In summation to the planetary challenges surrounding climate, information and the raging COVID-19 pandemic, the Prime Minister of Saint Vincent and the Grenadines on Saturday drew the attraction of the 76th UN General Assembly to devastating volcanic eruptions and the on-rushing Atlantic Hurricane play confronting his small-island processing State (SID).
In his code to the high-level General Debate, Ralph E. Gonsalves cited a “real uncertainty” astir the future, explaining that a “new paradigm” is making outmoded approaches irrelevant and instead requires caller initiatives and “transformational leadership”.
“We are astatine historical crossroads of a peculiar kind. We indispensable rise, collectively, to code sensibly, the requisite caller imperatives successful these, our astir challenging, times”, helium said.
World successful a tailspin
The coronavirus pandemic has thrust the world into “a veritable tailspin”, the Prime Minister said, urging everyone to enactment speech their differences and work successful solidarity to tackle the pandemic.
However, this has not been the case.
“Globally, we person witnessed unacceptable vaccine nationalism; the politicization of the roll-out of the vaccines; and the roll-out of vaccines for the affluent archetypal and the mediocre afterwards” helium lamented.
He spoke of vaccine hesitancy amongst his country’s population, underscoring the request to stop “anti-vax misinformation and disinformation” and warned that the pervasive inequalities that defined the pre-COVID governmental and socioeconomic bid “must not go tomorrow's nightmarish reality”.
Mr. Gonsalves also acknowledged “notable, and noble, enactment by immoderate planetary institutions, such arsenic the World Health Organization (WHO), World Bank, and COVAX Facility, to marque vaccines much accessible to mediocre oregon marginalized countries”.
Teetering connected the brink
Unless the satellite changes course, the Prime Minister warned that a “looming ecological catastrophe awaits humanity”.
“Climate alteration is an existential menace to humanity”, and particularly to tiny land processing States, he underscored, advocating for large emitters of planetary greenhouse gases to find “the governmental volition and requisite resources” to code this “grave challenge”.
While “hoping for the best” at the upcoming UN Climate Conference (COP26) in Glasgow, Scotland, Mr. Gonsalves admitted, “we fearfulness the worst”, namely “more procrastination and the ducking of superior work by the large emitters”.
“Humanity is astatine the midnight hour. Can we conscionable the challenge? We whitethorn not unrecorded to find retired the reply if the accustomed continues”, helium said, calling connected the satellite leaders to renew their efforts to protect “his satellite that we each telephone home”.
Other pressing concerns
Having suffered a bequest of under-development, Caribbean countries need “urgent, global, multi-lateral action” on several issues, according to the Prime Minister.
He listed meaningful indebtedness restructuring; replacing per-head GDP with a Vulnerability Index to assess development financing; and reversing the slow-down of Official Development Assistance by affluent countries, among others.
Noting that today’s lessons “mirror galore of those lodged successful the tiring, and oft-times tired, struggles of yesteryear”, Mr. Gonsalves urged the satellite to reorganize itself “locally, regionally, nationally and globally”, to find peace, security, and improvement “to each countries and peoples”.
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