Kamalesh Sharma, the
Secretary General of the Commonwealth of Nations,
said to us at a gathering here in New York a few days
ago: “Do not be demoralized by your income, be
inspired by your outcome”. That should be a driving
principle as all countries, particularly the small island
developing States, seek to determine what the post-
2015 development agenda will be. The obstacles are
many. The lip service is evident. We have hope, and our
moral case is strong. We are inspired by the potential
outcomes of this new development agenda.
We must be people-focused and, in that regard, I
remember a story told by a colleague, a Minister from
the Far East, who explained his absence to a constituent
at home as dealing with many of the world’s problems.
“Yes”, said the constituent to him, “but the water pump
in the village has not been fixed”. It is a reminder
of whom we really work for in this body — not for
ourselves, but for that villager who needs the pump at
home to be fixed.
At this session, our Prime Minister gave a
comprehensive statement on climate change and the
need for developed countries to honour their financial
commitments in that regard. In addition, we deposited
our instrument of ratification of the Arms Trade Treaty
(ATT), which helped to bring the number of countries
to 50 and so caused the Treaty to enter into force.
Furthermore, in the margins of the session, we signed
a memorandum of understanding with the International
Organization for Migration.
There are no higher priorities for the Bahamas than
these matters: the environment, fighting crime and
containing illegal immigration. They go to the very
root of our existence. If we do not resolve the climate
change issues, there will be no Bahamas. Solving the
crime problem in the Bahamas is key to our domestic
peace and economic survivability. No Bahamian doubts
that the control of illegal immigration is central to
our survivability as a country, central to our national
identity, and central to our national security. We have
only to see today how illegal immigration drains our
financial resources, and we do not have to look far to
see how unchecked immigration in other countries has
been a recipe for civil strife within their borders. We
do not intend for that to happen to us. All of the efforts
related to the three main themes I have just mentioned
are buttressed by our work to ensure that we have a
robust, strong and sustainable economy.
Tourism is by far the number-one economic
activity for the Bahamas. The environment is central
to that business. It should therefore be no surprise that
the Bahamas has adopted or established the following:
the National Environmental Policy, 2005; the National
Environmental Management and Action Plan for the
Bahamas, 2005; the Bahamas National Wetland Policy,
2007; the Bahamas Protected Areas Fund, 2013; and
the Forestry Amendment Act, 2014. We believe that
those policies and programmes will all help with the
issue of climate change. We also believe that the United
Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change is
the primary international, intergovernmental forum for
negotiating the global response to climate change. We
believe that it should be completed with dispatch.
The Bahamas is committed to the small island
developing States processes at the United Nations.
The Bahamas welcomes the convening of the World
Conference on Disaster Risk Reduction next year in
Japan.
The Bahamas is appalled by the practice of killing
sharks simply for their fins. We must make the fishing
of sharks a sustainable practice, as these creatures
are a vital part of the global ecosystem. The Bahamas
therefore assumed the chairmanship of the United
Nations Save Our Sharks Coalition in December 2013.
The aims of the Coalition resonate with us, and we
believe that we can help save the shark from extinction.
The Bahamas has been grappling with serious
crimes in our society, related largely to, first, the
inability of young males to settle disputes without
recourse to violence and, secondly, the resulting
proliferation of gang activity and trafficking in illicit
drugs, small arms and light weapons, and ammunition.
The Bahamas therefore became actively involved in
the negotiations leading to the successful adoption of
the Arms Trade Treaty and considered its adoption
a landmark accomplishment for the United Nations
(resolution 67/234 B). The Government believes the
entry into force of the ATT will contribute to peace
and security in the Bahamas and throughout our
region. We deposited the instrument of ratification of
the Commonwealth of the Bahamas to the Arms Trade
Treaty on 25 September. We continue to fight the
illegal drug trade and trafficking in persons, and we are
investing in social intervention programmes, like the
award-winning Urban Renewal Programme, in order to
fight crime.
I spoke earlier of the memorandum of understanding
signed with the International Organization for
Migration. This is one part of a multifaceted strategy
to stop the flow of undocumented non-nationals into
Bahamian territory. New policies and measures are
now in place, and there will be stricter adherence in
the future to them to stop this trafficking. A new fleet
of vessels has been purchased to support our work to
stop migrant smuggling. In the last few months, the
Bahamas has entered into important agreements with
our immediate neighbours — Cuba, the Dominican
Republic and Haiti — to come to terms with the vexing
situations that impact our good relations. Those accords
are on fishing and on migration. Let there be no doubt
that we mean to bring illegal migration under control.
Nevertheless, our relations with neighbouring
countries remain good. This is all the more reason
why we believe that the continued economic embargo
by one neighbour against another in our region is
counterproductive to the peace and good order of the
region. We continue to keep matters with regard to
the governance issues in our neighbour, the Turks and
Caicos Islands, under review.
The Bahamas looks forward to the forthcoming
launch of the International Decade for People of African
Descent, which will have as its theme “People of
African descent: recognition, justice and development”.
That theme could also be linked to the efforts of States
members of the Caribbean Community in seeking the
restorative justice due from the legacy of 400 years
of slavery. We were heartened by the unveiling of the
winning design for the permanent memorial to honour
the victims of slavery and the transatlantic slave trade.
We reaffirm our support for that important project.
The Bahamas welcomes the convening of the third
International Conference on Financing for Development,
to be held in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, in July 2015. We
plan to participate in that conference, which we expect
will provide a forum to address the need to demystify
and replace the view that gross domestic product
is the sole indicator of sustainable development — a
replacement that needs to be converted into policy — as
well as the matter of international cooperation in tax
matters. In that regard, the Bahamas reaffirms the
important role of the United Nations in addressing
matters related to international tax cooperation, given
its universality and legitimacy.
The Bahamas reaffirms its commitment to
the promotion and protection of human rights and
fundamental freedoms for all people, regardless of their
station or status in society. These rights and freedoms
are neither negotiable nor peripheral. As a demonstration
of its commitment to human rights, I am pleased to
report that the Bahamas has passed national legislation,
the Persons with Disabilities (Equal Opportunities)
Act, which will ensure its ratification of the Convention
on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities in due
course. In addition, four bills have been introduced in
Parliament with a view to amending the Constitution of
the Bahamas to bring about full equality between men
and women in law. This event will mark a significant
opportunity for the people of the Bahamas to usher in a
new era of equality for men and women.
The Bahamas looks forward to the process of
elaborating the post-2015 development agenda and to
actively participating in the intergovernmental process
that will lead to the adoption of this agenda in September
2015. Our vision for the post-2015 development agenda
is creative, inclusive and transformative.
The Bahamas endorses the idea of Security Council
reform. As we look around at the tens of millions of
dollars that have been, and are being, spent to bring the
physical structure up to code and into the twenty-first
century, why cannot we ensure that the organs of the
United Nations, especially the Security Council, also
reflect twenty-first-century realities?
Last year, the Bahamas celebrated its fortieth year
of independence. In addressing the General Assembly
last year (see A/68/PV.19), the Right Honourable Perry
Christie, Prime Minister of the Bahamas, renewed
the commitment of our country to playing its part in
making our planet a more peaceful and prosperous
place, characterized by cooperation, mutual respect and
support. We believe that each country has a primary
responsibility for its own development, and, throughout
my statement, I have indicated our achievements and
challenges in that regard. I repeat that the environment,
crime and illegal migration are issues of existential
significance to our country. However, despite the many
challenges, we are inspired by the possible outcomes.
We therefore exhort the Members of the United Nations
to stay motivated and committed, for each new effort
undertaken and each achievement registered brings us
nearer to our development goals. Now, more than ever,
we need the United Nations.