Mauritius, 2012

The world is living

through unprecedented times. The challenges of an

economic crisis now loom large. All nations, developed

and developing, face growing uncertainties about their

economic prospects. Serious concerns about the global

economy arise now just after global prosperity had

reached unprecedented heights. A second paradox is

that the countries most seriously affected by the crisis

are those that contributed the least to its root causes.

As fallout from the crisis threatens to produce ever

more significant impacts, many already vulnerable

small island States also face a major threat of a

different nature. The threat is an existential one. As

with the economic crisis, the countries that may be

most severely affected by climate change are those that

have contributed the least to the root causes of climate

change. Many small island developing States thus face

the dual threat of the impact of the worsening economies

on their trading and their development partners and that

of climate change.

Already vulnerable nations face greater threats at

the international level, and more vulnerable groups face

greater difficulties within nations. Young people are

faced with higher levels of unemployment, and women

and children are faced with reduced access to public

services, health and education. Secretary-General Ban

Ki-moon, speaking at the latest Group of 20 meeting,

put food and nutrition security at the top of the agenda.

Meeting the energy needs for development is a major

concern. Recent meetings convened by the Economic

and Social Council have again highlighted other major

concerns, including structural unemployment, rising

inequality and the lag in poverty eradication.

Many countries, both developing and developed,

face a major challenge with respect to youth

unemployment. Improving access to education and

tackling the mismatch between qualifications and

employment are now a top policy goal. The world

cannot let its young people down and must give them

an opportunity to contribute to economic recovery and

prosperity. What we do for young people and what they can do for the world they will inherit will shape the

economic future of our world.

As all nations work to promote sustainable

development, essential components of governance

required to achieve that goal include more equitable

and inclusive growth, the fight against corruption,

greater accountability, more transparency and a general

culture of integrity. Mauritius affirms that along with

initiatives to revisit development objectives, reform

of the international financial architecture and global

economic governance must remain a top priority.

Mauritius strongly supports the view that the present

economic crisis is of a global nature and that solutions

for inclusive green growth also need to be global in

nature.

The inconclusive talks of the Doha Round and those

on the United Nations Climate Change Convention

both suffered from a historical divide that regrettably

resurfaces from time to time and is resurfacing now

at a time when global solutions are more than ever

necessary. The debate over good economic and fiscal

governance at the national level will always remain

valid and necessary but, however sound such domestic

policies may be, the global environment will have an

impact on growth and development, especially on that

of developing countries and smaller economies.

Thirty-two years ago, the Independent Commission

on International Development Issues highlighted, in the

1980 Brandt report, the interdependence of developing

and developed economies and the mutuality of their

interests. The report explained how all nations would

benefit from a strengthened global economy. As the

world faces another crisis, all nations should recall

how much interdependence has grown since the Brandt

report and bear in mind the interconnection and

mutuality of interests in the development agenda.

In that context, nations must resist protectionist

measures as an easy way out. They would definitely

be detrimental in the medium and long term.

The Committee for Development Policy, in its

July 2012 report (E/2012/33), called for a Transformative

Development Agenda. The international community

must pledge its support for a transformative agenda

based on the recognition that globally coordinated

solutions are necessary to accompany sound domestic

policies. It is imperative that the General Assembly,

with its pre-eminent and universal membership, play a crucial role in the debate on globally coordinated

solutions.

We reaffi rm our support for a revitalized Economic

and Social Council, which should be able to exercise the

effective role and function attributed to it by the Charter.

In that context, we also welcome the reaffirmation of

the mandate of the United Nations Conference on Trade

and Development (UNCTAD) at Doha. UNCTAD

must continue to serve as the focal point of the United

Nations system for the integrated treatment of trade

and development and the interrelated issues of finance,

technology, investment and sustainable development.

As the world engages in the current debate on global

solutions, we must promote more economic exchanges

among developing nations. Regional integration and

cooperation are key to future development. Trade

and investment must also be accompanied by greater

regional cooperation through the pooling of resources

and the provision of public goods. Pooling entails

increased economies of scale and makes it less costly

to acquire technology.

One area where regional cooperation can make a

significant contribution is the energy sector. Pooling

resources and coordinating policies at the regional

level and among groups of developing countries with

common requirements can facilitate the development

of technology and the implementation of renewable

energies.

As we celebrate the thirtieth anniversary of the

United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea,

let us remind ourselves of the potential of the oceans

as an engine for growth and promote international

cooperation in a vast collective effort to tap that

potential. There is potential there with respect not only

to food and mineral resources but also to transport,

leisure and the advancement of science.

We welcome the reaffirmation by world leaders

in Rio de Janeiro that small island developing States

remain a special case for sustainable development in

view of their unique and particular vulnerabilities. We

expect that the commitment to take urgent and concrete

action to address the vulnerabilities of small island

developing States will be followed by concrete actions.

It is imperative that small island developing States

issues be more effectively mainstreamed throughout

the entire United Nations system and that a dedicated

and clearly identified focal point be set up within

every United Nations entity dealing with small island developing States issues. The Small Island Developing

States Unit within the Department of Economic and

Social Affairs should be strengthened to enable it to

provide coordinated support for small island developing

States.

Mauritius joins other world leaders who have

called on all countries to deliver on their assistance

commitments. The international community cannot

spend so much capital on negotiating new pledges and

undertakings in a whole array of outcome documents

and then ignore what has been agreed. We can move

forward only if past commitments are honoured.

We welcome the proposed establishment of a

sustainable development council to follow up on the

United Nations Conference on Sustainable Development

and formulate sustainable development goals. We also

welcome the appointment of a high-level panel on the

post-2015 development agenda. Those entities and

others should be able to build on what has already been

agreed through global negotiations.

I must say that our hearts go out to the people of

Syria, who are enduring the consequences of a severe

humanitarian crisis, as there is no prospect in sight of

a resolution to the political struggle. The international

community cannot remain indifferent to such suffering.

The world can also not remain indifferent to the

suffering of the Palestinian people, who are without a

universally recognized State and face severe economic

hardships and insecurity. Those challenges will test

the credibility and moral authority of the international

system.

I must also say that, while we have the utmost respect

for all faiths and religions, we strongly believe that

there is no justification for violence, however profound

the outrage in response to religious vilification. We

also support the fundamental principle of the protection

of diplomats and diplomatic premises, which is at the

core of the interaction between nations, and we call on

all members of the comity of nations to fully respect

that principle.

We also call on the international community to

support the full implementation of the road map worked

out in our neighbouring State of Madagascar and to

provide the transitional Government with the means

to ensure a speedy return to constitutional rule and

democracy in that great country.

Mauritius very much welcomed the High-

level Meeting of the Assembly on the rule of law.

Development and greater economic prosperity go

hand in hand with enhanced rule of law at both the

national and the international levels. There will be no

meaningful rule of law at the international level unless

and until all nations, especially the small ones, have

avenues for resolving their disputes with other States.

The United Kingdom excised part of Mauritian

territory prior to independence, has refused to enter

into talks in good faith on that dispute and has ensured

that the dispute cannot be resolved by the International

Court of Justice. Thus, the decolonization of Africa

has not been completed. At a time when the United

Nations debates the rule of law at both the national

and the international levels, we urge the international

community to work on machinery that would enable

States, whatever their size or economic power, to have

at their disposal judicial and other peaceful means of

resolving disputes. The rule of law at the international

level cannot be normative only. There must also be

adequate enforcement mechanisms, without which

there is no meaningful rule of law. The full realization

of the territorial integrity of Mauritius also requires a

settlement that would enable us to effectively assert our

sovereignty over Tromelin Island. We look forward to

continued dialogue with France in a spirit of mutual

cooperation.

The challenges that our countries currently face call

for exemplary solidarity on the part of the community

of nations. Our common interests must guide all of our

actions. We will not be able to pull through without

each other. All Governments, civil society, researchers

and entrepreneurs must therefore be aware of the

interdependence of our economies and work together

for the good of all nations. Countries often turn inwards

in times of crisis and look out only for what they believe

to be their own interests. However, true solutions are

collective. A global recovery would serve the interests

of all States.

Before I end, let me convey to the Assembly the

greetings of the Prime Minister of the Republic of

Mauritius and its people.