Vanuatu, 2012

Vanuatu wishes to

associate itself with other delegations in congratulating

the President and the members of his Bureau on their

election to lead us through this sixty-seventh session

of the General Assembly. I am indeed profoundly

delighted, as Mr. Jeremić assured us in our meeting

earlier this week, that he will do his utmost to assist

with and bring to the forefront the issues that confront

the Pacific island States and other marginalized

nations. We trust that with his guidance, this session

will conclude with successful outcomes.

Allow me also to pay tribute to his predecessor,

Mr. Nassir Abdulaziz Al-Nasser, who, with strong

leadership and diplomatic finesse, led us to great

outcomes during the sixty-sixth session of the Assembly.

Our world has seen unprecedented disputes and

conflicts, most of which have spanned successive generations. The theme of the sixty-seventh session,

“Bringing about adjustment or settlement of

international disputes or situations by peaceful means”,

should therefore lead us to focus on finding lasting

solutions to the numerous ongoing conflicts in various

parts of the world that are causing vulnerable people to

suffer. Members have the solemn responsibility to steer

this multilateral gathering towards deeper consideration

of the founding goals of the Organization, which are

to encourage and create a more secure and peaceful

world in which diverse cultures and civilizations can

coexist without having to resort to force and violence

to achieve their goals.

This rostrum can testify to all the speeches that

have been delivered by the world’s great leaders on a

vast array of issues that affect humankind. Many of us

representing politically independent nations here have

shared the journey and the litany of heartaches and

dreams deferred of many of our global citizens, whose

human rights to larger political and civil freedom are

still bound by the tentacles of imperialism and the

legacy of colonialism. Even now, for the remaining

colonized territories, this rostrum represents the

pinnacle they so greatly aspire to reach one day.

Since 1980, the Republic of Vanuatu has repeatedly

called for the United Nations to strengthen its efforts

towards achieving the full decolonization of territories

still controlled by administrative Powers. I call on the

independent, free nations of the world to complete the

story of decolonization and to close that chapter.

At this juncture, I urge the United Nations not

to reject the demands for French Polynesia’s right to

self-determination and progress. In the same manner,

negotiations for the self-government of the indigenous

people of New Caledonia must continue. We encourage

the parties to ensure that the process towards achieving

self-government will stay on track.

I also call upon Members to ensure that collective

action is taken to lift the embargo on Cuba. We, the

Members of the United Nations, must revive our

political motivation and courage, dispel our feelings of

animosity, and ensure that United Nations resolutions

on that issue are fully implemented. Our actions must

not detract from the universal values of love and respect

for people, no matter how insignificant they may be to

the powerful nations. I hope that one day we will at last

be able to echo the message of freedom to many of our

friends who still suffer from the burden of conflicting

ideologies.

Last year, I reiterated to this Assembly our serious

concerns over the denial of a country’s right to exercise

its full political freedom and inherent cultural rights

over its maritime territories. Since we gained our

independence 32 years ago, our territorial dispute with

the French Republic over the southern two islands of

Vanuatu, Matthew and Hunter, has been a reminder

that we must continue to uphold the notion that the rule

of law should not be used by powerful nations as an

instrument to coerce weak and small nations, especially

in territorial disputes.

The French and the Vanuatu Governments met in

Paris in April to commence dialogue on the issue of the

territorially disputed islands. We take this opportunity

to thank the French Government for finally opening its

door to dialogue and negotiation in an attempt to resolve

that outstanding international dispute. We acknowledge

the procedures outlined within the United Nations to

ensure that such disputes are amicably resolved.

As a small island State surrounded by the vast

Pacific Ocean, Vanuatu is exposed to the notorious

illegal transshipment of and trade in illicit arms. The

international arms trade has continuously lacked proper

and coherent regulation and is responsible for the loss of

innumerable lives. Like many other countries, we call

on the United Nations to take a much firmer approach

in expediting the conclusion of an arms trade treaty,

which would provide greater security and control over

such illegal activity. That is an issue of paramount

importance to all countries exposed to the illegal trade

in arms and light weapons.

My country has consistently argued that the

mechanisms and criteria for assessing graduation

eligibility must not be isolated from the permanent and

inherent vulnerabilities of our countries. It is unrealistic

for United Nations agencies to assess progress and

make projections without taking into consideration the

matter of permanent vulnerabilities and the capacity

to sustain growth in our countries after graduation. I

wish to further state that, according to the World Risk

Report 2011, Vanuatu scored highest on the World Risk

Index as the country with the greatest disaster risk, due

to its high exposure and weak coping capacities. The

findings of that report are critical, and we therefore ask

that the United Nations Committee for Development

Policy carefully weigh its arguments and reassess the

vulnerability graduation criteria.

I would also like to state that, prior to another

triennial review of the least developed country (LDC) category, the United Nations will need to ensure that

proper resolutions are adopted by the General Assembly

to ensure that small island States graduating from LDC

status continue to enjoy certain preferential treatment,

even after graduation, to offset the vulnerability factor.

Let me take this opportunity to invite the members of

the triennial review to visit my country to establish

first-hand information and ascertain the findings of

the World Risk Report prior to escalating the process of

graduation in 2013.

Our own experience has shown that the different

ways that multilateral organizations and institutions

categorize member countries can affect the f low of

development assistance. For instance, Vanuatu, together

with 15 other countries, was selected several years ago

from among the Pacific island countries to benefit from

the Millennium Challenge Corporation (MCC) funding

of the Government of the United States of America. At

the time of our selection, Vanuatu was graded as a low-

income country and, by the eligibility criteria of the

MCC, was automatically qualified for and benefited

from $66 million to build two major national roads on

two different islands in the country. I wish to express

our appreciation to the United States Government for

its assistance.

However, when the Report on Countries that are

Candidates for Millennium Challenge Corporation

Account Eligibility for Fiscal Year 2010 was released,

Vanuatu failed to qualify. The reason was simply that

the MCC was using World Bank criteria and graduated

Vanuatu from the status of low-income country to that

of low-middle-income country. In other words, the

World Bank’s criteria may be totally different from the

LDC criteria defined by the United Nations. I therefore

wish to call on the United Nations, especially the

Economic and Social Council, to ensure that the LDC

definition and criteria used by United Nations agencies

are compatible with those of the international financial

institutions.

The vast Pacific Ocean is our heritage and the

prime means of livelihood of the people living in its

island countries. Like other Pacific Island countries,

Vanuatu continues to be exposed to and threatened by

the negative impacts of climate change, such as coastal

erosion, coral bleaching and ocean acidification. At the

Forty-Third Pacific Islands Forum in the Cook Islands,

the Forum leaders noted that many challenges remain in

realizing benefits from the pledged new and additional

targets of the Copenhagen Accord. In that respect, I would like to seize this opportunity to express our wish

for United Nations assistance in facilitating effective

responses to global climate change, particularly through

the prompt implementation of adaptation measures, as

well as mitigation efforts, climate change financing,

capacity-building and international negotiations.

While we tend to direct our main focus of attention

towards global climate change, we must address other

matters, such as environmental pollution, with the

same exigency and rigor. The potential for permanent,

irrevocable damage to the environment by marine

pollution has been constantly highlighted by the

scientific community and should not be tolerated.

The future growth of international maritime traffic

will further exacerbate the situation. Vanuatu urges

all remaining States that have not yet done so to

expeditiously sign and ratify the 1972 London

Convention on the Prevention of Marine Pollution by

Dumping of Wastes and Other Matter, as well as the

1996 Protocol thereto, and to promulgate and enforce

legal regimes, both in the domestic and international

arenas.

At this point, I would like to reiterate the

unnecessary risk to which we expose our children and

ourselves by not taking a firm precautionary approach

with regard to marine geoengineering practices,

such as sub-seabed carbon sequestration and ocean

fertilization. In our global efforts to combat climate

change, the strict promotion of and adherence to only

those responses that are environmentally sensible is

our crucial responsibility, and I am not only speaking

on behalf of a small island nation when I recall that,

by forgetting the essentiality of the oceans as the

very foundation of life on Earth, one neglects a vital

guarantor of mankind’s future survival.

As I conclude this speech, I have to make a last

appeal to all assembled leaders. I urge them to take

immediate action upon their return to their home

countries to initiate the change that needs to come about

if we wish to preserve a planet capable of providing our

sons and daughters with a bright future. If the leaders

of the industrialized countries want to achieve the

proposed 1.5° C target, they have less than eight years

left to close a vast mitigation gap. Who if not they can

or will implement the required measures for that crucial

change? This may well be their last chance. In their

hands lie the hope and destiny of the world’s nations.

It is a responsibility that they must assume not only for

their own people, but for humankind as a whole. I am grateful for the opportunity to express my

views in this forum. Long live our aspirations to create

a better and a more secure world for everyone, and may

God bless the United Nations.