Addressing the 57th Session of the UN General Assembly in New York recently, Insanally said: "Over this Assembly hangs a cloud of uncertainty, indeed of unease about the future of multilateralism and international relations generally. The tragedy of September 11, 2002, which we commemorated just three days ago, has so numbed our minds that we are yet to fully understand its consequences."

He added: "It is therefore, that as a family of nations, we should not only remember the disaster but also seek to learn from it how we can best restore to mankind some measure of faith and hope in our common humanity."

The Foreign Minister observed that the international system is threatened by dangerous instability which can undermine or even destroy many states, and in addition to terrorism with its horrific violence there are other manifestations of terror in the form of poverty, hunger and disease which are no less deadly.

"Conflict, both inter and intra-state has clearly demonstrated how poorly an economy functions without political and social cohesion. Such cohesion continues to be under threat in many countries. Divisions that rend the fabric of our societies - divisions that derive ultimately from ethnicity and race are not only severely counterproductive to our attempts to better the commonweal, but preclude the emergence of a durable peace and tranquility without which we can never prosper."

Insanally said recent global conferences have focused on the importance of social inclusion. However, commitment to inclusionary policies does not rest only with States, but with civil society as well. He noted that poverty and underdevelopment are easily exploited by some elements to undermine the authority of democratically elected governments, exacerbating ethnic and other tensions.

"This instability is further compounded by the rampant trade in illegal drugs, arms and ammunition with its attendant corruption and violence which daily test the legal, financial, security and governance capabilities of most small states. The social contract between the State and its citizens has been seriously jeopardised by these political developments," Insanally declared.

Referring to the Middle East conflict, Insanally said it must be of special concern to everyone as it threatens to become a wider conflict and urged that the right of the Palestinian to self-determination must be upheld to facilitate a just and lasting solution to problems in the region.

On the Indo-Pakistan conflict over Kashmir, Insanally said it cannot be allowed to persist because it poses a risk of a calamitous nuclear conflict, and Guyana as a country committed to the pacific settlement of disputes would wish to encourage them to continue the search for a definitive solution.

He noted that global instability also results from failure to implement the agreed agenda for development, reminding the general Assembly that after more than a decade of development-related conferences the implications of an increasingly interdependent world and globalised economy for international cooperation are yet to be grasped. The recently concluded meetings in Doha, Monterrey and Johannesburg have now brought the international community full circle in assessing the effectiveness of global collective action aimed at the realisation of the millennium development goals and the eradication of poverty, Dr Insanally pointed out. He added: "We should now be fully be persuaded that global action remains indispensable to the development process."

He urged that international trading in the context of globalisation should be restructured to benefit all States and not only a select few, but offered that there are no easy answers to this question. He related that each international conference and general debate of the Assembly has shown how difficult it is to find a consensual approach to these issues.

Insanally observed that many developing countries despite their best efforts at reform and restructuring have not seen any significant improvement in their economic and social condition. He pointed out that the growth rate of most developing countries, is two percent lower in the 1990s when compared to that of the oil crisis in the 1970s. He said that poverty figures have remained high despite an improvement in world income in the last decade by an average of 2.5 percent annually.

Referring to the difficulty of small states in the present global system, Insanally said: "The situation has been especially difficult for small states. Over the past ten years, CARICOM Member States have been pursuing aggressive socio-economic reform measures to enhance the region's economic competitiveness to derive the benefits of globalisation. The results have generally been disappointing in large part due to the small size, geographic location, limited natural resource base and the high dependence on international trade, which make CARICOM economies vulnerable to the global economy. This situation is further aggravated by the high incidence of HIV/AIDS pandemic, which is the second highest in the world."

Dr Insanally told the General Assembly that it has become fashionable to speak of partnership for sustainable development, but it can only serve to eradicate poverty and promote economic growth if it is properly conceived and implemented. Quoting President Bharrat Jagdeo from the address he gave at the Johannesburg Summit, Insanally said: "Progress will only come, if there is an enlightened understanding of partnership."

Concerned about the inadequacy of past developmental models, Guyana has been promoting the concept of a New Global Human Order based on a genuine partnership for cooperation between developed and developing countries, Insanally reiterated.