Federated States of Micronesia, 2013

I am pleased to join previous

speakers in congratulating the President on his election

to the presidency of the General Assembly at its sixty-

eighth session. I thank our outgoing President for

his excellent leadership. Allow me also to extend my

respect and gratitude to the Secretary-General for his

untiring commitment to the mission and ideals of the

United Nations.

Since the United Nations Conference on

Environment and Development, held in Rio de Janeiro

in 1992, the international community has supported the

principle that the best form of development is one that

meets the needs of the present without compromising

the ability of future generations to meet their needs.

Since that time, however, production and consumption

patterns have become increasingly unsustainable,

driven primarily by a desire to develop economies

at any cost. The Federated States of Micronesia has

therefore proposed the following approach to global

development beyond 2015.

First, any post-2015 development agenda must

move beyond addressing basic human needs and

focus on sustainable development. Secondly, in order

to ensure that sustainable development is carried out

in a dynamic and inclusive manner, the post-2015

development agenda must honour the environmental,

economic and social pillars that make up sustainable

development. Finally, international cooperation

and assistance are crucial to fostering sustainable

development globally. The Millennium Development

Goals (MDGs) have posed significant challenges. We

continue to look to the international community for

assistance to overcome those challenges as we develop

the sustainable development goals.

As this body considers a post-2015 development

agenda, let us not forget one important point:

development and the environment are inseparable. No

country can develop its economy without degrading its

natural environment to some significant degree. While

society strives for economic progress, the natural

environment that sustained our ancestors through

thousands of years has come under attack.

Climate change is, without question, the gravest

threat to my people’s welfare, livelihood and general

security. It is the survival issue of our time. Our

sustainable development is threatened by the harmful

effects of excessive greenhouse gas emissions in the

atmosphere, the effects of which poison our root crops,

destroy our reef systems and drive many of our people

from their ancestral homes. All of us, developed and

developing countries alike, have a stake in finding ways

that minimize man-made damage to Mother Earth.

Only the international community can effectively

take up that cause. To that end, the comprehensive

climate change treaty planned for adoption in 2015

must impose legally binding commitments. These

commitments must reflect a level of ambition far higher

than under the second commitment period of the Kyoto

Protocol. Pre-2020 mitigation action must also be

ambitious enough to close the emissions gap.

I reiterate the hope that the world will address

the dangerous growth of hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs)

by phasing down those chemicals under the Montreal

Protocol. Micronesia was the first to submit an

innovative proposal in this regard. We welcome the

newly announced agreement between China and the

United States to phase down HFCs. We also welcome

similar developments around the globe. Achieving

a phase-down of HFCs under the Protocol will build

confidence and momentum for significant action on

climate change in the future.

Another notable contribution is the Majuro

Declaration for Climate Leaderhip, under which every

Pacific Island Forum leader pledged to strengthen their

country’s efforts to fight climate change.

As we move towards the post-2015 development

agenda, let us not lose sight of the enormous importance

of the world’s oceans. We call for the establishment of

a sustainable development goal on healthy, productive

and resilient oceans. In turn, we should expect a greater

share of the benefits from the world’s oceans. Let me

stress the central role that the effective management

of all fisheries must play in sustainable management.

Bycatch and, particularly, discarded bycatch threaten

effective fisheries management. This is a serious

conservation problem, because valuable living

resources are wasted. Moreover, it threatens our food

security and nutrition needs.

Similarly, we agree that it is essential to include

the goal of sustainable energy for all in the sustainable

development goals that are under discussion here

in New York. The transition to sustainable energy

places a huge fiscal burden on our national accounts. I

commend Tonga for spearheading the Pacific Regional

Data Repository for Sustainable Energy for All.

The Federated States of Micronesia looks to the

international community for economic cooperation and

support. With limited resources, we have undertaken

some bold initiatives.

First, we operate under a nationwide integrated

disaster risk management and climate change policy

that mainstreams climate change into our primary

governmental and economic decision-making

processes. This policy places special emphasis on

strengthening the application of traditional knowledge

of ancient conservation practices, which are threatened

by sea-level rise, ocean acidification and other effects of

excess global greenhouse gas emissions. Additionally,

our legislative branch recently ratified the Doha

Amendment to the Kyoto Protocol. We will soon submit

the instrument of ratification.

Secondly, we have taken significant steps in

conserving our limited land and fragile marine

ecosystems through the Micronesia Challenge. We

have undertaken this Challenge because our nation is

made of many small low-lying atolls. Our people are

wise stewards of our land and sea, working with the

environment to provide sustenance for us all. As the

preamble to our Constitution says,

“The seas bring us together, they do not

separate us, our islands sustain us, our island nation

enlarges us and makes us stronger... Our ancestors

who made their homes on these islands displaced

no other people. We, who remain, wish no other

home than this.”

Thirdly, we recently adopted a national policy

that aims to ensure a sustainable energy supply and

an environmentally sound energy policy. Historically,

Micronesia has imported all of its energy in the form of

fossil fuels. We have begun to reduce our dependence

on fossil fuels. There are already a number of renewable

energy projects up and running in many parts of my

country, thanks to the assistance of our generous

development partners. My country has adopted very

ambitious targets in this regard.

In order to continue implementing our national

development policies, we call on the major donor States

to honour their official development assistance (ODA)

target of seven tenths of a per cent of gross national

income by 2015. We look forward to the discussion

in the Intergovernmental Committee of Experts

on Sustainable Development Financing. Technical

assistance as a component of ODA is also crucial,

particularly in the form of appropriate technology

transfers and capacity-building initiatives.

Sustainable development must be supported by all

of its pillars — not just economic and environmental

concerns, but also social considerations. Our people are

our most valuable assets. Therefore, we are tailoring an

approach that is inclusive of all our people, with special

attention to the circumstances of our women, youth, the

elderly and disabled persons. Their advancement must

be mainstreamed into our discussion on a post-2015

development agenda.

Non-communicable diseases such as diabetes and

heart and kidney diseases continue to be a challenge.

We must address them through the sustainable

development goals. This is a global crisis, demanding

a global solution. If not controlled, it could undermine

sustainable development and degrade the quality of life

of our people.

We welcome the High-level Meeting on Disability

and Development (A/68/PV.3) that took place two

days ago. I was impressed by the achievements of

the speakers and their inspirational leadership in this

forum. We support the outcome document (resolution

68/3) of the High-level Meeting.

The Federated States of Micronesia places a high

priority on the harnessing of advanced information and

communication technologies for our socioeconomic

development, especially in the areas of distance

education, health, and natural disaster early warning.

We thank the World Bank and the Asian Development

Bank for the assistance that they have offered to improve

our telecommunications and to enable our country to

obtain fibre optics. We also welcome cooperation and

support from the International Telecommunication

Union and our development partners.

Human trafficking continues to be a serious crime,

affecting all nations and causing untold human misery

and economic harm. My country is striving to protect

its population from this scourge. We support the efforts

of the United Nations to stop human trafficking, and

we hope to implement the United Nations Blue Heart

Campaign against Human Trafficking in all forms in

Micronesia. The ongoing tragedy caused by human

trafficking demands that it be prioritized and addressed

by the entire international community.

The global development agenda will be shaped by

the launching of the sustainable development goals

in 2015. Many processes will influence the selection

and monitoring of those goals, including the work of

the Commission on Sustainable Development, which

has now been replaced by the high-level political

forum. I cannot over-emphasize the importance of

the new forum, which will take on the monitoring

of the implementation of sustainable development

commitments. These are outlined in the Barbados

Program of Action, the Mauritius Strategy and the

outcome document of the United Nations Conference

on Sustainable Development (resolution 66/288).

The second event that will shape the sustainable

development agenda is the comprehensive climate

change treaty, whose adoption is planned for 2015, and

for which we support ambitious, binding commitments.

Thirdly, preparations for the Third United Nations

Conference on Small Island Developing States, to be

held in September 2014 in Apia, Samoa, are now under

way. Micronesia and other small island developing

States recognize the international community’s

goodwill and renewed willingness to help our countries

address our priorities and challenges.

Fourthly, I would also like to commend the

Secretary-General for his vision and support of the wide

range of issues so critical to small island developing

States. His advocacy for next year’s high-level summit

on climate change and his focus on climate change

themes will generate the political momentum for a post-

2015 development agenda to guide all stakeholders.

We recognize the central role that reliable data

plays in government planning and the crucial need

for capacity-building, which must keep pace with

the changing dynamics of basic governance in the

international landscape. The remoteness of our

islands, limited national capacities, and the complex

requirements of the United Nations make our

development efforts even more difficult and expensive.

We therefore look to the specialized United Nations

agencies for urgent assistance.

In closing, let me express my sympathy and

solidarity with those people around the world who

are facing immediate threats to their survival. I am

horrified by the killing of innocents, especially women

and children, in Syria and elsewhere. We in our peaceful

islands condemn violence. But what can a small island

nation in the Pacific do? What can any country, large

or small, do? The answer, we believe, can be found

only within our Organization. The world in which we

live is too interdependent for us to stand aside while

generations of internal conflict harden into unending

hatred and bloodshed. We are all stakeholders. We must

put an end to the senseless killings around the world.

I call upon this Organization to employ its collective

will to pursue the ideals of our Charter. I know in my

heart that the goal is achievable. The future we want is

enduring peace and prosperity for our world.