not at war or even in a state of preparedness for war makes it all the more reprehensible. Whatever allegations Israel may make to justify its conduct and action, the scale of the Israeli response was totally unwarranted and unjustifiable and cannot with good conscience be supported even by their most ardent admirers. The Old Testament advocated an eye for an eye; but Israel has taken 100 eyes for one eye.”
1982-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 37 (1982)
“Recent events in Lebanon have compelled my country to look at this issue in greater depth and to speak out about the wanton destruction and carnage that have taken place, particularly in west Beirut. The death and destruction wrought before the massacre were inexcusable and indefensible by any norm of international law; but that a massacre that should have been foreseen or guarded against should have been committed while aid and assistance were given by Israel to the Christian militia deserves strong censure from the Assembly. A dark deed has drawn sharp and bitter protest and is viewed, justifiably so, with horror by civilized and rational people everywhere.”
1982-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 37 (1982)
“Even for the apparent victor, there are often more hydra heads springing from unexpected quarters than the one which the attempt was made to cut off by force of arms, by military surgery. Since 1947 there have been continuous problems between Israel, the Palestinian people and the Arab nations. For 35 years this problem has preoccupied the attention of the Assembly and of the Security Council and has not been resolved because of the two genuine but conflicting claims by the protagonists of both camps. Israel demands the right to exist within secure borders. The authentic voice of the Palestinian people, the Palestine Liberation Organization, demands a free and autonomous State in an area that is not exclusive of Israel.”
1982-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 37 (1982)
“If the Charter is to be respected and if the authority of this body is not to be eroded, it must be respected, the machinery for resolving disputes must be rigidly adhered to, however painfully slow and frustrating may be the negotiations. Parties once at a negotiating table must show a willingness and desire to reach a consensus. This is the sane way, the humane way, the wisest and most resource-conserving way. Is it so difficult for leaders to accept this? I know there are those who would frown and say that this is Utopian and an unrealistic diatribe, for to accept this is to contemplate the remodelling of the innate conflicting attitudes of man. Yet, whatever may be said, it is always better for both sides to avoid confrontation and to settle a dispute at the conference table than on the battlefield.”
1982-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 37 (1982)
“It must be realized that the Charter is not an instrument to be accepted when it is a convenient adjunct to national policy and abrogated when it is not. The Charter must be accepted as establishing an international code of conduct between nations. A code it is. By membership of the Organization we have all agreed to conform to its spirit and intent. It recognizes that disputes are often unavoidable given the present emotional level of the development of man. He may perhaps evolve into a different creature in another half million years, but for now he is Homo Homini Lupus. It was recognized that for our generation a mechanism was necessary, hence a machinery for the resolution of disputes was established.”
1982-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 37 (1982)
“Thirty-seven years after the founding of the Organization, the only real change has come from expanded membership. Many former subject peoples are now free and independent, though not all are equal. National attitudes are following, in most cases, the same consistent pattern. We refuse to learn from the experiences of the past. Consequently, people are dying, combatants as well as non-combatants in Lebanon, Afghanistan, Kampuchea, Iraq and the Islamic Republic of Iran, Namibia and elsewhere, all in the name of furthering national ambition and objectives. For yet another year I urge again that the time has come for all Member States to condemn, and to continue to do so in the strongest possible terms, acts which clearly violate the Charter, resolutions and principles of this important world body.”
1982-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 37 (1982)
“I wish to assure him that Saint Vincent and the Grenadines will give full support to his endeavours to bring this troubled world by patient diplomacy to confront, face and resolve its problems, and so wish him a pleasant and rewarding term in office during which he will draw increasingly the respect of all inside and outside the Organization. The election of Mr. Hollai at this thirty-seventh session comes at a time of unprecedented conflicts and tension in the world. It was the ambitious hope of the founders of this United Nations that such problems as obtain today should not be the lot of the world. That these conflicts and tension exist and have persisted over the years is a serious continuing reflection on national attitudes: ambition, aggressiveness, duplicity, pride and honour.”
1982-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 37 (1982)
“It is with a deep sense of pleasure that I venture to associate myself with the many well-merited complimentary statements, as my sources have indicated, made to Mr. Hollai on his election to this most important office of President of the General Assembly. I am sure that, as his predecessor and others before did, he will conduct the affairs of that office so as to enhance its authority and add greater lustre, meaning and dimension to the office itself and the Organization which its serves. I should like also to extend to the Secretary-General my warmest congratulations on his appointment as administrative head of this world body. He has assumed the reins of office during a year of varied far-reaching problems in different parts of the world.”
1982-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 37 (1982)
“In conclusion, it is therefore my hope that in the President's term of office a momentum will be generated that will permit many of the serious issues which now perplex and threaten the world to be resolved, and that he will get the fullest support of all in this world body so that the silent hopes and expectations of all mankind may be realized. Let us all, in the Assembly, light a candle of hope which will never be extinguished.”
1981-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 36 (1981)
“But those of us who have followed developments in that part of the world could not help but admire the boldness and dynamism of the man himself in trying to break through and overcome a situation which seemed to him static. He was a man who was bold enough to go into an area and to beard the lion in his own den, at the risk, perhaps, of his own safety. In our view, that man was genuinely in search of peace: he was prepared to risk his own safety and his own country's identity in the cause of peace. I, like others, hope that the dialog which he established can be pursued and that all people, wherever they live, will realize that world problems are best resolved through the art of diplomacy and at the conference table, for the suffering and the sacrifice that must otherwise be endured are too heavy a price to pay. 251.”
1981-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 36 (1981)
“I am sure that members of the Security Council could see the wisdom of such a course of action. If we can eliminate the cause we may be able to effect the cure. Can we not persist and continue the serious efforts to find solutions to these problems by peaceful means? The challenge and responsibility are 249. I am not, nor is my country, naive enough to believe that achieving peace for all mankind is easy. But we believer that if there is a real desire and will for peace on the part of all, with the passage of time, the world may become a saner and happier one in which to live. 250. At this stage 1 should like to join in the tributes and respects paid to the memory of the late Anwar El Sadat. We live in the Caribbean, very far away from the area in which he lived, worked and died.”
1981-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 36 (1981)
“I am aware that to achieve such results may be difficult where there is suspicion and fear, where there are ideological differences, where there is religious bigotry, where reason often is blind and takes to flight. But where reason does not exist, hatred and tension will fill the vacuum. The objective must, however, be to bring the sides together by peaceful means. Confidence must first be established through dialog. Areas of common interest must be found and used. 248. There are many such problem areas of the world which are the cause of heightened international tension: for example, the two Koreas and Cyprus. Cannot both Koreas be admitted to membership of the United Nations without prejudice to the principle of reunification, in the light of a precedent already established?”
1981-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 36 (1981)
“This is all an academic exercise of which we are and, I am sure, South Africa is aware, but South Africa chooses to ignore [this]. "Member Governments with influence should launch a diplomatic offensive to convince South Africa that it is in its own longterm economic and security interests to resolve the Namibian question by an election, and that if [it] failed to heed the request [it] would be alone and isolated. "Should this approach fail, a committee should be appointed by this Assembly to consider further options to be exercised."4 247. How can we in this world body also bring peace and unity between divided countries so that brothers can learn to dwell together in harmony?”
1981-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 36 (1981)
“What further action should we take to make the blinkered South African Government change its present confrontational course and return to the path of understanding, prudence, negotiation and a peaceful settlement of this conflict? "For what exists between South Africa and this Assembly is not a dispute, for a dispute suggests that there is some debatable right which exists. The most that South Africa has ever had was administrative control in trust for the inhabitants. It must know it has no other right. What it has is a conflict of interests and a duty. Those interests are racial, economic and strategic. The duty it believes it owes is to its own racial minority in South Africa, but its duty, rather, is to the people of Namibia, for whom the Territory is held in trust.”
1981-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 36 (1981)
“We are each several parts of this whole and we are, through this Assembly, what we represent in the sum total of our efforts. (4 "There is a need for peace in Namibia. There is need for an end to this vicious circle of suffering and death. South Africa holds the real answer to the question of peace. What is needed is South Africa's appreciation that it will inevitably have to relinquish administrative control over Namibia. It is in a confrontation which it cannot win, only prolong, and, in the process [prolong] the agony of the majority of a people the birth-pains of the nation. i< . . The question is: where do we go from here? What options do we have left? How must we find a solution to the present impasse?”
1981-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 36 (1981)
“"A debate on Namibia is not only a debate on the very serious issue of the right of a colonial people to self-determination, to build their own institutions, to set their own standards, to educate themselves, to establish their own developmental priorities or determine their own friends, but also a debate on the future of this institution itself. For South Africa's challenge to the authority of this institution for challenge its is strikes at the very foundation of this institution. For the strength of this institution is dependent on respect for its authority and its ability to persuade [States to comply] with its decisions. The Assembly belongs to us. We are the Assembly. What the United Nations is is what we are.”
1981-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 36 (1981)
“I wish to speak now in some detail on the Namibian issue and to repeat parts of my statement circulated in the Assembly early in September during the emergency special session on Namibia: "The people of this world cannot be part free and part slaves, and if this world body does not consistently exert itself to ensure that rights which people take for granted in many parts of the globe become the inalienable rights of all mankind it will ultimately become as useless as its predecessor; the League of Nations.”
1981-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 36 (1981)
“It is important for small States such as Saint Vincent and the Grenadines to know their entitlements to jurisdiction and the resources of the sea, and to know that through the force of a treaty they carry the stamp of approval of this world body a body whose responsibility it is, ultimately, to safeguard and protect the interests of all States, but in particular small States which do not have the strength, resources and influence to protect their own interests. 246.”
1981-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 36 (1981)
“This dispute has already affected the developmental efforts of Guyana, which that poor country cannot afford; whereas the dispute, so far as we are aware, does not affect the developmental efforts of Venezuela. I believe it is the duty of the Assembly to try "to resolve this dispute, to bring the parties to the conference table in order to reach a final solution consistent with reality. Parties on opposite sides of a chasm cannot meet unless they build a bridge. Guyana is entitled to an internationally settled future it can build on. 245. I am saddened that the Convention on the Law of the Sea has not been concluded. It is the hope of Saint Vincent and the Grenadines that all obstacles to its signing will be overcome and the Convention made final within the President's term of office.”
1981-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 36 (1981)
“The United Nations, in keeping with the Charter, should guarantee that right. 243. There is another festering colonial legacy which concerns the border dispute between Guyana and Venezuela a dispute which seeks to emasculate Guyana very seriously. It is a matter of grave concern for any Government to be confronted with a claim, whether invalid or valid, on so large an area of territory. 244. It is a dispute that must be resolved: it cannot be merely swept under the mat of international opinion for us thereafter to pretend that it does not exist; for it does exist. We cannot, here in the Assembly, play ostrich and bury our heads in the sand, while leaving other parts exposed to the fury of the storm.”
1981-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 36 (1981)
“The Assembly and the United Kingdom must now be complimented on the decisive action taken. 242. It was not too much to have hoped, after some apparent success resulting from protracted tripartite negotiations earlier this year, that Guatemala might have joined the United Kingdom in sponsoring the admission of Belize as a fitting tribute to the settlement of this territorial dispute of an historical nature which started at a time when men carved empires out of aboriginal territories, based either on conquest, cession or settlement. Today Belize proclaims its independence in accordance with the Charter of the United Nations, which recognizes the inalienable right of all colonial peoples to be free to plan their own destiny. Saint Vincent and the Grenadines supports that right.”
1981-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 36 (1981)
“Because of that spirit of freedom which exists within the hearts of all mankind, men who fought for their homeland, and lost after the death of their Chief "Chatoyer", were deported with their women and children to Roatan and British Honduras, now Belize. Some descendants of those lovers of their country and of freedom, the "Black Caribs" of Saint Vincent, are today citizens of an independent Belize, though a cloud still hangs over its freedom. At the thirty-fifth session in my address to the Assembly [5th meeting] I urged that this world body use its not inconsiderable influence to ensure that Belize proceed to independence without delay. That this has been possible during this session is an occasion for satisfaction to Saint Vincent and the Grenadines.”
1981-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 36 (1981)
“The strong, however, are better able than the weak to absorb shocks and take corrective measures, and they should lend a helping hand. But as the weak become stronger, that strength will promote the greater economic vitality of the strong. 240. The rich and the poor are both in a partnership of development; hence I look forward with hope and expectation to the early realization of the new initiative for the benefit of the Caribbean Basin countries. A worthy idea is worthy of prompt execution. 241. Saint Vincent and the Grenadines has been proud to be associated with the admission of Belize to the Organization, not only because We have evolved out of the same colonial experiences, tradition and mores but also because we have close historical human ties.”
1981-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 36 (1981)
“It is for that reason that Saint Vincent and the Grenadines would welcome any initiative seeking to.promote the economic wellbeing of the region by the injection of foreign capital, whether in the public or private sectors. However, there must be an interplay of investment in both sectors, even if greater emphasis is put on one of them. It is the proper functioning of both which will demonstrate the complementary nature of each. The private sector would function better if there is proper education, training, agricultural inputs and infrastructure. 2?9. The gap between the North and the South, the rich and the poor, is ever widening. I perceive that there is now awareness of that fact. I am aware too that to varying degrees all countries are beset by economic ills.”
1981-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 36 (1981)
“It is these special problems of poverty and underdevelopment in small States such as Saint Vincent and the Grenadines to which urgent and special attention must be given special assistance in the area of economic development and disaster relief. I am aware that in the Assembly there are those who can assist us to find solutions to these problems. 237. There are other areas in our development plan which must be addressed if we are to rise above our present circumstances, notwithstanding the progress already made areas of improvement in our air and sea communications. These are imperatives if our tourist and industrial potential is to be fully realized. I know these are economic matters which are more appropriately discussed elsewhere, but I believe they should also be mentioned here. 238.”
1981-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 36 (1981)
“The capital cost of hydroelectric installations is higher than diesel costs to generate the equivalent amount of energy, but in five years, through savings on hydroelectric generation, the capital cost differential will be recovered without taking into consideration the normal benefit from profits. There exists water availability to exploit our hydro potential further. For years we have been endeavoring to secure financing for the project. For years the costs have been rising. In June this year we received assurances of finance for the construction stage of the project. The project is now delayed at the design stage because costs have increased by several hundred thousand dollars. 236.”
1981-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 36 (1981)