"Civilized life demands equity, justice, peace, security and prosperity for all"
Speech by the Prime Minister of St. Vincent and the Grenadines, Ralph Gonsalves, at the 78th Session of the UNGA. teleSUR
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00:00 We go live to the 78th General Assembly of the United Nations on the fifth day.
00:07 Let's listen to the statements of some leaders in the Grenadines from Minister Rafa Gonzalez.
00:13 Of Trinidad and Tobago for his country's assumption of the presidency of the 78th session of the
00:20 United Nations General Assembly.
00:24 We affirm to our solidarity with the governments and peoples of the Kingdom of Morocco and
00:30 Libya at this their current hour of peril consequent upon the recent natural disasters.
00:37 We express sincerest condolences for the immense loss of lives.
00:43 Your Excellencies, across the world today, in large measure, men and women are pained,
00:51 gripped with melancholy and are adrift.
00:55 They are perplexed, even confused, at the complexities and challenges of our human condition,
01:02 which is awash with multiple contradictions from which arise a yearning for sustainable
01:11 resolutions.
01:13 Large numbers of people globally are possessed of an admixture of resignation, a sense of
01:21 futility, a routinization of indifference, even cynicism.
01:27 And yet at the same time, there is resident in them, in us, an elemental hopefulness and
01:35 a sense of social solidarity, a search for justice and goodness, a pursuance of equity
01:41 and equality, and a quest for peace, security and prosperity for all, not only for a privileged
01:48 few in a handful of privileged nations.
01:54 It is widely acknowledged that the global political economy is broken and needs fixing,
02:02 not by tinkering here and there, but through fundamental restructuring of a kind that endures
02:09 for the benefit of all humanity, especially those who are disadvantaged, dispossessed,
02:15 or marginalized.
02:18 It is widely accepted, too, that the vital sustainable development goals will not be
02:24 attained by 2030.
02:27 Indeed, there will be a significant deficit for practically every developing country.
02:34 Similarly, it is widely recognized that the climate change agenda is stalling, in some
02:40 respects reversing, with dire consequences for humanity, practically in most of the vulnerable
02:50 countries.
02:53 At the same time, war and conflict rage senselessly across the globe.
02:59 In at least one case, Ukraine, the principal adversaries may unwittingly open the gates
03:07 to a nuclear Armageddon.
03:11 Contemporary drivers of insecurity and conflict are all jostling in an invidious march to
03:18 infamy and human misery.
03:22 The expansive and expanding list includes racism and xenophobia, the continuing oppression
03:30 of women under a patriarchy in too many countries, the seemingly uncontrollable chariots of artificial
03:37 intelligence, the threatening pandemics and the anti-people consortia of big pharma, poverty
03:44 and food insecurity, ignorance, miseducation and disinformation, terrorism and its associated
03:52 malcontents, the illegal trafficking in persons and narcotics, the subversion of participatory
03:59 democracy and human rights, the failure and/or refusal of former colonial powers to entertain
04:06 just and legitimate demands for reparations, to repair the contemporary legacies of underdevelopment
04:14 caused by native genocide and the enslavement of African bodies, and the failure and/or
04:21 refusal of the major emitters of greenhouse gases to cough up the requisite resources
04:29 to the affected vulnerable countries for the required adaptation, mitigation, loss and
04:35 damage.
04:36 And the list goes on.
04:38 The heard melodies are troubling.
04:42 Those unheard are damning.
04:45 Excellencies, powerful countries and blocks of light-minded states are unwilling or unable
04:55 to fashion inclusive and efficacious modalities through a genuine multilateralism to address
05:04 the extant challenges facing humanity.
05:08 Their reflex actions in quest of a continuing imperium or an emergent hegemony are dressed
05:17 up as self-serving calls for a new world order, all sauce and gall, but of little or no substance
05:28 difficult to swallow.
05:32 From the rough trenches of the periphery, St. Vincent and the Grenadines poses yet again
05:37 in response three haunting questions.
05:41 What's new?
05:42 Which world?
05:44 And who gives the orders?
05:46 In this context, the urgency of genuine reform of the United Nations Security Council is
05:52 to be embraced after decades of futile bickering and foot dragging.
05:58 And it is long overdue for sensible compromises on this matter, reflective of the contemporary
06:04 condition of our world.
06:08 In these troubled and uncertain times, enveloped in limitations and weaknesses, there are nevertheless
06:16 possibilities and strengths.
06:19 The wise and mature leadership of this collective, the United Nations, is immediately required
06:24 in this great endeavor to put things right for humanity.
06:29 We gathered here as representatives of national or regional interests are not and cannot reasonably
06:37 be agents of purely impersonal forces, driving humanity inexorably to further peril and even
06:47 damnation.
06:50 Notwithstanding the imperfections of a multilateral system grounded in international law and civilized
06:57 norms, we at this assembly, in concert with each other and our peoples, can be the fresh
07:05 hope, the beacon, the light, not merely to inspire but to draw out of each other and
07:12 our respective peoples a goodness, a high quality, and a nobility which oftentimes we
07:18 may not even know as yet that we possess.
07:23 In the process, let us clear certain ideational cobwebs from our brains.
07:30 It is, for example, wholly unhelpful to frame the central contradictions of our troubled
07:37 times as revolving around a struggle between autocracies and democracies.
07:44 Between Vincent and the Grenadines, a strong liberal democracy rejects this wrongheaded
07:52 thesis.
07:54 It is evident to all right-thinking persons, devoid of self-serving hypocrisy, that the
08:01 struggle today between the dominant powers is centered upon the control, ownership, and
08:07 distribution of the world's resources.
08:09 The struggle has been and is about who gets what, when, where, and how.
08:18 Civilized life and living now demands fairness, justice, peace, security, and prosperity for
08:26 all.
08:27 This civilized goal is unlikely ever to be satisfactorily attained if the strong and
08:33 powerful continue with impunity to do what they can, and the weak and fragile suffer
08:41 what they must despite their oft-times enfeebled resistance.
08:48 Throughout history, powerful countries exhibit a certain schizophrenia.
08:56 They possess and deploy all their instruments of domination, yet they are wracked by bewildering
09:02 insecurities which frequently turn them into beasts of unreason to their own detriment.
09:09 In this way, they overreach and sow seeds of their own downfall.
09:15 In the process, sadly, they huddle humanity needlessly.
09:21 Excellencies, let us accord mature consideration to a matter of immediacy in our America, to
09:30 use José Martí's telling formulation.
09:35 We urge the United States of America, our friend, the most powerful and economically
09:40 dominant country since the dawn of human civilization, a nation which espouses humane values to end
09:48 its unilateral and oppressive sanctions and impositions that are contrary to international
09:54 law, which have been ruled out against Cuba, Nicaragua, and Venezuela.
10:00 It is also plain silly and factually incorrect to label Cuba a sponsor of state terrorism,
10:09 a label prompted by partisan domestic politics in South Florida.
10:16 But it hurts the Cuban people massively and unnecessarily.
10:22 The sanctions and coercive measures against Venezuela, including the weaponizing of the
10:28 U.S. dollar, have caused the collapse of the Petro-Caribbean agreement, which delivered
10:34 substantial benefits to over a dozen Caribbean countries, including St. Vincent and the Grenadines.
10:42 We in the Caribbean have thus become collateral damage.
10:46 At the same time, Your Excellencies, it is long overdue for the Republic of China, Taiwan,
10:52 to be brought in from the diplomatic cold.
10:55 The magnificent Chinese civilization, through the fever of history, has delivered to the
11:01 contemporary world in practical terms more than one recognizable national political expression
11:08 institutionally.
11:10 Surely, Taiwan's quest for participation in relevant specialized agencies of the United
11:17 Nations is reasonable and ought to be accommodated.
11:21 Repeatedly, Taiwan has shown itself to be a responsible member of the international
11:26 community.
11:28 Peace across the Taiwan Straits is an imperative for the prosperity and security of the world.
11:36 Excellencies, on the bundle of issues touching on concerning climate change, global warming,
11:43 biodiversity challenges, land degradation and desertification, there is a veritable
11:49 bubble, a tower of bubble.
11:55 There is an overabundance of sweet-sounding lyrics by the major emitters, but they turn
12:01 out to be bitterly deceptive.
12:04 A lack or insufficiency of meaningful corrective action by the irresponsible climate polluters,
12:11 countries and companies constitute unpardonable, egregious wrongs.
12:17 Indeed, it is a species of barbarism.
12:21 The upcoming Conference of Parties under the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate
12:26 Change in the United Arab Emirates is a critical test of humanity's commitment to save our
12:33 planet from the ravages of man-made climate change.
12:37 We know the oft-repeated benchmarks and the corrective agenda.
12:41 I don't have to repeat them here.
12:45 In this composite package of policies and measures, a special consideration has to be
12:50 accorded.
12:52 The most vulnerable countries, such as small island-developing states in the Caribbean
12:56 and the Pacific, and the poorer communities in climate-distressed areas of Africa, Asia
13:02 and Latin America.
13:05 Excellencies, crisscrossing the issue of financing for development in the era of climate change
13:12 and the downside ramifications of structural distortions in the global economy for poor
13:19 and vulnerable middle-income countries is the Bridgestone Initiative 2.2.
13:25 And this has already been endorsed by the Caribbean community, the community of states
13:31 of Latin America and the Caribbean, the Association of Small Island States, and dozens of countries
13:37 in the African Union and elsewhere.
13:40 This progressive initiative contains creative financing proposals that would result in more
13:45 resources on highly concessionary terms for the poor and vulnerable regions.
13:51 The multi-dimensional vulnerability index, championed by vulnerable middle-income countries,
13:59 include those in the Caribbean.
14:02 This finds a place in the reform mix of financing for development.
14:07 St. Vincent and the Grenadines urges a strong support of the Bridgestone Initiative 2.0
14:13 and the MVI by this United Nations General Assembly.
14:17 St. Vincent and the Grenadines also endorses the initiative of the Bahamas to remove from
14:23 the OECD the Rich Club.
14:26 Any global authority assumes a sub-serenity on international taxation and related matters.
14:33 Properly, they ought to be resident in the United Nations.
14:38 Excellencies, developing countries must remain, must refrain from being mere prideful villagers,
14:48 obsessed with immediate trifles and blind ourselves to the far more compelling issues
14:56 beyond our individual control and which demand a unifying solidarity with others to confront
15:03 successfully our travails.
15:05 Poor, vulnerable, climate-distressed and resource-challenged developing countries are absolutely fed up
15:12 and insulted by the unfulfilled perennial promises of the developed world on climate
15:19 financing.
15:22 As in September 2015, at our United Nations, all nations signed on to the 17 Sustainable
15:30 Development Goals targeted for achievement by 2030.
15:34 Earlier this week, the bundle of issues centered on the SDGs were accorded a special consideration.
15:43 And admirably, a refreshing of them has been canvassed.
15:47 But the critical issue of a sufficiency of financing for development, including climate
15:53 financing and reparations, remains the proverbial elephant in the room to be effectively harnessed
16:00 to serve the deserving.
16:03 Here again, agreed commitments entered into must be translated into real actions.
16:10 St. Vincent and the Grenadines has been insisting as part of the conversation on the SDGs that
16:16 there must be a special carve-out for reparations from European countries for the legacies of
16:23 underdevelopment engendered by native genocide and the enslavement of African bodies, horrendous
16:31 crimes against humanity.
16:33 In this matrix, a special focus is required for Haiti.
16:40 The case for reparatory justice within the framework of the SDGs is compelling and unanswerably
16:47 strong.
16:49 The time for reparations has come.
16:52 This demand will not go away.
16:54 Africa, the Caribbean, and our diaspora, and others who hanker for a just world, insist
17:02 on it.
17:03 Excellencies, in our Caribbean community, one of our member states, Haiti, continues
17:10 to be confronted by multiple existential challenges of immediacy lodged in the political, security,
17:18 social, humanitarian, and environmental domains.
17:22 CARICOM is seeking to facilitate a political solution by engaging the widest cross-sections
17:28 of stakeholders to fashion a government of national unity to replace that which is bedeviled
17:35 by a lack of legitimacy and effectiveness, and to prepare the way for democratic elections
17:40 in a suitable time frame.
17:43 The United Nations Security Council cannot reasonably stand askence from this process
17:49 in circumstances in which the criminal gangs, inclusive of those with links to the government
17:55 and the national police, are essentially in control of the capital city.
18:01 Security supports, not an imperial invasion, are required to accompany the political consensus
18:09 so as to bolster humanitarian assistance, economic development, and a more orderly way
18:15 of life and living.
18:19 The situation is dire and growing worse by the day.
18:23 We must not allow ourselves the luxury of Haiti fatigue.
18:28 Indeed, the guns and bullets in the hands of the Haitian gangs are also in the bosoms
18:34 of assorted criminals across the Caribbean and Latin America, and sourced mainly from
18:39 the USA.
18:41 The US, the Caribbean, and Latin American governments must work together more earnestly
18:46 to stop this massive flow of guns and bullets.
18:51 Across the globe, resolutions to wars and perennial conflicts are urgently required.
18:57 The terrible situations, for example, in Ukraine, Palestine, several countries in Africa and
19:02 elsewhere, cry out for peaceful settlement between the warring tribes.
19:08 It is humane and wrong for the Palestinian people to be enduring colonial domination
19:14 and externally induced suffering for decades.
19:19 In our America, Your Excellencies, SILAC, led currently by the pro-temporary presidency
19:25 of St. Vincent and the Grenadines, is at the forefront of seeking to fortify our political
19:31 cooperation and enhance integration efforts.
19:36 SILAC is building vital bridges with several blocks across the world and countries.
19:42 All this is designed to promote peace, security, prosperity, and sustainable development for
19:48 all.
19:49 It is vital that our shared experiences be translated into shared expressions, including
19:58 institutional expressions, to get the practical work done to enhance life, living, and production
20:05 for all humanity.
20:08 And SILAC ought to be allowed to follow the African Union into membership of the G20.
20:14 Let us be more inclusive in solving intractable problems in practical ways.
20:20 I thus welcome the proposed initiative, the proposal of the European Union, to initiate
20:26 an institutional summit between the EU, the African Union, SILAC, ASEAN, and with the
20:32 Secretary General of the United Nations.
20:35 I await the details.
20:39 Excellencies, the days of masters and vassals are over.
20:46 The days of imperialism are drawing nigh.
20:51 And the would-be hegemons waiting in the wings, with their illusions of grandeur, past or
20:58 imagined, are bound for disillusionment.
21:02 In any new world order, the metaphoric lambs and the lions must lie down and rise up together
21:10 in mutual self-interest and respect and for a better world.
21:17 This world of 8 billion people deserves better.
21:21 We in the developing world reject the crumbs.
21:26 There is a loaf to be shared reasonably, with equity, and we must be at the deciding and
21:33 the eating tables.
21:36 Those who think that we speak with our heads in the clouds are profoundly mistaken.
21:43 We know that in the great cathedral of the sky, there is a sun for steeple.
21:49 It illuminates our pathways.
21:52 We see things clearly.
21:54 Men and women who see things clearly will never give up in the pursuit of peace, goodness,
22:00 equity and justice.
22:02 We do so with urgency, yet with a patience and a calm, knowing that even now, the greener
22:10 leaves explode, sun brightens stone, and all the river burns.
22:16 As I conclude, a summation from one of my country's poets, Daniel Williams, is apt.
22:23 "The present is the past, and the past our father's mischiefs.
22:33 In order to avoid the desecration of the future, we must be serious about the challenges at
22:39 hand and work assiduously in solidarity to address them satisfactorily.
22:46 To be sure, there is no perfection this side of eternity, but we can do better than we
22:52 have been doing.
22:55 Time is not on our side.
22:58 Let us sleep not to dream, but dream to change the world for the better."
23:06 Thank you.
23:17 On behalf of the Assembly, I wish to thank the Prime Minister and Minister of National
23:22 Security, Legal Affairs and Information of St. Vincent and the Grenadines for the statement
23:28 made and I request protocol to escort His Excellency.
23:33 The Assembly will hear an address by Her Excellency Fiyami Naomi Mata'afa, the Prime Minister
23:42 and Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade of the Independent State of Samoa.
23:50 I request protocol to escort Her Excellency.
23:53 At the 17th General Assembly of the United Nations on the fifth day, he highlighted that
23:58 in these troubled times it is necessary to put thin rights before humanity and that humanity
24:03 should not suffer from any peril.
24:06 He added that this country rejects the interference of the dominant powers and the country should
24:11 struggled, I would say it's the instrumental dominations.