Dominica, 2013

I would like to begin

by congratulating you, President Ashe, from our sister

island of Antigua and Barbuda, which is also a member

of the Organization of Eastern Caribbean States and

the Caribbean Community (CARICOM), on your well-

deserved election to the presidency of the General

Assembly at its sixty-eighth session. The Government

and the people of the Commonwealth of Dominica are

proud of your appointment and wish you success in

presiding over the General Assembly. We also express

our appreciation and gratitude to your predecessor, His

Excellency Mr. Vuk Jeremi., for his guidance during

the sixty-seventh session.

Thirteen years after collectively committing to

meeting the needs of the poorest among us by attaining

our noble Millennium Development Goals (MDGs),

we have made some progress globally, but we are

still far from fully reaching our targets. Despite the

challenges brought about by an increasingly hostile

global environment, Dominica has made meaningful

progress towards the achievement of the Millennium

Development Goals. The Government of Dominica

has accepted that it is through the development of our

human resources that we will be able to truly attain

development that is inclusive and sustainable. As a

result, our Government has kept our people at the centre

of development.

We have been able to bring significant

improvements in the lives of our people and to attain

all the Millennium Development Goals, despite our

limitations. We have reduced poverty and hunger

by more than half. Our children, boys and girls, now

have universal access to both primary and secondary

education, as well as expanded access to post-secondary

education and training. Our girls and women are not

only being treated as equals with boys and men but have

received tremendous support in improving their living

conditions. Our elderly people and children enjoy free

access to public health care.

Dominica has continued to maintain its coveted

title of “nature island of the Caribbean” by adhering to

self-imposed sustainable environmental practices over

the past several decades, a model that we hope more

States around the world can emulate.

As we approach 2015, we must resolve to take

stock. We must be forever mindful that those who are

condemned to poverty still await our intervention.

The more than 1 billion people who have known only

darkness at the end of each day long for at least one

light bulb in a rural home so that their children can have

opportunities for a brighter tomorrow. We have run out

of excuses for why we are still waiting to act or cannot

act. Rest assured that our people will judge us harshly

for failing to make a difference in their lives.

Despite the current global challenges, South-South

cooperation continues to play a significant role in

helping small countries like Dominica to achieve their

Millennium Development Goals. The Government and

people of Dominica express their sincere gratitude to

the Governments of the People’s Republic of China,

Venezuela, Cuba, Morocco, the European Union, the

Bolivarian Alliance for the Peoples of Our America

and other bilateral and multilateral partners for the

tremendous contributions they have made, and continue

to make, in the development of our human-resource

capacity and infrastructure and in the implementation

of our public-sector investment programme.

Our commitment to the MDGs should consist of

a redoubling of efforts towards a post-2015 agenda

that will bring about development that is inclusive and

sustainable. The outcome of the 2012 United Nations

Conference on Sustainable Development (resolution

66/288, annex) initiated an inclusive intergovernmental

process for preparing a set of sustainable development

goals (SDGs). My delegation believes that in order to

arrive at a global development agenda for the post-

2015 period, there must be close linkages between

the processes of the MDGs and the SDGs. The

Commonwealth of Dominica therefore aligns itself

with the theme set by you, Mr. President, “The post-

2015 development agenda: setting the stage”.

It is imperative that the development agenda

beyond 2015 remain the focus of the United Nations,

particularly in terms of relieving poverty and protecting

our planet. A meaningful agenda must take into account

the significance of the need for an international legally

binding commitment to combating climate change, the

development and deployment of sustainable energy, the

sustainable use of the oceans and marine resources,

sustainable industrial development, and international

peace and security.

My delegation applauds the leadership and vision

shown by the Secretary-General in declaring sustainable

energy to be one of the priorities of his second term.

We also congratulate the Secretary-General’s Advisory

Group on Energy and Climate Change, as well as

colleagues within and outside the United Nations

system, for their timely recommendations and for

bringing needed visibility to the subject of sustainable

energy. Their recommendations form the basis for one

of the most important initiatives ever launched by a

Secretary-General, namely, the Sustainable Energy for

All initiative, launched in 2011. Through that visionary

step, the Secretary-General has closed the gaping

energy-poverty gap in the MDGs.

Actions that will benefit our peoples should be

at the heart of the functions of the Assembly. The

Commonwealth of Dominica and other small and low-

lying developing States that are members of the Small

Island Developing States Sustainable Energy Initiative

are grateful to the Secretary-General for his dedication,

personal commitment and actions in helping to make

the Sustainable Energy for All initiative a reality.

That initiative stands to benefit our people across the

developing world and to contribute to more efficient

energy systems in developed countries.

The Commonwealth of Dominica maintains that

sustainable energy is the foundation for long-term

socioeconomic development. For that reason, Dominica

is pleased to have joined the Sustainable Energy for All

partnership. My Government, with assistance from

its development partners, is committed to increasing

renewable energy generation from the current 30 per

cent from hydro to 100 per cent by adding geothermal

energy to the mix. Our goal is to become not only

carbon-neutral but carbon-negative by 2020. That

ambition will be achieved by exporting renewable

energy to our neighbours, Guadeloupe and Martinique,

via submarine cables. We thank our partners, and

especially the Clinton Climate Initiative, part of the

Clinton Foundation, for their support in this endeavour.

That transformation to a sustainable energy

sector will deliver multiple significant benefits for

Dominica, including increasing employment from

new energy-service companies, minimizing foreign

-exchange transfers for petroleum imports, reducing

the cost of energy and minimizing the volatility and

unpredictability of energy prices. Recognizing the

inextricable link between energy and development, we

expect that sustainable energy will find its rightful place

on the agenda of the third International Conference on

Small Island Developing States, to be held in Apia,

Samoa, in 2014.

The Commonwealth of Dominica is privileged to

be the chair of the 31-member Steering Committee

of the Small Island Developing States Sustainable

Energy Initiative, which is charged with guiding the

development of the Initiative. I would therefore, on

behalf of our members, like to express our sincere

appreciation to the Governments of Denmark and Japan

for their recognition and their financial support to the

Initiative. The Initiative is well positioned to help tackle

the effects of climate change while at the same time

transforming energy sectors in small island developing

States such as Dominica.

Our Danish partners took the first bold move to

support the Initiative, which was the catalyst for support

from the Government of Japan. Assistance from Japan

will be invested in the first-ever ocean thermal energy

feasibility study in the Republic of the Marshall Islands.

Ocean thermal energy is a resource common to all

SIDS and represents a vast sustainable energy resource

that, once developed, could also address a number of

key climate-change adaptation challenges for islands,

specifically in the area of fresh water and improved

food security.

About two thirds of the world’s surface is covered

by oceans and seas connecting almost 90 per cent of the

world’s population. Oceans and seas remain the source

of food and livelihood for nearly 1 billion people. A post-

2015 agenda must address the important role of seas and

oceans to the survival of peoples throughout the world,

especially those who live on islands. A sustainable

development goal on oceans should therefore ensure that

all fish stocks are harvested sustainably and preserve

the health of the marine environment. That will require

the protection of marine areas, the reduction of ocean

acidification, the elimination of marine pollution and

the cessation of disruptive fishing practices.

There is general consensus that sustainable

development and poverty eradication should form

the core of the SDGs and the post-2015 development

agenda. We cannot address the issue of poverty

eradication without addressing the issues of wealth

creation and economic growth. Developing countries,

SIDS in particular, will be able to secure inclusive

and sustained economic growth only through the

development of the energy, agriculture and tourism

sectors and associated industries. Broad-based job

creation and the achievement of social goals, such as

education, women’s empowerment and health care,

require sustainable industrial development.

It must be underscored that, in the twenty-first

century, industrialization must be inclusive and

sustainable if all our present and future generations

are to benefit. It must incorporate all citizens and be

strategically tailored to preserve livelihoods for future

generations.

Sustainable development goals, however, cannot

be achieved in the midst of wars between or within

nations. The Commonwealth of Dominica condemns

the act of terrorism at the Westgate Shopping Mall in

Nairobi. We extend our condolences to the Government

and the people of Kenya and to the families of the

Kenyans and the foreign nationals who met their deaths

at the hands of those who have no respect for human

life. We must continue to fight terrorism in all its forms

and manifestations.

The economic embargo against our brothers and

sisters in Cuba continues to be a concern for us in the

Caribbean. Unilateral actions by the United States of

America continue to be the root cause of the suffering

of our brothers and sisters in the Republic of Cuba.

Our region of the Caribbean continues to witness the

unheeded call for the lifting of a half-century economic

embargo on our brothers and sisters. We call on the

Government of the United States to support the full

integration of the Cuban people into the global trading

system. That will help to improve their lives and allow

the world to benefit from the tremendous contributions

they are capable of making, especially in the areas of

science and technology.

The ongoing civil war in Syria continues to present

a major challenge to the international community.

The Commonwealth of Dominica joins CARICOM in

unreservedly condemning the use of chemical weapons,

which is a gross violation of international law. We call

on all parties involved in the conflict to bring an end

to the hostilities, which have claimed the lives of far

too many innocent civilians, especially children. The

world is watching. The role of the United Nations is

central to resolving the Syrian conflict. My delegation

supports the call of the Secretary-General for resolution

through dialogue and not through the use of military

force or any other such action. Lasting peace can be

achieved in Syria only through a negotiated political

settlement that will facilitate reconciliation. What is

required is the will of the international community to

further that process. We commend the efforts of the

United States of America and Russia in attempting to

eliminate chemical weapons in Syria and move towards

a peaceful resolution of the conflict.

As we prepare for Samoa 2014, the Commonwealth

of Dominica is keen to make concrete progress for

SIDS aimed at creating a future of prosperity and

opportunity for all of our peoples. In that regard, my

Government calls for a renewed political commitment

by all countries to effectively address the special needs

and vulnerabilities of SIDS. We believe that this will

require consolidated effort focused on pragmatic actions

for the further implementation of the Barbados Plan of

Action and the Mauritius Strategy. Dominica laments

the fact that international financial mechanisms have

failed to fully recognize and support the vulnerabilities

of SIDS, which must be allowed access to financing

for development. The United Nations system needs to

be strengthened to implement the Barbados Plan and

Mauritius Strategy.

On 2 April, the Commonwealth of Dominica was

one of an overwhelming majority of Member States

that voted in favour of the first international treaty to

regulate the trade of conventional weapons — the Arms

Trade Treaty (ATT). Today, we are pleased that the ATT

is now a reality. That is a significant milestone, as such

regulations will serve to curb the illicit international

sale of conventional weapons to unscrupulous parties.

Moreover, the Commonwealth of Dominica is satisfied

that the ATT will close loopholes that allow terrorists

and other criminals to arm themselves and endanger

innocent lives. To that end, my delegation is pleased to

announce that Dominica has added its name to the list

of signatories to that Treaty.

Dominica, the nature island of the Caribbean,

continues to navigate through waters made turbulent

by a hostile international financial and trading system,

the continued impact of climate change, the movement

of small arms and light weapons from North to South,

and the international trade in illegal drugs and the

violence that they visit upon us. For those reasons, we

again reiterate the importance of international support

for SIDS. A post-2015 global development agenda

must continue to build on the gains achieved under the

Millennium Development Goals. It must focus on the

sustainable use of resources to reduce the impact of

climate change, to protect our seas and oceans and to

promote the transition from fossil fuels to renewable

sources in the generation of energy able to power

sustainable industrial development.

The International Conference on Small Island

Developing States, to be held in Samoa in 2014, presents

an ideal opportunity for the international community

to collectively chart a path towards the sustainable

development of SIDS and to set the stage for the post-

2015 development agenda. The Commonwealth of

Dominica remains committed to the progress made

thus far, and it looks forward with eager anticipation

to the forging of durable and sustainable partnerships.