Jamaica, 2025

The Assembly will hear an address by His Excellency Andrej Holness, Prime Minister, Minister for Defense, and Minister for Economic Growth and Job Creation of Jamaica. I request Protocol to escort His Excellency and invite him to address the Assembly. Madam President, Excellencies, on behalf of Jamaica, I extend warm congratulations to you, Madam President, on your election to preside over this landmark 80th session of the General Assembly. Just last week, Jamaica marked 63 years as a proud member of the United Nations. As we celebrate the UN's 80th anniversary, we reaffirm our unwavering commitment to the principles of the UN Charter. From decolonization to peacekeeping, from eradicating diseases to promoting human rights, the UN has achieved remarkable success over these past eight decades. Yet as we confront global challenges, including pandemics, climate change, armed conflict, and persistent poverty, we must acknowledge that our multilateral system requires urgent reform and revitalization to meet the needs of the 21st century. The UN80 Initiative is an opportunity to strengthen multilateralism with concrete action, institutional reform, and renewed political will. We must build a system that is more democratic, representative, and responsive to evolving challenges. Jamaica is honored that our Permanent Representative is co-chairing the Working Group on UN80 Mandate Implementation Review, along with the Permanent Representative of New Zealand, and we look forward to meaningful outcomes. Jamaica believes in a future where multilateralism works for all, where no country is too small to be heard, where the concerns of small islands facing rising seas are addressed, where the benefits of globalization are equitably shared, and where international cooperation is based on respect for the sovereignty of each nation. Climate change, Madam President, is not a distant threat or an academic consideration. It is a daily reality for small island developing states like Jamaica. Frequent hurricanes, droughts, and erratic rainfall destroy infrastructure, displace communities, and set back decades of hard-fought progress. Jamaica has demonstrated unwavering leadership in climate action despite our limited resources. We have committed to achieving net-zero emissions by 2050 and have implemented our National Adaptation Plan with specific measures to build resilience across key sectors, and we are on track to achieve our renewable energy target of 50% by 2030. However, our efforts, and those of other SIDs, are severely constrained by the lack of predictable access to financing. The promise of $100 billion annually remains unfulfilled. The Loss and Damage Fund established at COP28 was historic, yet its initial capitalization of $800 million is grossly inadequate. Developed countries must honor their commitments and scale up climate finance, recognizing that adaptation is a necessity for the survival of small island developing states. The global financing system remains fundamentally flawed. It penalizes reforming economies like Jamaica with high borrowing costs while ignoring our vulnerabilities. Through sacrifice, discipline, and sound management, Jamaica has reduced its debt-to-GDP ratio from 144% to now 62%. Yet we remain locked out of concessional financing because of outdated metrics based solely on per capita income. Jamaica supports the application of the Multidimensional Vulnerability Index that more accurately assesses countries' development needs and their eligibility for concessional financing. Jamaica also strongly supports innovative financing mechanisms, including debt-for-climate swaps, debt-for-nature swaps, and blended finance instruments that can unlock private sector investments in sustainable development projects while reducing debt burdens. We welcome initiatives such as the IMF's Resilience and Sustainability Trust and call for its expansion to support more countries in building climate resilience. Madam President, multilateralism must deliver fairness for all countries to believe that constructive dialogue and engagement offers the best path forward for all countries. That is the case, Madam President, for the people of Cuba, so that they may be able to fully participate in the global economy. We encourage continued domestic reform in Cuba and greater integration into international systems supported by policies that enable progress rather than isolation. Madam President, Jamaica once again condemns the heinous October 7, 2023, attack on Israel and is deeply horrified by the devastating humanitarian consequences of the counteroffensive in the Palestinian territories. A just and peaceful resolution to the conflict is only possible through diplomacy and dialogue. We continue to support United Nations Security Council Resolution 242 and support the call for a ceasefire agreement that includes the release of all remaining hostages and definitively ending the protracted war and human suffering. Madam President, political instability, gang violence and humanitarian crises in Haiti affect not only the Haitian people, but the entire region. As current Chair of CARICOM, Jamaica has led and participated in efforts to restore peace and constitutional order in Haiti. Last year, we welcomed and participated in the deployment of the Multinational Security Support Mission to Haiti, and we commend Kenya's leadership in this initiative. Despite progress made, the situation remains dire. As we contemplate next steps, we urge Member States, especially those in the Security Council, to operationalize the recommendations made by the Secretary General for a transition to a more robust hybrid mechanism to deal with the situation in Haiti. We call on Member States to provide the necessary financial and logistic support to ensure the success of this initiative. But security operations alone will not suffice. Haiti's governance deficit and fragile institutional framework must be addressed. Once stability is restored, the international community must help rebuild democratic institutions, ensure free and fair elections, expand humanitarian relief, and invest in infrastructure to support long-term stability. Haiti's recovery requires sustained global support. Madam President, the Haitian crisis has laid bare a wider truth. Transnational criminal networks involved in cybercrime, trafficking arms, narcotics, and people organizing violence and destabilizing institutions are an existential threat to states. Gangs are now global syndicates with resources that rival nation-states. Jamaica has made significant progress in tackling gangs and reducing our homicide rate by more than 50 percent in recent years. But we know that unless these networks are totally dismantled, our gains remain fragile. This is why we call for nothing less than a global war on gangs, a coordinated international campaign to cut off the flow of weapons, money, and the influence that sustains them. This requires deeper engagement from all Member States. We urge full implementation of the UN Programme of Action on Small Arms and Light Weapons and the International Tracing Instrument. Major arms-exporting countries must tighten export controls, strengthen end-use monitoring, and ensure rigorous post-delivery verification. Jamaica welcomes cooperation with all partners in this fight, including the interdiction of drug-trafficking vessels, provided that such operations are carried out with full respect for international law, human rights, and with the coordination and collaboration of the countries of the region. The Caribbean has created regional security mechanisms, but these efforts alone cannot match the scale of the threat. What we need is a unified front, with the same urgency, resources, and coordination the world has applied to terrorism. Only then can we turn the Caribbean, and indeed the wider region, into a true zone of peace. Madam President, at this 80th session, let us revitalize multilateralism and recommit to building a more resilient, equitable, and sustainable world. The challenges before us – climate change, debt, poverty, conflicts, and crime – are formidable, but our capacity for collective action is greater. Jamaica has shown that with sound policies, fiscal discipline, and good governance, small nations can achieve great progress. To build on this progress, we need an international system that is fair, inclusive, and responsive. Let us not leave this Assembly with words alone, but with commitments that deliver real change. Jamaica stands ready to work with all Member States in partnership and solidarity to create a future defined by peace, prosperity, and dignity for all. Thank you, Madam President. Thank you, Members.