SIAOSI 'OFAKIVAHAFOLAU SOVALENI, Prime Minister of Tonga, urging swift reform of the Security Council, stated that the organ must include “non-traditional security issues like climate change” in its agenda and that it must hear the voices of small island developing States. Further, “in our quest to leave no one behind, we must take a hard look at the lagging progress in achieving sustainable development by 2030”, he said.  Without decisive, collection action — “now”, he underscored — that goal “will be just words, and we will have further eroded people’s trust and hopes”. He added:  “The key is not words, the key is our shared commitment to action.” Recalling that a recent gathering of Pacific Islands Forum leaders witnessed torrential rains, flash flooding and a magnitude 6.9 earthquake “that struck Nuku’alofa on the first day of the meeting”, he stressed that this was “yet another stark reminder of our vulnerability to natural disasters”.

“The 2024 Sustainable Development Goals report before us is grim,” he went on to observe, and “reveals what we see every day on the ground”.  Climate change, escalating inequality and persistent conflict compounds challenges, leaving many countries struggling to meet even the most fundamental goals. “Without urgent and coordinated global action, the vision of a more equitable and sustainable world may remain just another elusive dream,” he stressed.  Recalling that his country — “decade after decade, year after year” — warns the Assembly of climate change’s existential threat to the Pacific, he urged the international community — “once again” — to restrict global warming to 1.5°C. Industrialized nations must strengthen their emissions-reduction commitments, and Pacific Island nations must be able to access climate finance speedily and easily.  While cyclones and typhoons leave behind destruction that takes years to repair, “the human cost is far greater”, he stressed.

The most alarming aspect of the climate crisis, he went on to say, is the “unprecedented” rise in sea levels.  “In some parts of the Pacific, sea levels have risen by 10 to 15 centimetres in the past 30 years,” he noted — more than double the global average. For Pacific nations, these changes are not merely environmental issues; they are existential threats that jeopardize the very existence of small Pacific Island countries — including Tonga, he pointed out:  “This is not just about losing land, it is about our very identities.”  Urging immediate action, he said that the Pacific Islands Forum’s 2023 declaration on the continuity of Statehood asserts the continued existence of Forum members’ Statehood, sovereignty, rights and duties and “underscores our determination to safeguard both the territorial and human dimensions of our States under international law”.  He therefore called for global cooperation to achieve the declaration’s objectives in line with the principles of fairness, equity and shared responsibility.

Also spotlighting the Antigua and Barbuda Agenda for small island developing States, he said that this is “our collective vision for sustainable growth and resilience in the face of unprecedented challenges”. However, reforming the international financial architecture will be crucial to support this new programme of action, and such reform must include redefining eligibility for development resources, improving access to climate finance and creating long-term debt sustainability.  Concluding — “allow me to close the circle” and return to the theme of “leaving no one behind” — he said that this aspiration must guide international efforts to eradicate poverty, end discrimination and uphold the fundamental rights of individuals.  He urged: “The advancement of one community or nation cannot occur in isolation from the well-being of others.”