YouSaid · the spoken record

Tuilaepa Sailele Malielegaoi

lines on the record: 262
first: 1999-09-24
most recent: 2020-09-24
sittings or episodes: 15
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

“Mr President While we commit to advance unity for the common good and common prosperity, our ability to do so lies in our uniqueness. The United Nations has become the foremost forum to address issues that transcend national boundaries. The United Nations is placed to understand our unique cultures, respect our different beliefs and embrace our differences as we unite to build the future we want in genuine and durable partnership. God Bless our UN family. Soifua”
2020-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 75 (2020)
“Samoa remains convinced that an expanded Security Council that mirrors present day realities is essential for multilateralism and for the Council’s integrity and credibility. Increases in both the permanent and non-permanent categories should be part and parcel of the reform package, and it is time to move to text based negotiations. As a large ocean state and a SIDS, Samoa needs a United Nations that will produce a legally binding Instrument on the Conservation and Sustainable Use of Marine Biological Diversity of Areas Beyond National Jurisdiction (BBNJ). A UN that will continue to recognise the unique vulnerabilities of SIDS to the impacts of climate change by ensuring the effective implementation of the SAMOA Pathway.”
2020-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 75 (2020)
“We look forward to the positive impact of the UN Development System reform that promises improved UN presence in the Pacific region with the establishment of a Multi-country Office for the Northern Pacific states. We hope for an enhanced and effective UN engagement through the reinvigorated Resident Coordinator system; and expect a more integrated and focused delivery on the ground, informed by the priority needs of the member states. Samoa acknowledges the valuable contribution of the UN Multi-country office in Samoa and its dedicated staff who continue to collaborate with us and the Pacific, to better the lives and improve livelihoods options of our people and nations. We are concerned however with the lack of progress in the reform of the Security Council.”
2020-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 75 (2020)
“We also follow closely the work to reform the UN Human Rights Treaty body system. The rule of law and the vital protection it offers to all states, especially to the weak and small, needs to be respected and we commit to always upholding it. We are also committed to advancing gender equality and the empowerment of all women and girls, as stipulated in the Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action. Samoa will continue to look at initiatives such as the partnership with the EU and UN on the “Spotlight initiative” to support efforts to eliminate all forms of violence against women and girls. Mr President, Let me conclude with a reflection on the UN we need. We have witnessed some positive outcomes in the reforms undertaken so far, reassuring us that the UN can respond effectively to the needs of its diverse membership.”
2020-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 75 (2020)
“We commit to a human rights approach to sustainable development. We continue to invest in robust systems and processes that will improve the effective and inclusive implementation of our human rights obligations. This ensures linkages to our core sustainable development and national security priorities. This year, Samoa hosted the 84th Session of the UN Committee on the Rights of the Child, a historic first. This milestone event is consistent with Samoa’s ongoing efforts to improve and strengthen the engagement between treaty parties and the treaty bodies. It also ensured the effective and active participation and engagement of the Pacific people, especially the children, on the Convention and the work of the Committee. Samoa encourages other treaty bodies to imitate CRC’s example.”
2020-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 75 (2020)
“I also represented Samoa at the SDG Moment Event last week. We applaud this initiative which takes forward our decisions from the 2019 SDG Summit and puts us World Leaders in the driver’s seat as we begin the Decade of Action, to deliver the SDGs by 2030. Samoa’s long-term vision for an improved quality of life for all mirrors that of the UN 2030 Agenda, which is a critical roadmap to uphold the three pillars of the UN. Achieving the SDGs will take us closer to the world envisaged by the founders of this organisation 75 years ago, and the future we wanted when we joined. Mr. President, The socio-economic wellbeing of our people remains at the core of Samoa’s development initiatives. The promotion, respect of, protection and fulfilment of all human rights and fundamental freedoms, is indispensable to ensuring that no one is left behind.”
2020-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 75 (2020)
“Through our membership to disarmament and non-proliferation conventions, we continue to urge for a world without weapons of mass destruction, including the total elimination of nuclear weapons. Our contribution to peaceful societies worldwide is through our police officers serving in UN Peacekeeping missions in countries that require such assistance. We welcome the recent UAE- Israeli ‘Abraham Accord’ and new developments to secure a peaceful settlement in the Middle East that is durable and fair. We also commend the “Secretary-General’s Appeal for Global Ceasefire” during the pandemic to end the plague of wars and instead fight the disease that is ravaging our world. Mr President Samoa presented its Second Voluntary National review on the implementation of the Sustainable Development Goals to the High-Level Political Forum this year.”
2020-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 75 (2020)
“While it is small island states like Samoa that are facing the brunt of the impacts of climate change, no country is immune to the reaches of climate change. Mr. President, We want a future with peaceful societies, free from conflict and nuclear weapons. The UN has made notable achievements in its peace and security agenda, but much work still needs to be done. COVID-19 is contributing to increased volatility and instability in some situations. Growing inequality, poverty, armed conflicts, terrorism and insecurity still exist. People fleeing their homes in search of refuge and safety are becoming the new normal. And the threat of use of nuclear weapons is still present. We condemn international terrorism unreservedly.”
2020-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 75 (2020)
“Critical meetings such as UNFCCC COP26, CBD COP15 and the 2020 UN Ocean Conference have been postponed. This however should not equate to a deferment of ambitious actions. We need to uphold the Paris Agreement commitments and maintain the needed momentum on ambitious climate action. The United Nations remains the best hope to provide the political will and the necessary commitment to avoid what is an existential threat for many small states of this UN family. We must mobilise all leaders from governments, NGOs, private sector and empower our youth and rural communities to fight the ongoing threat of climate change and unite against environmental degradation. The 75th Anniversary of the UN should be a point of hope for generations to come rather than an end due to a legacy of selfishness, denial and ignorance.”
2020-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 75 (2020)
“This would pose an existential threat for most of our islands. While the pandemic introduced temporary lockdowns; severe cyclones continue to rampage, coastlines whittle away, sea level rises higher, and our oceans yield to the gnawing acidification. While border closures were observed, climate change knows no restrictions and respects no boundaries. Tsunamis, tornadoes, hurricanes, earthquakes, flooding, deadly bush fires, heat waves and droughts continue to take and devastate countless lives. The heightened occurrence of catastrophic climatic-related disasters all over the world attest to why we must act with absolute urgency even in the wake of the pandemic. Climate procrastination must end now before the window closes on any chance for us to stabilise the Earth’s climate.”
2020-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 75 (2020)
“When our world is teetering over the brink of uncertainties, we need to be ‘Nations United as One’. Global solidarity and a unified response is our best armour against the pandemic and the socio-economic impacts our people are facing. We acknowledge the ongoing support of the UN and all our development partners who continue to assist our efforts to mitigate the impacts of the pandemic. We are hopeful for the successful development of a vaccine and its equal and even distribution. Let us all spread kindness faster than the virus, and not hate, fear and misinformation. Mr. President, What is a future we want, and the UN we need? As Pacific SIDS, our future is already uncertain and compromised if the world continues with the current trajectory of emissions causing more than 3 degrees of global warming.”
2020-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 75 (2020)
“The uncertainties we are facing have tested the mettle of our nations and governments like never before. Samoa extends its sincere condolences to our UN family for the lives lost due to the pandemic and pays tribute to the selfless service of all the frontline workers risking their lives to bring COVID-19 under control. While Samoa remain COVID-free, we have not been spared the serious and life changing impacts on our nation, and people, who are still recovering from the devastation of the December 2019 measles outbreak that claimed more than 80 young lives. While the experience tested our resolve as a nation, it also strengthened our unity and resilience. Importantly, it reaffirmed our trust in investing in genuine partnerships. The COVID-19 pandemic is a timely reminder yet again of our interconnectedness.”
2020-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 75 (2020)
“This would set the scene for partnerships bearing promise for the future. The theme for this year’s general debate is apt and timely. We need to reaffirm our commitment to multilateralism as we face challenges such as the COVID 19 pandemic, so we can shape “the future we want, the United Nations we need”. As a Pacific SIDS, Samoa has continued to participate and contribute actively to the global effort to address challenges affecting the development, security and human rights pillars of the United Nations. Mr. President, We are living in trying unparalleled times. Never before as Leaders were we required to make hard decisions to close our borders and to provide near absolute guarantee to our people against the arrival of the COVID-19 pandemic or to limit community transmission of the virus.”
2020-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 75 (2020)
“Upon attaining independence in January 1962, we joined the UN almost 15 years later when we felt confident and prepared to assume our role as a global citizen and a dependable member of the United Nations. Our membership was firmly rooted in our belief in the sovereign equality of all member states, and grounded in the promise of hope and justice the United Nations offers, irrespective of economic, political or military strength. We are committed to multilateralism with the United Nations representing the last bastion against the challenges and uncertainties that beset our world: from pandemics to economic crises, climate change to systemic discrimination, endemic poverty to dangerous threats to peace and security. We need a balance of power among UN members as well as responsibilities and representation for all people.”
2020-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 75 (2020)
“Mr. President, Distinguished delegates, Ladies and Gentlemen. Our General Assembly session this year is historically unique. We are commemorating the 75th Anniversary of the United Nations, and our General Assembly is meeting virtually for the first time ever. But unprecedented times call for innovative solutions so that as Leaders we remain connected and united in our fight against the COVID-19 pandemic and our desire for a secure and peaceful world. Mr. President, Celebrating this UN milestone allows Samoa to reflect on its journey with the United Nations. The United Nations almost 60 years ago, ably facilitated our peoples’ aspirations to be a sovereign state founded on democratic principles, Christian beliefs and our cultural values.”
2020-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 75 (2020)
“While there is still more to be done, I am confident that, in the spirit of genuine and durable partnerships, exciting developments are taking place to further assist SIDS in the realization of the Sustainable Development Goals, as encapsulated in the SAMOA Pathway.”
2019-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 74 (2019)
“We are endeavouring to meet our commitment to ratifying all nine core human rights conventions before our next Universal Periodic Review and will continue to advocate for the importance of our Samoan culture and the role of the churches in promoting human rights for all in Samoa. Let me conclude by again referring to the SAMOA Pathway, with which I started my address. I am very pleased that five years since its adoption through resolution 69/15, there has been positive progress and concrete developments in terms of not only the United Nations system response to SIDS issues but also the dedicated attention of the international community to SIDS priorities.”
2019-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 74 (2019)
“The Pacific highlighted the importance of heeding the call of the Pacific Islands Forum leaders to ensure that traditional and cultural norms be acknowledged and considered as an underpinning imperative of all security initiatives under the regional security plan. In addition, we hosted the second Pacific Islands round table on international humanitarian law, which looked at ways to promote the principles of the Geneva Conventions, as well as encouraging the region to ratify key weapons treaties, such as the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons and the Arms Trade Treaty. This year we ratified the Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment, bringing to six the number of core human rights conventions to which we are a State party.”
2019-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 74 (2019)
“We continue to look to the United Nations to bring Member States together to be part of the solution to make it an agent of change and an assurance of hope during these challenging times. All contributions matter and are very important. We take pride in our police peacekeepers deployed to the Sudan and South Sudan, including our active engagement in the disarmament agenda. We continue to advocate for respect for the rule of law and we recently co-hosted the women, peace and security summit for the Pacific. That was to support the promotion and implementation of Security Council resolution 1325 (2000), on the United Nations women and peace and security agenda.”
2019-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 74 (2019)
“Building on synergies and addressing gaps to ensure better prioritization will definitely help to galvanize support for implementing the SDGs, thereby addressing poverty eradication, supporting quality education, mobilizing climate action and leading to more effective inclusion. In addition to the climate crisis, we see continued conflicts, rising terrorism, disrupted peace processes, mass displacements, trade wars and growing tensions worldwide. Even our usually peaceful Pacific region was not spared from the reaches of terrorism, as witnessed in the Christchurch terrorist attacks. No country can win the war against terrorism on its own and only by pooling our resources and working collaboratively do we stand a chance of defeating that senseless menace.”
2019-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 74 (2019)
“If successful, it will be an important development in meeting our international obligations and in utilizing our limited resources efficiently. We believe in embracing inclusiveness and ensuring citizens’ rights to development, including through the proper engagement of the key vulnerable groups, such as women, girls, children, the elderly and persons with disabilities. Transparency and accountability are also crucial to the implementation process. In Samoa, our audit office has therefore recently prepared a performance audit of the preparedness for the implementation of the Sustainable Development Goals for our country.”
2019-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 74 (2019)
“As the Secretary-General rightly put it during his opening statement this week, every measure to uphold human rights helps to deliver sustainable development and peace (see A/74/PV.3). The sector-wide approach that Samoa has adopted in implementing the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) allows us to enforce the three pillars of sustainable development. That will be an important part of our preparations for our second voluntary national review in 2020 given our commitment to adopting a human rights approach to the implementation of the SDGs. Aligning the reporting and implementation of the Sustainable Development Goals and the SAMOA Pathway with the Universal Periodic Review under the Human Rights Council and the other human rights conventions will be a challenge. However, this will not be insurmountable.”
2019-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 74 (2019)
“We hope that the Resident Coordinator reform will provide a harmonized, effective and efficient response to the priority needs of Member States. Close collaboration with the Pacific regional organizations is critical. I wish to re-emphasize the importance of the multi-country office based in Samoa given our firm commitment to the partnership with the United Nations and our confidence in what we can also contribute to the United Nations agenda for Samoa’s people, as well as for the Pacific, SIDS and the United Nations family. Development, security and human rights are mutually reinforcing pillars of the United Nations. Equal progress on all three fronts should be the norm, not the exception.”
2019-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 74 (2019)
“We welcome the recommendation for the establishment of a United Nations multi-country office in the northern Pacific. That is an important delivery of the promise for better engagement, presence and United Nations system support for the Pacific region. It is also a tangible contribution to some of the asks of the SAMOA Pathway. On the United Nations development system reform, we welcome the support extended to the United Nations Resident Coordinators in their new role, with real additional human resources on the ground to implement other aspects of the reform. The United Nations should deliver as one, both in rhetoric and in practice, to avoid duplication of responsibilities and a clear definition of roles against diminishing resources.”
2019-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 74 (2019)
“It fills a critical financing gap in the Pacific, as the Facility focuses on small-scale and low-quantum disaster-risk preparedness projects that are not widely supported or financed by major development partners, including multilateral development banks. It also complements the existing priorities and efforts of national Governments and development partners in building the resilience of Pacific countries and communities. There is room for support from the international community. Furthermore, during this week we have heard of the importance of deepening dialogue to find solutions to the challenges of the practice of de-risking, considered to be an existential threat to small island States by putting them at risk of losing access to the global financial system and by enhancing vulnerability.”
2019-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 74 (2019)
“The visit allowed him to see and experience first-hand the scale of the challenges facing Pacific small island countries, and we commend his determination to share the messages of the Pacific peoples through the recently concluded Climate Action Summit. The Secretariat and agencies of the United Nations are key partners for the blue Pacific continent in addressing some of our regional priorities, such as climate change, resilience, oceans, fisheries, gender equality, human rights, SIDS and the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. The Pacific Resilience Facility is a game-changing regional initiative for the blue Pacific and its peoples. Its key purpose is to provide predictable, sustainable, accessible and accountable grant funding for disaster-risk preparedness to ensure that Pacific communities are safe and resilient.”
2019-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 74 (2019)
“Unity for the common good is needed now more than ever so that nations and peoples can live in peace and advance towards a common prosperity. Only through cooperation and multilateral joint effort can we hope to guarantee human rights, achieve peace and security and effectively pursue sustainable development. The United Nations remains uniquely suited to the pursuit and coordination of global initiatives to attain those objectives, including efforts for poverty eradication, quality education, climate action and inclusion, as highlighted in the theme of this year’s session. The Secretary-General’s visit to the Pacific this year was timely, given his leadership in calling for ambitious and transformational climate action.”
2019-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 74 (2019)
“Their voices ring of boldness, passion and honesty. Their advocacy is untainted by ulterior motives or hidden agendas. They are determined to do the heavy lifting and prepared to go the extra mile in order to ensure that we do not irreversibly ruin the future of the planet that rightly belongs to them. They deserve nothing less. Samoa is thankful to the United Nations for the vital role it has played during our journey as a mandated territory and independent State. As a small island State with no defence force and an unarmed police service, our membership of the United Nations is grounded on the promise of peace, the rule of law, equality and justice, which the United Nations offers to all of its States Members. The dynamics of the new global agenda continue to test the resolve of our Organization.”
2019-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 74 (2019)
“It should not be the science alone that recommends what we should do, but also our conscience and the political will to follow through. The United Nations remains our last and best hope to provide the political will and commitment necessary to turn the tide against climate change. Nations in leadership roles are called to account in doing the right thing for our global family. We want leaders who view the world as a single constituency in which everyone must work together within the limits of their capacity and capability to be part of the total solution. Leadership is calling. True leaders should lead from the front, all the time. The cooperation of every country will be necessary if we are to win the climate change battle. We must be innovative and listen to the voices of our young people.”
2019-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 74 (2019)
“We need to shift the focus in the climate change relationship from a donor-victim to a partnership approach. Owing to the universality of climate change, partnerships should provide the impetus to finding solutions in a decisive manner. Apportioning blame for past wrongs will not restore our environment to its early, pristine state. Our focus should always be on today and tomorrow, and not on yesterday and what should have been. Entrenched positions that are devoid of today’s realities and in pursuit of unrelated agendas do not have a role in our collective effort. No one should stay detached from and unconcerned by our common plight. We must work together with a sense of urgency and commitment in order to address climate change now.”
2019-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 74 (2019)
“The world has witnessed epic occurrences of horrific natural disasters in recent times, on a scale unprecedented in the 74-year history of our Organization. Tsunamis, tornadoes, hurricanes, earthquakes, flooding, bush fires and droughts have resulted in the loss of countless lives and untold suffering, setting back the development of some countries by years. Climate change will impact all of us sooner or later. Climate change is a global problem requiring a decisive response from the world community. It should unite rather than divide us. The challenges posed by and solutions to climate change are already common knowledge, yet we have failed to deliver the ambitious global actions that are necessary to address the root causes of climate change through compromise. We must accept basic climate logic.”
2019-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 74 (2019)
“Climate change is here. It is having an impact on us with far greater frequency and severity. It is a security risk of far greater proportions than many people are willing to admit. Sadly, it could lead to the demise of some sovereign nations that are low-lying atolls and small island States. There is a misguided notion that portrays climate change as a concern only of the small island developing States; nothing could be further from the truth. Climate change crosses borders uninvited and does not discriminate by size or economic status. It has an impact on every country, although it affects some — such as small island developing States — more extensively than others, owing to their particular and unique vulnerabilities. Times are changing.”
2019-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 74 (2019)
“When SIDS first told the world that their coastlines were eroding, the sea level was rising and climate change was humanly induced, some Member States scorned the notion and did not take our concerns seriously. Instead, they wanted scientific evidence to back up our claim, probably as a cover to stall and frustrate our resolve. Yet when the world’s top scientists — including some of their own nationals — scientifically validated our concerns, including in the report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change on the imperative of keeping global warming below 1.5 °C, some countries refused to accept the evidence and continue to use every opportunity to discredit such reports. Science has spoken. The message is loud and clear. We cannot use it selectively or only when it suits a specific agenda. Climate change is real.”
2019-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 74 (2019)
“Issues from addressing a climate emergency to providing rights-based universal health coverage and calling for increased resources to fast track collective action, underpinned by a desire for a peaceful and secure world, are the pillars of the SAMOA Pathway, the blueprint for the sustainable development of small island developing States. As a Pacific island leader, today my main message will again be, as it has consistently been for the past 21 consecutive years that I have attended the general debate in this Hall, on climate change — the embodiment of Samoa’s realities, aspirations and priority policy concern now and well into the future.”
2019-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 74 (2019)
“Today, the General Assembly will adopt the Political Declaration of the High-level Meeting to Review Progress Made in Addressing the Priorities of Small Island Developing States through the Implementation of the SIDS Accelerated Modalities of Action (SAMOA) Pathway (resolution 74/3). Its value is to hasten the attainment of the sustainable development agenda of small island developing States (SIDS) agreed in Samoa five years ago. Endorsing the Political Declaration is the easy part. Claiming ownership of it takes courage. Delivering on promises and making good on undertakings pledged to fully implement the SAMOA Pathway by 2024 is the seal of true leaders. The themes of our high-level meetings this week are well and truly intertwined.”
2019-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 74 (2019)
“Let me conclude by acknowledging the support of all States Members of the United Nations, Samoa’s circle of friends, that supported our candidate’s re-election to the Committee on the Rights of the Child.”
2018-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 73 (2018)
“The challenge for us is to maintain solidarity in the face of the intense engagement of an ever-growing number of partners in our region. We should never let that challenge divide us. In four weeks’ time, Samoa will host the interregional meeting of small island developing States and their development partners in preparation for the five-year review of the Small Island Developing States Accelerated Modalities of Action (SAMOA Pathway) during the high-level week in September next year. My Government looks forward to welcoming our guests, and we thank Member States, in particular small island developing States, for agreeing to allow the SAMOA Pathway to make a brief return to its namesake and birthplace.”
2018-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 73 (2018)
“We should not be influenced by economic dependence, as that is a compromise in itself. We should seek to strengthen domestic cohesion, develop resilience and rethink our governance pathways. The leaders of the Pacific Islands Forum are committed to a vision for the Pacific — that it should be a region of peace, harmony, security, social inclusion and prosperity so that all Pacific people can lead free, healthy and productive lives now and into the future. Moreover, we have committed to working together to achieve that vision. The blue Pacific platform offers all Pacific countries the adaptive capabilities to address a changing geostrategic landscape. The opportunity to realize the full benefits of the blue Pacific rests on our ability to work and stand together as a political bloc.”
2018-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 73 (2018)
“Our geographical isolation and insularity no longer shield or protect us from today’s increasingly complex and dynamic security challenges — transnational crime, nuclear proliferation, challenges to sovereignty and humanitarian crises. The rules-based international system is being bent out of shape. Gone are the days when we took only what we needed from our environment and were much more conscious of the importance of the continuity of our cultures and values, unadulterated by the infringing, impinging world around us. In those days we did not worry much about borders because the original migrations of our peoples defined for us our ocean space and place. Poverty was not a part of our consciousness because we cared for each other and the oceans provided their bounty.”
2018-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 73 (2018)
“Where we are now would not have been possible without the valuable support of our circle of partners and the value of the partnerships that we have nurtured and cultivated over the years to respond to our people’s multitudinous needs. The friendly relations that we have with some partners are construed by others as compromising and obtrusive, prompting some to speak up for us in order to ward off the influences that we are supposedly too naive to recognize. By the same token, we are given alternatives that reflect interests beyond altruism and improvement of the poor. As Pacific leaders we need to ask ourselves what we ought to do in order to make a difference for ourselves and for the world and to promote our values, which are premised on peace, stability and security.”
2018-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 73 (2018)
“In that process, our partners have fallen short of acknowledging the integrity of Pacific leadership and the responsibility that our leaders have for every decision made in order to garner support for the sustainable development of their nations. Some might say that there is a patronizing nuance that suggests that Pacific nations do not know what they are doing or are incapable of reaping the benefits of close relations with countries that are, and will be, in the region for some time to come. To the extent that emerging partners have engaged with Pacific countries without conditionality, the relationships are perceived to be associated with problems of corruption or unprecedented environmental degradation. We have the tendency to be bemused by the fact that the reaction is an attempt to hide what we see as strategic neglect.”
2018-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 73 (2018)
“For far too long, the international community has been given to believe that our States are little and classified as have-nots. We are susceptible to being characterized as countries that have little and that should be grateful for whatever is offered to us. We are highly protective of our means of livelihood and have embraced regional action to ensure the sustainability of our fisheries resources. We are actively asserting our ambitions to ensure that there is inheritance for the generations to come. Any approach to engagement with partners must be genuine and durable, premised on understanding, friendship, mutual benefit and a collective ambition to achieve sustainable results. It must also be non-partisan and non-interventionist. I repeat that any engagement must be non-partisan and non-interventionist.”
2018-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 73 (2018)
“In 2017, in recognition of those considerations, the Pacific Forum leaders agreed to build on the Biketawa Declaration and other security-related declarations issued by the Forum as a foundation for future regional strategic responses, recognizing the importance of an expanded concept of security and regional cooperation in building resilience to disasters and climate change. The leaders have also prioritized action on climate change and disaster-risk management, fisheries and ocean management and conservation, all of which have significant security elements. As if being vulnerable to climate change were not a lifelong challenge, the label of Pacific small island developing State can also bring with it unintended trials and tribulations.”
2018-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 73 (2018)
“Pacific Island Forum members have a very proud history of working collectively in response to events and issues that have challenged regional security, peace and stability, from the 1985 Rarotonga Treaty, which created a nuclear-free zone in the South Pacific, to a collective approach to addressing the existential threat of climate change. The Pacific region’s current geopolitical and geostrategic context underlines the need for an integrated and comprehensive security architecture incorporating an expanded concept of security. A stable and resilient security environment provides the platform for achieving the region’s sustainable development aspirations.”
2018-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 73 (2018)
“The 2017 State of Pacific Regionalism report indicated that shifting global and regional geopolitics are creating an increasingly complex and crowded region that places the Pacific at the centre of contemporary global geopolitics. That trend, coupled with broader challenges, such as climate change, rising inequality, resource depletion, maritime-boundary disputes and advances in technology, will continue to shape the Pacific regional security environment. While the world belabours the issues of security based on military might and the wonders of technological advancement in achieving such ends, our priority in the Pacific is to maintain the stability of our Governments and countries. We can do that by reviewing of our governance pathways and ensuring that our elected leaders respond to people’s needs.”
2018-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 73 (2018)
“Suddenly, the Pacific is swimming in a rising tide of so-called fit-for-purpose strategies, stretching from the tip of Africa, encompassing the Indian Ocean and morphing into the vast blue Pacific Ocean continent, which is our home and place. The big Powers are doggedly pursuing strategies to widen and extend their reach and creating a far-reaching sense of insecurity. The renewed vigour with which a strategy based on a free and open Indo- Pacific Ocean is being advocated and pursued leaves us with much uncertainty. For the Pacific, there is a real risk of privileging Indo over Pacific. While the Pacific region is currently enjoying a period of relative stability, drivers of instability exist in the region and beyond.”
2018-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 73 (2018)
“The Pacific leaders are increasingly conscious of and concerned about the security of our region, and we look at security not only from the orthodox perspective of State security but also for what it means for us as Pacific communities. The Framework for Pacific Regionalism identifies security as one of the four objectives of regionalism, a security that ensures stable and safe human, environmental and political conditions for all. The Pacific Islands Forum leaders have renewed their commitment to work together as one blue Pacific continent, particularly in view of the renewed geopolitical interests in the Pacific region.”
2018-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 73 (2018)
“It is incumbent on each individual leader and country to raise the level of ambition, not just as an aspirational goal but as deliverables under the Paris Agreement. For the Pacific peoples and our blue Pacific region, urgent, ambitious action on climate change is the only option. We welcome the determination that we heard in the Secretary-General’s remarks to the General Assembly earlier this month to sound the alarm on the need for bolder action on climate change (see A/73/PV.6). Those are big demands to deliver on, and it would be naive to think otherwise. But when the future existence of sovereign island nations, populations and cultures are at stake, there is a moral imperative for the world to act decisively and collectively.”
2018-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 73 (2018)
“In the same way that nations in leadership roles are called to account to do the right thing for our world, all States Members of the United Nations must uphold their part of the bargain in the work that needs to be done. Without that cooperation from all Member States, reaching the objectives that we all know must be achieved will continue to elude us. The Pacific region is already dealing with the destructive impact of climate change and disasters. Unprecedented cyclones, floods, droughts, sea level rise and ocean acidification are taking their toll on the health and well-being of our peoples, environment and economies. Disaster-related economic losses, as a percentage of gross domestic product, are higher in Pacific island countries than almost anywhere else in the world. Our people are waiting; the world is watching.”
2018-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 73 (2018)
“For vulnerable countries, the issue does not require the setting of new targets, the commissioning of more studies and reports or even more polite talking-shops and structured dialogue sessions. What is needed now is adaptation in the interest of long-term survival. The United Nations remains our last best hope to provide the political will and the necessary commitment to turn the tide against climate change. Samoa appeals to States Members of our Organization in positions of world leadership to lead the charge in finding and implementing solutions to the causes of climate change. As custodians of our world’s environment, we owe it to our future generations to do what needs to be done quickly and decisively.”
2018-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 73 (2018)