Barbados, 2013

It is my distinct honour

and pleasure to congratulate you, Mr. President, on your

assumption of the presidency of the General Assembly

at its sixty-eighth session. The Caribbean Community

(CARICOM) Heads of Government, at their thirty-

fourth meeting in July, pledged their support for your

presidency. Allow me therefore to assure you of my

delegation’s support throughout the current session

of the General Assembly. Let me also commend your

predecessor, Mr. Vuk Jeremi., for ably guiding the

work of the General Assembly during its sixty-seventh

session.

You have assumed leadership of the General

Assembly at a very pivotal moment in the United Nations

timetable. The expiration deadline for the Millennium

Development Goals is near, and our efforts to elaborate

an agenda for the post-2015 period are intensifying.

Following the United Nations Conference on Sustainable

Development, modifications have been made to the

institutional framework for sustainable development.

An agreement has been reached on the establishment

of the High-level Political Forum and the United

Nations Environment Assembly. The deliberations on

the reform of the Economic and Social Council have

been completed. It is envisaged that the deliberations of

the Open Working Group on Sustainable Development

Goals and the intergovernmental committee of experts

on sustainable development financing will accelerate

in the next few months. The international community

continues to chart a course in the pursuit of global

sustainable development.

The theme of the sixty-eighth session of the General

Assembly, “The post-2015 development agenda: setting

the stage”, will require us to engage in what might best

be described as a retrospective and prospective dialogue.

Much has been said about the current global financial

and economic crisis, which has been made worse by

the many manifestations of the impact of climate

change — extreme weather events, food crises and

volatile food crises — compounded by unprecedented

levels of terror and violence. At the same time, we have

seen a global determination to tackle these issues.

Barbados recognizes that the stability, health and

productivity of the global environment, particularly

coastal and marine resources, are fundamental to the

survival of Barbados, CARICOM and other small

island developing States (SIDS). We therefore deem

it imperative that countries like ours maintain active

involvement in shaping the global development

policy agenda. It is recognized, however, that SIDS

are constrained in their ability and capacity to craft

independent solutions. One major barrier is our debt

situation.

The issue of debt sustainability is of particular

relevance to SIDS. In highlighting its importance, the

Prime Minister of Barbados, in his feature address

to the recently concluded interregional preparatory

meeting for the Third International Conference on the

Sustainable Development of Small Island Developing

States, noted:

“Debt sustainability is a critical issue not only

for Barbados, but for many of the SIDS... We must

therefore use the opportunity provided by the

Third International Conference on SIDS to both

find and share solutions to this challenge, as it is

a major constraint to SIDS achieving sustainable

development.

“In this context, it is imperative that, before

we meet in Samoa, an opportunity be provided

to fully ventilate this matter. In this regard, the

relevant entity of the United Nations responsible

for coordinating SIDS issues may want to consider

convening a meeting of the Finance and Economic

Ministers of SIDS to discuss this issue and to put

forward specific recommendations to be considered

as part of the outcome of the Third International

meeting on SIDS.”

I repeat that call on this body and commend it to the

relevant entity of the United Nations system to act

expeditiously on this proposal.

Another issue of concern to Barbados relates to the

international financial-services sector. We believe that

the sustainability of our development is being stymied

by efforts to undermine this very important sector,

which continues to provide a stable and substantial

contribution to our gross domestic product. Barbados

therefore associates itself with the comments of the

Right Honourable Perry Christie, Prime Minister of the

Bahamas, in his address to the General Assembly (see

A/68/PV.19). We are a well-regulated jurisdiction which

has sought at all times to comply with international

rules and best practice, and it is our intention to operate

within the established international norms that have

guided this sector to date.

In 1994, Barbados was honoured to host the first

United Nations Global Conference on the Sustainable

Development of Small Island Developing States. At

that time, we were optimistic that the international

community’s recognition of the inherent vulnerabilities

of small States would lead to real progress in the

development of SIDS. However, the five-year review of

the Mauritius Strategy in 2010 revealed that

“[s]mall island developing States have made

less progress than most other groupings, or even

regressed, in economic terms, especially in terms

of poverty reduction and debt sustainability”

(resolution 65/2, para. 5).

Despite this, Barbados remains committed to the

process to advance the sustainable development of

SIDS.

As you are aware, Mr. President, Barbados attaches

great importance to sustainable development in all its

dimensions. We believe that the theme for this year’s

session — “The post-2015 development agenda: setting

the stage” — is thus both timely and important. Such

an agenda must recognize the importance of addressing

the very specific needs of the Members of the United

Nations. I speak therefore from the perspective of SIDS.

Barbados believes that the post-2015 development

agenda should involve commitments to the eradication

of poverty and hunger; environmental sustainability,

with a strong emphasis on coastal and marine resources;

the development of sustainable and accessible renewable

energy technologies; the pursuit of a sustainable

agriculture agenda, in tandem with food and nutrition

security; gender equality and women’s empowerment;

and youth development, education and employment.

We also call for emphasis on the inclusion of

vulnerable groups, including persons with disabilities;

the requisite means of implementation, including

capacity-building, technology transfer, trade and

technical cooperation; the integration of appropriate

systems for accountability, monitoring, evaluation and

reporting; and good governance, respect for human

rights, and the rule of law.

This is not a mere shopping list. It reflects the

understanding that all these issues are inextricably

linked. They represent challenges or problems that

must be tackled simultaneously, if we are to achieve

sustainable development. These cannot be addressed in

a silo-like manner.

The importance of a policy of sustainable

development can therefore not be understated. It

is a matter of survival. It is for this reason that the

Government of Barbados has envisioned the building

of a green economy as its strategy for advancing its

sustainable development. As Prime Minister Freundel

Stuart indicated in the foreword to the Green Economy:

Scoping Study Synthesis Report on Barbados,

“the Green Economy debate recognizes our

structural vulnerabilities, offers a model to assist

us in further realizing our sustainable development

aspirations, and creates the institutional platform

that would enable us to participate in innovative

partnerships in the fight to save our planet,

against mounting unsustainable consumption and

production patterns”.

Our situation as a special case for development

holds as true today as it did more than 20 years ago,

when the United Nations system first acknowledged

our vulnerabilities and our special link to ocean

resources. In the case of Barbados, we are of the

opinion that a green economy is inextricably linked to

our development and as such should not be lost in this

very important discussion.

Over the past several months, increasing attention

has been focused on the preparatory process for the

Third International Conference on the Sustainable

Development of SIDS, to be held in Samoa in 2014.

Three regional preparatory meetings in the various

SIDS regions were convened in July. Members may

recall that the interregional meeting was held in my

country, Barbados, the birthplace of the Programme

of Action for the Sustainable Development of Small

Island Developing States — the Barbados Programme

of Action.

Barbados attaches great importance to the

preparatory process for the Samoa Conference. As we

take stock after almost 20 years of the implementation

of the Programme of Action and 10 years of the

Mauritius Strategy for its further implementation,

we wish to emphasize that this process is an integral

part of the overall post-2015 development agenda.

This preparatory process can strengthen the collective

action of SIDS in addressing their vulnerabilities and

special development challenges. Prime Minister Stuart

of Barbados referred to this recently as building SIDS

collectivity.

The support of the international community

must underpin this concept of SIDS collectivity

by strengthening interregional and intraregional

collaboration between SIDS and the various

SIDS regions, and increasing emphasis on

institution-building, including the establishment of an

appropriate institutional mechanism to facilitate, in

particular, intraregional collaboration among SIDS.

Credence is given to this approach by the Secretary-

General’s High-level Panel on Global Sustainability,

whose report (see A/66/700) stressed that the building

of effective institutional governance at the local,

national, regional and global levels is essential for

achieving sustainable development, facilitating greater

utilization of science and technology to help address

many of the issues being faced by our young people

in strengthening the interface between youth talent,

innovation and entrepreneurship, and speaking with

one voice at the international level on issues impacting

SIDS sustainable development.

Barbados believes firmly that South-South and

triangular cooperation must be part of any effort

to reform the existing international development

cooperation architecture and to build more inclusive

global partnerships for effective development

cooperation. We possess a wealth of experience in areas

that we can share with developing and middle-income

countries, including education and training, health

care, social partnering, clean -nergy policies and

technologies, environmental protection, including

coastal conservation, and the provision of social safety

nets.

Like other SIDS, however, we are constrained

by limited financial resources and the persistent and

prolonged global financial crisis, which continue to

have a negative impact on resource mobilization and

financial flows to developing countries. Barbados

supports the observation made by the United Nations

Office for South-South Cooperation, that there is a need

to give the global South the incentive to invest more

in multilateral forms of South-South cooperation. We

therefore welcome the formation of partnerships with

the private sector, international organizations, donors

and civil society organizations specifically designed to

better facilitate such South-South cooperation.

There is a clear need for greater equity, fairness

and transparency in the method employed to

determine socioeconomic classifications and resource

allocation. The persistent use of arbitrarily determined

international classification and ratings systems that are

based on gross domestic product per capita and other

narrow criteria must be expanded in scope to take into

account meaningful variables such as vulnerability.

In this context, we refer again to the observation

by the Secretary-General that gross domestic product

per capita on its own is an inadequate indicator. We

also applaud the useful research being conducted on

vulnerability indices and other measures beyond gross

domestic product by bodies such as the Commonwealth,

the Economic Commission for Latin America and

the Caribbean, and the United Nations Statistical

Commission. Barbados will continue its advocacy on

this issue.

Barbados is not unique. Like other SIDS, we

recognize that our efforts to achieve sustainable

development must of necessity incorporate delivery

modalities encompassing finance, good governance,

development cooperation, trade capacity-building and

institutional strengthening. Barbados therefore reminds

this body that we must foster strong partnerships if we

are to craft effective and truly lasting global solutions.

We call on Member States to revisit the Small Island

Developing States Technical Assistance Programme as

a means of enabling the transfer of skills, knowledge

and experience across SIDS and the three SIDS

regions. We hold the view that the Programme offers

much potential for enhancing capacity and access to

SIDS-grown technologies and skill sets. The Technical

Assistance Programme must be seen as an important

mechanism for advancing the post-2015 development

agenda.

The provision of free health care for Barbadian

citizens has been a critical contributor to the high level

of human development in Barbados. The treatment and

prevention of chronic non-communicable diseases,

however, account for a disproportionately large

percentage of our national budget. That has entailed

the diversion of scarce resources that should have been

devoted to achieving other development goals. Chronic

non-communicable diseases constitute one of the major

challenges to the sustainable development of Barbados,

effectively threatening the development gains that

Barbados has made.

Our strong commitment to preventing and combating

chronic non-communicable diseases is reflected in

strong multi-stakeholder partnerships, including the

dedicated engagement of civil society. Despite the

national prioritization of non-communicable diseases,

the focus on prevention, and the implementation of

evidence-based programmes, a developing country

like Barbados cannot, on its own, achieve its national

objectives. International cooperation and assistance in

this area are critical.

My country does not draw a dividing line between

its domestic and foreign policies. We have been blessed

with stable Governments. We have enjoyed a tradition

of constitutional change in our Governments since

independence. As a nation, we have striven to create

a just society. We see an inextricable link between

development and international peace and security.

Without development, there can be no international

peace and security, and without international peace and

security the development agenda will not succeed.

For Barbados, therefore, the rule of law at the

national and international levels is an indispensable

condition for sustainable development. Barbados is

deeply concerned by the number of national regional

and international conflicts raging throughout the

world. We are yet more concerned that the threshold

of what constitutes an acceptable level of violence and

acceptable levels of atrocity grows higher and higher.

The findings of the United Nations inspection team that

chemical weapons were used in Syria are alarming. My

country believes that the perpetrators of these acts must

be brought to account. Moreover, we believe that the

international community must work in good faith to

find a political solution to the escalating and ongoing

humanitarian crisis in Syria.

At the same time, the international community

must not lose sight of the many conflicts and acts of

terror that continue throughout the world. Against this

background my delegation wishes to extend profound

condolences to the Government and the people of Kenya

on the recent terrorist attacks that were perpetrated

against the people of that country. As we have stated,

there can be no justification for acts of terror.

In Barbados and the Caribbean, illicit small arms

and light weapons are the weapons of mass destruction.

Primarily linked to international drug trafficking and

other transnational organized crime, the proliferation

of illicit small arms and light weapons in the Caribbean

exacts a heavy toll on State and citizen security and

impairs national development. For that reason, Barbados

and CARICOM consistently argued for the elaboration

of a robust, legally binding Arms Trade Treaty, which

would set the highest common international standards

for regulating the transfer of conventional arms.

Barbados is pleased, therefore, to be among those

Member States that have signed the Arms Trade Treaty.

It is our hope that the implementation of the Treaty will

lead to a reduction in the flow of illicit small arms, light

weapons and their ammunition, parts and components,

thus contributing to a reduction in armed conflict and

violence.

Our first Prime Minister, now a national hero, the

Right Excellent Errol Walton Barrow, in his maiden

speech to this body on 9 December 1966, stated:

“We have no quarrels to pursue and we

particularly insist that we do not regard any

Member State as our natural opponent... We will

not regard any great Power as necessarily right in a

given dispute unless we are convinced of this, yet

at the same time, we will not view the great Powers

with perennial suspicion.” (A/PV.1487, para. 78)

The United Nations was established in the aftermath

of the Second World War to promote international

peace and security. We call on the Security Council

to meet its obligations to the international community.

It is clear that there cannot be business as usual while

humanitarian crises continue to emerge and countless

lives continue to be lost. My delegation therefore

remains concerned about the economic embargo

that continues to be imposed on Cuba, as well as the

extraterritorial impact that it continues to have on

countries inside and outside our region. We call for the

ending of the embargo and trust that it will soon be

ushered into the pages of history.

My delegation looks forward to the further

unfolding of the post-2015 development agenda during

this sixty-eighth session of the General Assembly, and

I wish you, Sir, every success as you guide the General

Assembly in realizing an agenda that is inclusive and

one that will redound to the benefit of all.