Declaration vital to us, says Razali
KUALA LUMPUR, Wed.- The Kuala Lumpur declaration is of particular importance to Malaysia and other countries with rain forests, Malaysia’s Permanent Representative to the United Nations Tan Sri Razali Ismail said today.
"This is because our resources relate to sovereignty of our nation and are not threatened by efforts by international forces to control them," he said.
"We have been able to get the countries of the South to come out very openly and categorically to say that they will not support a legal convention on forests," he said.
Razali was the chairman of the Senior Officials Meeting preceding the conference.
Under the convention being advocated by the developed countries, tropical rain forests are to be considered a common heritage under which the countries concerned are to preserve their forests as "sinks" for absorbing carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases.
Under such a legally-binding convention, these nations will have no right to develop or exploit the forests.
Razali expressed happiness that there had been full support from delegates on the Malaysian initiative for the greening of the world.
He said the conference had also underlined the right of Governments of the South to demand commitments from the North on development, financial resources and technology.
"We have also illustrated our ability to be cohesive, and have underlined our solidarity and common purpose," he said.
Source : New Straits Times, April 30, 1992
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