{"id":186663,"date":"2019-04-17T18:06:21","date_gmt":"2019-04-17T22:06:21","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.un.org\/pga\/73\/?p=186663"},"modified":"2019-04-17T18:06:21","modified_gmt":"2019-04-17T22:06:21","slug":"small-island-exceptionalism","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.un.org\/pga\/73\/2019\/04\/17\/small-island-exceptionalism\/","title":{"rendered":"Small Island Exceptionalism"},"content":{"rendered":"

[et_pb_section bb_built=”1″][et_pb_row][et_pb_column type=”4_4″][et_pb_text _builder_version=”3.19.7″ border_style=”solid” background_position=”top_left” background_repeat=”repeat” background_size=”initial”]<\/p>\n

– As delivered –<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

Statement by H.E. Mrs. Mar\u00eda Fernanda Espinosa Garc\u00e9s, President of the 73rd<\/sup> Session of the UN General Assembly<\/h3>\n

17 April 2019<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

Your Excellency, Camillo Gonsalves, Minister for Finance and Economic Planning, St Vincent and the Grenadines,<\/p>\n

But above all, a friend of mine, a friend of ours, a friend of the United Nations,<\/p>\n

Your Excellency, Inga Rhonda King, President of ECOSOC,<\/p>\n

Excellencies, distinguished guests, ladies and gentlemen,<\/p>\n

It is indeed a great pleasure to speak at this event on “small island exceptionalism”, and to be with distinguished colleagues from the SIDS Group and across the membership.<\/p>\n

I am grateful to St Vincent & Grenadines for organizing this event, and for your tremendous contribution to this Organization \u2013 including your thought leadership.<\/p>\n

The recent publication by Minister Gonsalves \u2013”Globalised. Climatised. Stigmatised” \u2013 is an excellent example of this. I have only had time to skim it and I have to be very honest with you. But it already has a guaranteed place on my bedside table, and I warmly<\/u> commend its messages to you all. So it\u2019s going to be next to my poetry books.<\/p>\n

“Globalised. Climatised. Stigmatised” is a provocative title that very neatly captures the essence of the challenges faced by Small Island Developing States.<\/p>\n

[\/et_pb_text][\/et_pb_column][\/et_pb_row][et_pb_row][et_pb_column type=”4_4″][et_pb_text _builder_version=”3.19.7″]<\/p>\n

Take climate change. SIDS account for less than one<\/u> percent of global greenhouse gas emissions. But they are at the sharp end of extreme weather events, ocean acidification and rising sea levels \u2013 all of which are harming the very industries on which SIDS depend, such as tourism and fishing.<\/p>\n

The challenges for SIDS are not uniform and we learned that from your book\u2013 there are SIDS in every category of human development \u2013 but there are some common threads of course.<\/p>\n

For example, SIDS tend to be less well-connected than other developing countries \u2013 in terms of shipping, for example. This is particularly true for SIDS in the Pacific. And their size means it is harder for SIDS to achieve economies of scale and economic diversification.<\/p>\n

As a result, many SIDS have not been able to leverage the full benefits of globalization. On the other hand, they have been adversely affected by some of the downsides of globalization, such as illicit financial flows and illegal contraband.<\/p>\n

And SIDS are also at risk from the inequalities created by globalization, which are contributing to the rising tides of unilateralism, narrow nationalism and ad hock-ery<\/em>.<\/p>\n

[\/et_pb_text][et_pb_testimonial _builder_version=”3.19.7″ author=”Mar\u00eda Fernanda Espinosa Garc\u00e9s” portrait_url=”https:\/\/www.un.org\/pga\/73\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/53\/2018\/09\/PGA-73084-e1537294481964.jpg” border_style=”solid” job_title=”President of the UN General Assembly” quote_icon_background_color=”#f5f5f5″ background_position=”top_left” background_repeat=”repeat” background_size=”initial” quote_icon_color=”#00aff8″]<\/p>\n

As we pledge to redouble our efforts to leave no SIDS behind, let us do it in a spirit of \u00a0fairness and inclusiveness \u2013 with SIDS as equal and key actors and partners as we strive for a safer, fairer and more sustainable world.<\/span><\/p>\n

[\/et_pb_testimonial][et_pb_text _builder_version=”3.19.7″ border_style=”solid” background_position=”top_left” background_repeat=”repeat” background_size=”initial”]<\/p>\n

Excellencies, Distinguished Panellists<\/p>\n

These trends are a danger to us all<\/u>. No state can tackle problems like climate change alone. No informal grouping \u2013 however powerful \u2013 can take the place of the United Nations in terms of legitimacy and universality. But it is smaller states that stand to lose the most. At the UN, SIDS make up 20 percent of the membership. In the General Assembly, they each have one seat, one microphone and one vote \u2013 and operate on an equal footing to larger states. I implore you, not to underestimate your collective voice.<\/p>\n

Dear friends,<\/p>\n

Multilateralism offers the best route \u2013 the only route \u2013 for SIDS to withstand the perfect storm of climate change, economic marginalisation, and what Minister Gonsalves calls \u2018smallness\u2019 and \u2018islandness\u2019.<\/p>\n

It is abundantly clear that SIDS must be a priority in our efforts to realize the 2030 Agenda. The SAMOA Pathway mid-term review this September is a crucial opportunity to make progress on addressing the particular needs of SIDS. We also need to ensure a stronger SIDS focus in other key meetings \u2013 for example the High-Level Dialogue on Financing for Development, the High-Level Political Forum and the Climate Summit, for example \u2013 and a stronger SIDS voice in international organizations.<\/p>\n

Excellencies,<\/p>\n

This event is about small island exceptionalism \u2013 so it would be remiss of me not to praise the exceptional contribution that SIDS have made on so many critical issues \u2013 from raising international ambition on climate change to leading the way on the blue economy. Truly, there is greatness in smallness too.<\/p>\n

So, as we pledge to redouble our efforts to leave no SIDS behind, let us do it in a spirit of \u00a0fairness and inclusiveness \u2013 with SIDS as equal and key actors and partners as we strive for a safer, fairer and more sustainable world.<\/p>\n

So dear Friend Minister Gonsalves thank you for this great contribution to unveil the exceptional role of SIDs in strengthening the multilateral system and making the UN more relevant to all.<\/p>\n

Thank you.<\/p>\n

[\/et_pb_text][\/et_pb_column][\/et_pb_row][\/et_pb_section]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

REMARKS BY THE PRESIDENT OF THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY, MARI\u0301A FERNANDA ESPINOSA GARC\u00c9S – Small Island Exceptionalism
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