UNITED NATIONS – Stating that, over the decades, Trinidad and Tobago has anchored its multilateral engagement on the founding purposes and principles of the United Nations, Foreign Affairs Minister Amery Browne on Saturday called on the Russian Federation to immediately cease its invasion of Ukraine.
Foreign Affairs Minister Amery Browne“We have nurtured these principles by maintaining a strong tradition of democratic governance, which respects constitutionally enshrined fundamental human rights and freedoms, and promotes strict adherence to the rule of law,” Browne told the 77th Session of the United Nations General Assembly Debate. “Trinidad and Tobago accordingly is bound by duty to uphold these principles unconditionally and to defend them, whenever there is evidence of breach.
“This is why Trinidad and Tobago cannot accept or ignore any unilateral attempt to violate the sovereignty and territorial integrity of any state,” he added. “The violation of Ukraine’s internationally agreed borders constitutes a flagrant violation of the UN Charter and of international law. It is a clear threat to international peace and security, and the only credible solution is to end this aggression immediately.
“Therefore, we call on the Russian Federation to immediately abandon its action and to resume negotiations with the Ukrainians in good faith to find a peaceful and durable resolution,” Browne continued.
As the war in Ukraine rages, the Foreign Affairs Minister said fuels, such as coal, are having “quite a resurgence,” stating that the commitments made at a recent, major United Nations Conference on Climate Change in Glasgow, Scotland are “at risk of being severely derailed.”
At the same time, he said climate finance commitments made by developed countries are “definitely not on track.”
“Droughts, wildfires, floods, and cataclysmic hurricanes and typhoons are realities that small island states know all too well,” Browne said. “At the same time, slow-onset events, such as the deterioration of coral reefs and the influx of sargassum seaweed, threaten our fragile ecosystems and the livelihoods of our people, especially our fisherfolk and those dependent on tourism.”
Accordingly, he said Trinidad and Tobago calls for the “full and effective” implementation of the Paris Agreement on Climate Change.
“A dedicated facility to address loss and damage under the UNFCCC (United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change) Financial Mechanism is an absolute necessity,” Browne said. “These actions must be prioritized because what is at stake is the very existence and viability of small island States.”
He said the added burden of rampant global inflation and the crises of food, fuel, feed and fertilizers have placed “extraordinary strain on our economies and our people, further imperiling our ability to achieve sustainable development across the globe.”
On achieving food security for all people, the Trinidad and Tobago Foreign Affairs Minister urged the international community to work together to accelerate global food production.
He said CARICOM leaders have not just been calling for action but have been acting in “solidarity and with decisiveness.”
He noted that, in August, Trinidad and Tobago hosted the Second CARICOM Agri-Investment Forum and Expo, as part of the region’s commitment to reduce its food import bill by 25 percent by 2025.
Browne said Trinidad and Tobago is “firmly committed” to working with CARICOM and other partners towards the restoration of peace and stable democratic governance in Haiti.
“Our objective must be to work with the Haitians to secure their long-term progress and future,” he said. “We, therefore, urge the United Nations system and the international donor community to urgently strengthen their role and engagement with Haiti.
“We encourage them to provide the necessary assistance to quell the ongoing and devastating gang violence and to urgently improve the humanitarian situation in that country,” he added.
Browne said efforts in the Caribbean to build safe and peaceful societies are being “completely undermined” by transnational organized crime, human trafficking, the illicit trade of drugs, and a steady flow of illegal firearms from “source countries beyond our region – all contributing to unacceptably high levels of gang violence within our communities.”
“We are committed to further strengthening our cooperation with regional and international partners to address these challenges, which threaten the very stability of our societies,” he affirmed, stating that violent extremism, international terrorism and the use of technology for criminal purposes “remain clear and present dangers.”
In combatting these phenomena, the Foreign Affairs Minister said Trinidad and Tobago attaches “the highest value” to collaborating with the United Nations and other international partners.
“We must bear in mind, that in addressing extremism, there must be no compromise to the constitutionally protected rights and freedoms of our citizens,” he said.
Browne said while Trinidad and Tobago “assiduously work” to encourage and ensure the inclusion of women in places and spaces of decision-making, “we must continue to insist that the rights of women and girls are fully respected and protected, at all levels of society.”
He said violence against women and girls continues to be “a menace, destroying lives, and impeding overall progress toward balanced and inclusive sustainable development.
“Addressing this must be a priority,” he said, adding that, in the twin-island republic, a growing number of stakeholders, including the private sector, have now joined the national effort “to make our society safe for women and girls.”
Browne said a transformative global agenda, such as the UN’s 2030 Agenda, “necessitates a transformative economic and financial framework that is compatible with the achievement of the SDGs (Sustainable Development Goals).
“Without such a shift in the global architecture, even the best efforts at the national level will not produce the results that we need in the Global South,” he said. “Trinidad and Tobago calls on the international community to adopt tailored measures and solutions to address the fundamental financing challenges that developing countries face, with particular attention to LDCs (Less Developed Countries) and SIDS (Small Island Developing States).
“One such measure is the adoption of a multidimensional vulnerability index, which we consider to be an utmost priority,” he added.
The Trinidad and Tobago Foreign Affairs Minister also reiterated calls for reparatory justice for the unpaid debt for centuries of enslavement of African people, for the historical crimes of native genocide visited upon the indigenous peoples of the world, and for the “exploitative legacy” of colonialism “that has directly resulted in the persistent underdevelopment of Caribbean nations and so many others.”
In addition, Browne called for the abandonment and destruction of all nuclear weapons “as the only means of guaranteeing the avoidance of total annihilation of humankind.”
He also repeated calls for the “unconditional lifting of the unjust economic, commercial and financial embargo imposed on the people of Cuba, and for the full integration of Cuba into the international economic and political system.
“We also continue to call for a long-lasting and mutually agreed, two-state solution to the Israel-Palestine conflict, which would guarantee the Palestinians a permanent homeland and recognize Israel’s right to exist in peace and security,” Browne said.
To get the UN’s 2030 Agenda back on track, he said all stakeholders, whether big or small, powerful or otherwise, “must embrace the value of multilateralism.
“Clearly, we are not quite there yet,” he said, echoing the words of one of Trinidad and Tobago’s “greatest calypsonians, David Rudder, who in his iconic song ‘Rally Round the West Indies’ said, ‘soon we must take a side or be lost in the rubble, in a divided world that don’t need islands no more, are we doomed forever to be at somebody’s mercy? Little keys can open up mighty doors.’
“This world needs the little islands,” Browne added. “We bring a unique perspective that is valuable and beneficial and necessary.”
