Tuvalu

Everything has been said; everything has been noted. But while it may be true that many boats will rise with the tide, others are bound to sink unless goodwill prevails in this house. Tuvalu wishes to add its voice of solidarity to the work of the United Nations and to what has been a highly enlightening debate. First, we join wholeheartedly in the high commendations already expressed with regard to the election of Her Excellency Sheikha Haya Rashed Al-Khalifa as President of the General Assembly and her Bureau, and the sterling efforts of the outgoing President. Ms. Al-Khalifa and her Bureau have our full cooperation. We also wish to join others before us in paying tribute to the work of the Secretary-General, Mr. Kofi Annan. His initiatives on development, security and human rights have taken the United Nations ever closer to all peoples and have made the Organization accessible even to small island States such as Tuvalu. In appreciation, we wish him well and all the best in the future. For my small island nation, joining the United Nations at the dawn of the new century is an expression of hope. Our hope is that, through the noble ideals and principles of this great body, Tuvalu, despite its physical remoteness and insignificance, will be allowed to paddle its canoe in harmony along with super-tankers and to share the common future of a world of larger freedom: a world in which every State, regardless of its size, is recognized in terms of its sovereignty, its independence and the human rights of its people. We continue to hold fast to that hope. But, in the present world of interdependence, where great opportunities are accompanied by great challenges, the need for collective action and multilateral cooperation has never been so pressing and urgent. Victory over those challenges can be won not through political fragmentation, finger-pointing and confrontation, but through cooperation. The showdown of words engaged in by some countries in this Chamber is unfortunate. We must 06-53958 10 never forget that along with wealth and power comes responsibility towards others. The risk is high that this House of humanity will fall apart for lack of responsibility and leadership. There is a call for everyone to consistently display the highest degree of morality, solidarity and respect for one other’s values and concerns. Otherwise, the ideals of the United Nations cannot be served. As a small, peace-loving nation, Tuvalu strongly believes that engaging in open dialogue and working together in a spirit of mutual understanding within United Nations frameworks is the only way to reach our shared destiny in diversity and with respect for one another. Tuvalu takes pride in having been part of the United Nations during the negotiations on its reform and development agenda. The adoption and establishment of the Human Rights Council and the Peacebuilding Commission and of major innovations in the Secretariat show the benefit of working together. Those bodies must be supported to ensure peace and the protection of the human rights of all peoples and communities. But our work will remain unfinished until we make the Security Council and its operational methodologies truly representative of the United Nations membership. To that end, we support the draft resolution of the Group of Four countries on expansion of the Security Council. The President returned to the Chair. Development, security and human rights are the cardinal purposes of the United Nations. The fulfilment of those purposes demands that we shoulder our collective responsibility and engage in united action. The successful conclusion of the World Summit last year was a reaffirmation of our resolve to fight poverty and ensure sustainable development through the internationally agreed Millennium Development Goals, the Johannesburg Plan of Implementation and the Mauritius Strategy for the Further Implementation of the Programme of Action for the Sustainable Development of Small Island Developing States. But devising plans without having access to adequate resources is akin to presenting a menu to hungry people: it may be mouth-watering, but without the necessary ingredients, the dishes it describes will remain unattainable. It is essential that we fully implement the Mauritius Strategy by integrating it into the work programmes of the Commission on Sustainable Development, United Nations agencies, conventions — especially the Rio Conventions — and bilateral cooperation partners. Additionally, the strengthening of the coordination capacity of the Department of Social and Economic Affairs with adequate resources in those areas is imperative. Two weeks ago, in this very Hall, the General Assembly undertook the midterm review of the Brussels Programme of Action for the Least Developed Countries. We, as both a least developed country and a small island developing State, are grateful to the High Representative for the Least Developed Countries, Landlocked Developing Countries and Small Island Developing States for his dedicated work, and to the development partners for the support Tuvalu has enjoyed over the years. It is certainly our view, however, that it is unrealistic and premature to list for graduation Tuvalu and our Pacific least developed country colleagues that are also small island developing States. We feel strongly that, before any graduation can be recommended, thorough consideration should be given to our unique economic vulnerabilities and that this should be done on an in-country basis, not merely through data analysis carried out at a desk halfway around the globe. For these very reasons, and with a view to the achievement of the Millennium Development Goals, there is a critical need to ensure a United Nations presence in all Pacific small island developing States. Last month a new Government was elected to power in Tuvalu and has pledged good governance and media freedom as its guiding principles. It has adopted the Tuvalu Sustainable Development Strategy, known as “Te Kakeega II: Vision 2015”, as its framework for development partnerships and looks forward to working with the rest of the world in its implementation. Security challenges continue to create havoc, fear and uncertainty worldwide. Tuvalu strongly deplores terrorism in all its forms and expressions. We in the Pacific are not immune from acts of terrorism. We must therefore collectively continue to make the strongest efforts in our campaign against these forces and be resolute in ensuring effective global anti-terrorism action. We also encourage the continuing role of the United Nations in working towards a solution to the Palestinian question and in ensuring peace for the 11 06-53958 people of Afghanistan, Darfur, Timor-Leste and other regions. Clearly the United Nations has done well in preventing and resolving deadly conflicts throughout the world. But despite those achievements, the non- representation of Taiwan in the United Nations and its agencies remains an issue of great concern. The threats posed by China’s deployment of missiles aimed at Taiwan and the use of force in the Taiwan Strait are real, for the East Asian and Pacific region and for the world as a whole. We urge that immediate peaceful and preventive actions be taken in the Taiwan Strait for the sake of all. No other challenge to global security is more serious and threatening than the impact of climate change. Climate change is a global problem and can be resolved only through global collective action. Addressing climate change must therefore must be placed at the centre of the work of the United Nations. As is well known, small island developing States like Tuvalu are extremely vulnerable to the impact of climate change and sea-level rise, and already evidence of devastation is prevalent in all regions of the small island developing States. Over the past few years, Tuvalu has witnessed unusual flooding of the main islands with seawater and king tides, as well as severe attacks on fresh water, vegetation, foreshores and coral reefs. We are frightened and very worried by all these things, which are the result of the actions of others. If nothing is done urgently and we are forced out of our islands, there is no other Tuvalu to which to move. There is still time to act. Once again we appeal to this body for help and for real action. We strongly believe that we have reached a dangerous level of greenhouse gas concentrations in the atmosphere and that urgent action is required to accelerate the necessary responses. The options are available; what is clearly lacking is political will. Unless climate change is addressed, all our efforts for development, security and protection of human rights will be severely undermined. Clearly it is urgent that the international community take more aggressive action to reduce greenhouse gases. All countries, industrialized and developing, must do their part, with the industrialized countries taking the lead, including through the full implementation of the Kyoto Protocol. To help developing countries contribute in a committed way, we need stronger incentives to promote the development and distribution of renewable energy and energy efficiency technologies. We need a global fund to support such efforts. It is disappointing to see some large industrialized countries’ continued denial and the absence of enough political will on their part to support vulnerable countries such as small island developing States to adapt to the impacts of climate change. We must recognize the “polluter pays” principle and ensure that the countries that are producing the greenhouse gas emissions pay for the damage they are causing to the vulnerable countries. There is also a need to generate considerably more funds to underwrite the costs of adaptation, including international levies to generate income to boost funding for adaptation and insurance in small island developing States. The mainstreaming of the Mauritius Strategy into the work of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, as required under resolution 59/311, is crucial in that regard. Defining the way forward with respect to future commitments and actions in the area of climate change will require strong political will on the part of all countries. The upcoming twelfth session of the Conference of the Parties to the Climate Change Convention and the second meeting of the Parties to the Kyoto Protocol, to be held in Nairobi, must come up with clear and practical timetables for accelerated action on mitigation and adaptation. It is imperative also to improve access by small island developing States and least developed countries to Global Environment Facility climate-change resources and convention-related funds. The Nairobi meetings must also decide on governance and management arrangements for the Kyoto Protocol Adaptation Fund to facilitate its early operation. Finally, we strongly believe that the General Assembly should host, as soon as possible, a summit at the level of heads of Government aimed at bringing forward workable proposals with strong, high-level political endorsement so as to address climate change beyond the year 2012. Our call for urgent action on climate change is not self-serving. Tuvalu and the small island developing States may be the first to suffer from the 06-53958 12 impacts of climate change, but the consequences of not taking real action now will be felt by all around the globe. We all must work together on climate change in a spirit of strong solidarity. The people of Tuvalu have full confidence in the United Nations and in its ability to ensure the achievement by all peoples of its cardinal purposes of development, security and human rights. It cannot fail the world on climate change; it cannot dash our hopes. Please do not let Tuvalu sink. God bless the United Nations family. God bless Tuvalu.