Let me at
the outset commend Mr. Al-Nasser on his unanimous
election as President of the General Assembly at its
sixty-sixth session. I hereby pledge to him my
delegation’s full support for his efforts to successfully
move forward the agenda of this session. I wish also to
commend his predecessor, Mr. Joseph Deiss, President
of the General Assembly at its sixty-fifth session, for
his stewardship.
I would be somewhat remiss if I did not
commend Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon for his
leadership of our treasured Organization. I am pleased
to lend my voice to those of other Heads of State and
Government who have commended him on his
reappointment for a second five-year term beginning
1 January 2012 and to wish him every success in his
bold quest to develop an Organization that is both
effective and efficient and can bring about meaningful
change in the complex world in which we live.
Mr. Al-Nasser’s choice of the theme for the
general debate, namely, “The role of mediation in the
settlement of disputes by peaceful means”, could not
have been more timely or appropriate. Mediation is
one of the cornerstones of the Organization. While it is
true that mediation should not be the only tool
available to the international community to mitigate
conflicts, there is nevertheless a growing interest in
mediation and its use as a promising and cost-effective
tool in the peaceful settlement of disputes, conflict
prevention and resolution.
In addition, we, as a community of nations, have
on many occasions recognized the useful role that
mediation can play in preventing disputes from
escalating into conflicts and conflicts from escalating
further, as well as in advancing the resolution of
conflicts and thus preventing and reducing human
suffering and creating conditions conducive to lasting
peace and sustainable development, and in this regard,
recognizing that peace and development are mutually
reinforcing.
In the general debate of the sixty-fifth session, I
as well as others called for lasting peace in the Middle
East (see A/65/PV.20). I also issued a call for
implementation of the two-State solution, which would
have Israel and Palestine living side by side in peace
and security. Neither of these notions is new; sadly,
neither is anywhere close to realization, Given the
current state of affairs, it should come as no surprise to
anyone that the Palestinian people would seek a
different option — full membership in our
Organization or, failing that, a vote by the General
Assembly that would elevate the status of Palestine
from non-voting observer entity to Observer State, a
status equal to that of the Holy See.
As we have said in previous debates, we remain
fully supportive of the aspirations of the Palestinian
people and of the idea of a two-State solution, which
would allow the Palestinian people the right to govern
themselves and reach their potential in a sovereign and
contiguous State. It was against this backdrop that we
decided to join with others that have already done so
and grant recognition to the State of Palestine. As we
did then and do now, we believe that recognition of the
State of Palestine will contribute to the quest for a
negotiated solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict
and to the creation of lasting peace and stability in the
region, and ultimately result in a viable Palestine and a
secure Israel, based on the 1967 lines, with mutually
agreed swaps to ensure that secure, recognized borders
exist for both sides.
Many of today’s conflicts are fuelled by the
illegal trade in small arms and light weapons. Those
small weapons of mass destruction have had a
devastating impact on the countries of our region over
the past decade, and have been directly implicated in
the associated rise in crime and violence involving the
use of firearms. Needless to say, those weapons have
had a significant adverse impact on security and socio-
economic and human development in our countries.
In their 2007 annual reports, both the United
Nations Office on Drugs and Crime and the World
Bank identified our region as having higher murder
rates than any other region in the world. They also
stated that small arms and light weapons were used in
more than 70 per cent of those murders. We never
sought that dubious designation, which was anything
but welcome.
This is why, at our most recent summit in July
2011, my fellow Heads of State of the Caribbean
Community adopted a Declaration on Small Arms and
Light Weapons in which, inter alia, we agreed
“to accord the highest national and regional
priority to matters related to combating and
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eradicating the illicit trade in small arms and light
weapons and their ammunition” [and] “to
intensify and sustain engagement in the United
Nations effort for the conclusion of a legally
binding Arms Trade Treaty”.
I call on all States Members of our Organization to join
our region in this worthy endeavour.
The very existence of many developing countries
as viable States is at stake. The world financial and
economic crisis continues to threaten debt
sustainability in our countries through its impact on the
real economy and the increase in borrowing we had to
undertake in order to mitigate the negative impacts of
the crisis.
The recent gyrations in the major stock markets
of the world do not inspire hope for lasting global
economic recovery any time soon. Now more than
ever, if we are to overcome the current crisis we need a
new mechanism for restructuring and resolving
sovereign debt that takes into account the multiple
dimensions of debt sustainability.
This seemingly unending economic crisis has
affected our countries not only in economic terms, but
also through the presence of barriers to trade, as well
as the financing embedded in some of the anti-crisis
measures adopted by some developed countries. More
importantly, the crisis has impacted our social
development, which in turn has led and continues to
lead to a major loss of jobs and difficulties in financing
social programmes that address poverty or the
provision of basic amenities. All those factors threaten
our efforts to attain the internationally agreed
development goals, including the Millennium
Development Goals.
While my country has made good progress with
the United States on our online gaming dispute, we
urge the United States to remain committed to reaching
a mutually agreed outcome that will bring value to our
economy and is implementable by the United States.
With so much at stake, we will soldier on in our
quest to seek market access openings in key sectors
and other innovative incentives that could include but
would not be limited to financial and technical support,
forensics, equipment and training for dealing with drug
trafficking and for the creation of decent jobs for the
people of Antigua and Barbuda.
Mine is not the only country in the Caribbean that
has experienced trade-related difficulties with the
United States. A far more pernicious economic,
commercial and financial blockade has been imposed
by the United States of America on Cuba, and although
the overwhelming majority of membership of the
United Nations has repeatedly called for that blockade
to be lifted, it continues unabated. As a country
committed to the norms of the multilateral trading
system and the freedom of trade and navigation, and as
a nation that rejects the extraterritorial application of
another country’s national law, we call on the United
States to immediately and unconditionally lift its
economic blockade against the people of Cuba.
On 19 September, almost 11 years to the day
since the World Health Assembly endorsed the
landmark Global Strategy for the Prevention and
Control of Non-communicable Diseases to reduce the
toll of premature deaths due to non-communicable
diseases (NCDs), the General Assembly adopted a
Political Declaration (resolution 66/2) that, among
other things, calls for the launch of a global NCD
campaign.
While there is much to be lauded in the
Declaration, we are nevertheless disappointed that
some of our original expectations, including a clear
goal for the launching of the global NCD campaign
with a corresponding road map, may not have been
fully developed. However, we believe that, if
rigorously implemented, the Declaration will
contribute to the attainment of the Millennium
Development Goals. Let it be known that we will do
our utmost to ensure that the momentum generated at
that meeting is not lost.
Two days ago, we held a one day High-level
Meeting to commemorate the tenth anniversary of the
adoption of the Durban Declaration and Programme of
Action — the internationally recognized blueprint for
action to fight racism that was adopted by consensus at
the 2001 World Conference against Racism, Racial
Discrimination, Xenophobia and Related Intolerance,
held in Durban, South Africa. To this day, the
Declaration remains an innovative and action-oriented
agenda to combat all forms of racism and racial
discrimination.
This tenth anniversary is a chance to strengthen
political commitment to fighting racism and racial
discrimination. It is also an opportune time to revisit
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the issue of reparations for slavery, which is central to
any discussion about racism, colonialism and poverty.
Antigua and Barbuda has long argued that the legacy of
slavery, segregation and racial violence against peoples
of African descent has severely impaired our
advancement as nations, communities and individuals
across the economic, social and political spectrums. In
obtaining redress for the injustices suffered by African
slaves and their descendants, today’s Caribbean and
African peoples would advance immeasurably the
process of genuine healing.
Those who choose to differ have argued that,
unlike victims of the Holocaust or those who have been
interned during wars and have subsequently received
remunerations, neither the victims nor the perpetrators
of slavery are alive today, and that it is unfair to hold
the descendants of slave-owners responsible for the
actions of their ancestors.
On this we strongly disagree. However, no one
should disagree that racism and other legacies of
slavery continue to shape the lives of people of African
descent. Thus, reparations must be directed towards
repairing the damage inflicted by slavery and racism.
That is why we call on former slave States to begin the
reconciliation process by issuing formal apologies for
the crimes committed by those nations or their citizens
over the 400 years of the African slave trade. To help
counter the lingering damage inflicted on generations
of peoples of African descent by generations of slave
trading and colonialism, we call on those very States to
back up their apologies with new commitments to the
economic development of the nations that have
suffered from that human tragedy.
The United Nations has declared 2011 to be the
International Year for People of African Descent.
Throughout the year, nations and communities of the
African diaspora have undertaken a number of
initiatives aimed at the realization of the full
enjoyment of economic, cultural, social, civil and
political rights; participation and integration in all
political, economic, social and cultural aspects of
society; the promotion of a greater knowledge of and
respect for their diverse heritage and culture, with
pronounced emphasis on encouraging multilateralism
and development approaches; and the creation of a
global Afro-centric movement.
The time has come for peoples of the African
diaspora to begin helping themselves. A key part of
that process is the first African Diaspora Summit, to be
held in South Africa in mid-2012. The Summit and its
preparatory process will provide a platform for the
African diaspora to put in place economic policies
aimed at ensuring sustained economic cooperation
among public and private stakeholders, so as to
promote development, entrepreneurship and business
opportunities in diasporan regions.
By 31 October, our planet will reach a milestone
of sorts. Somewhere on the Earth’s surface, the planet’s
7-billionth inhabitant will be born. Seven billion
people! If nothing else, that milestone will serve to
reaffirm our determination as the international
community to implement sound development policies
and promote the inherent right and dignity of each
person. Coming amid the preparations for the 2012
United Nations Conference on Sustainable
Development in Rio de Janeiro, a world of 7 billion
inhabitants reminds us of the critical need to pay
attention to population dynamics if we are to
understand the needs of our people, proactively plan to
avoid development pitfalls, and develop forward-
looking policies that promote the health and dignity of
every human being on Earth, while at the same time
safeguarding the planet we call our home.
By making the necessary investments to develop
quality human capital, with equally strong measures to
promote gender equality with the active promotion of
women and youth participation in all spheres of life,
we will create the enabling conditions for transforming
the economies of developing countries in order to
eradicate poverty and achieve the internationally
agreed Millennium Development Goals. Policies
responsive to the needs of our population not only
contribute to dynamic, growing economies but are a
prerequisite for addressing the huge challenges related
to access to food, energy, water and sanitation, climate
change, fast-paced urbanization and migration. It is not
enough to merely respond to anticipated challenges; we
must take innovative and proactive approaches to seize
the opportunities presented by a world of 7 billion
people.
As the countries of Latin American and
Caribbean region reflect on and respond to those global
challenges, we have determined that our own destinies
are interwoven and that, as developing countries, we
must unite and coordinate our efforts in a systematic,
structured and deliberative way. We have done just that
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with the creation of the Community of Latin American
and Caribbean States.
Antigua and Barbuda fully endorses and supports the
objectives and ideals of the Community and wishes to
acknowledge the efforts of countries such as Mexico,
Venezuela, Brazil, Cuba and our sister CARICOM
member States for bringing the organization into being.
As we prepare for an important Summit in
Caracas, Venezuela, in December, we intend to lay the
foundation of a dynamic, responsive and meaningful
community of nations that share a common history and
that have a great deal to gain in our coming together in
this way to reshape the agenda, thereby creating a
greater balance in the pursuit of happiness, prosperity,
peace and democracy in our hemisphere.
Within my own subregion, the eight small
developing countries that make up the Organization of
Eastern Caribbean States (OECS) have a common
currency union, the Eastern Caribbean Currency Union
(ECCU). We have been adversely affected by the
global financial and economic crisis and we are faced
with a protracted recovery. The impact of the global
crisis was manifested in steep declines in our tourist
arrivals and expenditures, direct foreign investment
and remittances. Our real gross domestic product
(GDP) fell by 5.7 per cent in 2009 and is estimated to
have declined by a further 2.2 per cent in 2010,
influenced by declines in value added in construction,
manufacturing, agriculture, wholesale and retail,
transport and financial intermediation. The crisis has
also had a marked impact on our fiscal positions, with
an accompanying increase in public-sector debt.
Despite those challenges, there is a positive side.
Our countries have strong liberal democratic systems
and the rule of law is upheld. We also have a stable
currency that has been pegged to the United States
dollar at a rate of 2.7 Eastern Caribbean dollars to
$1 since 1976. That has been responsible for
comparatively low inflation and confidence in the
monetary system. In response to the global and
regional economic and financial crises, ECCU
members have crafted a very strong response to those
challenges. We have upgraded our current economic
integration arrangements to an economic union status
and a new treaty to that effect, the revised Treaty of
Basseterre establishing an OECS Economic Union, was
ratified in January 2011.
We have put in place a number of institutional
arrangements, which have served us well in addressing
the effects of the crisis over the past two years. We
adopted the ECCU Eight Point Stabilisation and
Growth Programme in 2009, aimed at stabilizing and
transforming the ECCU economies. As part of the
financial programming, we have set fiscal targets,
which have been approved by the Monetary Council
and published. The targets are intended to move our
countries on a path towards achieving a debt-to-GDP
ratio of 60 per cent by 2020.
My region remains deeply concerned that AIDS
has claimed 30 million lives and orphaned 16 million
children since it was first discovered in 1981. My
region remains committed to intensifying national
efforts to create enabling legal, social and policy
frameworks to eliminate stigma, discrimination and
violence related to HIV and to promote
non-discriminatory access to HIV prevention,
treatment, care and support.
As a small developing nation, we can easily
identify with the President’s call for enhancing South-
South and triangular cooperation. This, after all, was
perhaps his signature issue during his tenure as
Chairman of the Committee on South-South
Cooperation. His choice of improving disaster
prevention and response also resonates with us. The
increase in the frequency and intensity of natural and
man-made disasters and the devastation wrought by
them on vulnerable countries such as my own leave us
with no choice but to develop ways to build our
capacities so that we are better prepared to withstand
these disasters.
In addition to his main theme for this session, we
also support the President’s call to focus on United
Nations reform and revitalization so as to ensure that
our Organization remains relevant, efficient and
effective and is able to adapt to meeting the ever-
changing global challenges.
His fourth focal area of sustainable development
and global prosperity is perhaps the one with the most
scope for collective action. The United Nations
Conference on Sustainable Development in June 2012
will certainly provide a forum for the international
community to, among other things, recommit to
sustainable development, the eradication of poverty
and achieving the Millennium Development Goals by
ensuring the balance among the economic, social and
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environmental aspects of sustainable development,
with the human being at the centre of our efforts.
We can no longer ask whether we can, but we
need to give an account of exactly how we will meet
the enormous political, economic, humanitarian and
environmental challenges our planet faces. The global
economic crisis continues to shake the pillars of our
economic system: banks, businesses, Governments,
private sectors and even our own families. Now more
than ever, we need a more efficient, effective and
focused United Nations that is both transparent and
accountable to help us address the extraordinary array
of geopolitical and humanitarian challenges: famine in
Somalia, the continued crisis in Haiti, the aftershocks
of the Arab Spring, ongoing conflicts in some countries
and difficult transitions in others, in addition to the
deeper political, economic and environmental
transformations that are reshaping our world.
In an increasingly uncertain world, the world’s
people are looking to us here, in this great Hall of the
United Nations, for answers. We are their best hope for
building a safe, secure and just world. We cannot
afford to disappoint. We know that rescuing the planet
will require us to invest in people, particularly women
and youth. It will require us to re-emphasize the
prevention of conflicts and natural disasters alike, and
it will require us to devote new efforts to assist nations
in transition from war to peace, autocracy to
democracy, poverty to prosperity.
Let us show the people of the world that we are
indeed up to these enormous tasks. Then, and only
then, will we be able to say: “Yes, we did!”