It is with
great honour that I address the General Assembly at its
sixty-eighth session on behalf of the President of the
Republic of Seychelles, Mr. James Alix Michel, and on
behalf of the Seychellois people. I wish to congratulate
Ambassador John Ashe on his election as President and
on his guidance of the proceedings so far.
In 2014, we will mark the United Nations
International Year of Small Island Developing States.
Mr. Ashe’s appointment during the sixty-eighth session
is highly symbolic of the constructive role that small
island developing States play within the United Nations,
and we express our full support for his efforts to further
promote inclusiveness and full participation.
I would also like to join all those who preceded me
in complimenting Mr. Vuk Jeremi. on his leadership
of the General Assembly at its sixty-seventh session,
during which he stressed the unifying elements of the
Assembly. Allow me to also express our appreciation to
Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon for the determination
and commitment he has shown since the beginning
of his tenure of office to strengthening the role of the
United Nations.
For the Seychelles delegation, the General
Assembly evokes the spirit of humanity’s common
cause better than any other institution. Indeed, in this
Hall, we are reminded that there are no large nations
or small nations, rich nations or poor nations, powerful
nations or weak nations — simply the United Nations.
As a small island developing State, we are perhaps
also more conscious than most countries that very
little can be achieved through isolation. Our economy
is built around its connectivity to the world economy.
Our security is easily undermined by events beyond our
control. Our environmental safety is also dependent on
many factors that have an impact beyond our borders.
Both our opportunities and our risks can be addressed
only through international partnerships.
As we have discussions and exchanges of ideas on
the post-2015 development agenda, we believe that the
experiences of our group of States provide contexts that
can help us to design a better development model. As
we aim to set sustainable development goals, we must
keep in mind that, if we can sustain our island, then we
will know that we can sustain our planet.
In 2013 Seychelles was given the honour to host
the Atlantic, Indian Ocean, Mediterranean and South
China Seas Sub-Regional Preparatory Meeting for
the Third International Conference on Small Island
Developing States, to be held next year in Samoa.
The participation in the preparatory event by both
the Under-Secretary-General of the Department of
Economic and Social Affairs and the President of the
General Assembly was highly appreciated as a symbol
of support for the concerns of islands. Our discussions
there, and in the ongoing process, have highlighted the
fact that there is an urgent need for the United Nations
to adopt a “resilience” that takes into account the
evolving developing needs of islands.
In Rio last year, we identified the green economy
and the blue economy as tools with which States may
implement a more sustainable approach to development.
We are convinced that the green economy cannot be
properly addressed unless we also give more attention
to what is termed the blue economy, which is based on
harnessing the development potential of our oceans
sustainably. Oceans make up 72 per cent of our planet
and connect our nations in terms of geography, trade,
transport and communications. We consider island
nations such as ourselves as guardians of that space,
even if in many cases we can but be witnesses to
plunder, pillage and pollution.
The status quo merely perpetuates a model where
we will consume our planet’s resources with no long-
term protection, while the menace of climate change
continues to grow as a threat to our economies, our way
of life and our existence.
To further mobilize reflection and action on the
concept of the blue economy, Seychelles is pleased to
be able to organize, in partnership with the United Arab
Emirates, a special high-level event to be held as part
of the Abu Dhabi Sustainability Week on 21 January
2014. The blue economy also represents an unparalleled
opportunity for Africa. As an African island nation, we
have continued to call for more attention to be given to
the sustainable development of Africa’s coastal areas
and its oceans. We can transform Africa’s oceans from
being sources of raw products for distant nations to a
space where Africa’s trade needs are prioritized and
where Africa can better protect its oceanic resources.
As an African island State, Seychelles continues to
prioritize the security of our maritime spaces. In terms
of maritime security, Seychelles reiterates its desire
to build partnerships to create better coordination and
sharing of information in the immediate region and
beyond.
Seychelles has also set up a Regional Anti-Piracy
Prosecution and Intelligence Coordination Centre, and
it also hosts an anti-piracy cell of the Indian Ocean
Commission to build the maritime security capacity
of the island States. The tools we have developed
through such initiatives have strengthened our ability
as a region to deter other criminal activities, such as
arms trafficking, drug trafficking, people trafficking
and illegal fishing. We look forward to building on
those successes with our partners in order to create
an effective coordination mechanism for maritime
security in our region.
As we consider the security situation in East
Africa, may I also take this opportunity to express our
solidarity and our sympathy to the Government and
the people of Kenya, as well as personally to President
Uhuru Kenyatta, as Kenya recovers from the barbaric
attacks in Nairobi on Saturday.
Such acts of terrorism strengthen our resolve to
ensure that we build a shared future free of the forces
of division and hostility. We also salute the efforts of
the Government of Somalia in its dedication to ensure
that forces of extremism and intolerance have no place
in our shared region.
Similarly, we are encouraged by the positive
developments in relation to the expected first round
of presidential elections to be held in Madagascar in
October. Elections represent the path towards resolving
the crisis in that neighbouring island, and we are
encouraged that the basis for the resolution of the crisis
discussed during the Southern African Development
Community mediation, with the support of the Indian
Ocean Islands Commission, held in Seychelles in the
year 2012, have come to fruition.
During the sixty-eighth session, Seychelles will
continue to be an advocate for peace and stability and
will urge all nations to work through the mechanisms
of the United Nations towards resolving existing
crises. Seychelles condemns in the strongest terms
any use of chemical weapons or any other weapon of
mass destruction. As one of the first signatories of the
Arms Trade Treaty, Seychelles also urges all nations to
actively engage in that treaty process so as to reduce the
risk of arms trades, which remains one of the biggest
challenges for our region and the world.
Finally, during the sixty-eighth session, Seychelles
will continue to call for every effort to be made to
reduce the marginalization of island States, and it is in
that context that we reiterate the call for the removal of
the embargo against our brotherly nation of Cuba.
Seychelles is a nation that believes that all voices
count. In speaking out on behalf of small islands that
are often marginalized in international processes, we
believe that we have a duty to ensure that all perspectives
are considered. It is because of our commitment to
that inclusive approach to the United Nations and
to multilateralism that Seychelles has announced its
intention to stand as a candidate for a non-permanent
seat on the Security Council for the period 2017-2018.
As a nation that has never served before, we are actively
engaged in discussions in our East African constituency,
and we appreciate the opportunity to engage with all
nations that wish to share their views. We look forward
to many fruitful discussions.
In conclusion, I would like to emphasize that our
approach towards the sustainable development goals
must be even broader and more inclusive than for the
Millennium Development Goals. The challenges are
obvious: poverty, climate change and energy, among
others. The list can go on indefinitely, but we believe
that there is also a shared opportunity in setting the
sustainable development goals. There is an opportunity
to reflect the true interconnectivity of our planet
through the adoption of interconnected objectives.
Shared objectives will lead to shared success. That is
the conviction of Seychelles.