Trinidad and Tobago congratulates you, Mr. President, on your election to preside over the General Assembly at its seventy-seventh session, and we commit ourselves to fully supporting you. I also wish to express gratitude to your predecessor, whose leadership and dedication demonstrated that to be a great leader, one does not have to come from a large country.
In our maiden statement to the General Assembly as a newly independent nation in 1962, our first Permanent Representative, the late Sir Ellis Clarke, declared that Trinidad and Tobago embraces the solemn responsibility that comes with membership in this Organization (see A/PV.1122). I stand before the General Assembly today, in our sixtieth year of independence, on the anniversary of the day on which we became a Republic, to reaffirm Trinidad and Tobago’s unequivocal acceptance of our obligation to honour the responsibility of membership in the United Nations.
Over the decades, Trinidad and Tobago has anchored its multilateral engagement on the founding purposes and principles of the United Nations. We have nurtured these principles by maintaining a strong tradition of democratic governance that respects constitutionally enshrined fundamental human rights and freedoms and promotes strict adherence to the rule of law. Accordingly, Trinidad and Tobago is bound by duty to uphold these principles unconditionally and to defend them whenever there is evidence of breach.
That is why Trinidad and Tobago cannot accept or ignore any unilateral attempt to violate the sovereignty and the territorial integrity of any State. The violation of Ukraine’s internationally agreed borders constitutes a flagrant violation of the United Nations Charter and of international law. It is a clear threat to international peace and security, and the only credible solution is to end this aggression immediately. We therefore call on the Russian Federation to immediately abandon its action and resume negotiations with the Ukrainians in good faith in order to find a peaceful and durable resolution.
Our collective experience over the last seven months has laid bare the urgent necessity for the Security Council to be reformed to reflect current geopolitical realities. And as the international community celebrates the twentieth anniversary of the entry into force of the Rome Statute, which established the International Criminal Court (ICC), evidence and events around the world confirm that, if in fact the court did not exist, it would have to be created in order to ensure accountability for increasing acts of impunity.
Trinidad and Tobago is proud of our long-standing involvement with the ICC through the pioneering work of our distinguished former Prime Minister and President — from the little island of Tobago — the late Arthur N. R. Robinson. The mission of the International Criminal Court and its record as an independent tribunal engenders the fullest support of Trinidad and Tobago.
As the war in Ukraine rages, fuels such as coal are making quite a resurgence, and the commitments made in Glasgow are at risk of being severely derailed. At the same time, climate commitments made by developed countries are definitely not on track. Droughts, wildfires, floods and cataclysmic hurricanes and typhoons are realities that small island States know all too well. Meanwhile, slow-onset events such as the deterioration of coral reefs and the influx of sargassum seaweed threaten our fragile ecosystems and the livelihoods of all people, especially of fisherfolk and those dependent on tourism. Accordingly, Trinidad and Tobago calls for the full and effective implementation of the Paris Agreement.
A dedicated facility to address loss and damage under the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change financial mechanism is an absolute necessity. These actions must be prioritized because what is at stake is the very existence and viability of small island States.
The added burden of rampant global inflation and the crises of food, fuel, feed and fertilizers have placed an extraordinary strain on our economies and our people, further imperilling our ability to attain sustainable development across the globe.
On the critical issue of achieving food security for all people, the international community must work together to accelerate global food production. In this regard, leaders of the country members of the Caribbean Community (CARICOM) have not just been calling for action, but they have been acting in solidarity and with decisiveness. In August, Trinidad and Tobago was pleased to host the second CARICOM Agri Investment Forum and Expo as part of our region’s commitment to reducing its food-import bill by 25 per cent by the year 2025.
Trinidad and Tobago is firmly committed to working with CARICOM and other partners towards restoring peace and stable democratic governance in Haiti. Our objective must be to work with the Haitians to secure their long-term progress and future. We therefore call upon the United Nations system and the international donor community to urgently strengthen their rule and engagement with Haiti. We encourage them to provide the necessary assistance to quell the ongoing and devastating gang violence and to urgently improve the humanitarian situation in that beautiful country.
In the Caribbean, our efforts to build safe and peaceful societies are being completely undermined by transnational organized crime, human trafficking, the illicit trade of drugs and a steady flow of illegal firearms from source countries far beyond our region — all of which contributes to unacceptably high levels of gang violence within our communities. We are further committed to strengthening our cooperation with regional and international partners to address these challenges, which threaten the very stability of our societies.
Violent extremism, international terrorism and the use of technology for criminal purposes remain clear and present dangers. In combating these phenomena, Trinidad and Tobago attaches the highest value to collaborating with the United Nations and other international partners. We must bear in mind that in addressing extremism there must be no compromise to the constitutionally protected rights and freedoms of our citizens.
In all of these complexities, we must recognize the critically important role of women as agents of positive change. To that end, Trinidad and Tobago will once again submit the biennial resolution on women, disarmament, non-proliferation and arms control. We encourage all Member States to co-sponsor and support this forward-looking resolution.
But while we assiduously work to encourage and ensure the inclusion of women in places and spaces of decision-making, we must continue to insist that the rights of women and girls are fully respected at all levels of society. Violence against women and girls continues to be a menace, destroying lives and impeding overall progress towards balanced and inclusive sustainable development. Addressing this must be a priority, and, in Trinidad and Tobago, a growing number of stakeholders, including the private sector, have now joined the national effort to make our society safe for women and girls.
The last two years in particular have demonstrated that the structure of the international economic and financial system is not fit for purpose. The system as designed actually undermines developing countries in their pursuit of sustainable development. It cannot be business as usual. A transformative global agenda, such as the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, necessitates a transformative economic and financial framework that is compatible with the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals.
Without such a shift in the global architecture, even the best efforts at the national level will not produce the results that we need in the global South. Trinidad and Tobago calls on the international community to adopt tailored measures and solutions to address the fundamental financing challenges that developing countries face, with particular attention to the least developed countries and small island developing States. One such measure is the adoption of a multidimensional vulnerability index, which we consider to be an utmost priority.
Our history cannot be rewritten or erased. We therefore continue to call for reparatory justice for the unpaid debt resulting from centuries of enslavement
of African people, for the historical crimes of native genocide visited upon the indigenous peoples of this world and for the exploitative legacy of colonialism that has directly resulted in the persistent underdevelopment of Caribbean nations and so many others.
We continue to call for abandoning and destroying all nuclear weapons as the only means of guaranteeing the avoidance of total annihilation of humankind.
We continue to call for the unconditional lifting of the unjust economic, commercial and financial embargo imposed on the people of Cuba, and for the full integration of Cuba into the international economic and political system.
We also continue to call for a long-lasting and mutually agreed two-State solution to the Israel- Palestine conflict, which will guarantee Palestinians a permanent homeland and recognize Israel’s right to exist in peace and security.
To get the 2030 Agenda back on track, all stakeholders — whether large or small, powerful or otherwise — must embrace the value of multilateralism. Clearly, we are not quite there yet. In this regard, I echo the words of one of Trinidad and Tobago’s greatest calypsonians, David Rudder, who in his iconic song “Rally ‘round the West Indies”, wrote
“Soon we must take a side or be lost in the rubble
In a divided world that don’t need islands no more
Are doomed forever to be at somebody’s mercy?
Little keys can open up mighty doors”.
This world needs little islands. We bring a perspective that is valuable and beneficial and necessary. Trinidad and Tobago continues to offer the point of view of a small, sovereign democratic nation harbouring a big ambition, namely, to unleash the creativity and resourcefulness of our diverse people, especially our youth, to make the most positive contribution to society, community and the world. As a relatively young nation, Trinidad and Tobago’s people are our greatest source of power and energy. It can be felt in the rhythm of our beautiful Tassa drums and in the melodies of our national instrument, the steelpan.
Our achievements stand as testimony of what can be achieved when a small nation punches above its weight. Our citizens have served as judges at the ICC and at the International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea, and we have given the world experts of the calibre of Lennox Fitzroy Ballah and Anthony Amos Lucky. We have contributed extensively to the work of the United Nations, serving on the Security Council, the Economic and Social Council and a range of subsidiary bodies and organs.
Trinidad and Tobago looks forward with enthusiasm and optimism to our next 60 years of membership of the United Nations. We continue to deepen engagement and partnership with our neighbours in the Caribbean and with all members of the international community in order to achieve our common objectives and thereby strengthen international peace and security. As we write the next chapter in our nation’s history, I can share with the Assembly that Trinidad and Tobago offers itself to serve as President of the General Assembly during its seventy-eighth session. Being tasked with such a defining role by the Assembly would truly be an honour and responsibility that the Government and the people of Trinidad and Tobago shall embrace with commitment and impartiality. In the best traditions of multilateralism, let us therefore join our strengths for the benefit and upliftment of all humankind. Let us build a truly global community where no one is left behind.
In conclusion, I offer the General Assembly the inspiration found in the words of the national motto of Trinidad and Tobago, which declares: “Together we aspire; together we achieve”.