YouSaid · the spoken record

John Briceño

lines on the record: 78
first: 2000-09-24
most recent: 2022-09-24
sittings or episodes: 5
sources: un-general-debate

Every line below is reproduced as it was said and linked to the record it came from. Nothing here is summarised or generated. Directory · Search · Corrections

“Our collective destiny and future inspire us to action. The aspirations of our people must be fulfilled. We know what to do. We have the resources to meet the needs of humankind. We must find the political will to act. We must act now to avert disaster and fulfil the promise of tomorrow. We ask for the guidance of our Creator in order to ensure that our work is not in vain.”
2022-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 77 (2022)
“We are extremely concerned that those expectations may be jeopardized by G-20 dynamics, but we cannot allow backsliding — achieving anything less will be a failure. For Belize and SIDS, failure is not an option. The COVID-19 pandemic and the climate emergency are the most catastrophic events since the Second World War. Then as now, a new vision, frameworks and instruments are required to achieve the sustainable and inclusive future that our people and future generations deserve. The near-term global economic outlook compels us to act with urgency to avert even worse humanitarian and development outcomes and to restore stability to the international system. Our failure to act decisively and urgently on COVID-19, conflict and climate condemns humankind and our planet irreversibly to disaster. History will not absolve us if we fail.”
2022-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 77 (2022)
“In the meantime, Belize continues to suffer from climate-related damages equivalent to 4 per cent of its GDP annually — among the highest in the world. Let us try this again. We need less talk and more decisions at the next two climate-related conferences. The fifteenth Meeting of the Conference of the Parties to the Convention on Biological Diversity, to be held in Montreal, must agree an ambitious and effective post- 2020 global biodiversity framework to take into account the economic costs of biodiversity loss and provide financial support for developing countries’ efforts to deter it. At COP27 in Egypt, the G-20 must bring new commitments to closing the emissions gap, bring the financing for adaptation and establish a financing facility to substantively address loss and damage.”
2022-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 77 (2022)
“COP26 was considered a make-or- break moment for the world’s leaders to make more ambitious pledges to keep the goal of limiting warming to 1.5°C within reach. We were wrong. Rather than getting global commitments to keep the 1.5°C goal alive, we left Glasgow with commitments that will see the global temperature increase by 2.7°C by 2100. That is utterly unacceptable and morally unjust. Our people will continue to suffer for something that we did not cause. Rather than meeting the commitments to delivering $100 billion annually, we left Glasgow with a finance road map — yet another paper promise. Rather than delivering a loss and damage facility to help our countries deal with the losses and damages caused by climate change, we left with mas palabras.”
2022-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 77 (2022)
“In that spirit, Belize and Guatemala have been pursuing the peaceful, just and final resolution of Guatemala’s claim to Belizean territory before the International Court of Justice. We continue to count on the support of the international community as the judicial process proceeds and, when it concludes, for the demarcation exercise to be carried out. In the meantime, we must redouble our efforts to manage the daily challenges that arise along the border areas, in accordance with the 2005 confidence-building measures. Additionally, now more than ever we need to conclude a Sarstoon protocol, a cooperation mechanism that would help to prevent unnecessary incidents in that area. We had great expectations for the twenty-sixth Conference of the Parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (COP26) in Glasgow.”
2022-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 77 (2022)
“The outdated policy imposed on Taiwan to promote its exclusion must yield to the greater good. Belize calls for Taiwan to take its rightful place among the international community of nations. I also reiterate Belize’s full support for the realization of an independent Palestinian State, within its 1967 borders, with all attendant rights, including the recognition of East Jerusalem as its capital and the right of return. The people of Palestine continue to suffer the indignities of illegal occupation and apartheid. It is a disturbing prospect that the world’s sacred promise to deliver a two-State solution is slipping from their grasp. Justice is the cornerstone of peace.”
2022-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 77 (2022)
“Even now, as the effects of the fires in Matanzas cause hardship, there appears to be no possibility of an easing. Belize repeats its call for the immediate lifting of the embargo and salutes the resilience and fortitude of the Cuban people. We stand with them. Belize continues to be gravely concerned about the spiralling deterioration of the situation in Haiti. We call on the international community to advance a robust and comprehensive programme of support for the Haitian people. Taiwan, an exemplary nation in many respects, continues to be excluded from the international community, unable to participate and contribute to functional multilateral cooperation. The challenges confronting humankind today require the full participation of all countries and peoples in the struggle for development and prosperity.”
2022-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 77 (2022)
“In the current circumstances, there is a compelling need for urgency to advance a multilateral sovereign debt restructuring mechanism. History — a cruel history — is repeating itself. For centuries, colonialism transported trillions in plundered wealth to the oppressors. Reparations are overdue. I now ask how much longer the new climate colonialism will continue punishing the victims and sparing the victimizers? Speaking of injustices, it is shameful that a unilateral, illegal and immoral commercial and financial embargo continues to be imposed on Cuba, in defiance of the international community and United Nations resolutions. The cruel sanctions visited on the Cuban people were not eased as they suffered the wrath of the COVID-19 pandemic.”
2022-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 77 (2022)
“That debt deluge is attributable to the inaccessibility of concessional financing, the impact of the pandemic, the costs of climate change and disaster recovery, other external shocks and, for SIDS, structural features related to their small size. The current tentative, reactionary and piecemeal approach to addressing the debt problem has proven hopelessly ineffective. We must break the pernicious cycle between debt and climate and disaster risk. The international financial institutions must incorporate climate risk into debt sustainability tools. We need a two-pronged response. First, debt relief is needed for all vulnerable countries. Secondly, we need to rapidly mainstream innovative policies that tackle debt repayment capacity and avoid excessive indebtedness.”
2022-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 77 (2022)
“And the fact that since 2008 the Group of 20 (G-20) nations have printed $25 trillion in stimulus money magnifies that paradox. We therefore call on international financial institutions, multilateral development banks and development partners to use the multidimensional vulnerability index after its finalization later this year. That will unlock financing for vulnerable countries, supporting their efforts to achieve the SDGs, adapt to climate change and build resilience. Public debt is at unprecedented levels globally. It has surpassed the 2008 financial crisis levels. Commercial banks and private investors hold about $54 trillion in the global sovereign debts of emerging markets.”
2022-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 77 (2022)
“We need the multilateral development banks and regional banks to provide considerably more longer-term financing, de-risk investment, support the development of capital markets and integrate sustainability objectives to enable the use of innovative instruments. Financing must be accessible and affordable to vulnerable countries. Amazingly, in the past seven years financial flows to small island developing States (SIDS) have declined. Net official development assistance declined from $6.2 billion in 2016 to $4.1 billion in 2018. The paradox is that the countries most vulnerable to climate change and natural disasters, and with the least fiscal capacity to adapt and recover, do not qualify for grant and concessionary financing.”
2022-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 77 (2022)
“The truth is that the financing needs of developing countries amount to $4.3 trillion — more than quadruple the lending capacity of the IMF and well above the lending trends of the World Bank, which loaned only $99 billion last year. The availability of affordable, long-term and dependable sources of financing is indispensable to the achievement of the SDGs and climate resilience. We need international financial institutions that will urgently align their policies and practices with the achievement of the SDGs and climate goals and redistribute liquidity to developing countries. We need a long-overdue expansion in quota allocations to expand the resources of the IMF.”
2022-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 77 (2022)
“My Government has instituted an amnesty programme to enable up to 40,000 qualifying persons to be regularized. We anticipate that by the end of the amnesty we will have regularized more migrants per capita than any other country. But forces at the global level are determined to diminish our aspiration to an economic rebound and underwrite our social and human development and resilience. Three critical issues must be addressed by a new global financial architecture in order to achieve transformative and systemic solutions. The financing needs of developing countries have increased significantly since we adopted the 2030 Agenda. The international financial institutions and multilateral development banks have failed to meet the needs of developing countries. The figures do not lie.”
2022-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 77 (2022)
“We need a new global financial architecture that incorporates an effective global financial safety net with the capacity to respond to today’s multiple, simultaneous and escalating crises. We need a global financial architecture for today’s challenges that is responsive to the current needs of States, especially the vulnerable countries, many of which were not Member States in the 1940s. Belize has, within its limited fiscal space, tried to stimulate an economic recovery while staying true to its social values. The Belizean economy grew by 5.3 per cent in the first quarter of this year, the highest level of production for any first quarter on record. Through an innovative debt-for-nature swap, Belize reduced its debt-to-GDP ratio from 133 per cent to 108 per cent last year, resulting in more than $250 million in debt- service savings.”
2022-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 77 (2022)
“The obstinate focus of international financial institutions on primary balances and debt-to-gross domestic product (GDP) ratios ignores the empirical evidence that nature is in revolt. Incredibly, a recent analysis revealed that of the 80 IMF-funded country programmes around the world, climate was central to the country assessment in only a single case — that of Samoa. We need a new global financial architecture that has the willingness and capacity to identify systemic threats, such as debt and climate risk, and devise tools that are commensurate to the challenges. We urgently need a new global financial architecture dedicated to achieving the SDGs and net-zero emissions and to building resilience.”
2022-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 77 (2022)
“Our current systems and institutions, conceived for Second World War recovery, are straining under the weight of today’s crises. In truth, they are broken and stand impotent in the face of the three Cs: COVID-19, climate and conflict. And, yes, our people and our planet are paying the price. How do we fix that? We need a full-scale, bold reimagining of the global financial architecture, and no more tinkering at the edges to conceive additional programmes that are based on the same false logic — it simply does not work. Public-sector expenditure on climate-caused loss and damage cannot continue to be classified according to fiscal orthodoxy. The International Monetary Fund (IMF) is largely devoid of ways to quantify consequential climate impacts on public debt and countries’ capacity to pay.”
2022-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 77 (2022)
“Biodiversity is declining at a faster rate than ever before, with profound and unknown consequences for our environment, health, productivity and well-being. Those realities heighten climate risk, especially for vulnerable States. Belize ranks eighth of 183 on the Global Climate Risk Index. We are but one hurricane away from catastrophe, yet financing needed for climate adaptation remains woefully inadequate; only about a quarter of all climate finance goes to adaptation. Global debt is at crisis levels. The Secretary- General’s latest report on the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) paints a dismal and disturbing picture of the state of play of the achievement of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. The SDGs are at real risk of not being achieved.”
2022-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 77 (2022)
“The post-pandemic recovery that we anticipated is delayed, and the chorus of promises and commitments to pivoting towards building back better and to getting the recovery right have yielded little. Instead, global action and inaction have resulted only in deepening the many crises that we are facing. Global temperatures have already increased by 1.2°C above pre-industrial levels. Greenhouse gas emissions reached record highs in 2021 and continue to rise this year. Fossil fuels are still dominant, while renewables account for an abysmal 15 per cent of global energy sources. The current energy crisis in Europe has led to people using more fossil fuels as a panacea rather than doubling down on the energy transition.”
2022-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 77 (2022)
“Democratic norms and human rights, even where thought to be firmly rooted, are being rolled back. Poverty is on the increase. The planet is being destroyed by climate change. International cooperation and solidarity have been supplanted by nationalism and unilateralism. Global market prices for food and petroleum remain volatile, having reached historic highs earlier this year. The lingering impacts of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic and persistent supply-chain disruptions have contributed to skyrocketing inflation. Those economic realities exacerbate an already acute social situation in Belize. Poverty is estimated to have risen by 10 per cent between 2018 and 2021. A total of 45.5 per cent of Belizeans are estimated to be moderately to severely food insecure. Homicides are again on the rise.”
2022-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 77 (2022)
“I take this rostrum with a heavy heart, more pessimistic than I was last year and more cynical and disappointed. We have come to depend on the multilateral system that has the Charter of the United Nations at its centre. Where is the collective will to adequately address the challenges of our time? Where is our shared conviction to work together for the betterment of humankind? Where is the hope? Today there are conflicts on several continents; geopolitical tensions are heightened. The unjustified, unprovoked and illegal attack on Ukraine by the Russian Federation has shaken the foundations of the multilateral system. That is wrong. The consequential crises that we face are not confined to the battlefield in Europe; they are global and affect us all.”
2022-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 77 (2022)
“Together, we can reform the world’s financial architecture to guarantee debt relief, make available affordable financing and adopt a multidimensional vulnerability index. Together we must lift billions out of poverty and provide affordable housing, education and health care. Failure is not an option. We believe in the power of humanity and in the noble spirit of humankind. We have confidence that we can and will make the world a better place. The people of Belize and the citizens of the world expect nothing less.”
2021-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 76 (2021)
“Belize calls for Taiwan’s inclusion in the United Nations and its specialized agencies, which will not only further enhance global cooperation and partnership but also manifest the enshrined principle of the United Nations that is universality. It is crystal clear that the confluence of crises facing the world can be addressed only through solidarity, international cooperation and multilateral approaches. Let us not return to this great Hall in September 2022 to lament further inaction. Let us not return next year to once again decry unilateralism, nationalism and failed collective action. No, we must move forward together. We can defeat COVID-19, but we can only do so together. We must save the planet from the irreversible effects of climate change, but only if we act collectively and urgently.”
2021-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 76 (2021)
“We therefore call on the United Nations to galvanize action among its Member States and its development system in order to support the development of a Haitian-led solution, restoring its stability and security. Our multilateral system must also be inclusive, harnessing the capacity of all States to scale up international cooperation where it is most needed. Belize has benefited greatly from its diplomatic partnership with Taiwan, which is based on our shared values of democracy, freedom, human rights and the rule of law. Taiwan has provided tremendous assistance to Belize in the form of medical supplies and financial support, ensuring that Belize is better equipped to combat COVID-19 and conduct a post-pandemic recovery.”
2021-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 76 (2021)
“Belize fully supports the aspirations of the Palestinians to an independent State, within its 1967 borders and with all attendant rights, including the recognition of East Jerusalem as its capital and the right of return. The Sahrawi people are similarly being prevented from exercising their right to self-determination. We urge the relevant parties and the international community to support them in their efforts. Belize is also deeply concerned about the situation in Haiti and about the regional and global inaction on offering a genuine and substantive programme of support. We are alarmed at the inhumane treatment of Haitian refugees who are risking their lives by traversing two continents for a better future.”
2021-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 76 (2021)
“Cubans have been forced to carve out their sustainable development under the burden of the illegal and unilateral economic, commercial and financial embargo. The new measures imposed by the previous United States Administration, now continued and widened by the present one during a pandemic, are unbelievably cruel and inhumane. They bring suffering to millions of innocent people and do not reflect the goodwill of the people of the United States of America. Nevertheless, Cuba has made significant sacrifices to help others around the world, including Belizeans. Our Palestinian brothers and sisters continue to suffer under Israel’s oppressive apartheid and illegal occupation.”
2021-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 76 (2021)
“As the Director-General of the World Health Organization has said, the longer vaccine inequity persists, the more the virus will keep circulating and changing, the longer the social and economic disruption will continue and the higher the chances are that more variants will emerge that render vaccines less effective. The health and recovery of all of us depend on the ability of our system to rapidly respond to the needs of all countries. The multilateral system must be more effective in protecting the rights of all people. Too many remain marginalized and excluded, weakening the social contract and eroding trust in the ability of our multilateral system to deliver. The persistent call of the General Assembly over three decades for an end to the illegal embargo against the Cuban people has been ignored.”
2021-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 76 (2021)
“Flexibility and responsiveness are critical if our multilateral system is to have relevance at moments of crisis, as well as to ensure equity and fairness in global responses. COVAX, the multilateral mechanism for vaccine distribution, has been unable to truly respond to the needs of its subscribers. The undermining of COVAX through export bans, vaccine hoarding and predatory purchasing has resulted in extreme inequality in access to vaccines. Of the more than 5.7 billion vaccine doses administered globally, 73 per cent has been given in just 10 countries. COVAX has had to cut its forecast by 25 per cent for the distribution of vaccines for 2021. Belize has no delivery date for its next COVAX shipment.”
2021-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 76 (2021)
“Indeed, ambitious commitments from the Group of 20 alone could keep us on a path to limiting global temperature rise to 1.5°C. The twenty-sixth Conference of the Parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change is our last best hope to limit global warming to 1.5°C above pre-industrial levels. We call for a ramping-up of collective ambition so that global emissions are reduced by 50 per cent by 2030. Developed countries and those in a position to do so must provide the financial, technical and capacity building support to enable us to fulfil those pledges. That includes meeting and exceeding the $100 billion pledge made in Copenhagen 12 years ago. Additional support must also be provided for the loss and damage being incurred through the extreme and slow-onset climatic events that we are already experiencing.”
2021-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 76 (2021)
“It is naturally aligned both to our national development plans and the Sustainable Development Goals. We have set some ambitious targets, including forest restoration and the expansion of mangroves, as well as achieving 75 per cent of our electricity from renewable sources by 2030. The nationally determined contribution also pledges that we will transition to a hybrid and electric public transportation system, increase the resilience of coastal communities and strengthen the adaptive capacity of agriculture, health and tourism. Belize is committed to developing a long-term strategy aligned with achieving net-zero global emissions by 2050. We are doing our part, and we expect the developed countries and major emitters to do theirs.”
2021-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 76 (2021)
“The entire world is now experiencing the consequences of our inaction in the form of catastrophic droughts, fires, floods and more frequent and intense hurricanes that continue to affect and set back our small, open and dependent economies. The latest scientific assessment of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change lays the blame firmly on human activity. Belize, like other SIDS, is on the front lines of a climate crisis for which it is not responsible. Belize incurs annual losses of close to 4 per cent of GDP due to natural disasters. We therefore felt an obligation to put forward an ambitious revised nationally determined contribution. Belize’s nationally determined contribution covers new targets in both adaptation and mitigation.”
2021-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 76 (2021)
“We therefore welcome the work of the United Nations and other development partners such as the Commonwealth and the Caribbean Development Bank in developing a multidimensional vulnerability index that considers not only economic development but also the inherent vulnerabilities of SIDS — scale, geography and limited natural resources. We need to adopt a multidimensional vulnerability index now. We call on all international financial institutions and our development partners to use it. There is no alternative if our countries are to embark on a sustainable and resilient economic development path. If our multilateral system is to remain credible, it must have the capacity to induce action. For far too long, too many global problems have been allowed to fester and become crises.”
2021-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 76 (2021)
“We count on Guatemala to remain a constructive partner and rely on the international community to support us in addressing the daily challenges along the border that are inevitable between neighbours. If the multilateral system is to be our collective lifeline, it must be repurposed. I would like to propose four areas for reforming and strengthening it. We call for a genuine commitment to addressing the systemic issues that undermine the achievement of our agreed development goals. SIDS’ continued ineligibility for access to concessional finance leaves us in a vicious cycle of disaster- or crisis-recovery borrowing, leading to unsustainable levels of debt. That must be disrupted. A multidimensional vulnerability index is the indispensable tool for restoring rationality to access to affordable financing.”
2021-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 76 (2021)
“Our common future therefore depends squarely on our solidarity and on international cooperation and a strong and effective multilateral system. We must commit to finding solutions together to the common problems that we confront. Unbridled unilateralism must yield to a settled determination to respond to the major problems of our times with social justice. Along with Guatemala, my country is pursuing a final and peaceful resolution of Guatemala’s claim to Belizean territory at the International Court of Justice. In the meantime, the 2005 agreement on confidence-building measures remains in effect and our bilateral relations continue to be based on mutual goodwill.”
2021-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 76 (2021)
“The support of Member States for our territorial integrity and right to self-determination was critical to the achievement of Belize’s independence. For us the multilateral system is indispensable. For that reason, Belize supports the Secretary-General’s thoughtful and forward-looking report, Our Common Agenda, which sets out a concise plan of action to accelerate the implementation of our agreed goals, including the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. Despite the inclination to retreat towards nationalist tendencies, the truth is that whether we are talking about the health crisis or the climate crisis, the scale of the challenge, the magnitude of the impact and the urgency of the action required cannot be met by any one country alone. Inequality and vulnerabilities are also threats to the rich and strong.”
2021-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 76 (2021)
“Vaccine hoarding has reduced access to vaccines for developing countries, undermining COVAX and leading to deep and threatening inequalities, with 80 per cent of vaccines administered worldwide in high- and upper- middle-income countries and only 0.4 per cent in low- income countries. In Latin America and the Caribbean, the region worst hit by the pandemic, only about one-fifth of the population has received vaccines. Despite those immoral inequities, countries with higher vaccination rates are about to administer booster shots to their already-vaccinated populations. That is not just unfair, it is simply disgraceful. It is undeniable that the world urgently needs to recommit to multilateralism. Belize exists today because of the multilateral system.”
2021-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 76 (2021)
“We will proudly be at the forefront in this area, owing to our love for nature and respect for the environment. With the advent of the vaccine, the Government has self-financed its acquisition from the COVID-19 Vaccine Global Access (COVAX) Facility and has also reached out to bilateral partners to solicit vaccine donations. It is vaccines from our South-South partners that have enabled the Government to roll out its national vaccination programme. The immediate global response has been slow and inadequate to the scale and depth of the health crisis. The disruption of supply chains has made access to much-needed COVID-19 therapeutics, diagnostics and personal protection equipment beyond the reach of many developing countries.”
2021-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 76 (2021)
“The Common Framework for Debt Treatments beyond the Debt Service Suspension Initiative failed to offer forbearance to most middle-income SIDS, including Belize, which are ineligible despite their unsustainable debts. At the same time, most of our countries had no recourse to concessionary financing to fund the immediate health response. Belize’s commitment to conservation is ambitious. We recognize that our debt is unsustainable, and we will link it directly to conservation. We will exchange millions of dollars in debt for major commitments to marine conservation. It is our hope that 30 per cent of our exclusive economic zone will be designated a protected area by 2026, well before the year 2030. Furthermore, we will establish a marine conservation fund in perpetuity.”
2021-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 76 (2021)
“The poverty rate increased to 60 per cent. The impact of the pandemic has been swift, dramatic and devastating. The human toll has been deadly. Already 399 Belizeans have lost their lives to COVID-19. We have a fatality rate of 2.05 per cent. Thousands have been hospitalized so far. Our health facilities are overwhelmed, because they were unprepared for the surge in the admission of critical patients. That is not unique to Belize. In order to confront the urgency of the pandemic, Governments across the globe reallocated funds to meet desperate needs. Loans originally committed for development and climate change were diverted to cover emergency health needs and mitigate the impact on the unemployed. Massive additional borrowings became the new normal as lockdowns were extended.”
2021-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 76 (2021)
“Since 1900 we have seen an unprecedented number of droughts, which have also become more frequent and longer-lasting. Severe weather events are more common and devastating. In the past 20 years the number of major floods has more than doubled, while the incidence of storms grew from 1,457 to 2,034. Mother Nature is rebelling. She is reacting to our destructive tendencies and our refusal to take urgent corrective action. We can do better. Our capacity to survive is currently being tested by the unrelenting coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic. COVID-19 brought the Belizean economy to its knees. Unemployment reached 30 per cent as thousands of Belizeans lost their jobs. Gross domestic product (GDP) declined by 14 per cent. Our debt ballooned to 130 per cent of GDP. Many small businesses were shuttered.”
2021-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 76 (2021)
“I congratulate Mr. Abdulla Shahid on his election as President of the General Assembly. It is a great pleasure to see a representative of a fellow small island developing State (SIDS) presiding over the General Assembly at its seventy-sixth session. For a small island and low-lying coastal State like Belize, which three days ago celebrated 40 years of political independence, the world today is hostile and precarious. No one can deny that the planet is getting hotter. The facts are that July 2021 was the hottest month ever. Every one of the past four decades has been successively warmer than any preceding them since 1850. Global temperatures are now 1.2°C degrees warmer. Sea levels are rising. The global average sea level has risen faster since 1900 than during any other century in the past 3,000 years.”
2021-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 76 (2021)
“Four days from today, our people will assemble and re-enact the events of our Independence Day. It will also be a time to renew our commitment to the principles of justice and liberty, to the right of a people to self-determination, to the right to development and to our continued commitment to live in peace with our neighbours. That is the legacy of the United Nations; that is our just objective.”
2002-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 57 (2002)
“The proposals must be submitted by referenda to the peoples of both countries, and only if accepted by both countries will they be translated into treaties of settlement that will bring this age-old dispute to an end and create better conditions for harmonious cooperation between the two countries something for which both our peoples yearn. We fervently hope that that will indeed come to pass. An essential aspect of the proposal involves a development trust fund, and we wish to thank all the countries that will generously contribute to making possible the peaceful settlement of a territorial dispute that has adversely affected relations not only between the countries involved, but also between the two subregions to which Belize belongs the Caribbean and Central America.”
2002-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 57 (2002)
“All previous attempts had proved futile, but in March 2000, at the start of this millennium, Guatemala and Belize agreed to initiate a unique process to resolve the dispute. Each of us appointed a Facilitator and asked the Secretary- General of the Organization of American States (OAS) to be honour witness to the process. I am happy to be able to announce that, just yesterday, at OAS headquarters, the Facilitators presented their proposals for a peaceful and definitive resolution of the territorial dispute.”
2002-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 57 (2002)
“It is our wish that the United Nations be the forum for the representation of all peoples of the world, including the 23 million people of the Republic of China on Taiwan. We must give true meaning to the principle of universality set forth in the Charter and, more specifically, to the affirmation therein of our faith in fundamental human rights, in the dignity and worth of the human person, in the equal rights of men and women and of nations large and small. With the support of the United Nations, Belize became an independent nation. Before and after that 12 time, we made every effort to resolve the territorial dispute between Belize and Guatemala, which we had inherited from colonial times.”
2002-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 57 (2002)
“We see this as the start of a new system of international justice. At this session of the General Assembly, we will be witnessing the expansion of the representative character of the United Nations. We recognize the tremendous contribution that the Swiss Confederation has made in international relations, particularly with respect to human rights and humanitarian issues. Its decision to become a full member of the United Nations will greatly enhance our work. Likewise, we are pleased to welcome the Democratic Republic of Timor-Leste to our family of nations. Its struggle has been long and arduous, and its admission is a testament to the indispensable role of the United Nations.”
2002-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 57 (2002)
“Yes, we must address those conditions according to our national capacity, but we cannot go it alone. A multilateral approach is imperative. Belize continues to look to the United Nations for the global enforcement of human rights standards. On 1 July 2002, the international community witnessed the entry into force of the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court. As a State Party to the Statute, my Government will abide by its legal obligations thereunder and will uphold the integrity of the Court. It is our hope that all peace-loving and law- abiding nations of the world will become parties to the Rome Statute so that the universal jurisdiction of the Court can be realized. The Court presents the hope that there will be an end to impunity for the perpetrators of genocide, of other crimes against humanity and of war crimes.”
2002-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 57 (2002)
“The escalation of violence in the region demonstrates the urgent need for the parties to resume peace negotiations. The universally endorsed vision of two States, Israel and Palestine, living side by side in peace within secure and recognized borders, as called for by the Security Council in resolution 1397 (2002), should be realized as soon as possible. We encourage the efforts of the United Nations in facilitating a peaceful resolution to the question of Western Sahara and support the Settlement Plan as a viable political solution to the dispute. Conflict in its many manifestations finds its breeding ground in human desperation, frailty and ignorance. If we can address the needs of the disaffected and the vulnerable, then we can stamp out the embers of conflict and increase the potential for international peace and security.”
2002-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 57 (2002)
“Shortly our Foreign Ministers shall conclude a Plan of Action to implement the goals set out in the declaration. The present development paradigm requires dynamic partnerships. Belize intends to play its part in encouraging closer collaboration and cooperation between Central America and the Caribbean. A major hindrance to development is conflict; it is costly and causes unnecessary pain and suffering, often to innocent victims. My delegation is concerned about any notion that violence could be a solution to conflict. History has taught us that lasting peace can never be constructed in a climate of vengeance. In this regard we express our grave concern over the continuing deterioration of relations in the Middle East, especially with respect to the Palestinian people.”
2002-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 57 (2002)
“As we follow the road map for the implementation of the Millennium Declaration, our deliberations and, even more so, our commitment to the Monterrey Consensus and to the Plan of Implementation of the World Summit on Sustainable Development should result in meaningful change that will improve the lives of our poorest peoples. On 5 February 2002, Belize hosted the first-ever Caribbean Community (CARICOM), System of Central American Integration (SICA) and Dominican Republic summit. In the joint declaration issued at the conclusion of the summit, the Caribbean and Central American leaders agreed to strengthen their cooperation and to coordinate actions in areas such as education, health, poverty elimination, environment, trade and investment.”
2002-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 57 (2002)
“Now we must aim for higher standards and make the case that, as a global community, we are obligated to account for how we have chosen to implement the many commitments we have made. For us implementation is a function of resources; good governance, both locally and globally; shared responsibility; and partnerships. The implementation of the Millennium Declaration can be effective only through the participation and cooperation of all relevant stakeholders. In order to ensure that the process of implementation is democratized, inclusive, transparent and accountable, we must act with shared responsibility and in partnerships of mutual respect and equality.”
2002-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 57 (2002)