Bahamas

On behalf of the people and the Government of the Commonwealth of the Bahamas, I congratulate Mr. Al-Nasser on his election to the presidency of the General Assembly at its sixty-sixth session. I assure him of my delegation’s full support and cooperation. I also extend gratitude to his predecessor for his stewardship of the Assembly during its sixty-fifth session, and I would also like to extend congratulations to Mr. Ban Ki-moon on his re-election as Secretary-General. I also take this opportunity to congratulate and welcome the Republic of South Sudan as the 193rd State Member of the United Nations and to convey the best wishes of my Government and people for its peace and prosperity. On behalf of the Government and the people of the Commonwealth of the Bahamas, I wish to express regret at the loss of life and the tremendous and wide- ranging destruction caused by hurricanes and tropical storms during the summer season. The Bahamas, as well as a number of Caribbean islands and, indeed, the East Coast of the United States, were particularly hard- hit by Hurricane Irene. The devastation caused by each of those storms reinforces the need for global attention to the adverse impacts of climate change and natural disasters. The storms’ trail of destruction, which took lives, flattened homes and businesses, toppled trees and spread debris across roadways and bridges, and which, in some cases, caused almost certain irreversible damage to coastal areas and ecosystems, compels, we believe, the international community to take immediate measures to address climatic phenomena which cause such huge losses and which threaten so many countries. For us, the increased frequency and intensity of natural disasters, including hurricanes, some due to the effects of climate change, are among the major challenges faced at the national level. Other environmental challenges, including waste and water- resource management issues, together with economic and social challenges, all constitute serious constraints for the Bahamas. We are committed to mainstreaming sustainable development principles into our national development strategies. Progress is being made in the key areas of protecting our biodiversity and supporting the development of policies promoting renewable energy. We look forward to continuing to collaborate with international partners so as to achieve even greater success in the years ahead. In this vein, the Bahamas looks forward to next year’s United Nations Conference on Sustainable Development. We fully expect that the Conference will take into account unmet needs in connection with each of the three pillars of sustainable development, that is, economic, social and environmental. We face an increasingly complex set of global challenges, which has given rise to an equally complex network of formal and informal global institutions and mechanisms designed to enhance collective action to address these challenges. Consequently, the question of international governance as it relates to the global agenda has become a pressing issue in recent years. The global economic crisis of the past three years has underscored the need for more effective global governance, as has the long and sometimes controversial debate on reform of the Security Council. Arguably, at the heart of all of these issues, particularly for some small developing States such as the Bahamas, is the need to ensure that our global systems are able to effectively respond to evolving global challenges in an inclusive, participatory and transparent manner. 11-51384 34 With respect to international economic governance, the Bahamas is acutely aware of the growing role of the Group of 20 (G-20) and the need to address how the Group would be better able to engage and consult a wider range of countries, as well as the United Nations as a whole, with a view to helping to translate G-20 deliberations into effective actions on a global scale. Fortunately, the work of the Global Governance Group has been largely successful in this regard. Indeed, the Bahamas joined the Group with the understanding that the United Nations has a central role in global economic governance and that serious engagement with the G-20 would allow for a clearer understanding of their respective strengths and comparative advantages. Reform of the Security Council is no more a reality today than it was a year ago, or even 10 years ago. This remains, however, an important goal, as it stands as a harbinger of success for other equally pressing global governance activities that will inevitably affect each and every country regardless of its size, economic or political power. The aspirations of the marginalized for greater democratization, inclusiveness, representativeness, transparency and accountability are no less legitimate at the international level than they are at the national or local levels. If the Council is to fully fulfil its responsibility for international peace and security, it must reflect the geopolitical realities of our world in its composition as well as in its modus operandi. The Bahamas therefore continues to support Security Council expansion in both categories and the reform of its working methods. The Bahamas believes that the main strength of the United Nations is its inclusiveness, as it is perhaps the only global body with unquestionable legitimacy. Hence, we envision a greater role for the United Nations in a number of areas, not in order to duplicate work done elsewhere, but to help in other areas of critical importance to small developing countries, including international cooperation in tax matters. The Bahamas, along with many Caribbean Community (CARICOM) countries, continues to seek the conversion of the Committee of Experts on International Cooperation on Tax Matters into an intergovernmental subsidiary body of the Economic and Social Council, the central goal being to give small developing countries an effective voice when issues of cooperation on tax matters are being decided by the international community. Likewise, we recommend a greater role for the United Nations in the areas of international financial regulation and credit-rating systems. As regards the global economic and financial crisis, it is important to note that many small middle- income and ostensibly high-income developing States such as the Bahamas continue to grapple with lingering effects, including serious credit and employment challenges — challenges that persist owing mainly to indebtedness; non-concessionary status with respect to access to resources of the international financial institutions; and an increasing rate of erosion of preferential access to the markets of major development partners. The Bahamas continues to develop national initiatives to address these and other related matters. We have seen some success in maintaining a sustainable of Government debt to gross domestic product ratio; implementing measures to provide relief and assistance to Bahamians; and efforts to modernize and expand our public infrastructure as well as increase investment in our least developed islands. These national efforts must be met with appropriate and urgent actions at the international level in order to effectively respond to these challenges, as well as to help sustain progress in achieving the internationally agreed development goals, including the Millennium Development Goals. Such actions at the international level must include the provision of new and additional resources to assist developing countries, in particular the most vulnerable among us, as well as the development of the necessary implementation mechanisms. In that connection, the Bahamas wishes to underline the importance of implementing the Monterrey Consensus of the International Conference on Financing for Development. The Bahamas also wishes to highlight in this regard the critical role that a universal, rules-based, open, non-discriminatory and equitable multilateral trading system can play in stimulating economic growth and development in developing countries. Migration can be, and has been, a positive force for development internationally. Indeed, immigrants have contributed to the development of the Bahamas in many respects, largely through contributions to education, health care and to the development of our tourism and financial services. Uncontrolled migration, 35 11-51384 however, has also proved, and continues to be, a serious challenge to sustainable development. In this context, the Bahamas welcomes increased dialogue on improving international cooperation with respect to international migration and development. We believe that proper cooperation can help to ensure that migration occurs through safe and regulated channels, to the benefit of both migrant and receiving States, like the Bahamas. The Bahamas will continue to participate constructively in the process leading to the second High-level Dialogue on International Migration and Development, to be held by the General Assembly in 2013, with a view to addressing these and other related issues. The Bahamas congratulates the people of Haiti on the election and installation of a democratically elected President and Government. We are heartened by the peaceful and successful manner in which the second round of elections was concluded in Haiti. Political stability is fundamental to Haiti’s economic and social development. We hope that the issue of the appointment of a new Prime Minister will be resolved in the shortest possible time so that the Haitian people can continue to recover from last year’s devastating earthquake and reconstruct their country with a view to its sustained and sustainable development. My delegation continues to commend the work of the United Nations Stabilization Mission in Haiti (MINUSTAH). Over the years, MINUSTAH has played a key role in helping to lay the foundation for long- term recovery and stability in Haiti, with its support activities for State institutions and the rehabilitation and training of the Haitian National Police. MINUSTAH’s role and functions should reflect the country’s development needs, as articulated by the Government. The support and engagement of the international community in Haiti is as pressing and urgent as ever, and MINUSTAH must continue to be an important factor in this regard. The issue of international peace and security remains a critical concern for the Organization, as it does for the entire global community. The Bahamas unequivocally condemns terrorism in all its forms and manifestations and reiterates its commitment to the fight against it. The terror attacks of 11 September, the heinous attacks in Mumbai and Norway and at the United Nations headquarters in Nigeria demonstrate that our efforts thus far have proved insufficient; hence the urgency of our task. In an archipelago spread over some 100,000 square miles, the porous borders of the Bahamas have, for many years, posed a challenge to national security as well as the rule of law. We are currently confronted by high levels of crime, too many of which involve the use of small arms and light weapons. We are keenly aware of the global threats posed by the illicit trade in small arms and light weapons, which is linked to other aspects of transnational organized crime, including the illicit drug trade. The Bahamas, both nationally and internationally, is acting to reduce the threats that these criminal elements pose to our society. Nationally, we are continuing a programme of reform of our criminal laws, modernizing and expanding our court system and strengthening targeted programmes designed to address social ills. Regionally, we are working with other CARICOM nations to undertake a number of measures to combat these challenges. Internationally, the Bahamas is committed to the implementation of the United Nations Programme of Action to Prevent, Combat and Eradicate the Illicit Trade in Small Arms and Light Weapons in All Its Aspects. Regulation of the import, export and transfer of conventional arms is critical if we are to achieve some measure of peace and stability and reduce conflicts. The Bahamas supports a strong, effective and non-discriminatory arms trade treaty and welcomes the inclusion of the category of small arms and light weapons and ammunition within the scope of a future treaty. What is clearly evident is the need for an integrated global response to supplement actions at the national, regional and subregional levels if we are to effectively prevent, combat and eradicate the illicit trade in small arms and light weapons, and thus reduce the escalating violence and crime in our societies. The Government of the Bahamas continues to be committed to the 2001 and 2006 Declarations on HIV/AIDS (resolutions S-26/2 and 60/262). Our programme, now in its twenty-fifth year, has been very successful. We would like to take this opportunity to thank our regional, hemispheric and international partners for their support. My Government is also dealing with the prevention and control of non-communicable diseases (NCDs), which pose an increasing threat to countries like the Bahamas and others of the CARICOM subregion. As our Prime Minister said in his national 11-51384 36 address here last week (see A/66/PV.3), the health and socio-economic costs required for Governments to treat NCDs are indeed enormous. The Bahamas and its fellow CARICOM countries welcome last week’s High-level Meeting on the Prevention and Control of Non-communicable Diseases, and applaud the international community’s attention to NCDs. We trust that the adoption of the Political Declaration (resolution 66/2, annex), while it is not as action- oriented as we envisaged when we undertook the mandate from our heads of Government four years ago, will produce results. We would have preferred the text to have reflected stronger commitments and specific, time-bound targets for addressing non-communicable diseases and their risk factors. We look forward, however, to a comprehensive review of this issue in 2014. With the world community witnessing an unprecedented wave in the call for social change and democracy across countries in the Arab world and in North Africa, we must ensure, in our desire to promote good and effective governance, that respect for human rights and fundamental freedoms, as well as the promotion of civil and political rights and the right to development, forms the basis of any long-term solution. My Government’s commitment to the promotion of human rights and fundamental freedoms is unwavering. This year we celebrate some significant achievements on the international human rights agenda: the twenty-fifth anniversary of the adoption of the Declaration on the Right to Development (resolution 41/128) and, more recently, the tenth anniversary, this week, of the adoption of the Durban Declaration and Programme of Action. This year, we are also observing the International Year for People of African Descent. In spite of the objectives of these laudable initiatives for the advancement of the international human rights agenda and recent undertakings such as the reform of the Human Rights Council, we are still confronted with persistent poverty and stark inequalities, both within and across countries — racism, racial discrimination and related intolerance, some 63 years after the landmark adoption of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (resolution 217 (III)). These challenges serve as a constant reminder that we have much more to do to improve the lives of millions of disadvantaged and marginalized populations throughout the world. While it is advantageous to adopt declarations and renew commitments, it is more important to ensure their effective implementation at the national, regional and international levels. The United Nations must therefore continue to reflect the ideals of its founding principles and unite us through a common vision of peace, mutual respect and human rights for all.