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Antigua and Barbuda’s Deputy United Nations Ambassador, Tumasie Blair, spoke about the upcoming International Conference on Small Island Developing States (SIDS4) to be held in the country next month.
The conference is viewed as the last chance to save SIDS, which are facing grave threats such as climate change, access to finance, debt sustainability, and overall social development.
The conference will take place from May 27-30 in St. John’s, and it aims to address these issues and to achieve some level of sustainability going forward.
Blair stated that Antigua and Barbuda has taken the hosting of SIDS4 seriously and has spent the last few years doing the preparatory work.
The conference will tackle major issues such as climate change, access to finance, debt sustainability, and overall social development of SIDS.
According to Blair, the Caribbean region is severely affected by many of the issues that will be the focus of deliberations.
Blair emphasized that the Caribbean is also a champion for other SIDS regions and that this conference is an opportunity to shine the light on the larger Caribbean region.
He said that more than anything, the Caribbean has been feeling the effects of climate change and the fallout from economic crisis.
Blair believes that it is clear that there needs to be specialized attention to SIDS, and he hopes that the conference will end with a firm commitment from the international community to address the needs of SIDS.
Blair acknowledged that developing countries, including many SIDS, have complained about the international community not living up to the commitments made at many international conferences, including the global climate change talks.
In an effort to get countries to honour their commitments, Antigua and Barbuda has spent the last two to three years being strategic “in knocking on doors” and “forming alliances and ensuring that once international partners have decided on commitment, that we’re able to hold them accountable.”
He expressed hope that the conference will conclude with a firm commitment from the international community to fully address the needs of SIDS.
The commitments are detailed in the outcome document, and Blair is confident that they will be able to achieve some level of sustainability going forward, based on the contents of the outcome document and its implementation.
These international communities have made financial commitments to the SIDS and have not fulfilled them. Why they haven’t because some of these SIDS leaders are greedy, don’t care about their people, country development, they only care about their enrichment scheme leaving their people in poverty, and their country infrastructure poorly maintained, poor water supply, poor Medicare, education system struggling, low wages and high cost of living.