YouSaid · the spoken record

Simpson Miller

lines on the record
15
first
2015-07-30
most recent
2015-07-30
sittings or episodes
1
sources
un-security-council

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  1. “Based on the experiences of Jamaica and the Caribbean region, we see the benefits of a regional approach complemented by support from the global community to assist in mitigating risks to our peace and security situation. Given the great extent to which peace, security and development concerns are interconnected, it is essential that the entire United Nations system work actively to overcome the special challenges facing small developing States. We are prepared to work with our partners to devise practical, multifaceted solutions to those complex security challenges. That, we believe, offers the best chance for success in achieving lasting peace and security for our peoples. I am convinced that, ultimately, a more secure, just and prosperous world is the future that we all want for ourselves and for succeeding generations.”

    2015-07-30 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.7499 (2015) · source

  2. “We are in favour of a protocol that should be applicable to all, with measurable mitigation efforts and equal treatment for mitigation and adaptation measures. For us, the link between climate change and sustainable energy is clear. That is why we are actively pursuing renewable energy investments in solar and wind power, as well as promoting energy conservation. Our strategy is designed to make us independent of our over-reliance on unsustainable fossil-fuel energy sources. That should reduce our trade imbalance, improve our competitiveness and increase economic growth. We must move forward in order to address both our shared and individual security challenges. As we do so, I ask that full account be taken of the fact that a one-size-fits-all approach cannot provide workable and sustainable solutions.”

    2015-07-30 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.7499 (2015) · source

  3. “For small island developing States, climate change is one of the greatest challenges to our development aspirations, and it threatens our very survival. Most of us have been feeling the present wave of heat in the Caribbean and certainly elsewhere. For those reasons, robust policy action on climate change is vital to our national, regional and global welfare. The ecosystems of some Caribbean SIDS are already experiencing negative effects of climate change and are approaching the limits of their adaptive capacities. The development of sensible climate-change policy regimes is therefore an urgent priority. It is for that reason, and others, that Jamaica strongly supports the adoption of a legally binding text at the conference of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change to be held in Paris later this year.”

    2015-07-30 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.7499 (2015) · source

  4. “That is compounded by unsustainable public debt levels that in the Caribbean average 70.5 per cent and are made worse by large current-account and fiscal deficits. In addition, our middle-income designation limits our ability to access critical development financing. That jeopardizes our ability to finance our sustainable development objectives from domestic public resources. I would like to draw the Council's attention to the proposal by the Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean for a debt-relief strategy for countries like Jamaica and other middle-income SIDS. Comprehensive debt relief for Caribbean States that would gradually write off 100 per cent of our multilateral debt stock is timely. In our View, the proposal is worthy of serious consideration and support from the international community.”

    2015-07-30 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.7499 (2015) · source

  5. “For more than two decades, Jamaica has been making modest but impactful contributions to United Nations peacekeeping activities through its provision of police officers to missions in Namibia, Liberia, Sierra Leone, Timor-Leste and Bosnia. Currently, just under 20 officers from our police force are serving in the United Nations Stabilization Mission in Haiti and the African Union-United Nations Hybrid Operation in Darfur, in the Sudan. There are also emerging economic and social issues that have direct and indirect effects on the peace and security agenda. Our limited natural and human resource bases, together with persistent and significant external trade imbalances, have also constrained economic growth in the region.”

    2015-07-30 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.7499 (2015) · source

  6. “Devised and constituted within the Caribbean community, the initiative has enabled CARICOM member States to effectively take on our responsibilities under the resolution. We are grateful for the support of our international partners, including the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom, Australia, Norway and Finland. That support has helped to strengthen our national capacities to address the threats posed by the spread of weapons of mass destruction. The reality is that where there is both sensitivity to the special requirements of our region and support enabling us to act effectively, we are better able to contribute to global action in the maintenance of international peace and security. We are particularly proud of our contribution in the area of peacekeeping.”

    2015-07-30 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.7499 (2015) · source

  7. “However, a limited financial base, weak technical capacity and inadequate concrete global support continue to hamper our efforts. Stronger global partnerships and more efficient forms of cooperation are needed to help SIDS in their fight against the scourge of transnational organized crime. I would like to turn briefly to two areas in which we have sought to contribute to the maintenance of international peace and security. They are counter- terrorism and the non-proliferation of weapons of mass destruction. Without question, Jamaica and other CARICOM. member States remain committed to meeting our international obligations, particularly in relation to resolutions 1267 (1999), 1373 (2001) and 1540 (2004). In 2009, CARICOM. instituted a region-wide initiative aimed at fully implementing resolution 1540 (2004).”

    2015-07-30 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.7499 (2015) · source

  8. “In partnership with our CARICOM. sister States, Jamaica played an instrumental role in securing the landmark Arms Trade Treaty (ATT). We welcome the convening of the first Conference of States Parties to the ATT, to be held next month in Mexico City, and look forward to the Treaty's full and effective implementation. We also look forward to participating in next year's special session of the General Assembly on the global drug problem. Small countries like ours must continue to play a role in formulating strategies aimed at more effectively countering the global trade in illicit drugs. The success of many SIDS in stemming the drug trade has been nothing short of remarkable given the constraints on our resources. While we have achieved some promising results in tackling those threats, more must be done.”

    2015-07-30 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.7499 (2015) · source

  9. “In spite of those efforts, the illegal flow of small arms and ammunition into our local communities continues to pose a significant challenge to law and order. At the regional level, we have worked with other CARICOM. Governments to establish a regional security framework. At that framework's centre is CARICOM's implementation agency for crime and security impacts. At the United Nations, Jamaica has been a consistent voice in the call for multilateral action to address the issue of the illicit trade in guns under the Programme of Action to Prevent, Combat and Eradicate the Illicit Trade in Small Arms and Light Weapons in All Its Aspects. We welcome the Council's continued consideration of the issue of small arms, including its recent open debate (see S/PV.7447) and adoption of resolution 2220 (2015) on the matter.”

    2015-07-30 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.7499 (2015) · source

  10. “We have targeted our efforts at degrading the capabilities of organized criminal gangs and have directed resources at addressing the shameful crime of human trafficking, including the appointment of a rapporteur on trafficking in persons. We have also invested heavily in technology, equipment and training for our security forces within the constraints of our limited resources. However, I must emphasize that our domestic policy responses to those threats to our peace and security, though significant and coordinated across the Government, are insufficient. We therefore continue to expand our international cooperation in improving our national security infrastructure in order to deal with transnational organized crime. We have made important gains in enhancing our security environment, with notable reductions in some categories of crime.”

    2015-07-30 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.7499 (2015) · source

  11. “It must be emphasized that these activities account for the high levels of gun-related crime that our countries are experiencing. They combine to undermine law and order and impede economic growth and social development. Our location makes us a prime transit route for international narcotraffickers. If that were not the case, the overall level of crime in the Caribbean would be similar to what obtains in low- crime countries. This fact is supported by the United Nations Development Programme's Caribbean Human Development Report. The question arises as to what our response has been in the face of these challenges. I can assure the Council that we take these threats to our security very seriously. We have given primary focus to safety and security within our national development plan.”

    2015-07-30 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.7499 (2015) · source

  12. “In Jamaica and the wider Caribbean Community (CARICOM) region, transnational organized crime represents the gravest threats to our peace and security. Extensive open coastlines facilitate various forms of illicit trafficking in drugs, arms, ammunition and people, particularly women and children. In our societies, the well-known guns-for-drug trade remains a principal strategy of the international criminal network. Money-laundering activities also enable transnational criminal activity to thrive in our region. It is further cause for alarm that in 2013, 70 per cent of all homicides committed in the Caribbean subregion featured the use of a firearm. It is well known that we do not manufacture weapons or drive the demand for drugs, yet they find their way to our shores.”

    2015-07-30 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.7499 (2015) · source

  13. “This is critical for building resilience in the face of climate change and for overcoming the constraints imposed by small size, resource scarcity, geography and inappropriate global classification based mainly on per capita income. Small island developing States such as Jamaica are notable for our small size and porous borders and for being prone to natural hazards and external shocks. We are mostly import-dependent and constrained by high debt burdens. We are also overly dependent on external markets, technology transfer, international capital flows and foreign expertise. These factors reduce our ability to mount effective national responses to domestic, regional and global challenges to peace and security.”

    2015-07-30 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.7499 (2015) · source

  14. “Jamaica has long advocated for a holistic approach to addressing matters of peace and security. In doing so, we recognize fully the intrinsic link between peace, security and development. The classic and relatively narrow concept of peace and security cannot be neatly applied to the multifaceted security threats that confront SIDS. Our debate here today is therefore timely, as we finalize the design of a sustainable development agenda for our people and planet for the next 15 years. In thanking you for your kind invitation to participate, Sir, I would like to present a Caribbean SIDS perspective on some of the peace and security challenges that confront us. I will also share some thoughts on the urgent need for tangible development financing support for SIDS.”

    2015-07-30 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.7499 (2015) · source

  15. “It is an honour to address the Security Council on the occasion of this landmark open debate. I warmly congratulate New Zealand for its presidency of the Council for the month of July and commend you, Mr. President, for your visionary move to focus the attention of the Council on the peace and security challenges facing small island developing States (SIDS). Last September, at the Third International Conference on Small Island Developing States, held in Samoa, the international community addressed many of the development challenges being experienced by this group of countries. Today, New Zealand's initiative to elevate these discussions to the Security Council takes full account of the natural linkages between the peace and security challenges faced by SIDS and the maintenance of international peace and security.”

    2015-07-30 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.7499 (2015) · source