On behalf of the Government and the people of the Republic of Nauru, allow me to congratulate His Excellency Mr. Dennis Francis on his assumption of the presidency of the General Assembly at its seventy-eighth session. It is always a pleasure to see another small island developing State taking up the leadership mantle. Please let me assure the President of my delegation’s full cooperation and support as he leads this body in rebuilding trust and reigniting global solidarity. Allow me to also thank His Excellency Mr. Csaba Korosi for his exceptional stewardship during the seventy-seventh session and note the many successful initiatives undertaken during his tenure. including continuing the President of the General Assembly Fellowship Programme, which promotes and supports youth engagement for the next generation of diplomats.
Allow me also to extend my sincere condolences to the Governments and people of Morocco and Libya for the recent devastating earthquakes and floods, as they seek relief and recovery during this time.
As the new President of Nauru, it is an honour to speak here at an institution built on the ideals of peace, justice, respect, human rights, tolerance and solidarity — an institution in which all countries are deemed equal. As the smallest Member State of this body, those ideals have important resonance. We are all part of an interconnected system that is increasingly growing smaller, and our dependence on each other to weather global challenges increases every day. Will only the strong survive or will we work to ensure that no one is left behind? Will we reform and ensure progress in this institution to reflect the realities of today or continue in the same dated fashion — a fashion that does not reflect our current, lived realities? If we are to lift ourselves and future generations up and ensure that we are on a path to peace, prosperity, progress and sustainability for all. we all need to be dedicated to finding a way forward that reflects the world as it now stands — a world that is currently riddled with inequity.
A critical step in the way forward must be the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). While the United Nations community was able to come together to adopt the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable
Development in 2015 and celebrated this achievement of multilateralism at the time, we must admit that we are far from on track to achieve them — and by extension to achieve sustainable development for people and planet. Given the resources that have been allocated at the regional and international levels to achieve the SDGs. that is deeply concerning. In our view, such a failure to substantially move the needle in the light of the resources provided is an indication that funding is not being properly allocated or used. In our region, there are too many workshops, too many studies upon studies, too many discussions without enough support for critical on-the-ground projects. It is a small island for goodness’ sake. It is like we are trying to launch a rocket to the sun.
Moreover, the realities of what is needed for implementation on the ground in a Pacific small island, with limited capacity and people, is rarely properly accounted for. Issues around small things, which larger economies can discount — for example, access to basic materials — can become insurmountable when a country is trying to build a school or repair a road. If we are serious about meeting the SDGs. we must ensure that needed resources make it to the right places. That includes places like Nauru where, in the face of multiple global crises piled on top of national challenges, our ability to progress has been less than desirable. In order to shift Nauru, and others, back on track to achieve the 2030 Agenda, we need to take bold steps and create and build partnerships that are built on mutual respect among equals.
To build such sustainable partnerships, we will need a more accurate and nuanced system of categorization of vulnerabilities. Based on existing measurements for official development assistance — gross national income (GNI) and gross domestic product (GDP) — Nauru is eligible for neither grants nor loans. However. GNI and GDP alone do not sufficiently capture Nauru’s vulnerabilities, and we are therefore unable to access much-needed financing to enable the implementation of national development strategies and activities. The multidimensional vulnerability index provides a practical solution to that issue and will ensure that Nauru is measured as it truly is — a struggling, small island developing State in great need of significant financial aid. Nauru calls for the adoption of the multidimensional vulnerability index by Member States, including the establishment of an interim secretariat that will support its operationalization and implementation by all stakeholders, including as a criterion for access to low-cost and long-term financing based on this index. Creating this more accurate picture of our national circumstances will be an important foundation upon which real and durable partnerships can be built. And it goes without saying that any categorization for access to aid should be applied in an even-handed and non-politicized way. We have been deeply disappointed to hear that, in some instances, the categorization of the Development Assistance Committee of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development has been manipulated around purely political interests. That cannot be allowed to happen, as it undermines the integrity of the entire system and is nothing shy of blatant manipulation.
Another pathway to accelerating action on the 2030 Agenda will be the recognition and incorporation of the special circumstances of small island developing States (SIDS) into our work at every level. Such an opportunity will present itself when we meet for the SIDS conference in May of next year in Antigua and Barbuda. If we are to make good on the promises for which the United Nations stands, the next SIDS conference must deliver the transformation needed to ensure that SIDS are more resilient to external shocks. That can only be achieved through adopting a more focused, measurable and fully resourced programme of action that is tailored to the circumstances of SIDS and provides practical and operational solutions to accelerate our sustainable development. The support of development partners and the international community, including funding, is critical for the next 10-year programme of action, as we seek to move towards resilient prosperity.
Even if these strides are taken towards the achievement of the 2030 Agenda, any progress made is at risk if we do not address the threat of climate change. The adverse impacts are no longer a future problem. We have seen ourselves the ever-increasing disasters: fires, typhoons, heat waves and a burning ocean. What kind of legacy are we creating? It is essential that the global community accelerates its efforts to adapt and mitigate climate change and keep a 1.5°C limit to temperature rise within reach. That cannot be said enough, and so I will say it again: it is essential that the global community accelerates its efforts to adapt and mitigate climate change and keep a 1.5°C limit to temperature rise within reach.
We call on all States to take ambitious action in their implementation of the Paris Agreement and decisions under the Paris Agreement, including the Glasgow Climate Pact and the Sharm El-Sheikh Implementation Plan. And we note our disappointment that the goal of $100 billion a year has not been reached and that the distribution of funds allocated has not been equitable. And so. we join the call to reform the international financial system to make climate and development finance more affordable and adequate and positioned to combat the scale of climate crises. Nauru looks forward to a meaningful twenty-eighth Conference of the Parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, to be held in the United Arab Emirates, one that achieves the shared ambition and commitment to deliver progress and keep 1.5°C within reach.
We also continue to call on the Secretary-General to appoint a special representative on climate and security. That could improve the ability of the United Nations to address climate-related security risks, including through regular reporting on the security implications of climate change. Similarly, we see the need to seek additional paths to climate action and hope that the advisory opinions to come from the International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea and the International Court of Justice will jump-start more ambitious climate action.
On that point. Nauru would emphasize that we cannot expect the trajectory of global emissions to slow down and be reduced if viable energy alternatives are not provided. Deep seabed minerals hold the answer, with polymetallic nodules providing the alternative for big emitters to make a just energy transition away from fossil fuels and towards much cleaner and renewable energy technologies. In that regard. Nauru calls on the members of the International Seabed Authority to fulfil their obligation and finalize the exploitation regulations that ensure that the collection of seafloor minerals are conducted with utmost responsibility and respect for our marine ecosystem while providing benefits for all humankind.
As a big ocean State, a healthy, productive and resilient ocean is a pillar upon which our future rests. We are proud to have been actively engaged in the negotiations and successful conclusion of the Agreement under the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea on the Conservation and Sustainable Use of Marine Biological Diversity of Areas beyond National Jurisdiction. Nauru welcomes the adoption of the Agreement earlier this year and calls for international support to build our capacity to ratify and implement the provisions of the legally binding agreement on the conservation and sustainable use of marine biodiversity of areas beyond national jurisdiction including the conservation of biological diversity, the sustainable use of its components and the fair and equitable sharing of the benefits arising out of the utilization of genetic resources.
Finally, as we have done before, we raise the critical importance of ensuring sustainable fisheries. That includes ensuring that overfishing is not taking place, that fair prices are paid to small islands for fish taken from our water and that we eliminate illegal, unreported and unregulated fishing.
Nauru’s long-term national vision, as articulated in its national sustainable development strategy, outlines a future in which individual, community, business and Government partnerships contribute to a sustainable quality of life for all Nauruans. The central message of that strategy is partnership for quality of life. A key pillar will be ensuring the health of our people.
To achieve that. Nauru remains committed to a health strategy centred on prevention. During the coronavirus disease (COVID-19). Nauru followed a stringent “capture and contain” strategy, which required all visitors to Nauru to undergo testing and quarantine at the border. That strategy protected Nauru during most of the pandemic, giving the health system valuable time to establish an acute-care ward to treat and isolate potential COVID-19 patients, streamline testing regimes and treatment protocols and vaccinate vulnerable members of the community. The systems that were developed for COVID-19 are now available for future pandemic responses, should they be required. We acknowledge and thank our partners for their support in that regard.
However. Nauru remains vulnerable to communicable-disease outbreaks. The pandemic proved the urgent need for extensive investment towards strengthening the institutional and infrastructure needs of Nauru’s fragile health system. In a post-pandemic reality, we must ensure that rebuilding efforts are centred on building resilience. We must remain vigilant in ensuring that our vaccination rates remain high and are not undermined by the spread of misinformation and fear-mongering through mainstream and social media. Nauru needs support and technical expertise to develop innovative solutions, such as e-medicine and development and use of digital technologies for
outpatient referrals and patient records, in order to address viral risks.
In that regard, we would like to thank our friends from Cuba. There is still much to be learned from their innovation in the field of health. Cuba developed their own COVID-19 vaccines. Moreover, they help others by deploying their medical brigade worldwide. As a staunch friend of Cuba, we call for an end to the embargo imposed by the United States.
We must also recognize and thank the Republic of China (Taiwan) for its help and support with regard to our health system. They continue to be a leader in the application of good practices in containing and responding to disease. We call for its recognition and its right to participate and engage with us all in this global forum on this issue and in the implementation of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and its Sustainable Development Goals, leaving no one behind.
Another crucial element for accelerating action on the 2030 Agenda and its Sustainable Development Goals towards peace, prosperity, progress and sustainability for all is education. Nauru continues to prioritize and invest in strengthening and developing its education sector given its pivotal role as a key driver of sustainable development. On a national scale. Nauru aims to improve the quality and broaden the scope and reach of education.
In a post-pandemic reality, the immediate concern, globally and domestically, is to address the education gap. Innovation and increased and improved investment are urgently needed in order to improve access to. and the quality of. education. We are also prioritizing quality infrastructure, tailored to the unique needs of Nauru. That will need to be matched with relevant curricula and effective monitoring and evaluation frameworks, such as benchmarking.
None of that can happen without our teachers. Teacher attraction and retention continue to be an issue —not just in Nauru, but worldwide. The demands of. and lack of support for. the teaching profession is being manifested in a lack of qualified teachers on our island. We need to do more and better on that front, including by reviewing education-delivery models through increased involvement of homes and the development of inexpensive, alternate models of delivery via communication technologies and through improved information and communication technologies infrastructure in schools in order to enhance programme delivery.
We must uphold the purposes and principles of the Charter of the United Nations and we must work together to uphold the rules-based multilateral system in order to secure international peace, security and prosperity for a safe and just world for all. leaving no country behind. For that to happen, the United Nations must be. nimble on the ground and must meet the global challenges we face today.
I would like to share what time has taught me. Our community — Nauru, the Pacific, the small islands, the international community — is more robust when we stand united. That becomes even more imperative for matters of common interest that have the potential to benefit our peoples in future generations. But we must stand united for the right things, the important things and the hard things.
In a nutshell. I echo the opening remarks of Secretary-General Guterres, we need to renew the United Nations multilateral system, reform the Security Council and redesign the international financial architecture because it is simply not working anymore and is an outdated system that has been in place for too long. In Nauru’s case, like that of other small island developing States, we become victims within the global architecture and compromise our freedom and voice as a sovereign State.
May God bless the Republic of Nauru, and may God bless the United Nations.