Press release 116/2004
(8 July 2004)

Mr. Chairman, thank you for affording me the opportunity to speak today on Belize's fulfillment of its Quasi-Cabinet responsibility as it relates to sustainable development issues within the Region.

Mr. Chairman, it can be argued that the Region is more vulnerable now than we were ten years ago to economic pressures, a declining social fabric and environmental degradation. I do believe however, that we can best address these issues within a coordinated approach. This should happen on two fronts, at the national level and at the regional level, and in many instances they can occur simultaneously.

In my discussions with the Secretary-General on the sidelines of the 16th Meeting of the Council on Trade and Economic Development I offered to lead the Region in its preparations for Mauritius. I envisioned several aspects to that process. Firstly, there would need to be regular discussions among member states in the months leading up to the International Meeting. The Missions in New York, where the negotiations take place, would need to be supported in their deliberations. And, there would need to be a convening of key agencies and technical persons to support the overall process.

Technical persons in the Region have traditionally met within the framework of the Regional Sustainable Development Task Force to prepare for key International Meetings. Realizing that resources are not always available for such encounters, but recognizing the importance of exchange, Belize introduced a COTED Decision for the more effective functioning of the Caribbean Task Force on Sustainable Development. This decision allows for non-traditional approaches to be taken to convene the Task Force. I have been advised that these discussions will start soon, and I would encourage member states to take every opportunity offered by those exchanges.

Perhaps the most successful coordination in these preparatory months has occurred at New York. The Missions there have grouped themselves into a small open-ended working group where they meet on a regular basis to strategize, discuss and draft new language as necessary. To date this group includes representation from Barbados, Cuba, Guyana, and is coordinated by Belize. This group also forms the Caribbean component of the AOSIS Drafting Committee. As the International Meeting draws nearer, I would urge the other Caribbean Permanent Missions in New York to join the discussions of the open-ended working group.

At my request, the CARICOM Secretariat has been working with a key number of agencies and technical persons to convene a multi-disciplinary workshop, which I understand will take place in Belize in August. The focus of the workshop is to update member states on the implementation of regional sustainable development activities with the purpose of developing a coordinated strategy to promote these initiatives and to identify focal points for the same. It is recommended that delegations include technical persons from capitals, and the Geneva and New York Missions. I have been advised that funding has been identified for participation and the CARICOM Secretariat will be in contact with member states shortly with information on preparations and participation.

Mr. Chairman, the postponement of the International Meeting has raised concerns on the loss of momentum and interest, and the increased probability for distraction and manipulation. Agreeing that this 10 year Review will be the last of the major international review meetings, and recognizing that this will then be the last opportunity "to get it right", I propose the following actions:

1.      The Second Informal Consultation in September of this year should be afforded a high level of participation. Member States are encouraged to participate fully, and also to encourage developed countries to do the same. Although there is unlikely to be funding, countries are encouraged to include capitals as part of their delegation.

2.      There are a few, but vital, areas within the Strategy Paper that have not been agreed to. The G-77/ China has still not agreed on certain paragraphs of the text, and so, these were omitted from discussions with the partners. There are differences between the G-77/China and the developed countries and between AOSIS and some members of the G-77, mainly on matters relating to, energy and climate change. I encourage continued discussions among AOSIS Permanent Representatives to come to an amicable solution on the key outstanding issues. A G-77 resolution will support a unified approach in the next round of negotiations with the developed countries.

3.      The Nassau Declaration reemphasizes the priority given to the Barbados Programme of Action by SIDS. It remains our platform for sustainable development. I would encourage member states to include such sentiments in their presentations to the upcoming UN General Assembly, and indeed at every international forum.

4.      In a world of diplomacy and good working relationships it is not difficult for each of us to identify those in the developed world that have been our traditional supporters. In the coming months as we seek to find amicable solutions to outstanding issues, and as we continue to build support for our Strategy Paper, I would encourage Permanent Representatives to identify and prioritize those countries with which they have a good working relationship. I am informed that Canada has expressed an interest in being more supportive.

5.      Finally, I would like to encourage member states to forward to the CARICOM Secretariat their final comments on the Caribbean Regional Position Paper. Keeping the Paper open does not change its intent. We know our challenges, we know our concerns, and those do not change from one month to another. I would encourage that we finalize our Position Paper by the end of the Multi-disciplinary Workshop in August. I also urge Member States to complete and submit their national reports. These are long overdue.

The Barbados Programme of Action has represented for us in the Caribbean a tool in our decision making process. We have been guided by its recommendations and have implemented those where we could. Ten years later we are revisiting that tool, not to amend its purpose, not even its function, but make it more applicable to our needs. Mr. Chairman, let us not be divided, and let us not lose momentum, let us instead build on what we have accomplished. Belize remains your assistor in this process.

If I might take this opportunity then, to inform of the good work of the Regional Climate Change Centre. Mr. Chairman, Belize has been providing support for its day-to-day operations, but for the Centre to truly be the vision that we had in its establishment, significant additional resources will need to be mobilized. In this regard, I wish to thank the Government of Barbados for the financial contribution it has made to the Centre. My Deputy Prime Minister met with representatives of several European countries in January of this year. He approached these countries for support to sustainable development activities in the Region, and more specifically to introduce the newly established Regional Climate Change Centre. That meeting has proven to be very fruitful. It began a series of discussions with the Government of Italy who recently sent a high level team to Belize to meet with representatives of the Centre.

Since that visit, discussions have centered on identifying particular areas of support. To this end, in his address to the 5th Caribbean Ministerial Consultation on Regional Cooperation for E-government Capacity Building, held in Barbados a couple weeks ago, Mario Baccini, the Under-secretary of State for Foreign Affairs of Italy spoke positively on the possibilities to finance the development of the Centre in Belize.

These indications of support from our friends in the developed countries are indeed welcomed. But, there are also actions that can be taken within our Region to support the activities of the Centre.

Mr. Chairman, the experts at the Centre and the MACC Project have advised that member states of the Region have access to significant resources under the various multi-lateral environmental agreements. Many of these resources are available for activities at the national level but often require external expertise. These are, for example, national communication reports under the climate change convention and national action plans under the desertification convention. Member states have consistently approached these resources on a national basis and have used external institutions such as the OAS, UNDP and UNEP as executing agencies. We are foregoing opportunities to optimize on the resources and build permanent capacity in the Region.

I would appeal to Heads of Government to agree that we coordinate efforts in mobilizing these resources and wherever feasible, to use our regional agencies as executing agencies. In this respect, I would appeal to member governments to utilize the Climate Change Centre as the main provider of technical assistance for the preparation of their Second National Communications to the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change.

Mr. Chairman, public information, awareness and outreach are fundamental to all our initiatives at sustainable development. To this end, my Deputy Prime Minister launched a public education and outreach strategy for the region in Trinidad and Tobago in April 2004. We can agree that this must be a concerted effort. But, in the first instance, each member state needs to pursue programmes at the national level. A major focus of the Climate Change Centre and MACC project will be to support these national efforts.

Throughout its tenureship, Belize has relied heavily on the support of the CARICOM Secretariat for technical and logistical support in fulfilling its obligations. We trust that even in this transition period, this will continue to be the case, particularly as Belize attempts to implement the COTED Decision, and work with the Region to strategize and prepare for Mauritius.

Mr. Chairman, I need not remind you that as individual countries, our impacts are minimal, but as a coordinated group of countries, we can achieve much. I thank you for the opportunity provided to me to update you on the status of my Quasi-Cabinet responsibilities, and look forward to the coming months of continued working relationships.

Thank you.