I wish, on
behalf of the Government and people of Saint Kitts and
Nevis, to express gratitude for the honour of addressing
the General Assembly. I also extend on their behalf
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sincere congratulations to Mr. Nassir Abdul-Aziz
Al-Nasser on his election to preside over the General
Assembly at its sixty-sixth session. My delegation also
wishes to thank Mr. Joseph Deiss, President of the
General Assembly at its sixty-fifth session, for his
leadership during a very busy and demanding session.
Our new President’s tenure coincides with a time
when there is on the Assembly’s agenda a confluence
of global issues with particular relevance for the small
island developing States of the Caribbean.
Most delegations recently participated, for
example, in the United Nations High-level Meeting on
HIV/AIDS, held in June; the United Nations High-
level Meeting on Youth, held in July; and the United
Nations High-level Meeting on Non-communicable
Diseases, held a few days ago. The convening of those
meetings gives ample acknowledgement of the
challenges that we still face in our relentless pursuit of
a healthier world, and of the pivotal role of health and
social cohesion as vehicles of national and global
development.
The President has the awesome responsibility of
piloting us through follow-up actions resulting from
those weighty deliberations. My delegation is confident
of his capacity and experience for the required
leadership, and assures him of our fullest support.
The President has declared as his theme for the
session “The role of mediation in the settlement of
disputes by peaceful means”. Certainly, my delegation
supports the pacific settlement of disputes, and we
likewise acknowledge mediation as a preferred vehicle
in preventing or settling conflicts.
In this endeavour, our small island Caribbean
States would wish to be engaged in the support
mechanisms in tangible ways, such as are already laid
out in the provisions of such landmark resolutions as
Security Council resolution 1540 (2004), which
addresses the non-proliferation of weapons of mass
destruction.
The people of my country and my region have
great respect for the idealism that gave birth to this all-
important Organization. Our ideals are indeed
synonymous with those of the United Nations system,
and our expectations are assuredly no less stately than
those of large and powerful nations.
At a time such as this, the United Nations must
show its unifying character by assuring that all
Member States are equipped to play a role in the
maintenance of international peace and security and in
the building up of one another. We are our brother’s
keeper.
In today’s global community, we must rely
heavily on collective actions and solid partnerships, if
we are to overcome the many common challenges that
we face. Among those challenges are the misguided or
ill-considered choices that are made by too many of
our youth.
A critical and defining aspect of my country’s
future, and indeed a prospect that will largely define
tomorrow’s world, is our youth. It is therefore worthy
of mention that youth violence has attained epidemic
proportions in the Caribbean. We appreciate that youth
violence is invariably symptomatic of deeper
individual, community and societal issues, and that a
multisectoral, integrated approach is required to
redress the problem.
At the national and regional levels, States of the
Caribbean Community (CARICOM) are actively
grappling with this challenge, and we are pleased to
have participated in the discussions on this topic at the
recent High-level Meeting. There is a need, however,
to reinforce the fact that there is a role for United
Nations agencies in supporting our efforts to reverse
the bothersome trend of youth violence, with all its
implications for many critical sectors, including
security, health and development.
Accordingly, we shall be heightening our
engagement with WHO, UN-HABITAT, UNICEF and
other relevant United Nations and international
development agencies in this endeavour.
The challenge of youth violence is also linked, to
some extent, to the proliferation of small arms and
light weapons. While my country acknowledges the
strides made in our region with respect to small arms
and light weapons, through the recent adoption of the
CARICOM Declaration on Small Arms and Light
Weapons, there is still a long way to go. It is
imperative, therefore, that we work together to bring a
solution-focused approach to the problem of easy
access to small arms and light weapons in our
countries. CARICOM here calls for an arms trade
treaty.
Related to this challenge is the issue of human
security and development. My country is committed to
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working diligently at the national and regional levels,
and to collaborating internationally, to improve the
lives of our people.
Saint Kitts and Nevis is a relatively small
country, and it is usually the small and vulnerable that
are most severely impacted when global shocks and
crises occur. That is why, as a region, we promote
collective action to enhance our resilience, promote
human security, lessen our vulnerability and build
stronger economies.
Such has been our widely acclaimed best-practice
approach with regard to HIV/AIDS. Saint Kitts and
Nevis applauds the General Assembly for convening
the High-level Meeting on HIV/AIDS. The Joint
United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS)
has collaborated with the Pan Caribbean Partnership
Against HIV and AIDS, in keeping with its
commitment to support countries achieve the
Millennium Development Goals and also in ensuring
that HIV prevention, care, treatment and support
services are provided to all in need.
The agenda is still a full one and the challenge no
less daunting than it was 10 years ago, in a region with
the second highest global prevalence rate of HIV. We
therefore anticipate and encourage the continued
support of UNAIDS and other health and development
agencies.
With regard to non-communicable diseases
(NCDs), the Caribbean can be justly proud that the
initiatives in the Port of Spain Declaration of 2007 —
“Uniting to Stop the Epidemic of Chronic NCDs” —
which arose out of the first-ever heads of Government
summit on the subject, has resonated across the globe,
resulting in the just concluded High-level Meeting with
a consensus on launching an international wellness
revolution.
Non-communicable diseases are to a large extent
preventable. It is therefore essential that the outcome
document from the High-level Meeting mirrors many
of the chief concerns of the Port of Spain Declaration,
aimed at encouraging Governments and the private
sector to collaborate on increasing avenues for
exercise, healthy diets and smoke-free zones for the
benefit of the general public.
A long-term reduction in the enormous costs of
treating heart failure, diabetes and hypertension, and
the resulting 60 per cent to 70 per cent mortality rates
from NCDs, is worth the investment in protecting
human capital and the development of our various
regions.
I am extremely proud that the Government of
Saint Kitts and Nevis has the lead responsibility for
human resources, health and HIV/AIDS in the
Caribbean Community, and continues to play a
pioneering role.
We recognize the urgent need to make good on
pledges resulting from the High-level Meeting, which
can only augur well for a future in which due
recognition must be given to the role of health in
overall development.
It would be remiss of me not to highlight the
significance of the United Nations Conference on
Sustainable Development. Next June, during this sixty-
sixth session of the General Assembly, all eyes will be
on the Rio deliberations aimed at achieving
convergence on the social, environmental and
economic dimensions of sustainable development. I
fully support the main objective of the Conference,
namely, securing political commitment. That is the
critical factor for success throughout the Rio+20
processes and beyond.
Saint Kitts and Nevis is one of the small island
developing States (SIDS) referred to in chapter 17 of
Agenda 21. Throughout the past 20 years, the
international community has made tremendous strides
in addressing SIDS challenges to sustainable
development. Regrettably, many an encouraging step
forward has been offset by painful setbacks.
The effect of climate change is a bane that is felt
on a daily basis in Saint Kitts and Nevis, as in other
islands. The question is no longer “if” and “how”, but
rather “when” and “by how much” we will be affected.
We need desperately to upgrade pre-emptive measures,
to counter the imminent threat of climate change.
A defined strategy to aggressively promote
climate financing is highly recommended. It will be
vital if our countries are to successfully address the
effects of climate change without tapping into already
limited and depleted resources. My delegation
encourages other Member States to join the call for the
full implementation of climate financing.
In addition to pursuing outcomes that benefit all
States, my delegation would like to highlight certain
challenges that some members of the international
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community face, with which the General Assembly can
assist. I speak of Haiti, Antigua and Barbuda, Cuba and
Taiwan.
We must ever remember Haiti, one of the most
populous member States of CARICOM. We should
remain acutely aware of Haiti’s trials and struggles
against natural and man-made catastrophic events,
unsettling social and political vicissitudes and
economic hardships. Their effects have set Haiti many
years behind, compared to the rate of development of
other nations in the region. We therefore encourage the
fulfilling of the many goodwill pledges that have been
made for assistance in its reconstruction efforts.
Another CARICOM member State, Antigua and
Barbuda, continues to be locked in an underdog
struggle to benefit from its success before the World
Trade Organization Dispute Settlement Body. We again
urge a speedy, fair and just resolution to this gaming
dispute.
Also within the Caribbean, the people of our
sister nation of Cuba continue to endure much hardship
as the consequence of a 50-year commercial, economic
and financial embargo. The Assembly and the
international community have consistently called for
the lifting of the embargo. Our country reiterates its
call, and the call of regional neighbours and the
international community, particularly the General
Assembly, for a speedy redress of this matter.
Since 2009, Taiwan has been invited by the World
Health Organization to attend the annual World Health
Assembly (WHA) as an observer. This practice and the
related arrangements have established what has been
termed the WHA model, which sets a useful precedent
for Taiwan’s greater participation in the United Nations
system. It is the view of my country that in today’s
highly integrated and interconnected world almost all
issues demand full participation by, and cooperation
among, international partners. As one of the world’s
leading economic and technological powerhouses,
Taiwan can contribute substantially to the international
community.
We therefore urge the United Nations to find a
suitable way to allow for Taiwan’s meaningful
participation in its specialized agencies and
mechanisms, including the International Civil Aviation
Organization and the United Nations Framework
Convention on Climate Change.
I have presented some of the challenges that we
encounter as a country and region, challenges to which
the Assembly has itself given prominence. I have also
given consideration to some of our aspirations for the
sixty-sixth session and beyond. They are issues that
demand collective inputs and interventions.
We are all part of the global community, and
problems that permeate our tightly woven fabric
invariably spread to affect us all in some way or
another. It is incumbent upon us all, therefore, to
ensure that the results of our collective enterprise and
diligence allow for the realization of our desired goals.
Surely, working together with purpose and integrity
will ensure that we rise on the same tide. Let us rise
together.