Tonga, 2012

I wish to convey

my sincere congratulations to President Jeremić

on his election to guide and oversee the important

work of the General Assembly at this session. I must

also congratulate his predecessor, His Excellency

Mr. Nassir Abdulaziz Al-Nasser of Qatar, for his

recently concluded term as the outgoing President of the

General Assembly at its sixty-sixth session. During his

term, he enhanced the profile and work of the General

Assembly, and we are pleased that his presidency has

decided to carry forward and build upon the shared

theme of the settlement of international disputes or

situations by peaceful means.

Our Organization continues to draw strength

from the steady leadership of Secretary-General Ban

Ki-moon, in facing on a daily basis, together with the

Secretariat, the increasingly volatile challenges and

fast-evolving crises around the globe with unwavering

commitment and steadfast determination.

We remember those Organization personnel who

have fallen fulfilling their duty, in the pursuit of our

collective aspirations as reflected in the Charter of the

United Nations.

We were pleased with the convening earlier this

week of the High-level Meeting of the General Assembly

on the Rule of Law at the National and International

Levels. In all settings and all circumstances, including

with respect to States such as Tonga, the rule of law is a core pillar and a fundamental component of the

national fabric.

Tongans take great pride in the enduring qualities of

the 1875 Constitution and the early legal codes of 1839

and 1850 as instruments of visionary nation-building

and, with reform over time, lasting peace and stability.

They also laid the foundation for setting Tonga on a

firm footing in the context of international relations

with the global powers of the time, and set us on a path

that ultimately has led to membership in the global body

of our time, the United Nations. Tonga was therefore

pleased to join other Member States in adopting the

Declaration of the High-level Meeting (resolution 67/1).

To expand and improve the role and impact of the

rule of law at the national, regional and international

levels requires the expertise and technical assistance

available from the United Nations system, the relevant

intergovernmental agencies and interested development

partners, so as to be coordinated, continuous and

coherent.

This week’s outcome is a positive development for

small jurisdictions such as Tonga in strengthening their

capacity to address the political, social, economic and

environmental challenges of our time.

Building upon the Secretary-General’s historic

attendance at last year’s meeting of the Pacific Islands

Forum (PIF), a further meeting took place this week,

for the first time, on the margins of this year’s general

debate. The important outcome of the meeting provides

a stronger and regular basis for high-level interaction,

and the meeting allowed for an exchange of views

on issues of mutual import and concern between PIF

leaders and the Secretary-General.

This year’s PIF meeting was hosted by the Cook

Islands, and our communiqué gives proper focus to

issues important to Tonga and the region, including

sustainable development, climate change, the oceans,

renewable energy and gender equality.

Tonga, like other small island developing States,

returned to Rio de Janeiro in June to the United Nations

Conference on Sustainable Development (Rio+20) to

chart a new global course for sustainable development.

For many, if not all, small island developing States,

that return amounted to a reaffirmation of the special

and particular vulnerabilities, recognized in 1992, that

make States such as Tonga unique.

With other small island developing States, we are

looking to advance, during this session of the General

Assembly, the agreement reached in Rio on the holding

in 2014 of a Third International Conference for the

Sustainable Development of Small Island Developing

States. That Conference should be hosted in the Pacific

region.

Against the background of the recent Rio+20 and the

ongoing efforts to achieve the Millennium Development

Goals (MDGs), such a Conference would represent an

early but timely moment for small island developing

States to take stock of implemented outcomes. In order

to be successful, the Conference will require the strong

and active participation of all small island developing

States and a strong, responsive and cohesive United

Nations system attuned to the issues facing them.

Working towards such a Conference will provide

a boost to ongoing national initiatives such as our

Tonga strategic development framework and its priority

objectives for 2011 to 2014.

Tonga joined other States members of the Alliance

of Small Island States yesterday, under the chairmanship

of Nauru, in adopting a declaration focused on the

continuing serious threat posed by climate change to

the territorial integrity, viability and survival of all

small island States.

There is an urgent need to continue to address

the security implications of climate change, including

the impact on territorial integrity, the frequency and

severity of climate-related disasters, the threat to water

and food security, and the forced displacement of

people.

Our challenge to the international community,

and to developed countries in particular, is to take the

bold measures necessary to reduce emissions of all

greenhouse gases to levels that will ensure a viable and

meaningful future for small island developing States

such as Tonga. To safeguard the survival of the smallest

and most vulnerable States among us is to safeguard

a viable future for all States. A rising tide may lift all

boats, but it will drown us all.

The coming meeting of the United Nations

Framework Convention on Climate Change in Qatar must

advance the efforts of last year’s Durban Conference to

bridge differences over key issues, such as those related

to the future of the Kyoto Protocol, climate finance,

closing the pre-2020 mitigation ambition gap and constructively addressing loss and damage associated

with the impact of climate change, while bearing in

mind the cost of adaptation in developing countries,

such as Tonga.

This year’s theme of the Pacific Islands Forum was

“Large ocean island States — the Pacific challenge”. It

built upon the positive outcomes of Rio+20 with regard

to the conservation and sustainable use of the oceans

and their marine environment, or what we call the

blue economy. Like other Pacific neighbours, Tonga’s

connection to its oceanic environment has a strong

historical dimension.

The ocean and its resources are more than an

ancient pathway to a maritime and seafaring past among

disparate islands. They potentially now represent a

liquid highway to a more sustainable future for Pacific

peoples. An eminent Tongan scholar, the late Mr. Epeli

Hau’ofa, said:

“We should not be defined by the smallness of our

islands but by the greatness of our oceans. We are

the sea. We are the ocean. Oceania is us.”

As custodians of the ocean and its living and

non-living resources, we have long appreciated that

the health of the oceans is critical to maintaining a

staple source of sustenance and livelihood for island

communities.

We welcome the focus of Rio+20 on sustainable

fisheries and national capacity development, the

importance of access and the role of small-scale

and artisanal fisheries and women, and the need for

concerted action to address the vulnerability of coral

reefs and mangroves.

As a party to the United Nations Convention on the

Law of the Sea, Tonga is actively seeking to implement

its obligations under the Convention, including

through the timely negotiation of maritime boundary

delimitation agreements with neighbouring States;

effective participation in the work of the International

Seabed Authority and the Commission on the Limits

of the Continental Shelf; implementation of related

agreements, such as the 1995 Fish Stocks Agreement;

and consideration of the potential development of

further legal instruments, within the Convention’s

framework, to reflect the new realities.

During this International Year of Sustainable

Energy for All, we welcome the Secretary-General’s

high-level event this week, which was dedicated in part to addressing the continued development of renewable

energy sources. With like-minded members of the

Alliance of Small Island States, Tonga will build on the

Barbados Declaration on Achieving Sustainable Energy

for All in Small Island Developing States and on Rio+20

to implement its voluntary commitment to reducing its

greenhouse-gas emissions and to improving energy

security through a 50 per cent renewable energy mix

by 2020.

With the requisite financial resources, ongoing

capacity-building, appropriate technology transfers

and genuine partnership with dedicated development

partners, such as New Zealand, Italy, Japan and the

United Arab Emirates, national initiatives, like the

Tonga Energy Road Map, will continue to develop and

provide real benefit for Tongans. We are committed to a

strong advocacy role on the Council of the International

Renewable Energy Agency and to the critical work

that it does in pursuing a more secure and sustainable

energy path.

Tonga joined the other States members of the

Pacific Islands Forum in adopting the Pacific Leaders

Gender Equality Declaration as an important part of

the Pacific Islands Forum communiqué this year. It

establishes a valuable political platform for investing in

the empowerment and promotion of women and young

girls as a vital part of Tongan society and the region’s

future.

We thank Australia for its investment in the Pacific

Women Shaping Pacific Development initiative. The

steps taken to promote and protect the interests of Tongan

women and gender equality include the extension of paid

maternity leave, within the public service, from one to

three months; Government approval of a draft law on

violence against women and children, which is to be

tabled during the parliamentary session; Government

approval of holding nationwide consultations towards

consensus on ratification of the Convention on the

Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against

Women; the launch of a national study on domestic

violence against women; and, most recently, last week’s

launch of a social welfare scheme for the elderly, that is,

those over 75 years of age.

Without genuine improvement in gender equality,

Member States will continue to struggle to achieve real

progress towards meeting their commitments under the

MDGs and beyond.

In closing, on behalf of His Majesty King Tupou VI,

Queen Nanasipau’u, the royal household, the Government

and the people of the Kingdom of Tonga, I wish to

convey our profound appreciation for the overwhelming

messages of condolence and sympathy from Member

States, the Secretary-General, the Secretariat and the

General Assembly on the untimely passing earlier

this year of our much-beloved King George Tupou

V. I acknowledge in particular the assistance of the

People’s Republic of China at that time. Though his

reign may have been brief, it may yet prove timeless in

enabling an environment where Tongans now exercise

greater electoral democracy and enjoy a fully elected

Government and a more representative Parliament.

That may be his reign’s most enduring legacy.