UNITED NATIONS – Grenada on Monday told the international community that it remains “deeply concerned” about the situation in Cuba where the intense economic pressure from the United States and an ongoing energy blockade highlight the 81st session of the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA).
Ingrid JacksonThe Trump administration has introduced targeted economic penalties against Cuba predicting a regime change in Havana.
But as she addressed the UNGA, chair of the Grenada delegation, Ingrid Jackson said that her country remains deeply concerned about the continuing hardship endured by the people of Cuba.
“Our humanitarian conscience cannot be indifferent to the circumstances of ordinary households, particularly children, the elderly and other vulnerable persons whose difficulty deepen with each passing day that the present impasse remains unresolved.
“We call for constructive engagement that places the well-being of the Cuban people at its centre and opens a path to meaningful relief, improved living conditions and renewed opportunities,” she said.
Jackson said that this requires Cuba and the United States to address the “very difficult but not insurmountable challenges of ending of sanctions, the removal of the embargo and blockade against the Cuban people, and importantly, the necessary reforms required to ensure the continued well-being of the Cuban people.
“Some of such reforms, Grenada notes, are already being undertaken,” she said, noting that transforming the multilateral system, “we must also ensure that its leadership reflects the diversity, experience and aspirations of the people it serves.
“Grenada, therefore, proudly joins our CARICOM family in giving unequivocal support to the candidacy of Ambassador Carolyn Rodrigue-Birkett of Guyana for the position of Secretary General of the United Nations.”
She said CARICOM leaders have endorsed her as the region’s candidate and that “recognising the experience and leadership she brings to this important moment for global multilateralism, her distinguished service as Guyana’s foreign minister and permanent representative to the United Nations has demonstrated a deep commitment to diplomacy, dialogue and international cooperation.
“The Caribbean has long demonstrated that size does not determine the strength of our ideas, the quality of our leadership or the values of our contribution to the international community. We believe Ambassador Rodrigue-Birkett is eminently qualified to serve the entire United Nations membership.”
Jackson said that her election would represent “a historic milestone for the Caribbean region and a powerful affirmation that every region, including small island developing states, can contribute to leadership at the highest level of a multilateral system”.
She said Grenada is joining CARICOM in calling for the timely renewal of the mandate of the Gang Suppression Force (GSF), its full and rapid deployment in close partnership with the Haitian National Police and the provision of the personnel, financing, equipment and logistical support necessary for it to fulfil its mandate effectively with appropriate human rights safeguards.
She said that these security efforts are essential to creating the conditions for credible, free, fair and inclusive Haitian led elections, the strengthening of national institutions and the restoration of constitutional governance.
“Haiti is not a failed state. Haiti represents a promise yet to be fulfilled. It is a promise to the Haitian people that the international community must honour not with pity, but with purpose, not temporarily, but sustainably.
“And even as we respond to the security crisis, humanitarian assistance must remain at the centre of our efforts,” she added.
Jackson said that the UNGA is meeting at a time of significant global transformation and that the challenges are complex, but also present an opportunity to renew a commitment to cooperation and create practical solutions that improve the lives of people.
She said that the theme of the UNGA “Restoring Trust, Managing Transformation, a United Nations that delivers for all, challenges us to move beyond declaration towards delivery.
“For Grenada, removing trust means demonstrating through our actions that international cooperation produces results. It means listening to one another. It means respecting the voices of small states as much as those of large ones. It means building genuine partnership and it means ensuring that every country has the opportunity to pursue its legitimate development aspirations.”
Jackson said Grenada approaches the UNGA in a spirit of partnership, optimism and constructive engagement, adding “we remain firmly committed to the purposes and principles of the Charter of the United Nations, international law, peaceful dialogue and the peaceful settlement of dispute.
“In an increasingly interconnected world, cooperation is not merely desirable, it is indispensable,” she said, adding that “the transformation we advocate internationally must also take place at home”.
She said Grenada is advancing an ambitious long-term roadmap towards its 75th anniversary of independence and that for Grenada, transformation must always be people-centred.
“It means building resilience while creating opportunities, expanding our economy while protecting our environment and embracing technology while safeguarding humanity,” she said, adding “as a small island developing state, Grenada understands resilience but experience has also taught us that resilience cannot begin after disaster strikes.
“We must invest before the storm, prepare before the emergency bill, before the damage is done and finance resilience before countries are forced to borrow simply to rebuild what they have lost.
“This requires greater international cooperation in climate adaptation, disaster preparedness, resilient infrastructure and accessible financing. Small island developing states should not be viewed simply as victims of climate change.
“We are also laboratories of resilience. Climate action remains one of the areas in which collective effort can make a profound difference. Grenada remains committed to strengthening resilience and advancing sustainable and low carbon development but ambition without implementation is merely aspiration.”
She said for vulnerable countries, climate commitments must be accompanied by reliable access to the resources required to deliver them.
Jackson said climate financing must become more accessible, predictable and responsive.
“Our objective should not simply be to help vulnerable countries recover from the next disaster. Our objective must be to transform vulnerability into resilience and resilience into sustainable opportunity,” she said, adding “this transformation must also take place in the international financial system.
Jackson said that Grenada welcomes growing recognition that development and vulnerability cannot be accessed by income alone and that the multidimensional vulnerability index offers an important opportunity to better recognise the structural circumstances of small island developing states.
“Our vulnerabilities are shaped by exposure to climate change, natural disasters, external economic shocks and other circumstances that cannot adequately be captured through income per capita.
“Grenada therefore encourages member states, development partners and international financial institutions to advance vulnerability informed approaches to development financing,” she said, adding that “greater access to concessional financing, climate finance, disaster risk financing and innovative financial instruments can help countries move from vulnerability to resilience and from recovery to sustainable growth”.
