TRINIDAD AND TOBAGO

STATEMENT by

The Honourable Mr. Basdeo Panday

Prime Minister of the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago

to the Millennium Summit of the United Nations

New York, Thursday September 7, 2000

Co-Chairpersons;

Heads of State and Government;

Secretary General;

Distinguished Delegates;

Ladies and Gentlemen;

Brothers and Sisters of the Human Family:

That we are meeting at this level, in these unprecedented numbers, is an unmistakable manifestation of our belief in the capacity of the United Nations to be the effective catalyst for peace and progress, for freedom and justice, and for inclusiveness and dignity for, and among all nations, and all people of the world.

The interests of the peoples of the world whom we are assembled here to represent, will undoubtedly be advanced by the fuller understanding and the deeper empathy with the needs and concerns of member nations, large and small, rich and poor, that this Millennium Summit will engender.

For this alone, this Summit is of significant value to the world.

Co-Chairs, Colleague Heads:

We all face common challenges, common threats:

Joblessness and Poverty.

The globalisation of narco-trafficking.

The global HIV/AIDS pandemic.

The continuing development and retention of nuclear weaponry.

The proliferation of small arms.

The degradation of the environment.

And, to mankind's eternal shame, racism, racial intolerance, and religious intolerance.

I make bold to say that my own country, the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago, has responded to a number of these challenges with a vigour and effectiveness quite proportionate to our small size and our small population of 1.3 million people.

We have, for example, introduced and we are implementing a regime of anti-money laundering measures that are close to the toughest and most comprehensive to be found in any jurisdiction of the world.

This includes provision for the seizure of ill-gotten wealth and assets which cannot be rationally explained.

In taking the fight to the narco-traffickers, we have forged strong and productive alliances with the United States of America, with other Caribbean nations, and with other countries.

We have confronted poverty with such purposefulness that the current UNDP's Human Development Report ranks Trinidad and Tobago one of the five countries that have been most successful in overcoming severe poverty among all developing nations of the world.

By another measure Trinidad and Tobago has been notably successful in managing diversity through strong commitment and adherence to the principle and practice of true inclusion in all areas of public life in our country.

Indeed, Co Chairs, and Colleague Heads, out of our great diversity have come the essential spirit of our people, our celebration of life.

Those essences and our spirit were present here in New York, in the Street Carnival on Labour Day, on Monday.

Those essences and that spirit were also celebrated last week in Europe's largest Street Festival, the Notting Hill Carnival.

You see it, too, whenever you hear the music of the steel bands anywhere in the world.

Notwithstanding our modest achievements, small and developing countries such as Trinidad and Tobago and our sister Caribbean States face additional challenges and threats, among them, the danger of marginalisation in the now evident realities of globalisation and technological advance.

We also face the paradox that while our small economics continue to be genuinely vulnerable to external factors, while our fragile eco-systems are imperilled by developments not of our making, our graduation to per capita middle income status effectively denies us adequate consideration for the developmental support we urgently need.

Our small economies are confronted by a changing trade environment in which the principle of special and differential treatment is being phased out.

The international response that can enable us to develop the necessary capacity to exploit the opportunities presented by globalisation has been decidedly less than adequate.

Co-Chairs:

The 37 Small Island Developing States, members of the United Nations, have special development needs which this Summit, and the United Nations, must not overlook.

Over the years, CARICOM States have petitioned the international community for recognition of the Caribbean as a special area for sustainable development.

We have also sought support for the protection of the Caribbean Sea as an environmental treasure for the. world.

Now, we recognise the threat of new marginalisation by the new disparities that come with the digital divide.

On this particular score, we urge the United Nations to ensure equitable co-ordination in the field of science and technology, particularly information technology.

Next year, the United Nations will host a high level forum on Financing for Development.

The World Bank, the International Monetary Fund and the World Trade Organisation will take part in that Conference.

We make early petition, ladies and gentlemen, for the Forum on Financing for Development to produce an Action Plan that will include a framework for financial crisis prevention and crisis resolution based on partnerships between public and private sectors.

We also make early petition for a Resolution from the Financing Development Forum to give borrowing countries a substantial role in determining economic and social development objectives.

I take this opportunity to place on record the gratitude of Trinidad and Tobago for the pivotal role played by the United Nations in addressing all of the social issues facing humanity.

We record our appreciation for the United Nation's positive response when Trinidad and Tobago moved to revive the concept of the establishment of a Permanent International Criminal Court.

It is our firm conviction that the crime of illicit drug trafficking should be included in the jurisdiction of the International Criminal Court.

While we examine the global concerns on our Summit Agenda, most of us are pre-occupied with the challenges with which we must come to terms in our own countries.

We must provide shelter, nutrition, health services, education and training, and security for our people.

And we must, through our policies, deliver jobs.

We must also directly provide assistance to those of our citizens who are still trapped in poverty.

It is our sincere hope that this Millennium Summit will in some small measure determine a persuasion among the decision makers of the world, in the private sector and in the international agencies, that such human concerns deserve to be an important factor in all future planning.

May the Blessings that we ask of God find full expression in the prosperity of all the peoples of the world, and in peace among all peoples of all nations.

Thank you.