UN Secretary General Antonio Gutteres yesterday appealed to CARICOM Heads over what he called the appalling humanitarian crisis in Haiti and called for concerted effort in the region to fight climate change even as he agreed that new architecture was needed for financing.
Addressing heads yesterday at their 45th regular meeting in Port of Spain, Trinidad, Guterres said he had just arrived from Haiti where the security situation is “appalling, humanitarian needs are soaring, and there is not yet the political solution in sight. But I came with hope and optimism”.
He added: “It is impossible to look at the crisis without seeing the long shadow of centuries of colonial exploitation, extortion, dictatorship and other screaming injustices”, declaring, “we must help ease the suffering of the Haitian people”.
The Trinidad meeting coincides with CARICOM’s 50th anniversary, and Gutteres said “I want to remind that our humanitarian appeal is only funded at 23 per cent. It is a tragedy within a tragedy.
“I want to recognize the critical efforts of CARICOM leaders to extend your good offices, the meeting in Jamaica and the three high-level personalities involved.
“I will continue to push for a robust international security force – authorized by the Security Council – to be able to help to help the Haitian national police to defeat and dismantle the gangs, and I reiterate my call to all partners to increase support for the national police in the form of financing, training, and equipment.
“Let’s be clear: There can be no lasting security without strengthened democratic institutions – and there can be no strong democratic institutions without a drastic improvement in the security situation”.
He told the CARICOM Heads that the challenges in Haiti require greater engagement and greater solidarity, adding that that was precisely the founding spirit of CARICOM.
Pointing out that CARICOM has advanced cooperation on every front – from economic and social development … to fighting illegal drugs and arms trafficking… to combatting non-communicable diseases … to advancing gender equality, Gutteres turned to the climate battle.
He stated that the anniversary was a time for critical reflection on the enormous challenges confronting the Caribbean. He posited that COVID-19 destroyed lives and livelihoods, tourism and export receipts temporarily collapsed and prices for fuel and food skyrocketed.
All the while, he said that the climate emergency continues to escalate – threatening the very existence of small island and low-lying coastal states.
He said that action was needed on two fronts, finance being the first.
“Today’s crisis has revealed an international financial system that is outdated, dysfunctional, and unfair. As part of our preparation for the Summit of the Future, I put forward a detailed blueprint for a redesigned global financial architecture, including the Bretton Woods system. But change will not happen overnight”, he said.
He said that he had proposed a set of actions world leaders can take now.
They include:
A Sustainable Development Goal Stimulus for investments in sustainable development, climate action, and more.
An enhanced and effective debt relief mechanism.
New financial tools, such as swaps that convert debts into investments in climate adaptation.
An increase in the capital base of Multilateral Development Banks and a change in their business model with a new approach to risk to be able to leverage more private finance at a reasonable cost in support of developing countries.
The re-channelling of Special Drawing Rights.
He also recommended a shift in subsidies – away from fossil fuels and unsustainable agriculture and food systems into sustainable development.
He also supported the call for a Multidimensional Vulnerability Index.
He pointed to the action needed on climate.
“Limiting the rise in global temperature to 1.5 degrees Celsius is still possible. But it will require carbon emissions to be cut by 45 per cent by 2030.
“That is why I have proposed a Climate Solidarity Pact – in which all big emitters make extra efforts to cut emissions; and wealthier countries support emerging economies to do so.
“And that is why I have put forward an Acceleration Agenda to boost these efforts.
“I urge Governments to hit fast forward on their net-zero deadlines so that developed countries commit to reaching net-zero as close as possible to 2040 and emerging economies as close as possible to 2050, and Caribbean countries have been showing the way”, Guterres pleaded.
He said that developed countries must also finally make good on their financial commitments to developing countries – including by meeting the US$100 billion goal, doubling adaptation finance, replenishing the Green Climate Fund, and operationalizing the loss and damage fund this year.
He ended his presentation by referring to a line from David Rudder.
“In his iconic song Rally Round the West Indies, the great calypsonian David Rudder said: `soon we must take a side or be lost in the rubble, in a divided world that don’t need islands no more.’”
My message is clear: our world needs the islands, Gutteres declared, adding “We need to rally round CARICOM”.
