Dominica, 2009

I begin by joining my

colleague Heads of State in congratulating Mr. Ali

Treki on his well-deserved election as the President of

the General Assembly at its sixty-fourth session. I

would also like to take this opportunity to thank His

Excellency Miguel d’Escoto Brockmann for his

effective stewardship of the sixty-third session and to

salute Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon for his tireless

efforts to promote global peace, security and

development.

It is an internationally accepted fact that we are in

a period characterized by unprecedented crisis. Crises

related to basic human needs such as food, water and

energy are contributing to great distress and hardship

in every region of our world and precipitating an

escalation in poverty, which we in the United Nations

had committed to halve at the beginning of this decade.

These crises have the potential to bring great social and

political instability to many regions.

The sheer complexity of these matters and their

connectivity with human development make the task of

addressing them very daunting. The progress made by

the international community in this respect must be

noted. However, we must all be mindful that whatever

the perceived impact or fallout experienced by the

economies of the world, the citizens of the small

vulnerable States among us will be the worst hit, and

therefore they continue to warrant the special attention

of this body.

The United Nations Conference on the World

Financial and Economic Crisis and Its Impact on

Development, which convened last June in this Hall,

brought renewed international attention to the

magnitude of this crisis. The outcome document

(resolution 63/303, annex) confirmed, and further

emphasizes, that the crisis has had a particularly

negative effect on developing countries such as

Dominica.

The irony is that though severely affected by the

crisis, our countries had absolutely no relationship or

contribution to its cause. It also threatens the

realization of the Millennium Development goals. In

the Caribbean it is estimated that the impact of the

crisis has created the worst set of economic

circumstances since the era of independence of the

countries of the region, bringing with it depressed

commodity prices, a decline in agricultural export

earnings, contraction of tourism revenues, retreating

foreign direct investment, decreased access to external

financing and declining remittances, among others.

At the regional level the Governments of the

Caribbean Community (CARICOM) are addressing the

impacts of the crisis through the establishment in July

of a task force that will allow the member States, along

with the heads of our regional financial institutions, to

facilitate the mobilization of funds and present a core

set of proposals for dealing with this crisis. Our Heads

of Government have also agreed to the institution of a

programme of collective enhancement of our financial

services sector through improved national regulatory

and supervisory systems, and also through

rationalization and consolidation to ensure safety,

soundness and stability in that sector.

We concur with the call for the strengthening of

institutional arrangements for international cooperation

in tax matters. Furthermore, we endorse the

recommendation of the Conference of the CARICOM

Heads of State for consistent and non-discriminatory

implementation of transparency requirements and

international standards for exchange of information.

We believe that in order to adapt to the adverse

impact of the financial crisis it is crucial that small

island developing States and less developed countries

receive the following: one, speedy implementation of

the decisions of the Conference; two, assistance to

facilitate economic diversification while responding to

the crisis and the negative impact of climate change;

three, fiscal support in view of already high debt

burdens; four, practical assistance from United Nations

agencies through a compact framework; and five,

stimulus funds to be made available by bilateral and

multilateral entities.

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With the onset of the financial crisis, there is now

a wrong perception that the food crisis is over. Food

insecurity continues unabated around the world, and it

is estimated that more than a billion people go to bed

hungry every night. This is both unacceptable and

unsustainable. The creation of the United Nations

system high-level Task Force on Global Food Security

was a timely and welcome initiative of the Secretary-

General and the Director-General of the Food and

Agriculture Organization. Increasing investments in

agriculture in the developing nations is critical to

addressing the food crisis. We therefore welcome the

Group of Eight pledge of $15 billion over the next

three years for enhancing food security, but we warn

that the desired objective may not be achieved if

harmful subsidies in agriculture continue to prevail in

the developed countries.

Completion of the Doha Development Agenda

negotiations at the World Trade Organization takes on

renewed importance as we seek solutions to the global

financial crisis. An appropriate trade environment for a

sustainable recovery for all is highly desirable. It is in

that spirit that we must renew our commitment to

re-engage in the Doha negotiations with the declared

objective of concluding them in 2010.

The status quo has served only to further

marginalize small and vulnerable States and has led to

the almost total collapse of some of our major

industries, including sugar and bananas, which

provided the livelihoods of numerous farming families

and communities. Our Governments continue the

struggle to develop their economies in the absence of

the much-needed foreign exchange that those industries

generated. Increasing the competitiveness of

developing countries and their effective participation in

world trade underscores that Aid for Trade as a new

and independent source of development financing must

be at the centre of the trade and development agenda.

Climate change has emerged as one of the leading

challenges of our generation. If it is not arrested and

sufficiently managed, its adverse impact has the

potential to undermine human security and the social

and economic stability of all nations. All around us we

see evidence of escalating climate change in the form

of severe weather, floods, drought, devastating

hurricanes and cyclones and rising sea levels.

Small island developing States are most

vulnerable to the negative impact of climate change. As

a consequence, we find our countries in the front line

of this monumental challenge to humanity. In

Dominica and several of the sister islands of the

Caribbean, situated as we are in the hurricane belt,

there have been and will continue to be an almost

annual cycle of considerable damage to houses, roads,

coastlines and other infrastructure. For many of our

countries there is a constant struggle to achieve

economic development and a higher quality of life for

our people, only to find ourselves experiencing these

heavy losses and having routinely to start all over

again.

As global preparations for the critical

Copenhagen conference continue, the urgency to act to

address climate change has increased. What has long

been pointed out by the scientists has now been

confirmed by those whose unsustainable production

has precipitated an Earth crisis, which must be

addressed if our planet is to survive. The General

Assembly, in its resolution 63/281 of 3 June this year,

recognized the security implications of climate change

as an additional dimension of the crisis. That is clearly

evident for many small island States whose viability

and very existence are threatened by conditions such as

the rising sea levels.

Dominica is at the forefront of nature

conservation. Upon attaining political independence in

1978, our country was aptly dubbed the “Nature Island

of the Caribbean” in view of our unwavering

commitment to the management and conservation of

our abundant biodiversity, extensive national parks

system, rich forest resources, mountain ranges, fresh

water resources and a pure marine environment. At the

World Summit on Sustainable Development held in

Johannesburg in September 2002, the then Prime

Minister of Dominica, the Honourable Pierre Charles,

proclaimed our country as the “Nature Island of the

World”. Today in the presence of the world gathering

in this body, I announce Dominica’s intention to make

our country a model for sustainable development. A

cordial invitation is extended to the international

community to contribute to this noble venture.

Dominica continues to work closely within the

framework of small island States to continue to bring

our perspective, as climate change front-line States, to

the negotiating table. We are contributing to a solution

to the effects of climate change by pursuing measures

at the national level to promote energy efficiency,

reduce the consumption of fossil fuels and develop our

25 09-52463

geothermal potential for national energy needs, as well

as for the possible export of clean energy to our

neighbours, in the first instance to the French overseas

Departments of Guadeloupe and Martinique.

Dominica is already generating 40 per cent of its

electricity by hydropower. We are at an advanced stage

of geothermal energy development, which by 2015

should enable us to reach the target of 100 per cent

electricity generation by renewable energy. We express

our gratitude to France and the European Union for

their commendable cooperation towards the shift to

renewable energy.

Dominica is therefore encouraged by the many

expressions of support for a successful outcome of the

Copenhagen meeting made by world leaders at the

high-level Summit on Climate Change held a few days

ago in this Hall. There is an urgent need for a greater

demonstration of political will in this regard. I

therefore urge every Head of State or Government to

seize the moment to reach an agreement that will

protect the inhabitants of this planet from one of the

most serious challenges ever to confront humanity.

Dominica remains concerned about the current

economic situation in our sister island of Haiti. We

recognize the important role of the United Nations

Stabilization Mission in Haiti (MINUSTAH) in

ensuring the stability of that country. We commend all

troop-contributing States for their engagement in Haiti,

and we appreciate the support of the Security Council

in extending the mandate of the Mission. Haiti needs

considerable development assistance in order to

consolidate the stability that MINUSTAH’s presence

has fostered and to ensure the success of the

peacebuilding process. In this regard, we endorse and

applaud the decision of the Secretary-General to

appoint former United States President Clinton as

Special Envoy for Haiti. We hope that this appointment

will advance the cause of rebuilding that country.

Dominica, through its actions and also through

CARICOM, will continue to do all in its power to

advance the quality of life of the Haitian people.

Central to my country’s development thrust is a

particular focus on the advancement of our indigenous

people. Consistent with this priority of the United

Nations, we support the continued and expanded

efforts of the Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues in

the implementation of the measures contained in its

recommendations. In this connection, we welcome the

recommendations of the eighth session of the

Permanent Forum on indigenous women, the economic

development and human rights of indigenous peoples,

and specific actions in relation to the Arctic region.

Dominica has undertaken and continues to undertake

important initiatives to improve the social development

of our indigenous people.

We come together every year in the general

debate in a true spirit of common resolve and

partnership. This common resolve and partnership must

assume greater meaning this year because the tasks

before the international community are enormous and

necessitate collective action. However challenging may

be the efforts towards their solution, it seems evident

that only genuine global cooperation and concerted

multilateral action have the possibility of yielding

favourable results. But committed multilateral action in

the face of these crises has so far proved to be elusive.

A greater demonstration of political will should ensure

multilateral action in confronting these crises, as it is

an absolute necessity for the survival of this planet.

I take this opportunity to recognize all the

countries and organizations that have assisted

Dominica and the more vulnerable States in our

development thrust. Particular reference must be made

to those developing countries which, while dealing

with their own domestic challenges, have extended a

true fraternal hand of friendship. To all, we express our

most sincere gratitude. We also reiterate the call of this

General Assembly for an end of the United States

embargo against the Republic of Cuba and look

forward to an early date for its removal.

Finally, as we chart a most progressive

development course for our future, we should ensure

that it includes the full implementation of the

recommendations emanating from the Conference on

the World Financial and Economic Crisis and Its

Impact on Development. We should also make every

effort to leave Copenhagen with a framework for a firm

commitment and a sound climate agreement that will

protect the inhabitants of this planet, particularly the

most vulnerable, from one of the most serious

challenges ever to confront humanity.