Barbados, 2010

I am honoured to

address the General Assembly at its sixty-fifth session

as Minister for Foreign Affairs and Foreign Trade of

Barbados.

The theme of this year’s session, concerning the

role of the United Nations, multilateralism and global

governance, is timely, and it permits an examination of

the complex issues facing the global community today.

Moreover, it lends itself to an exploration of solutions

to those issues as well as to restoration of the centrality

of the United Nations and its organs.

A week ago leaders from every corner of the

world met and confirmed that the global consensus on

the United Nations Development Agenda remained

intact. They pledged to spare no effort to ensure the

fulfilment of our collective promise to the world’s

poorest and most vulnerable.

Barbados shares the view of the Secretary-

General that the Millennium Development Goals must

serve as “a blueprint for ending extreme poverty”

(A/65/PV.3). The Goals are at the core of the global

development agenda. They represent our common

vision of a more peaceful, prosperous and just world,

in which all human beings can enjoy better and safer

lives. For the past decade these globally shared and

endorsed set of priorities have inspired extraordinary

efforts by Governments and non-State actors alike.

Now is not the time for complacency. Progress

towards achievement of the Goals remains mixed, and,

while success is still within our grasp, it is by no

means certain. Our common task is therefore to convert

this unprecedented consensus into collective action on

all fronts and immediately implement what has been

agreed in order to guarantee success by 2015. Failing

this, the many words of the Outcome Document that

we adopted a few days ago will simply serve as yet

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another solemn reminder of human needs neglected

and promises unfulfilled.

This display of global solidarity in the face of

unparalleled economic uncertainty reminds us that the

United Nations is an invaluable and indispensable

instrument for its Member States and for the world’s

peoples, as we seek to respond to the challenges of our

times. While we may not have the same degree of

consensus on every pressing global problem, Barbados

cannot contemplate the prospect of a world without an

Organization such as this. No other entity can mobilize

global political will and coordinated action around

common causes, and provide a voice for the voiceless,

like the United Nations.

Scarred by the bitter experience of two world

wars and a great depression, the founders of this

Organization had the foresight and wisdom to

recognize that only through multilateralism and a

strong and effective system of global governance, with

the United Nations at its core, could lasting peace be

maintained and international law upheld.

Today we bear witness to a world which is more

interconnected and intertwined, yet in a real sense

more deeply divided, than ever. Barbados is of the

view that an enhanced and renewed system of global

governance must be at the top of the global agenda. In

this regard, Mr. President, Barbados fully supports

your initiative to address this issue during the course of

this sixty-fifth session. We must take stock and reflect

in a holistic and comprehensive manner on the system

of global governance, including the United Nations and

its organs, to ensure that it truly delivers on the vision

of our predecessors and serves the interests of all

mankind, particularly the poor and the vulnerable.

Delivering global public goods such as global

economic and financial stability; ensuring the

promotion and protection of human rights; maintaining

international peace and security; and ensuring

environmental sustainability: those matters cannot be

successfully addressed by States acting on their own,

or even by coalitions of the willing. Finding effective

solutions to those challenges and mobilizing collective

action provides the most immediate and obvious reason

for enhancing global governance and strengthening

multilateral cooperation.

As United States President Harry Truman stated

on 25 April 1945 at the birth of this Organization, in

his address to the opening session of the United

Nations Conference on International Organization, held

in San Francisco:

“Differences between men, and between nations,

will always remain. In fact, if held within

reasonable limits, such disagreements are actually

wholesome. All progress begins with differences

of opinion and moves onward as the differences

are adjusted through reason and mutual

understanding.”

Renewing the vision of our predecessors must

start with the United Nations and extend outwards to

all organizations with a role in dispensing global

governance.

During this session we must finalize the decades-

long project of Security Council reform. If the Council

is to retain its unique legitimacy it should be made

more broadly representative of the international

community as a whole, as well as of the geopolitical

realities of today.

The Council’s working methods must also be made

to adhere to the highest standards of transparency,

accountability and efficiency. Its outreach to

non-members must be significantly improved.

Barbados continues to believe that the number of

permanent and non-permanent seats on the Council

should be increased, and that Brazil, Germany, India

and Japan should join the ranks of the permanent

members. Membership from the African Group must

also be assured.

Sustained and widespread future prosperity will

require major reforms in global economic governance

as well as new approaches to global economic

development. The global financial and economic crisis

has made clear the extent of the interconnectivity of

financial markets, as well as their inherent

vulnerabilities. While there is no precedent for the

current level of global financial and economic

integration, the policies, rules and institutions

established to govern those processes are predominately

national in scope, and global mechanisms highly

compartmentalized.

We can no longer postpone the task of reforming

the institutions responsible for global economic and

financial governance. They must be better equipped to

address the challenge of a globalized and highly

interdependent world. In this regard, Barbados

welcomes the broadening of the Group of 8 to include

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the participation of developing and emerging economies

and the designation of the Group of 20 (G-20) as the

premier forum for international economic cooperation.

We also recognize the important role played by

the G-20 in stabilizing the global economy. We

acknowledge its ambitious agenda to restore global

growth and achieve needed reforms in the world’s

financial systems. However, the Group must

significantly enhance its outreach to non-members,

including the smallest members of the international

community, particularly when issues affecting their

economic viability and survival are under discussion.

Furthermore, it must also demonstrate real leadership

in breaking the impasse in the World Trade

Organization and ensure a successful conclusion to the

Doha Development Round. It must also ensure that

reforms in the Bretton Woods institutions are

accelerated.

Small States have traditionally played a crucial

role in shaping global governance, and our voice

should not be diminished in efforts to reform the

current system. Barbados will play its part. It is against

the background of articulating the role and importance

of multilateralism and a strong and effective United

Nations that I will explore the response of my country

to these global challenges. I will also address the

strategies to be pursued by this small nation intent on

playing its part in this family of nations. Barbados is a

small island developing State classified as a middle-

income developing country. It faces significant

vulnerabilities made real by the spectre of climate

change and the associated natural disasters, the

consequences of the recent financial and economic

crises, and the threat posed by transnational criminal

networks. My country has sought to take its place in a

world characterized by increasing economic,

environmental and social complexities. We take our

place in a world in which the United Nations family

continues to witness increasing economic interdependence

and globalization, both posing challenges to national

sovereignty.

Barbados shares the United Nations vision for a

world able to achieve and surpass the Millennium

Development Goals. We are committed to the fight

against the ravages of HIV and AIDS and other

infectious diseases. As a natural-resources-poor small

island developing State, we have achieved much on the

basis of our investment in human development,

primarily in the areas of education and health. We have

thus prioritized our responses to those global

challenges in a manner that puts our people first. Our

successes to date have been due to our investment in

our key resource — our people. Given the emphasis on

our people’s development and the dangers posed to our

population, we supported the resolution entitled

“Prevention and control of non-communicable

diseases” (resolution 64/265), introduced by the

Caribbean Community (CARICOM) at the sixty-fourth

session of the General Assembly in 2009. Our

responses can be seen in our efforts to achieve our

ultimate goal of crafting a green economy. We see the

green economy as a tool for transforming our economy

to achieve sustainable development. At the heart of this

economic and social model is a commitment to people-

centred development. Aligning our development

strategy along this particular trajectory ensures a

consistency not only with our global obligations but

also, and more importantly, with our national values

and in the best interests of all our citizens.

Even as the international community searches for

a definition of the green economy, Barbados has

simply defined this model as an integrated production,

distribution, consumption and waste assimilation

system that, at its core, reflects the fragility of our

small island ecosystems as the basis for policy

interventions for natural resource protection, business

and investment choice, human development

programming, and the facilitation of export market

development strategies.

In pursuit of the green economy the Government

of Barbados has undertaken an assessment of the

opportunities and challenges of a green economy

transition. Our focus is on the priority sectors of

tourism, agriculture, transport and housing, along with

cross-sectoral issues of water resources, energy and

waste. In addition, we have partnered with the United

Nations Environment Programme to promote a

transition to a green economy, building on existing

Barbados initiatives in the area of resource efficiency

and the promotion of sustainable consumption and

production. We believe that our experience in

transitioning to a green economy will serve as a useful

model for other small island developing States and

small economies, and we intend to share our unique

perspective with the international community in the

preparatory process for the Rio+20 Summit in 2012.

The efforts of Barbados to transform its economy

into a green economy and achieve sustainable

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development will be undermined without ambitious

and urgent global action to address climate change. The

challenge of climate change remains one of the great

threats to the survival and viability of Barbados and

other small island developing States. Even as science

points to a worsening situation, global emissions

continue to rise and the prospects seem dim of arriving

at an agreement to provide legal certainty in the fight

against climate change. It is clear that the objective of

an ambitious and comprehensive legally binding

outcome will not be achieved in Cancún, Mexico, in

December this year. Barbados nevertheless believes

that the substantive outcomes at the sixteenth session

of the Conference of Parties (COP-16) to the United

Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change

must demonstrate that the international community

remains committed to addressing the defining

challenge of our time. In this regard COP-16 should

deliver outcomes that: prioritize the needs of the most

vulnerable, particularly in the areas of adaptation and

finance; finalize issues on which there is a broad

agreement and provide guidance and clarity on the

difficult issues; and demonstrate progress on the

delivery of the $30 billion fast-start financing pledged

at Copenhagen. Critical to the success at Cancún is

arriving at a common understanding of how, when and

where an ambitious and legally binding international

climate agreement will be finalized.

In 1994 Barbados had the distinct honour of

hosting the first Global Conference on the Sustainable

Development of Small Island Developing States. The

Barbados Programme of Action and the Mauritius

Strategy for Implementation (MSI) remain the essential

blueprints for the sustainable development of small

island developing States. Barbados welcomes the

recently adopted outcome of the five-year review of the

MSI and hopes that this will result in a renewal of the

commitment of the international community to support

the sustainable development of small island developing

States. It is of great concern to Barbados that, 18 years

after the international recognition of the special case of

small island developing States at Rio, our unique and

particular vulnerability is being challenged. Barbados

is not prepared to renegotiate the special case of small

island developing States but urges the international

community to focus on the delivery of tangible and

concrete actions to build resilience and promote

sustainable development in small island developing

States.

The January 2010 earthquake that devastated

Haiti serves as a grim reminder of the fragility of

island States to natural disasters. In the immediate

aftermath of the earthquake, the Government of

Barbados provided financial assistance, relief supplies

and deployed a contingent of medical and security

personnel as part of a CARICOM relief team. If Haiti

is to realize its full potential, the international

community must remain fully engaged in Haiti, and the

many pledges of financial and technical support must

be delivered on time. The Government and people of

Haiti can be assured that Barbados will continue to be

a partner in this rebuilding and reconstruction phase.

Our commitment remains strong, and we will play our

part in Haiti’s long-term development. We call on all

who have mobilized resources for the benefit of Haiti

to work with countries like Barbados and in

collaboration with the Government and people of Haiti

to rebuild that country.

There is a very definite role for a reformed

United Nations to assist countries like Barbados. The

model economy being pursued by Barbados cannot be

achieved by unilateral action.

As stated previously, the role of the United

Nations is clear. It must generate the templates to be

adopted and serve as a catalyst for action: it must seek

to mediate where conflicts arise; it must work to ensure

that there are reforms of the global economic and

financial system to make it inclusive, transparent and

supportive of the development aspirations of least

developed countries and more developed countries; it

must also facilitate South-South cooperation,

supporting the efforts of these countries to share

appropriate experiences and indigenous solutions.

Barbados shares your vision, Sir, for a strong,

inclusive and open United Nations as the guarantor of

global governance. Barbados maintains the strong

position that responsibility for the setting of rules and

the making of core decisions on matters of a global

nature rightfully belongs within the ambit of the United

Nations, given its primacy as the only legitimate forum

for global action.