Trinidad and Tobago, 2009

In

circumstances like these, I would normally speak for

about an hour, but I would like to assure you, Sir, and

the Assembly that the quality of mercy is not strained

and that I will be considerably briefer than that. Today,

I propose to stay within the time allotted to me.

Trinidad and Tobago extends its sincerest

congratulations to the President on his ascension to the

stewardship of this sixty-fourth session of the General

Assembly. We know that his vast experience and

leadership qualities will ensure very successful

deliberations. We also pay tribute to his predecessor,

Mr. Miguel d’Escoto Brockmann of Nicaragua, for his

vision and fearless discharge of his responsibilities as

President of the Assembly at its sixty-third session.

We convey our very best wishes to Secretary-

General Ban Ki-moon, whom we welcomed to Port of

Spain earlier this year when Trinidad and Tobago

hosted the fifth Summit of the Americas. We assure

him of our continuing support as he pursues his

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mission to ensure that the United Nations meets the

new challenges of the twenty-first century.

We meet at a time of very serious challenges for

the world economy. We are now beginning to emerge

from a global recession caused by a near collapse of

the international financial system, but there is no room

for complacency. Unemployment continues to grow in

almost every country, credit remains contracted and

consumer confidence, that most critical factor, persists

at very low levels. Additionally, there is no certainty of

a steady upward trajectory for the global economy.

Valued opinion on this matter points to the possibility

of further recessionary trends before the present green

shoots produce flourishing green fields.

We clearly cannot take our eye off the ball. We

must not return to business as usual. We should not

countenance the resurfacing of discredited patterns on

financial streets and capitals. We must be wary of the

level of adventurousness in leading financial

institutions that contributed very significantly to

driving the world to the edge of an economic precipice

from which we are just starting to pull back. There is

justification for concern about this situation in every

country on this planet. In the globalized economy, we

are all affected by policies or actions that direct the

international financial system.

We of the smaller countries and the developing

world have always been the most vulnerable and the

worst affected. It is happening again. Especially in the

southern hemisphere, the prospects have grown for

increased poverty, unemployment and general slippage

in the development process. How much longer will this

acute vulnerability of so many nations persist? How

many more dreams must now, once again, be deferred?

The trust of the world in the totally unregulated

market has been entirely misplaced. We must now

capitalize on the opportunity of this crisis and, without

delay, reform our international economic system. The

global architecture must be transformed to take the

new realities into account. Among these are new and

emerging centres of economic power and the now

indispensable need to deliberately generate growth in

the developing world if the global economy is to

achieve resurgence and sustainability. In this extremely

interconnected world, it is our collective resources,

ingenuity, productivity, markets and technology that

will keep all of us afloat.

Let this General Assembly therefore play its part

in ensuring that we leave behind the old approaches

that suffocated development of the many for the benefit

of the few. Let it call for greater recognition of the

absolute need to bring into the global mainstream the

entire productive and purchasing capacity of this

planet, our collective home.

We are heartened by developments and decisions

among the countries of the Group of 20, but we must

ensure that there is absolutely no reversal of the new

approach; no dimming of the new light that the present

crisis has generated; and no diminution of the

acceptance that we are all in this together and that

development everywhere translates into prosperity for

all. Let us therefore ensure that the reform of

international financial institutions does indeed take

place; that we entrench greater sensitivity to the

varying needs of countries at differing levels of

development; that new voices, respecting and

representing more of humanity, are in the decision-

making process; and that resource flows for trade and

investment are in fact realized and activated.

The Caribbean Community (CARICOM) has not

been spared the debilitating effects of the current

global economic situation. Most CARICOM States are

now experiencing economic contraction and rising

levels of debt and unemployment, with their

challenging social consequences. It is therefore

regrettable that some middle-income countries, such as

many in CARICOM, may not be eligible for funding

under some of the World Bank’s facilities for

international development assistance.

Given their vulnerabilities, middle-income

countries’ need for access to concessionary financing

must not be underestimated. This was highlighted in

2008 at the Third Ministerial Conference of Middle-

Income Countries in Namibia, which called for

enhanced levels of international development

assistance and noted that the current categorization

does not accurately reflect the particularities and needs

of these nations. This General Assembly must take

steps to advance the cause of middle-income countries

in this matter.

The situation in Haiti is one of grave concern. We

are encouraged by the diverse United Nations-related

initiatives aimed at promoting peace and security in

that country, but greater attention is required by the

international community. Arising out of the Fifth

17 09-52586

Summit of the Americas, Trinidad and Tobago has

advanced a proposal for the establishment of a

hemispheric development fund for Haiti, to which all

western hemisphere countries would be expected to

contribute. Haiti is first and foremost a western

hemisphere challenge, and we see this fund as essential

to the re-establishment of proper standards of living in

that country. We bring this matter before the General

Assembly for its support.

One of the very significant problems facing the

global community is transnational organized crime of

increasing strength, which includes terrorist activity as

well as the illegal traffic in drugs, arms and persons.

The Caribbean is particularly plagued by the illegal

drug trade, which uses our region as a trans-shipment

route for its pernicious cargo headed northwards. This

activity has a corrosive effect on our small societies,

fuelling, for example, trafficking in small arms and

light weapons, with troubling consequences.

In CARICOM, we have been pooling our

resources for this fight. There is now unprecedented

cooperation among the legal and security systems of

our countries, but we need more resources in our

struggle with this menace. We will continue to engage

in the various processes of the United Nations aimed at

addressing this problem. We encourage those Member

States that have not been supportive of the initiative

aimed at negotiating a legally binding arms trade treaty

to join those States working to ensure that it becomes a

reality.

But the security situation has been aggravated by

the deteriorating economic situation in many of our

countries, weakened by the loss of preferential markets

for bananas and sugar. The situation is exacerbated by

the new paradigm of reciprocity in trade, and by the

fact that both the tourism industry and the financial

services sector, to which many have turned to

supplement their economic development, have not

produced the anticipated returns. The economic

situation of these countries has therefore become even

more critical, with severe consequences for the security

and prosperity of our region, given the inextricable link

between security and socio-economic development.

Climate change is one of the major challenges

facing our civilization today. The Secretary-General

must be highly commended for his commitment to

dealing with this issue, which he declared as a priority

at the start of his tenure. In this regard, we add our

voices to those that have praised highly the United

Nations Summit on Climate Change, which has just

concluded. This General Assembly must promote more

meaningful action directed towards an internationally

acceptable formula for the reduction of carbon

emissions.

Trinidad and Tobago wishes to make it absolutely

clear that we do not accept the per capita basis for the

determination of levels of carbon emissions. It is

manifestly unfair to a small, energy-producing

developing country like ours with a small population.

We consider the method of absolute emissions to be a

more just method of determining a country’s

contribution to global warming, since it is affected not

by per capita emissions, but by absolute levels. The

question of population size, in this context, has nothing

to do with the matter whatsoever.

We also assure the Assembly that our country has

already voluntarily embarked on reducing emissions

through a programme that includes the pursuit of

renewable sources of supply. We will also be hosting

the 53 Commonwealth heads of Government at a

meeting in Port of Spain in November of this year. This

will be the last major summit before the Copenhagen

Climate Change Summit in December. We propose to

use the opportunity to attempt to forge a consensus that

would reflect the common views of the

Commonwealth, comprising as it does both high

greenhouse-gas emitters and some of the countries

most threatened by climate change. We are determined

to do all in our power to ensure agreement in

Copenhagen.

We are firmly of the view that non-communicable

diseases demand the heightened attention of the

international community at this time. It has been

forecast that by 2020 non-communicable diseases will

account for approximately 73 per cent of global deaths

and 60 per cent of the global burden of disease. We

join the call for indicators on non-communicable

diseases and injuries to be integrated into the core

monitoring and evaluation system of the Millennium

Development Goals. We have taken this matter on

board at the level of the Caribbean Community. Indeed,

we held a special regional summit in Port of Spain on

chronic non-communicable diseases in 2007. I now

propose that this Assembly convene a special summit

meeting of the United Nations on non-communicable

diseases at the earliest opportunity.

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The year 2015 is fast approaching, but there has

been, sadly, no encouraging progress towards our

Millennium Development Goal of food security for all

by that date. Indeed, we have fallen behind in our

schedule, with an increase in deaths from hunger and

malnutrition in the developing world. A much greater

sense of urgency is needed in our approach to this

situation. All countries must honour their commitments

made at the 2008 High-Level Conference on World

Food Security. Trinidad and Tobago therefore looks

forward to the next World Summit on Food Security,

scheduled for November in Rome, with the expectation

that the results will aid the international community in

achieving the revised target set by the Food and

Agriculture Organization of the United Nations to

eradicate hunger by 2025.

My country is committed to an international order

based on peace, security and the right to development

of all countries. We believe that democracy and

representation are key to achieving meaningful and

effective multilateralism. We therefore wish again to

support efforts to reform the Security Council. Reform

of that important organ of the United Nations,

responsible for the maintenance of international peace

and security, must include efforts aimed at making its

composition reflect more closely the global

geopolitical realities since the end of the Second World

War.

In this new century, the United Nations must

become an even more effective voice for all of

mankind. We have very important work ahead of us at

a very challenging time in our history. Let us never

lose sight of our main purpose, which is the security

and development of the people of the world. Let us

renew our focus on this main objective.

Let us therefore support the reign of fundamental

freedoms and human rights in every country. Let us

strive for the individual empowerment of citizens in

every nation; let there be opportunity and upward

mobility for all; let none be marginalized on the

periphery; and let the abundant talent and potential of

humanity flower everywhere, serving as inspiration,

guidance and example to present and future

generations.

Let us therefore join our strengths for the benefit

of all. Let us indeed build a global community where

there is increasing and intensified cooperation and

communication among our nations, where no country

lags behind, and where all nations and their peoples are

on the international road to development.