I stand in the
Hall today as the leader of one of the smallest countries
in the world — small by size, population and resources.
I also stand here today with a proud heart and a strong
voice because my small country of Antigua and
Barbuda has produced a giant in the world’s geopolitical
sphere. He is among the finest and most accomplished
diplomats to have ever walked these great halls. The
Government and people of Antigua and Barbuda send
congratulations to His Excellency Ambassador John
William Ashe on his election as President of the General
Assembly at its sixty-eighth session. We are beyond
sure that he will guide this body through a successful
session. I offer congratulations also to his predecessor,
His Excellency Mr. Vuk Jeremi., on a job well done
and for his unrelenting service to the international
community.
Exactly five years ago today, I stood in this
hallowed Hall and stated that:
“We are all members of one body. The welfare
of the weakest and the welfare of the most powerful
are inseparably bound together. Industry cannot
flourish if labour languishes. Transportation
cannot prosper if manufacturing declines. The
general welfare cannot be provided for in any one
act, but it is well to remember that the benefit of
one is the benefit of all, and the neglect of one is the
neglect of all.” (A/64/PV.7, p. 32)
With the ever-increasing gaps in equality among
nations, the challenges for developing countries over
the years have remained vast. In trying to address
the issue of inequality and to diminish very basic
human challenges by 2015, world leaders adopted
the Millennium Declaration (resolution 55/2) and
the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs). The
MDGs were described as a milestone in international
cooperation. With a 15-year timespan for their
implementation, the Declaration was widely expected
to inspire development and to directly improve the lives
of hundreds of millions of people. They are the people
who are struggling to survive in the most basic living
conditions and who are suffering from the effects of
poverty, gender inequities, ill health and environmental
degradation.
Thirteen years have gone by, and what do we, as a
global community, have to show in terms of concrete
results? No matter which side of the lens we look
through, something is appallingly wrong. With less
than two years to go before 2015, we must ask ourselves
as leaders why those commitments, related to the most
significant global declaration made to the world’s most
vulnerable people, are not being fulfilled.
It is important for me to be extremely clear. I am
not here to declare the MDGs dead, nor am I advocating
that they be interred. Rather, I remain convinced that
they can still be refocused, reformed, reshaped and
rebranded into a new mechanism post-2015.
We find ourselves standing at the precipice of 2015,
that crucial defining moment. The current moment
is captured by notable but uneven developments in
some crucial areas. Considerable gaps remain and new
challenges have emerged. As leaders we must therefore
acknowledge that now more than ever, through the
process of globalization, individuals and societies
from one corner of the Earth to another, from oceans
and continents, are intricately connected and more
interdependent than ever before. Therefore, a post-2015
development agenda must concede that fact and be
guided by that reality.
The deliberations for international collaboration
and development ahead of 2015 present the opportunity
to redirect previous notions of prosperity and
development among nations. Considering the current
world economic, social and environmental challenges,
that is indisputably critical.
We must concede that the current structure of the
internationally agreed development goals does not
provide satisfactory remedies to our universal problems,
which include an increase in global warming, the
escalating gap between the worlds’s rich and the poor,
the further deterioration of the world’s financial system
and the uneven roles that developed and developing
countries play in responding to and addressing issues
of universal importance and impact on our societies.
Taking into account some of those shortcomings, now
is the opportune time for setting the stage for a post-
2015 development agenda that is all-inclusive, effective
and pragmatic.
Of concern to Antigua and Barbuda are the failings
of the international community in fulfilling the aims
and objectives outlined in the Barbados Programme
of Action for the Sustainable Development of Small
Island Developing States (SIDS). The year 2014 will
mark the twentieth anniversary of the first Global
Conference on the Sustainable Development of Small
Island Developing States, which was held in Barbados
in 1994.
Looking back over the 20 years since that
Conference, we see that the international community’s
actions to address the unique and special circumstances
of SIDS have been lacking. It is my hope that the SIDS
conference in Samoa in 2014 will give the international
community the opportunity to correct the wrongs made
and to improve on shortcomings with regard to SIDS.
The conference will also present us with a third chance
to identify a set of concrete actions, which will be
needed for the further implementation of the Barbados
Programme of Action and the Mauritius Strategy for
Implementation and thereby regain momentum lost by
SIDS in the quest for sustainable development.
We welcome the decision by the United Nations
family to designate 2014 as the International Year of
Small Island Developing States. Antigua and Barbuda
pledges to highlight throughout 2014 the issue of SIDS
with the aim of reinvigorating the SIDS agenda.
My Government firmly believes in promoting
partnerships supporting sustainable development based
on the principles of mutual respect and understanding,
equality and a genuine desire to affect the social and
economic development of all. My Government has
deepened our integration efforts with our Caribbean
Community (CARICOM) brothers and sisters, focusing
on fully implementing the CARICOM Single Market
and Economy, as well as deepening the various
subregional regulatory frameworks.
As a member of the smaller grouping of the
Organization of Eastern Caribbean States (OECS),
Antigua and Barbuda has fully joined and endorsed the
OECS economic union in an effort to build on the shared
tradition of our subregional integration arrangements
and to expand the areas of shared sovereignty in order
to survive and ultimately thrive. At the same time,
my Government has secured full participation in the
Bolivarian Alliance for the Peoples of Our America
and the Community of Latin American and Caribbean
States, as we seek to further strengthen the integration
and development of Latin America and the Caribbean.
It is a recognized fact, but one worth repeating, that
small island States contribute the least to the causes
of climate change yet suffer the most from its effects.
We small island States have expressed our profound
disappointment at the lack of tangible action within
the negotiations on the United Nations Framework
Convention on Climate Change to protect SIDS and
other vulnerable countries, their peoples, culture,
land and ecosystems. The responsibility for mitigating
climate change is shared by all nations, developed
and developing. However, developed countries
should shoulder their moral, ethical and historical
responsibility for emitting anthropogenic greenhouse
gases into the atmosphere. It is those actions that have
now put the planet in jeopardy and compromised the
well-being of present and future generations.
Vulnerable developing societies such as ours are
also victims of the globalization of crime, notably
in the havoc wrought by handguns in the possession
of criminal elements, by narcotrafficking that is
essentially targeted at markets in developed countries
and by the deportation of criminals to our shores. We
urge the international community, in recognition of
the link between globalization and crime, to provide
greater support for the efforts of small island States
such as Antigua and Barbuda to address the escalation
of crime and strengthen the rule of law in combating
international drug trafficking. We further call on our
developed partners to reduce the practice of deporting
violent criminals to our shores. Most of those deportees
have neither connection nor familiarity with our
countries.
Antigua and Barbuda is proud to be among
the growing number of States that have signed and
ratified the Arms Trade Treaty (ATT). The Treaty
will, among other things, assist Antigua and Barbuda
in enhancing its capacity to tackle the scourge created
by the illicit trade in small arms and light weapons
and their ammunition, which is associated with other
transboundary crimes, such as drug trafficking. We have
emphasized throughout the process that such crimes
have had a negative impact on the socioeconomic well-
being of our societies. Antigua and Barbuda stresses
the importance of the early entry into force of the ATT
and will continue to work energetically with Member
States to ensure its entry into force.
Another threat to the sustainable development of
small island developing States such as Antigua and
Barbuda is the rise in non-communicable diseases
(NCDs). The situation is at an alarming stage, as
hundreds succumb annually. For Antigua and Barbuda,
the prevention, care and treatment of non-communicable
diseases continue to be a challenge. Heart disease,
diabetes, cancer, cardiovascular disease and chronic
respiratory diseases continue to be the leading causes of
death in our region. Our health-care system, economy
and population are heavily burdened by NCDs; it is for
that reason that my Government has become even more
proactive in addressing the issue. Health care continues
to be basically free for Antiguans and Barbudans, and
the Government often helps citizens seek treatment
abroad when our facilities at home are unable to provide
it. I ask the Assembly to continue to keep the issue of
NCDs high on its agenda.
My small developing nation of Antigua and Barbuda
has sought to ensure that the trade rules agreed to by a
majority of members of the international community,
including the United States of America, are adhered
to. I take this opportunity to once again draw the
Assembly’s attention to a trade dispute between my
country and the United States of America that has been
ongoing for a decade and which has been submitted
to the dispute settlement system of the World Trade
Organization (WTO). I draw the Assembly’s attention
to the dispute because I believe it has the potential to
damage the credibility and undermine the utility of
the WTO’s dispute settlement system and of the WTO
itself.
My Government won the case at both the original
and appellate levels and yet, a decade later, the end
is not in sight. It is a case that pits the world’s largest
economy against one of the smallest, and despite our
best efforts, our patient negotiations with the United
States of America have borne no fruit. The United States
of America has neither removed the offending laws nor
agreed on a fair settlement with Antigua and Barbuda
that would compensate for the wanton destruction of an
entire economic sector. We believe that it is a blow to
the credibility of the WTO to allow the world’s largest
economy and the WTO’s most powerful member to
ignore the lawful decision of its dispute settlement
tribunal without consequences. The international
trading system will not long survive such a profound
challenge, and we call on the United States to correct
past wrongs and come to the table with meaningful
proposals that can bring the matter to a just conclusion.
Although my Government has until now
exercised strategic patience, we intend, through the
only mechanism that the WTO has provided, to seek
compensation for the thousands of jobs lost, the
companies collapsed and the general devastation of the
second-largest sector of our economy after tourism.
More than jobs are at stake here. The WTO must be
seen to deliver justice to its members, especially one
of its smallest constituents. If not, its credibility as the
arbiter of international trade disputes will bleed into
the dust and hollow out its noble intentions.
As a part of the Caribbean and a member of the
CARICOM family, Antigua and Barbuda supports the
preservation of the sovereignty of every nation. We are
therefore very proud of our long-standing relationship
with the Republic of Cuba. My Government condemns
in the strongest possible terms any discriminatory or
retaliatory policies and practices designed to prevent
Cuba from exercising its right to freely participate
in the affairs of our hemisphere. Today, I once again
reiterate my Government’s firm condemnation of the
unilateral and extraterritorial application of coercive
laws and measures contrary to international law, the
Charter of the United Nations and the principles of
free navigation and international trade. Antigua and
Barbuda therefore urges the United States of America
to respect and take note of the unceasing call by the
Members of the United Nations that it immediately
lift the unjust economic, commercial and financial
blockade imposed on the Republic of Cuba. These and
other associated measures serve no other end than to
hinder the socioeconomic development and well-being
of the people of the Republic of Cuba.
Antigua and Barbuda also affirms its long-standing
stance and commitment towards combating terrorism
in all its forms and expressions and condemns any
action which goes against international law, resolutions
of the United Nations or principles of human rights
protection. We therefore condemn the recent terrorist
acts in Kenya and express our profound sympathy to
the Government of President Uhuru Kenyatta and the
families of those who lost loved ones. We also in the
strongest sense condemn acts of terrorism in other
parts of the world.
Antigua and Barbuda also expresses its concern
about the inclusion of the Republic of Cuba on the list
of State sponsors of terrorism published by the State
Department of the United States of America. We reject
the unilateral elaboration of blacklists accusing States
of allegedly supporting and sponsoring terrorism,
which is inconsistent with international law. We request
the United States of America to put an end to that
unilateral practice.
Antigua and Barbuda welcomes the launch of the
design for a permanent memorial to honour the victims
of slavery and the transatlantic slave trade, an initiative
that was championed by CARICOM. We also look
forward to its full erection in the coming months.
One year ago, I stood here and reiterated the need
for serious dialogue on the topic of reparations. Today
I am proud that the members of CARICOM, at its
thirty-fourth Regular Meeting of the Conference of
Heads of Government, held in Trinidad and Tobago in
July, agreed to support the establishment of a regional
reparations commission to begin laying the groundwork
for a process of engagement and conversation on the
issue of reparations for native genocide and slavery.
I am equally pleased that the first regional
reparations conference was held in St. Vincent and the
Grenadines earlier this month, with proposals for the
formalization of a regional reparations commission.
Antigua and Barbuda therefore conceptualizes the
call for reparations as an integral element of our
development strategy and believes that the legacy of
slavery and colonialism in the Caribbean has severely
impaired our development options. We therefore assert
that reparations must be directed towards repairing the
damage inflicted by slavery and racism.
We have recently seen a number of leaders
apologizing to the African diaspora, to indigenous
peoples and to former colonies for past wrongs and
injustices. I salute those leaders who have demonstrated
such enlightenment and strongly encourage others to
do so and equally match their words with concrete and
material benefits to the descendants of genocide and
the brutal enslavement of their ancestors.
My country, while developmentally focused,
is mindful of other global issues, particularly with
reference to peace and security. The continued unrest in
the Middle East, particularly in Syria, is heartbreaking.
The images of innocent women and children being
displaced and killed tug at my consciousness. Antigua
and Barbuda gives its unconditional support to the
preservation of the role of the United Nations and other
organizations in working towards stabilization and
peace in Syria and other conflict-ridden countries.
In the same vein, we call on those leaders to
protect civilians at all costs and move quickly to
devise diplomatic solutions to the conflicts. Wilful
and deliberate attacks upon civilians should be taken
seriously by the international community, and the
international courts should move to act in a manner
consistent with international laws and norms.
War, or even the threat of war, should be an
absolute last resort and should have the full support
of the international community at all times. Unilateral
prescriptions will never solve a problem.
We cannot successfully achieve a post-2015
development agenda if world leaders stand idle and
see the tears and desperation on the faces of the many
children who are hungry. We cannot successfully
achieve a post-2015 development agenda if world
leaders allow easily treatable illnesses and diseases to
destroy our populations.
We cannot successfully achieve a post-2015
development agenda if world leaders sit back and allow
the lines of class divisions and insurmountable social
barriers to increase.
We cannot successfully achieve a post-2015
development agenda if world leaders continue to
allow the imbalances of economic growth, destructive
trade barriers and protectionism from developed to
developing countries to persist.
We cannot successfully achieve a post-2015
development agenda if world leaders do not act to save
our environment and stop the pollution of our air and
oceans and the wanton destruction of our forests and
lands only for the benefit of a few.
When the founders of the United Nations formulated
this great institution, it was not envisioned as a stage or
a repository for eloquent speeches. The United Nations
was conceptualized as a place where our challenges
would be discussed, solutions cultivated and action
taken.
It is for those reasons that our leaders gathered here
today should work towards a fundamental, impartial
and sustainable social, economic and environmental
post-2015 development agenda that is far-reaching and
all-inclusive. Anything less would be unacceptable
and would be a travesty for millions of the world’s
inhabitants, for whom we are required to act and do so
courageously and decisively.