Guyana, 2014

I wish to congratulate you,

Mr. President, on your assumption of the presidency of

the General Assembly at this year’s session. I wish also

to commend your predecessor, Ambassador John Ashe

of Antigua and Barbuda, and his team, for so effectively

setting the stage for what will now follow under your

tenure, as it relates to the post-2015 development

agenda and other critical issues that warrant the focused

attention of the international community.

This debate in the General Assembly is taking place

on the eve of the target year set by world leaders in

2000 for achieving the Millennium Development Goals

(MDGs). It is therefore a timely moment to assess the

progress that has been made, and also to understand

why we could not achieve all the Goals in full. That is

essential if we are to move forward with the post-2015

agenda that we are now about to finalize. I should recall

that in 2000, when the eight Goals were announced,

they inspired great hope and enthusiasm around the

world, particularly in developing countries and among

the poor. It is true that we have made tangible progress

in our efforts to achieve the MDGs. Global poverty

has fallen and continues to fall; many more children

are attending primary schools; health services have

improved for many people, resulting in a significant

decline in child mortality; and the spread of HIV/AIDS

and malaria has been halted and even reversed in some

regions.

In Guyana, despite the negative effects of the

international financial situation, we have managed

to keep our economy growing steadily over the past

eight years. In fact, we have succeeded not only in

growing our economy but also in ensuring that the

growth has resulted in an improved quality of life for

our people. Indeed, we are one of only 17 countries

in the world recognized by the Food and Agriculture

Organization of the United Nations for not only

meeting the goal of reducing hunger by half but also of

improving their people’s nutrition. We have achieved

universal primary education and are close to achieving

universality for secondary education, too. We have also

made important strides in housing, health, water and

other social facilities. In that regard, I would like to

express my country’s gratitude to all the development

partners that have contributed greatly to the gains we

have made in working towards the MDGs. Guyana’s

success in building its health-sector capacity could not

have been possible without Cuba’s assistance, which

included training hundreds of our doctors, and which

Cuba has done despite its own economic difficulties.

We would like to join the vast majority of the countries

of the world in once more calling for an end to Cuba’s

economic blockade by the United States.

While we should recognize the gains that have been

made around the world, I hasten to point out that they

have not been uniform across countries or regions. In

some places the progress has been dramatic. Asia, for

instance, has had remarkable success with many of the

Goals. In Latin America and the Caribbean there has

also been considerable progress. There are, however,

some areas that have seen almost no noticeable change

since 2000. In others, mainly countries ravaged by

conflicts and wars, laudable gains have been reversed.

Some Goals have also proven more elusive than others.

Maternal mortality in particular requires additional

attention. It is clear that the world could have advanced

much further along the road to achieving the MDGs.

Unfortunately, that did not happen, because the

partnership needed to achieve every objective was

not strong enough. We should therefore examine the

reasons for the sub-optimal results.

It is true that we all have a responsibility for the

welfare of the people of the world and the state of our

planet in general. The reality, however, is that some

countries have far more resources than others, and

some also use much more of the world’s resources.

And while our responsibilities are shared, they must

necessarily be differentiated. The gaps between the

top and bottom segments of the world’s population

are widening greatly. The concentration of wealth in

the hands of a few has reached dangerous proportions.

Oxfam International recently highlighted this

phenomenon, and some figures are startling. Oxfam

noted that the richest 1 per cent of the population of the

world owns about 46 per cent of global wealth — some

$110 trillion — while the bottom 50 per cent owns just

about $1.7 trillion, or 0.7 per cent of the world’s wealth.

That amount, $1.7 trillion, is the same as that possessed

by 85 of the world’s richest people — in other words,

85 persons have as much wealth as 50 per cent of the

world’s population. Clearly, such a degree of inequality

is unsustainable.

In much the same manner, while we have all agreed

on increasing development assistance to developing

countries, the reality is that the net transfer of financial

resources from developing to developed countries

continues unabated, amounting to $200 billion in 2002

and increasing to $557 billion in 2010. That perverse

trend continues today. And this transfer of financial

resources is only a part of the picture. Developing

countries also suffer a net loss of skills to the developed

world through migration. That is after the former

countries have expended huge amounts on training.

In addition, our efforts in the health and education

sectors are often frustrated by the high costs of school

books and essential medicines, owing to the strictures

of intellectual property rights. These imbalances

are clearly unsustainable and can be addressed only

through concerted global action.

While many developing countries have shown

serious determination in working towards the Goals

by allocating more resources to human development,

the support offered to them by developed countries, as

envisaged in MDG 8, has fallen significantly short of

expectations. It is extremely disappointing, to say the

least, that in the face of pressing needs, only about half

a dozen developed countries have kept their pledge to

reserve 0.7 per cent of their gross national product for

official development assistance. As we prepare for yet

another conference on financing for development, in

Ethiopia next year, I would like to remind the Assembly

that the commitment of 0.7 per cent was made over four

decades ago in this very Assembly, and was reiterated

in 2002 at the International Conference on Financing

for Development in Monterrey.

In the light of those failures, it is imperative that

the post-2015 framework include, first, a time-bound

commitment for delivering official development

assistance on which commitments have already been

made; secondly, a global framework for managing

intellectual property rights that places the development

imperative at its centre; thirdly, a global trading

architecture that recognizes the asymmetries in the

global state of development and is suitably responsive

to them; fourthly, a framework that ensures that

private-sector investment is consistent with the

development agenda. The recommendations of the

Open Working Group on Sustainable Development

Goals and of the Intergovernmental Committee of

Experts on Sustainable Development Financing provide

a good platform on which to build.

As we craft a transformative agenda, it will be

especially important to ensure that it is flexible enough

to address the peculiar needs of some countries. The

special circumstances occasioned by the vulnerabilities

of small island and low-lying coastal developing States

bear particular mention in that regard. Far too often,

the progress made can be speedily reversed owing to

the impacts of climate change and natural disasters. We

must spare no effort to ensure that we have a legally

binding agreement on this matter in 2015.

Ironically, as we discuss the post-2015 development

agenda, many Caribbean Community countries are

being graduated from eligibility for concessionary

financing, since they are classified as middle-income

based on the narrow measure of gross domestic product

per capita. In addition, many of those countries are

heavily indebted, as they must make unavoidable

investments in building and rebuilding social, economic

and productive infrastructure to strengthen their

resilience. We call on the international community

to reconsider that approach by adding a vulnerability

index to the equation. We also call for debt relief, as

the debt accumulated by most of those countries makes

their economies unsustainable.

The most important precondition for progress

is peace. Many conflicts and potential for conflicts

continue unresolved, while new threats to global

security have risen to dangerous levels.

The situation in the Middle East is the most

disturbing. Still at the heart of it is the great tragedy

that is the plight of the Palestinian people. Once again,

we have seen the bombing of an almost unarmed

population in Gaza by one of the world’s most powerful

military machines, supported and replenished by even

more powerful military forces. Guyana calls for the end

of the apartheid-like situation that exists in Palestine,

where poverty and degradation are weapons used to

repress a whole people. The people of Palestine have a

right to live with dignity in their own country, and the

United Nations must never compromise on the principle

of self-determination.

The continuing wars in Syria and Iraq are most

distressing. They are leading to more extremism and

a rapid descent into barbarism. That has resulted from

years of financing and arming of radical forces to

promote political objectives. We condemn the barbaric

and grotesque killing of journalists, humanitarian aid

workers and other hostages and the loss of civilian lives

in those conflict areas by the murderous extremists in

those countries. Guyana condemns terrorism in all its

forms and manifestations.

The situation in Ukraine is another cause for

concern. We must not forget that the two world wars

had their origins in Europe. That is why we should

exert every effort to bring all the partners to the table

for a peaceful resolution. Attempting to secure military

advantages is not only foolhardy but downright

dangerous. The solution has to be based on justice and

the aspirations of the peoples in that country.

The many unresolved border issues that exist in

our world are always a potential source of conflict and

are often used to retard the development of countries,

preventing them from improving the quality of life of

their own peoples and from promoting the welfare of

the region to which they belong. My own country is not

unaffected by this. The United Nations must therefore

redouble its efforts to assist in the resolution of such

issues.

We currently face a stark reminder of how fragile

global welfare is in the face of singular threats such as

the Ebola epidemic. Make no mistake, that is a global

problem that requires an immediate global response

many times greater what is currently being done. Let

me acknowledge the prompt response and leadership

shown by Cuba and the United States of America in

rendering assistance to the countries in West Africa.

In our time, we must continue the search for new

approaches to many of the global problems that confront

us. In today’s interconnected and interdependent world,

the destinies of States and peoples are increasingly

intertwined. The concerted global action that is

necessary to address today’s problems can be achieved

only with strong multilateralism and through relevant,

responsive and more democratic global institutions.

Critical issues include reforms to the Security

Council and the international financial institutions.

Concrete progress in Security Council reform is

imperative in order to assure the continued legitimacy

and relevance of that important United Nations organ.

Likewise, accelerated reform of the international

financial institutions is critical if we are to ensure their

effectiveness in protecting global financial stability

and supporting sustainable development.

In conclusion, I would like to recall the proposal

that Guyana made through its first democratically

elected President, Mr. Cheddi Jagan, for a new global

human order, on which the General Assembly has

pronounced itself in several resolutions. That proposal

seeks to balance the interests of developed and

developing countries. It is a proposal whose time has

come, and it should be pursued with other initiatives

to find solutions so that we can realize the dreams of

generations that came before us for peace, progress and

prosperity.

Just as the Millennium Development Goals provided

a new focus and raised hopes in the year 2000, so today

we must rekindle that spirit to eradicate poverty and

inequality in the post-2015 period.

Let me express our appreciation to the Secretary-

General and the staff of the United Nations for their

tireless efforts in carrying out the mandate of the

Organization in very challenging times. I assure them

that they have the full support of the people and the

Government of Guyana.