The Bahamas, 2014

Kamalesh Sharma, the

Secretary General of the Commonwealth of Nations,

said to us at a gathering here in New York a few days

ago: “Do not be demoralized by your income, be

inspired by your outcome”. That should be a driving

principle as all countries, particularly the small island

developing States, seek to determine what the post-

2015 development agenda will be. The obstacles are

many. The lip service is evident. We have hope, and our

moral case is strong. We are inspired by the potential

outcomes of this new development agenda.

We must be people-focused and, in that regard, I

remember a story told by a colleague, a Minister from

the Far East, who explained his absence to a constituent

at home as dealing with many of the world’s problems.

“Yes”, said the constituent to him, “but the water pump

in the village has not been fixed”. It is a reminder

of whom we really work for in this body — not for

ourselves, but for that villager who needs the pump at

home to be fixed.

At this session, our Prime Minister gave a

comprehensive statement on climate change and the

need for developed countries to honour their financial

commitments in that regard. In addition, we deposited

our instrument of ratification of the Arms Trade Treaty

(ATT), which helped to bring the number of countries

to 50 and so caused the Treaty to enter into force.

Furthermore, in the margins of the session, we signed

a memorandum of understanding with the International

Organization for Migration.

There are no higher priorities for the Bahamas than

these matters: the environment, fighting crime and

containing illegal immigration. They go to the very

root of our existence. If we do not resolve the climate

change issues, there will be no Bahamas. Solving the

crime problem in the Bahamas is key to our domestic

peace and economic survivability. No Bahamian doubts

that the control of illegal immigration is central to

our survivability as a country, central to our national

identity, and central to our national security. We have

only to see today how illegal immigration drains our

financial resources, and we do not have to look far to

see how unchecked immigration in other countries has

been a recipe for civil strife within their borders. We

do not intend for that to happen to us. All of the efforts

related to the three main themes I have just mentioned

are buttressed by our work to ensure that we have a

robust, strong and sustainable economy.

Tourism is by far the number-one economic

activity for the Bahamas. The environment is central

to that business. It should therefore be no surprise that

the Bahamas has adopted or established the following:

the National Environmental Policy, 2005; the National

Environmental Management and Action Plan for the

Bahamas, 2005; the Bahamas National Wetland Policy,

2007; the Bahamas Protected Areas Fund, 2013; and

the Forestry Amendment Act, 2014. We believe that

those policies and programmes will all help with the

issue of climate change. We also believe that the United

Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change is

the primary international, intergovernmental forum for

negotiating the global response to climate change. We

believe that it should be completed with dispatch.

The Bahamas is committed to the small island

developing States processes at the United Nations.

The Bahamas welcomes the convening of the World

Conference on Disaster Risk Reduction next year in

Japan.

The Bahamas is appalled by the practice of killing

sharks simply for their fins. We must make the fishing

of sharks a sustainable practice, as these creatures

are a vital part of the global ecosystem. The Bahamas

therefore assumed the chairmanship of the United

Nations Save Our Sharks Coalition in December 2013.

The aims of the Coalition resonate with us, and we

believe that we can help save the shark from extinction.

The Bahamas has been grappling with serious

crimes in our society, related largely to, first, the

inability of young males to settle disputes without

recourse to violence and, secondly, the resulting

proliferation of gang activity and trafficking in illicit

drugs, small arms and light weapons, and ammunition.

The Bahamas therefore became actively involved in

the negotiations leading to the successful adoption of

the Arms Trade Treaty and considered its adoption

a landmark accomplishment for the United Nations

(resolution 67/234 B). The Government believes the

entry into force of the ATT will contribute to peace

and security in the Bahamas and throughout our

region. We deposited the instrument of ratification of

the Commonwealth of the Bahamas to the Arms Trade

Treaty on 25 September. We continue to fight the

illegal drug trade and trafficking in persons, and we are

investing in social intervention programmes, like the

award-winning Urban Renewal Programme, in order to

fight crime.

I spoke earlier of the memorandum of understanding

signed with the International Organization for

Migration. This is one part of a multifaceted strategy

to stop the flow of undocumented non-nationals into

Bahamian territory. New policies and measures are

now in place, and there will be stricter adherence in

the future to them to stop this trafficking. A new fleet

of vessels has been purchased to support our work to

stop migrant smuggling. In the last few months, the

Bahamas has entered into important agreements with

our immediate neighbours — Cuba, the Dominican

Republic and Haiti — to come to terms with the vexing

situations that impact our good relations. Those accords

are on fishing and on migration. Let there be no doubt

that we mean to bring illegal migration under control.

Nevertheless, our relations with neighbouring

countries remain good. This is all the more reason

why we believe that the continued economic embargo

by one neighbour against another in our region is

counterproductive to the peace and good order of the

region. We continue to keep matters with regard to

the governance issues in our neighbour, the Turks and

Caicos Islands, under review.

The Bahamas looks forward to the forthcoming

launch of the International Decade for People of African

Descent, which will have as its theme “People of

African descent: recognition, justice and development”.

That theme could also be linked to the efforts of States

members of the Caribbean Community in seeking the

restorative justice due from the legacy of 400 years

of slavery. We were heartened by the unveiling of the

winning design for the permanent memorial to honour

the victims of slavery and the transatlantic slave trade.

We reaffirm our support for that important project.

The Bahamas welcomes the convening of the third

International Conference on Financing for Development,

to be held in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, in July 2015. We

plan to participate in that conference, which we expect

will provide a forum to address the need to demystify

and replace the view that gross domestic product

is the sole indicator of sustainable development — a

replacement that needs to be converted into policy — as

well as the matter of international cooperation in tax

matters. In that regard, the Bahamas reaffirms the

important role of the United Nations in addressing

matters related to international tax cooperation, given

its universality and legitimacy.

The Bahamas reaffirms its commitment to

the promotion and protection of human rights and

fundamental freedoms for all people, regardless of their

station or status in society. These rights and freedoms

are neither negotiable nor peripheral. As a demonstration

of its commitment to human rights, I am pleased to

report that the Bahamas has passed national legislation,

the Persons with Disabilities (Equal Opportunities)

Act, which will ensure its ratification of the Convention

on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities in due

course. In addition, four bills have been introduced in

Parliament with a view to amending the Constitution of

the Bahamas to bring about full equality between men

and women in law. This event will mark a significant

opportunity for the people of the Bahamas to usher in a

new era of equality for men and women.

The Bahamas looks forward to the process of

elaborating the post-2015 development agenda and to

actively participating in the intergovernmental process

that will lead to the adoption of this agenda in September

2015. Our vision for the post-2015 development agenda

is creative, inclusive and transformative.

The Bahamas endorses the idea of Security Council

reform. As we look around at the tens of millions of

dollars that have been, and are being, spent to bring the

physical structure up to code and into the twenty-first

century, why cannot we ensure that the organs of the

United Nations, especially the Security Council, also

reflect twenty-first-century realities?

Last year, the Bahamas celebrated its fortieth year

of independence. In addressing the General Assembly

last year (see A/68/PV.19), the Right Honourable Perry

Christie, Prime Minister of the Bahamas, renewed

the commitment of our country to playing its part in

making our planet a more peaceful and prosperous

place, characterized by cooperation, mutual respect and

support. We believe that each country has a primary

responsibility for its own development, and, throughout

my statement, I have indicated our achievements and

challenges in that regard. I repeat that the environment,

crime and illegal migration are issues of existential

significance to our country. However, despite the many

challenges, we are inspired by the possible outcomes.

We therefore exhort the Members of the United Nations

to stay motivated and committed, for each new effort

undertaken and each achievement registered brings us

nearer to our development goals. Now, more than ever,

we need the United Nations.