Jamaica, 2012

Allow me to

congratulate the President on his assumption of the

presidency of the General Assembly at its sixty-seventh

session. I assure him of the full support and cooperation

of the Jamaican delegation. I would also like to place on

record my delegation’s appreciation to His Excellency

Mr. Nassir Abdulaziz Al-Nasser for his invaluable

guidance of the work of the Assembly during its sixty-

sixth session. I also thank the Secretary-General,

Mr. Ban Ki-moon, and the staff of the Secretariat for

their dedication and hard work in serving Member

States.

There is a tale of a young woman from a rural

village in Jamaica who was approached by a political

candidate seeking to represent her community. “What

is it you want most from your representatives?” the

candidate asked. The young woman considered the

question for a moment. Slowly and thoughtfully she

replied, “All I want is an opportunity. I want you to

provide me and my family with a living environment in

which I can work, contribute and prosper. Most of all, I

want you to provide for my family an environment that

is safe and secure”.

For hundreds of years, our respective peoples have

looked to their leaders with great expectations. They

elected Governments that they felt could provide them

with the greatest sense of well-being and security. Historically and to the present day, they looked to

heads of State and Government to provide them,

their families, their communities and ultimately their

respective nations with leadership and direction that

foster that all-important sense of well-being and of

feeling secure. Over time, across the world, there has

been an increasing sense of impatience and agitation

born of a sense of growing global insecurity.

Accordingly, the United Nations agenda has

expanded its focus to address the multifaceted

challenges of food security, climate change, global

pandemics and the global economic and financial

crisis. We have already witnessed citizens from several

nations spring into action with demands for change.

Others chose to occupy various spaces in protest. In the

light of that reality, many of those here — indeed, many

of us as leaders — stand as buffers between apathy and

anarchy.

The theme for this year’s session of the Assembly,

“Bringing about adjustment or settlement of

international disputes or situations by peaceful means”,

is most appropriate and timely, given current events in

a number of countries and regions that pose a threat to

international peace and security. It reflects the call by

that young woman, who simply asked her representative

to provide for her and hers an environment that is safe

and secure. Yet her request is not as simple as it appears.

The insecurity, impatience and unease that have

emerged worldwide are explosive accelerants. They

emerge from the heartbreaking scourge of poverty that

was so aptly described by the Jamaican national hero,

Marcus Mosiah Garvey, who reminded us that poverty

is

“a hellish state to be in. It is no virtue. It is a crime.

To be poor is to be hungry without possible hope

of food; to be sick without hope of medicine; to be

tired and sleepy without a place to lay one’s head;

to be naked without the hope of clothing; to be

despised and comfortless”.

We must seek to rid ourselves of the conditions that

lead to poverty. We must pursue social and economic

policies that will ensure social equity and justice for

our people and increase their well-being and sense of

security. That can be achieved only if we, as Member

States, work together in good faith to secure the

sustainable future we agreed to at Rio de Janeiro. Let

us create the future we want, and let us put our people

first. The global economy continues to be beset by

uncertainty. That is compounded by the lingering

negative effects of the financial and economic crises.

The global shocks have affected all our peoples.

They threaten our communities, weaken our families

and challenge individuals everywhere, regardless of

hemisphere or region or whether they live in so-called

developed or developing countries or in the north, south,

east or west. Some have fewer options than others. That

is a vicious circle of insecurity.

We must not forget that a significant proportion

of the world’s poorest citizens live in middle-income

countries. That diverse group includes both large

developing economies and small island developing

States, such as those in the Caribbean. Many of us face

common challenges. Several are highly indebted and

extremely vulnerable to external shocks and natural

disasters. We face significant obstacles in our efforts to

spur economic recovery and growth. We are hampered

by the volatility of energy and food prices, decreases

in export commodity prices, and weak capital inf lows.

Increasing food prices create untold hardships for many

of our people, particularly the most vulnerable in our

societies. Small countries need greater support in order

to build resilience to economic and environmental

shocks.

I come to the Assembly today from such a nation.

Jamaica is a nation small in size but enormous in

spirit — a nation with a people whose speed defies

the laws of physics, whose musical messages have

inspired positive and revolutionary global change and

whose minds have given the world myriad solutions in

areas that include science, law and medicine. Yet many

nations like Jamaica have great possibility and potential

that are not reflected in, or ref lective of, their current

economic indicators.

Reforms in global economic governance,

including of the international financial institutions,

are required in order to take into account the need

of small and vulnerable economies for special and

differential treatment. Refocusing financial f lows in

the development agenda will also go a long way in

helping to bolster our natural resilience and resolve.

We commend the United Nations Conference on Trade

and Development on the work it has done over the last

48 years to advance the trade and development agenda

and assist developing countries. There is still much to

be done, and we look forward to working with the full

range of development partners.

Women and children make up one particularly

vulnerable group of our world. What we call external

shocks cause real and serious dislocation in their daily

lives. Too many mothers have to face tough choices to

meet their basic needs. Too many children are subjected

to violence and abuse. Children, especially girls, are

being used as pawns for economic gain, including

through human trafficking and other exploitive actions.

Human trafficking is a dastardly threat to the welfare

of our women, girls and boys. Our ancestors fought for

our freedom. It is disgraceful that at this juncture of

world history we should see the emergence of a form

of modern-day slavery that allows women, girls and

boys to be traded as chattel. Many vulnerable young

women are deceived and lured away by attractive

offers to get them and their families out of poverty.

They then find themselves in a strange land, with no

support, no identity and no hope of returning home;

sold into modern-day slavery, their very bodies used as

a currency of exchange.

Jamaica is resolute in its commitment to

strengthening local and national programmes to

eliminate violence against women and children. At the

same time, I call on the international community to take

bold action to address this scourge. Issues that affect

women and children must be central to decision-making

processes. We look forward to continued collaboration

with UN-Women and the international community to

help break this cycle of exploitation and insecurity.

The devastating impact of HIV/AIDS and

non-communicable diseases also propels the cycle

of global insecurity. Jamaica is cognizant of the

considerable investment that the United Nations and the

international community have made in the fight against

HIV/AIDS. That support has allowed developing

countries, including Jamaica, to make a difference in

the lives of those affected. Nevertheless, inadequate

human and financial resources constrain our ability to

scale up testing and treatment, as well as to implement

programmes for increasing awareness and reducing the

risk of new infections.

The developing world and lower-income populations

are hardest hit by the impact of non-communicable

diseases (NCDs). The high social and developmental

costs of NCDs demand concerted policy action at the

national and international levels. We must implement

the outcomes of the High-level Meeting on NCDs held

last year. We are on the threshold of 2015, the target date

for the achievement of the Millennium Development

Goals. The results thus far have been uneven. We

need to reinvigorate Millennium Development Goal

8, the Global Partnership for Development. I wish

to underscore the situation associated with our

middle-income country status. Country categorizations

should not serve as obstacles to delivering support to

the world’s poorest and most vulnerable. We urge that

middle-income countries not be pushed to the margins of

the development agenda, nor be put on the fringe of the

development assistance provided by the international

community. A review of the factors used by the relevant

multilateral agencies in measuring a country’s wealth

is urgently needed. We are supportive of the proposals

put forward by the Economic Commission for Latin

America and the Caribbean for an alternative but

complementary approach to the criterion of per capita

income in the allocation of financing for development.

I now turn to global political developments. The

cycle of insecurity transcends borders. Recent events

have called attention to the fragility of peace and

security in many parts of the globe, and underscore the

importance of respect for the rule of law, democracy

and good governance. Jamaica reiterates its adherence

to the principles of the United Nations Charter,

multilateralism and the inviolability of diplomatic

institutions in the conduct of relations among States.

We will continue to add our voice to the ongoing work

at the United Nations to secure human rights, justice,

social equity and the peaceful settlement of disputes.

Transnational crime, narco-trafficking and the

illicit trade in small arms and ammunition are major

components of the cycle of insecurity. They continue

to endanger lives, undermine the rule of law and

fuel violent crime. We remain resolute in our call for

encouraging partnerships in fighting this scourge, and

will continue to work with all delegations to achieve a

comprehensive and robust arms trade treaty.

The conflict in Syria poses a real threat to

international peace and security. We are deeply

concerned at the escalating internal violence and the

resulting loss of life. It is our conviction that this

conflict can still be resolved through political and

diplomatic means.

We continue to urge the leaders of Israel and the

Palestinian Authority to resume negotiations as early as

possible, based on the two-State solution and relevant United Nations resolutions. Those resolutions address

Israel’s right to exist within secure borders, as well

as the aspirations of the Palestinian people to self-

determination and statehood.

We must ensure that the United Nations remains

relevant to its membership through a process of

reform of its organs, including the Security Council.

Negotiations should proceed urgently towards a

satisfactory conclusion.

More than two years after the devastating

earthquake, Haiti’s plight remains deeply troubling.

We are concerned that only a disappointing fraction

of the pledges made have been disbursed, and yet the

humanitarian situation in Haiti is perilous. As a close

friend and neighbour of Haiti, with strong historical ties,

I encourage members of the international community to

make good on their commitments. The Haitian people

need our continued support.

The long-standing trade and economic embargo

against Cuba, another close neighbour and friend of

Jamaica, has had severe negative effects on its growth

and development. Jamaica reiterates its call for an end

to the embargo against Cuba and the extraterritorial

measures aimed at extending its reach to include third

countries.

Jamaica continues to work with our partners to

erect a memorial at the United Nations to honour the

victims of slavery and the trans-Atlantic slave trade.

We are grateful for the generous contributions received

to date to erect the permanent memorial, and reiterate

the call for continued financial support.

Fifty years ago, upon gaining our independence,

Jamaica committed itself to the aims of the United

Nations and fully accepted the responsibilities of

membership. Our national pledge commits each and

every Jamaican to stand up for justice, brotherhood

and peace and to play our part in advancing the welfare

of the whole human race. We will not resile from that

commitment.

Let us work together to end the cycle of global

insecurity. Let us provide an opportunity for every man,

woman and child to fulfil their God-given potential. I

leave members with the words of Robert Nesta “Bob”

Marley, who sang: “One love, one heart”. I hope that the

peoples of the world will one day live together in peace,

love, security, unity and prosperity.