Seychelles, 2008

I have come to this gathering

of nations as a representative of one of the smallest

nations on the planet. Seychelles is but a speck on the

globe, home to some 87,000 people — a people that

7 08-51845

believes in justice, freedom and fairness. In this

concert of nations, every country great or small has a

voice. Our voice comes from the heart of a people that,

like countless others, lives in trepidation. I have come

here neither to beg nor to accuse, but to reach out to

the conscience of all who have gathered here at the

United Nations. I ask them to feel the heartbeat of

humanity.

When this great institution was founded over six

decades ago, its architects were motivated by noble and

just ideals: human freedom and dignity, justice, human

rights, peace, security, harmony and development.

Those ideals are values that we hold dear, timeless

values that are the soul of the United Nations. I have

faith in those values. So do the people of Seychelles.

Have we lived up to those values? Yes, we have

averted many wars. We have resolved many conflicts.

But in this age of relative peace and security, new

enemies are staring us in the face: hunger, pandemics,

underdevelopment, poverty, economic turmoil,

environmental degradation and the inequity of the

global trading system. Those are the enemies which, if

not overcome, will shatter the foundation of

civilization. Those are the enemies that we have to

battle and conquer to create a better world for our

children and their children. Those are the battles that

we have to win to save our planet. Those are the issues

that the modern United Nations has to grapple with and

overcome.

Can it succeed? I believe it can. It can if we

endow it with a new vision — a vision in which hope

for mankind goes beyond rhetoric; a vision that

provides for bold leadership, clear commitments and

targets so that we can focus on the greater good for

humankind; a vision in which leaders come together,

setting aside petty differences and charting a new

course for the United Nations, a new road map to

resolve the climate crisis and an appropriate framework

for the energy and food crisis; a vision in which

appropriate institutional reforms are put in place and

adequate resources mobilized to achieve the

Millennium Development Goals; a vision that

encompasses justice and fairness in trade and in which

the specificities of small island developing States are

not only recognized but accepted as criteria for aid to

further development.

I believe in that vision. We can all share it; we

can all help to make it a reality. Our deeds have to be

governed by firm commitments to and perseverance in

finding sustainable, pragmatic and equitable solutions

to the complex issues that threaten our very existence.

We should abandon solutions that continue to

enrich the rich and impoverish the poor and the

vulnerable. When it comes to world trade, for example,

it seems acceptable to some that wealthy countries are

allowed to give subsidies to their farmers, as a result of

which exports from developing countries become

uncompetitive, but that developing countries are

obliged to follow World Trade Organization rules to the

letter, even if they undermine domestic economic

policies formulated to protect vulnerable sectors of

society.

We offer facilities to foreign investors to exploit

our natural resources, which are traded for high profits

on the international market, while we receive a pittance

in licensing fees. It is like taking a bowl of food from

the poor and giving them back a spoonful as a generous

donation. For instance, of the total value of tuna — our

“blue gold” — caught and trans-shipped in our waters

by foreign fishing vessels every year, Seychelles

receives only 7 per cent in revenue, comprising

licensing and trans-shipment fees. That situation is, to

my mind, unacceptable. I ask whether it is

unreasonable to fight for a better share of the proceeds.

On a separate but related note, while the

prevailing situation of insecurity in international

waters off the coast of Somalia is of grave concern to

the international community, it is of graver concern to

Seychelles, whose exclusive economic zone borders

that maritime zone of hazard. A little more than a week

ago, some 40 European fishing vessels lay idle in Port

Victoria as a result of an act of piracy on one of their

own. Such acts can have a serious impact on the

lifeline of the second pillar of our economy at a time

when we are engaging with the Bretton Woods

institutions in a process of economic reforms. I wish to

thank all our partners and friends — in particular

France — for all the efforts they have deployed against

that scourge.

The skewed nature of the global trade regime is

not the only impediment to development. I return to the

case of my country. The fact that we have a high

human development index, ranked fiftieth in the world,

and that we fall in the middle-income group of

countries excludes us from access to grants and soft

loans that would have helped our country to develop

08-51845 8

even further and faster. And that is despite the fact that

donor organizations have confirmed that all aid, grants

or loans that have been given to Seychelles have been

properly and accountably utilized for the benefit of our

people. It is as if we were being penalized for our

success in raising the standard of living of our people.

We have fallen into the so-called middle-income trap.

Furthermore, no account is taken of the fact that

Seychelles falls into the category of highly vulnerable

countries as defined by the Commonwealth

vulnerability index. Why should our relative success be

the reason for the denial of access to special

development funds, especially those addressing

education, water, sanitation and health? Is that the

price we have to pay for improving the quality of life

of our people? Is that the price we have to pay for

dedicating over 50 per cent of our territory to

environmental conservation for the benefit of the

whole world?

Our natural environment is our future, our

treasure trove of biodiversity. We attach the highest

importance to its preservation, not only for ourselves,

but also for the rest of the world.

Like many other small island States, Seychelles

remains vulnerable to the threats posed by global

warming, climate change and rising sea levels. These

phenomena are linked to human activity on our planet

that, collectively, the nations of the world have the

power to influence — if only we had the will to do so.

It is not right that small island States should have

to run the risk of being submerged by rising sea levels

while some nations refuse even to acknowledge their

responsibility for the high levels of environmental

pollution now threatening the planet’s resources.

Despite our small size, we shall continue to lead.

And we shall lead by example. By our example, we

have shown and will continue to show to all that

sustainable development and the Millennium

Development Goals (MDGs) are achievable in our

present generation.

Through our efforts and with the support of

international NGOs, we have started a global

movement — the Global Island Partnership — to get

all small islands and nations with islands to devote part

of their natural resources to environmental resilience

and sustainability. And, more recently, Seychelles set

up the Sea Level Rise Foundation to galvanize global

action to address the devastating impact of climate

change on our planet.

Are those worthy causes not deserving of

international support, especially in the International

Year of Planet Earth? We are running out of time, and

we must combine our resources and know-how to

avoid the physical damage and social and economic

toll that threaten us.

Some of the greatest afflictions of humankind

today are hunger, starvation and malnutrition. Today,

food security is our foremost concern. The challenge

for many Governments is to bring food to ordinary

people at affordable prices. The dramatic increase in

grain prices has led to huge increases in the price of

bread, milk, meat and other commodities. The hungry

are getting hungrier, more desperate and angrier. The

divide between rich and poor is widening day by day.

We are faced with the looming threat of starvation on a

global scale and, with it, the prospect of violent

upheavals.

We can act to resolve the food crisis. First, there

must be political commitment. Secondly, subsidies

given to farmers by the industrialized countries have to

be removed. Thirdly, the industrialized countries

should make available to the South much-needed

resources to improve our infrastructure. Give us the

resources, technology and infrastructure to produce

more food and there will be no need to help us feed

ourselves.

Mankind has had a hand in most, if not all, of the

crises we face today. We gather here every year in the

name of freedom, human rights, democracy and

sustainable development to deliver eloquent speeches.

In the process, we procrastinate and bury solutions to

our problems in reams of resolutions and declarations.

Can we honestly say that we have got our

priorities right? Can we say that we live in a just

world, where every man, woman and child enjoys the

same rights? Are we, as leaders, living up to the noble

goals for which the United Nations was set up? Let our

conscience provide us with the answers.

A revamped United Nations system is best placed

to facilitate progress in all the areas I have mentioned:

food security, trade, climate change and energy. I am

asking for a clear action plan. Multiple conferences and

talk shops are not the solution. We need a fresh and

effective approach to global governance and I am

9 08-51845

convinced that with the right level of resources, and

with the political will and commitment, we can start to

tackle the fundamental flaws in our global governance

and trade regimes. I am asking the rich nations to

support that endeavour and assume their collective

global responsibility.

Let those of us who believe in freedom and

dignity show solidarity among ourselves. Let us help

each other to overcome the obstacles in our path. Let

us focus on a global vision for the betterment of every

nation.

In conclusion, I leave members with this note of

reflection: “History to the defeated May say Alas but

cannot help or pardon ...” W. H. Auden’s words will

define the future of humanity, in terms of its history.

The time for action is at hand. We must change, or be

redefined by history, like many great civilizations of

the past.