President of the General Assembly, H.E. John Ashe

Excellency UN Secretary General,

Excellency Prime Minister Tuilaepa Lupesoliai,

Colleagues,

Ladies and Gentlemen,

 

Thank you for inviting me to this Breakfast meeting to share our expectations for the upcoming Third International Conference on Small Island Developing States in 2014.

 

Given the importance that South Africa attaches to the vulnerabilities of SIDS, I personally attended the Second International Conference on SIDS which took place in Mauritius in January 2005.

 

Also, in 2011 when South Africa hosted the Durban Climate Change Conference, the SIDS played a key role in shaping the Durban outcome, particularly in elevating the issue of ambition, which is of crucial importance to all developing countries, including African countries which are particularly vulnerable to the adverse effects of climate change.

Today we are confronted with challenges whose scale and magnitude require global responses and collective actions.

We believe that climate change and the resultant natural disasters we continue to witness require special attention in order to highlight the vulnerabilities of the developing countries particularly the SIDS.

 

We know that vulnerabilities related to climate change can result in loss of lives, and damage to property and infrastructure that can easily cripple their small economies.

The adoption of the Barbados Programme of Action in 1994 was a milestone to highlight the plight of the SIDS.

Indeed the Barbados Programme of Action became an expression of the will and commitment of the international community to assist SIDS to deal with their unique vulnerabilities.

 

While natural disasters affect many developing countries, SIDS are most affected given their unique geographic circumstances.

At the 2002 Johannesburg World Summit on Sustainable Development, the SIDS were recognised as a special case both for environment and development.

It was recognized that although they continue to take the lead in the path towards sustainable development in their countries, the SIDS are increasingly constrained by the interplay of adverse factors as underlined in Agenda 21. The efforts of the SIDS to develop in a sustainable manner continue to be frustrated by an unfavourable international environment.

 

We maintain that the on-going debate on post-2015 development agenda should take into account these vulnerabilities that threaten the realisation of development aspirations of the people living in SIDS.

We reiterate the call we made in 2005 that the international community should increase its efforts to provide support to developing countries.

It is critical that commitments to financial, technical assistance and technology transfer should be fulfilled for people in SIDS to enjoy decent lives and security.

 

We are fully cognisant that sustainable development is primarily a national responsibility, but that for the developing countries to succeed, the Rio Principles, including, the principle of common but differentiated responsibilities, must be given specific expression for SIDS.

We fully support efforts to organise the Third International Conference for (SIDS) next year in Samoa.

And we join others in wishing Samoa all the best in hosting this Conference in the coming year. South Africa stands ready to share its experience in hosting events of that magnitude.

 

The Samoa conference will be an opportunity to build on the Barbados Programme of Action (BPOA), the Johannesburg Plan of Implementation (JPOI) and the Mauritius Strategy for Implementation (MSI) while we set the post-2015 development agenda.

I am also pleased about this opportunity to engage with the SIDS in the context of setting the stage for the post-2015 development agenda.

 

The SIDS will undoubtably be an important partner in shaping the debate on how best to integrate the economic, social and environmental pillars of sustainable development in a balanced manner.

It is important that all developing countries work closely together to ensure that our developmental imperatives and vulnerabilities to environmental degradation are addressed in the decisions taken.

 

I hope that Africa and the SIDS, in particular, can deepen their cooperation in the post-2015 development agenda.  

I thank you.