Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, 2025

The Assembly will hear an address by His Excellency Ralph Gonsalves, Prime Minister and Minister for National Security, Legal Affairs and Information of St. Vincent and the Grenadines. I request Protocol to escort His Excellency and invite him to address the Assembly. Madam President, Excellencies, The condition of today's world is more complicated, more dangerous than ever. More uneven in its human development, more integrated, yet more disparate and desperate. At the same time, much progress and advancements have been made by humanity. And there is an enduring hopefulness amidst despair, a persistent sense that a better tomorrow is possible, even as catastrophes loom and dangers lurk. Your Excellencies, Big power rivalries, interlaced with personal vainglories and hubris, are gravely unsettling the world to the advantage of not one single nation-state. Civilized discourse, tempered with patience and calm, has given way to a bellicosity of language shouted across continents and oceans, designed presumably to satisfy nativist longings in the breasts of those who think that, despite their good fortune, relatively, they have been grievously wronged by some dark and hidden forces. Can none of these persons pause and reflect upon the question posed and answered by all the world's great religions, but in particular through the words of the Hebrew prophet Micah, What does the Lord require of us? To do justly, to love mercy, and to walk humbly with our God. The intractable problems facing humanity cannot be solved by any one nation unilaterally. Immature multilateralism is required to address satisfactorily rampaging climate change in the age of the Anthropocene, to resolve the threats posed by nuclear weapons and their further spread, to pursue peaceful coexistence rather than conflict, terrorism and war, to reform the system of financing for development inclusive of a just climate financing, to tackle successfully the growing challenges of artificial intelligence, to achieve the 17 Sustainable Development Goals by 2030, be guided by the Global Digital Compact and the Pact for the Future, and to reshape global governance more inclusively. It is thus of the highest importance for this august body, the United Nations, and the overwhelming majority of nation states within it, to continue our efforts to persuade the powerful to act equitably, honourably and multilaterally, to tackle efficaciously the extant and looming challenges facing the global community. Oftentimes, it is frustrating and disheartening to those of us who are committed to this necessary and desirable path of mature multilateralism, because our Herculean efforts seemingly deliver correspondingly negligible results. Nevertheless, we cannot give up. We cannot afford to get weary. We have no choice but to persist in this ever more urgent multilateral solidarity and cooperation, as we pursue the political and economic spaces to make this world a better place for all humanity. Your Excellencies, St. Vincent and the Grenadines, like all countries globally, have been shaped by our history and geography, our nature and neighbours, our extant circumstances and our dreams for a better future. For example, we carry the benefits and the burdens of our geographic location, near to the greatest economic, military, scientific and culturally dominant power the world has ever seen. St. Vincent and the Grenadines is where it is. It cannot be lifted up and taken to Vladivostok or the mouth of the Amur River. Yet, as a free and independent people, we have the right to pursue peacefully and securely our quest for shared prosperity without domination, interference or intervention from any of our neighbours or from any power that comes from afar. Today, as I speak, my government and my people have another challenge. From the nefarious activities of the agents of a rising or risen hegemon from another hemisphere and from some greedy, unprincipled non-state operators in Europe acting in concert, seeking to pollute and interfere in our democracy, our free and fair elections, which are scheduled to be held later this year. Their conduct is unacceptable and hugely injurious to our people. Your Excellencies, the raging genocide and neo-colonial oppression being committed against the Palestinian people in Gaza and the West Bank before our very eyes on global television are continuing affronts to the elemental rights of the Palestinians, to civilised conduct and to international law. How can one state, a member of this august body, act with such impunity against defenceless men, women and children? Surely, the hottest part of hell is reserved for those perpetrators of genocide and those who are complicit in it. Over 200 years ago, the British committed large-scale genocide against the indigenous people of my country and we are still suffering, enduring the historical legacies of underdevelopment therefrom. Similarly, the genocidal enslavement of African bodies in our Caribbean, in our hemisphere. It will take centuries for the pain, suffering and legacies of the current genocide of the Palestinians to be repaired. We in the Caribbean are today demanding justly reparations for native genocide and the enslavement of African bodies which occurred centuries ago. This tragedy, this madness that has been unfolding, unabating in Palestine must stop. Israel's recent expansion of this war against the Palestinian nation in the state of Qatar is unacceptable. We stand in solidarity with Qatar. Your Excellencies, St Vincent and Grenadines calls urgently for a lasting peace across the Taiwan Straits and for the participation of Taiwan in the Specialized Agencies of the United Nations. It is a continuing absurdity that this country of 23 million people, a functioning democracy with a settled yearning for self-determination, a legitimate institutional expression of the Chinese civilization, with first world living standards, a land of peace and ingenuity, cannot be properly accommodated in the global bodies concerned with health, climate change, civil aviation, policing and so forth. Similarly, it is long overdue that the fractured relationship between the United States of America and Cuba be made whole in mutual respect in accordance with international law and consistent with the interests of both neighbors for peace, security and shared prosperity. St Vincent and Grenadines implores the great American nation, and it is a great nation, to listen and act upon the near unanimous advice of this General Assembly which has repeatedly called for an end to the oppressive, unlawful embargo against Cuba. I am calling for a mature conversation between the United States of America and Cuba. Likewise, the recent ramping up of tensions between the USA and the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela is most unhelpful to peace and stability in our Caribbean and Latin America. St Vincent and Grenadines calls for the scaling back of actions and rhetoric which are so inimical to cordial neighborly relations. In particular, we find the foreign militarization of the waters around Venezuela exceedingly troubling. Repeatedly, the countries of the Caribbean and Latin America have unanimously declared our area a zone of peace. We urge our American friends to abide by this declaration. By all means, let us cooperate in combating drug trafficking and allied transnational criminal activities, but a unilateral militarization is decidedly not the way to go. Also, again, I am imploring my American and Venezuelan friends to sit down maturely and talk through these problems so that we can have a resolution. In Haiti, matters political, economic, and social continue to deteriorate. Gang violence continues unabated, and a veritable Hobbesian state of nature exists in which life is nasty, brutish, and short. Haiti's political and economic elites have been found wanting, but it is true that the international community with the means to assist has not as yet summoned up the will to do so. A solution is required in accord with the Haitian people's deepest longings for peace, security, and a normal civilized life and living. The UN Security Council, with CARICOM's full support, is seized of this matter, but an insufficiency of resources and will have attended it. So, too, the pain and suffering in South Sudan demand immediate relief and more. Your Excellencies, In November this year, the Conference of Parties under the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change gathered once more on this occasion in the great nation of Brazil. The issue of climate change is urgent and existential. The science is clear, and there has been a growing, even overwhelming, global consensus as to what is required to be done. But, sadly, some powerful and other influential countries are backsliding and reneging on their earlier commitments. Excellencies, just over a year ago, on July 1, 2024, a Category 4 hurricane burial devastated my country. Lives were lost, and damage and loss amounting to one-third of our gross domestic product was incurred. In particular, 20% of our houses were either severely damaged or destroyed. We have been rebuilding and recovering stronger and better than ever. We thank our regional and international partners, including worthy non-governmental entities, for their solidarity, without which our tasks of reconstruction would have been even more onerous. We thank, too, our diaspora. But, to tell the truth, we have had to rely mainly on our own efforts at home. There is much, much more left to be done. And I again plead for the enhanced support of our friends, our allies, and good Samaritans. Our people's resilience, creativity, and disciplined endeavors have been a marvel to behold. This is a testimony to our people's genius and the coming to the fore of our people's hidden rationalities. Their hitherto submerged resources and abilities, a renaissance of their spirit, and the reaffirmation of the idea of St. Vincent and the Grenadines. Madam President, I concluded five reaffirmations. For those from the dominant metropoles of the West and the East, who may possess the good sense to listen to some friendly advice from a spokesperson from the periphery. First, do not think, ever, that our mouths would be muzzled by the food that we eat to live. Secondly, know it well, that while some sleep to dream, the rest of us dream to change the world for the better. Thirdly, we have a voice, and this voice will never be stilled. Fourthly, we are not better than anyone, and no one is better than us. And finally, we too have a history of civilized life and living, with a trajectory for further advancement and ennoblement. We are not appendages of any other nation. We are a free and independent people, made in the image and likeness of God. We are the embodiment of the idea of St. Vincent and Grenadines. We are friends of all, and we strive for a better world. We are a small nation, demonstrably like other small nations, capable of mighty deeds. Excellencies, we are small, small states, but we have an important role to play in global affairs, to the betterment of all. Imperial giants and hegemons, whether from the West or the East, must not hold us back. Together, we have an obligation not to desecrate our future. Thank you. I'm obliged. On behalf of the Assembly, I wish to thank the Prime Minister and Minister for National Security, Legal Affairs and Information of St. Vincent and the Grenadines.