Address by
The Honourable Trevor Walker
Minister of State in the Office of the Prime Minister
Antigua and Barbuda

On the occasion of the
General Debate
of the 60th Session
United Nations General Assembly

23 September, 2005
United Nations
New York

Mr. President,
Distinguished Heads,
Fellow Ministers,
Other Distinguished Guests:

This is the first time in history that a representative from the island of Barbuda is addressing the United Nations. For my country, the twin-island nation of Antigua and Barbuda, and more importantly for my fellow Barbudans, it is indeed an historic and significant moment.

Mr. President, let me begin by stating at the outset that the government and people of Antigua and Barbuda have full confidence in the multilateral system, and in the United Nations as the primary instrument of multilateralism. Further, we believe that only through cooperation at the international level can micro-states like mine, and other small-island developing states, begin to address the global threats and challenges that jeopardize our existence, our way of life, and our ability to progress.

Hence, my government and my country attach great importance to the work of the United Nations, and to the outcome of the collective decisions of this family of nations. As a small country, we look forward to safeguards within the outcome of multilateral processes, and here I refer specifically to the outcome document of the 2005 World Summit.

Mr. President, taking stock of the achievement of the objectives of the outcome of major UN conferences and summits is a task we approach with trepidation. 

Based on our experiences in Antigua and Barbuda in attempting to achieve and maintain a decent standard of living for our people and for future generations, our progress report is a mixed one, tinged with hope and frustration.

We are hopeful because we have achieved a lot with our meager resources. In the face of economic hardships we have managed to achieve a literacy rate of approximately 90% among youth 15-25 years old; access to primary and secondary education is mandatory and provided free of cost by the government to all students ages 5-16; all public school students are provided with school uniforms and the required text books free of cost; to accommodate our expanding student population only this week we commissioned a new school on the island of Barbuda.

Mr. President, poor people need to have access to the necessary resources so that they can be in charge of their own development – be the masters of their own destiny. This is why my people are extremely proud of what we consider a very progressive land policy with regards to the ownership of lands on the island of Barbuda. The Barbuda Lands Act, scheduled to be tabled in Parliament shortly, stipulates that all lands on Barbuda are to be owned, in common, by the Barbudan people.

Mr. President, ownership of land in Barbuda has long been a bone of contention between the local government in Barbuda and the central government on Antigua. This most recent lands act, I am happy to report, resolves that dispute in a manner that is acceptable to all, and most importantly, one that is welcome by the people of Barbuda.

In the area of health care, we in Antigua and Barbuda have a national medical benefits scheme that provides low-cost access to health services and prescription drugs; our child mortality rate is among the lowest in developing countries; and so too are nutrition levels of children 5 and under.

In spite of this, however, we are presently experiencing a high level of frustration with our development efforts because the progress we have made so far is at risk of being wiped away. As a middle-income small-island developing state, we are continually handed the sharp edge of the sword to hold on to, when it comes to a number of issues in international development. It is as if we are being punished by the international community for having achieved some measure of success thus far, with very meager resources, mostly through domestic efforts and despite severe external challenges.

Mr. President, allow me now to draw your attention to how we are treated with respect to some of these issues.

On the issue of Official Development Assistance (ODA), the Monterrey Consensus represents a pact between developed and developing countries, with the aim of scaling-up financing for development and making it more effective. Yet, Mr. President, we are forced to concede that, when we consider our circumstances, there is nothing in the Monterrey Consensus that so-called “middle income” countries can benefit from.

We have fulfilled the responsibilities accorded to governments of developing countries, as stipulated in the Monterrey Consensus, and continue to go beyond those responsibilities to not only adopt, but consolidate the principles of accountability, transparency and good governance, as we perceive them, within the national psyche. Yet there has been a declining trend in the flow of ODA to the Caribbean region, accompanied by stagnant or declining flows of foreign direct investment and other sources of capital.

Mr. President, what our experience has shown us is that it is necessary for international agreements on financing for development, like the Monterrey Consensus, to include all developing countries, and not sideline those that have achieved some measure of success, since this would only serve to undo the progress that we’ve made.

Mr. President our frustration with the Monterrey Consensus and financing for development in general would not be so acute had it not been for the brutal struggles we face in other areas that are potential engines for economic growth and development. This now brings me to the issue of trade.

Mr. President, we have been forced to ask ourselves if a pro-development trading regime is something the international community really wants. Out CARICOM neighbours have been dragged through brutal trade battles, struggling to keep their agricultural sectors alive – namely the banana and sugar industries. Mr. President, the Caribbean Community has for years been lamenting the importance of these two sectors to the livelihood of our people.

A pro-development trading regime would not amputate the feet of such small vulnerable players and leave them to hemorrhage – and that is exactly what has transpired with our banana and sugar producing CARICOM neighbours.

As if that were not enough, we in Antigua and Barbuda now find ourselves under attack in yet another sector. Mr. President, having realized the economic risks inherent in a single-sector economy, Antigua and Barbuda has been forced to diversify the services sector so that we can rely on more than one activity for much needed revenue and employment for our people. But here again, our attempts are made all the more difficult by unfair trading practices.

Last week, during the 2005 World Summit, my Prime Minister spoke of the need for us to seek WTO intervention in the dispute with the United States over Internet gaming. Mr. President, with trade in agriculture proving continually difficult for developing states in general, small-island states in particular, the services sector is just about the only option we have presently for diversification. And within the services sector, we cannot rely solely on one type of activity.

For Antigua and Barbuda, the tourism sector has been good to us, but it is extremely vulnerable, and our high level of environmental and economic fragility necessitates strategically identifying alternate options for economic growth and development. One such option suitable for us given our circumstances is Internet Gaming.

Yet we are finding it increasingly difficult to realize development benefits from this type of activity due to the unfair trading practices of highly developed countries, including the United States.

In addition to this, the principle of special and differential treatment for countries with special needs, like Small-island developing states, is constantly under perpetual assault by some of these very same highly developed countries. It is an untenable situation, in light of the clear and direct link between trade and development.

After careful consideration and evaluation, we are forced to conclude that there is nothing tangible for us in the Monterrey Consensus; we are beaten down on the issue of trade, so we attempt to hitch our proverbial wagon to foreign direct investment and international financing as a means of stimulating economic growth and development. But once again, our valiant efforts are met with frustration. Why? Because of the issue of debt.

Mr. President, our experience has shown that highly indebted countries find it extremely difficult to attract private international finance with a high debt burden. Indeed, the international community has realized the importance of debt reduction and forgiveness to development, evidenced by various HIPC initiatives, and the recent G8 initiative of debt cancellation for some of the most heavily indebted poor countries. Mr. President, we welcome this as a good and admirable starting point. We urge that the initiative go further to address the situation of all heavily indebted poor countries. We also urge that the situation of heavily indebted middle-income countries be given serious attention by the international community.

Mr. President, Antigua and Barbuda is very much concerned that if more is not done to address the debt problem of middle-income countries, we risk reversing our development gains, and instead of a reduction, the net result may actually be increasing levels of poverty.

Antigua and Barbuda is in full support of all efforts to achieve the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs). But for us the MDGs are part of a much broader approach to achieving social and economic development. In light of this, we urge that a progress assessment of the MDGs be done within the context of a more general assessment of broader development objectives, taking into consideration country-specific circumstances.

Mr. President, I now focus my attention to the issue of Sustainable Development. With regards to environmental sustainability, small islands like Antigua and Barbuda face the challenge of very limited land space, fragile eco-systems, and are highly vulnerable to natural disasters and the effects of climate change. Compounding these challenges is our heavy dependence on the natural environment to support our tourism product, which accounts for almost 80% of our GDP.

The situation is even more acute for the island of Barbuda, whose pristine natural environment is the pride and joy of Barbudans, and an indescribable experience delight for the visitors we welcome to our shores. Two-thirds of the island of Barbuda is merely a few feet above sea level. Threats to our natural environment are threats to our very way of life and existence. In this regard we welcome paragraphs 51 to 53 in the 2005 World Summit Outcome document, on the issue of climate change.

The devastation wrought by the increased intensity of hurricanes has set us back years, even decades on the development scale. Antigua and Barbuda stresses the need for the implementation of policies to mitigate the effects of hurricanes and other natural disasters. It is imperative that the international community strengthen assistance to small-island states to augment our adaptive capacities to climate change as well as to increase resilience to natural disasters.

Mr. President, distinguished Ministers and others, these are just some of the pressing domestic issues with which we are faced, but which requires international cooperation and multilateral negotiation for us to effectively address and successfully achieve.

I now turn my attention to two remaining issues of international importance. Firstly, the issue of international peace and security. Mr. President we live in a world in which the need for collective security has never been more critical. Last week’s World Summit demonstrated that world leaders recognize that there are new threats and new challenges to global peace and security, and confer that addressing these challenges require cooperation among all nations – evidenced by the adoption of the 2005 World Summit Outcome Document.

However, there are two particular aspects of international security to which I would like to speak. The first is the issue of international drug trafficking. This form of organized international criminal activity has major security implications for our islands.

Drug traffickers often use our shores and surrounding waters as transshipment points for their illegal cargo, resulting in an increase in criminal activity within our fragile societies.

These criminals operate within very sophisticated networks that are beyond the reach and capacity of our limited human and law enforcement resources. It is a situation that puts the security of the entire region at risk. This is one area that begs for greater international attention.

Secondly, our security problems are compounded by the issue of criminal deportees from developed countries. The policy of highly developed countries, with law enforcement capacities that dwarf the capacities of all the Caribbean countries combined, has severely compromised the peace and security of the region.

Already our societies are on the brink of destabilization due to high incidences of criminal activity to which criminal deportees are linked. Our reality is that we simply do not have the resources or the capacity to properly redress this issue. We believe it is an unfair policy on the part of developed countries, with negative implications for development. This is a sentiment that was expressed by the Prime Minister of Antigua and Barbuda when he addressed the General Assembly last week, and it is a point that I am compelled to underscore. The policy of deporting criminals to the Caribbean who have been indoctrinated in developed countries threatens the viability of our tourism product and by extension the viability of our economy.

It is on this latter issue in which we need the immediate cooperation of those States involved in this destructive and unjust practice. We implore those states guilty of such a practice to work more closely with us to address this issue. We fear the future consequence if something is not done now.

Mr. President allow me to now turn my attention to the issue of strengthening the United Nations. Antigua and Barbuda is in full agreement with recommendations to strengthen the United Nations, as contained in the Outcome Document of the 2005 World Summit.

We support those reform proposals the objective of which is to make the UN more democratic, increase its legitimacy, and enhance its work at both the international and national levels.

Antigua and Barbuda firmly believes that the UN is, and should remain, the primary forum for the collective action of states. At a time when multilateralism comes under attack, we, as small developing states, remain ever mindful of the need for the UN.

We would, however, welcome assurances that a reformed UN would be a more representative UN, more effective in the areas of development and peace building, and which gives equal consideration to the interests of all states – small and large.

Antigua and Barbuda is also keen on the successful implementation of reforms to improve the lives of people affected by violent conflicts, and to this end we look forward to swift and expeditious implementation of the proposals contained within the 2005 World Summit Outcome Document on the Peacebuilding Commission. We also look forward to implementation of the recommendation to strengthen the UN human rights machinery, as we believe that this can only serve to consolidate the gains we have made in the promotion of and respect for fundamental human rights.  These aspirations would allow us, as a collective family of humanity and continents of our planet to continue to make progress in this area.

Mr. President, distinguished heads, fellow Ministers, Antigua and Barbuda accords the highest levels of priority to social and economic development. We welcome this opportunity to review progress made in this area, and to chart the way for future progress. We share equally in the quest for peace and security, and are heartened by the growing recognition that there can be no genuine peace and security without development. We call for further and unambiguous acknowledgement of this security-development nexus, and for the economic development of all countries to be accorded equal priority as international peace and security.

Thank you