Trinidad and Tobago, 2012

Her

Excellency Mrs. Kamla Persad-Bissessar, MP, Prime

Minister of the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago, on

whose behalf I speak, extends her congratulations to

Mr. Vuk Jeremić on his election as President of the

General Assembly at its sixty-seventh session. The

honourable Prime Minister has also asked me to convey

to the Secretary-General, Mr. Ban Ki-moon, Trinidad

and Tobago’s appreciation for his untiring efforts in

working towards peace and security in today’s world.

I am privileged to address this Hall at a time

when the world is faced with turmoil and uncertainty.

Today, the world is radically different from what it was

a year ago. The redistribution of wealth and the very

nature of global power are shifting. New dynamics

are emerging as we witness the growing economies in

Latin America, Asia and Africa. The global pattern of

distribution of resources is being transformed by new

discoveries and by changes in technological processes

and in information. The world map of financial f lows

has changed, forcing us to look with more scrutiny on

the economic forces surrounding us and the threat they

pose to financial sustainability.

It is in this context that Trinidad and Tobago

endorses the President’s statement at the opening of the

Assembly’s sixty-seventh session on 25 September: “A growing number of States are determined to

enhance their external engagement, aspiring to

play greater roles in their respective regions and

beyond. As a result, power and influence in the

international arena are becoming more diffuse”.

(A/67/PV.6, p. 4)

When Trinidad and Tobago mounted this rostrum

for the first time 50 years ago, our Permanent

Representative Sir Ellis Clarke, an illustrious legal

scholar, remarked:

“We recognize the responsibility which we have

assumed with membership in this Organization.

That responsibility we can neither shirk nor

delegate.” (A/PV.1122, para. 126)

Today, I stand in reconfirmation of that responsibility.

In these decades of engagement, we are always

anchored by the three main pillars on which the United

Nations was founded: peace and security, human rights

and development.

At the core of our commitment has been the rule of

law both within and beyond our borders, which is the

basis of the theme set for this year’s debate: “Bringing

about adjustment or settlement of international disputes

or situations by peaceful means”, which reaffirms a

core principle enshrined in the Charter of the United

Nations.

Too often we have witnessed the severity of the

consequences when States act unilaterally to solve

disputes through the illegal use of force. Trinidad

and Tobago calls on all nation States to ratify the

amendments to the Rome Statute of the International

Criminal Court on the crime of aggression. We expect

to ratify those amendments by the next Assembly of

States Parties. The entry into force of those amendments

will fill a crucial gap by making it possible to bring to

justice those criminally responsible for the commission

of the crime of aggression.

In the light of recent troubling developments,

Trinidad and Tobago is compelled to reaffirm the

provisions of the 1961 Vienna Convention on Diplomatic

Relations. The Convention requires States to protect the

premises of diplomatic missions and ensure the safety

of diplomatic personnel. Those sacred principles must

be upheld even in times of armed conflict and armed

violence.

The United Nations is the principal vehicle for

facilitating the settlement of disputes or situations among States by peaceful means. The architecture is in

place to achieve that objective. However, it needs to be

strengthened. To achieve that noble goal, the political

commitment of Member States, whether large or small,

developed or developing, is absolutely necessary.

Member States must move swiftly to restructure the

Security Council. For Trinidad and Tobago, the status

quo is unacceptable. The Council must be reformed

to reflect the geopolitical realities of the twenty-first

century. The legitimacy of that body can be reaffirmed

only if the new dynamics of global power are reflected

in its composition and operation.

It is a matter of grave concern to Trinidad and

Tobago that the Security Council has not been able to

effectively address the situation in Syria. We appeal to

the Council to fully support the work of Mr. Lakhdar

Brahimi, the Joint Special Representative for Syria

of the United Nations and the League of Arab States.

The Council must uphold its sacred Charter mandate

and ensure that all sides involved in that conflict are

made to account for their actions, which have caused

tremendous human suffering and continue to threaten

international peace and security.

At the same time, we also call for more principled

leadership by the permanent members of the Council

to bring an end to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

Despite the adoption of numerous resolutions by

the General Assembly and the Council, and several

peace initiatives, including that of the League of Arab

States, we continue to witness, almost on a daily basis,

wanton violence and tremendous loss of life, resulting

in further escalation of tensions. A resolution of the

conflict remains elusive, and the conflict is a catalyst

for regional insecurity and instability. That makes even

more urgent the need to find a formula for enduring

peace. The United Nations must commit all available

resources to mediating a two-State agreement in order

to begin to resolve the Israeli-Palestinian situation, in

full accordance with resolutions reaffirming borders

existing before 1967.

I will now address other issues relating to the global

development agenda.

The completion of Cuba’s reintegration as a full

and equal partner in the international system is an

issue close to the Caribbean. Over the years, that

policy objective has been given practical content

through the establishment of a wide-ranging dialogue

and in specific cooperation agreements in a variety of development sectors of interest to the Caribbean, as part

of the Caribbean convergence initiative. In the view of

Trinidad and Tobago, the imperative of the initiative

compels us to regard the economic blockade of Cuba

as an anachronism. We therefore call yet again for its

removal.

We are only three years away from the deadline

set by world leaders for the achievement of the

Millennium Development Goals (MDGs). While

Trinidad and Tobago would have preferred a more

equitable geographical distribution on the Secretary-

General’s panel on the acceleration of efforts to achieve

targets set by the MDGs, we nevertheless welcome its

establishment. We also call for fresh and bold changes

and a paradigm shift in thinking in the design of the

post-2015 development agenda.

We must safeguard the environment for future

generations and in that regard move decisively to fully

implement our obligations under the United Nations

Framework Convention on Climate Change and its

Kyoto Protocol. That would guarantee the survival of

those of us who are most vulnerable to climate change,

climate variability and sea-level rise. Every moment of

delay takes us closer to our own demise.

The health and well-being of our people is central to

our development. The prevalence of non-communicable

diseases, in particular, poses a serious threat to

Caribbean development. Trinidad and Tobago laments

the lack of action on the Political Declaration on the

Prevention and Control of Non-communicable Diseases

adopted one year ago (resolution 66/2, annex). We

cannot risk further inaction on the matter. The adverse

consequences are significant. We therefore urge that

the matter be given high priority on the international

development agenda.

The stability of many regions is being undermined

by the illicit trade in conventional weapons, which has

fuelled armed conflict and armed violence. Trinidad and

Tobago is encouraged by the support of many countries

for the conclusion of a robust and legally binding arms

trade treaty. However, we deeply regret the failure of the

United Nations Conference on the Arms Trade Treaty,

despite the support of an overwhelming majority.

That reflects the refusal of a few States to agree to an

instrument that would prevent the diversion of arms

to the illegal market. Illegal weapons, including small

arms and light weapons, in the hands of terrorists,

drug dealers, gang leaders and other actors involved

in transnational organized crimes, are an affront to the efforts undertaken to resolve disputes by peaceful

means. In the Caribbean, and I daresay elsewhere, the

high incidence of gun-related crimes is intolerable.

We join with our Caribbean Community partners and

others in the call for the resumption of negotiations on

the arms trade treaty by the first quarter of 2013.

We also recognize the important role of women

as agents of change — not as mere victims — in all

initiatives related to the resolution of disputes and

conflicts. Trinidad and Tobago was privileged to host

a high-level discussion with representatives of other

Member States, the United Nations Office for

Disarmament Affairs and the non-governmental

organization community at the margins of the General

Assembly last week on the topic of women, disarmament,

non-proliferation and arms control. The high point of

the discussion was the signing of a joint statement by

Government representatives to promote the equitable

representation of women in all decision-making on

the matter. Trinidad and Tobago requests all Member

States to support this draft resolution when it comes

before the General Assembly later in the session.

The majority of States settle disputes by peaceful

means. We take this opportunity to applaud the special

agreement signed by the Governments of Belize and

Guatemala to submit their long-standing border dispute

to the International Court of Justice for adjudication.

We in Trinidad and Tobago have delimited our

maritime boundaries through bilateral negotiations and

arbitration, in keeping with the provisions of the 1982

United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea. This

conduct has not only promoted good-neighbourliness

among States in the region, but also provided an

environment conducive to the exploration and

exploitation of living and non-living marine resources

so vital to the social and economic development of our

people.

In this increasingly multipolar world, where

interconnectivity is crucial, small States are faced with

mounting challenges to find a space and a place in the

new world order. Trinidad and Tobago has promoted in

every forum the need for constructive dialogue between

small States, the Group of 20, Brazil, Russia, India,

China and South Africa, and the international financial

institutions.

Trinidad and Tobago recognizes this call for a

new diplomacy, and we therefore join with Mrs. Portia

Simpson-Miller, Prime Minister of Jamaica, in calling on the major international lending agencies to recognize

the special circumstances of middle-income countries

and not push them to the margins of the development

agenda.

We must advance the global economic governance

agenda. To this end, middle-income and small nations

must not be excluded from development cooperation

and financing on the basis of per capita income alone.

As we look forward to the next 50 years of

membership of the United Nations, Trinidad and

Tobago has a renewed optimism. In spite of the hurdles

of the past, we are witnessing a new vitality in the

United Nations today, and we reiterate our advocacy for

a new dialogue and a new diplomacy. The international

community is once again embracing multilateralism

with higher expectations. The ongoing development of

new rules and new norms in human rights; trade and

development; protection of the environment; and peace

and security gives hope that the human tragedies which

bedevilled the twentieth century can be avoided. A

new leadership with a global mindset must engage the

various communities of interests to find more durable

solutions in a volatile global environment. This new

international leadership must find the right mix of

power, politics and economics to achieve the necessary

performance level for sustainable regional and global

economic growth, and ultimately development, that

will benefit the citizens of all nations.

Trinidad and Tobago will engage regional,

hemispheric and global partners to assist the United

Nations in making the world a safer and better place

for all humankind. But let me conclude by reminding

us all that we do not have the luxury of time. The eyes

of the world are upon us. Our actions today must allow

tomorrow’s generations to experience a better and more

secure future.