Vanuatu, 2014

Vanuatu is honoured to

join other speakers in congratulating Mr. Sam Kutesa

on assuming the presidency of the General Assembly at

its sixty-ninth session. I believe that his able leadership

will successfully guide the session to its conclusion.

Let me also extend my gratitude to his predecessor,

Ambassador John Ashe, for his exemplary leadership

and the important achievements during his tenure in

the past year.

Since the last session of the General Assembly,

many major global events have taken place which, on

the one hand, have contributed to strengthening the

international system and, on the other, have threatened

international peace and security and directly derailed the

process of development, resulting in the marginalization

of the vulnerable populations of our societies. Given

past efforts to address the global financial crisis, we

have witnessed some recovery of the global economy.

That is good news; but it is well known that the recovery

is fragile and further international efforts are needed to

ensure that global growth prospects in the long run will

remain solid and sustainable.

We are concerned about prolonged periods of

conflict that have led to the displacement of the most

disadvantaged members of our societies, including

women, children and the disabled. It bothers us to see

the increased radicalization of groups and individuals

that have been targeted to create terror and impose

threats against countries, Governments and citizens.

Those are all problems that could be avoided, if all

countries adhered strictly to the peaceful principles of

dialogue enshrined in the Charter of the United Nations.

As members of the international community, we have a

moral duty to ensure that the principles of dialogue and

reasoning prevail in order to address conflict. I have

no doubt that the multilateral system is best placed to

address the challenges.

The outbreak of the deadly Ebola virus that

has claimed over 2,000 lives in West Africa has

also concerned us greatly. In this regard, we highly

commend the efforts of the United Nations agencies,

in particular the World Health Organization, and the

international community in addressing the security

risks of the epidemic. Likewise, the efforts of the

Secretary-General and his determination in addressing

the challenges are most commendable. I would like

to reiterate my Government’s support for the ongoing

efforts.

Concerning the political developments in the Pacific

region, I wish to congratulate the people of the Republic

of Fiji on successfully and peacefully electing a new

democratic Government. My Government commends

the people of Fiji for their resilience and steadfastness,

and I congratulate the newly elected Prime Minister on

fulfilling his promise to the international community to

successfully lead his country to a democratic election.

Vanuatu, a small island developing State, has a

small economy which is open and vulnerable to internal

and external shocks. Those characteristics have

determined and shaped our development outcomes. For

decades now, our economy has been growing and is now

generating increasing per capita incomes. Vanuatu was

one of the countries that called on the United Nations to

allow vulnerability to become one of the three criteria

used in assessing or identifying graduation cases.

Vanuatu’s vulnerability was recognized as a result of

the revised criteria, and our country ceased to qualify

for graduation. It was not until the end of the twentieth

century that Vanuatu’s eligibility for graduation from

least developed country (LDC) status was raised again,

after a decade of unquestionable economic progress in

our island nation.

After the Committee for Development Policy

and the Economic and Social Council reviewed our

progress in 2012, the General Assembly, in December

2013, decided that Vanuatu would graduate (see

A/68/PV.59). At the same time, a grace period of four

years was granted to enable a smooth transition to

post-LDC life. Vanuatu’s graduation from LDC status

is now scheduled to take place in December 2017.

My Government accepts that as a positive signpost.

However, the issue of vulnerability must be carefully

addressed by the United Nations.

We are examining the LDC benefits we may

eventually lose, with a view to negotiating the

possibility of retaining certain concessions we deem

important — if not vital — in sustaining economic

development. Our impression of the graduation process

is that our attention is being drawn to the question of

smooth transition, while the real issue — the question

of vulnerability, even during the post-graduation

stage — is being circumvented. Our situation could best

be described using the analogy of an aircraft. Vanuatu is

in the descent phase, but the focus should not be on the

smooth landing; rather, we must look to what happens

after the smooth landing, as that is the real issue. Our

vulnerabilities as a small island developing State (SIDS)

remain undiminished, with lasting disadvantages and

growing challenges regardless of our graduation from

LDC status.

What is it, then, that the United Nations, which has

been so generous in recognizing our vulnerabilities,

can now offer us, as a SIDS, in support of our efforts

to build resilience and productive capacity, and in

support of our climate adaptation expenditure? Surely

SIDS dealing with such issues deserve as much special

attention as do LDCs. Is it unreasonable to expect

that attention be translated into some form of special

treatment for SIDS? We appreciate the focus of the

United Nations on the importance of a smooth transition

for graduating countries, but we also urge it not to be

distracted from the real question, which is the way we

SIDS will be treated after graduation.

Like other, similar economies, while Vanuatu has

made some headway towards meeting the Millennium

Development Goals (MDGs), it is still finding it difficult

to achieve all of the goals by 2015. The reasons for that

are numerous, but one of the significant difficulties is

our narrow revenue base, coupled with a geographically

dispersed population scattered over our 83 islands,

which makes it a challenge for the Government to deliver

basic services to all of its people. We are grateful that

our development partners are always there to support

us. Given the challenges that SIDS and LDCs face

in financing development, I appeal to the developed

countries to honour their commitment to increasing

their aid to 0.7 per cent of gross national product, as

agreed on in the Monterrey Consensus.

The current problem of terrorism threatens the

security of States and the safety and well-being of

innocent and vulnerable women and children. The

kidnapping of innocent people, including some of

our peacekeepers, is a threat to international security

and peace. As a participant in various United Nations

peacekeeping missions, I would like to express our

gratitude to the United Nations and other countries for

their assistance in negotiating the release of Fiji’s United

Nations peacekeepers. The cooperation in this respect

of members of the international community is a positive

sign for the concept of our collective responsibility for

international peace and security.

We salute the Secretary-General for his leadership

as a vigorous campaigner for climate action and for

convening this year’s Climate Summit. Leaders made

many pledges and commitments during the Summit,

and we look forward to seeing the rhetoric translated

into urgent action. My delegation calls on the United

Nations family to stand together to find ways to

address climate-change issues. We are staring at a

climate-change bubble, and the longer we delay action,

the costlier it will be for our future generations. We

must act now and fast to ensure that we steer clear of

the current dangerous carbon-pollution trajectory.

The theme for the sixty-ninth session of the

General Assembly, “Delivering on and implementing

a transformative post-2015 development agenda”, is

timely and relevant, particularly considering the ongoing

efforts to arrive at a new post-2015 development agenda

for all countries. I commend the excellent progress that

has been made in this area, and I recognize that it is

not easy to negotiate such goals, with so many member

countries and the different groups they represent, all of

which want their development agendas incorporated. I

believe that our draft agenda does represent a consensus

on the part of every United Nations Member and that it

is capable of bringing development to a new level in all

of our countries.

As a Pacific small island developing State, we

are dealing with numerous development challenges

that the United Nations system and the international

community should address. I reiterate that climate

change is a major global challenge for all of us. Some

Pacific States are facing an existential threat, and we

cannot deal with the issue of sustainable development

alone if climate-change challenges are not addressed

seriously by the international community. To that end,

it is vital that climate change remain one of the major

elements on the agenda of sustainable development

goals (SDGs).

We note that this is a matter for considerable debate,

owing to its cross-cutting nature. However, it is not a

new issue, for the climate-change agenda is prominently

featured in “The future we want” outcome document

of the 2012 United Nations Conference on Sustainable

Development (resolution 66/288, annex). Our current

efforts to address climate change are consistent with

that, and it is another reason why our climate-change

targets should be more ambitious. We strongly urge

that the target of holding the increase in global average

temperature below 1.5°C above pre-industrial levels be

included in the SDGs.

In addition to climate change, our support for the

SDGs extends but is not limited to the inclusion of

peace and effective institutions; ocean management;

health and education; energy security and gender

equality. We also concur with the emphasis on the

means of implementation in the report of the Open

Working Group of the General Assembly on Sustainable

Development Goals (A/68/970) and urge the United

Nations and the developed countries to continue to

support developing countries, especially the SIDS

and LDCs, in the areas of sustainable development

financing and improving institutional capacity in their

efforts to promote development.

Coincidentally, my country is at an important

stage in its development planning process. Our current

development planning framework will come to an

end in the fourth quarter of 2015, and we are already

consulting for the post-2015 era. The agenda and issues

being discussed in the global arena will be translated

into and merged with our development aspirations.

I would like to take this opportunity to call on our

development partners to support us by working in

harmony and in a true spirit of partnership to help us to

fulfil the dreams of our people, particularly our young

and more vulnerable generation.

My Government acknowledges the synergy of the

efforts being made by the United Nations and the British

Commonwealth to uphold the international principles

of peace and good governance, as well as in promoting

stronger partnerships for inclusive development. I

would like to ask the United Nations to allow the views

expressed by the Commonwealth Heads of Government

on the post-development agenda to be seen as additional

contributions to that process.

My country has a history that evolved as the

result of a long political struggle to achieve political

independence, which finally came in 1980. But when

most of us were young, it was governed by Britain

and France, and we were stateless in our own country,

neither French nor British citizens. For more than seven

decades, we were exposed to foreign rule. We thus had

to struggle to reconstruct our identity as a nation that

could govern itself rather than be subjected to foreign

rule. In 1981, after independence was achieved in 1980,

I finally arrived here at the United Nations with our late

former Prime Minister, Walter Lini. I clearly remember

that cold autumn morning, when a small group, along

with the United Nations protocol staff, gathered outside

the entrance of this magnificent building to raise our

flag for the first time at the United Nations. A new

nation was born and was accepted by the United Nations

family of nations.

As a freedom fighter and as the Prime Minister of

the Republic of Vanuatu who took office less than six

months ago, I proudly stand here today to thank the

United Nations for the recognition and endorsement of

our membership. But more importantly, here on this

rostrum I want to underscore the unfinished business

of the United Nations with regard to bringing closure

to its work on decolonization. Part of my country’s

sovereign territory is still being disputed by one of our

former colonial Powers, which is also our dear friend

and development partner.

I am delighted that the United Nations once again,

through the work of the former United Nations Special

Rapporteur on the rights of indigenous peoples,

Mr. James Anaya, brought the matter to the twenty-

first session of the Human Rights Council in Geneva.

My country is delighted that in 2012 France responded

to that action and expressed its openness to dialogue.

We believe such openness is a necessary element for

progress so that our indigenous peoples will be able to

resume their rights to fully exercise their cultural and

spiritual obligations on the two islands of Umaenupne/

Matthew and Leka/Hunter, and to revive the traditional

routes of our ancestors in Tafea province.

My country’s political struggles have led to a strong

position on decolonization. We share the dreams of

those who are still longing for freedom so that they can

achieve self-government and independence. As we near

the midpoint of the United Nations Third International

Decade for the Eradication of Colonialism, I want to

echo those voices, from within our region and beyond,

who should one day be able to stand on this podium as

free and democratic nations.

My country acknowledges the message of

Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, reminding the

2014 Pacific regional seminar of the United Nations

Decolonization Committee held in May this year

that “good intentions will have to be translated into

credible action to make the Third International Decade

a success”. In that connection, my country supports

the conclusions and recommendations contained in the

report of the United Nations visiting mission to New

Caledonia this year (A/AC.109/2014/20/Rev.1) and calls

on the United Nations and the international community

to pursue their efforts to provide support to the people of

New Caledonia and the Government of France in their

endeavour to implement a successful decolonization

process under the Nouméa Accord.

At the nineteenth Melanesian Spearhead Group

Leaders Summit in June 2013 in New Caledonia, the

Group’s leaders renewed their commitment through

a declaration to support the Front de libération

nationale kanak socialiste (FLNKS) in their pursuit

for full emancipation under the Nouméa Accord,

through the provision of technical assistance and

training programmes for the Kanak peoples to assist

them in their struggle to fully exercise their right to

self-determination and independence. While the New

Caledonian people look forward to a political transition,

I call upon the United Nations, through its regional

agencies, to provide assistance to New Caledonia, in

particular the FLNKS and the Kanak people, in specific

areas of training to enable them to fully participate in

the implementation of the Nouméa Accord. I appreciate

the cooperative efforts of the Government of France for

facilitating the implementation of the Nouméa Accord

in a very mature and responsible manner. Those efforts

must not be derailed.

I cannot close this section of my speech without

paying tribute to the late Mr. John Ondawame, a

freedom fighter from West Papua, who passed away

last month while in exile in my country. He was laid

to rest in my country as a hero who had fought for

the rights to self-determination for the people of West

Papua. He and other martyrs had a dream that one

day the United Nations and all nations advocating and

promoting democratic principles would hear their cries

and deliver on the promise of a self-determined future.

At his funeral service, I stated that his struggle for

freedom and justice would continue to be our struggle

until colonialism is eradicated.

There are many other heroes in many countries

that are still voiceless and are suffering in silence,

either owing to unilateral policy choices, or because

of ignorance on the part of the multilateral system.

My country is encouraged by the onset of flexibility

exercised by the United States of America towards the

Cuban people. I believe that the willingness for dialogue

and consideration is a responsible gesture that will

slowly open the door for a better future for all Cubans.

We must, as individual countries, be ready to be a voice

for the voiceless. Bigger and richer countries must be

the burden-bearers for smaller nations. In doing so, we

demonstrate our willingness to live as a village, a world

community of friends and not aggressors. I want to

stress that the only way to address that issue is through

dialogue and unity. It is our moral responsibility not to

fail those who have been victims of past ignorance.

My country and many others have repeatedly raised

these concerns on this same podium for many years,

because we subscribe to them as inalienable human

rights. The concerns of vulnerability, sustainable

development, fisheries, job creation, human rights

and many others are reflected in the Small Island

Developing States Accelerated Modalities of Action

(Samoa Pathway) outcome document (A/CONF.223/3,

annex). My country fully endorses the Samoa Pathway

document as a guide that is to be used to navigate

through our development challenges.

The Samoa Pathway, built on the Barbados

Programme of Action and the Mauritius Strategy

for Implementation, has charted a decisive course

going forward. The United Nations system and the

international community are urged to ensure that it is

integrated into a transformative post-2015 development

framework and that we close the implementation gaps

of the Barbados Programme of Action and the Mauritius

Strategy.

Let me take this opportunity to thank the

Government and the people of Samoa for ably hosting

the third International Conference on Small Island

Developing States held in Apia.

I deeply appreciate the opportunity to present my

views to this important forum. I hope that the statements

and the deliberations that we make today will translate

into concrete actions leading to a better future for all

our peoples. Long live our aspirations to create lasting

peace and a better world for our people! May God bless

the United Nations!