It is my honour and privilege to address the General Assembly for the first time as Prime Minister of Tonga.
I offer my warmest congratulations to Mr. Csaba Korosi on his election as President of the General Assembly at its seventy-seventh session. I assure him of our delegation’s full support.
May I also thank his predecessor, Mr. Abdulla Shahid, for his leadership of the Assembly at its seventy-sixth session. He led a presidency of hope during unprecedented times.
I also wish to commend the tireless efforts of our Secretary-General, Mr. Antonio Guterres. I thank the Secretary-General for his leadership during these most trying times.
Before us is a critical, crucial theme “A watershed moment: transformative solutions to interlocking challenges”. Our shared planet and our people face complex and multifaceted challenges, and we must act now. We have the responsibility and the duty to find common ground. Together, we must deliver the transformative solutions needed to build peaceful, inclusive, healthy and resilient societies — societies looking with hope to their futures because they can live in a planet we sustain in peace and health for current and future generations to come. The President’s theme — our theme — is a timely and relevant theme to guide our work during this session.
The global challenges are vast; they are many; they are interlinked. They all are ultimately about maintaining international peace and security. With urgency we must, among so many other issues, overcome the severe economic, financial and social impacts of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) global pandemic, and accelerate action on climate change, ocean health, energy transformation, the sustainable use of natural resources, cybersecurity — and I could go on.
For this we must unite, and we must be determined to work together for solutions. The very peaceful existence of humankind and that of the planet hosting us are at stake. We must unite to find the way forward in an equitable multilateral system and a cooperation fit for purpose, fit for the future and respectful of our differences but united by our shared desire for an inclusive, hopeful and sustainable future for all.
Earlier this year, Tonga co-sponsored several General Assembly resolutions in support of the people of Ukraine. Tonga continues to urge a peaceful resolution of the conflict to save unnecessary loss of lives and minimize any further devastations. Tonga is far from this conflict, yet its ripple effects are felt by all of us. Tonga, like so many others, is faced with higher costs of fuel, food, and basic supplies. Inflation is double-digit. These are inflation rates that we have not experienced in decades.
More than ever, it is urgent that we progress toward implementing the goals of 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development set seven years ago. At half-time, the reality is that the existential threats posed by climate change, pandemics and conflict have increased. This is not some temporary inconvenience. This is about our survival.
Let us admit that situations have worsened since we last met. This is also why we thank the Secretary- General for his Sustainable Development Goals Report 2022. I believe that it provides a road map out of crisis. The promises of the global agenda we agreed to risks becoming promises we did not keep. We must keep our promises, especially to the vulnerable populations such as those of small island developing States (SIDS). We must focus. There are areas which need immediate action to rescue the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and deliver meaningful progress for people and the planet by 2030.
The successor agreement to the SIDS Accelerated Modalities of Action, known as the Samoa Pathway, will be critical, notably in regard to the support by the international community for small island developing States. SIDS are and must remain a special case for development. We are not a footnote; we face unique vulnerabilities. Once again, it is with urgency that we call on all States to show solidarity with the peoples of the SIDS. We call on their support especially during the preparatory process for the SAMOA successor arrangement. Only a few short years remain to implement the Samoa Pathway.
Tonga welcomes the Secretariat’s work on a monitoring framework for the SAMOA Pathway implementation. Already, three decades have elapsed since small island developing States called for an index recognizing our special circumstances and vulnerabilities. The international financial system has used measures not necessarily adapted to our special circumstances, our challenges and our ecological and economic vulnerabilities. This has limited our access to appropriate financing, debt relief and aid.
Greater responsiveness to our special circumstances has come about over time as the unique factors affecting the entire range of our political, social, economic and environmental development issues have been taken into account. We express appreciation to the Prime Minister of Antigua and Barbuda and the United Nations high-level panel of experts on a multidimensional vulnerability index (MVI) for the release of the interim report on the development of the MVI. We look forward to its finalization and adoption by December 2022.
Tonga, like so many of our Pacific neighbours, faces natural disasters of unprecedented severity and frequency. That threatens our very existence, and certainly our efforts for the inclusive and sustainable development of a small economy like Tonga’s.
All Tongans will forever recall 15 January 2022. The Hunga Tonga-Hunga Ha’apai volcano erupted. The explosion was of an intensity so great that some research compares it to the impact of a nuclear explosion. We made the news of the world — not the news we looked for. Research documents that the explosion may have created a tsunami almost as high as the Statue of Liberty. Plumes of hot gas, ash and water vapour were projected into the atmosphere, reaching a height of 36 miles.
The ensuing tsunami devastated our economy. Several islands were completely or severely destroyed. People were displaced and then evacuated to neighbouring islands. The volcanic eruption and tsunami cut access to basics for people and cut a precious lifeline for an island nation — our communications. The widespread economic and social damage and, sadly, loss of lives are estimated by the World Bank at 36.4 per cent of Tonga’s gross domestic product (GDP).
In our hour of need, we recognize with our deepest appreciation the response of Member States and their peoples. We recognize the support of philanthropic institutions, the United Nations system and other intergovernmental organizations, development partners, the private sector, non-governmental organizations and individuals. We thank them — malo ‘aupito — for standing in solidarity with Tonga ain our hour of difficulty.
My Government has renewed our national priorities. We must build back better and build national resilience to external threats and risks. We improve the quality of services and affordability to the community and achieve progressive and sustainable economic growth. We are committed to reducing the risks and harmful effects of natural disasters, particularly through risk- informed development efforts and enhancing disaster preparedness for effective response.
In February of this year, after two years of keeping COVID-19 at bay through the closure of our border, Tonga experienced its first community outbreak. Over the previous two years, we had vaccinated our people. We now have 90 per cent fully vaccinated. I must thank Tonga’s development partners for providing support, both directly and through the COVID-19 Vaccine Global Access (COVAX) Facility. We also acknowledge the support provided by UNICEF and the World Health Organization on infection, prevention, control, risk communication and surveillance. That support was critical to Tonga’s preparedness and response plan.
Finally, on 1 August, we were able to again open our borders. We did so emphasizing preventative health measures to mitigate risks and ensure a safe reopening.
Tonga has one of the world’s highest rates of non-communicable diseases (NCDs) globally. NCDs, such as cardiovascular disease, cancers and diabetes account for approximately 80 per cent of deaths in Tonga. We must provide continuous support to meet our current goal, in line with the SDG of reducing NCD- related deaths by one third by the year 2030.
Climate change continues to be the single greatest existential threat facing the blue Pacific. The adverse impacts of climate change make Tonga the third most vulnerable country in the world. That threatens our territorial integrity, land, water, health, infrastructure, food security, biological diversity, livelihoods and ecosystems. It threatens our peoples’ mental health and sense of nationhood. Climate change is an existential threat to people and our desire for international peace and security. We must limit global warming to 1.5°C.
We reiterate our call for this issue to be a permanent item on the Security Council’s agenda. The Security Council must be seized of the matter because of its clear links to traditional threats to international peace and security. Whether it is sea-level rise, loss of territory or the mass migration it leads to, this is a trigger for violence and a threat to peace and security.
Tonga is a small island developing State, but it is also a large ocean State. Some 99 per cent of our sovereign territory is the ocean, and through generations we have borne our serious responsibility to protect the ocean. The ocean is our beating heart; it serves as the foundation of our economy and the lifeline for sectors from tourism to fisheries to ocean transport and international shipping. The conservation and sustainable use of the ocean and its resources are at the forefront of our concerns and interests. Tonga joins Member States that have argued for the importance of the ocean and seas to global sustainable development.
Tonga aspires to play its role in the fight against illegal, unreported and unregulated (IUU) fishing activities, particularly in responding to mitigating IUU risks. We must achieve the goals outlined in SDG 14 if we are to survive. Anything less is unacceptable, and we must do whatever we can within our available resources. We were pleased to participate in the seventh Our Ocean Conference in Koror, Palau, and in the second United Nations Ocean Conference, held
in Lisbon, and we look forward to continuing such conferences to ensure that the oceans and seas are a priority in the global sustainable development agenda. It is through such engagement that partnerships were formed and resulted in Tonga producing its first-ever Tonga Ocean Management Plan in 2021.
Tonga continues to recognize the importance of the legal mandate provided by the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS). As a member of the International Seabed Authority, Tonga continuously engages in the work of the Authority. We must expeditiously conclude those exploitation regulations that will ensure that appropriate conservation and environmental management practices are in place when exploitation activities begin.
The conservation and protection of our high seas remain a priority for Tonga. I refer in particular to the negotiations to conclude an international legally binding instrument under the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea on the conservation and sustainable use of marine biological diversity of areas beyond national jurisdiction. Tonga is optimistic that the considerable amount of work that has gone into this process, along with further progress on resolving key issues of divergence, will enable us to come to a positive conclusion. Let us conclude this historical instrument to support our obligations under UNCLOS.
Tonga has a large proportion of our people living in diasporas near and far, with two out of three Tongans living overseas. Remittances equal some 40 per cent of GDP. This is why it is of concern to us to find ways to reduce the cost of remittances.
I am honoured to be appointed President of the sixth session of the Assembly of SIDS DOCK. In this capacity, I launched the Global Ocean Energy Alliance (GLOEA) on 29 June in Lisbon. GLOEA is an initiative focused on accelerating the development of ocean energy technologies and projects through partnerships that mobilize technical, human and financial resources and are aimed establishing a global community of shared interest — a community capable of developing a pipeline of bankable ocean energy projects to serve islands, cities and coastal nations.
As the events of 2022 have so cruelly shown us, internet connectivity is a lifeline for Tonga. Our economy and our society are dependent on well-functioning domestic and international communications. The security required to protect such connectivity is therefore vital to our sustainable development. In this regard, I wish to recognize the work of New Zealand, Australia and the International Telecommunication Union/UNESCO Broadband Commission.
Education is at the core of peace and sustainable futures. Tonga recognizes and welcomes the opportunity to share in the Transforming Education Summit, held earlier this week. The Summit provided an opportunity to once again reiterate our collective call to put education front and centre for inclusive and sustainable development for all. We must build future-proof, sustainable and resilient education systems. To that end, we must scale up financial investment.
Pacific Islands Forum leaders have committed to strong regional action for a shared stewardship of the Pacific Ocean. They endorse the 2050 Strategy for the Blue Pacific Continent. The Pacific Ocean covers one third of our planet’s surface, and it is our desire to act as one blue Pacific continent. We continue to note with grave concern the threat posed by sea- level rise to our blue Pacific. We commit ourselves to ensuring that climate change-induced sea-level rise does not challenge our maritime zones delineated under UNCLOS, as reflected in the 2021 Declaration on Preserving Maritime Zones in the Face of Climate Change-Related Sea-Level Rise.
We note the invaluable work of the International Law Commission, in particular the Study Group on sea-level rise, for its work in advancing deliberations on this topic with a view to strengthening the UNCLOS framework, particularly in addressing the modern realities of sea-level rise. We further note the high debt sustainability analysis of Forum island countries and emphasize the need for debt instruments to be simple, manageable and implementable, given countries’ limited resources, the time-bound nature of debt instruments and the increasingly constrained development finance landscape worldwide. We also committed to revitalizing the Pacific Leaders Gender Equality Declaration in 2023.
Our Pacific collective will remain and remains our strength in our advocacy for faster and more action by the international community. Vanuatu’s initiative to seek an advisory opinion of the International Court of Justice on the obligations of states under international law to protect the rights of present and future generations against the adverse impacts of climate change in order to clarify the legal consequences of climate change. Tonga has joined all of the other Pacific Leaders in supporting
that initiative, which is a step in the right direction. The initiative of Tuvalu and Antigua and Barbuda to establish a commission of SIDs on climate change and international law that will be tasked with developing and implementing fair and just global environmental norms and practices is also a step in the right direction.
I conclude by reiterating Tonga’s support for President Korosi’s important work. May we show resolve, courage and partnership to meet the challenges before us and turn the needle to hope for present and future generations. May God guide and bless the General Assembly and all its members, observers and staff in our shared journey during this session to the destination of finding solutions through solidarity, sustainability and science.