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The
Minister of Foreign Affairs & The Public Service, the Honourable
Fred Mitchell addressed the 2005 World Summit at the High Level Plenary
Session of the 60th session of the United Nations General Assembly
Friday 16th September. The Minister opened the address by
expressing condolences to the people of the United States on the loss of
life from Hurricane Katrina.
Mr President,
I
am honoured to address this august body, particularly as we, perhaps the
most propitious gathering of the international community, come together
on the 60th anniversary of the United Nations to review the
progress we have made in addressing the daunting challenges that face us
all as inhabitants of this planet.
On
behalf of the delegation of the Commonwealth of The Bahamas I extend
warm congratulations to you and your co-President on your election.
We
are here today to renew our commitment to a global partnership
envisioned in the outcomes of the major UN summits and conferences over
the past fifteen years. The Bahamas is of the view that the full
implementation of the outcomes of the major UN summits and conferences
should be the priority of the international community.
We
reaffirm the importance of the long-standing commitment of a 0.7 per
cent target of Gross National Income (GNI) for Official Development
Assistance (ODA) and welcome the commitments made, especially by the EU
and others, to this end. We urge those that have not yet done so, to
take positive steps in this regard, in order that we are able to achieve
the global development goals within the agreed timeframes.
Mr
President,
As
a small island developing State, which has consistently taken primary
responsibility for its own development, The Bahamas is encouraged in
particular by the recognition of the international community of the
special needs and vulnerabilities of Small Island Developing States. We
wish especially to highlight the serious issue of climate change and the
need to undertake global action to address its attendant dangers.
Mr
President,
The
issue of reform of global economic governance to strengthen the voice
and participation of developing countries in international economic
decision making and norm setting is also of critical importance to The
Bahamas. It is for this reason that we value the Monterrey Consensus.
The Bahamas would welcome any initiative to ensure the effective,
permanent representation of developing countries, particularly small
developing countries, in international economic, trade and financial
institutions, including the Bretton Woods Institutions and the World
Trade Organisation (WTO).
Mr.
President,
With
regard to HIV/AIDS, The Bahamas welcomes the strong commitment at this
high-level meeting to fully implement the measures contained in the
Declaration of Commitment on HIV/AIDS, as well as commitments regarding
the provision of resources for prevention, treatment, care and support
and access to reproductive health. We must put ourselves back on track
to achieve our goal of reversing the spread of HIV/AIDS by 2015; these
commitments are a right step in that direction.
Mr.
President,
The
Bahamas strongly welcomes the historic recognition by all Heads of State
and Government, for the first time, of the concerns of Small Island
developing and coastal states regarding the risks inherent in the
transport of radioactive materials by sea. The Bahamas, along with its
CARICOM partners, has consistently expressed its grave concerns
regarding the threat posed to the security and environmental and
economic sustainability of the small island developing states of the
region by the transhipment of nuclear waste through the Caribbean Sea.
It is a peril that cannot be overstated, as it threatens our very
survival and way of life. Accordingly,
we continue to call on States involved in transhipments to desist from
this practice.
Mr
President,
The
Bahamas supports reform of the United Nations. Any efforts made in this area must be to the advantage of both
the Member States and the Secretariat. We support the various proposals
put forward by the Group of 77 and China in this regard.
We
support all efforts to reinvigorate the United Nations system so as to
better serve our needs, including through the comprehensive reform of
the Security Council. The Bahamas supports efforts to reform the United
Nations human rights machinery to bring greater credibility and efficacy
to this pivotal area of the UN’s work, and we have been following the
proposal to establish a Peacebuilding Commission with keen and positive
interest. We hope that the Assembly would be able to complete
negotiations in order to bring these two new bodies into being before
the end of this sixtieth session. Likewise we encourage this Assembly to
bring the negotiations for a draft comprehensive convention on terrorism
to a conclusion during this session as well. In this regard, The Bahamas
recalls and fully supports the recommendation of the High Level Panel to
improve the cooperative nature of the UN counter-terrorism machinery, to
promote greater dialogue, and provide greater assistance to states to
meet counter-terrorism obligations.
Mr
President,
It is incumbent upon this Summit to move the process forward and take us
one step closer toward meeting the needs, hopes and aspirations of the
peoples of the world, whom we represent.
I
thank you Mr President.
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