Address by the President of the Republic of Suriname H.E. Drs. Jules Albert Wijdenbosch to the 51st session of the General Assembly of the United Nations

New York, 4 October 1996

Mr. President,

May I first join the speakers before me and congratulate you most sincerely, on behalf of the government and the people of the Republic of Suriname, on your unanimous election to the presidency of the 51st session of the General Assembly.

On behalf of my delegation, I pledge you our full support as you carry out the weighty and challenging responsibilities of your office.

I also wish to pay tribute to Mr. Diogo Freitas Do Amoral for the excellent and exemplary manner in which he presided over the 50th session of the General Assembly of our organization.

The dynamic and extraordinary manner in which Mr Boutros Boutros-Ghali has accomplished his mission as secretary-general of the United Nations in difficult circumstances of financial constraints, wars within and among nations, and in fostering social and economic development, has earned out sincere gratitude.

My government believes that notable endeavours have been undertaken by his excellency Boutros Boutros-Ghali to shape the future of the United Nations in accordance with the needs and aspirations of today=s world.

Mr. President,

As you may know, the people of the Republic of Suriname, availing themselves of their fundamental democratic right through fair, free and, secret elections on 23 may and 5 September last, have elected a new political leadership of the country.

As testimony to this democratic process, I stand before you on behalf of my government and people as the newly elected President of the Republic of Suriname.

Mr. President,

My government believes that the main challenge facing us is the difficult task of reversing the current tendency towards social disintegration of the nation into a process of nation building and creating social harmony.

The need for this is even more pressing, considering that Suriname has a small populations and that the living conditions of large segments of its population have deteriorated significantly.

One of the fundamental problems in meeting this challenge lies in the development of an economy that is diversified and not dependent on just one economic sector, and even less dependent on a single donor country.

Mr. President,

In order to ensure that our people have the actual enjoyment of human rights in the widest sense of the word, a social system will be created whereby attention will be focused on:

- guaranteeing every citizen minimal security;

- creating a society in which the quality of live is equal for all and harmony is safeguarded;

- offering Surinamese women greater opportunities to develop their potentialities and to participate in the social structures, as well as enhancing the care for the Surinamese child in de widest sense of the word; and finally,

- providing for the basic needs of the people, such as food supply, health care, education, housing, public transport, water supply, employment, passable roads, affordable energy supply and guaranteeing the protection of property by means of adequate security.

Mr. President,

The government of Suriname is aware that the realization of these tasks will demand great efforts from the government itself and from the entire population.

In this endeavour we shall work at actually bringing about the administrative and budgetary decentralization of the administration through strengthening people oriented democracy by giving participatory democracy the scope to develop. The decentralization of legislation and administration will further be given attention to facilitate regional and local development, with the full participation of regional and local structures.

The necessary conditions will be created for an integrated approach to the development of the districts and the interior, so as to eliminate the arrears in development in these regions.

We fully realize that the responsibility for achieving this goal lies primarily with the government and people of Suriname.

We do acknowledge, however, that we live in a larger world in a period in which having friendly relations is of eminent importance.

In accordance with international law, and on the basis of the charter of the United Nations and the principles of the Non-Aligned Movement, Suriname will maintain and establish relations with friendly, nations, international and regional organizations throughout the world.

From historical, cultural or geographical point of view especially close relations with neighbouring countries -France, Brazil and Guyana- and with the Kingdom of the Netherlands and the United States of America will be maintained and deepened.

We will further more strengthen our efforts for full integration into the subregion, into the wider Caribbean and into the Americas, through our membership in the Caribbean Community and the Association of Caribbean States and through our participation in the free trade zone to be established in the year 2005.

This approach demands a more business-like stance in multilateral and bilateral relations, having regard to the principles of equality, mutual respect, and the interest and protections of our national sovereignty.

Mr. President,

One of the most important characteristics of our era is the transnational phase we are going through and in which new ideas, new powers, new values and norms have arisen, leaving their mark on both national and international politics, on the national and international economy, and on the formation and content of international relations.

The United Nations, which plays a crucial role in defining international relations and creating favourable conditions for peace, stability and development, reflects the transitional process.

In considering the need top redefine the role and tasks of the United Nations in the Post Cold War era, some people question whether the United Nations still has a role to play in the international arena.

As far as Suriname is concerned, the United Nations as a centre of multilateral relations has demonstrated its ability to play a unique role in the achievement of overall human development on a global scale.

The United Nations has furthermore demonstrated the extraordinary capacity for giving primacy to the ideals and aspirations enshrined in its charter, and has proved to be indeed effective in pursuance of such essential tasks as the maintenance of peace and security and the promotion of development.

In this line of thought, we would like to emphasize that the continuations of the United Nations as a centre for multilateral discussion and action is indispensable.

We acknowledge the need, however, to redefine its functions.

First, there is a clear need to reform its bureaucratic structures in order to make it more effective and efficient and to bring it more in line with the aspirations of the majority of the world population.

Secondly, we must abide by our obligations under the United Nations charter to provide the necessary funds for its proper functioning, even though the restructuring of the current scale of assessed contribution could be considered.

We believe that if the United Nations is considered a train of peace and development on these two tracks, humankind will embrace our institution, which will help us to move forward into the 21st century.

Mr. President,

On the eve of the new millennium, it is imperative for the international community to seek solutions to pressing problems, of which abject poverty may well be the most compelling.

The solemn commitments of the world social summit, the launching of 1996 as the international year of the eradication of poverty and the period of 1997-2006 as the international decade for the eradication of poverty, have our full support.

There is evidence the world over that continuing poverty, if not addressed adequately, will result in social disharmony and in economic and political disorder, and will become a threat to national and international stability and peace, having a negative effect on the growth and consolidation of democracy and human rights.

Let it be understood that all efforts to combat the source of illicit drug trafficking, terrorism and the organized crime will prove to be fruitless unless we present a united front to eradicate poverty.

Mr. President,

Suriname has withdrawn unexpected international attention with its resolve to employ its timber resources for the development of its people.

My government is aware of the concern of the international community for the possible consequences of an unsustainable use of our forest.

There are many examples throughout the world how we should not proceed. We have learned from those experiences.

In order to strike a proper balance between our actual needs for development and the needs of future generations, the government of Suriname will abide by the commitment as expressed in Suriname=s contribution at the Rio Conference held in 1992 and the subsequent investigations and deliberations at various levels of society in conjunctions with foreign investors.

In all these endeavours we will continue to be cautious, with due regard to the interests of potential investors, the interests of our indigenous people and the need to protect the interest of future generations.

We hope that the international community will also abide by is obligations to provide the necessary technological and financial assistance, thus contributing towards achieving these goals.

In this respect we look forward to the coming review meeting on the implementation of Agenda 21.

Mr. President,

The government of the Republic of Suriname is very concerned about the problem of illicit drug trafficking, because it poses special security problems to countries like Suriname with inadequate resources to guard hundreds of miles of shoreline and vast underpopulated land areas.

Therefore, as part of our policy of maximum co-operation in the fight against drugs, we have entered into co-operation agreements with many countries in Latin America and the Caribbean, especially with those states adjacent to Suriname.

In this context, I would like to mention the recently established and much appreciated co-operation between Surinamese Police Authorities and the Drug Enforcement Agencies of the government of the United States of America.

However, Mr. President, finding an adequate solution for the drug problem will depend in no small measure on whether equal attention is given to both the supply and the demand side of this phenomenon.

While reflecting on this issue facing our world and amids the many challenges to create global solidarity, my government wishes to express its serious concerns over the developments in the Middle East, which have resulted in an virtual discontinuation of the historical peace process.

We hope that the parties concerned and the international community will succeed in bringing the peace process back on track. For, the agony of bloodshed and the loss of lives must be avoided, as there are no alternatives to dialogue and peace.

Mr. President,

I am deeply honoured to have had the opportunity to address this August body on a number of issues that are of prime importance to the government and people of the Republic of Suriname.

I would like to conclude by reiterating our commitment to contribute to the creation of a new world order characterised by the eradication of poverty, based on a more just distribution of wealth and on an atmosphere that augurs well for peace and global improvement of the quality of life on this beautiful planet

Thank you.