I begin by joining my
colleague Heads of State in congratulating Mr. Ali
Treki on his well-deserved election as the President of
the General Assembly at its sixty-fourth session. I
would also like to take this opportunity to thank His
Excellency Miguel d’Escoto Brockmann for his
effective stewardship of the sixty-third session and to
salute Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon for his tireless
efforts to promote global peace, security and
development.
It is an internationally accepted fact that we are in
a period characterized by unprecedented crisis. Crises
related to basic human needs such as food, water and
energy are contributing to great distress and hardship
in every region of our world and precipitating an
escalation in poverty, which we in the United Nations
had committed to halve at the beginning of this decade.
These crises have the potential to bring great social and
political instability to many regions.
The sheer complexity of these matters and their
connectivity with human development make the task of
addressing them very daunting. The progress made by
the international community in this respect must be
noted. However, we must all be mindful that whatever
the perceived impact or fallout experienced by the
economies of the world, the citizens of the small
vulnerable States among us will be the worst hit, and
therefore they continue to warrant the special attention
of this body.
The United Nations Conference on the World
Financial and Economic Crisis and Its Impact on
Development, which convened last June in this Hall,
brought renewed international attention to the
magnitude of this crisis. The outcome document
(resolution 63/303, annex) confirmed, and further
emphasizes, that the crisis has had a particularly
negative effect on developing countries such as
Dominica.
The irony is that though severely affected by the
crisis, our countries had absolutely no relationship or
contribution to its cause. It also threatens the
realization of the Millennium Development goals. In
the Caribbean it is estimated that the impact of the
crisis has created the worst set of economic
circumstances since the era of independence of the
countries of the region, bringing with it depressed
commodity prices, a decline in agricultural export
earnings, contraction of tourism revenues, retreating
foreign direct investment, decreased access to external
financing and declining remittances, among others.
At the regional level the Governments of the
Caribbean Community (CARICOM) are addressing the
impacts of the crisis through the establishment in July
of a task force that will allow the member States, along
with the heads of our regional financial institutions, to
facilitate the mobilization of funds and present a core
set of proposals for dealing with this crisis. Our Heads
of Government have also agreed to the institution of a
programme of collective enhancement of our financial
services sector through improved national regulatory
and supervisory systems, and also through
rationalization and consolidation to ensure safety,
soundness and stability in that sector.
We concur with the call for the strengthening of
institutional arrangements for international cooperation
in tax matters. Furthermore, we endorse the
recommendation of the Conference of the CARICOM
Heads of State for consistent and non-discriminatory
implementation of transparency requirements and
international standards for exchange of information.
We believe that in order to adapt to the adverse
impact of the financial crisis it is crucial that small
island developing States and less developed countries
receive the following: one, speedy implementation of
the decisions of the Conference; two, assistance to
facilitate economic diversification while responding to
the crisis and the negative impact of climate change;
three, fiscal support in view of already high debt
burdens; four, practical assistance from United Nations
agencies through a compact framework; and five,
stimulus funds to be made available by bilateral and
multilateral entities.
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With the onset of the financial crisis, there is now
a wrong perception that the food crisis is over. Food
insecurity continues unabated around the world, and it
is estimated that more than a billion people go to bed
hungry every night. This is both unacceptable and
unsustainable. The creation of the United Nations
system high-level Task Force on Global Food Security
was a timely and welcome initiative of the Secretary-
General and the Director-General of the Food and
Agriculture Organization. Increasing investments in
agriculture in the developing nations is critical to
addressing the food crisis. We therefore welcome the
Group of Eight pledge of $15 billion over the next
three years for enhancing food security, but we warn
that the desired objective may not be achieved if
harmful subsidies in agriculture continue to prevail in
the developed countries.
Completion of the Doha Development Agenda
negotiations at the World Trade Organization takes on
renewed importance as we seek solutions to the global
financial crisis. An appropriate trade environment for a
sustainable recovery for all is highly desirable. It is in
that spirit that we must renew our commitment to
re-engage in the Doha negotiations with the declared
objective of concluding them in 2010.
The status quo has served only to further
marginalize small and vulnerable States and has led to
the almost total collapse of some of our major
industries, including sugar and bananas, which
provided the livelihoods of numerous farming families
and communities. Our Governments continue the
struggle to develop their economies in the absence of
the much-needed foreign exchange that those industries
generated. Increasing the competitiveness of
developing countries and their effective participation in
world trade underscores that Aid for Trade as a new
and independent source of development financing must
be at the centre of the trade and development agenda.
Climate change has emerged as one of the leading
challenges of our generation. If it is not arrested and
sufficiently managed, its adverse impact has the
potential to undermine human security and the social
and economic stability of all nations. All around us we
see evidence of escalating climate change in the form
of severe weather, floods, drought, devastating
hurricanes and cyclones and rising sea levels.
Small island developing States are most
vulnerable to the negative impact of climate change. As
a consequence, we find our countries in the front line
of this monumental challenge to humanity. In
Dominica and several of the sister islands of the
Caribbean, situated as we are in the hurricane belt,
there have been and will continue to be an almost
annual cycle of considerable damage to houses, roads,
coastlines and other infrastructure. For many of our
countries there is a constant struggle to achieve
economic development and a higher quality of life for
our people, only to find ourselves experiencing these
heavy losses and having routinely to start all over
again.
As global preparations for the critical
Copenhagen conference continue, the urgency to act to
address climate change has increased. What has long
been pointed out by the scientists has now been
confirmed by those whose unsustainable production
has precipitated an Earth crisis, which must be
addressed if our planet is to survive. The General
Assembly, in its resolution 63/281 of 3 June this year,
recognized the security implications of climate change
as an additional dimension of the crisis. That is clearly
evident for many small island States whose viability
and very existence are threatened by conditions such as
the rising sea levels.
Dominica is at the forefront of nature
conservation. Upon attaining political independence in
1978, our country was aptly dubbed the “Nature Island
of the Caribbean” in view of our unwavering
commitment to the management and conservation of
our abundant biodiversity, extensive national parks
system, rich forest resources, mountain ranges, fresh
water resources and a pure marine environment. At the
World Summit on Sustainable Development held in
Johannesburg in September 2002, the then Prime
Minister of Dominica, the Honourable Pierre Charles,
proclaimed our country as the “Nature Island of the
World”. Today in the presence of the world gathering
in this body, I announce Dominica’s intention to make
our country a model for sustainable development. A
cordial invitation is extended to the international
community to contribute to this noble venture.
Dominica continues to work closely within the
framework of small island States to continue to bring
our perspective, as climate change front-line States, to
the negotiating table. We are contributing to a solution
to the effects of climate change by pursuing measures
at the national level to promote energy efficiency,
reduce the consumption of fossil fuels and develop our
25 09-52463
geothermal potential for national energy needs, as well
as for the possible export of clean energy to our
neighbours, in the first instance to the French overseas
Departments of Guadeloupe and Martinique.
Dominica is already generating 40 per cent of its
electricity by hydropower. We are at an advanced stage
of geothermal energy development, which by 2015
should enable us to reach the target of 100 per cent
electricity generation by renewable energy. We express
our gratitude to France and the European Union for
their commendable cooperation towards the shift to
renewable energy.
Dominica is therefore encouraged by the many
expressions of support for a successful outcome of the
Copenhagen meeting made by world leaders at the
high-level Summit on Climate Change held a few days
ago in this Hall. There is an urgent need for a greater
demonstration of political will in this regard. I
therefore urge every Head of State or Government to
seize the moment to reach an agreement that will
protect the inhabitants of this planet from one of the
most serious challenges ever to confront humanity.
Dominica remains concerned about the current
economic situation in our sister island of Haiti. We
recognize the important role of the United Nations
Stabilization Mission in Haiti (MINUSTAH) in
ensuring the stability of that country. We commend all
troop-contributing States for their engagement in Haiti,
and we appreciate the support of the Security Council
in extending the mandate of the Mission. Haiti needs
considerable development assistance in order to
consolidate the stability that MINUSTAH’s presence
has fostered and to ensure the success of the
peacebuilding process. In this regard, we endorse and
applaud the decision of the Secretary-General to
appoint former United States President Clinton as
Special Envoy for Haiti. We hope that this appointment
will advance the cause of rebuilding that country.
Dominica, through its actions and also through
CARICOM, will continue to do all in its power to
advance the quality of life of the Haitian people.
Central to my country’s development thrust is a
particular focus on the advancement of our indigenous
people. Consistent with this priority of the United
Nations, we support the continued and expanded
efforts of the Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues in
the implementation of the measures contained in its
recommendations. In this connection, we welcome the
recommendations of the eighth session of the
Permanent Forum on indigenous women, the economic
development and human rights of indigenous peoples,
and specific actions in relation to the Arctic region.
Dominica has undertaken and continues to undertake
important initiatives to improve the social development
of our indigenous people.
We come together every year in the general
debate in a true spirit of common resolve and
partnership. This common resolve and partnership must
assume greater meaning this year because the tasks
before the international community are enormous and
necessitate collective action. However challenging may
be the efforts towards their solution, it seems evident
that only genuine global cooperation and concerted
multilateral action have the possibility of yielding
favourable results. But committed multilateral action in
the face of these crises has so far proved to be elusive.
A greater demonstration of political will should ensure
multilateral action in confronting these crises, as it is
an absolute necessity for the survival of this planet.
I take this opportunity to recognize all the
countries and organizations that have assisted
Dominica and the more vulnerable States in our
development thrust. Particular reference must be made
to those developing countries which, while dealing
with their own domestic challenges, have extended a
true fraternal hand of friendship. To all, we express our
most sincere gratitude. We also reiterate the call of this
General Assembly for an end of the United States
embargo against the Republic of Cuba and look
forward to an early date for its removal.
Finally, as we chart a most progressive
development course for our future, we should ensure
that it includes the full implementation of the
recommendations emanating from the Conference on
the World Financial and Economic Crisis and Its
Impact on Development. We should also make every
effort to leave Copenhagen with a framework for a firm
commitment and a sound climate agreement that will
protect the inhabitants of this planet, particularly the
most vulnerable, from one of the most serious
challenges ever to confront humanity.