Antigua and Barbuda, 2011

Let me at

the outset commend Mr. Al-Nasser on his unanimous

election as President of the General Assembly at its

sixty-sixth session. I hereby pledge to him my

delegation’s full support for his efforts to successfully

move forward the agenda of this session. I wish also to

commend his predecessor, Mr. Joseph Deiss, President

of the General Assembly at its sixty-fifth session, for

his stewardship.

I would be somewhat remiss if I did not

commend Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon for his

leadership of our treasured Organization. I am pleased

to lend my voice to those of other Heads of State and

Government who have commended him on his

reappointment for a second five-year term beginning

1 January 2012 and to wish him every success in his

bold quest to develop an Organization that is both

effective and efficient and can bring about meaningful

change in the complex world in which we live.

Mr. Al-Nasser’s choice of the theme for the

general debate, namely, “The role of mediation in the

settlement of disputes by peaceful means”, could not

have been more timely or appropriate. Mediation is

one of the cornerstones of the Organization. While it is

true that mediation should not be the only tool

available to the international community to mitigate

conflicts, there is nevertheless a growing interest in

mediation and its use as a promising and cost-effective

tool in the peaceful settlement of disputes, conflict

prevention and resolution.

In addition, we, as a community of nations, have

on many occasions recognized the useful role that

mediation can play in preventing disputes from

escalating into conflicts and conflicts from escalating

further, as well as in advancing the resolution of

conflicts and thus preventing and reducing human

suffering and creating conditions conducive to lasting

peace and sustainable development, and in this regard,

recognizing that peace and development are mutually

reinforcing.

In the general debate of the sixty-fifth session, I

as well as others called for lasting peace in the Middle

East (see A/65/PV.20). I also issued a call for

implementation of the two-State solution, which would

have Israel and Palestine living side by side in peace

and security. Neither of these notions is new; sadly,

neither is anywhere close to realization, Given the

current state of affairs, it should come as no surprise to

anyone that the Palestinian people would seek a

different option — full membership in our

Organization or, failing that, a vote by the General

Assembly that would elevate the status of Palestine

from non-voting observer entity to Observer State, a

status equal to that of the Holy See.

As we have said in previous debates, we remain

fully supportive of the aspirations of the Palestinian

people and of the idea of a two-State solution, which

would allow the Palestinian people the right to govern

themselves and reach their potential in a sovereign and

contiguous State. It was against this backdrop that we

decided to join with others that have already done so

and grant recognition to the State of Palestine. As we

did then and do now, we believe that recognition of the

State of Palestine will contribute to the quest for a

negotiated solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict

and to the creation of lasting peace and stability in the

region, and ultimately result in a viable Palestine and a

secure Israel, based on the 1967 lines, with mutually

agreed swaps to ensure that secure, recognized borders

exist for both sides.

Many of today’s conflicts are fuelled by the

illegal trade in small arms and light weapons. Those

small weapons of mass destruction have had a

devastating impact on the countries of our region over

the past decade, and have been directly implicated in

the associated rise in crime and violence involving the

use of firearms. Needless to say, those weapons have

had a significant adverse impact on security and socio-

economic and human development in our countries.

In their 2007 annual reports, both the United

Nations Office on Drugs and Crime and the World

Bank identified our region as having higher murder

rates than any other region in the world. They also

stated that small arms and light weapons were used in

more than 70 per cent of those murders. We never

sought that dubious designation, which was anything

but welcome.

This is why, at our most recent summit in July

2011, my fellow Heads of State of the Caribbean

Community adopted a Declaration on Small Arms and

Light Weapons in which, inter alia, we agreed

“to accord the highest national and regional

priority to matters related to combating and

37 11-51360

eradicating the illicit trade in small arms and light

weapons and their ammunition” [and] “to

intensify and sustain engagement in the United

Nations effort for the conclusion of a legally

binding Arms Trade Treaty”.

I call on all States Members of our Organization to join

our region in this worthy endeavour.

The very existence of many developing countries

as viable States is at stake. The world financial and

economic crisis continues to threaten debt

sustainability in our countries through its impact on the

real economy and the increase in borrowing we had to

undertake in order to mitigate the negative impacts of

the crisis.

The recent gyrations in the major stock markets

of the world do not inspire hope for lasting global

economic recovery any time soon. Now more than

ever, if we are to overcome the current crisis we need a

new mechanism for restructuring and resolving

sovereign debt that takes into account the multiple

dimensions of debt sustainability.

This seemingly unending economic crisis has

affected our countries not only in economic terms, but

also through the presence of barriers to trade, as well

as the financing embedded in some of the anti-crisis

measures adopted by some developed countries. More

importantly, the crisis has impacted our social

development, which in turn has led and continues to

lead to a major loss of jobs and difficulties in financing

social programmes that address poverty or the

provision of basic amenities. All those factors threaten

our efforts to attain the internationally agreed

development goals, including the Millennium

Development Goals.

While my country has made good progress with

the United States on our online gaming dispute, we

urge the United States to remain committed to reaching

a mutually agreed outcome that will bring value to our

economy and is implementable by the United States.

With so much at stake, we will soldier on in our

quest to seek market access openings in key sectors

and other innovative incentives that could include but

would not be limited to financial and technical support,

forensics, equipment and training for dealing with drug

trafficking and for the creation of decent jobs for the

people of Antigua and Barbuda.

Mine is not the only country in the Caribbean that

has experienced trade-related difficulties with the

United States. A far more pernicious economic,

commercial and financial blockade has been imposed

by the United States of America on Cuba, and although

the overwhelming majority of membership of the

United Nations has repeatedly called for that blockade

to be lifted, it continues unabated. As a country

committed to the norms of the multilateral trading

system and the freedom of trade and navigation, and as

a nation that rejects the extraterritorial application of

another country’s national law, we call on the United

States to immediately and unconditionally lift its

economic blockade against the people of Cuba.

On 19 September, almost 11 years to the day

since the World Health Assembly endorsed the

landmark Global Strategy for the Prevention and

Control of Non-communicable Diseases to reduce the

toll of premature deaths due to non-communicable

diseases (NCDs), the General Assembly adopted a

Political Declaration (resolution 66/2) that, among

other things, calls for the launch of a global NCD

campaign.

While there is much to be lauded in the

Declaration, we are nevertheless disappointed that

some of our original expectations, including a clear

goal for the launching of the global NCD campaign

with a corresponding road map, may not have been

fully developed. However, we believe that, if

rigorously implemented, the Declaration will

contribute to the attainment of the Millennium

Development Goals. Let it be known that we will do

our utmost to ensure that the momentum generated at

that meeting is not lost.

Two days ago, we held a one day High-level

Meeting to commemorate the tenth anniversary of the

adoption of the Durban Declaration and Programme of

Action — the internationally recognized blueprint for

action to fight racism that was adopted by consensus at

the 2001 World Conference against Racism, Racial

Discrimination, Xenophobia and Related Intolerance,

held in Durban, South Africa. To this day, the

Declaration remains an innovative and action-oriented

agenda to combat all forms of racism and racial

discrimination.

This tenth anniversary is a chance to strengthen

political commitment to fighting racism and racial

discrimination. It is also an opportune time to revisit

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the issue of reparations for slavery, which is central to

any discussion about racism, colonialism and poverty.

Antigua and Barbuda has long argued that the legacy of

slavery, segregation and racial violence against peoples

of African descent has severely impaired our

advancement as nations, communities and individuals

across the economic, social and political spectrums. In

obtaining redress for the injustices suffered by African

slaves and their descendants, today’s Caribbean and

African peoples would advance immeasurably the

process of genuine healing.

Those who choose to differ have argued that,

unlike victims of the Holocaust or those who have been

interned during wars and have subsequently received

remunerations, neither the victims nor the perpetrators

of slavery are alive today, and that it is unfair to hold

the descendants of slave-owners responsible for the

actions of their ancestors.

On this we strongly disagree. However, no one

should disagree that racism and other legacies of

slavery continue to shape the lives of people of African

descent. Thus, reparations must be directed towards

repairing the damage inflicted by slavery and racism.

That is why we call on former slave States to begin the

reconciliation process by issuing formal apologies for

the crimes committed by those nations or their citizens

over the 400 years of the African slave trade. To help

counter the lingering damage inflicted on generations

of peoples of African descent by generations of slave

trading and colonialism, we call on those very States to

back up their apologies with new commitments to the

economic development of the nations that have

suffered from that human tragedy.

The United Nations has declared 2011 to be the

International Year for People of African Descent.

Throughout the year, nations and communities of the

African diaspora have undertaken a number of

initiatives aimed at the realization of the full

enjoyment of economic, cultural, social, civil and

political rights; participation and integration in all

political, economic, social and cultural aspects of

society; the promotion of a greater knowledge of and

respect for their diverse heritage and culture, with

pronounced emphasis on encouraging multilateralism

and development approaches; and the creation of a

global Afro-centric movement.

The time has come for peoples of the African

diaspora to begin helping themselves. A key part of

that process is the first African Diaspora Summit, to be

held in South Africa in mid-2012. The Summit and its

preparatory process will provide a platform for the

African diaspora to put in place economic policies

aimed at ensuring sustained economic cooperation

among public and private stakeholders, so as to

promote development, entrepreneurship and business

opportunities in diasporan regions.

By 31 October, our planet will reach a milestone

of sorts. Somewhere on the Earth’s surface, the planet’s

7-billionth inhabitant will be born. Seven billion

people! If nothing else, that milestone will serve to

reaffirm our determination as the international

community to implement sound development policies

and promote the inherent right and dignity of each

person. Coming amid the preparations for the 2012

United Nations Conference on Sustainable

Development in Rio de Janeiro, a world of 7 billion

inhabitants reminds us of the critical need to pay

attention to population dynamics if we are to

understand the needs of our people, proactively plan to

avoid development pitfalls, and develop forward-

looking policies that promote the health and dignity of

every human being on Earth, while at the same time

safeguarding the planet we call our home.

By making the necessary investments to develop

quality human capital, with equally strong measures to

promote gender equality with the active promotion of

women and youth participation in all spheres of life,

we will create the enabling conditions for transforming

the economies of developing countries in order to

eradicate poverty and achieve the internationally

agreed Millennium Development Goals. Policies

responsive to the needs of our population not only

contribute to dynamic, growing economies but are a

prerequisite for addressing the huge challenges related

to access to food, energy, water and sanitation, climate

change, fast-paced urbanization and migration. It is not

enough to merely respond to anticipated challenges; we

must take innovative and proactive approaches to seize

the opportunities presented by a world of 7 billion

people.

As the countries of Latin American and

Caribbean region reflect on and respond to those global

challenges, we have determined that our own destinies

are interwoven and that, as developing countries, we

must unite and coordinate our efforts in a systematic,

structured and deliberative way. We have done just that

39 11-51360

with the creation of the Community of Latin American

and Caribbean States.

Antigua and Barbuda fully endorses and supports the

objectives and ideals of the Community and wishes to

acknowledge the efforts of countries such as Mexico,

Venezuela, Brazil, Cuba and our sister CARICOM

member States for bringing the organization into being.

As we prepare for an important Summit in

Caracas, Venezuela, in December, we intend to lay the

foundation of a dynamic, responsive and meaningful

community of nations that share a common history and

that have a great deal to gain in our coming together in

this way to reshape the agenda, thereby creating a

greater balance in the pursuit of happiness, prosperity,

peace and democracy in our hemisphere.

Within my own subregion, the eight small

developing countries that make up the Organization of

Eastern Caribbean States (OECS) have a common

currency union, the Eastern Caribbean Currency Union

(ECCU). We have been adversely affected by the

global financial and economic crisis and we are faced

with a protracted recovery. The impact of the global

crisis was manifested in steep declines in our tourist

arrivals and expenditures, direct foreign investment

and remittances. Our real gross domestic product

(GDP) fell by 5.7 per cent in 2009 and is estimated to

have declined by a further 2.2 per cent in 2010,

influenced by declines in value added in construction,

manufacturing, agriculture, wholesale and retail,

transport and financial intermediation. The crisis has

also had a marked impact on our fiscal positions, with

an accompanying increase in public-sector debt.

Despite those challenges, there is a positive side.

Our countries have strong liberal democratic systems

and the rule of law is upheld. We also have a stable

currency that has been pegged to the United States

dollar at a rate of 2.7 Eastern Caribbean dollars to

$1 since 1976. That has been responsible for

comparatively low inflation and confidence in the

monetary system. In response to the global and

regional economic and financial crises, ECCU

members have crafted a very strong response to those

challenges. We have upgraded our current economic

integration arrangements to an economic union status

and a new treaty to that effect, the revised Treaty of

Basseterre establishing an OECS Economic Union, was

ratified in January 2011.

We have put in place a number of institutional

arrangements, which have served us well in addressing

the effects of the crisis over the past two years. We

adopted the ECCU Eight Point Stabilisation and

Growth Programme in 2009, aimed at stabilizing and

transforming the ECCU economies. As part of the

financial programming, we have set fiscal targets,

which have been approved by the Monetary Council

and published. The targets are intended to move our

countries on a path towards achieving a debt-to-GDP

ratio of 60 per cent by 2020.

My region remains deeply concerned that AIDS

has claimed 30 million lives and orphaned 16 million

children since it was first discovered in 1981. My

region remains committed to intensifying national

efforts to create enabling legal, social and policy

frameworks to eliminate stigma, discrimination and

violence related to HIV and to promote

non-discriminatory access to HIV prevention,

treatment, care and support.

As a small developing nation, we can easily

identify with the President’s call for enhancing South-

South and triangular cooperation. This, after all, was

perhaps his signature issue during his tenure as

Chairman of the Committee on South-South

Cooperation. His choice of improving disaster

prevention and response also resonates with us. The

increase in the frequency and intensity of natural and

man-made disasters and the devastation wrought by

them on vulnerable countries such as my own leave us

with no choice but to develop ways to build our

capacities so that we are better prepared to withstand

these disasters.

In addition to his main theme for this session, we

also support the President’s call to focus on United

Nations reform and revitalization so as to ensure that

our Organization remains relevant, efficient and

effective and is able to adapt to meeting the ever-

changing global challenges.

His fourth focal area of sustainable development

and global prosperity is perhaps the one with the most

scope for collective action. The United Nations

Conference on Sustainable Development in June 2012

will certainly provide a forum for the international

community to, among other things, recommit to

sustainable development, the eradication of poverty

and achieving the Millennium Development Goals by

ensuring the balance among the economic, social and

11-51360 40

environmental aspects of sustainable development,

with the human being at the centre of our efforts.

We can no longer ask whether we can, but we

need to give an account of exactly how we will meet

the enormous political, economic, humanitarian and

environmental challenges our planet faces. The global

economic crisis continues to shake the pillars of our

economic system: banks, businesses, Governments,

private sectors and even our own families. Now more

than ever, we need a more efficient, effective and

focused United Nations that is both transparent and

accountable to help us address the extraordinary array

of geopolitical and humanitarian challenges: famine in

Somalia, the continued crisis in Haiti, the aftershocks

of the Arab Spring, ongoing conflicts in some countries

and difficult transitions in others, in addition to the

deeper political, economic and environmental

transformations that are reshaping our world.

In an increasingly uncertain world, the world’s

people are looking to us here, in this great Hall of the

United Nations, for answers. We are their best hope for

building a safe, secure and just world. We cannot

afford to disappoint. We know that rescuing the planet

will require us to invest in people, particularly women

and youth. It will require us to re-emphasize the

prevention of conflicts and natural disasters alike, and

it will require us to devote new efforts to assist nations

in transition from war to peace, autocracy to

democracy, poverty to prosperity.

Let us show the people of the world that we are

indeed up to these enormous tasks. Then, and only

then, will we be able to say: “Yes, we did!”