Nauru, 2012

Allow me to congratulate

Mr. Jeremić on his assumption of the presidency of the

General Assembly at its sixty-seventh session and also

to commend his predecessor, His Excellency Mr. Nassir

Abdulaziz Al-Nasser, for his effective leadership during

the sixty-sixth session. The President can be assured of

my delegation’s full support and cooperation during his

tenure.

This body was a very different place when Minister

Paul-Henri Spaak, another presidential predecessor,

opened the first session of the General Assembly. The

world had just emerged from the most devastating

carnage it had ever seen, and the United Nations

had the enormous task of stitching civilization back

together again. Finding common purpose among the

original 51 Member States promised to be a Herculean

effort — a similar endeavour had faltered only a decade

earlier — but the stakes were far too high for failure to

be an option. Accordingly, the Organization embarked

in earnest on the long process of strengthening the

rule of international law based on the principles of

non-aggression and the sovereign equality of all nations.

It is a testament to the success of those early

efforts that the membership of the United Nations has

swelled to 193 countries and the past 67 years have

been a period of relative stability. While the benefits

of multilateralism during this time were often shared

unequally, as were the costs, the promise of a more

stable and secure future for all imbued the United

Nations with the legitimacy it needed to pursue its

ambitious mandate. But we must never forget that the

legitimacy underpinning our essential work here is not

a birthright; we must earn it. When our words become

hollow, that legitimacy is threatened.

The work of our early predecessors was one of

construction. The task at hand today, perhaps even

more challenging, is one of restoration. We are awash in

unfulfilled promises stretching back decades. Barring

a brief resurgence in the early 1990s, multilateralism

has for the most part deteriorated into a scramble for

finite resources, a destructive fight for a bigger piece

of the economic pie, sugarcoated with empty rhetoric.

Look at the beginning of any international agreement

and you will find reaffirmation upon reaffirmation of

our non-binding commitments to live up to our lofty

ideals. Perhaps their greatest value is as a reminder of how often very little has been achieved. Our words

must have meaning if our multilateral institutions are

to remain effective in addressing emerging global

challenges. Once again, the stakes are too high for

failure to be an option.That dynamic could not be more

evident than it was in the climate change negotiations.

This summer, we were treated to a new round of truly

terrifying news. Arctic sea ice dropped to its lowest

extent in recorded history, shattering the previous

record by a jaw-dropping 18 per cent. Some scientists

are now predicting that the Arctic Ocean could be

ice-free during summer in as little as five years. The ice

melt is already wreaking significant havoc on weather

patterns around the globe and has probably contributed

to the historic heat waves that struck many places this

year.

Just last week, a new study found that half of all

coral reefs could be lost with a temperature rise above

1.2 degrees Celsius. The scientists further concluded:

“There is little doubt... coral reefs will no longer be

prominent within coastal ecosystems if global average

temperatures exceed 2 degrees Celsius...” That would

be devastating for the economies of small islands and

coastal communities around the world, not to mention

the staggering and irrevocable loss of biodiversity

that would be incurred by our shared natural heritage.

More and more studies are concluding that the door to

limiting temperature rise to even 2 degrees is rapidly

closing, if it has not closed already.

Meanwhile, greenhouse-gas emissions continue

to climb higher each year, with no end in sight. Small

islands may be the canary in the coal mine, but we all

are staring a global catastrophe right in the face.

It is revealing just how much our ambition to

address the crisis has been downscaled in just three

years. The fifteenth session of the Conference of the

Parties to the United Nations Framework Convention

on Climate Change, held in Copenhagen, was the

conference to save the world. The United Nations

Climate Change Conference, held in Cancún, Mexico,

was the conference to save the process. The Conference

of the Parties serving as the meeting of the Parties to

the Kyoto Protocol, held in Durban, South Africa, it

seems, was the conference to save the rest for later.

Instead of increasing the urgency of our work to

respond to the growing climate crisis, we have instead

seen the steady dismantling of the international

regime and a concerted effort to delay additional

action until 2020. Such an outcome is unacceptable. If

multilateralism is to have any credibility, then we must

move to an emergency footing, and those countries

with the greatest capacity must immediately begin

mobilizing the significant resources necessary to

remake the energy infrastructure that powers the global

economy. That must begin at the eighteenth session of

the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate

Change in Doha with the reprioritization of pre-2020

mitigation ambition and the mobilization of means

of implementation, including finance, technology and

capacity-building.

Nauru’s delegation will arrive in Doha prepared

to make its contribution to the global effort. We have

adopted a very ambitious renewable energy goal of

50 per cent by 2015. We think we can achieve it, but

we will need climate financing from international

sources to do so. As with most developing countries,

obtaining the means of implementation will be the key

to unlocking our ambition.

The ultimate objective of the Convention on Climate

Change is to stabilize greenhouse gases at a level that

averts dangerous interference with the climate system so

that ecosystems can adapt naturally, food production is

not threatened and economic development can proceed

in a sustainable manner. We should stop pretending that

this is still within reach.

We must realize that we have polluted the

atmosphere so much that many dangerous climate

change impacts are now unavoidable. Therefore,

the United Nations system must begin analysing and

addressing the security implications of climate change.

Climate change will become an increasing driver

of conflict in the future if we do not take steps now.

Increased competition over dwindling natural resources,

food and water insecurity, and forced migration are

just a few of the security issues that climate change

is expected to exacerbate. For that reason, the Pacific

small island developing States (SIDS) have called for

the appointment of a special representative on climate

and security, supported by adequate resources, to

begin analysing the security threats of climate change

and to work with interested Member States to build

their resilience. In addition, the Secretary-General of

the United Nations should be requested to conduct an

assessment of the United Nations system’s capacity

to respond to the various security implications of

climate change. Member States, particularly the most

vulnerable, must have confidence that the international community has the tools and resources to respond to

the crisis.

Some countries have been sceptical of Security

Council involvement in climate change. That is

understandable because the Council’s current

composition does not accurately reflect the diversity

of United Nations membership. The time has come for

this to be remedied. However, reform should not be

limited merely to membership. The Council must also

provide a forum for addressing the security challenges

of all countries, not just those of concern to the most

powerful.

The United Nations sustainable development

initiatives have been graced with an abundance of

lofty rhetoric but few resources. Many countries,

including my own, are not on track to meet their

Millennium Development Goals, and in some cases

have suffered setbacks because of the recent global

economic downturn. At the same time, the f low of

official development assistance from some channels

has diminished, further jeopardizing our ability to

achieve our MDGs.

We often forget that oceans cover 70 per cent of

the Earth’s surface and that healthy marine ecosystems

are vital to the sustainable development and sustainable

livelihoods of small islands. For many of us, the only

valuable natural resource we have is our fish. It forms

the cornerstone of our efforts to eradicate poverty and

provide livelihoods for our people. For us, fishing is

not just another economic sector — it is often the only

significant economic sector, and we must jealously

guard our modest natural wealth so that it can provide

for many generations to come.

While the outcome document of the United Nations

Conference on Sustainable Development in Rio had

few concrete deliverables, it did capture the Pacific

SIDS vision of a blue economy. If fully implemented,

the new provisions could help stem the steep decline

in fish stocks. We welcome the recognition of ocean

acidification as an emergent threat, and we must work

collectively to build the resilience of marine ecosystems

to climate change impacts. The commitments made in

Rio must be backed by real resources so they can be

translated into concrete results on the ground.

Rio also infused new energy into making islands

a model for sustainable development by agreeing to

convene the third Global Conference on the Sustainable

Development of Small Island Developing States, which is to be held in the Pacific in 2014. The Conference will

provide an opportunity for the international community

to make good on the promises of the Barbados

Programme of Action and the Mauritius Strategy for

Implementation by setting specific goals and mobilizing

real resources. We call on the international community

to provide support for the Conference and to summon

the political will necessary to make it a success. It was

agreed at the first Earth Summit that the sustainable

development of SIDS would be the first test of the

global partnership. We must demonstrate to the world

that this partnership means something.

A central aspect of that work must be enhancing

the international system to better target the unique

combination of challenges faced by SIDS, which

should include the creation of a formal SIDS category

at the United Nations. It is clear from 20 years of

experience that the current arrangements for improving

the sustainabIe development prospects of SIDS are

ineffective. We must demonstrate that the multilateral

system is nimble enough to evolve in response to the

shortcomings that have been identified.

Nauru welcomes the attention that the theme of

this year’s general debate brings to the need to address

disputes by peaceful means, and it commends the

efforts made by Taiwan and China to reduce tensions

and increase cooperation. I call on Member States to

support continuing dialogue between the two sides of

the Taiwan Strait and the parties concerned in the East

China Sea dispute to recognize Taiwan’s positive role

in consolidating peace and stability in East Asia. Nauru

urges a rapid and peaceful settlement of the situation

in South Ossetia and Abkhazia in a manner that treats

those affected with dignity and that respects their rights

as a sovereign nation.

Nauru continues to support the right of Israel to live

free from the fear of terrorism. We also acknowledge

Palestine’s right to statehood as part of a two-State

solution, which can be achieved only through peaceful

means.

The challenges facing the international community

are great and can be solved only by concerted

multilateral action. President Jeremić’s task and ours

is to begin the process of rebuilding the Organization.

That process must restore the integrity of the institution

entrusted with the protection of human dignity. It

was accomplished once before in the aftermath of a

catastrophe. This time, our goal must be to prevent one.

I pledge Nauru’s full support in that endeavour.