Antigua and Barbuda, 2010

Let me at

the outset commend you, Sir, on your unanimous

election as President of the General Assembly at its

sixty-fifth session. I pledge my delegation’s support for

your efforts to successfully move forward the agenda

of this session. I also wish to commend your

predecessor, Mr. Ali Abdussalam Treki, President of

the General Assembly at its sixty-fourth session, for his

stewardship, and Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon for

his leadership of the Secretariat.

Your choice of theme for our general debate —

”Reaffirming the central role of the United Nations in

global governance” — is both appropriate and timely.

After 65 years of operations, there is sufficient history

to provide material for objective review and enough

future to justify such a rigorous assessment.

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In my own view, arising from the many successes

of the United Nations in a wide range of areas, one of

the most enduring lessons the past 65 years have taught

us as a global community is the wisdom and supremacy

of multilateralism. Even where multilateralism has

failed to secure lasting solutions to some of the world’s

problems, it has laid unshakable foundations on which

bilateral understanding can be built.

The resolution of the conflict in the Middle East,

for example, has long eluded the international

community. This is why we are hopeful with regard to

the latest efforts at peaceful negotiations between

Israel and Palestine being brokered by the current

United States Administration. If there is to be lasting

peace in the Middle East, there must be two States,

Israel and Palestine, living side by side in peace and

security. There must be direct negotiations with both

parties, Israel and Palestine, at the same table. Israel

must heed the international community’s unanimous

call to extend the moratorium on disputed settlements,

which would contribute positively to the negotiations.

And all the countries of that region must commit to and

work towards a lasting and durable Middle East peace.

Today, global governance relates not only to

concerns about peace, security and political self-

determination. Importantly, global governance

embraces such imperatives as the elimination of

hunger, disease and ignorance; administering a stable

and robust international financial system; and ensuring

fair trade, adequate shelter and the preservation of our

very delicate environment.

Never in the history of human existence has our

planet been faced with a greater urgency to meet these

objectives. The scale of poverty, conflicts, global

warming, the economic and financial crisis, migration,

pandemics, terrorism and international crime demands

a collective global effort employing common and

coordinated strategies. The extent of these problems

and the enormity of their consequences are clearly

beyond the resource and management capabilities of

any one nation.

I believe that our United Nations, with its near

universal membership, is the only global body that has

the legitimacy and operational structures to undertake

the task of forging the necessary political and

economic consensus to effectively tackle these

problems.

A mere three years ago, we heads of Government

described climate change as the defining challenge of

our era. Three years on it remains so, especially for

those countries that are particularly vulnerable. And yet

we hear from some who have a responsibility to act

that they will only do so when others have taken

action. While everybody waits for somebody else to

act, the peoples of the world are made to suffer.

If ever a challenge requires an urgent global

solution, this one does. Small island developing States

such as Antigua and Barbuda face a unique set of

vulnerabilities related to our small size: relative

isolation, narrow resource base and high exposure to

global environmental threats. To compound this, over

the last five years we have suffered disproportionately

from the financial, food and energy crises. Our

economies have been battered and many of our

productive sectors wiped out.

But the hardship that has ensued for our people

from all this, will pale into insignificance, if the

international community does not quickly address the

looming threat of climate change, which is already

having a devastating impact all over the world. We, the

small island developing States, have already experienced

loss of agricultural land and infrastructure — so too have

many countries in Africa.

Our fishing and tourism industries are being

impacted negatively. There has been considerable loss

of our biodiversity, saltwater intrusion and devastation

of terrestrial and wetland habitats and the destruction

of human settlements. Even the once-distant threat of

rising sea-level is now a reality, forcing some of our

people to emigrate and rebuild their lives elsewhere.

The most notable action, so far, has been repeated

promises of abundant financing to address the most

urgent problems. Sadly, most of these remain just that:

promises. There are too many commitments to

undertake aggressive greenhouse gas emissions

reductions with the caveat of “only if others do so as

well”. This approach has created a dangerous stalemate

that can only be to the further detriment of small island

developing States, such as my own.

Not willing to allow this dangerous situation to

continue forever, my own country of Antigua and

Barbuda has pledged to reduce its already miniscule

greenhouse gas emissions by 25 per cent below 1990

levels by 2020.

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This is within the range specified by the

Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, which

has recommended that overall reductions should be

within the range of 25 per cent to 40 per cent below

1990 levels by 2020. We have also declared that we

will work towards making Antigua and Barbuda a

green economy by 2020.

However, much remains to be done, and we are

painfully aware that we cannot do it alone. I therefore

call on all countries, both developed and developing, to

join us in this endeavour by announcing real,

meaningful emission reductions targets, so that we can

move this seemingly endless debate forward and reach

a comprehensive, binding agreement in the very near

future.

The year 2010 has not been without its share of

catastrophes. The year began with a devastating

earthquake in Haiti — one of the worst disasters in

history. The death toll has been put at some 220,000

out of a population of around 9 million. The earthquake

has been estimated to cost $8 to $14 billion, according

to the Inter-American Development Bank. Against this

backdrop, many countries pledged assistance — up to

$1.5 billion. Sadly, only 10 per cent of the amount

pledged has been received by Haiti. In the midst of

these unfulfilled commitments, the humanitarian needs

of our sister island remain dire.

Since charity begins at home, we, the member

States of the Caribbean Community (CARICOM), of

which Haiti is a member, have been contributing within

our very limited capacity our fair share of assistance to

Haiti, including direct budgetary support. I call on

those nations that pledged assistance to Haiti, to

honour their commitments. Those pledges are needed

urgently, now that the rebuilding phase is getting under

way in that devastated country.

In Chile, a huge earthquake moved the city of

Concepción at least 10 feet, or 3 metres, to the west.

Between 500 and 700 persons were killed. Total

recovery costs could exceed $15 billion. In the

People’s Republic of China, a series of snowstorms and

freezing weather have affected the western region of

the country since December 2009. The storms have

affected millions and resulted in 30 deaths. This year

alone, severe flooding and a major earthquake killed

hundreds of people and rendered thousands more

homeless.

In Pakistan, devastating floods have resulted in

over 1,600 deaths and more than 6 million people have

been affected. That country has sought international

assistance to cope with the catastrophe. Despite mass

evacuations, there are fears that the death toll will rise

as flooding reaches the southern parts of the country

and the risk of an outbreak of waterborne diseases

increases in many areas. These disasters and their

aftermaths serve to reaffirm the need to ensure that

addressing the humanitarian consequences of today’s

disasters and emergencies remains a United Nations

priority. And those countries in a position to do so

should pledge their support to assist Pakistan and to

honour their pledges.

Antigua and Barbuda continues to commiserate

with the Governments and people of these and other

nations, who have been affected by natural and other

disasters.

In my region of Latin America and the Caribbean,

our Governments are taking bold steps to overcome

some of our inherent economic and social

vulnerabilities by forging economic partnerships

designed to help lift our people out of poverty. The

Single Market and Economy being developed at the

level of the 15-member Caribbean Community is one

such valiant initiative.

At the subregional level of the Organization of

Eastern Caribbean States (OECS), economic

integration is proceeding at an even more rapid pace

with our commitment to creating an economic union by

next year.

Both the CARICOM Single Market and

Economy, as well as the OECS Economic Union, are

enormous undertakings by small island nations with

very limited resources. We therefore invite the support

of our development partners to assist us with the

technical and financial resources necessary to move

these economic initiatives forward. The leaders of our

region see the building of strong economic alliances as

being vital to the creation of wealth and prosperity for

our people.

We are convinced that the capacity of our

national Governments to deliver critical social services

for our populations can be improved through greater

economic and technical cooperation at the regional

level. It is for that reason, and with the interest of our

people in mind, that the countries of Latin America and

the Caribbean agreed at our meeting in Mexico earlier

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this year to create the Community of Latin American

and Caribbean States, which will unite members of the

Rio Group and the Caribbean Community. This

Community of nations will coexist with the

Organization of American States, in which we

participate along with our North American partners.

The economic challenges facing all the people of

our hemisphere are too many and their implications too

great for us to contemplate the creation of any

economic community of Latin America and the

Caribbean that excludes any one country of our region.

It is in that spirit that Cuba remains, and will always

remain, a vibrant participant in any broad economic

arrangement for Latin America and the Caribbean.

We may not all share similar political views and

political systems. However, the right of all the people

of Latin America and the Caribbean to an equal chance

at survival, economic development and social

advancement is absolute and non-negotiable. For that

reason, the Governments and the people of Latin

America and the Caribbean continue to regard as

unjust, counterproductive and reprehensible the

maintenance of the ongoing economic embargo against

Cuba. As a political strategy or economic manoeuvre,

that act of economic strangulation is unjustifiable. We

condemn the embargo in the strongest possible terms,

as its continued enforcement by the United States

severely hampers the development of Cuba and its

people.

Antigua and Barbuda therefore reiterates its call

for the United States to immediately end its economic

embargo against the Cuban people.

More than 20 years after the fall of the Berlin

Wall, democracy has emerged as the preferred form of

government all over the world. And people everywhere

have strongly opposed attempts to seize Governments —

any Government — through undemocratic means. Such

attempts, whenever and wherever they occur, must be

condemned in the strongest possible terms. We

therefore condemn the undemocratic moves such as the

recent coup d’état in Honduras and call for the

unconditional return of former President Zelaya

without harm to his physical person. That is a sine qua

non for the full normalization of relations between

Honduras and most of the countries of the region.

As I said in my statement during the review of

the Millennium Development Goals (see ), a

renewed emphasis on trade is a critical pillar on which

developing countries are seeking to rescue their

battered economies and lift their people out of poverty.

In that respect, it is essential that all participants in the

global trading system, including our partners in the

developed countries, adhere to their international

obligations. If that is not done, the people of our small

developing countries, despite the encouragement of

their leaders, will have no faith in the international

system. They will have no reason to believe that the

multilateral system is just and that it works for them in

the same way it does for large, powerful, developed

nations.

The non-resolution of the ongoing gaming matter

within the World Trade Organization (WTO), despite

repeated rulings in favour of Antigua and Barbuda by

the Dispute Settlement Body of WTO, is a case in

point. Let us not forget that, like the United Nations,

WTO and other bodies such as the Bretton Woods

institutions are essential elements of the multilateral

system and vital pillars of the accepted architecture of

global governance. In the spirit of preserving that vital

architecture of global governance, Antigua and

Barbuda reiterates its call for our friend and partner,

the United States, to work with us to quickly resolve

the situation and reach a settlement that is fair and just

to both parties.

Trade is a critical engine of economic growth. If

for no other reason but that, we must complete the

Doha Round of trade negotiations so as to ensure a

balanced outcome. Now more than ever, after some 10

years in the making, Doha must lead to economic

expansion, development in the poorest countries, and

an end to distorting subsidies and protectionist barriers.

A number of the countries classified as middle-

and upper-middle-income countries are in dire need of

substantial amounts of debt relief in order to create

fiscal space for spending targeted towards their

development. Many of those countries now have debt-

servicing obligations that are comparable in size to

their gross national product or, in some cases, dwarf

the value of their total output. For them — my own

country included — the need for urgent debt relief is a

top priority.

For many of those countries the debt distress has

been caused by global crises not of their making. The

global financial and economic tsunami, the likes of

which has not been seen since 1929, has impacted

negatively on every sphere of life for about 90 per cent

11 10-55128

of humankind. In some instances, entire national

economies collapsed and commercial and private

sectors have been decimated. For some, the downward

spiral has no end in sight. Many countries are

struggling to maintain a minimal level of normalcy. For

others, attempting to stave off financial collapse, the

social upheaval and chaos are unravelling the very

fabric of modern societies and jeopardizing sanity,

sovereignty, independence, and the dignity and pride of

their people.

The effects of the global financial and economic

crisis on the larger territories of the Caribbean

Community are evident in their economic, fiscal and

social statistical data. For the smaller territories of the

Eastern Caribbean, the situation is even more

devastating. Permit me to relate the facts pertaining to

my own country, Antigua and Barbuda.

In addition to the direct and indirect impact that

the global economic contagion has had on our

economy, we have had to endure the collapse of two of

the leading insurance companies, which not only held

normal policies but also annuities and life savings for

individuals, as well as large cash investments for

national statutory corporations totalling approximately

$150 million. At the same time, the leading private-

sector employer and second largest employer in the

nation after the Government has collapsed.

All that was added to a financial sector that has

been suffering from a sustained campaign by the

Organization for Economic Cooperation and

Development (OECD) to reduce competition in

taxation, an area into which we had diversified our

economy, which was previously dependent almost

entirely on tourism. That action by OECD resulted in

the loss of hundreds of the most lucrative jobs and an

estimated loss of hundreds of millions in direct revenue

to our economy.

We note the recent removal of Antigua and

Barbuda from the so-called Grey List. Our current

listing among the countries that have substantially

implemented internationally agreed taxation standards

is a belated recognition of the steps taken by the

current Government of Antigua and Barbuda, over

several years, to be in full compliance with all

international standards in this respect.

In the light of those realities of substantial

revenue decline and severe economic dislocation,

Antigua and Barbuda recently engaged the Paris Club

in discussions on our country’s $133 million

outstanding debt to that group of creditors. Our

engagement with the Paris Club was assisted by a

stand-by arrangement previously approved by the

International Monetary Fund (IMF). We have reached

an agreement by which some 90 per cent of that debt

will be restructured. Our next step will be to enter

bilateral negotiations with Paris Club member

creditors.

With the economic challenges I have outlined,

our efforts to meet human development needs are

severely strained and challenged in unprecedented

ways. That makes our attainment of the Millennium

Development Goals, though possible, extremely

difficult without a more realistic and flexible direct

commitment from our development partners. I

therefore call on the Group of Seven, the Group of 20,

IMF and the World Bank, in their bilateral and

multilateral commitments to the Caribbean, to give a

more compassionate and favourable response to the

New Arrangement to Borrow, with specific focus on

the Group of 20 agreement of 2 April 2010. That

agreement was to triple the fund’s lending capacity to

$750 billion. This approach has already been taken

with some other regions and nations. The institutions

are being called on, too, to accord to our region

consideration of broader and more comprehensive debt

cancellation to spur economic revival and, in some

cases, survival.

The General Assembly meets once again as the

chief deliberative, policymaking and representative

organ of the United Nations. We meet in this unique

forum, which bestows equality on each of its 192

Members, in order to engage in multilateral discussions

to advance the interests of all peoples of the world. But

reaffirming the central role of the United Nations in

global governance cannot be done without due regard

to the myriad challenges facing all its Members.

For us to achieve that reaffirmation — which most,

if not all, of us believe is a very notable objective — I

believe we must act now. I therefore call on the

Assembly to develop at this session the modalities that

will enable our nations to be able to resolve conflicts

and promote peace and stability, foster a more

prosperous world through balanced growth and

prosperity among developed and developing countries,

encourage all Member States to pursue a cleaner,

greener, more sustainable world for our children, and

create a safer world, free of nuclear weapons.

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The 65-year history of this noble institution

establishes beyond a doubt that we can. And the future

of our generation and generations of our peoples to

come behoves us to embark on that mission with

urgency and immediacy.