Opening remarks for the Wadadli Action Platform in Antigua

Remarks by H.E. Mr. Abdulla Shahid, President of the 76th session of the United Nations General Assembly

8 August 2022

 

Honourable Molwyn Joseph, Minister of Environment of Antigua & Barbuda

 

Honourable Paul Chet Greene, Minister of Foreign Affairs, International Trade and Immigration

 

Dr. Natalia Kanem, Executive Director of UNFPA

 

Excellencies,

Ladies & Gentlemen,

 

I am pleased to join you here today on the beautiful island of Antigua.

 

My heartfelt gratitude to the Government of Antigua and Barbuda and Chair of the Alliance of Small Island States for organizing this event, and for inviting me to open today’s Wadadli Action Platform.

 

My friends,

 

As islanders, we share common bonds.

 

Our island homes are astonishingly beautiful, culturally diverse, and ecologically abundant.

 

Yet, they are also profoundly vulnerable.

 

SIDS are at the frontline of multiple global crises – from climate change to food security, from challenges to our marine environment to exorbitant debt.

 

Our vulnerabilities were starkly illustrated by the COVID-19 pandemic, which upended development trajectories and compounded many preexisting challenges.

 

Friends, 

 

Our island homes will bear these scars for years to come.

 

However, while SIDS remain particularly vulnerable to the climate crisis, we are among those who have contributed least to the problem.

 

It is unjust that SIDS pay the ultimate price for a crisis we simply did not cause.

 

Therefore, Ladies and Gentlemen,

 

I use the opportunity to speak today, to highlight the need to ensure SIDS remain a priority for the international community, including partner governments and the UN system.

 

We need unity and solidarity to build back better and to prioritize the long-term recovery of our islands.

 

Excellencies,

 

At present, one-third of the 65 million population in Small-island Developing States live on land less than 5 meters above sea-level, making them extremely vulnerable to rising sea-levels.

 

In my own country, the Maldives, a nation comprised of 1,192 low-lying islands, this threat is an everyday reality.

 

But, Ladies and Gentlemen,

 

SIDS’ vulnerabilities to the climate crisis extend beyond the impacts on our environments and ecosystems. The economic repercussions are just as stark.

 

For SIDS in the Caribbean and Pacific alone, disasters have caused economic loss approximating to 2 to 3 percent of their collective GDPs.

 

Climate-related disasters have almost doubled over the last 20 years and SIDS are the ones who pay this steep price.  

 

Excellencies,

 

External financing is critical to prepare for and recover from future crises.

 

But external financing is seemingly impossible to mobilise.

 

Our populations are small, making domestic resource mobilization a challenge. And our countries are often classified as upper-middle income or even high income, making it difficult to attract concessional financing internationally. This leads us to borrow at high rates, which in turn contributes to rising debt, in a vicious circle.

 

Compounding crises have heightened our debt burden. The need for a long-term solution to the debt crisis we face, is critical.

 

The debt-obligations faced by SIDS globally are unsustainable and immoral.

 

To remedy this, global financial systems should be streamlined so that future debt-servicing considers the vulnerabilities faced by countries in special situations, and the impact of onerous debts on their efforts to recover better.

 

We know there is no one-size-fits-all solution. As we endeavor to get back on track to meeting the SDG targets, we should be mindful of the limitations of traditional development measures.

 

Gross National Income and similar conventional measures do not account for the contexts, nor the development challenges faced by countries in special situations.

 

Transitioning to more holistic methods to measure socio-economic development will require the support of the international community, including international financial institutions, and public and private creditors.

 

To that end, the work of the High-Level Panel of Experts on finalizing the multi-vulnerability index is crucial.

 

The MVI will be a vital tool to enable SIDS to access the financing needed to adapt to climate change and strengthen long-term resilience.

 

As the waters rise, this may be the last hope for SIDS.

 

Nonetheless, I believe hope is kept alive through people, including the warm and friendly people of Antigua & Barbuda. I am grateful to the Honourable Gaston Browne, Prime Minister of Antigua and Barbuda, and Her Excellency Ms. Erna Solberg, former Prime Minister of Norway, for their leadership of the High-level Panel of Experts on the MVI.

 

I am pleased by the progress of the panel’s work. Definitions have been agreed for key concepts such as vulnerability and resilience, and a structure has been designed, conforming to the principles in the Secretary General’s report mandating the MVI.

 

Furthermore, the panel’s interim report has been shared with all UN Member States through the Permanent Mission in New York. I encourage all AOSIS members and partner countries to review and share reflections to help guide the panels conclusion of its work.

 

Ladies and gentlemen,

 

As the deadline for the realization of the Third Programme of Action for the SIDS -the SAMOA Pathway – approaches, this is an opportune time to identify the gaps and challenges in its implementation, and assess new and emerging challenges, given the current international context.

 

Strong and robust reporting on implementation is critical, and I strongly encourage the international community, including the UN System, to strengthen its support in this regard, as we begin preparation and lay the groundwork for the Fourth International Conference on SIDS in 2024.

 

Excellencies,

 

In conclusion, I once again express my appreciation and extend commendations to the government of Antigua and Barbuda as Chair of the Alliance of Small Island States for convening today’s meeting and for continuing to champion our collective cause.

 

I am hopeful that the Wadadli Action Platform will contribute to the renewed and strengthened commitment of the international community to the sustainable development of SID.

 

Similarly, I trust that it will help identify gaps in implementation and possible solutions.

 

This will pave the way for a dynamic lead-up to and successful outcome of the next International Conference on SIDS.

 

Thank you.