Mr Chairman,

Excellencies,

Distinguished delegates,

 

This is the first time since the commencement of the work of the committee that I will be taking the floor, and, as such, I wish to use this opportunity to convey, on behalf of my delegation, congratulations on your election as Chair. I wish to extend congratulations to the other members of the Bureau on their election as well. I give you my assurances that the Jamaican delegation stands ready to contribute in a most positive way to ensure a meaningful and substantive outcome to our deliberations.

 

I have the distinct honour and privilege to address this Committee on Agenda item 145 on the "Scale of assessments for the apportionment of the expenses of United Nations Peacekeeping Operations”. My delegation fully aligns itself with the statements made by Algeria on behalf of the Group of 77 and China, and by the Bahamas on behalf of the Caribbean Community (CARICOM).

 

I would like, however, to make a few remarks within a national context as well as briefly expand on some of the issues my delegation considers to be of particular regional as well as global significance.

 

 

Mr Chairman,

 

My delegation wishes to acknowledge peacekeepers across the globe whose exemplary deeds have aided in the maintenance of international peace and security. Through their efforts, peace and stability have been achieved in previously, weary, war- ravaged societies. Many have unfortunately lost their lives in the line of duty. To these, current and past participants in UN Peacekeeping operations, we pay homage. Jamaica joins the rest of the world in expressing our gratitude to them for their contribution towards making this world a better and more secure place in which to live. To them we owe a debt of gratitude, which will be difficult, if not impossible to repay. Indeed such selfless service is priceless.

Jamaica is proud of its contribution to UN Peacekeeping operations. Since 1989, when we first participated, we have continued to maintain significant numbers of police officers who have been deployed in Sudan (Darfur), Timor – Leste and Haiti.

A notable number of female officers have also been deployed. All of whom have been vital members of their teams, becoming contingent commanders, teachers, and friends. They have been instrumental in conducting gender patrols and confidence building sessions with local women and becoming involved in sensitizing local men, in gender sensitive missions such as Darfur, Sudan, about abuses against women, including: rape, domestic violence and genital mutilation.

Jamaica’s participation in these Missions bears testimony to our commitment to the maintenance of international peace and security. We have demonstrated that we can, despite our size and limited financial resources, play an important role, in not only the multilateral discourse on such matters, but in actualizing decisions taken on the most appropriate way to combat and prevent conflicts which can and sometimes do threaten international peace and security. It is for this reason, Mr. Chairman, that Jamaica believes that all peacekeeping operations should be provided with all the necessary resources in order to carry out their highly valued work.

In the light of the foregoing, my delegation wishes to assert that any reduction in the resources meant for peace keeping operations should not result in a narrowing of activities which are considered crucial to their mandate of maintaining political stability and securing the rule of law – the absence of which would most likely lead to needless costs measured in lives and human suffering.

Notwithstanding, my delegation maintains that the special circumstances of developing countries and the difficulties they confront in meeting their obligations relating to contributions to missions should be treated with the gravity it deserves. Let us be mindful that while all member states have an duty to shoulder the financial responsibilities of the Organization’s work, the scale of assessments should nevertheless reflect the principles of capacity to pay, giving due consideration to low per capita income countries and the unique position of the Permanent members of the Security Council to adequately shoulder their responsibilities in terms of international peace and security.

Mr. Chairman,

The placement of developing countries above the C Category is far from ideal. Not only does it not reflect a fair and balanced treatment of the economic realities, it goes against the very spirit of the principles which underpin the financing of the peacekeeping operations. We wish to recall in this respect, General Assembly resolution 55/235 which emphasizes that the special responsibilities of the permanent members of the Security Council for the maintenance of peace and security should be borne in mind, in connection with their contributions to the financing of peace and security operations. Developing countries with small, open and vulnerable economies cannot and should not be expected to shoulder the same financial burden as developed countries. This is particularly the case for middle income countries such as my own whose burdensome debt to GDP ratios serve to limit their fiscal space.

 

In closing Mr. Chairman, I wish to assure of Jamaica’s commitment to holding true to our role, as a police contributing country to UN peacekeeping missions. I also wish to assure you and other members of this Committee that my delegation will approach the negotiations on this and all other agenda items before the Committee in a spirit of openness and constructiveness.

I thank you Mr. Chairman.