Secretary Takesy Addressed 51st UN General AssemblyNEW YORK, September 25, 1996 (FSM Permanent Mission to the UN) - The Honorable Asterio R. Takesy, Secretary of External Affairs, addressed the 51st United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) during its 9th plenary meting in the afternoon of September 25, 1996. In his intervention, the Secretary joined other speakers in congratulating the new President of the General Assembly, His Excellency Mr. Razali Ismail of Malaysia and also expressed appreciation to their Excellencies, Secretary General Boutros Boutros-Ghali and Professor Diogo Freitas do Amaral of Portugal for their leadership during the 50th U.N. General Assembly. In his address, Secretary Takesy highlighted certain substantive issues in which the Federated States of Micronesia (FSM) has been active in at the global level because of their relevance to the sustainable development of small island developing states. The Secretary's message was focused on the relevant chapters of Agenda 21 on climate change, the environment, fisheries and development of small island states which emerged from the Rio Conference in 1992, and from the Barbados Conference of Small Island Developing States in 1993 and from related global declarations. On the issue of nuclear disarmament, the Secretary, along with other world leaders, congratulated all member states of the U.N. for the accomplishments in nuclear disarmament, including the signing of the Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty (CTBT) on 24 September 1996 by many member states including all the Big Powers of the world. The Secretary further emphasized the need and necessity for the global community not to abandon the progress that have been made in the area of human rights for children, women, and for other disenfranchised groups in the world. On administrative reform and restructuring of the United Nations organizations, Secretary Takesy urged nations to be forthcoming in their financial commitments without conditionalities and he also cautioned against pessimism creeping into the members' consciousness about what the U.N. has done, what it is doing, and what it must be able to do as the world marches toward the 21st Century. The Secretary departed for Washington, D.C. following his address of the UNGA. |