YouSaid · the spoken record

Kamla Persad-Bissessar

lines on the record: 58
first: 2013-09-24
most recent: 2014-09-24
sittings or episodes: 2
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 support will come not only through our representation in the various organs of this global institution but also by continuing to adopt policies at the national level geared towards putting people at the centre of all developmental objectives. I say once again: any development agenda which alienates people or places them at the periphery and not the centre will not bring sustainable development and will be doomed to failure. Such failure stands against the commitment we have all made and the purposes we are serving at the Assembly. Our work is cut out — for all of us, together in global partnership, to achieve the goals that we have set ourselves.”
2014-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 69 (2014)
“It is for this reason that, prior to the adoption of resolution 2177 (2014), on Ebola, as Prime Minister of Trinidad and Tobago I wrote to the Secretary-General of CARICOM requesting that a meeting of States members of the Community be convened to discuss and agree on sustainable policy responses at the national and regional levels alike concerning public health issues, including Chikungunya and the Ebola virus. Finally, the Assembly can rest assured of the support of the Government of Trinidad and Tobago in assisting the United Nations family in shaping a transformative post-2015 development agenda.”
2014-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 69 (2014)
“Nevertheless, while we continue to make strides in tackling the incidence of NCDs, we are cognizant of the need to combat the spread of infectious diseases within our region and in different regions, which threaten the survival of people in many nations. Security Council resolution 2177 (2014), which was co-sponsored by Trinidad and Tobago, garnered unanimous support, including that of the Secretary- General, for dealing with the Ebola virus. We congratulate the Secretary-General. Members pledged to take action at the global and regional levels to combat the spread of Ebola to supplement the United Nations Mission for Ebola Emergency Response. Trinidad and Tobago remains committed to playing our part in eradicating infectious diseases undermining the health and well-being of our people.”
2014-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 69 (2014)
“Trinidad and Tobago is satisfied that, among the 17 sustainable development goals adopted by the General Assembly on 10 September, goal 3 ensures healthy lives and promotes well-being for all ages. The health and well-being of our people are critical to ensuring productive lifestyles which are critical to sustainable economic development, growth and achieving a transformative past-2015 development agenda. Health and well-being are one of the 10 thematic areas of development identified by the Government of Trinidad and Tobago. It will be recalled that CARICOM, of which we are a member, was largely responsible for calling the attention of the General Assembly to the need to adopt a resolution to focus attention of the effects of non-communicable diseases (NCDs) as a major contributor to human mortality.”
2014-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 69 (2014)
“It will assist in the full and effective implementation of the Treaty, and contribute to the reduction, if not the elimination, of illegal weapons in the hands of criminals whose actions continue to threaten the sustainable development of our region. The Government of Trinidad and Tobago is committed to providing the necessary resources to host the secretariat, and this has been transmitted to all Members of the United Nations. I call once more on all those States which have not yet announced their support for our candidature to do so and to ensure that the principle of equitable geographic distribution in the location of major global bodies is observed. No country or region, in my respectful view, must continue to have a monopoly in hosting important institutions which are established for the benefit of all.”
2014-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 69 (2014)
“The entry into force of the ATT will require States parties to make important decisions to implement the provisions of the Treaty at the First Conference of States Parties, which is likely to be convened by mid-2015. One of these decisions is on the location of the ATT secretariat. Over a year ago, my country announced its candidature to have the ATT secretariat located in Port of Spain. That bid has been endorsed by all 14 CARICOM States and has so far received the support from a number of States from diverse regions. The hosting of this important body in a region which is disproportionately affected by the illicit trade in small arms and light weapons and its association with other trans-boundary crimes, such as drug trafficking, would be a significant development.”
2014-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 69 (2014)
“The Assembly will agree that terrorism has been undermining, and continues to undermine, the sovereignty, territorial integrity and peace and security of the peoples of the Middle East and further afield. Members of the Assembly will also recall that, in my inaugural address to this body in September 2010 (see A/65/PV.20), I indicated that the time was right for the adoption of a treaty to regulate the international trade in conventional arms. That has now come to be history with the adoption of the Arms Trade Treaty (ATT); after yesterday’s High-level Treaty Event, it now has the requisite number of States parties for its entry into force, which is likely to be on 25 December of this year. We are very happy about that.”
2014-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 69 (2014)
“To that end, we call for the implementation of all relevant Security Council resolutions geared towards the resolution of the conflict and the lifting of the illegal embargo imposed on the Palestinian people since 2005. Likewise, as co-sponsors of Security Council resolution 2178 (2014), on threats to international peace and security caused by terrorists acts, adopted at Wednesday’s summit, we remain optimistic that the resolution may serve as a catalyst for greater international cooperation in the fight against terrorism. We in Trinidad and Tobago have been the victim of terrorists in 1990, when there was an attempted coup against the newly elected Government by terrorists and extremists. Members will agree that this new terrorist phenomenon could be dubbed a terrorism “virus” as it is spreading throughout the global family.”
2014-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 69 (2014)
“At the same time, we note with grave concern the continued failure to find a lasting solution to the decades-old Arab-Israeli conflict, which has caused tremendous loss of life and destruction of property in the Gaza Strip, and has left emotional and psychological scars on those almost 2,000 families who lost loved ones. Trinidad and Tobago remains committed to the negotiation of the two-State solution as the preferred means to bring lasting peace to the region so that the people of Palestine, so long denied their rightful place in the international community, can live in larger freedom with their Israeli brothers and sisters.”
2014-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 69 (2014)
“In addition, they have been left in a state of disenfranchisement that has ensured their suffering and debilitation to this day, and from which only reparatory action can alleviate their suffering. I hold that sustainable development cannot be achieved in an environment where people are denied their basic rights to live free from fear, with daily deprivation of the necessities of life due to the ravages of war and other types of instability. It is for these reasons that Trinidad and Tobago is concerned by the developments in Ukraine and other parts of the globe, which have caused pain and suffering to hundreds of innocent victims. They too must be allowed to live freely.”
2014-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 69 (2014)
“Consistent with this approach, I turn to another matter close to our hearts in the region as we continue to advance the global cause of truth, justice and reconciliation, within the context of reparatory justice for the victims and the descendants of the trans-Atlantic slave trade. As a region we are determined to engage in reparatory dialogue with the former slave-owning European nations in order to address the living legacies of these crimes. This is a critically vital element of the socioeconomic development aspirations of the region as the victims of these crimes and their descendants were left in a state of social, psychological, economic and cultural deprivation.”
2014-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 69 (2014)
“Importantly, those broader measures must foster an enabling global policy environment that is more conducive to the achievement of development objectives and affords greater policy coherence across institutions, including those in the areas of trade, finance, environment and development. Those regional initiatives in support of advancing the sustainable development of the people of CARICOM are being designed and implemented in the context of a broader strategy for mitigating the vulnerability inherent in countries as small and open as ours, In the context of a limited and narrow resource base, the focus is on nurturing and developing our human resources through an emphasis on innovation and entrepreneurship. It is an approach that focuses on the full realization of the human rights to development and a life of dignity.”
2014-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 69 (2014)
“In support of the implementation of those six priorities, CARICOM Heads of State and Government have called for a post-2015 development agenda that will work in tandem with what we are discussing at the sixty-ninth session of the General Assembly and needs to focus on the eradication of poverty as a central pillar, the adoption of a people-centred approach through an intergovernmentally agreed agenda, and an agenda that incorporates broader measures and appropriate approaches and criteria to complement the gross domestic product per capita as a measure of development.”
2014-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 69 (2014)
“That vision is the collective ambition of the States members of CARICOM, agreed in the context of a strategic framework plan for period 2015-2019. That plan will come through the implementation of six integrated strategic priorities, which include building economic, social, environmental and technological resilience through a coordinated foreign policy and research and development innovation.”
2014-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 69 (2014)
“Those elements will be supported by critical enabling actions at the regional and national levels. For us in the context of the Caribbean Community, we have been doing our part as a subregion of small island and low-lying developing States to foster regional integration in support of the sustainable development of all of our peoples. CARICOM Heads of State and Government have agreed on the vision of “a Caribbean community that is integrated, inclusive and resilient; driven by knowledge, excellence, innovation and productivity; a community where every citizen is secure and has the opportunity to realize his or her potential with guaranteed human rights and social justice; and contributes to and shares in, its economic, social and cultural prosperity. A community which can be a unified and competitive force in the global arena”.”
2014-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 69 (2014)
“I believe that every Head of Government and every Head of State would recognize those competing interests in their own nation States. It is therefore essential to put the Green Climate Fund into force early. It is my hope that the partnerships and announcements made at the United Nations Climate Summit 2014 on Tuesday, 23 September, will serve to catalyse more ambitious action on climate change in the near as well as in the long-term and build the momentum necessary for a successful Conference of the Parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, to be held in Lima in December and in Paris in 2015. Those are the elements of the global framework, which should occupy our full attention and commitment over the course of the sixty-ninth session of the General Assembly.”
2014-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 69 (2014)
“That agreement should set the world on track to achieving carbon neutrality by 2070, and by so doing ensure that the global climate will support the sustainable development of present as well as future generations. Our collective action on climate change should take into account the survival of the most vulnerable States in particular, such as our small island developing States, as the front line of increasingly severe impacts of climate change. It should also be firmly rooted in the principle of common but differentiated responsibilities, recognizing that developing countries’ finance needs for mitigation and adaptation to climate change cannot be met exclusively from domestic resources, given the competing demands on public finance.”
2014-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 69 (2014)
“Thirdly, on the point of a revitalized global partnership in support of sustainable development, I wish to strongly reiterate the support of Trinidad and Tobago for an end to the economic embargo against Cuba. The perpetuation of those measures against a developing country undermines our collective aspirations for a post-2015 development agenda in which no one should be left behind. Fourthly, our priority should be for us to address the mitigation gap for achieving the target of below 2 or 1.5˚C target for limiting the increase in global greenhouse gas emissions and achieving an ambitious, legally binding agreement on climate change in 2015 to be applied from 2020.”
2014-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 69 (2014)
“First, it must include reform in the international financial institutions, targeting on systemic failures and focusing on building resilience that can sustain growth in open and vulnerable economies. Secondly, it must include the successful completion of the Doha Round of trade negotiations, which will ensure that the rules of trade and commerce do not continue to operate so as to slow, impede or negate development gains and aspirations in our very small and vulnerable economies. I note that the third International Conference on Financing for Development is scheduled to take place in July 2015. That will be critically important to ensuring that a meaningful and effective global partnership for development will become a reality for the implementation of the post- 2015 development agenda.”
2014-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 69 (2014)
“The 8 August 2014 draft report of the Intergovernmental Committee of Experts on Sustainable Development Financing has highlighted that current financing and investment patterns will not deliver sustainable development. In fact, it goes on to say that “[w]hile design and implementation of policies will be on the national level, achieving sustainable development will require international support and cooperation”. Those are the core prerequisites for a global partnership in support of sustainable development. However, in order make such a partnership meaningful, it is my respectful view that it must also include the following four particular elements.”
2014-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 69 (2014)
“We look forward to the Secretary-General’s synthesized report, which should place all of those elements in the context of a fully integrated post-2015 development agenda and give due consideration to the needs of countries in special situations, including small island developing States, least developed countries, landlocked developing countries and Africa. As a specialized conference mandated in “The future we want”, the outcome document (A/CONF.223/3, annex) of the recently concluded Third International Conference on Small Island Developing States — the Small Island Developing States Accelerated Modalities of Action — should also be appropriately addressed in the upcoming Secretary-General’s report. The third priority is for us to revitalize the global partnership in support of sustainable development.”
2014-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 69 (2014)
“Some of those issues, as the Assembly will recall, include non-communicable diseases, the increasing urgency to address climate change, and the imperative of addressing the needs of marginalized groups, including women, youth, children and persons living with disabilities. Those are the building blocks of the future we want to form the basis of the post-2015 development agenda. Together with the institutional support of the high-level political forum on sustainable development, the reformed Economic and Social Council and the United Nations Environmental Assembly, we have a solid foundation for fashioning a global partnership in support of poverty eradication through sustainable development.”
2014-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 69 (2014)
“We have, for example, the report of the Secretary-General’s High-level Panel on Global Sustainability (A/66/700); the sustainable development goals; the report of the Intergovernmental Committee of Experts on Sustainable Development Financing; the outcomes of the structured dialogues on a technology facilitation mechanism (see resolution 68/310), and the 10-year framework of programmes on sustainable consumption and production. “The future we want” also outlines some key emerging challenges that we need to urgently address in the context of the post-2015 development agenda.”
2014-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 69 (2014)
“Some of those gaps are in important areas such as access to affordable essential medicines, and in long- term debt sustainability, particularly for small States, which is an essential element of the global partnership for sustainable development. Implementation will be a key measure of our commitment to the aspirations for the post-2015 development agenda. The second priority is operationalizing “The future we want” (resolution 66/288, annex). In the Rio+20 Conference in 2012, we agreed on many of the foundation elements for the post-2015 development agenda. Coming out of that, we now have several key documents to further inform and guide us on the way forward.”
2014-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 69 (2014)
“It is my respectful view that in delivering on and implementing a transformative post-2015 development agenda we must and should prioritize key issues for this session of the General Assembly. I have identified four such priorities. The first, I believe, is for us to renew our commitment to achieving the MDGs. Even in the one year we have left, with more dedicated effort we can make further advances on our original objectives. As the MDG Gap Task Force Report, 2014: The State of the Global Partnership for Development highlights, although progress has been made in some areas, the gains must be accelerated and in some areas a renewed effort is needed to close the glaring gaps that still exist.”
2014-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 69 (2014)
“Trinidad and Tobago, as part of the CARICOM region and the global community, welcomes the outcomes of the various milestones in the process we have achieved to date. As a member of CARICOM, we have been an active participant in the Open Working Group on the Sustainable Development Goals. We have therefore been witness to the sweeping and unprecedented global participation and interest in that process and its outcome. As a collective effort, the crafting of the sustainable development goals undoubtedly captured a spirit of openness, inclusiveness and partnership, all of which underpin this new phase of policy design and implementation. Along with the report of the Intergovernmental Committee of Experts on Sustainable Development Financing (A/69/315), the 17 goals adopted in July form a solid foundation.”
2014-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 69 (2014)
“However, I am delighted to say that we have surpassed many of our own targets, as well as some of the MDGs. So in Trinidad and Tobago we now have universal free primary- and secondary-school education, and, as I said, we have surpassed our target of 60 per cent in the tertiary sector and have 65 per cent participation. That too is free. I am also pleased to underscore that my country is well poised to achieve 70 per cent of the 43 targets across the eight goals that are considered relevant to the national context. That percentage consists of 42 per cent of targets that have already been met and 28 per cent that are likely to be met by 2015. So we say that with good success, and lessons learned, we know what we still have to work on. I now turn to a short discussion of the Caribbean Community (CARICOM).”
2014-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 69 (2014)
“The current model was built on what we agreed to at the Millennium Summit, but in some ways it has fallen short of the expectations of many developing countries. However, the Government and people of Trinidad and Tobago have been able to achieve this objective because it formed an integral part of our 2011 medium- term policy framework, through which we incorporated and aligned the MDGs and their targets with Trinidad and Tobago’s medium-term national priorities. Consequently, some of the goals, targets and indicators were modified in the light of Trinidad and Tobago’s unique development circumstances and its achievement of several of the MDGs. That approach resulted in, for example, modified targets for education, including achieving universal early-childhood education and a 60 per cent participation rate in tertiary education.”
2014-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 69 (2014)
“That chapter would see the United Nations positioned as a vehicle for assisting developing countries, especially the most vulnerable, in their efforts to reduce poverty and hunger, and for providing an environment that would enable States to develop their economies and thus help their people rise out of persistent poverty. Measures must now be put in place to spur a proactive rather than reactive approach to the issue of development in this transformative post-2015 agenda. With the experience of the challenges and lessons encountered in the past 14 years in the implementation of the MDGs, we are now at a critical juncture in putting into operation the elements we agreed to at the 2012 United Nations Conference on Sustainable Development (Rio+20) so that they will constitute the future we want.”
2014-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 69 (2014)
“I am confident, as I am sure we all are, that he will administer and lead with distinction. Today it is a privilege for me to share with the Assembly the perspectives of the Government of Trinidad and Tobago on our priorities for delivering on and implementing a transformative post-2015 development agenda, according to the President’s aptly selected theme. Last year we considered how we would set the stage for the process to be launched during this sixty-ninth session on finalizing the post- 2015 development agenda. I noted then that when we adopted the Millennium Declaration (resolution 55/2) and introduced the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), a new chapter opened for the United Nations (see A/68/PV.10).”
2014-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 69 (2014)
“I would like to thank and congratulate Mr. John Ashe of Antigua and Barbuda, who during his time as President laid the foundation and established the conditions for formulating a new development agenda geared to influencing the sustainable development of the members of the General Assembly. I would also like to congratulate the new President on his election to the presidency of the Assembly at its sixty-ninth session. His tenure comes at a time when the global family is facing very serious threats from the Ebola virus and from what I call the terrorist virus, threats that demand that we all marshal our human, financial and other resources in a global partnership aimed at combating these modern plagues. The President’s tenure also comes as we are about to commence the second phase of our formulation of the post-2015 development agenda.”
2014-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 69 (2014)
“We submit that if there is prima facie evidence that individuals committed war crimes during this protracted conflict that fall within the jurisdiction of the International Criminal Court, steps should be taken to bring them to justice. As we move forward with the work of the Open Working Group on Sustainable Development Goals, of which Trinidad and Tobago is a member, we have already seen certain areas in which consensus is emerging. I wish to assure the Assembly that the Government of Trinidad and Tobago will continue to be actively engaged in advancing the President’s efforts to utilize the General Assembly as a primary vehicle for engaging in dialogue on the formulation of the post- 2015 development agenda.”
2013-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 68 (2013)
“Ravindra Ramrattan, a former President’s gold medalist for academic excellence in Trinidad and Tobago, was killed last Saturday in the terrorist attack on the Westgate mall in Nairobi. He no doubt fell victim to illegal guns and other weapons in the hands of murderous terrorists. His death is merely one more example of the consequences of illicit cross-border flows of arms. On the Syrian crisis, it must not be forgotten that good governance, respect for human rights and the rule of law at the national and international levels are essential for the achievement of sustainable development. In that context, we wish to underscore our grave concern about the escalating humanitarian crisis in Syria, and repeat our call for the situation to be resolved through dialogue and not the use of any measures that would violate international law.”
2013-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 68 (2013)
“Indeed, national and personal security is one of the seven pillars of our own national sustainable development strategy. At the international level, we are stalwart supporters of the Arms Trade Treaty, agreed to in March of this year and which we have already signed. Today we deposited our instrument of ratification. In the light of our experiences and challenges in connection the impact of crime, violence and the illicit trade in small arms and light weapons on our development efforts, we would encourage all States which have not yet done so to sign and ratify the Arms Trade Treaty, so that it may come into force at the earliest opportunity. Indeed, I want to note with sadness an incident that occurred only recently. One of our brilliant young citizens, Mr.”
2013-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 68 (2013)
“At the Thirty-Fourth Regular Meeting of the Conference of Heads of Government of CARICOM, held in Port of Spain in July this year, consideration was given to the issue of reparations for Caribbean slavery and native genocide. Heads of Government unanimously agreed to support action on this issue. CARICOM States therefore urge those Member States that have not yet done so to contribute to the United Nations trust fund to ensure the erection of a permanent memorial in honour of the victims of slavery and the transatlantic slave trade in a place of prominence at United Nations Headquarters. We were very heartened when the winning design for the memorial was unveiled Monday right here at the United Nations. We recognize that peace, security and stability provide an enabling environment for sustainable development.”
2013-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 68 (2013)
“The Assembly may recall that during the general debate in 2011, both The Honourable Winston Baldwin Spencer, Prime Minister and Foreign Minister of Antigua and Barbuda, and The Honourable Ralph Gonsalves, Prime Minister of Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, put forward the case for reparations for the injustices suffered by African slaves and their descendants, stating that segregation and violence against people of African descent in the region had impaired their capacity for advancement as peoples and nations (see A/66/PV.22). They posited that former slave-owning States should begin a reconciliation process by formally acknowledging the cruelties committed over the 400 years of the African slave trade.”
2013-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 68 (2013)
“I am of the view that both the Third SIDS Conference and the International Year of SIDS come at an opportune time and will ensure not only the full implementation of the Barbados Programme of Action and its Mauritius Strategy for the sustainable development of SIDS but also that the concerns of SIDS are well articulated and adequately taken into account in the development of the post-2015 development agenda.”
2013-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 68 (2013)
“CARICOM States therefore appeal to the international community to support our call for the immediate review of the very narrow criteria used by multilateral financial institutions and even some development partners, which graduate small highly indebted middle-income countries away from access to concessional resources; and for an early review of the economic and financial situation of graduated small highly indebted middle-income countries with a view to developing programmes for the orderly resolution of their debt overhang, without compromising the future prospects of those States. We look forward to our participation in the Third International Conference on Small island Developing States, to be held in Samoa in September 2014, and to the observance of the International Year of Small Island Developing States, also in 2014.”
2013-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 68 (2013)
“In the aftermath of the global financial and economic crisis, CARICOM States continue to experience considerable difficulty in accessing reasonably priced development finance, as several of those States have been categorized at middle-income status and graduated away from access to concessional resources from the multilateral financial institutions. I would therefore respectfully say that it must be acknowledged that the debt overhang did not result from profligate spending by CARICOM Governments; instead, it resulted from the makeup of our countries, the geography and history of our countries; our proneness to natural catastrophes; and our very small physical size, which does not lessen the per capita cost of development expenditures for the necessary economic infrastructure and the necessary social development projects.”
2013-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 68 (2013)
“The economic vulnerability and ability of the States members of CARICOM to build resilience are exacerbated by a debilitating debt overhang, which continues to bedevil the region’s growth and development prospects. Similarly, CARICOM takes the view that the embargo applied to Cuba constitutes a drag on the sustainable development prospects of that country and, as such, should be lifted sooner rather than later. CARICOM’s debt stock currently stands at approximately $19 billion, while the debt-to-GDP ratio ranges from 60 to 144 per cent for many States. Many CARICOM States have been recording lower-than- satisfactory growth rates in comparison with other developing countries in Latin America and the world in general.”
2013-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 68 (2013)
“Per capita income is, at best, an arithmetic ratio that does not address levels of poverty, distribution of income, levels of indebtedness, vulnerability and the capacity to self-generate sustainable economic and social development. If one were to add to that the impact of natural disasters and the effects of sea-level rise and climate change, the fallacy of the middle-income categorization would be wiped out in an instant. This issue must be considered within the context of SIDS and the post-2015 development agenda. Indeed, in the preparations for our participation in that upcoming discourse, the recognition of the vulnerabilities of small island developing States is one of the guidelines that CARICOM will apply when considering its commitments to the overall agenda.”
2013-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 68 (2013)
“In that regard, as Chair of the Conference of Heads of Government of the Caribbean Community, I wish to bring to the attention of this body a matter of significant concern to the States members of CARICOM: the situation of small, highly indebted middle-income countries. Almost as if we were being penalized for our relative success in getting ourselves out of the morass of poverty, the States members of CARICOM that are categorized as middle-income countries have been graduated out of the economic space where they were previously afforded access to concessional financing. The use of per capita income to determine a country’s level of development and its need for grant and concessional financing does not provide a true picture.”
2013-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 68 (2013)
“Trinidad and Tobago will continue to do its part in assisting the community of nations to craft a post-2015 development agenda to integrate the social, economic and environmental dimensions of sustainability. We join other small island developing States (SIDS) in outlining our many development successes, achieved through SIDS leadership, as well as with the assistance of the international community. In addition, and in keeping with the recognition of SIDS as a special case for sustainable development as a result of our unique characteristics, challenges and vulnerabilities, we must also highlight the fact that SIDS have made significantly less progress in the area of development than other vulnerable groups of countries. In some cases, SIDS are on the front lines of experiencing a reversal of many of the gains that have been achieved.”
2013-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 68 (2013)
“An examination of our national policy will show that in Trinidad and Tobago, we have also observed the importance of an integrated approach to not just development, but development that is sustainable, that integrates the social, economic and environment pillars and which is similar to the plan outlined by President Ashe, to set the stage for the post-2015 development agenda. My Government has implemented, with varying measures of success, seven pillars that are intended to propel our country’s development in order to achieve prosperity for all. I will quickly itemize them: people-centred development, poverty eradication and social justice, national and personal security, information and communications technology, a more diversified, knowledge-intensive economy, good governance, and foreign policy.”
2013-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 68 (2013)
“We also find merit in the comments of the High-level Panel of Eminent Persons on the Post-2015 Development Agenda, appointed by the Secretary-General, which indicated that the targets to be agreed for the post-2015 development agenda should be monitored closely and “the indicators that track them should be disaggregated to ensure no one is left behind and targets should only be considered ‘achieved’ if they are met for all relevant income and social groups”. The Government of Trinidad and Tobago recognizes the importance of having people at the centre of our development goals. Consequently, upon our election to office in 2010, we embarked on a national development policy which is built on the premise of prosperity for all.”
2013-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 68 (2013)
“In my view, it is imperative that those high-level meetings underscore that we must go beyond business as usual. There must a coordinated effort to use those events to formulate a development agenda that builds on and further accelerates the reduction of poverty levels, which, since the launch of the MDGs, has already been the fastest reduction in history. The discourse must also be people-centred or, as some commentators have postulated, it must be based on our common humanity.”
2013-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 68 (2013)
“In our view, the topics he has selected to guide the three thematic debates scheduled for this session of the Assembly are well chosen, namely, the role of partnerships, how stable and peaceful societies can contribute to development, and the way water, sanitation and sustainable energy can contribute to the post-2015 development agenda. The areas to be tackled at those events demonstrate that the President has a clear vision of the elements needed to give effect to the outcome of the Rio+20 Conference, which embodies the hopes and dreams of the most vulnerable members of the international community. That grouping called for the new development agenda to embrace the spirit of the Millennium Declaration and to maintain the best of the MDGs, but also to go beyond them.”
2013-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 68 (2013)
“In keeping with that renewed commitment, we applaud the launch of the High-Level Political Forum on Sustainable Development to provide an appropriate level of involvement and high-level political oversight for the implementation of our collective sustainable development aspirations. Trinidad and Tobago therefore also supports the President’s announcement to commence in a robust manner, during the current session of the General Assembly, deliberations aimed at arriving at a development agenda for the post-2015 period. We support his plans to convene high-level events aimed at addressing women, youth and civil society; human rights and the rule of law; South-South cooperation; and information and communication technology development.”
2013-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 68 (2013)
“Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon remarked that “The [Rio+20] outcome document provides a firm foundation for social, economic and environmental well-being. It is now our responsibility to build on it. Now the work begins.” Trinidad and Tobago and many developing countries also shared the sentiments of Her Excellency Ms. Dilma Rousseff, who said: “I am convinced that this Conference will have the effect of bringing about sweeping change.” Therefore, as we begin to set the stage for the post-2015 development agenda, Trinidad and Tobago respectfully submits that the General Assembly must provide the platform for achieving that sweeping change, so as to ensure that we realize the objective of integrating sustainable development at all levels for a better world for all of humankind.”
2013-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 68 (2013)
“Today we say we will continue to support the emphasis placed on poverty eradication as the greatest global challenge facing the world today and an indispensable requirement for the achievement of sustainable development. We are also committed to the work already under way on the establishment of the following sustainable development goals: first, the development of the green economy as a tool for achieving sustainable development; secondly, the development of measures that go beyond gross domestic product in assessing development; thirdly, the adoption of a framework for tackling sustainable consumption and production; and, fourthly, a focus on gender equality and the need for greater engagement by civil society in national efforts for sustainable development.”
2013-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 68 (2013)