I stand in for The
Honourable Navinchandra Ramgoolam, Prime Minister
of the Republic of Mauritius, who is not able to be
personally present to address this Assembly at this
session. The Prime Minister has asked me, on his
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behalf to make this statement and to convey his kind
greetings to President D’Escoto Brockmann; to his
predecessor, Mr. Srgjan Kerim; and our Secretary-
General, Mr. Ban Ki-moon.
The problems we face are many and daunting, but
we believe that humankind has the ingenuity and
resources to overcome adversity through a unified
response. The goal of promoting human development
and security, in all its manifold aspects, should remain
our priority. In that regard, the theme of this session —
“The impact of the global food crisis on poverty and
hunger and the need to democratize the United
Nations” — is both timely and relevant.
We are all affected by the growing global food
crisis. As always, the brunt of food insecurity is borne
by Africa, Asia and the Caribbean, where riots and
strikes have occurred and social unrest threatens
political stability. Admittedly, a number of factors
underlie the present scarcity of food. Some of those
factors are beyond our control. However, there is an
urgent need for us to address such issues as outdated
agricultural practices, inadequate infrastructure, the
inequitable distribution of land ownership and
insecurity of tenure. The list is long. The remedies are
known. Hopefully, we can bring to bear the political
will that is required.
Mauritius is a net food importing country. To
reduce our dependence on food imports, the
Government is implementing a plan to maximize food
production. We are optimizing land use and
diversifying the production of food crops, livestock
and seafood. To overcome the constraints of land
availability and take advantage of economies of scale,
we aim, in partnership with neighbouring countries, to
produce for our common domestic markets and
eventually for exports to the region. Our experiments
in that respect with Madagascar and Mozambique are
proving to be mutually beneficial and hold great
promise for the future.
The right to food is one that is very often
overlooked, and yet it is intimately connected to human
dignity. It is important that the international
community act now to ensure that this fundamental
human right is respected. In this era of scientific and
technological prowess, when we are unravelling the
mysteries of the immensities of the universe and
subatomic particles, and when the discoveries of
science daily amaze us and change our perceptions of
reality, it is unconscionable that countless children
should sleep on an empty stomach. One out of every
six persons in the world suffers from hunger. That is
the greatest moral challenge facing humanity today.
We commend the Secretary-General for the
timely establishment of the High-level Task Force on
the Global Food Security Crisis. We also welcome the
recent proposal by the European Commission to create
a special facility amounting to more than $1.5 billion
for a rapid response to food crises, in coordination with
the United Nations Task Force and international
organizations.
Over a period of almost one year, the
unprecedented level of the price of oil has dealt a
severe blow to the economic growth of many
developing countries. Mauritius depends on imported
oil for 80 per cent of its energy consumption, which
makes it extremely vulnerable on that count. The share
of petroleum products in our import bill went up from
12 per cent in 2000 to 18 per cent in 2007. We have
recently set up the “Maurice Ile Durable” project to
encourage more efficient use of energy and to tap
renewable energy sources.
(spoke in French)
The Maurice Ile Durable project is bold, but we
believe that the current global situation calls for
boldness. The prime objective of the project is to strike
a balance between our economic, environmental and
social needs. Last year, we achieved a 5.4 per cent
growth rate increase and this year we forecast a rate of
more than 5.7 per cent. However, we realize that
growth is not an end in itself.
The Government is pursuing a model of
development that takes into account not only economic
imperatives, but also the deep-seated aspirations of
each Mauritian citizen. At the same time, we cannot
allow ourselves to compromise the opportunities for
future generations.
The Maurice Ile Durable project seeks to make
Mauritius a fully-fledged laboratory. We will use the
natural resources with which our island is so liberally
endowed — the sea, the sun, the wind and a rich plant
biomass. We seek an environmental solution to the
problem of global warming and to our dependence on
the extremely volatile hydrocarbons market. We have
set ourselves the target of reducing our dependence of
petroleum-based products by two thirds within
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20 years. This is how we are contributing to
international efforts to combat the greenhouse effect. It
is the wager for the future of a very vulnerable small
island economy, but I want to believe that it is also the
objective of a planet threatened with suffocation on the
long term.
(spoke in English)
While the causes of food insecurity and the
energy crisis are multiple and complex, there is little
doubt that climate change will exacerbate the situation
in the future. Climate change places a particular burden
on developing countries, which have done the least to
cause the problem. Developing countries are in dire
need of assistance to enhance their adaptive capacity
and minimize their vulnerability because, on their own,
they cannot bear the burden of the costs of mitigation
and adaptation.
As an island, Mauritius is especially vulnerable to
the effects of climate change, sea-level rise, beach
erosion, coral bleaching and extreme weather
conditions. They not only affect our local resources
and industries such as fisheries and tourism, but also
threaten vital infrastructure, settlements and services.
The increased frequency and scale of natural disasters
exacerbate our inherent vulnerability.
Mauritius is fully engaged in the post-Bali
process. The meetings to be held in Poznan in
December and in Copenhagen next year will be crucial
to determining emission targets. It is vital that we reach
a comprehensive agreement on a climate change
framework. At the last high-level meeting on climate
change, Mauritius made a plea for the creation of a
special fund to enable the development and
implementation of adaptation measures. Our appeal to
international donors to provide the much-needed
resources for operating the fund is yet to be answered.
However, we welcome the recent declaration by the
leaders of the Group of Eight of a long-term emissions
reduction target of at least 50 per cent by 2050. We
also welcome their undertaking to help support the
mitigation plans of major developing countries through
technology transfer and capacity-building.
Small island developing States are innocent
victims of global warming and the degradation of the
environment. Only a few weeks ago, we witnessed the
devastation caused by a quick succession of hurricanes
in the Caribbean. We therefore call on the international
community to assist small island developing States to
incorporate adaptation and mitigation plans into their
national strategies. Continued access to official
development assistance, concessionary financing
arrangements, the reduction of debt servicing and
improved terms of trade are crucial to building up the
economic resilience of small island developing States.
We are particularly concerned about the
inadequate level of implementation of the Barbados
Plan of Action and the Mauritius Strategy. We reiterate
our request to the international community to honour
the offers of assistance made during the international
conference on small island developing States held in
Mauritius in 2005. Furthermore, the arbitrary gross
domestic product criteria applied to determine the
eligibility for securing concessionary finance
disqualify most small island developing States from
accessing much-needed funds for important
infrastructure development. It is absolutely necessary
in that regard that small island developing States be
treated as a distinct category.
More than halfway through, the Millennium
Development Goal (MDG) track record is mixed. Some
developing countries are on target while others,
particularly from the African continent, are facing
crippling difficulties. Even the gains painstakingly
achieved in fighting hunger and poverty are tenuous
and could be nullified by the current food and energy
crisis. It is vital that donors and development partners
honour the pledges made in the Millennium
Declaration, the 2002 Monterrey International
Conference on Financing for Development and the
2005 World Summit.
Mauritius is on track to meet the MDG targets.
Efforts are under way in all key socio-economic sectors
to further improve living standards and to achieve the
MDGs as early as possible. We are addressing poverty
in a comprehensive and coherent manner, convinced
that it will have a positive impact on the other
development goals. Our experience has demonstrated
that the most effective remedy to poverty is inclusive
economic growth.
The Government is pursuing a number of
programmes announced in its latest budget to eliminate
absolute poverty. We have introduced an Eradication of
Absolute Poverty Programme, which comprises a
number of integrated development projects within
identified pockets of poverty. We have also put in place
a Human Resource Development, Knowledge and Arts
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Fund to ensure that university studies become
affordable to all. We aim to double enrolment in
tertiary education by 2015.
In April, Mauritius hosted the Southern Africa
Development Community (SADC) International
Conference on Poverty and Development. I am happy
to inform the Assembly that the Conference formulated
a regional strategy for poverty eradication in the SADC
countries. The SADC secretariat has taken follow-up
action on the development of an implementation plan.
In line with one of the Conference recommendations, a
joint ministerial task force on food security, comprising
the ministers of finance, trade and agriculture, met in
Lusaka on 13 July 2008 to tackle the food crisis
affecting the region.
Africa’s development needs were debated at the
highest level on Monday, 22 September. Concrete and
concerted action on the part of African States and their
cooperation partners is called for to help achieve
sustained and sustainable development on the
continent. Furthermore, we look forward to the
forthcoming Follow-up International Conference on
Financing for Development in Doha. It will be a unique
opportunity to address the various facets of
concessionary financing and to find new resources for
development.
More important, the Doha Development Agenda
should deliver on its promise of development through
increased trading opportunities as a means of
eradicating poverty. With regard to the World Trade
Organization negotiations, we join those who have
called for the talks to progress on the basis of what has
already been achieved. We remain fully committed to
the Doha Development Agenda and will contribute
constructively to the negotiations.
We support the effective and quick
implementation of the Aid for Trade Initiative, which
should take into account the priorities and needs of
beneficiary countries. At present, our limited industrial
capacity prevents us from taking full advantage of the
opportunities offered by globalization. On the regional
front, I am pleased to say that we have made major
strides in our integration process. The SADC Free
Trade Area was launched on 17 August 2008, and we
are aiming to fully liberalize trade by 2012.
Since the adoption of the 2001 Declaration of
Commitment on HIV/AIDS (resolution S-26/2),
increasing numbers of people have gained access to
HIV prevention and treatment in low- and middle-
income countries. However, many countries still have a
long way to go to meet the goal we set ourselves under
MDG 6 of achieving universal access to HIV
prevention, treatment, care and support by 2010. The
high prevalence of HIV/AIDS in sub-Saharan Africa
continues to be a cause for alarm.
Engagement at the highest level is vital in the
fight against HIV/AIDS. The Mauritius National AIDS
Committee, under the chairmanship of The Honourable
Prime Minister, oversees the implementation of a
multisectoral HIV and AIDS strategic plan. That plan
provides for antiretroviral treatment free of charge to
all HIV-infected persons, voluntary counselling and
testing service and the implementation of a mother-to-
child transmission prevention programme. The
Government has also increased the amount allocated to
the fight against HIV/AIDS by 50 per cent in the
current budget.
As we celebrate the sixtieth anniversary of the
adoption of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights
in December, we must remain unwavering in our
resolve to promote and protect human rights. Much
remains to be done to ensure that the basic rights of
individuals are universally protected. The Mauritian
Constitution guarantees that our citizens enjoy
fundamental rights in their everyday lives. The
National Human Rights Commission, the Human
Rights Centre, the Parliamentary Commission for the
Democratization of the Economy and the proposed
Equal Opportunities Act are important mechanisms for
the protection and promotion of human rights in our
country.
As an advocate of all human rights and
fundamental freedoms, Mauritius severely condemns
the decision of Myanmar’s military junta to prolong the
house arrest of Ms. Aung San Suu Kyi. My delegation
believes that the national reconciliation and full
democratization of Myanmar cannot be achieved
without the release of Ms. Aung San Suu Kyi and other
political detainees and without the participation of the
National League for Democracy in the political
process.
Situations of conflict and war inevitably give rise
to violations of human rights and to atrocities against
innocent civilians. Displacement and violent death
continue to be the lot of far too many in parts of the
Middle East, Africa and Asia. Mauritius has always
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supported the struggle of the Palestinian people and
their inalienable right to self-determination. We favour
the creation of a Palestinian State coexisting with the
State of Israel within secure and recognized borders. It
is through dialogue, negotiations and compromise by
both sides that lasting peace can come about in the
Middle East.
The deteriorating humanitarian situation in
Darfur remains a matter of grave concern for my
delegation. We urge all parties involved in the conflict,
especially the authorities, to exercise restraint in their
actions and to move towards a just and lasting solution
to the conflict. We welcome the power-sharing accord
reached in Zimbabwe. We hope that a Government of
national unity will bring peace, stability and
reconciliation to the Zimbabwean people, who have
suffered for far too long the brutal consequences of the
political crisis and economic meltdown.
The grave and pervasive threat of terrorism
knows no boundaries; no country is shielded from its
pernicious and devastating impact. Mauritius is
committed to the United Nations Global Counter-
Terrorism Strategy. It is imperative that we conclude a
comprehensive convention against terrorism as soon as
possible to reinforce the existing legal framework. In
June 2008, as part of its contribution to the
international efforts to combat terrorism in all its forms
and manifestations, Mauritius joined the Global
Initiative to Combat Nuclear Terrorism.
We fully share the view of the President of the
General Assembly regarding the democratization of our
Organization. The ongoing discussions on the
revitalization of the General Assembly, system-wide
coherence, mandate review and management reform in
the context of the United Nations reform process
should be aimed at strengthening multilateralism. We
need comprehensive reform of the Security Council so
that it is able to meet the needs and respond to the
aspirations of the increasingly changing political
realities of the world.
We call for expansion of the Security Council in
both the permanent and non-permanent membership
categories and for improvement in its working
methods. Mauritius remains firmly committed to the
Ezulwini Consensus, which calls for two seats in the
permanent category and five non-permanent seats for
Africa. I should like to reaffirm once again the
unequivocal support of Mauritius for India to be a
permanent member of a reformed Security Council. We
also reaffirm our support for a Latin American and
Caribbean country to be a permanent member of a
reformed Council. Furthermore, we welcome the recent
unanimous decision of the General Assembly to start
intergovernmental negotiations on Security Council
reform in an informal plenary meeting of the General
Assembly by the end of February 2009.
The principles and objectives enshrined in the
Charter of the United Nations should continue to guide
us in our actions. I would like to bring up once again
before the Assembly our legitimate sovereignty claim
regarding the Chagos Archipelago, including
Diego Garcia. The Archipelago was excised from the
territory of Mauritius by the United Kingdom prior to
our independence, in disregard of General Assembly
resolutions 1514 (XV) of 1960 and 2066 (XX) of 1965.
We have always favoured a settlement of the issue
through constructive bilateral dialogue. In that regard, I
wish to inform the Assembly that high-level talks are
under way.
The Government is very sensitive to the
aspirations of citizens of Mauritius to return to the
islands of their birth in the Chagos Archipelago. I wish
to recall here that they were forcibly removed from the
Archipelago prior to its excision from Mauritius.
Likewise, we urge France to pursue dialogue with
Mauritius on the issue of Tromelin. It is our firm
conviction that such bilateral dialogue will further
consolidate our historical and friendly relations with
both the United Kingdom and France.
In conclusion, I wish to reiterate that the United
Nations remains the most important and credible
international multilateral Organization for the
maintenance of peace and security and for building a
better and safer world. The President of the General
Assembly can rest assured of our unwavering support
in the work of the United Nations.