John Briceño, Prime Minister of Belize, said that “if the UN has fallen short of its promise, […] it is because too often its members — including the most powerful among us — have failed to act”.  The consequences are visible in six nuclear powers being drawn into conflicts in Asia, Europe and the Middle East, as well as a ballooning global military spend rising to more than half the GDP of Latin America and the Caribbean.  The conflicts in Gaza, Ukraine and Sudan demonstrate a pattern of disregard for international law, impunity and cynicism.

For its part, Belize has acted with restraint through the channel of the ICJ, in the face of aggressive actions by Guatemala.  “Latin America and the Caribbean are committed to maintaining our region as a zone of peace […] where conflicts are prevented through dialogue,” he noted.  In that vein, he voiced concern over the use of “military tactics” against civilian vessels in the Caribbean Sea.  On climate change, he pointed out that Belize is the fifth most vulnerable small island developing State to climate risk.

“Rising seas are already displacing some coastal communities, extreme heat strains our energy systems and unpredictable rainfall threatens our farmers,” he continued, calling for: “urgent attention” to the Antigua and Barbuda Agenda for Small Island Developing States; mainstreaming the Multidimensional Vulnerability Index; and expanding grants and concessional finance, instead of debt.

At the thirtieth UN Climate Change Conference in Belem, Belize will urge the Group of 20 (G20) — responsible for 80 per cent of emissions — to commit to more ambitious emission-reduction targets.  Developed nations must mobilize $1.3 trillion in climate finance, prioritizing small island developing States, he declared.  Only one per cent of climate finance goes to them while the fossil fuel industry receives trillions of dollars annually in subsidies, which is “not just perverse, it is dangerous”.  Calling for more investment in “nature-based and nature-positive solutions”, he underscored that only five years remain to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals.