Allow me to first
extend to all of you the fraternal greetings and best
wishes of President Michel of the Republic of
Seychelles, the Government and the people of
Seychelles on the convening of the sixty-second
session of the General Assembly. Seychelles is proud
to be here today, as a partner and an ally, to further our
international efforts, to address the challenges that are
central to the future of all humanity and that pose a
threat to global political and economic stability and
security.
I join previous speakers in congratulating
Mr. Srgjan Kerim on his election to the presidency of
the General Assembly at its sixty-second session. His
election to the helm of this Assembly is a testimony to
the high esteem in which the international community
holds him and his country, the former Yugoslav
Republic of Macedonia. I take this opportunity, too, to
express my country’s sincere appreciation to his
predecessor, Sheikha Haya Rashed Al-Khalifa of
Bahrain, for her outstanding stewardship of the work of
the General Assembly at its sixty-first session.
Allow me to commend and to renew Seychelles’
strong support to Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon for
the determination and strong will he has shown since
the beginning of his tenure in office, in strengthening
the role of the United Nations.
Seychelles remains unwavering in its support of
the United Nations. Our commitment has not changed
since we joined this Organization 31 years ago. More
than ever, we believe that the world needs strong and
effective multilateralism. Indeed, we are convinced
that the most effective means of advancing our
collective interests is through the United Nations.
Seychelles is pleased that the overarching theme
of this year's session is responding to climate change,
as the General Assembly of the United Nations is the
forum for concerted and comprehensive action in
addressing a defining issue of our time.
Fifteen years ago, in 1992, Seychelles, a small
island developing State, was the second country to
accede to the United Nations Framework Convention
on Climate Change (UNFCCC). We were convinced
then, as we are now, that the Convention’s primary
objective of reducing the dangerous levels of carbon
dioxide and other greenhouse gases in the earth’s
atmosphere must be realized in order to protect the
environment and avoid serious socio-economic
disruptions. Six years later, in 1998, Seychelles
reiterated its commitment to the ideals of the UNFCCC
by adopting the Kyoto Protocol. However, the attempts
of the international community to act on those
international agreements have been modest at best.
The challenge of development has never been
higher on the international agenda. However, the
adverse impacts of climate change are a major barrier
for the achievement of sustainable development goals
in many countries, especially small island developing
States, which are recognized as being most vulnerable
to climate change.
We must emphasize again that for the majority of
small island developing States, agriculture, fisheries
and tourism have for a long time been the mainstay of
survival and economic development. Let us not forget
that small island developing States are home to a
sizeable proportion of the world’s biodiversity and that
the majority of the species are endemic and
increasingly under threat because of climate change.
In Seychelles, the fisheries sector is a key pillar
of our economy. It is expected that changes in climate
may cause migratory shifts in tuna aggregations to
other locations, thus depriving our country of one of its
main sources of income. Moreover, inshore and
traditional fishing, the mainstay of local fishermen and
a major source of food, is also highly threatened. Food
security on islands is at stake.
The impacts of climate change on the tourism
sector are also expected to be significant, and that is
why we believe that support for economic
diversification towards other revenue-generating
sectors in small island States is more than necessary.
Climate change is also a security issue. But it is
not merely a matter of narrow national security it
has a new dimension. It is a question of our collective
security and responsibility in a fragile and increasingly
interdependent world, where the notion of borders has
undergone a powerful symbolic transformation.
It is now up to politicians, businessmen and civil
society to continue the work accomplished by
scientists. The peoples of the world are increasingly
looking to their leaders to take action, and the time is
now. A week ago, at a meeting of the Global Island
Partnership in Rome, our President, James Michel,
launched the Sea Level Rise Foundation, as an attempt
to ensure that island nations have the capacity to adapt
to climate change. Together we are mobilizing
leadership, gathering resources and sharing skills,
knowledge, technologies and innovation in a cost-
effective and sustainable way that will catalyse action
for conservation and sustainable livelihoods on islands
and low-lying areas in the face of climate change.
We count on the valuable support of the
international community for ensuring the success of
this noble and important endeavour. We call on the
developed countries to take a strong lead and
commitment in combating climate change. Aspirational
global emissions reduction goals are not sufficient. We
believe that the Kyoto Protocol paves the way forward
for Annex I countries to fulfil their commitments under
UNFCCC. We urge those parties to commit to their
legally binding targets and to translate them into
concrete actions for the reduction of their gas
emissions.
We believe that a United Nations-based
multilateral approach that builds on the Kyoto Protocol
framework is the only decisive way of moving forward.
There cannot be any doubt as to the major importance
of the first steps taken at Kyoto and of the quantum
improvements brought about by the provisions of the
Protocol. The size and urgency of the problem requires
that we take bold initiatives and compromises.
However, as the globe suffers because of climate
change, it is essential that the international community
as a whole be formally and unequivocally reminded
that neither the efforts made thus far in implementing
UNFCCC, nor the emissions reduction targets, set on
average at 5.2 per cent, adopted in Kyoto represent an
adequate effort to stabilize greenhouse gas
concentrations in the atmosphere at safe levels. We
know that we need to do much more. In that regard, we
would like to take this opportunity to praise the recent
work accomplished by the Intergovernmental Panel on
Climate Change in urging the need for deeper cuts in
greenhouse gasses of 25 per cent to 40 per cent below
1990 levels by 2020. Moreover, we would like to
extend our heartfelt appreciation for the determination
shown by our Secretary-General in facilitating the
international dialogue to address the problem.
It is now up to us to build the political
momentum needed in order to ensure that a
comprehensive agreement is met at the world summit
on climate change in Bali, Indonesia. There is an
urgent need to ensure that developing nations,
including small island developing States, can continue
to develop and prosper in an equitable manner. Small
island developing States need to be equipped
financially, technically and technologically to adapt to
global climate change and sea level rise without
redirecting their limited resources from sustainable
development.
Allow me to now turn briefly to other issues that
are of particular importance to Seychelles.
First of all, Seychelles recognizes that
globalization has the potential to advance human
development throughout the world. But it is not
automatic, for globalization has also increased our
vulnerability, insecurity and the possibility of
marginalization.
It is internationally recognized that trade can be
an important source of financing for development. In
this particular context, Seychelles strongly believes
that more emphasis should be placed on the
development dimension of small island developing
States in multilateral trade negotiations, in recognition
of their specificities and structural handicaps.
Moreover, in our view, ownership of development
orientations by recipient countries is the precondition
for the emergence of a true partnership in development
cooperation.
Furthermore, it is extremely important that the
whole issue of development policies and cooperation
be monitored closely within the international system.
Decisions affecting development are being taken in
different arenas, forums and agencies. Increasingly,
there is the need to ensure coherence in policies and
programmes. The international system currently does
not have an effective mechanism for conducting such
an exercise. We reiterate our belief that one of the
urgent tasks of the moment is to create a mechanism
within the international architecture that will focus on
trade, finance, technology and development policy in
an integrated manner.
Seychelles remains determined to build its
economy based on our assertion of the principle of
responsibility for our own development. Our efforts at
economic re-engineering have been very dynamic. The
Seychelles Strategy 2017 commits the Government of
the Republic of Seychelles to doubling the gross
domestic product in the next 10 years. The reforms
being undertaken will not only ensure that our
economy continues to grow but also will facilitate the
participation of every Seychellois in wealth creation.
That is the commitment of the Government of
Seychelles. However, owing to our inherent
vulnerabilities, we need the support of the international
community in guaranteeing that the considerable
successes achieved so far in the economic and social
sectors are not lost.
I have spoken thus far on climate and
development issues, which are both closely related to
other critical areas of the international agenda. One
such area concerns peace and security. It is tragic and
painful to witness the continued cycle of violence
around the world. Peace accords and ceasefire
agreements do not, unfortunately, entail a cessation of
hostilities.
We support the strong will shown by the United
Nations, working alongside the African Union, in
ensuring that peace and security are brought to the
people in the Darfur region of the Sudan. Seychelles
associates itself with all those calling and working for
peace in Africa, the Middle East, Asia and elsewhere.
Against the backdrop of increased violence from
war and terrorism, it is clear to us that violence and the
use of force cannot be the answer. We must embrace
multilateralism and insist that international relations be
guided by the rule of law as the basis for our collective
security.
The United Nations remains a significant partner
and interlocutor of the modern development and
progress of Seychelles. It is with complete faith, as a
small island developing State, that we renew our trust
in the principles of the Charter. We cannot stop
emphasizing the compelling urgency of altering the
design and function of the Security Council, if it is to
fulfil the mandate conferred by the Charter of 1945 in
the realities of the world today.
With regard to the General Assembly, what is
needed is a resuscitation and use of the powers of the
General Assembly and the assertion of its role as the
principal organ of the United Nations. The Assembly is
a forum of equals. Its pronouncements and policy
decisions must carry the stamp of legitimacy as the
voice of the international community. However, we
must emphasize that, irrespective of whatever
institutional arrangements we may devise, in the final
analysis, it is the commitment and political will among
Member States alone that can make the system work.
(spoke in French)
In the demanding context of globalization,
regions are players with which the multilateral
organizations, donors and international investors
devote increasingly sustained attention. The regional
approach is also the best bastion when it comes to
mounting defences against terrorism, insecurity,
banditry, trafficking, pandemics, or to providing an
efficient response to disasters in real time. A region is,
ultimately, for the countries that comprise it, the
strongest legal space in which those countries can
obtain the natural resources and raw materials that they
share.
That is, therefore, the aim of the Indian Ocean
Commission, which strives to defend the interests of all
countries of the Indian Ocean in all areas. What it
represents today and the place that it occupies in the
landscape of regional cooperation organizations is due,
in large part, to the specialized agencies of the United
Nations. I would very much wish for that support to be
strengthened in the coming months, so that the
Commission truly has the means to achieve its
ambitions. The observer status that the Commission
obtained in the General Assembly on 4 December 2006
enabled our regional organization to acquire additional
legitimacy to work with the specialized agencies of the
United Nations. We welcome those new prospects and
paths of cooperation.
The future of generations to come rests not so
much on the vigour of our debate and the declarations
we make in this Assembly at its sixty-second session,
but on the action we take. Our people are demanding
that, collectively, we emerge with a clear vision, that
we display the courage and unrelenting commitment to
build a world of peace, justice and equity that we can
inhabit together in true harmony. Let us here resolve to
build one world where every man, woman and child
can realize the true purpose and fulfilment of life.