First, I offer my congratulations on your election,
Mr. President. I also take this opportunity to recognize
the leadership of Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon,
whose influence brought to this sixty-fifth session of
the General Assembly 139 heads of State or
Government to rededicate efforts to achieve the
Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) by 2015.
It is with a sense of hope for a better world that I
address this Assembly of leaders and decision makers.
I join the Assembly and the international community in
echoing the call for a world where people are again
placed at the centre of our actions, where the care of
children is given greater priority, where poverty is seen
as an enemy of human dignity, where peace can be
achieved without bloodshed, where conversations
resulting in greater tolerance, mutual respect and
understanding would motivate cooperation and unity,
and where selflessly sacrificing one’s best skills and
resources for the benefit of fellow human beings would
be the primary purpose of our actions. I believe that all
of this is possible if we recommit ourselves to the
founding principles upon which the United Nations
was built.
The United Nations must continue to provide a
voice to all States whether small or large, developed or
developing, industrialized or agrarian. The Charter of
the United Nations provides for the sovereign equality
of all States. It must be at the centre of all discussions
and decisions geared towards meeting the demands of
its membership in this third millennium. For that
reason, we welcome the theme of this year’s debate:
“Reaffirming the central role of the United Nations in
global governance”.
We are of the view, as are many of you, that no
nation will be safe and no democracy will prevail if
there is no mutual cooperation towards global stability,
fashioned by opportunity for all, equity and the ability
to feed, provide health care, clothing, housing and
education for people everywhere. We are all in this
together. We shall rise or fall together.
Let us not take for granted the significance of our
presence here. That we can sit in one Hall means that
we can also work together to achieve those noble
objectives, which foster and promote global peace and
stability.
To realize those goals, our debate of this topic
must not be reduced to empty rhetoric and nice
language. We must reaffirm the essential role of the
United Nations in resolving global issues and make the
United Nations more accountable. So we must look at a
wider definition of global governance.
It is our respectful view that global governance
must not only mean agreement on a body of rules, laws
or practices that place the United Nations at the centre
of all matters which confront the international
community; it must also mean that we hold our leaders
and institutions more accountable for their actions,
delivering a better quality of life for all our peoples.
No nation large or small must be exempted.
Global governance cannot be limited to the
crafting of instruments related to the promotion of
democracy. A key component must be the creation of
fair and equitable rules to enhance the development
prospects of developing countries as well. We
recognize the rules governing membership of groups
such as the Group of 20 (G20), but a mechanism must,
we believe, be established to insert the voice of the
United Nations in the activities of those groups, such
that the concerns and needs of all Members are actively
considered. Trinidad and Tobago therefore calls for the
establishment of predictable and regular channels to
facilitate dialogue between the G20 nations and
Members of the United Nations, which constitute the
“Group of 192” or the “G192”. It is our hope that some
of those issues will be examined at the next G20
Summit, scheduled in November of this year.
At the same time, Trinidad and Tobago, as Chair-
in-Office of the Commonwealth, calls on the General
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Assembly to recognize the important work being done
by the Commonwealth, especially as it relates to small
and vulnerable economies. The international
community must do more to deal with the economic
plight of its most vulnerable Members, which depend
heavily on the flow of international capital and trade to
ensure that their development needs are met. Trinidad
and Tobago intends to use its position as Chair of the
Commonwealth to promote enhanced cooperation
between the United Nations and the Commonwealth so
as to facilitate measures aimed at providing
development financing in a predictable manner to
developing countries. This would mean a willingness
on the part of international financial institutions to
re-examine whether some of their policies have been
creating a perpetual cycle of poverty for small nations.
Such a cycle must not be allowed to continue.
A few days ago I participated here in the High-
level Plenary Meeting on the Millennium Development
Goals. Since then, the question that keeps lingering in
my mind is whether we would have to convene another
meeting in the future — shortly — to restate the urgent
need to provide the necessary assistance to developing
countries, so that they can meet the MDGs. While I
applaud the noble efforts of the United Nations in
providing an enabling environment for leaders to
exchange ideas and to formulate solutions on the
subject, I must confess that over the years we have had
ample rhetoric but insufficient action on this matter.
In my country we have put in place a Ministry of
the People to deal with poverty eradication and hunger
as a priority. This is just one vehicle aimed at placing
us in a position to honour our commitments to reduce
poverty. However, we are of the firm view that
international cooperation is also essential. Good
governance requires that developed countries fulfil
their commitments made at the Millennium Summit to
provide assistance to developing countries, so that
those countries can achieve the MDGs by the deadline
set. The deficit in commitment has to be addressed if
real advances are to be made. We all have a duty to the
future. It will be measured by how we fulfil our
responsibilities today.
My Government has created the Children’s Life
Fund to provide funding and critical support for children
needing life-saving surgery. It is our belief that children
must not die in our country — or in any other country —
because they cannot afford health care — not in the year
2010. There must be new arrangements and
relationships between countries that have advanced
medical technology and those without, so that children
of the poorest nations can grow as healthy human
beings and achieve their full potential. It is only when
this is done that the world will progress.
My colleague from Grenada spoke about
non-communicable diseases. Trinidad and Tobago,
joined by other members of the Caribbean Community
(CARICOM), has reiterated that call for international
attention on the issue of the prevention and control of
non-communicable diseases. We have agreed that in
September 2011 a high-level meeting of the General
Assembly on non-communicable diseases will be
convened (resolution 64/265). Much work remains to
be done, if we are to have a successful meeting next
year. In order to achieve the desired results, the United
Nations will have put in place a common set of
principles to tackle this important concern of global
public health.
On the issue of climate change, we say that
Trinidad and Tobago, as a small island developing
State, seeks to promote and safeguard the welfare of
our planet from the harmful effects of climate change
and supports measures aimed at mitigating the effects
of climate change, which threaten our environment,
economic livelihood, territorial integrity and the very
survival of many States. Although the United Nations
continues to be at the forefront of discussions to
confront this formidable challenge, progress has been
much too slow. In making our contribution to the
process, we wish to reiterate the position of the
Alliance of Small Island States, namely, that there
should be deep and ambitious cuts in greenhouse gas
emissions by developed countries amounting to about
40 to 50 per cent by the year 2020 and 85 to 90 per
cent by 2050.
In order for there to be meaningful advancement
at the sixteenth session of the Conference of the Parties
to the United Nations Framework Convention on
Climate Change, to be held in Mexico, we must utilize
the coming United Nations Climate Change
Conference, to be held in China, to agree on the
identification of additional and predictable sources of
finance, institutional issues related to finance and the
form of the final agreement. It is our respectful view
that urgent and concerted action is the only viable
option to bring about results at the upcoming
negotiations.
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I turn now to the issue of natural disasters. One of
the first problems I encountered, almost immediately
after taking the oath of office four months ago, was the
issue of unprecedented and widespread flooding that
resulted in tremendous financial and other losses to
victims and placed a strain on the resources of the local
emergency management services. My Government
continues to provide assistance to the affected
communities, while we devise long-term strategies to
reduce the incidence of this type of flooding.
Nevertheless, I recognize that we are not alone to have
been faced with this grave problem. Recent events in
Haiti, Pakistan and Russia have demonstrated that
greater international action is needed to provide relief
to those affected by flooding and other natural
disasters.
In the Caribbean the case of a devastated Haiti
provides the international community with the
opportunity not only to be compassionate, but to also
learn major lessons on disaster preparedness and
management. Respectfully I say that —
notwithstanding the valuable work being done by the
Central Emergency Response Fund (CERF), to which
Trinidad and Tobago has made annual contributions —
more action is required to provide the agency with the
requisite resources in the face of ever increasing
natural disasters. In this regard, I respectfully call upon
those States that are in a position to do so to make
financial contributions to CERF, so that it can respond
more efficiently and effectively to humanitarian crises
due to floods and other natural disasters.
There is another persistent matter receiving the
attention of my Government and others of the
CARICOM region, which is the illegal proliferation of
small arms and light weapons and their ammunition. In
our attempts to address this problem, we have had to
divert financial resources that we could have used
otherwise for economic and social development. We
have observed an increase in gang-related violence,
homicides, the illegal narcotics trade and organized
crime. The origin of the illicit trade in those weapons is
beyond our national borders. It is of international
dimension and therefore requires a global response. We
are encouraged by the attempts of the United Nations
to conclude a legally binding agreement to regulate the
trade in conventional weapons. It is our view that this
instrument must also make provision for regulating the
trade in small arms and light weapons, thereby
preventing their illegal diversion.
Trinidad and Tobago also calls for a strong and
effective implementation regime to ensure proper
compliance with the provisions of the treaty to be
drafted. It must also include a proper verification
mechanism and a sanctions regime for breach of its
terms. Such safeguards would assist in preserving the
object and purpose of the agreement.
We have partnered with other members of the
international community to establish rules governing
the non-proliferation of nuclear, chemical and other
types of weapons, which could create untold suffering
for humanity. However, in the Caribbean, our weapons
of mass destruction, are, ironically, small arms and
light weapons. Therefore I implore all those States that
have been reticent about the need for an arms trade
treaty to join us in this undertaking. I pledge the
commitment of my Government to work with other
like-minded States to ensure a successful outcome of
the Preparatory Committee for the United Nations
Conference on the Arms Trade Treaty and ultimately
the Conference itself, scheduled to take place in 2012.
Tied together with the issue of small arms and
ammunition is drug trafficking. Regulating the trade in
small arms and light weapons is not an end in itself.
Urgent international action must also be taken to deal
with the issue of international drug trafficking. We
cannot allow our young people to continue to fall
victim to this monster, which has fuelled transnational
organized crime and resulted in cross-border armed
violence, threatening the political and social stability
of many nations. National Governments alone cannot
solve this problem because of its global dimension.
Governments are forced to divert scarce resources,
which should be used for social programmes, in order
to confront the challenge posed by narco-trafficking.
We need urgent action to address this problem.
In 1989, the Honourable Arthur Robinson, former
Prime Minister of the Republic of Trinidad and
Tobago, took the political initiative to reintroduce on
the agenda of the General Assembly the need for the
establishment of a permanent International Criminal
Court (ICC). The Court has since been established.
However, his call for international drug trafficking to
be included as a crime within the jurisdiction of the
ICC has not yet been realized. Today, I say that it is
even more critical for this to be done. I therefore
respectfully call upon States Members of the United
Nations which are States parties to the Rome Statute of
the ICC to include international drug trafficking as a
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crime within the jurisdiction of the ICC. The ICC is the
only credible international judicial organ with the
competence to prosecute those who perpetrate this
crime.
In closing, I wish to raise one area of reform that
I hold very dearly. That is the establishment of
UN Women, an entity which consolidates four previous
agencies. I am confident that this venture, which will
become fully operational by January 2011, will provide
a coherent approach in attending to issues affecting
women internationally. It is my hope that UN Women
will receive the support of all States.
Finally, 10 years ago the Security Council
adopted resolution 1325 (2000) on women and peace
and security, acknowledging that there can be no
sustainable peace and security without the involvement
and contribution of women. Trinidad and Tobago is
committed to advancing the peace and security agenda
of the United Nations, and my country’s attachment to
the promotion of women is equally strong. That is why
I wish to state that Trinidad and Tobago will introduce
in the First Committee of the General Assembly,
devoted to disarmament, international peace and
security, a resolution on women, disarmament, arms
control and non-proliferation. I pledge the support of
the Government of Trinidad and Tobago for this
initiative.
We have spent a decade in this third millennium.
In retrospect, have we advanced as a world community
in ways that will create a sustainable environment and
secure the lives of people everywhere? Yes, we have
made tremendous strides in communications
technology; yes, we are a global village as a result of
improvements; but, regrettably, we cannot say that we
are our neighbours’ keepers. There are still too many
fences between us — fences of politics, ideology,
religion, ethnicity, culture and traditions. As human
beings, we have the unique capacity to reason and on
the basis of that reasoning to develop deeper
understandings. Today, I respectfully say: Let us
pledge to use this understanding gained from reasoning
to promote conversations between nations and peoples;
conversations to replace aggression and threats;
conversations geared towards finding peaceful ways to
deal with differences; conversations borne out of
mutual respect for each other as people and nations;
conversations founded upon respect for diversity;
conversations that ensure the survival of the human
race and the planet as their purpose.
As I end my contribution to this debate, I wish to
compliment the United Nations for all of the work
designed to revitalize this unique global body. I also
affirm our support for efforts and policies aimed at
revitalizing the central role of the United Nations in
global governance.