Mauritius, 2014

The year 2015 will be

a crucial one for the United Nations and the international

community. In the coming year, we will reach the

deadline for achieving the Millennium Development

Goals and adopt a post-2015 development agenda,

which will include our sustainable development goals.

In 2015, we should adopt a new, legally binding global

climate agreement. And the international community

will also commemorate the seventieth anniversary of

the founding of the United Nations.

At this juncture, we have to ask ourselves to

what extent we have achieved the ideals set out in the

Charter of the United Nations, and what is still to be

done. We must also ask to what extent the institutional

framework laid down almost 70 years ago is still valid

today. Inequality, both among and within nations, is

still a matter for great concern. In spite of the constant

references to the rule of law at national and international

levels, we still do not always have the possibility of

recourse to machinery adequate to resolving legal

disputes between States.

Within the United Nations itself, the principle

of equality is not always honoured, whether in its

constitutional framework or in practice. The twin pillars

of peace and security, on the one hand, and development,

on the other, as established by the Charter, have been

undermined by the ascendancy of political issues at the

expense of those of development, which are still often

seen largely in terms of safeguarding dominant interests

rather than from a perspective of global cooperation.

Inequality and vulnerability are increasing in rich

and poor countries alike. Unemployment, precarious

employment, lack of social protection, access to human

development services and financial services are still

matters of universal concern.

The post-2015 development agenda cannot be only

about human rights — civil, political, economic — at

the national level; it must also ensure that the right to

development is upheld at the international level. As we

work on a new, comprehensive development agenda,

we must ensure that no right is ignored and no one is

left behind. The United Nations System Task Team on

the Post-2015 United Nations Development Agenda

has proposed that the transformative efforts to achieve

inclusive, people-centred sustainable development

be guided by three fundamental principles — human

rights, equality and sustainability — and have four

core dimensions: inclusive social development,

environmental sustainability, inclusive economic

development and peace and security. Mauritius

is in broad agreement with those core principles

and dimensions, as outlined in the Team’s report

Realizing the Future We Want for All, for guiding this

transformation at both the national and international

levels.

The war against Ebola demands robust action

from all of us and requires exceptional international

cooperation. We welcome the initiatives announced

last week, and we commit ourselves to giving our full

support to addressing this global challenge.

The water we drink, the food we eat and the energy

we require are vital to meaningful development. It is

estimated that by 2025, 1.8 billion people will be living

in countries or regions with absolute water scarcity,

and two thirds of the world’s population could be living

under water-stress conditions. One in eight people in

the world today — 842 million — are undernourished.

Approximately 2 billion suffer from micronutrient

deficiencies. In 2030, it is estimated that food demand

will have increased by more than 50 per cent. In that

regard, Mauritius supports the Secretary-General’s call

for a Zero Hunger Challenge. Promoting sustainable

agriculture must therefore be an essential component of

the new development framework.

It is also estimated that by 2035, global energy

demand will have increased by at least 33 per cent.

Currently, 1.2 billion people have no access to electricity.

Those growing demands will make water, food and

energy crucial issues not only on the development

agenda but also in the wider context of international

peace and security. The international community should

support developing countries, particularly vulnerable

countries such as small island developing States

(SIDS), in their efforts to promote water governance

and integrated water resources management, increase

the share of renewables in the energy mix and improve

energy conservation and efficiency.

In order to support global development, it is

crucial that we have an international regime based

on structured global cooperation designed to promote

technology facilitation, and a technology facilitation

mechanism established under the auspices of the

United Nations could play a central role in that regard.

It is also important that the international community

recognize the vital role of women and young people and

their enhanced participation and leadership in all areas

of sustainable development. Promoting gender equality

and women’s empowerment should be a core issue on

the post-2015 development agenda. All sections of the

population should be at the heart of a people-centred

vision of sustainable development.

The contributions of all the initiatives launched

at the 2012 United Nations Conference on Sustainable

Development (Rio+20), including the Open Working

Group for Sustainable Development Goals, the

Intergovernmental Committee of Experts on

Sustainable Development Financing, and options for

a technology facilitation mechanism, should feed into

the preparations for a 2015 development summit. They

should also be included in the Secretary-General’s

synthesis report. The deliberations of the Third

International Conference on Small Island Developing

States, mandated by the Rio+20 outcome document

(resolution 66/288, annex), should be reflected in the

synthesis report and the post-2015 development agenda.

Since accountability is essential to assessing

progress, the post-2015 development agenda should

also include an accountability framework that would

be universal but flexible enough to take into account

different capacities and responsibilities. And we need

more accountable and equitable global economic

governance that ensures wider, more inclusive

participation in decision-making. The United Nations,

given its universal membership, should assume

leadership and a proactive role in promoting sound

and equitable governance in a more resilient global

economic architecture.

Beyond those immediate concerns, there are a

number of longer-term threats that may dramatically

affect all of us, particularly SIDS. One of them is climate

change. Climate risks are real and must be addressed.

From melting glaciers to more frequent wildfires and

intense cyclones, flash floods, extreme heatwaves and

ocean acidification, the challenges are not a future

threat; they already exist. The latest report of the

Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, Climate

Change 2014: Impacts, Adaptation, and Vulnerability,

made it clear that an increase in the world’s temperature

of 2°C would be dangerous, while one of 4°C would be

catastrophic.

Climate risks are global challenges that require

global solutions. Climate change poses risks to global

economic prosperity, development and security as well

as to the environment. We must build on the momentum

of the Climate Summit and use the opportunity of the

20th session of the Conference of the Parties to the

United Nations Framework Convention on Climate

Change, to be held in Lima, to raise the level of ambition

in the lead-up to a new universal climate agreement in

Paris next year.

The strong connections between climate change

adaptation and disaster risk reduction should be

recognized. No country is immune to natural disasters,

but it is the most vulnerable countries and people who

are hit the hardest. Mauritius looks forward to a renewed

and ambitious international framework for disaster risk

management that establishes disaster risk reduction as

a key element of the post-2015 development agenda.

We also believe that the exogenous risks of climate

change and natural disasters should be integrated into

mainstream economic thinking and assessment of

macroeconomic risks.

We welcome the decision of the most recent

Commonwealth Heads of Government meeting to

establish a Commonwealth climate finance skills hub,

to be hosted by Mauritius. It will address critical gaps

in building the capacity of SIDS and least-developed

countries to identify, access and manage climate

finance. The special circumstances, vulnerabilities and

low resilience of SIDS should be taken into account with

regard to financing and trade issues. SIDS need special

and differential treatment to access concessionary

sources of financing for sustainable development

and to effectively participate in multilateral trade.

Mauritius strongly supports SIDS-SIDS partnerships.

SIDS can build on their commonality of interests to

share experiences, pool resources and act collectively

in commissioning technology or formulating legal and

regulatory frameworks, for instance.

The oceans are the new frontier for economic

development. For SIDS in particular, they are the

best scope for expanding economic space. Following

a national dialogue on the ocean economy, the

Government of Mauritius has published the Road Map

for the Mauritian Ocean Economy. The Road Map sets

out the vision, goals and strategies for the development

and expansion of a new pillar of our economy. In order

to provide the best possible conditions for investors to

operate and create wealth, Mauritius is putting in place

an enabling environment that will support our ocean

economy through an integrated and holistic approach to

ensure coherence and balance among economic growth,

social development and environmental protection.

Promoting the ocean economy will unleash the

potential for SIDS with respect to all ocean-related

economic activities, both onshore and offshore. It will

also enable them to enhance their nations’ food security,

harness the winds and waves for their energy needs,

develop new ocean-related industries and services that

will create opportunities for entrepreneurs and youth

employment.

It is essential that we strike a balance between

the various uses of the oceans and the need to protect

our oceans. At the third International Conference on

Small Island Developing States, held in Samoa, the

international community agreed to build upon existing

partnerships and promote new ones in order to expand

the economic space of large ocean States. We wish to

reiterate our call for the United Nations to adopt a global

oceans strategy that will be the operational counterpart

to the United Nations Convention on the Law of the

Sea (UNCLOS). While it will be for individual States

to decide on their own ocean economy policies, the

global ocean strategy will provide an overall vision and

framework for the sustainable development of ocean-

related economic activities for policymakers, investors

and all stakeholders.

The situation in the Middle East and in certain parts

of Africa could not only have dramatic consequences

for the people of these regions, but also impact on global

development and peace. We urge the international

community to spare no effort in resolving the plight

of the people of Palestine. Mauritius supports the two-

State solution to the conflict. The people of the State

of Palestine have suffered for too long from the grave

injustice done to them, and must be allowed to live in

dignity and peace within recognized borders.

If it is to remain credible and play the constructive

role it can and must play in the new world order,

the United Nations must respond to the call of its

membership for reform. We have a duty to engage in

meaningful discussions on the reform of the Security

Council, the revitalization of the General Assembly and

the working methods of our Organization. Mauritius

reaffirms its commitment to the African Common

Position that reform of the Security Council should

include expansion in the permanent and non-permanent

categories alike. The historical injustice done to Africa

should be redressed, and Africa should be accorded

permanent representation on the Council. Latin

America also deserves permanent representation, and

the SIDS should be entitled to a seat on the Council.

Mauritius further reiterates its support for India’s

rightful aspiration to a permanent seat in a reformed

Security Council.

In the mid-1960s, when a wave of decolonization

was sweeping across the world, the United Kingdom

purported to create a new colony, the so-called

British Indian Ocean Territory, by carving out part

of the territory of Mauritius. Thus, part of Mauritian

territory remains under colonial rule. As long as part

of Mauritian territory remains under colonial rule, the

decolonization of Africa will still remain incomplete.

The dismemberment by the United Kingdom of part of

the territory of Mauritius prior to independence was

and continues to be a blatant breach of international law

and total disregard of United Nations resolutions.

Speaking before the Assembly last week, President

Obama said that there was

“one vision of the world in which might makes

right” [but that] “America stands for something

different. We believe that right makes might, that

bigger nations should not be able to bully smaller

ones” (A/69/PV.6, p. 10).

This is why, last year in this very forum (see

A/68/PV.18), Mauritius urged the United States to be

on the right side of history, and not condone illegal acts

by maintaining its presence on Diego Garcia under an

unlawful arrangement with the United Kingdom that

has no valid title to the island, but and instead to ensure

that, in the future, the United States presence is on the

right side of the law.

Both the United States and the United Kingdom

should recognize the sovereignty of Mauritius over

the Chagos archipelago, and engage in meaningful

discussions with Mauritius in good faith over

arrangements to be made in that regard. Following

the statements we have heard over the past year with

regard to sovereignty and territorial integrity, there

should not be one set of standards for one part of the

world and a different one for another part of the world.

Those who show no respect for fundamental principles

across the board lose all moral authority to preach to

the rest of the world. Following bilateral discussions

on Tromelin, which forms an integral part of the

territory of Mauritius, Mauritius and France agreed on

interim measures without prejudice to the sovereignty

of Mauritius. An agreement reached in a spirit of

cooperation and dialogue is a step in the right direction.

As we embark on a new session that could herald

a new chapter in the history of the United Nations,

we should renew our commitment to multilateral

cooperation for peace, development and prosperity for

all nations in the new agenda to be adopted next year.