Remarks by the President of the General Assembly,
Mr. Dennis Francis,
at the Opening Segment of the Fourth International Conference on SIDS (SIDS4)
27 May 2024
[As Delivered]
Your Excellency, Gaston Browne, Prime Minister of Antigua and Barbuda and President of the Fourth International Conference on Small Island Developing States,
Your Excellency, Fiame Naomi Mata’afa, Prime Minister of the Independent State of Samoa and Chair of the Alliance of Small Island States,
Mr. Antonio Guterres, Secretary-General of the United Nations,
Your Excellency, Paula Narváez, President of the Economic and Social Council,
Mr. Li Junhua, Under-Secretary-General of DESA and Secretary-General of the Conference,
Mr. Luttrell John, Youth Representative,
Excellencies, Distinguished Delegates, Ladies and Gentlemen,
It is a special honour and privilege to address you today at the opening of the Fourth International Conference on Small Island Developing States – in beautiful St. Johns, a city renowned for its cultural vibrancy, and pristine beaches among many other attractions.
I extend my profound appreciation and congratulations to the Government of Antigua and Barbuda – and Your Excellency Prime Minister Gaston Browne – our gracious hosts.
I hope I speak on behalf of many others that we all feel at home – and much welcomed, with the warmth of the gracious hospitality extended to us by the Government and people of Antigua and Barbuda.
Importantly, your offer to host this capacity-testing, yet important Conference, adds to a list of many other remarkable contributions by Antigua and Barbuda – under Your Excellency’s able leadership – to contribute to our multilateral system and international cooperation.
Mr. Prime Minister, I read with keen interest your own publication “Ending De-Risking in the Caribbean: Eliminating Risks for the World”– and I was fascinated by your great insights, and the ten practical ideas you offer for international cooperation, and the importance of inclusion for the Caribbean in the global financial and trading system.
I fully share the sentiment that the international community’s focus on financial inclusion for small and vulnerable developing countries – including SIDS – forms an integral aspect of a broader strategy for economic development and addressing poverty.
But – as you also point out in Your Excellency’s very revelatory publication – there are enormous risks and socio-economic consequences inherent in the global financial architecture and banking systems which frustrate developmental aspirations of small states.
If we do not undertake substantive reform of the international financial framework and multilateral architecture and their governance, developing countries – including the SIDS – cannot unleash their full potential to mobilize much-needed resources to achieve the 2030 Agenda and its SDGs.
Excellencies,
The long-awaited Conference offers a powerful, once-in-a-decade platform to assess the collective progress of Small Island Developing States (SIDS) – an endeavor that resonates with me at a personal level, hailing as I do from the neighbouring island nation of Trinidad and Tobago.
I welcome the new 10-year program of action – the Antigua and Barbuda Agenda for SIDS (ABAS) – which will guide SIDS on the path to resilient and prosperous societies through the next decade.
From the white sandy beaches of the Maldives to the stunning vistas of the Seychelles and the turquoise waters of Antigua and Barbuda, SIDS are among the most beautiful places on earth.
Moreover – with their vibrant ecosystems and abundant marine life – they testify to the remarkable richness and diversity of nature, offering an ideal setting for searching conversations on how best to preserve sustainability.
Indeed, SIDS have been in the vanguard in advancing these conversations on the world stage – remaining highly active within the UN system and multilateral fora and demonstrating laudable global leadership.
This was exemplified recently when nine small island states – led by Vanuatu and including Antigua and Barbuda – successfully brought a case to the International Tribunal on the Law of the Sea, which ruled that carbon emissions can be considered a sea pollutant.
This historic ruling obliges countries to mitigate their effects on oceans – potentially creating an important basis for future climate jurisprudence.
It is a sad fact that the precious beauty of SIDS is matched by their exceptional vulnerability.
The challenges they face are well-known – stemming from their small size, remoteness, geographic dispersion, and scattered populations.
It is therefore critical that SIDS are better supported to enhance their resilience to exogenous shocks such as market fluctuations, climatic extremes, and rampant disasters – often the root cause of their high indebtedness and other economic challenges.
Consider that more than 40 percent of SIDS have a debt-to-GDP ratio above 40 percent – with some exceeding 100 percent.
A situation where a SIDS borrows from global financial institutions – often at non-concessional rates – is clearly unfair and unacceptable.
Abandoning the outdated economic paradigm of GDP per capita as an indicator of economic well-being – and incorporating a Multidimensional Vulnerability Index (MVI) into the practices and policies for debt sustainability and development assistance – could break this cycle by making vulnerability a core component in determining access to concessional financing.
In this regard, I commend Prime Minister Browne and Ema Solberg, former Prime Minister of Norway – for your ground-breaking work as Co-Chairs on the MVI High-Level Panel; and look forward to the outcome of the ongoing intergovernmental process on the Index and its future impact.
I believe this is necessary and urgent – noting that between 2017 and 2021, no more than 1.55 percent of total global ODA was allocated to SIDS. I repeat, no more than 1.55 percent of total global ODA was allocated to SIDS.
The Fourth International Conference on Financing for Development in 2025 is yet another crucial opportunity to mobilize the necessary financial support to sustainable development – and build resilience in SIDS.
Moreover, we must enhance overall access to financial resources for SIDS to address not only climate change and disasters, but crucially also the resulting loss and damage to their economies.
It is inconceivable that from 1970 to 2020, SIDS lost 153 billion USD due to weather, climate, and water-related hazards.
Recognizing and compensating for losses is vital to maintaining development momentum in SIDS – and ensuring their resilience to future disasters.
Excellencies,
Ladies and Gentlemen,
As I conclude, the next ten years will be critical in making sustained concrete progress on the SIDS agenda – and we must make full use of this opportunity to supercharge our efforts around sustainability.
As a contribution to our global efforts, last April I convened the first-ever Sustainability Week in the General Assembly, focusing on critical sectors of tourism, transport, infrastructure, and energy as well as debt sustainability – with specific deliverables; all of which resonate deeply with the development experiences of SIDS.
And throughout my presidency, I have continued to highlight the peculiar challenges faced by countries in special situations, including the Least Developed Countries (LDCs), the Landlocked Developing Countries (LLDCs), and SIDS.
It was this commitment that led me to reconstitute the Board of Advisers for these vulnerable countries last year – in order to ensure that these countries are not left behind.
Looking ahead, the upcoming Summit of the Future offers the world leaders another chance to forge a global consensus for transformative actions that put the SIDS at the centre – and demonstrate full support for the commitments made here in Antigua and Barbuda.
The same can is true for the General Assembly High-Level Meeting, also in September, to address the threat of rising sea levels – an opportunity we cannot miss to address this critical issue that threatens SIDS’s very existence, given their heavy dependence on the tourism sector.
For instance, a 25 percent decline in tourism receipts could lead to a substantial $7.4 billion USD reduction in GDP – or 7.3 percent decrease.
Let that urgency animate our discussions here today – and in the future.
The urgency – to act now – must inspire our ingenuity, imagination, and energy towards a prosperous future for SIDS.
Let this Conference be our moment, as the international community, for genuine commitment to work together to chart a sustainable and equitable development course – not only for SIDS, but for all of humanity.
I thank you.
* *** *
___
