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Contact:
John Emmanuel
Tuesday, September 23, 2003 - In the wake of increasing political,
economic and social challenges facing the world, a call has been sounded for
Heads of State and Government to bring new dynamism to the current session of
the United Nations General Assembly that opened in New York on Tuesday September
23, 2003.
The call came from the President of the 58th Session of the UN General Assembly
– St. Lucia’s Minister for External Affairs, International Trade and Civil
Aviation, His Excellency Senator Honourable Julian Robert Hunte. Addressing
several world leaders who gathered for the session, among them US President
George W. Bush and French President Jacques Chirac, His Excellency Hunte noted
that the political direction coming from world leaders, would be key in enabling
the Assembly to effectively address critical issues such as sustainable
development, poverty alleviation, the violation of human rights and fundamental
freedoms, terrorism and reform of the UN itself.
“This is the direction we need for the entire one year of this session,
including from January to September 2004. For it is during this less intensive
second part of the session that we can look more reflectively at the decisions
we have taken in the fall and begin the critical task of implementation and
other aspects of the Assembly’s work,” Hunte told the Assembly.
He went on to indicate his willingness to lean upon the vast experiences of
Heads of State and Government along with other high level participants to the
session, in finding solutions to the problems facing the international
community. However he noted that the UN as a body needed to remain consistent in
its respect for the Charter and for international law. This he said would
demonstrate that the current assembly had not only the capacity but the
political will to constructively address and resolve the complex problems of the
world.
“The General Assembly has oversight of the United Nations system as a whole and
hence has before it the full range of international issues. As an advocate,
supervisory and policy making body, it must give the direction necessary to
ensure coherence in the system so that the organization may respond in a
holistic manner to the many challenges it faces,” said His Excellency.
St. Lucia’s Prime Minister Honourable Dr. Kenny Anthony who led a delegation of
government technocrats to the session is also expected to address Tuesday’s
opening session.
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