STATEMENT BY FOREIGN MINISTER AT GENERAL DEBATE OF THE 74TH SESSION OF UNGA
STATEMENT BY DR. KAREN CUMMINGS
MINISTER OF FOREIGN AFFAIRS AT THE GENERAL DEBATE OF THE 74TH SESSION
OF THE UNITED NATIONS GENERAL ASSEMBLY
28 SEPTEMBER 2019
Mr. President,
I bring you fraternal greetings on behalf of His Excellency David Arthur Granger, President of the Cooperative Republic of Guyana. I wish, also, to extend warm congratulations to you on behalf of the Government and people of Guyana on your assumption of the Presidency of the General Assembly at this juncture – the importance of which is accentuated by the salience of the theme that you have chosen for our General Debate. We assure of the full support of Guyana in the discharge of the weighty responsibilities of your Office.
Allow me to also record our gratitude to your predecessor Her Excellency María Fernanda Espinosa Garcés for her prudent and pragmatic stewardship of the 73rd UNGA session. At the same time, we commend Secretary-General António Guterres for his continued sterling leadership of the Organization, including the timely convening of the Climate Action Summit. We express our thanks for the Report on the Work of the Organization before us and which offers intriguing insights on achievements made within the last year and equally of the significant undertakings still ahead.
In this context, we can’t but reflect on the increasingly challenging international situation – marked by diverse crises, shifting global power dynamics, reversals of longstanding commitments and obligations. Together, these aspects portend an intrepid interrogation of the extant global order, including many of the principles and understandings made sacrosanct by the harsh experiences and lessons of many generations that have given meaning and purpose to the establishment of the United Nations.
Accordingly, it is evident that while we have not succeeded sufficiently and satisfactorily in fully achieving the world envisaged in 1945 at the birth of the United Nations, the centrality, vision and work of the United Nations assumes increased rather than diminished importance in pursuit of the noble ideals enshrined in its Charter. Purposeful action must be embraced at national and global level on a range of urgent imperatives to withstand skepticism and preserve faith in our United Nations.
Mr. President,
Within this context, Guyana is pursuing transformative action to secure its advance as a modern, cohesive and prosperous state, including through the implementation of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and the SDGs. Guyana has incorporated the Agenda into our national development strategy – the Green State Development Strategy (GSDS): Vision 2040. The Green State Development Strategy is Guyana’s road map to becoming a ‘green state’. It emphasizes the protection of our environment, enhancing prosperity and social cohesion and laying the foundation for the involvement of every citizen in sustaining a low-carbon trajectory of growth that is inclusive, diversified and climate-resilient.
As a low-lying coastal state, Guyana is particularly vulnerable to climate impacts. Indeed, Guyana understands well the risks posed by climate change as we see daily evidence of the damage to the coastal zone, frequency of flooding in the hinterland, and extreme meteorological events. Guyana ranks highly among countries most vulnerable to natural disasters and this compels urgency on our part to institute adaptation and disaster risk reduction measures.
However, beyond merely responding as an affected country, Guyana has long committed to exercising leadership in pursuing actions to help mitigate anthropogenic climate change. Guyana has established the importance of global environmental services provided by our natural resources and under the Paris Agreement on Climate Change we have taken ambitious national action, particularly in partnership with Norway that we trust will continue to resonate positively and globally. These actions include the creation of a greenhouse gas inventory, the integrating of climate change into the academic curricula, and the ‘greening of towns’ initiative.
The science is clear and the recent report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change has reaffirmed that the agreed goals for carbon emissions set out in the Paris Accord are not sufficient to slow the rate of global warming and additional reductions are now required to slow and reverse impacts of climate change. I take the opportunity to underscore, Mr. President, that the existentialist threat posed by climate change demands the urgent effort of all actors. We therefore applaud the fruitful discussions and positive momentum generated by Climate Action Summit held last Monday.
Mr. President,
Our experience has shown that whether in combating climate impacts, expanding economic benefits or consolidating democratic norms extreme vigilance is required to safeguard hard-earned and cherished gains. Indeed, they must be attended with great care to avoid reversals.
Guyana, for instance, has had consistent economic growth that has been among the highest in our Region for several years resulting in the country now being classified a high middle-income country. However, graduation has not caused many of the persistent difficulties to disappear but have reinforced the need in the face greater constraints in access to concessional resources for fiscal prudence and stability to achieve our core national objectives, including the continued reduction of the burden of poverty and the provision of increased and equitable access to all basic social services, particularly with respect to education and health, for all our citizens. This reality constrains us to be very studied in our approaches and we reiterate the call criteria that takes vulnerability into account to be integrated in determining development progress.
Mr. President,
In the political realm, Guyana’s strong record of achievements at the national and international levels is compelling. Much progress has been made in consolidating democratic norms and the rule of law. The rights and freedoms of all citizens are respected. Here again, it is evident that the considerable progress realized under the Coalition Government cannot be taken for granted. Since coming to Office, local and regional elections held in abeyance for more than two decades have been held twice within four years.
Guyana has responded generously to the influx of men, women and children who have left our western neighbour Venezuela in recent times and equally to CARICOM states that have been impacted by unprecedented natural disasters.
Last July, Guyana presented its inaugural Voluntary National Review (VNR) to the 2019 High-Level Political Forum of ECOSOC. Our report demonstrated significant progress, particularly on several goals and reaffirmed the for enhanced emphasis on quality education as a key entry point to develop synergies across the Agenda as a whole as well as the need for capacity support and partnership especially in the area of data collection and management.
In addition, in response to the interplay of developments in the democratic exercise of the parliamentary and legislative arms of government, President David Granger has announced that national and regional elections will be held on 02 March 2020 to assure the democratic renewal of governance in Guyana.
Guyana stands on the verge of becoming a new oil-producing nation with its attendant significant opportunities and challenges. Extensive preparation is underway to guarantee the responsible management of the new resources.
Thus, a future of considerable promise for all the people of Guyana beckons and it is they that will determine the course, outcome and legacy that we will bequeath to succeeding generations. To this end, President Granger has declared a Decade of Development for All Guyanese, that will focus on ensuring that all Guyanese can enjoy the good life especially through enhanced educational outcomes at all levels and the promotion of gender equality and the empowerment of women, including the challenge of domestic violence.
Guyana’s focus on education is rooted in our conviction that our people are our greatest asset and as leaders we have an obligation to develop the capacity of our human resources in an inclusive manner. We would therefore urge greater collaboration among Member States to devise strategies to achieve quality education for all and we simultaneously call upon developed countries, traditional and emerging donors and international financing mechanisms to increase funding for education and to support programmes according to the needs, priorities and circumstances of countries.
Mr. President,
We are persuaded the health of our peoples is of equal importance. Guyana has therefore welcomed the convening of the High-Level Meeting on Universal Health Coverage under the profound theme “Moving Together to Build a Healthier World”. The importance of enhanced access to essential health services, including a skilled health workforce and access to safe, quality, effective and affordable medicines and vaccines is key to having a healthy world population where all can enjoy the highest attainable standard of physical and mental health is self-evident. In this regard, the Political Declaration on universal health coverage represents an important global consensus on accelerating efforts at all levels to improve health outcomes.
Guyana has introduced its Integrated Health Service Delivery Network which enables a more holistic primary healthcare delivery mechanism by addressing social determinants of health while promoting the health of the individual. It places priority on the availability of preventative measures and healthcare services at the level of primary healthcare. The Government of Guyana is committed to ensuring that all Guyanese, regardless of their location, have access to health services and the Government is implementing its plan to establish health posts and health centres in all communities to reduce the need for travel over long distances to access health care services.
Mr. President,
As at the domestic level, the maintenance of international peace and security requires respect by all Member States for the effective operation of international law and the institutions that underpin the international peace and security architecture created by the Charter. Foremost among these is the Security Council, on which the Charter confers primary responsibility for the maintenance of international peace and security, in accordance with the purposes and principles of the United Nations.
This year marks, however, the seventy-fourth anniversary of the signing of the Charter in San Francisco. The world has changed dramatically since 1945. The number of Member States has quadrupled with the emergence of new independent States in Africa, Asia, and in Latin America and the Caribbean. The institutions of our Organization must therefore evolve with the times in order to reflect the new global dispensation. The Security Council is no exception. Guyana therefore looks forward to the successful conclusion of the ongoing intergovernmental negotiations on Security Council reform in order to ensure greater effectiveness, representation and legitimacy.
On some cardinal principles, Mr. President, these United Nations are indeed ‘united’. The sovereign equality of all States, respect for the territorial integrity of every State, the peaceful resolution of disputes between all States, respect for the international rule of law – these are among the most effective guarantees of a world at peace. Last year, from this podium, Guyana updated the world on the disregard for these principles that our neighbour, the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela, continues to show in its controversy with Guyana. We showed how six months earlier, in March of last year, Guyana had acted on the decision of the Secretary-General of this Organisation to refer the controversy to the International Court of Justice under the Geneva Agreement of 1966 to which Venezuela is a party.
It was a decision binding on Venezuela, but we warned of Venezuela’s unwillingness to participate in the proceedings. A year later, that warning is fulfilled. As we heard yesterday, Venezuela’s unwillingness to be involved in a judicial resolution has hardened into a refusal to pursue the path of peace through respect for the rule of law. Guyana has placed its faith in the world’s highest Court. It will continue to do so.
Mr. President,
In like manner, we wish to record our disappointment at the limited progress towards a two-State solution to the generational conflict between the peoples of the State of Israel and the State of Palestine, that would allow the people of Israel to live within secure and internationally recognized borders and the people of Palestine to live in dignity in their own State free from the yoke of foreign occupation. Similarly, we deplore the events in Myanmar that have led to the displacement and suffering of the Rohingya population. The international community must take the necessary steps to ensure the safety of the affected populations and a minimum of respect for their human rights. We applaud the efforts of Bangladesh, within its capacity, to provide, with the assistance of international agencies, a place of safety for the refugee population pending their return.
In our own region, we again join the overwhelming majority of Member States of the international community in calling for the removal of the trade and economic embargo against our sister Caribbean nation of Cuba, which is a serious impediment to the legitimate aspirations of the Cuban people for improvement in their material well-being and to their achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals.
Mr. President,
I take this opportunity to reaffirm Guyana’s commitment to the disarmament agenda of the United Nations as central to the organization’s efforts to achieve a stable, secure and peaceful world order. In recent times we have witnessed a worrying departure from commitments to disarmament objectives by some actors and emphasize that no State can afford to shy away from the shared responsibility devolving upon us as Member States of the United Nations. For its part, Guyana continues to be a principled actor on questions of disarmament and is State Party to the major legal instruments comprising the disarmament regime.
The landmark Treaty for the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons (TPNW) is among those instruments that Guyana has ratified, and we remain supportive of all efforts that would lead to its timely entry into force. To this end, and with a view to encouraging the embrace of this Treaty by other states, Guyana recently hosted the Caribbean Forum on the TPNW. My government believes that our development efforts can best be maximized in societies that are safe and secure. For this reason, we also support the Programme of Action to Prevent, Combat and Eradicate the Illicit Trade in Small Arms and Light Weapons, another scourge that affects the Caribbean and Latin American Region.
Mr. President,
As is evident no doubt, Guyana remains a firm believer in the value of multilateralism and as a small, vulnerable developing state we see the United Nations, in its ideals and practice, as its best expression. It is through multilateralism that we can collectively find lasting solutions to the multifaceted and complex global challenges of our world. It is through multilateral approaches that we can advance development, human rights and security pillars of the United Nations. It is multilateralism that offers the best hope to advance the achievement of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, including the SDGs.
For this reason, I take the opportunity on this occasion to reaffirm the unequivocal commitment of Guyana to doing its part to strengthen multilateralism as the best path to achieving the principles and purposes of the United Nations. We commit to strong and principles national action on behalf of all our people. The challenges are many but not insurmountable in the face of our collective will and unremitting effort. A solemn obligation, therefore, devolves upon us all as Member States to do the best we can to ensure continued progress.
As I conclude Mr. President, permit me to quote Mahatma Gandhi who said – “While we may never know what results may be achieved by our actions it is clear that should no action be taken then it can be reasonably anticipated that there will be no results”. I, therefore, encourage us all not only to fine words but to fruitful action and assure you that Guyana will not be found wanting in this endeavour. In this regard, the very recent opening of a new UN House as the face of the UN in Guyana and within the context of the reform and repositioning of the UN Development system, bears rich symbolism and concrete evidence of the strong and evolving partnership, potential and the efficacy of effort that is possible.
I thank you.