I am pleased to join previous
speakers in congratulating the President on his election
to the presidency of the General Assembly at its sixty-
eighth session. I thank our outgoing President for
his excellent leadership. Allow me also to extend my
respect and gratitude to the Secretary-General for his
untiring commitment to the mission and ideals of the
United Nations.
Since the United Nations Conference on
Environment and Development, held in Rio de Janeiro
in 1992, the international community has supported the
principle that the best form of development is one that
meets the needs of the present without compromising
the ability of future generations to meet their needs.
Since that time, however, production and consumption
patterns have become increasingly unsustainable,
driven primarily by a desire to develop economies
at any cost. The Federated States of Micronesia has
therefore proposed the following approach to global
development beyond 2015.
First, any post-2015 development agenda must
move beyond addressing basic human needs and
focus on sustainable development. Secondly, in order
to ensure that sustainable development is carried out
in a dynamic and inclusive manner, the post-2015
development agenda must honour the environmental,
economic and social pillars that make up sustainable
development. Finally, international cooperation
and assistance are crucial to fostering sustainable
development globally. The Millennium Development
Goals (MDGs) have posed significant challenges. We
continue to look to the international community for
assistance to overcome those challenges as we develop
the sustainable development goals.
As this body considers a post-2015 development
agenda, let us not forget one important point:
development and the environment are inseparable. No
country can develop its economy without degrading its
natural environment to some significant degree. While
society strives for economic progress, the natural
environment that sustained our ancestors through
thousands of years has come under attack.
Climate change is, without question, the gravest
threat to my people’s welfare, livelihood and general
security. It is the survival issue of our time. Our
sustainable development is threatened by the harmful
effects of excessive greenhouse gas emissions in the
atmosphere, the effects of which poison our root crops,
destroy our reef systems and drive many of our people
from their ancestral homes. All of us, developed and
developing countries alike, have a stake in finding ways
that minimize man-made damage to Mother Earth.
Only the international community can effectively
take up that cause. To that end, the comprehensive
climate change treaty planned for adoption in 2015
must impose legally binding commitments. These
commitments must reflect a level of ambition far higher
than under the second commitment period of the Kyoto
Protocol. Pre-2020 mitigation action must also be
ambitious enough to close the emissions gap.
I reiterate the hope that the world will address
the dangerous growth of hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs)
by phasing down those chemicals under the Montreal
Protocol. Micronesia was the first to submit an
innovative proposal in this regard. We welcome the
newly announced agreement between China and the
United States to phase down HFCs. We also welcome
similar developments around the globe. Achieving
a phase-down of HFCs under the Protocol will build
confidence and momentum for significant action on
climate change in the future.
Another notable contribution is the Majuro
Declaration for Climate Leaderhip, under which every
Pacific Island Forum leader pledged to strengthen their
country’s efforts to fight climate change.
As we move towards the post-2015 development
agenda, let us not lose sight of the enormous importance
of the world’s oceans. We call for the establishment of
a sustainable development goal on healthy, productive
and resilient oceans. In turn, we should expect a greater
share of the benefits from the world’s oceans. Let me
stress the central role that the effective management
of all fisheries must play in sustainable management.
Bycatch and, particularly, discarded bycatch threaten
effective fisheries management. This is a serious
conservation problem, because valuable living
resources are wasted. Moreover, it threatens our food
security and nutrition needs.
Similarly, we agree that it is essential to include
the goal of sustainable energy for all in the sustainable
development goals that are under discussion here
in New York. The transition to sustainable energy
places a huge fiscal burden on our national accounts. I
commend Tonga for spearheading the Pacific Regional
Data Repository for Sustainable Energy for All.
The Federated States of Micronesia looks to the
international community for economic cooperation and
support. With limited resources, we have undertaken
some bold initiatives.
First, we operate under a nationwide integrated
disaster risk management and climate change policy
that mainstreams climate change into our primary
governmental and economic decision-making
processes. This policy places special emphasis on
strengthening the application of traditional knowledge
of ancient conservation practices, which are threatened
by sea-level rise, ocean acidification and other effects of
excess global greenhouse gas emissions. Additionally,
our legislative branch recently ratified the Doha
Amendment to the Kyoto Protocol. We will soon submit
the instrument of ratification.
Secondly, we have taken significant steps in
conserving our limited land and fragile marine
ecosystems through the Micronesia Challenge. We
have undertaken this Challenge because our nation is
made of many small low-lying atolls. Our people are
wise stewards of our land and sea, working with the
environment to provide sustenance for us all. As the
preamble to our Constitution says,
“The seas bring us together, they do not
separate us, our islands sustain us, our island nation
enlarges us and makes us stronger... Our ancestors
who made their homes on these islands displaced
no other people. We, who remain, wish no other
home than this.”
Thirdly, we recently adopted a national policy
that aims to ensure a sustainable energy supply and
an environmentally sound energy policy. Historically,
Micronesia has imported all of its energy in the form of
fossil fuels. We have begun to reduce our dependence
on fossil fuels. There are already a number of renewable
energy projects up and running in many parts of my
country, thanks to the assistance of our generous
development partners. My country has adopted very
ambitious targets in this regard.
In order to continue implementing our national
development policies, we call on the major donor States
to honour their official development assistance (ODA)
target of seven tenths of a per cent of gross national
income by 2015. We look forward to the discussion
in the Intergovernmental Committee of Experts
on Sustainable Development Financing. Technical
assistance as a component of ODA is also crucial,
particularly in the form of appropriate technology
transfers and capacity-building initiatives.
Sustainable development must be supported by all
of its pillars — not just economic and environmental
concerns, but also social considerations. Our people are
our most valuable assets. Therefore, we are tailoring an
approach that is inclusive of all our people, with special
attention to the circumstances of our women, youth, the
elderly and disabled persons. Their advancement must
be mainstreamed into our discussion on a post-2015
development agenda.
Non-communicable diseases such as diabetes and
heart and kidney diseases continue to be a challenge.
We must address them through the sustainable
development goals. This is a global crisis, demanding
a global solution. If not controlled, it could undermine
sustainable development and degrade the quality of life
of our people.
We welcome the High-level Meeting on Disability
and Development (A/68/PV.3) that took place two
days ago. I was impressed by the achievements of
the speakers and their inspirational leadership in this
forum. We support the outcome document (resolution
68/3) of the High-level Meeting.
The Federated States of Micronesia places a high
priority on the harnessing of advanced information and
communication technologies for our socioeconomic
development, especially in the areas of distance
education, health, and natural disaster early warning.
We thank the World Bank and the Asian Development
Bank for the assistance that they have offered to improve
our telecommunications and to enable our country to
obtain fibre optics. We also welcome cooperation and
support from the International Telecommunication
Union and our development partners.
Human trafficking continues to be a serious crime,
affecting all nations and causing untold human misery
and economic harm. My country is striving to protect
its population from this scourge. We support the efforts
of the United Nations to stop human trafficking, and
we hope to implement the United Nations Blue Heart
Campaign against Human Trafficking in all forms in
Micronesia. The ongoing tragedy caused by human
trafficking demands that it be prioritized and addressed
by the entire international community.
The global development agenda will be shaped by
the launching of the sustainable development goals
in 2015. Many processes will influence the selection
and monitoring of those goals, including the work of
the Commission on Sustainable Development, which
has now been replaced by the high-level political
forum. I cannot over-emphasize the importance of
the new forum, which will take on the monitoring
of the implementation of sustainable development
commitments. These are outlined in the Barbados
Program of Action, the Mauritius Strategy and the
outcome document of the United Nations Conference
on Sustainable Development (resolution 66/288).
The second event that will shape the sustainable
development agenda is the comprehensive climate
change treaty, whose adoption is planned for 2015, and
for which we support ambitious, binding commitments.
Thirdly, preparations for the Third United Nations
Conference on Small Island Developing States, to be
held in September 2014 in Apia, Samoa, are now under
way. Micronesia and other small island developing
States recognize the international community’s
goodwill and renewed willingness to help our countries
address our priorities and challenges.
Fourthly, I would also like to commend the
Secretary-General for his vision and support of the wide
range of issues so critical to small island developing
States. His advocacy for next year’s high-level summit
on climate change and his focus on climate change
themes will generate the political momentum for a post-
2015 development agenda to guide all stakeholders.
We recognize the central role that reliable data
plays in government planning and the crucial need
for capacity-building, which must keep pace with
the changing dynamics of basic governance in the
international landscape. The remoteness of our
islands, limited national capacities, and the complex
requirements of the United Nations make our
development efforts even more difficult and expensive.
We therefore look to the specialized United Nations
agencies for urgent assistance.
In closing, let me express my sympathy and
solidarity with those people around the world who
are facing immediate threats to their survival. I am
horrified by the killing of innocents, especially women
and children, in Syria and elsewhere. We in our peaceful
islands condemn violence. But what can a small island
nation in the Pacific do? What can any country, large
or small, do? The answer, we believe, can be found
only within our Organization. The world in which we
live is too interdependent for us to stand aside while
generations of internal conflict harden into unending
hatred and bloodshed. We are all stakeholders. We must
put an end to the senseless killings around the world.
I call upon this Organization to employ its collective
will to pursue the ideals of our Charter. I know in my
heart that the goal is achievable. The future we want is
enduring peace and prosperity for our world.