Barbados Prime Minister Mia Mottley delivered a forceful address at the 81st United Nations General Assembly, warning that people are losing trust in the UN and calling for stronger action on global conflicts.
Mottley argued that the UN Security Council’s veto should not prevent action when populations face genocide, crimes against humanity or large-scale war crimes. She also called for reforms to the Security Council and UN Secretariat.
In her speech, Mottley cited a reported 245,000 battle-related deaths in 2025 and warned about the growing number of conflicts around the world. Her remarks focused on UN reform, global peace, accountability and restoring confidence in international institutions.
#MiaMottley #Barbados #UNGA #UnitedNations #UN #UNSecurityCouncil #GlobalConflicts #UNReform #VetoPower #WorldNews #InternationalNews #Geopolitics #Peace #BreakingNews
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Mottley argued that the UN Security Council’s veto should not prevent action when populations face genocide, crimes against humanity or large-scale war crimes. She also called for reforms to the Security Council and UN Secretariat.
In her speech, Mottley cited a reported 245,000 battle-related deaths in 2025 and warned about the growing number of conflicts around the world. Her remarks focused on UN reform, global peace, accountability and restoring confidence in international institutions.
#MiaMottley #Barbados #UNGA #UnitedNations #UN #UNSecurityCouncil #GlobalConflicts #UNReform #VetoPower #WorldNews #InternationalNews #Geopolitics #Peace #BreakingNews
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NewsTranscript
00:00The veto should not be allowed to paralyze the Security Council when action is most urgently needed.
00:08This is why people are losing trust in the United Nations and its Council.
00:14And Mr. President, it's not fair to the majority of member states who still believe in the promise of this
00:20body, even as we call.
00:23Mr. President, Excellencies, my friends, we meet at a time when the obstacles confronting human progress are multiplying.
00:35Obstacles to peace, obstacles to food and clean water, obstacles to finance, medicine and education, obstacles to movement and opportunity,
00:47obstacles to technology, to the knowledge and infrastructure needed to use it.
00:53And increasingly, obstacles between nations, between communities and between people who no longer agree on the same facts or trust
01:02the same institutions.
01:05War continues to destroy lives and communities, even though the international community possesses more tools than ever, ever before, to
01:15prevent conflict and to facilitate dialogue.
01:18The climate crisis is accelerating, even though the science is clear enough for us to act, and many of the
01:27solutions are already known.
01:30And despite unprecedented global wealth, millions remain without reliable access to food, water, health or shelter.
01:41These challenges, my friends, are creating the polycrises of which we constantly speak.
01:48And at the same time, new challenges are emerging.
01:52Artificial intelligence is opening extraordinary possibilities in health, education, science and productivity,
02:00while also creating new risk of exclusion, exploitation, surveillance and the distortion of truth.
02:08And yet, the cooperation needed to confront these challenges is under strain.
02:14It is why I believe the theme this year is so apt, restoring trust, managing transformation, a united nation that
02:24delivers for all.
02:26The theme reminds us that we have institutions created to preserve peace, to advance development and, yes, to protect human
02:34dignity.
02:34The institutions are these very united nations.
02:40We have shared principles grounded in sovereign equality and in the recognition that our responsibilities extend beyond borders.
02:48The reality is that we understand that there is, regrettably, enough for us to be able to invest in prevention
03:03rather than waiting to finance reconstruction.
03:07We understand enough about the climate crisis to reduce the emissions that are warming our planet and take the necessary
03:16steps for our populations to adapt.
03:19We equally now understand enough about the rapid development of AI to know that, as we welcome its promise, we
03:27must anchor its development in a universal, humanizing framework that does not imperil our existence as human beings.
03:38The failure, my friends, to address these challenges, therefore, is not one simply of knowledge or capacity.
03:46It is our repeated failure to convert what we know into what we do, to turn principle into practice and
03:54global capacity into solidarity.
03:57So, beneath our many crises lies yet another one, and, yes, it is a crisis of responsibility.
04:06Mr. President, that responsibility begins here in these halls.
04:10The transformation we seek for a better world will only happen when we trust each other and we accept our
04:17responsibility for each other.
04:19However, we in the Caribbean understand something about the necessity of living together.
04:26We had no choice.
04:29Barbadian novelist and essayist George Lamming once described the Caribbean as perhaps the first global experiment in human history,
04:37bringing together, and I quote, every branch of the human family,
04:42from the indigenous peoples of the Americas to the diverse peoples from Africa, Europe, and Asia.
04:47It is as though that we, through this torturous and shared history of migration, conquest, slavery,
04:55and the difficult work of constructing a common national and regional destiny,
05:00that we give the world an example to follow.
05:03Against all the odds, the Caribbean produced what Lamming called a new kind of global family.
05:11Our history has taught us that difference need not mean division,
05:18that coexistence requires dialogue and negotiation,
05:22and that those without the power to compel must learn the power of persuasion.
05:29These are not merely Caribbean lessons.
05:32They're universal.
05:34And it is in this spirit I'd like to thank Her Excellency Annalena Birbock
05:39for her leadership of the General Assembly's 80th session
05:42and for helping to advance the work of the Member States on UN reform.
05:47And to you, Mr. President, Barbados extends its warm congratulations.
05:53We look forward to your stewardship of this Assembly,
05:57and we move to restore trust and, indeed, to carry reforms from proposals to implementation.
06:05But reform cannot be selective.
06:08We cannot move swiftly to reorganize offices and reporting lines
06:13while allowing the most consequential questions of power and representation to remain unresolved.
06:20Transformation and development, peacekeeping and humanitarian aid cannot succeed
06:26if Member States are unwilling to fund it.
06:29Let's be very clear.
06:31No organizational chart can overcome the refusal of states
06:35to respect decisions that they find inconvenient.
06:39We cannot continue to ask international organizations to do more
06:44while failing to provide them with the resources necessary
06:48to fulfill the mandates that we ourselves have agreed.
06:52And if Member States believe in the institutions that they have created,
06:58then we must also be prepared to sustain them.
07:04Barbados has consistently met that responsibility,
07:09and I give this body the assurance that we will continue to do so.
07:13Our commitment to multilateralism, to an international rules-based order,
07:17must be measured not only by what we ask of these institutions,
07:21but by our willingness to support them.
07:25So, yes, let us improve the machinery.
07:27But let us also reform the exercise of power.
07:32The Security Council still has 15 members,
07:36five of them permanent and armed with that veto.
07:40Africa, with 54 states, has no permanent seat.
07:46And you've heard speaker after speaker after speaker
07:49come to this platform to say that this must change.
07:54Small island developing states equally confront threats
07:59that now reach squarely into the Council's mandate,
08:02from climate insecurity and illicit arm flows
08:06to organise crime and displacement.
08:09And yet, despite constituting one quarter of the world's states,
08:14we have no assured representation within the Councils.
08:19This, too, my friends, must change.
08:23And the world, we know, has already changed.
08:27The Council has not changed with it.
08:30But reform is not only about who sits at the table.
08:36It is about how power is exercised.
08:39Barbados is therefore joining 123 other member states
08:43in supporting the Franco-Mexican initiative
08:46on the use of the veto in the cases of mass atrocities.
08:52Its principle is fundamental.
08:55Where populations face genocide, crimes against humanity,
09:01or large-scale war crimes,
09:04the veto should not be allowed to paralyse the Security Council
09:09when action is most urgently needed.
09:12This is why people are losing trust in the United Nations
09:17and its Council.
09:18And, Mr. President, it's not fair to the majority of member states
09:22who still believe in the promise of this body.
09:26Even as we call for greater equity
09:29with the reform of the Security Council,
09:31we must equally reform the Secretariat
09:34to better support peacekeeping and the resolution of conflicts.
09:39We've been told that there are more conflicts today
09:42than at any time since the United Nations was established.
09:46And, regrettably, these conflicts
09:48are in almost every corner of the planet.
09:50The Oslo Peace Institute reported
09:53that in 2025, last year,
09:59245,000 individuals faced battle-related deaths.
10:05That is almost Barbados' population.
10:10I'm told that this makes it the third most violent year
10:14in the post-Cold War era.
10:17My friends, the scale of human tragedy is mounting.
10:24And whether it is in Gaza, or the West Bank, or Lebanon,
10:28or Yemen, or Sudan, or Ukraine, or elsewhere,
10:32last year we feared
10:37that there was a risk of conflicts in the Middle East
10:39widening even further.
10:41And the conflicts continue.
10:44These fears, regrettably, have come to pass.
10:48And with a global impact,
10:51nevertheless,
10:54indeed,
10:55conflicts are more protracted
10:57and more fragmented.
10:59And when coupled with hunger
11:01and unsustainable debt
11:03and a warming planet,
11:04it becomes a veritable hell
11:07for the citizens of those countries.
11:12Increases in energy
11:13and transport costs
11:15and in interest rates
11:17have spurred inflation.
11:19It means that no one,
11:21even on the other side of the world,
11:24can escape the hardships
11:26in meeting their daily needs.
11:28The truth is,
11:31until there is a two-state solution
11:34that respects the rights and territories
11:37of both the Israelis and Palestinians,
11:40we will continue to live on the edge in this world.
11:53And you may well ask,
11:54how have we gotten here?
11:55We need to address with laser-like focus
11:58each and every one of these conflicts.
12:03Legitimacy demands that of us.
12:06And let us let the UN
12:08deliberately and systematically
12:10deploy nimble mediation teams
12:13led by political leaders,
12:15current and retired,
12:17on behalf of the Secretary General
12:20and enjoying the Secretary General's
12:22confidence and authority
12:24and the respect of member states.
12:28This, my friends,
12:29will help lift the heavy weight necessary
12:32to end these multiple conflicts
12:34and to bring peace and dignity
12:37to those affected populations.
12:39We know that many hands make light work.
12:43And we can't ignore it.
12:45These conflicts need to be supported
12:47by a quicker and technology-enhanced observer force
12:51capable of rapid deployment
12:54to monitor and support ceasefires
12:56and peace agreements,
12:58to be given the resources.
13:00These peacekeeping forces
13:03must be given realistic mandates,
13:05predictable financing,
13:07and true partnership.
13:09Let us work, my friends,
13:12together with the parties
13:14to these conflicts
13:16to build dialogue
13:17and to bring opportunities
13:18for investment and jobs
13:20to the affected populations
13:22so that they too can live properly.
13:25And as for the wider
13:27international legal order,
13:29we know
13:30that countries
13:31of every size and capacity
13:33depend on a system
13:34in which rules are made collectively
13:36and applied consistently and fairly.
13:38But if we don't act early enough,
13:41we have trouble.
13:42And that is why we say
13:44that the UN must receive
13:45the resources
13:46and the resolve
13:47to act
13:48before the guns speak
13:50and not after
13:51the guns start to fly.
13:53My friends,
13:56without an equitable
13:57rules-based order,
13:58smaller states like mine
14:00will simply cease
14:02to exist
14:03in this world.
14:05And that is why
14:06Barbados is a co-sponsor
14:07of the P4M,
14:08a group focused
14:10on strengthening
14:11multilateralism
14:12and to beat back
14:13the undertakers
14:14who are waiting
14:15to bury it.
14:17Mr. President,
14:18I would like to express
14:20profound appreciation
14:22to the Secretary-General,
14:24my brother,
14:24Antonio Guterres.
14:26His voice
14:27has been constant,
14:31steady,
14:31and absolutely right
14:34on all of the critical issues
14:36facing humanity.
14:37And to his deputy,
14:40Amina Mohamed,
14:41we also say thank you
14:43for taking the journey
14:45without diverting
14:46from the principles
14:47and the core values
14:49of this Charter.
14:51As the United Nations
14:53undertakes
14:54the important task
14:55of selecting
14:56its next Secretary-General,
14:58Barbados joins
14:59its sister member states
15:01in the Caribbean community
15:02in pledging
15:03its full support
15:04for the candidature
15:06of Ambassador
15:07Carolyn Rodriguez-Burkett
15:09of Guyana.
15:15At a moment
15:16when the international
15:18community
15:18is being called upon
15:19to renew its faith
15:20in multilateralism,
15:22we believe
15:23that Ambassador
15:24Rodriguez-Burkett
15:25brings to this task
15:26the experience,
15:28the skills,
15:29and the understanding
15:30to serve the entire
15:32membership
15:32of this organization.
15:34Indeed,
15:35Mr. President,
15:35I believe
15:37that others
15:37think so too.
15:44I'd like, sir,
15:45to turn to the topic
15:46of artificial intelligence,
15:47which is one
15:48of our new challenges.
15:49AI is already
15:51transforming
15:51how we work,
15:52learn,
15:52and govern.
15:53And it is clear
15:54that its potential
15:55is extraordinary.
15:57We have found
15:58that it has
15:59great capacity
16:00to detect disease earlier,
16:02predict disasters,
16:03improve agriculture,
16:04and expand access
16:05to education
16:06and public services.
16:07And yet,
16:08these same
16:09extraordinary systems
16:10can just as quickly
16:12reproduce discrimination,
16:14widen surveillance,
16:15and spread falsehoods
16:16faster than institutions
16:18can respond.
16:20We must not allow
16:21a new technological age
16:24to reproduce
16:25all hierarchies
16:26of access and power.
16:28And this is why
16:29Barbados is so honored
16:30to host the second
16:32in-person meeting
16:33of the Independent
16:34International Scientific
16:35Panel on Artificial Intelligence,
16:37which will be held
16:39in November of this year.
16:40We recognize that
16:42yesterday's Security Council
16:43encounter
16:44may well
16:45and should speed on
16:46the question
16:48of how we
16:48as a global community
16:50deals with this issue.
16:51In the growing age
16:53of AI,
16:54governance cannot
16:55be left
16:56to voluntary
16:57corporate practices
16:58or to a small
17:00number
17:00of technologically
17:02advanced states.
17:03We need
17:04globally agreed rules
17:06that protect
17:06human dignity,
17:07preserve meaningful
17:08human oversight,
17:10and ensure
17:11that the benefits
17:11of AI
17:12are shared widely
17:13and equitably.
17:16I caution,
17:17a technology
17:18that will affect
17:19every state
17:20must be governed
17:21by the rules
17:22that every state
17:23has had the opportunity
17:24to shape.
17:25Mr. President,
17:28exactly 65 years ago,
17:30that great Caribbean,
17:32French,
17:32African intellectual
17:33and psychiatrist
17:34Franz Fanon
17:35published what has now
17:36become a classic,
17:37The Wretched of the Earth.
17:39And across
17:40the vast range
17:41of observations
17:42and analysis
17:42that he made
17:43in that extraordinarily
17:45lucid and prescient
17:47book,
17:48he said the following,
17:50What matters today
17:52is the issue
17:53which blocks
17:54the horizon,
17:56is the need
17:56for a redistribution
17:58of wealth.
17:59Humanity will have
18:01to address this question
18:02no matter how
18:03devastating
18:04the consequences
18:05may be.
18:07My friends,
18:08this was
18:09harringly true
18:10in 1961
18:11and sadly
18:12remains manifest
18:14today.
18:15This is why
18:16Barbados throws
18:17its full support
18:18behind the establishment
18:19of the International
18:20Panel on Inequality
18:21that is being proposed.
18:24Growing inequality
18:25is at the centre
18:27of geopolitical discussions,
18:29tensions,
18:30distrust in institutions
18:32and indeed
18:33the increasing number
18:35of conflicts
18:35that we see.
18:36It is for this reason
18:38that we reject
18:38the notion
18:39that governments
18:40must refrain
18:40from policy interventions
18:42that are essential
18:43to creating
18:44a level
18:45and fair play
18:46and feel
18:46for ordinary citizens.
18:48We know
18:49that it is
18:50the policy choices
18:51of government
18:51that has led
18:52to this injustice
18:53and it is
18:54the policy choices
18:56of governments
18:56that must now
18:57remove it.
18:58For us,
19:00this is as important
19:01a battle
19:02as the climate crisis.
19:05And Mr. President,
19:06that brings me
19:07to that crisis.
19:10Minister Murat Kuram,
19:12representing the
19:13incoming COP31
19:14presidency,
19:15has put the challenge
19:16plainly.
19:17The time
19:18for simply
19:19setting out goals
19:21is behind us.
19:24Anyone who
19:25experienced this
19:26summer in Europe
19:27and elsewhere
19:28knows that.
19:30It was the hottest
19:31on record.
19:32And the super
19:33El Nino
19:34has not
19:35even yet
19:36hit.
19:37The proposed
19:38action agenda
19:39places methane
19:40reduction at the
19:41centre of climate
19:42implementation.
19:43And we welcome
19:44that focus.
19:45It is true
19:46that carbon dioxide
19:48must remain central
19:49to the global
19:49energy transition.
19:51But emissions
19:51are not falling
19:53quickly enough.
19:54And the full
19:55benefits of action
19:57will take time
19:58to emerge.
20:00So, Mr. President,
20:02under
20:02Barbados'
20:03presidency
20:04of the
20:04CVF
20:05Climate Vulnerable
20:06Forum
20:07and its
20:07V20 countries,
20:1074 countries
20:11got together
20:13and advanced
20:14the call
20:15to pull
20:16the methane
20:16emergency brake.
20:18At the V20
20:19ministerial dialogue
20:20in April of this
20:21year,
20:22the finance ministers
20:23agreed that
20:24methane reduction
20:25must be treated
20:26not only as an
20:27environmental
20:27priority,
20:28but also an
20:29economic,
20:30fiscal,
20:31and public
20:32health
20:32opportunity.
20:33we must now
20:35implement.
20:36The climate
20:37vulnerable countries
20:38need to
20:40mobilize
20:40approximately
20:41$490 billion
20:43each year
20:45by 2030.
20:46And yet,
20:48the current
20:48inflows
20:49are roughly
20:50$90 billion.
20:53As the young
20:54people in
20:54Barbados would
20:55say,
20:55the math
20:56simply
20:57ain't
20:58mathin'.
21:05We must also
21:06correct the
21:07inequity of
21:07the borrowing
21:08costs that
21:08these countries
21:09face.
21:10It is almost
21:111.2 percentage
21:13points higher
21:13for climate
21:14vulnerable countries
21:15than for
21:16advanced economies.
21:17Now,
21:18that figure
21:18seems small
21:19to you,
21:20but that
21:20actually generates
21:21an estimated
21:22$62 billion
21:24more a year
21:25in excess
21:26interest payments
21:27each year.
21:28This cannot
21:29be fair.
21:31So,
21:31believe me
21:32when I say
21:33that change
21:33is possible,
21:35as we have
21:36seen consistently
21:37with measures
21:37from the
21:38Bridgetown
21:38Initiative.
21:39In less
21:40than one
21:40year,
21:42Barbados is
21:42chair of
21:43the climate
21:43vulnerable
21:44countries,
21:44the V20
21:45countries,
21:46along with
21:47the OPEC
21:47Fund for
21:48International
21:48Development,
21:49designed and
21:49launched the
21:51Vulnerability
21:51to Viability
21:52Compact on
21:53four pillars,
21:54bringing about
21:5574 countries
21:57along with
21:5816 development
22:00finance
22:00institutions
22:01globally,
22:02to expand
22:03access to
22:04affordable
22:04long-term
22:05capital for
22:06education
22:07projects,
22:08health
22:08projects,
22:09and water
22:09infrastructure.
22:11The CVF
22:12also had
22:14its governors
22:15of the
22:15central bank
22:16meet to
22:17establish the
22:18Lifeline
22:19Fund,
22:21which will
22:22shortly be
22:23operationalized.
22:24It seeks
22:25to provide
22:25rapid liquidity
22:26when climate
22:27shocks create
22:28balance-of-payments
22:29pressures for
22:30countries.
22:31So we are
22:32moving to help
22:33ourselves.
22:34We have been
22:34resolute.
22:35And the reason
22:36for it is that
22:37we know that
22:38you cannot build
22:39hospitals and
22:40schools and
22:41water infrastructure
22:42with 10- and
22:4315-year money.
22:44It crowds out
22:46critical investments
22:47for our people
22:48and leaves you
22:49flat-footed.
22:50And that is
22:51why this
22:52important
22:52initiative
22:53represents real
22:54progress.
22:56But mechanisms
22:56such as this
22:57one cannot on
22:58their own
22:59address the
22:59underlying flaws
23:00of the
23:01international
23:01financial
23:02architecture.
23:03I repeat
23:04that for
23:05almost five
23:06years, the
23:07Bridgetown
23:07initiative has
23:08consistently
23:09argued that
23:10climate
23:10resilience,
23:12debt
23:12sustainability,
23:13and access to
23:14affordable finance
23:15cannot be treated
23:16separately.
23:17For many
23:18vulnerable
23:18countries, the
23:20problem is not
23:20simply the
23:21availability of
23:22capital, but
23:23whether we have
23:23the fiscal space
23:24to borrow and
23:26to invest on
23:26reasonable terms.
23:28Mr. President,
23:30as I turn to my
23:31region in the
23:32Caribbean, I'd
23:34like to highlight a
23:35series of crises
23:36that continue to
23:37threaten our peace,
23:38stability, and
23:39development.
23:40Let me say at the
23:41outset that when I
23:43speak about letting
23:44many hands make
23:45light work,
23:46when it comes to
23:47conflict resolution,
23:49that this is one of
23:50the areas in which
23:51the political leaders
23:52of the Caribbean can
23:53play a pivotal role
23:54in its own region.
23:56Firstly, Haiti.
23:59The security crisis
24:00continues to retard
24:01political renewal
24:02and economic recovery.
24:04And still, the
24:06preparations for a
24:07return to
24:07constitutional
24:08government, yes,
24:09are moving forward,
24:10even with great
24:11difficulty.
24:13But those efforts
24:14cannot succeed.
24:16unless security
24:18improves,
24:19particularly in the
24:21areas containing
24:22more than half of
24:23Haiti's electorate
24:24in the capital
24:25and surrounding
24:26areas.
24:27Barbados, therefore,
24:28supports the full
24:29deployment that has
24:31been too, too, too
24:32long promised,
24:34and the renewal of
24:36the mandate of the
24:36gang suppression
24:37force.
24:38Let me remind you
24:39that it was in
24:402022 that this
24:41recent, more
24:42heightened state
24:43of insecurity
24:43began with the
24:45fuel riots just
24:46before the General
24:47Assembly met in
24:492022.
24:50And in
24:512026, we have
24:53not kept
24:54faith with
24:55providing the
24:56level of security
24:57that would minimize
24:58the loss of life.
25:00At the same time,
25:01we have to give
25:02thanks where
25:03thanks is due.
25:04And there are
25:05member states who
25:06have contributed
25:06in whatever way
25:07to helping Haiti
25:08find its path.
25:10This includes, of
25:11course, the
25:11Caribbean community's
25:13eminent persons
25:13group, which has
25:15been helping to
25:15build consensus
25:16and maintain
25:17engagement with
25:18key international
25:19partners in the
25:20last few years.
25:21In addition,
25:23Mr. President,
25:24we are deeply
25:24concerned by the
25:27worsening
25:27humanitarian
25:28pressures facing the
25:29people of Cuba.
25:31too many people
25:32are suffering.
25:33Too many people.
25:35Restrictions on
25:36trade, finance,
25:38and access to
25:39fuel are
25:40intensifying
25:41hardship not
25:42only for Cuban
25:43citizens, but
25:44for all others
25:45who study and
25:46live there.
25:47Barbados has
25:48each year opposed
25:49the use of the
25:50embargo and
25:51other unilateral
25:52coercive measures
25:53against Cuba.
25:54And as always,
25:55we call for
25:57constructive
25:57engagement.
25:58constructive
26:00engagement grounded
26:01in dialogue,
26:02sovereign equality,
26:03and respect for
26:05international law.
26:06That is why we
26:08are here as
26:09individual states.
26:10We will also
26:12extend our
26:13continued solidarity
26:14to the people
26:15of Venezuela,
26:16who, regrettably,
26:19are recovering
26:20from the
26:20devastating double
26:21earthquakes in
26:22June.
26:23The horror was
26:25mind-blowing.
26:26Barbados was
26:27proud to stand
26:28with our neighbor
26:29in the immediate
26:30aftermath, dispatching
26:31our field hospital
26:32and personnel to
26:33Venezuela.
26:34We remain committed
26:36to supporting them
26:37in their longer-term
26:38recovery.
26:39A stable,
26:41sovereign, peaceful,
26:42and democratic
26:43Venezuela is vital
26:45to the security
26:46and prosperity
26:47of not just
26:47Latin America,
26:48but the wider
26:49Caribbean.
26:50In this regard,
26:52however, I must
26:53take this opportunity
26:54to reiterate
26:55Barbados's
26:56steadfast support
26:57to its sister
26:58CARICOM country,
27:01Guyana,
27:01as it seeks to
27:03bring a peaceful
27:03resolution through
27:05the International
27:05Court of Justice
27:06for the long-outstanding
27:08territorial controversy
27:10with Venezuela.
27:11This is in the
27:12interest of the people
27:14of Guyana,
27:15the people of
27:15Venezuela,
27:16and the wider
27:17people of the
27:18Caribbean and Latin
27:19America.
27:20The Caribbean,
27:21my friends,
27:22must remain
27:23a zone of peace.
27:26We cannot accept
27:27our region
27:28becoming a theater.
27:34We cannot accept
27:35our region becoming
27:37a theater for
27:38confrontation
27:39or for the unilateral
27:41and unjustified
27:42use of force.
27:44Mr. President,
27:45it brings me to
27:46another matter.
27:47On March 25th
27:48of this year,
27:49a historic
27:50resolution was
27:51passed in this
27:51General Assembly.
27:52The overwhelming
27:54majority of states
27:55acknowledge the truth
27:56that we in the
27:57Caribbean long
27:58knew.
27:59The trafficking
28:00of enslaved
28:01African and
28:02racialized chattel
28:03enslavement of
28:04Africans is the
28:07gravest crime
28:08against humanity.
28:17And we know it.
28:19Regrettably, we
28:20still carry the
28:21stars.
28:23I've reminded us
28:24that it was my
28:25country, Barbados,
28:26that passed the
28:27first slave code
28:28that the world
28:29knew in 1661
28:30to deal with
28:31chattel slavery.
28:33Others regrettably
28:35followed,
28:35including the
28:36infamous code
28:37noir of
28:381685.
28:40That code
28:41noir was only
28:43repealed this
28:44year, and
28:45then, hence
28:46the wounds
28:47are still
28:48raw.
28:49We in Barbados
28:51accept the
28:51moral responsibility
28:53of removing the
28:54cross of slavery
28:55with its horrific
28:56consequences.
28:57We must effect
28:59healing through
29:00reparatory justice,
29:01for it is the
29:03right thing
29:03to do.
29:09As a result,
29:11in July of
29:11this year,
29:12CARICOM heads
29:12of government
29:13approved the
29:14revised CARICOM
29:1510-point plan
29:15for reparatory
29:16justice.
29:17For the
29:18Caribbean,
29:18for Africa,
29:19and for those
29:20countries concerned,
29:22the honest
29:23engagement must
29:24begin.
29:25And I thank
29:26President Mahama
29:27of Ghana for
29:28coming to the
29:29table with the
29:29force with which
29:30he has come.
29:33We do not
29:34ask for reparations
29:35without accepting
29:36responsibility for
29:37our own self-repair,
29:39which we have
29:39undertaken for
29:40decades.
29:41I want to be very
29:42clear about this,
29:44Mr.
29:44Speaker,
29:44Mr.
29:45President.
29:45I make the same
29:47mistake as
29:47President Mahama.
29:49We are
29:50parliamentarians.
29:52I want to make
29:53this clear.
29:55Let there be no
29:56doubt, Mr.
29:57President,
29:58that the mindset
29:59that established,
30:01justified,
30:02and sustains
30:03slavery is the
30:05same mindset that
30:06sustains the
30:07inequities and
30:09the inequities
30:10within the power
30:11structures of this
30:12very institution
30:13and within the
30:14international financial
30:15architecture.
30:16It is the same
30:18mindset.
30:23It is the same
30:25mindset that caused
30:26a global map to
30:28remain grossly
30:29inaccurate on the
30:31size of Africa
30:32for centuries.
30:36As if the true
30:37size of Africa
30:38would intimidate
30:39the rest of the
30:40world into
30:40understanding its
30:41power.
30:43Mr.
30:43President,
30:44if we want to
30:45restore trust in
30:47these United
30:48Nations, and we
30:50want to manage
30:51transformation as
30:52is your theme,
30:54and we want a
30:55UN that truly
30:56delivers for
30:57everyone, then
30:59at its core, we
31:01must treat every
31:02human being as
31:04having equal value
31:06and deserving
31:07respect.
31:08And I can find no
31:10better reference than
31:11His Majesty Hailey
31:12Selassie speaking in
31:15this very assembly on
31:16the 4th of October
31:171963.
31:19And those who know
31:21the words can say
31:22it with me, until
31:24the philosophy which
31:26holds one race
31:27superior and
31:29another inferior
31:31is finally and
31:34permanently discredited
31:36and abandoned,
31:39everywhere is war.
31:41Until
31:50until they are no
31:51longer first-class
31:52and second-class
31:53citizens of any
31:55nation, until
31:57the color of a
31:58man's skin has
32:00of no more
32:01significance than
32:02the color of his
32:03eyes, there
32:05will be war.
32:08But, Mr.
32:09President, equally
32:13there will be no
32:14trust and no
32:16transformation.
32:18We want
32:19peace.
32:21And in the words of
32:22that iconic song
32:23made famous by
32:24Dionne Warwick,
32:25what the world
32:26needs now is
32:28love, sweet
32:29love.
32:30It's the only
32:31thing that there's
32:32just too little
32:33love.
32:34No, not just
32:36for some, but
32:37for everyone.
32:38love and a
32:40little kindness.
32:42So, Mr.
32:42President, I end
32:43this statement by
32:44returning to the
32:45beginning of a
32:46milestone of
32:47profound importance
32:49to my country
32:50and its
32:51relationship to
32:52the world.
32:53The 9th of
32:54December this
32:55year will mark
32:5760 years since
32:58Barbados took
32:59its place in
33:01this organization,
33:02emerging into
33:03independence after
33:05340 years of
33:07imperial subjugation.
33:09On a
33:10wintry 9th of
33:11December 1966,
33:13just nine days
33:14after we
33:14achieved independence
33:15and on the
33:16very day of our
33:16admission to the
33:17United Nations,
33:18our first
33:19Prime Minister,
33:20the right
33:20excellent Errol
33:21Barros, set
33:21out what,
33:22coupled with
33:23the principles
33:23of this
33:24organization,
33:26has remained
33:26our guiding
33:27principle in
33:29dealing with
33:29the world,
33:30that Barbados
33:31is a friend of
33:32all and a
33:34satellite of
33:34none.
33:36Indeed,
33:36Prime Minister
33:37Barrow spoke
33:38of a world
33:39marked by
33:40profound
33:40inequalities in
33:41wealth and
33:42opportunity,
33:43which Fanon
33:44had highlighted
33:45only five years
33:46earlier in the
33:46text I quoted.
33:48And drawing
33:49from Prime
33:49Minister Barrow's
33:50language,
33:51where he quoted
33:52from the Hebrew
33:53Bible, he
33:54warned that
33:55newly independent
33:56countries could
33:58not remain
33:59hues of wood
34:00and drawers of
34:01water, while
34:02the wealth of
34:03the world
34:03flowed elsewhere.
34:04He saw the
34:06United Nations
34:06as having to
34:07put the
34:08eradication of
34:08poverty at
34:10the center of
34:11its role.
34:12Do not
34:13question,
34:13therefore, why
34:14we view it
34:14as our duty
34:15to fight
34:16increasing
34:17global
34:17inequality.
34:19Much good
34:20has been done
34:21by this UN
34:21in the last
34:2260 and, in
34:23fact, 80
34:23years.
34:24During this
34:25time, our
34:27membership in
34:28the United
34:28Nations has
34:30been essential
34:31to Barbados's
34:32expression of
34:33its sovereignty
34:33and its
34:34participation as
34:36an equal member
34:37of the
34:38international
34:38community.
34:40These halls
34:40have given us
34:42a place to
34:42speak in our
34:43own name, to
34:45defend the
34:45interests of
34:46our people and
34:46others, and to
34:47help shape the
34:48decisions that
34:49affect us all.
34:50Mr.
34:51President,
34:51earlier this
34:52year, our
34:54poet laureate
34:54stood at this
34:55rostrum and
34:57reminded us in
34:58this assembly,
34:59country, and
34:59I quote,
35:00the very name
35:01United Nations
35:02implies a
35:03commitment to
35:04ignite the
35:05fires of
35:06conscience,
35:07empathy,
35:08unity, and
35:09equity.
35:10This UN,
35:12this United
35:14Nations, must
35:15continue to
35:16stoke those
35:17fires for a
35:18transformed and
35:20inclusive world.
35:21I say to
35:22you as I
35:22leave this
35:23rostrum, let
35:24us together
35:25ensure that
35:26the flames of
35:27hope, peace,
35:29and dignity
35:30burn so
35:31bright that in
35:33the midst of
35:33all the odds
35:34against us,
35:35that they
35:36shine on all
35:37of the world.
35:38I thank you.
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