Address to the Special Session for the Review and Appraisal of the Programme of Action for the Sustainable Development of Small Island Developing States
Date: 27 Sep 1999
Speaker: Secretary-General Chief Emeka Anyaoku
Location: United Nations General Assembly, New York, USA
More than three-fifths of the Commonwealth Secretariat's development assistance is directed towards supporting the sustainable development of small states, covering many of the components of the 1994 Barbados Programme of Action that we are reviewing here. The Commonwealth, through its operation of a small states office, assists some nine small Commonwealth countries to have representation here at the United Nations (UN). As a result of a special Ministerial Mission undertaken last year at the request of Commonwealth Heads of Government, we have formed a joint Task Force with the World Bank which is making a comprehensive assessment of how the international community can assist small states in mitigating the various constraints caused by their vulnerability, in order to accelerate their economic development.
As a contribution to this general debate, I would like to suggest six priority areas where action is urgently needed to give impetus to the sustainable development of small states.
First, it is vital to avert serious environmental threats like climate change and sea-level rise. The Kyoto Protocol to the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change must enter into force as soon as possible and commitments to reduce greenhouse gas emission should be implemented effectively, with further steps taken to slow down global warming. Vulnerable small states need urgent assistance in developing and implementing plans for adapting to climate change and sea-level rise at national, sub-regional and regional levels. Other environmental challenges must also be addressed, such as developing effective policies for waste management; reducing potential threats posed by the shipment of nuclear wastes; protecting the marine environment from pollution from various sources; and reducing the adverse environmental impacts of tourism, on which several. small states are so dependent.
Second, the destruction caused by Hurricane Floyd in the Bahamas just a few weeks ago has underscored the importance of strengthening international mechanisms for providing assistance to meet pre- and post-disaster requirements of vulnerable countries. Financing, that is both adequate and timely, is needed to improve disaster preparedness as well as to support reconstruction and rehabilitation of infrastructure destroyed by natural disasters.
Third, multilateral, regional and bilateral development organisations should take account of vulnerability in the design of their programmes of assistance for small states. A set of criteria broader than GDP per capita, including explicit vulnerability indicators, should be applied flexibly to determine the economic status and development assistance requirements of small states. In this regard, the Commonwealth Secretariat has developed a Vulnerability Index for developing countries which could serve as a useful operational tool.
Fourth, there should be a moratorium on decisions to graduate small states out of the status of Least Developed Countries at the United Nations, until a sound and robust methodology - which includes indicators of vulnerability - is developed to guide such decisions.
Fifth, longer transition periods and financing mechanisms can help small states to integrate their economies into a more open international trading system, meet transitional costs and gain greater benefits from trade. There is a persuasive case for extending special and differential treatment to the more vulnerable small states. These countries need greater access to markets for their exports and assistance in diversifying their economies as well as improving their competitiveness. The concerns of vulnerable small states should be given greater recognition in any new round of multilateral trade negotiations launched by the WTO Ministerial Meeting in Seattle later this year.
And finally, all institutions presently involved in supporting capacity building in small states, need to develop a coherent and properly co-ordinated strategy to support human resource development and institutional strengthening in those countries experiencing constraints in key, areas of economic and environmental management and planning.
I recall that just prior to the 1994 Barbados Conference, I had the opportunity to participate in the work of an Eminent Persons Group at the invitation of the Governor-General of Barbados which made several recommendations on the sustainable development of SIDS. We were greatly encouraged by the Programme of Action agreed in Barbados. But five years later, as I have pointed out earlier, there remains much to be done. For its part, the Commonwealth will continue to do all that it can by itself, and working in partnership with the United Nations and other international organisations, to ensure that as we enter a new millennium, small states will become less vulnerable and be able to enjoy greater security and prosperity.
27 September 1999
New York
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