Belize, 2011

It is an honour for me to

deliver this address on behalf of the people and the

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Government of Belize. It is a particular privilege to do

so with Mr. Al-Nasser at the helm of the Assembly. I

say so because Belize has the distinct pleasure of

having him as the Ambassador of Qatar to Belize, a

role in which he has distinguished himself and his

nation, much as he is doing in his role as President of

the Assembly.

Today’s world is characterized by disputes

between neighbouring States which have resulted and

continue to result in untold damage, loss of life and

financial ruin to the feuding States. Thus Mr. Al-Nasser’s

selection of the theme “The role of mediation in the

settlement of disputes” for this year’s general debate is

a timely and appropriate one. We in Belize fully

subscribe to the view that mediation is a much more

sensible means of putting an end to disputes than the

use of force or threats of force, especially in the case of

neighbouring States whose people have to live side by

side and who are often dependent upon one another for

survival and security.

But today’s world is also characterized by

widespread anxiety, insecurity, unrest, violence and

instability. This is manifested in our financial markets

as well as in the streets of cities in the developed and

the developing world. Threats, both natural and man-

made, appear to be proliferating. Debt crises are now

so globalized that they are dwarfing national fiscal and

policy space. Drugs, arms and human trafficking

dominate the global stage, while Mother Nature is

undergoing extreme changes, leaving death, destruction

and disaster in her wake.

Thus far, unfortunately, international responses to

these catastrophic occurrences have been both

uninspiring and inadequate.

Notwithstanding the armoury of human rights

that are enshrined in our own Human Rights Charter,

far too many people are still destitute, are still dying

from hunger, are still casualties of preventable or

curable diseases, are still illiterate, are still jobless and

are still marginalized and excluded from their very own

societies.

Three years after the 2008 economic and

financial crisis, the global economy is once again

bracing for another setback, as the recovery in major

industrialized economies stutters and risks a very real

danger of reversal. Terrorism remains no less of a

global threat. Mortality from non-communicable

diseases now rivals mortality from communicable

diseases. And greenhouse gas emissions continue to

fuel global warming at a perilous rate.

Faced with the plethora of ills that now beset our

world, we in Belize entertain no doubt that if any

institution holds the key to solving the world problems

it is this Organization, the United Nations, and its

various agencies and institutions. Belize is therefore

looking to the United Nations to lead the charge and to

partner with us in combating three of the most serious

threats that presently confront us, namely, the threat

posed by climate change, the threat posed by crime and

violence and the threat posed by chronic

non-communicable diseases.

For small island and coastal States like Belize,

global warming poses an existential threat. We have

already been overwhelmed by the nature, scale and

frequency of the damage that extreme weather

conditions, triggered by global warming, have wrought

on our infrastructure and marine and terrestrial

organisms. While we appreciate that each of us is

primarily responsible for our own welfare and we are

taking such measures as are within our competence to

cope with our changing circumstances, climate change

is a global problem that requires a global response

based on the principle of common but differentiated

responsibility.

The President took the Chair.

To that end, some small island and coastal States,

including Belize, are moving resolutely towards low-

carbon and no-carbon emission economies. Today,

24 of our small island developing States (SIDS) have

become partners in an innovative, sustainable energy

initiative called SIDS DOCK, aimed at transforming

our energy sector and catalyzing our sustainable

economic development. However, in order to succeed

in our initiative we will require delivery or transfer of

the often promised environmentally friendly

technology and the new and additional funding

promised by the international community.

In that regard, we consider the upcoming Durban

Conference on climate change of high importance. We

believe that every effort should be made at the

Conference to forge a climate change regime that will

incentivize significant emission reductions and the

protection and preservation of existing forests, while

simultaneously creating disincentives to polluting

actions. Additionally, clear, legally binding rules must

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be hammered out with a view to guaranteeing the

environmental integrity of our countries.

Over the last decade, crime and violence in

Belize and the rest of Central America have escalated

drastically, resulting in some 18,167 homicides.

However, none of the arms used in those murders was

produced in Central America. Those arms are the

product of the illicit trafficking in guns and drugs

between South and North America. The transnational

nature of those crimes is exacerbated by cross-border

collaboration among criminals. Confronting that type

of criminal activity successfully will clearly require the

collaboration and cooperation of the international

community.

We in Belize have stepped up our national efforts,

in conjunction with our neighbours in Central America,

the Caribbean and the United States, to combat those

criminal activities. But the going is difficult and

progress is slow. We need more help from the

international community. Ideally, we would need a

universally applicable normative framework to regulate

the trade in arms, such as an arms trade treaty that is

legally binding, robust and comprehensive; one that

establishes the highest possible standards for the

transfer of conventional arms, especially small arms,

light weapons and ammunition.

I now turn to some of the silent killers that are

ravaging our Latin American and Caribbean

communities — the chronic non-communicable

diseases (NCDs), such as hyper-tension, diabetes and

obesity. In the Caribbean today, NCDs are responsible

for 62 per cent of deaths, 40 per cent of which occur

prematurely. If the current trend continues,

non-communicable diseases will account for three out

of four deaths in the Caribbean by the year 2030.

Again, those diseases can be combated

effectively only through collaborative efforts of the

international community. In that connection, we

welcome the conclusion of the recently held High-level

Meeting on non-communicable diseases (A/66/PV.3

and A/66/PV.4), as well as the first comprehensive

global political declaration addressing chronic

non-communicable diseases (resolution 66/2). It should

serve as a template for action at all levels. We will

eagerly await the development of indicators and global

targets aimed at achieving a 25 per cent reduction in

non-communicable disease-related deaths by 2025.

That will, no doubt, necessitate close collaboration and

cooperation among Governments, international

organizations, civil society and the private sector to

facilitate access to medicines and healthy foods. Belize

is committed to supporting that initiative

unconditionally.

Belize is of the view that, given the quantum and

scale of the problems which confront the world today

and the unquestioned need for an ever-increasing

amount of resources, the international community

cannot afford not to avail itself of every source of

assistance at hand. And in that regard, we wish to urge

that the Republic of China, Taiwan, be allowed to

participate meaningfully in the work of the United

Nations. In a similar vein, we would urge that the

embargo against Cuba, which the Assembly has

denounced for many years, be brought to a speedy end.

Finally, while Belize appreciates the limitations

of this United Nations, we also appreciate that there

exists no better institution than this one, which is

dedicated to world peace, security, justice and

development. And even as we seek its reform, we

recognize its primacy in international affairs and global

governance. I am, therefore, pleased to assure you that

Belize is fully committed to work within this

Organization, through it and with it as it carries out its

mandates.