YouSaid · the spoken record

Allen Michael Chastanet

lines on the record: 77
first: 2016-09-24
most recent: 2020-09-24
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

“The question remains whether we possess the wisdom and the courage, as nation states and members of this international community to squarely meet those challenges; whether the United Nations can meet the tests of our time. We need to rise to that challenge now. Time is against us. Saint Lucia and Small Island Developing States stand ready to join forces and commit to building a new world economic order. So, let’s make it happen. Thank you.”
2020-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 75 (2020)
“Due to the pandemic discussions on this issue have not taken place and Saint Lucia joins other countries in encouraging text-based negotiations so the reform efforts will be expedited. Mr. President, The founding of the United Nations itself is a testament to human progress. Our predecessors chose the hope of unity over the ease of division and made a promise to future generations that the dignity and equality of all human beings would be our common cause. The Charter of the United Nations points the way with its vision of people and countries living as good neighbours, upholding universal values and recognising our common future. The 75 year old principles of working together must endure, but the specifics must take account of our rapidly changing world.”
2020-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 75 (2020)
“No name plate in the General Assembly Hall should have to be turned off indefinitely, simply because we refused to collectively respond to the glaring warning signs. Mr. President, in this 75th year of the United Nations, I wish to acknowledge the presence on the United Nations Security Council of St Vincent and the Grenadines — the smallest country to ever take up a seat on the council. As a strong and capable voice in one of the most powerful and influential global bodies; we applaud our island neighbour, for their continued advancement of multilateralism, small island state exceptionalism, and staunch advocacy of the fundamental principles of this organisation. I also wish to note that we are also marking the 15th anniversary of the World Summit where leaders supported the early reform of the Security Council.”
2020-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 75 (2020)
“We have reopened our country to visitors and we have learnt to co-exist with COVID-19. I am equally proud of the success record that many SIDS have had. Like many other nations we are thankful that despite their own difficulties Taiwan and Cuba have reached out to help the world. Mr. President, The Chair of the Alliance of Small Island States, emphasized in his remarks at the commemoration of the 75th Anniversary of the United Nations, that we SIDS do not have the luxury to retreat from loss and damage. Science projects that if left unchecked, the impacts of climate change will see SIDS begin to disappear within a generation. Whole nation states wiped off the face of the earth. As our chair affirmed, the plight of SIDS is the plight of the United Nations; the loss of any of our island states would signal a failure of the United Nations.”
2020-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 75 (2020)
“We must also recognize that as the world grapples with the COVID-19 pandemic Taiwan has demonstrated impressive leadership, not just by their own success with managing the spread, but by coming to the aid of nations such as Saint Lucia and many other countries to provide medical resources and technical advice. The pandemic which has touched every country is a potent reminder of the interconnectedness of human societies and more reason why in building our new world economic order, we must leave no one behind, no people, no country should be allowed to fall through the cracks. Saint Lucia would never have done as well as we did with managing the pandemic without friends like the people of Taiwan and Cuba. As I speak today Saint Lucia has only recorded 27 cases with no deaths.”
2020-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 75 (2020)
“Not only has it affected the people of Cuba but it has also affected the entire Caribbean region. It is time to, once again, give states like Taiwan recognition so that they can meaningfully engage in global processes and share their best practices. Even as China and Taiwan have their own differences and while this is being addressed, Climate Change and the COVID-19 pandemic are stark reminders that Taiwan should not be left out of the discussions. Taiwan has its own elections, its own currency, controls its own airspace and has its own military force. A population of almost 24 million people is too many to be left off the table. As we mark 75 years, the continued exclusion of Taiwan, calls into question the very principles the UN was established on.”
2020-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 75 (2020)
“I take this opportunity to applaud the United Nations Development System for their active response to the pandemic, for listening to the specific needs of states and mobilising resources where possible. The support of the UN system is critical for the effective implementation of not only the SDGs but the Samoa Pathway. I also wish to offer sincere gratitude and commendation to the countries who stepped up to the challenge, in the truest spirit of solidarity to assist states like my own, to cushion the pandemic’s blow to our socio-economic landscape. This support has been immeasurable. Some of the countries who offered support and continue to do so, themselves are grappling with a multilateral order that systematically stymies their development prospects. It is time to lift the economic embargo on the government and people of Cuba.”
2020-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 75 (2020)
“Our collective commitment to multilateralism has to not only advocate for multilateral rules, but vigorously pursue change where change is needed. Or, as we have done in my island, challenged ourselves to build a new Saint Lucia, we must equally rise to the challenge and build a new world economic order, which addresses the SIDS and regains the confidence of nation’s in multilateralism. Mr. President, As we chart a new path forward as a global community it would be prudent to take with us the lessons learned when multilateralism and diplomacy have delivered a proven record of service to our people. Such cooperation and success cannot be taken for granted, particularly in our current difficult global context. Critical to these successes was the equal commitment of resources, a time when we were our brother and sister’s keeper.”
2020-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 75 (2020)
“The leaders of the day understood that humanity could not survive the course it was on, and so it built this united assembly, our United Nations — to allow us to strive to collaborate rather than divide, to resolve conflicts, enforce international rules of behaviour and build habits of cooperation that would grow stronger over time. Underpinning all of this were the key values of tolerance and mutual respect. The United Nations and the other multilateral processes and institutions born of that time, have over the decades made a difference in the world. From brokering peace, to educating children and eradicating disease, while weathering crises from within and without. But it is the considered view of my delegation that international institutions require profound structural shifts.”
2020-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 75 (2020)
“We are at a crossroads, a pivotal moment for a meaningful course correction. We must choose the difficult and uncomfortable road to finally re-engineer the international system, to enable and ensure fair, inclusive and relevant policies and solutions for all; or we will continue down the path which inevitably leads to the demise of SIDS. Mr. President, There is much that must be done to meet the test of this moment. Seventy-five years ago, it was not beyond human ingenuity to overcome the great challenges of the time to give birth to multilateralism. To come together to solve problems and advance a common prosperity.”
2020-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 75 (2020)
“I have said before and it is worth repeating: if a family is struggling to survive, if a mother does not know where her children’s next meal is coming from, if parents don’t have a means to put a roof over their family’s head, how are they going to participate, or even care about the SDG Goals? We cannot continue to attend meetings to discuss solutions within the current framework. We must first agree that the global economic development architecture has to change. New forms of measurement and criteria must be adopted that are going to allow SIDS the opportunity to help ourselves. All we are asking for is a fair chance. Unless, the “new normal” was always just a cliche? Or does it actually mean something? If we agree and accept that there is a new normal, then the criteria used before cannot apply.”
2020-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 75 (2020)
“We are disproportionally asked to carry the burden of major shocks which are caused by actions outside of our control. With every additional shock we become more indebted and dependent and it will soon become impossible for us to survive within these fixed rules that are created without taking into account our exceptional circumstances. Unfortunately, the same obtains with the issue of Climate Change. For the SIDS, the Paris Agreement, though well intended, has just not delivered. We understand that the world is changing and as noble of an ideal of eliminating poverty is, we must have greater aspirations of at least a minimum standard of living for all.”
2020-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 75 (2020)
“For years we have argued our case: the financial crisis, climate change, and the latest pandemic have provided the empirical evidence that reaffirmed the vulnerabilities of SIDS and inadequacy of the solutions in the current global architecture. In recent years SIDS, backed by academic research have advocated for the establishment and use of a vulnerability index, already developed by the Commonwealth in 1989, as a more accurate determinant of eligibility for concessional development assistance. Yet nothing has changed. Our wealth is still being determined by per capita GDP, though we know now categorically that this is not an accurate measure. At meeting upon meeting, all we receive are platitudes and more talk. Meanwhile, the storms and hurricanes, the crises and the pandemics, keep coming regardless.”
2020-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 75 (2020)
“¥ SIDS are the lowest contributors to terrorist financing or banking impropriety, yet we are the most constrained; placed on grey lists and black lists posted all over the world, undermining our reputations. ¥ SIDS are the smallest emitters of carbon, yet we are the most affected by climate change. Mr. President, let me point out that all of these paradoxes are man made. As I have often said the solution to many of these problems simply requires the stroke of a pen. Our aspirations to build back better and advance our work to continue implementing the Sustainable Development Goals, are extremely bleak within the current international context.”
2020-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 75 (2020)
“We must acknowledge that the global economic architecture, created post Second World War, never considered Small Island Developing States. And despite the empathy and the understanding of the technocrats at the International Monetary 6/62 21-00395 13/01/2021 A/75/592/Add.9 Fund, the World Bank and our own Caribbean Development Bank, as well as other IFIs, they remain constrained by their own inflexible governance structures. For decades now, SIDS have been extremely vocal in highlighting the fact that this system has produced some of the most incredible paradoxes for our nations. They include the fact that: ¥ SIDS are the most indebted, yet we are the least likely to get debt relief or concessional financing. ¥ SIDS are the smallest producers of global goods and services, yet we are the most restricted by the rules of international trade.”
2020-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 75 (2020)
“However, it is worth restating that our current crisis demands urgent action. Small Island Developing States, like Saint Lucia, have always been inherently susceptible to environmental, economic and financial shocks. Our unique circumstances and consequent vulnerabilities have left us exposed to the ravages of the twin crises of the pandemic and climate change. Every day, as leaders of SIDS, we struggle to safeguard our people from the pervasive erosion of our hard-fought developmental gains. As the global community contends with the devastating impact of the pandemic, we must be honest with ourselves and acknowledge that the current challenges of SIDS is a symptom of a broader problem: the failure of our international institutions to keep pace with, and adapt to, the practical reality faced by SIDS.”
2020-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 75 (2020)
“We thank Professor Muhammed-Bande for his very able and astute leadership over the course of the last year. More than ever the world needs effective leadership and Saint Lucia is committed to working with the United Nations toward our common goals. This year, possibly more than any point in our modern history, this Assembly is beset by global risks and threats that force us to consider deeply, the future we want and the United Nations we all need. This year’s theme calls for the reaffirmation of our collective commitment to multilateralism, for us to continue to confront COVID-19 through effective multilateral action. The COVID-19 pandemic and its dire consequences on world economies, financial markets and social and humanitarian destabilisation, have been emphasized by every leader who has come before me.”
2020-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 75 (2020)
“Mr. President, Excellencies, Ladies and Gentlemen, It seems rarely a year goes by where the international order is not declared in crisis. These calls have swelled to a justifiable new crescendo this year with the multilateral order experiencing perhaps its gravest crisis since its origins seventy- five years ago. Today, we leaders assemble through extraordinary means under extraordinary circumstances, with the legitimate question of whether this Assembly, has seen its best days or if by reason of the strength of our actions and convictions, we may endure to overcome today’s incredible challenges. Mr. President, Saint Lucia looks forward to your wise and capable stewardship during this unprecedented 75th session of the United Nations General Assembly.”
2020-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 75 (2020)
“It is indeed the object and purpose of the United Nations.”
2019-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 74 (2019)
“Similarly, we express our solidarity with the people of Cuba and we question the continued application of the embargo. On the issue of Venezuela, Saint Lucia continues to believe that this crisis should be resolved peacefully and through dialogue. Military action is not an answer. But let me be clear. The continued instability in that country is a threat to us all in the hemisphere. That cannot be overlooked or swept under the table. I would like to be able to boast of a United Nations where small nations such as mine receive a fair hearing and genuine empathy when appropriate, a United Nations where, once the case is made, there is an examination of conscience followed by a commitment towards change. To some, that may seem like a high ideal but I submit that it is the minimum owed to States like Saint Lucia.”
2019-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 74 (2019)
“Last April, the Foreign Ministers of the Group of Seven (G-7) expressed their support for the substantive participation of Taiwan as an active member of the international aviation community in forums of the International Civil Aviation Organization. Saint Lucia endorses that call, as we believe that the exclusion of active members for political purposes compromises aviation safety and security. The G-7 has now added its voice to those that have long advocated for the inclusion of Taiwan in the work of the global community. As we continue our strides to implement the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, the participation of all States, including small States, in the various United Nations agencies and processes is critical to achieving our collective goals. We remain true to the Agenda’s clarion call to leave no one behind.”
2019-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 74 (2019)
“One such way is our new partnership with the World Economic Forum to be the first country to implement the Country Financing Roadmap. The Roadmap is a platform to support countries in making a transformative shift from funding to financing. It will harness the collective intelligence from the World Economic Forum’s expansive networks and promote consensus on the main challenges that limit capital flows to Saint Lucia. It will also leverage coordinated action to move from a holistic diagnostic to a country-specific tangible action plan. We are grateful for this opportunity to be the test case for that initiative and look forward to its success and, once successful, to its being replicated across other States.”
2019-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 74 (2019)
“Our islands are being blacklisted, which is a demeaning and unfair practice that results, in some instances, in effecting irreversible damage to our reputations. Countries such as Saint Lucia, which has the ambition to be self-sufficient and aid-free, cannot therefore exercise the will to participate in financial services, an area in which we have a comparative advantage. Our Government in Saint Lucia believes that every single person matters and that every person has a contribution to make. However, to genuinely say they matter, we must give them the ability to be able to participate. If we are constantly moving from one crisis to another, our people are not going to be able to participate in such necessary changes. For the past three years, Saint Lucia has been focused on trying to take control of its own destiny.”
2019-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 74 (2019)
“Like all other nations of the world, Saint Lucia has a goal to chart a sustainable development path that benefits every last citizen, leaving no one behind, a goal to ensure that all are clothed and fed and have a roof over their heads, with access to education, health and security, and to provide those basic needs that lay the foundation for a better future. Is that not the aspiration that, as leaders, we all have for our people? Yet, in the face of our ambitious Sustainable Development Goals, as SIDS, we continue to have to battle with insurmountable challenges, many as a result of rules and systems that do not create the mechanisms and the requisite urgency to address our unique challenges. Some of those rules impose restrictions on States in the absence of credible evidence to support claims of wrongdoing.”
2019-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 74 (2019)
“In our wider Caribbean community, we cooperate in even more areas — a university of international renown, our own development bank, a common market and a regional security mechanism are but a few of our successes. I highlight those achievements to signify that we are not a region of people who sit on our hands, waiting to be rescued. In fact, as a region, post-independence we have worked diligently to establish the institutions and fashion the responses to deal with the challenges that confront us, and we have achieved much success in so doing.”
2019-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 74 (2019)
“One such step is the establishment of a special purpose vehicle dedicated to SIDS, through which we hope to mobilize financing for resilience. We truly hope that we will be able to interest Member States in joining us in that very vital initiative. My island home of Saint Lucia is small, just 238 square miles, with a population of fewer than 200,000 people. However, we are fortunate to be members of strong regional institutions. If one explores a little, one will note that, as a subregion, eight countries within the eastern Caribbean, including Saint Lucia, use what has become one of the most stable currencies in the world — the Eastern Caribbean dollar. We share a single court system, and we pool our resources to provide a large number of services for our people.”
2019-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 74 (2019)
“It is abundantly clear that the international financial architecture — the systems, mechanisms and rules that govern global finance — that are associated with our fight for survival are moving too slow to pivot to address the new normal for small island developing States like mine. The inability and, at times, unwillingness to change the status quo as it relates to graduating countries out of programmes and creating new financing vehicles can no longer be tolerated. While we face the reluctance of global financial institutions to heed our calls, we are left to attempt to develop our own solutions and lean on new friends in our times of need. In fact, in the face of this new climate change reality, we are being forced to consider every all options to ensure our survival and that of our people.”
2019-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 74 (2019)
“To date, despite the overwhelming evidence, the tragic loss of lives and the destruction of people’s dignity, we unfortunately have failed. We are failing as world leaders to act with urgency. Instead, we are too often allowing the denials of a few to paper over the real and existential threat to the lives and livelihoods of so many. Where is the action to deploy, with immediate effect, the resilient solutions and the commitment to wrestling to the ground the fact that a heating planet is to blame and the fact that we are the ones who are heating it? As for the few who stand with us and have provided tangible assistance as we fight for our survival, we are grateful for the support provided, thus far, but I daresay that, given the magnitude of the problem, we have only begun to scratch the surface.”
2019-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 74 (2019)
“As expected, they cried and they yelled, but ultimately, after the initial reflex empathy and emergency aid, they remain voiceless. We need to let them know, through our actions, that we hear them, we see them and we will not forget them. Many of the victims of these devastating extreme weather events have to focus on surviving from one day to the next. They no longer have the luxury to anticipate and plan for the future when they cannot contemplate where their next meal will come from. We should act with the same urgency as a mother searching for her lost child. We should act with the same desperation as a father who has seen the roof of his family’s home blown off. Let us recognize the awesome responsibility that has been placed on us — those of us in a position to give hope to the hopeless and tangible assistance to those most in need.”
2019-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 74 (2019)
“Saint Lucia, along with our fellow small island developing States, continued to make a strong case for urgent action. The disturbing fact is that every September when we gather here, it is against the backdrop of yet another devastating extreme weather event. Have we already forgotten what befell Dominica in 2017, when Hurricane Maria ravaged that island, causing a loss of 226 per cent of gross domestic product? Have we already forgotten Barbuda, laid to waste by Irma, or the British Virgin Islands and Anguilla? I saw the devastation in the Bahamas first-hand when I visited that country in my capacity as Chairman of the Caribbean Community. I saw the faces of people, absolutely lost and desperate, as they attempted to rationalize what had happened to them and, more importantly, what would happen next.”
2019-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 74 (2019)
“We thank the Secretary-General for his words of support and for his visit to our brothers and sisters in the Bahamas, and we note first-hand how tenuous our grip on development can be in the face of climatic events. We are very encouraged by his commitment to supporting the advancement of the Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean proposal on debt for climate adaptation swaps for SIDS. That initiative will go a long way not only towards freeing up domestic fiscal space, but also towards establishing a resilience fund to finance adaptation projects. Saint Lucia looks forward to engaging with the international financial institutions and our partners to forge ahead towards the implementation of that critical initiative. We opened this high-level week with a focus on climate change and climate action.”
2019-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 74 (2019)
“I am pleased, on behalf of the Government and the people of Saint Lucia to once again address this global community of nations. It was a pleasure for me and for the Caribbean Community (CARICOM) to have had Secretary-General Antonio Guterres join us in Saint Lucia this past July for the meeting of the Conference of Heads of Government of the Caribbean Community. At that meeting, the Secretary-General acknowledged the challenges faced by small island developing States (SIDS), especially that of climate change. Importantly, he noted the other obstacles to sustainable development for countries like ours, notably the urgent need for reliable access to development finance.”
2019-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 74 (2019)
“While the answers to those questions may not be readily available, countries like my own have to chart a development path through this changing and volatile world. It is my hope that as multilateralism evolves, and with it this institution, we will arrive at knowing and at doing what must be done.”
2018-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 73 (2018)
“The enormous challenges of our moment in history require a renewed social contract, based on shared responsibility, and the space to achieve that global compact is right here at the United Nations. Let us draw on the inspiration of Nelson Mandela and his incredible ability to forgive and find solutions for the greater human good. There is a Buddhist proverb that says, “To know and not to do is not yet to know”. If the international community claims to know and accept the special circumstances and vulnerabilities of the SIDS, and does nothing to remedy the systems and frameworks that exacerbate our vulnerability, can the international community say that it really knows? Have we truly accepted the evidence?”
2018-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 73 (2018)
“Saint Lucia has recorded two successive years of consistent economic growth. We have increased our tax revenue and are on course to attract record foreign direct investment. We are still competing, having to find new ways to ensure our growth and development, but imagine how much better we could do in building economic and social resilience to further enhance our ability to meet our sustainable development goals and improve the quality of life of our citizens if a fair and just international enabling environment were made available to us. Let us not forget that we come together here as nations united to build institutions, norms and rules that advance the shared interests of all, not only those of a select few.”
2018-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 73 (2018)
“I am also pleased to report that Saint Lucia will deposit the required instrument to ratify the Doha Amendment to the Kyoto Protocol before the start of the twenty-fourth session of the Conference of the Parties to the UNFCCC. This week, Saint Lucia also reaffirmed its commitment to international law by signing the Regional Agreement on Access to Information, Public Participation and Justice in Environmental Matters in Latin America and the Caribbean and the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons. In order to build peaceful, equitable and sustainable societies, SIDS, particularly those that are middle-income countries, must look to a different course of action in order to arrive at a more immediate solution to our development challenges, while we continue to call for changes in the international system.”
2018-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 73 (2018)
“Notwithstanding the myriad challenges that frame our engagement in the international system, Saint Lucia remains committed to the objectives of multilateralism. The adoption of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development was a triumph of multilateral cooperation, but it is the successful implementation of the Agenda, the fulfilment of the promise of its purpose, that will define the true measure of our collective will to transform and develop as a global community. It is within that context that Saint Lucia has committed to presenting its voluntary national review of our progress in implementing the 2030 Agenda at the 2019 high-level political forum on sustainable development.”
2018-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 73 (2018)
“Similarly, we call for an end to the restrictions on the legitimate aspirations of Taiwan to participate as an observer in key international institutions, such as the World Health Organization, the International Civil Aviation Organization and the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC). We demand that as much for us as for them. In our hemisphere, where confrontations and disagreements exist, I reaffirm Saint Lucia’s position that all conflicts must be resolved through diplomatic channels. As we work to reform this institution, we must ensure that no one is left behind. We must find the political will and courage to ensure that the United Nations, as currently evolved, not only acknowledges the challenges of its membership but provides adequate solutions for all.”
2018-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 73 (2018)
“We can no longer operate within a framework of ideologies, policies, institutions and patterns of behaviour that were established at a time long past to deal with circumstances long gone. We must be willing to challenge discrimination and exclusion if we hope to create an equal and just world for all. Every country has a role to play in this global environment. We know that. Saint Lucia joins the other voices calling for an end to the more than half-a-century-old embargo imposed on our neighbour Cuba, and to all restrictions on the rights of the Cuban people, particularly regarding liberty, security and advancement.”
2018-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 73 (2018)
“Multilateralism is under threat. We have heard the cries from leaders this week. The winds of nationalism that threaten to blow us away from our collective endeavours here at the United Nations are gathering strength. But Saint Lucia believes that it is only within a strong, functional multilateral system that the guarantees of world peace and security can be provided. To paraphrase what Secretary-General António Guterres has said, in a world in which all problems are global, there is no way countries can handle issues by themselves. We need global responses. The ongoing reform of the United Nations system is critical. The increasingly chaotic world requires an organization that is responsive and effective and that reflects the political and economic reality of a changing world and of all its Member States.”
2018-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 73 (2018)
“While those pledges were well intended, we have been let down once again. My delegation welcomes the initiative to convene a high-level meeting on the challenges of middle-income countries during this seventy-third session of the General Assembly. Saint Lucia has continued to place our concerns about debt sustainability on the global agenda. We have joined the call for the creation of a highly indebted middle-income-country initiative based not only on the urgent need for debt relief, but also on the need to acknowledge and highlight the negative implications of the challenges that middle-income countries face in accessing concessionary financing — so vital to building resilience in our countries. We fear a business-as-usual approach to such a meeting, but remain hopeful that it will provide substantive outcomes with actionable solutions.”
2018-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 73 (2018)
“I applaud Japan, India and the numerous states within the United States of America that have the capacity to respond effectively to natural disasters. I envy the fact that they have the fiscal and policy space they need to enable them to effectively recover and rebuild, while we, as SIDS, are continually denied that ability. We are aware that Dominica, the British Virgin Islands and Puerto Rico, among others, are still recovering from the storms one year later. Yet little has changed. The Caribbean Community-United Nations High-Level Pledging Conference to support reconstruction efforts in the region following Hurricanes Irma and Maria received pledges of more than $1.3 billion, but there remains a significant gap between the pledges made and the actual amounts that have been disbursed.”
2018-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 73 (2018)
“Early reports indicate damage to our utilities that remain above ground and extensive damage to the agricultural sector. Once again, my heart goes out to our hard-working men and women and the communities that depend on agriculture. But they may rest assured that regardless of the difficulties, we will provide the necessary support to help our people recover as quickly as possible. My thoughts and prayers are also with the Government and the people of Barbados, who have also been affected, as well as Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, which now lies in the path of the storm, and Martinique, which suffered an earthquake this morning. Our resilience as a people and our ability to pick ourselves up should not be used to punish us.”
2018-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 73 (2018)
“We are establishing sports academies complete with nutritionists who will be community-based so that their expertise can be shared. Saint Lucia has worked hard to grow and develop within the context of an international system that acknowledges our existence and needs only theoretically, while any practical and tangible manifestation of those acknowledgements is rarely seen or felt. We have seen the disastrous impact of natural disasters brought on by the changes in our climate. As I speak, my country is suffering from the ravages of Tropical Storm Kirk, which was on a projected course north of my island but changed direction overnight and moved directly over Saint Lucia. This morning, Saint Lucia also suffered an earthquake.”
2018-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 73 (2018)
“We are plagued with cases where individuals delay in seeking early medical assistance owing to the high cost, only to be saddled with a serious diagnosis later, thereby increasing the cost burden to the State and the individual. We have therefore taken steps to address the issue from multiple angles. We are working with partners such as the European Union and the World Bank with the goal of implementing the necessary policies and legislation to give life to a national health-insurance scheme. We are also looking into preventive approaches, such as the imposition of appropriate labelling and a sugar tax, as we grapple with the high prevalence of non-communicable diseases. We are also expanding our after-school programmes, which focus on building healthy lifestyles through physical activity and diet.”
2018-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 73 (2018)
“I want to thank my citizens, in particular, for their continued support and understanding. We will play our part in the adaptation of our economy, and we will adapt to the new normal. The President of the World Bank has acknowledged that “good health is the foundation of a country’s human capital, and no country can afford low-quality or unsafe health care”. The challenge of providing adequate and affordable health care is another area of focus for Saint Lucia. We understand that preventive and affordable health care is critical to the social development of any nation, and more so for a small State with a small population.”
2018-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 73 (2018)
“For example, we have introduced a water tax to assist with the de-silting of our dam, a gas tax to assist with road rehabilitation and slope stabilization, and an airport tax to assist with the development of a new terminal, as well as highway and flood mitigation measures around the airport. Saint Lucia is moving forward with an aggressive agenda to reform our institutions and build a more resilient country. We are making difficult decisions and are committed to increasing the productivity of our Government through the use of e-Government tools. I want to acknowledge and thank Estonia for its assistance in that area. We are building resilience with the support of the United Arab Emirates, which has given us assistance in the form of engineers, and with loans from Taiwan to enable us to rebuild our roads and our airport.”
2018-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 73 (2018)
“Despite the fact that the odds remain stacked against us, Saint Lucia must survive and persist. I have an obligation to the people of my country, and so I must find new and innovative ways, regardless of the difficulties, to keep our economy growing and to ensure and enhance environmental and social protections. I do not have the luxury of waiting for the international system to adjust to the special needs of countries like my own, while natural disasters continue to threaten and erode the gains that we have made. In preparation for the coming hurricane season, Saint Lucia has had to spend three times the amount of money that we did last season. In order to meet those costs, we have had to impose new taxes to facilitate our preparedness.”
2018-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 73 (2018)
“This Hall has echoed with the words of SIDS and middle-income country leaders, who make plain and clear, year after year, the challenges that we face. Yet global policies, programmes and strategies remain unfairly unaccommodating to those very real and true challenges. The world acknowledges our acronyms, but little or nothing else changes. Saint Lucia remains economically vulnerable to de-risking and the loss of correspondent banking relations. We remain excluded from access to concessionary financing. Our reputations are unfairly tarnished by tax-related labels. We continue to struggle under the weight of international frameworks that do not provide an enabling environment for my country to chart an effective sustainable development path or even to be able to take control of our own destiny.”
2018-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 73 (2018)
“I stand before the Assembly today as a leader of a small island developing State (SIDS) that is also a middle-income country. Saint Lucia’s engagement in the international system is framed by acronyms that represent designations and categorizations that have been globally accepted. For example, it has become accepted that SIDS are more vulnerable to natural hazards than other countries. The fact that the resulting damage from natural disasters has a greater overall impact on our economies by virtue of our small size has also become widely accepted. The fact that SIDS that are also middle-income countries face additional challenges because of the assumptions regarding the capabilities of countries carrying that designation has also been acknowledged. We all know those truths. They are, in fact, self- evident.”
2018-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 73 (2018)