Addressing the 76th session of the United Nations General Assembly in New York, President Irfaan Ali yesterday urged that the movement of people not be curtailed based on the COVID-19 vaccines they took and he also upped the pressure on Venezuela over the border controversy between the two countries.
“The access to vaccines saw the world polarised. I know, I speak on behalf of many leaders when I say that we must not now hurt our efforts at ending this polarisation of access to vaccines by implementing measures that divide us and curtail our movement based on the type of vaccines our people took. Indeed, our efforts must be focused on full vaccination and addressing vaccine hesitancy. Millions took the vaccines which were available at a time of much uncertainty, and they are the unsung heroes. They must not now be the subject of restrictions based on the vaccines they took”, the President said.
Ali’s plea comes in the wake of the non-acceptance by some countries of vaccines in use here. This week the United States announced that from November all visitors will have to be double- vaccinated and a decision will be made on which vaccines will be accepted. Russia’s Sputnik V vaccine has been the major jab in use here but it is still to receive World Health Organisation approval for emergency use. If Washington doesn’t recognise this vaccine it means that Guyanese who have received it might be prohibited from entering the US or would have to face quarantine. Another option would be for these persons take one of the vaccines approved by the US Food and Drug Administration.
The President also spoke on the ravages of the COVID-19 pandemic and the road to recovery.
“Mr. President, the pandemic has wrecked Agenda 2030 for Sustainable Development that the members of this Organisation adopted in 2015.
“Development gains have been reversed, poverty has expanded, and inequality has widened.
“Widening fiscal deficits, mounting debt, reduced fiscal space and external financial flows have imperiled the capacity of developing countries to attain the sustainable development goals.
“Within developing countries, the pandemic has upended growth, increased unemployment, and weakened health and education systems”, he stated.
He added that education regression is now inevitable given the long period children have been forced out of the formal classroom and the challenges which many developing countries face in delivering virtual education.
Given these problems, economic recovery is essential to returning developing countries to the path of attaining the UN’s Sustain-able Development Goals. He said that such recovery will be slow unless there is international support in the form of debt rescheduling, debt service moratoriums and provision of soft resources to lift economies.
“My government restates its call for increased resources to be made available to States on the basis of their vulnerabilities and not only based on the misleading measure of per capita income.
“If these essential measures are not implemented, growth in developing countries will not be restored nor will economic and social policies be realigned along the path set out in Agenda 2030”, he declared.
The President also ratcheted up pressure on Venezuela over a deal between its government and its opposition which restated that country’s claim to Guyana’s Essequibo.
“Mr President, Guyana looks towards a post-pandemic era that will reset international relations by curbing territorial avarice and embracing peaceful cooperation.
“In this regard, we draw attention to the continued overt threats to Guyana’s territorial integrity and sovereignty by the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela.
“Just recently, an agreement was issued in Mexico City by which the contending internal factions in Venezuela renewed a baseless claim to two-thirds of Guyana’s territory.
“We have responded in clear terms. And I repeat our response now in these hallowed halls in which nations of the world meet in peace and cooperation.
“Guyana cannot be used as an altar of sacrifice for the settlement of Venezuela’s internal political differences”, Ali stated.
He said that while his government welcomes efforts to bring about domestic harmony within Venezuela, agreements that transgress international law and processes can be no basis for mediating such harmony. He noted that the UN Secretary-General has decided on the International Court of Justice as the means for settling the border controversy between the two countries and added that “Both Parties are therefore bound by the Court’s jurisdiction and ultimate decision”.
Venezuela is not participating in the process.
Climate change
President Ali also ad-dressed the climate change imperative.
“If emissions follow the trajectory set by current national commitments, there is a less than 5 percent chance of keeping temperatures well below 2°C relative to pre-industrial levels, and less than 1 percent chance of reaching the 1.5°C Paris Agreement target. Large polluters have simply not kept their word and mistrust now pervades the air. That, Mr President, is failure. It is also deception”, he declared.
Adverting to recent research by the Royal Institute of International Affairs, Ali said that it forecasts that cascading climate impacts can be expected to kill far more people than COVID-19, from hunger, intense heat, flooding, and more pandemics caused by the rise of pests and diseases.
“All this would drive political instability and greater national insecurity, and fuel regional and international conflict.
“Small island states and continental countries with low-lying coastlines, such as Guyana, would be the first to feel the full brunt of the impending disaster.
“Yet, our countries are among the lowest emitters of greenhouse gas emissions, contributing the least to the harmful and destructive effects of Climate Change. This is not only unfair; it is unjust”, he said.
Ali stated that the burden of reducing emissions is not carried equitably as small island developing and low-lying coastal states are punching above their weight in response to the global climate threats.
Referring to Guyana, he said “We are continuing to contribute meaningfully to reducing global emissions and to the decarbonisation of the world’s economy, even though our country is now an oil and gas producer.
“Apart from containing the CO2 emissions connected to the industry, we continue to pursue a path of developing energy from sustainable sources”.
In these circumstances, he said that Guyana has the right to insist on a fair system of burden-sharing.
He said that the COP26 climate conference in Glasgow in a few weeks’ time is the right and timely place to start.
“The worst emitters must make binding commitments in Glasgow to stop their profligacy. And they must scale up their contributions to help small and vulnerable economies to build up resilience to the prolonged effects of damage that has already been done.
“Failure to do so will shatter even more any confidence that the people of the world may still have that polluting nations will do the right thing”, he declared.
