It is an honour to represent His Excellency Mr. Lionel Rouwen Aingimea and deliver this statement for the Republic of Nauru at the seventy-seventh session of the United Nations General Assembly.
On behalf of the Government and people of the Republic of Nauru, allow me to congratulate Mr. Csaba Korosi on his assumption of the presidency of the General Assembly for the seventy-seventh session. Let me assure him of my delegation’s full cooperation and support as he leads this body in seeking transformative solutions to our shared interlocking challenges.
Allow me to also thank His Excellency Mr. Abdulla Shahid of the Maldives for his exceptional stewardship of this body during the seventy-sixth session, and to note the many successful initiatives undertaken during his tenure, including the “presidency of hope” fellowship. Nauru was privileged to have one of its young officials participate in this pioneering fellowship.
We come together at a critical moment created by three interconnected crises: the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic and its consequences, the war in Ukraine and a tipping point in climate change. These crises are creating unprecedented humanitarian challenges and growing concerns about the global economy. To overcome these challenges, and to fulfil the promises of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, we must draw upon the strength of multilateralism and the ability of this Organization to bring about the transformative change that builds our people’s resilience to face the crises of today and of the future.
This time last year, Nauru was proud to declare its COVID-19-free status. Unfortunately, that is no longer the case. Thankfully, however, with the strong support of our partners, Nauru was able to achieve high vaccination rates for both adults and children. Our high vaccination rates have been critical in ensuring minimal casualties from COVID-19 infections. We thank our partners Australia, India, Japan, Switzerland and the United States, including the COVID-19 Vaccine Global Access Facility, for their support throughout the pandemic.
We would also like to acknowledge in particular the support and good practices demonstrated by the people of Taiwan in the face of COVID-19. The Republic of China (Taiwan) is an important partner in the global response to the pandemic, as well as a particular partner of Nauru. Taiwan’s exemplary response and assistance should not be ignored. Taiwan is ready to share their experience, and we call for their recognition to ensure their right to engage with us all in this global forum.
With the help of our partners and friends, the health effects of COVID-19 on our country have been relatively mild. Despite that achievement, we note with deep concern the growing global resistance to vaccinations, alongside a rise in misinformation and fear-mongering through social media and mainstream media platforms. Vaccine resistance and misinformation puts us all at risk, not only for COVID-19, but for other diseases, as evidenced through the global outbreaks of measles and polio. In our interconnected world, we know that no one, and no country, is safe until everyone is safe. We need practical and collaborative solutions to combat the dangerous trend of misinformation for the sake of global health. As we have seen too many times in Nauru, in our deeply connected world, an outbreak in one corner can produce a ripple of destruction that can touch us all.
To build our resilience domestically, Nauru prioritizes a preventative strategy for public health. Our strategy is informed by the lessons learned during this pandemic, and we continue to seek support to review, overhaul and revamp our health systems and to thereby develop innovative solutions to our needs. Moreover, to address the challenges of today and tomorrow, our health system needs to be climate resilient, with the capacity for viral risk management through e-medicine, digital technology and more. Meeting our ambition will require partners to provide support and technical expertise.
Beyond communicable diseases, other health challenges plague small island developing States, thus undermining our chances of a sustainable and healthy future where no one is left behind. The battle against non-communicable diseases is one battle we have low odds of winning owing to ongoing challenges with food security and nutrition, as well as weak policies, strategies and capacities to adequately address substance use and abuse. There must be a wholesale transformation of the food system to eradicate food insecurity and malnutrition. Incremental measures such as trainings, workshops and kitchen gardens alone cannot meet the needs. We call on the United Nations and our partners to focus their efforts and help us towards securing affordable nutritious food for all.
We also take this opportunity to thank the Government of Cuba for their long-standing commitment to strengthening our health sector through the work of their medical brigades. Despite the assistance they provide to many, the Cuban people continue to suffer from the economic, commercial and financial embargo of the United States. We call on the United States to not forget the friendly people of Cuba, who are also struggling like us under this pandemic.
Education holds the key to unlocking the transformative solutions we so urgently need to address the interlocking challenges of today’s world. Education holds the mould for shaping the future we want and need. We must leave this week and the Transforming Education Summit not only inspired and energized by the passion of young people, but with concrete ideas and partnerships to take home and implement. Quality education for all will require both creativity and urgent action, to tackle immediate needs and build towards long-term transformation. We have the opportunity now to reimagine education and invest in new approaches. We join calls for global efforts to review and revamp our education delivery models, with a view to improving teacher attraction and retention strategies, strengthening partnerships between the home and school and developing inexpensive, alternate models of delivery.
When we speak of transformation and resilience, we must prioritize the climate emergency, in which the Pacific is on the front lines. Climate change continues to ravage our planet, and the global community has once again failed to take the actions required to curb its spread. We can no longer continue to debate the human impact on our planet and when and if we will band together to mount a fight against the climate emergency and its undeniable security implications. The maintenance of international peace and security demands that we unite with a shared understanding of the threats and challenges we face. Nauru continues its call upon the Secretary-General to appoint a special representative on climate and security, and to immediately undertake an assessment of the capacity of the United Nations to respond to climate disasters.
Climate change has infiltrated every aspect of our lives, and our response must therefore be equally diverse and robust. While we are hopeful for the twenty-seventh Conference of the Parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, we are not naive regarding the reality that the work in this arena is far from the urgency and scale required. Major emitters are lacking in both commitment and action to reduce emissions. We need stronger commitments and actions that move past pretty words on paper.
Nauru, like other small island nations, has lived with the realities of climate change for some time now. Climate change undermines and threatens the ability of Governments and institutions to deliver basic services in the short and long term. The Higher Ground Initiative is crucial to our ability to reclaim land that is now unusable, land that presents us with both an urgent need and an expensive financing venture. Hence, we seek both financial and technical assistance for the completion and implementation of the master plan for a pilot plot. If successful, this pilot plot can transform the future of Nauru, ensuring that our homeland can continue for generations to come.
There also remains a serious and pressing need for climate-resilient infrastructure. Nauru faces significant delays in its port redevelopment project, a project that represents both a crucial domestic need and an international example of climate-resilient infrastructure. However, as a consequence of the pandemic, Nauru now faces unprecedented delays and unforeseen added costs beyond its national capacities. We join other vulnerable nations in the call for practical financial solutions to these unforeseen challenges to key adaptation measures.
Global transformation requires a global energy transition, and we welcome the ongoing work from the High-Level Dialogue on Energy and work being undertaken to meet Sustainable Development Goal 7. A just and inclusive energy transition requires that no one, and no country, is left behind, and reaching these goals will require international financial and technical support. Moreover, it will require that we rethink how we get energy and where that energy comes from.
We cannot expect the trajectory of global emissions to drop without access to viable energy alternatives. Deep-sea minerals provide us with a solution. Polymetallic nodules will transform big and small countries’ energy systems with an accessible alternative and a pathway to a just energy transition. This is a priority for Nauru at the International Seabed Authority, and we continue to call for more support and investment to ensure the establishment and adherence to robust governance mechanisms in this field. We must not lose focus towards our shared goals of a just and inclusive energy transition as we work to complete the two-year timeline to establish the global regulatory framework for deep seabed minerals.
Nauru is a big ocean State. We are people of the ocean, and our lives are inextricably linked to the Pacific Ocean. The ocean has shaped who we are, as it has similarly shaped the nations and peoples of other small island developing States. But we must transform our relationship with the ocean if it is to continue to sustain us and future generations.
We express our disappointment that the work of the fifth session of the Intergovernmental Conference on Marine Biodiversity of Areas Beyond National Jurisdiction was not completed. We are committed to overcoming issues of divergence in these negotiations. Issues that are very important to island nations, such as the special circumstances and shared vulnerabilities of small island developing States (SIDS), must be recognized. This is not new.
We must also come to consensus on benefit sharing on the high seas, especially as it relates to marine genetic resources. This is crucial for the economic diversity of island nations and is an integral part of the blue economy.
Finally, we raise, as we have before, the critical importance of ensuring sustainable fisheries. This includes ensuring that overfishing is not taking place, that fair prices are paid to small islands for fish taken from our waters, and that we eliminate illegal, unreported and unregulated fishing.
Nauru remains committed to the achievement of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, the Addis Ababa Action Agenda and the Paris Agreement. These historic agreements outline our shared optimism for the future, and they provide us with the means and metrics to reach our ambition. However, they are in danger of not being worth the paper they are printed on without adequate and predictable support from the international community, as Nauru and many other island nations will not be able to realize the Sustainable Development Goals or to adapt and mitigate the adverse impacts of climate change.
The ability to access sustainable financing determines whether we succeed or fail. Nauru, like many SIDS, faces barriers to sustained economic growth due to our geographic remoteness, the small scale of our economy, vulnerabilities to climate change, external economic and financial shocks and the rules that govern development assistance. For years, small island developing States have reiterated the limitations of per capita income as a measure of development. This arbitrary measure does not adequately consider our special circumstances and unique vulnerabilities.
Nauru stresses the importance of the ongoing work on the multidimensional vulnerability index for small island developing States and reiterates the importance of its establishment. Although the process of finalizing and adopting the index has moved at a slower rate than anticipated or desired, we nonetheless thank and commend the High-Level Panel of the development of the index for their ongoing work thus far. Undoubtedly, such crucial work as the index cannot be hurried. In that light, Nauru calls for Member States to universally agree and adopt the index once finalized, thus contributing to ensuring that efforts are tailored to the needs of the most vulnerable, as required.
As we commemorate the International Day for the Total Elimination of Nuclear Weapons, Nauru, as a State party to the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons (TPNW), encourages those Member States who have yet to ratify the TPNW to do so, so that we are united in the global goal for a peaceful and just world free of nuclear weapons.
We are facing a time of great risk and uncertainty. This can, however, also be a time of opportunity and transformation. To ensure that no one is left behind, our joint post-pandemic recovery efforts must be embedded and upheld in institutions and practices of good governance. We must be careful to not compromise on good governance practices under pressures to build back faster and better.
We reiterate our commitment to the principles of good governance as we undertake our national general elections, and we call on Member States to observe and actively strengthen and promote good governance both domestically and internationally.
In conclusion, allow me to express our hope that this year will allow us to be open to the transformation we seek. As scripture guides us, in Romans 12:2, “do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind”. May God bless the Republic of Nauru, and may God bless the United Nations.