I am extremely
pleased that a son of the Caribbean — and one with such
a wealth of experience and tested diplomatic skills — is
presiding over the General Assembly at its sixty-eighth
session. I commend the Secretary-General, His
Excellency Mr. Ban Ki-moon, for his untiring efforts
to promote international peace and development, and I
thank him for his exemplary leadership.
The theme for our debate, “The post-2015
development agenda: setting the stage”, catapults
development to the centre of the United Nations
agenda, impelling us to elaborate a meaningful and far-
reaching development framework for the benefit of all.
Our deliberations and actions during this session must
therefore send a clear message of hope to the many
millions who, sadly, are still living in poverty and
inequity. Let us redouble our efforts to fight against the
scourge of poverty. It was the late Jamaican national
hero, Marcus Mosiah Garvey, who aptly said:
“Poverty is a hellish state to be in. It is no
virtue. It is a crime. To be poor is to be hungry
without possible hope of food; to be sick without
hope of medicine; to be tired and sleepy without
a place to lay one’s head; to be naked without the
hope of clothing; to be despised and comfortless.
To be poor is to be a fit subject for crime and hell.”
Too many of the world’s citizens are facing that
reality. We need to fulfil the Millennium Declaration
(resolution 55/2), which entrusted to us the responsibility
to chart a path towards development underpinned by
a commitment to eradicate poverty on the basis of a
global partnership.
As the deadline for the attainment of the Millennium
Development Goals draws near, with under 1,000 days
remaining, we face many challenges, including the
global economic and financial crisis, climate change,
natural disasters, high levels of debt and conflict.
With the limited time remaining, it is imperative for
us to accelerate our efforts. Anything less would be a
disservice to our people.
While we contemplate a post-2015 development
framework, we must also complete unfinished business
in the reduction of extreme poverty and hunger,
combating HIV/AIDS, halting and reversing the
incidence of malaria and tuberculosis and increasing
access to reproductive health care. In our deliberations
on a post-2015 development agenda, we must determine
how best to shape a global compact that is universal and
people-centred and that strikes the balance between
the need for robust economic growth, job creation
and poverty eradication and the equally important
need to preserve and protect the environment. Our
deliberations have to take into account the special needs
of disadvantaged groups of countries, in particular the
vulnerable group of small island developing States
(SIDS), which are grappling with climate change, sea-
level rise and the need to deal with new and emerging
economic and social situations.
We are pleased that international attention will
be focused on small island developing States in 2014,
when the international community will observe the
International Year of Small Island Developing States.
The success of the Samoa Conference in 2014 will
depend on strong international support for and the
mainstreaming of SIDS issues in all activities across
the United Nations system.
A sustainable approach to development should
include people with disabilities in the post-2015
development agenda. It should also provide for the
prevention and control of non-communicable diseases
and additional financial resources to sustain the global
fight against HIV/AIDS.
Another major threat to development is the high
incidence of road crashes. I call on all countries to
take the challenge of reducing injuries and fatalities
resulting from road crashes and traffic accidents more
seriously as a crucial policy issue.
There is an urgent need for innovative and
sustainable financing to underpin our development
efforts. Reforms should be undertaken in a manner
that will assist middle-income developing countries
to deal with the challenges they face. Those reforms
must address public debt sustainability and review the
classification system of middle-income developing
countries with a view to coming up with more relevant
and appropriate measures of development.
There is an urgent need for greater focus on job
creation, including for unemployed youth. I note that
the International Labour Organization has estimated
that global unemployment will rise to 202 million
this year. That alarming statistic is overshadowed by
estimate of the global working poor, which is in the
order of 869 million, almost 400 million of whom
live in extreme poverty. Growth in joblessness is
reflected in rural and urban pockets of poverty and
social deprivation. Increased investment in developing
countries with a focus on job creation is an avenue that
must be actively pursued.
We need to provide more assistance for people
to cope with daily life, as growth and prosperity are
unevenly distributed and the most vulnerable are at
risk of falling through the cracks, being overlooked
and failing to achieve a decent quality of life. Social
protection schemes should work effectively to provide
for basic needs and encourage target groups to pursue
self-advancement while facilitating empowerment
and fostering greater inclusiveness. As countries like
Jamaica implement strategies to deal with indebtedness
and also encourage growth and investment, it is
critical that international financial institutions and
multilateral and other development partners recognize
the importance of social protection mechanisms.
As we forge the agenda for development for the
next decade and beyond, we do so in part on behalf of
a group that is very close to my heart — our children.
The future we want, the future we craft, the future we
achieve will be our legacy to our children. We must
redouble our efforts to safeguard their rights and
enhance their development. Despite limited resources,
Jamaica continues to make every effort to meet its
obligations to its children. We condemn violence and
abuse against our children and reaffirm our commitment
to safeguarding and promoting the rights of children
everywhere. We must leave no child behind.
The issue of human trafficking is of paramount
concern. I am always mindful of the horrors and evils
of slavery, both in history and in its modern-day form.
I am particularly moved by the knowledge that young
girls and boys are torn daily from the bosom of their
families, taken to strange lands, placed in subhuman
conditions and forced to perform unspeakable acts. We
must unite in our efforts to eliminate that transnational
scourge and bring an end to human trafficking among
our women, men and children. We must ensure that in
these modern times we do not have a re-enactment of
slavery.We must stamp it out wherever it exists and bring
the perpetrators to justice. We must protect our future
generations. Never again should anything resembling
slavery be tolerated anywhere.
Jamaica is proud to lead the efforts, in collaboration
with the countries of the Caribbean Community and
members of the African Union, to have the permanent
memorial to the victims of slavery and the transatlantic
slave trade erected here at the United Nations. The
unveiling of the winning design of the permanent
memorial earlier this week signals an important chapter
in our journey to honour the memory of the millions of
men and women who were subject to untold atrocities.
When I attended the unveiling I was reminded of the
words of our reggae icon, Bob Marley:
“Old pirates, yes, they rob I;
Sold I to the merchant ships,
Minutes after they took IFrom the bottomless pit.
But my hand was made strongBy the hand of the Almighty.
We forward in this generationTriumphantly.”
We are grateful for the generous contributions
towards the erection of the memorial, and we encourage
the international community to continue to show
financial support for that important initiative.
Jamaica supports the call for an international
discussion in a non-confrontational manner on the
question of reparations. We fully support the initiative
to proclaim a decade for people of African descent.
The quest for development will not be complete
without requisite attention being paid to peace and
security. My heart goes out to the families of the victims
of the horrific attack in Kenya. Transnational organized
criminal enterprises wreak havoc on economies and
challenge the capacity of States to deal with those
threats. No country is immune to the direct or indirect
effects of the scourge of transnational crime. Increased
collaboration is necessary in confronting such threats
to human development. To that end, we welcome the
recent opening for signature of the landmark Arms
Trade Treaty in June of this year, which represents one
of many steps that the international community must
take towards defeating terrorism, crime and violence.
Jamaica is currently embarking on the process leading
to ratification of the Treaty.
Bilateral and regional cooperation through
information-sharing, capacity-building and assistance
are integral to dealing with crime, violence and security
issues.
We remain deeply concerned about the suffering of
the people in Syria and join the international community
in condemning the use of chemical weapons. We
welcome the recent positive steps taken by the Security
Council. Jamaica remains firmly committed to a just,
lasting and peaceful solution to the situation in the
Middle East.
Turning closer to home, the trade and economic
embargo against our neighbour Cuba has caused its
people untold hardship. It has no place in the twenty-
first century. We reiterate our call for an end to the
embargo against Cuba and to extraterritorial measures
that target third-party countries.
Jamaica has never lost faith in the influence for
good that exists here at the United Nations. We are
fully aware that the expectations and aspirations of
peoples rest in our hands. At this pivotal moment in
history, let us revitalize the partnership on which this
great institution is built. I draw on the words of the civil
rights leader Martin Luther King, Jr., when he said,
“The ultimate measure of a man is not where he
stands in moments of comfort and convenience
but where he stands at times of challenge and
controversy.”
The challenges and expectations of our time are
indeed great. It falls to our generation to take a stand.
Now is the time to act.