Tuvalu

I am honoured to address the General Assembly. Speaking on behalf of the people and the Government of Tuvalu, I extend Tuvalu’s greetings to the Assembly at its fifty-sixth session and our congratulations to the President and the Vice-Presidents of the Assembly on their election. I 22 also pledge Tuvalu’s full support and cooperation during their term of office. As we come to the end of this general debate, we are still overshadowed by the loss of many innocent lives and property as the result of the barbaric terrorist attack on America in September. We are further saddened by the losses earlier this week resulting from the plane accident in our host state, New York, and our host country, America. Tuvalu therefore joins others in reiterating to the people and Government of America our strong condemnation of the terrorist attacks and our pledge of strong solidarity with the United States of America. Let me also convey Tuvalu’s deepest sorrow and sympathy to the families of the victims of the plane crash, and offer our prayers to the people and Government of America, and equally to the people and Government of the Dominican Republic. We wholly share their bereavement and grief. As the newest Member of the United Nations, having joined on the eve of the historic Millennium Summit last year, Tuvalu is more than ever aware of its responsibilities to the United Nations and what the Organization stands for. In June this year, Tuvalu established its Permanent Mission here in New York. Although this has been costly, Tuvalu believes the cost is offset by what the United Nations stands for. Our presence in the General Assembly reflects a basic belief we hold true: that the United Nations, through its enfranchising activities, can help Tuvalu and other countries like us by being an advocate with regard to the issues that concern us most. Tuvalu is proud that the Nobel Peace Prize for 2001 was awarded to our Secretary-General and the United Nations itself. This award is a telling recognition of the vast contributions the United Nations has made in so many fields and on so many fronts: to peace around the world; to the protection of the individual, no matter his or her origin or circumstances; and to the upholding of the basic United Nations principle that every human being should have every opportunity to lead a better and more fulfilling life. We congratulate the Secretary-General and the Organization for this recognition. There is no doubt in Tuvalu that peace and stability are indispensable to the well-being of freedom-loving people everywhere. The world cannot ignore threats to peace and stability, no matter what their causes may be, be they economic, social or environmental. The terrorist attacks in the United States of America and what has happened around the world since 11 September have made those of us here in this great Hall today feel very anxious. However, the very cause of this anxiety points clearly to the proper role of the United Nations. The General Assembly must be a strong advocate of what the Secretary- General, in his new road map, calls a new “culture of prevention”. In our view, pursuit of this new culture is worthy and must take advantage of the new spirit of cooperation that is now emerging to facilitate the elimination of the causes of terrorism and threats to peace and stability. In this regard, it is imperative to address problems in an open and representative dialogue based on consensus and mutual respect and understanding. The consensus-building approach that we in the Pacific region often call the “Pacific way” may well prove useful in our collective venture for universal cooperation. Tuvalu is committed to its obligation to adhere to the United Nations resolutions to eliminate terrorism, and thus is taking steps to accede to the 12 United Nations and international conventions on terrorism. But to honour such obligations in practice is easier said than done. We need technical and financial support from the international community to build up our legislative, surveillance and enforcement tools if we are to have any hope of meeting these obligations beyond our present capabilities. Also, we must not lose sight of the need for strong coalitions to deal with other pressing global issues, including conflicts and wars; the challenges of globalization; poverty and underdevelopment; and the effects of environmental degradation and climate change. Universal cooperation against threats to peace and stability cannot, however, be fully achieved as long as the United Nations lacks the will to recognize fair and just representation within it of a democratic and economically developed State with a population of 23 million. The Republic of China on Taiwan is also suffering in the aftermath of the 11 September terrorist attacks, having lost innocent lives as well as property. Like us, they suffer from the onslaught of natural disasters; epidemics and diseases, including the HIV/ AIDS pandemic; and other threats of instability. 23 Yet in all these crises, and despite their enormous contribution to the world economy and international development — including technological advancement — as well as their consistent demonstration of international responsibility, the people of the Republic of China on Taiwan have been left to fend for themselves, denied the right to proper representation and collaboration, not only in the United Nations and its specialized agencies, such as the World Health Organization, but in nearly every other intergovernmental body. The voice with which they could share their plight and thereby benefit from world cooperation is silenced. However, the irony is that for more than 50 years, no authority other than the Republic of China on Taiwan itself has had full sovereign control over Taiwan, its population and the running of its affairs. To visit the country, for example, one must have immigration papers issued by its own authorities. While we welcome the wise decision of the World Trade Organization last week to admit the Republic of China on Taiwan, it is Tuvalu’s strong view that the United Nations must take the lead and seriously reconsider United Nations membership for the Republic of China on Taiwan, beyond the politics of exclusion and on the basis of the reality of things. In Tuvalu and many other countries in the Pacific, we know that our economic vulnerability is fertile ground for forces of terror that can threaten the security and survival not only of the islands, but also of the region and the world. We are worried about the growing global interdependence and what that may bring to our shores. We need to improve our ability to share and disseminate information on transnational crimes, particularly those involving drug trafficking, money laundering, bogus investments, and other dangerous and dubious schemes that often arrive in the Pacific islands under the pretext of being legitimate. We believe that, if we are left on our own, these threats will continue to expose Tuvalu and other Pacific island countries to forces outside our control. It is vital, therefore, that individual Pacific island Governments be given the back-up that is needed to boost their ability to tackle security threats and fight crime. The existing regional security arrangements under the Pacific Islands Forum and its sister regional agencies in the Pacific can, indeed, play a vital role. However, they need to be further strengthened to enable them to complement national security efforts more effectively. Further solidifying of cooperation between our regional organizations and the United Nations, moreover, is fundamental to the success of national and regional efforts vital for regional and global security. I should like to add here that Tuvalu highly commends the role played by the United Nations and other international organizations and major countries in helping restore peace in the Pacific following the recent turbulence in the region. Tuvalu is not in a good position to take advantage of the opportunities offered by trade liberalization. Like many island countries, Tuvalu currently lacks the know-how, trained people and adequate infrastructure to reap the benefits that are enjoyed here. If there is benefit for Tuvalu in a free trade world — and we believe there is — then surely Tuvalu must have in place the means that would allow us to reap that benefit. In more ways than one, small island developing States such as Tuvalu are at the sharp end, the cutting edge, of development. For us, overseas development aid is indispensable to the development and sustenance of basic services necessary for security and survival. Our priorities continue to be education, health services and fresh water. While we commend with great appreciation the generosity of our development partners, particularly our traditional partners, it has to be noted that Tuvalu and other small island developing States, like the landlocked and least developed countries and other developing countries, will for some time continue to rely on external financing through official development assistance to address their unique development needs. In our view, the International Conference on Financing for Development and the World Summit on Sustainable Development, both of which will be held next year, must also capitalize on the premises laid out under the reviewed Barbados Programme of Action for the Sustainable Development of Small Island Developing States, the outcome of the United Nations Conference on the Least Developed Countries and the Secretary-General’s road map towards the implementation of the United Nations Millennium Declaration as the key tools to address the unique circumstances and vulnerabilities of small island developing States. Ultimately, this must lead to more effective delivery of assistance that is flexible and more responsive to the sustainable development needs 24 of small island developing States and of developing countries in general. With limited exploitable resources, Tuvalu, like many other small island developing States, relies heavily on the surrounding seas for its food security and economic development. The proper protection of the oceans from hazardous pollution is therefore vital, and the sustainable management and exploitation of fisheries and other marine resources is extremely important to our sustainable development and survival. Building local capacity to conserve, manage and harvest marine resources in a sustainable manner is crucial and should therefore be supported. As has already been said in this debate, the biggest long-term threat to the people of Tuvalu is posed by the effects of climate change, in particular rising sea levels. Recent reports released by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change have confirmed beyond doubt the correlation between accelerated atmospheric warming and sea-level rise. In Tuvalu too it is our strong belief that the weather is growing more severe, hotter and drier, and that there have been unusually high seas eroding foreshores and intruding into freshwater lenses. We believe that the cumulative effect of carbon dioxide emissions in industrial and other countries into the atmosphere has, in sum, created a future that is very uncertain in Tuvalu. It may not be known in this Hall but unique within the United Nations membership are the Maldives, the Marshall Islands, Kiribati and Tuvalu. Those four countries are the only Member States that consist entirely of low-lying coral atolls and reef islands. In the event of further rising sea levels, where are we to hide? Eventually asking countries to take us in as environmental refugees is not what Tuvalu is after in the long run. What we prefer is that our great- grandchildren should grow up the way I did and the way my wife and our brothers and sisters did in our island communities, learning the traditions, customs and culture of Tuvalu, and living our way of life. Tuvalu is not alone in sharing that view. Tens of millions of people who live on islands or in coastal communities face the gloomy onslaught of rising sea levels. Such vulnerable geography is everywhere. How ironic it would be if decades from now the last Member to enter the United Nations, Tuvalu, were the first Member State to withdraw because it had disappeared without a trace. In the shrinking world we live in, environmental pollution has never known artificial boundaries. The presence of higher than normal levels of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere is a legacy of development in industrial countries spanning the past 200 years. I hope that industrial countries realize that nature is now imposing a penalty for that development. Unfortunately, it is Tuvalu and others with little or nothing to do with the causes which are now forced to pay. While we are heartened by the positive outcome of the seventh Conference of the Parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, held at Marrakesh, and while we are looking forward to the full implementation of that Convention and of the Kyoto Protocol commitments, we would also hope that goodwill will prevail beyond instruments and conventions to assist those most affected to adapt to the immediate and long-term effects of climate change. This is not the time to shrink from environmental and survival responsibility. Like the international war being waged against terrorism, a global solution to the threat posed by climate change and sea-level rise will save Tuvalu and many other small island States from disappearing. Our collective resolve to remove causes of terrorism and threats to peace and security, including poverty and underdevelopment, HIV/AIDS and environmental degradation, will ensure a truly peaceful and secure village for all of humanity. May God bless the United Nations; may God bless its peoples.