Remarks by the President of the General Assembly,

Mr. Dennis Francis,

At the Pacific ACP (African, Caribbean, Pacific) Meeting

at the Pacific Island Forum Leader’s Meeting

[As Delivered]

7 November 2023

Excellencies,

Dear friends and colleagues,

Thank you for the kind invitation to be with you today and to address the Pacific ACP – or African, Caribbean, and Pacific group.

I had the chance to address many of you yesterday, when I spoke at the Smaller Island States meeting.

I echo today what I said then: multilateralism thrives when there is dialogue, diplomacy, and problem solving.

It is the single greatest tool we have to address the collective challenges that we face; that is, if we use it to its fullest potential.

For the ACP countries, fullest potential means tightening the bonds between the three regional groups, and leveraging the power of this collectivity to deliver meaningful, transformative results for all.

I say that as President of the General Assembly, whose job it is to manage the interests and expectations of differing blocs and groups.

And I say that as a citizen of the Caribbean, a member country of the ACP, who recognizes that our voices will only be heard – will only be loudest – when we speak together.

Excellencies,

As I have emphasized repeatedly throughout this week, there are harsh realities that we must recognize and reconcile.

First, the mitigation goal of limiting temperature rise to no more than 1.5 degrees must remain our goal, as a matter of the survival and sustainability of small islands and many others in the Global South. That benchmark must therefore remain our point of departure in interfacing with third parties. COP28 will be a key moment in that regard.

Second, even if we are successful in limiting temperature rise to 1.5 degrees we will still have to live in a warmer world where many of the irreversible impacts of climate change, such as sea-level rise, are already occurring. That necessitates financing for climate action and for development, particularly and most importantly for communities.

And third, adaptation and resilience building simply may not cut it, not for all of us. Sea-level rise is happening and will continue to happen. It is therefore absolutely essential that small islands and low-lying states across the globe band together and ask the international community: what next?

When islands become uninhabitable, what then?

Do we watch as communities are scattered to the wind and generations of culture and heritage are left to fade?

Do maritime boundaries and statehood shrink or diminish through definitions that may be driven by commercial interests?

The answer must be, no.

And we can be the authors of that destiny.

But making that happen means working together, leveraging collective power and reach, and committing to a strategy of perseverance that leaves no stone unturned, and no question unanswered.

Yes, our states and statehoods will persevere.

Yes, our cultures and heritage will endure.

And yes, our homes and homelands will be supported with every available tool and resource that is needed to guarantee their prosperity and their sustainability.

Excellencies,

As President of the General Assembly, I am doing my part.

I have co-hosted a high-level Breakfast Summit, on the sidelines of the UNGA High-Level Week.

I have hosted an Informal Plenary on the Existential Threats of Sea Level Rise.

And now I am here, working with you to ensure a robust plan of action that we, collectively, can take forward to COP28, to the Fourth International conference of Small Island Developing States, and to the UN Membership for transformative action.

What I ask of you, is to unite and work together to deliver those messages, and to drive that momentum.

Let us ensure we are a singular, powerful force that cannot be ignored, and that cannot be delayed.

I look forward to working with you to make that happen.

I thank you.