WAVEL RAMKALAWAN, President of Seychelles, said the world is less secure than even a year ago.  “We must revert to our foundational principles of dialogue and cooperation,” he stressed, adding that the focus is diverted from the climate crisis, poverty and hunger, as well as from the indisputable right to a decent and dignified life.  “Widened and prolonged conflicts risk affecting smaller States like Seychelles, trying not to get caught in the crossfire,” he said, reminding the world Powers of their duty and urging that geopolitics must not supersede human rights and international law.  “Seychelles joins the call for the United Nations and the Security Council to deliver the reform being appealed for by so many,” he emphasized, calling for giving Africa a permanent seat on the organ.  The consideration by the Council of the sea-level rise issue brought by Malta, and the broader climate-security nexus, has proven that it is capable of reflecting new realities, he said, calling progressive the proposal by the United States to include a rotating seat for small island developing States.

“Climate change remains the foremost challenge facing humanity and failure to address its effects will devastate current and future generations,” he stressed, adding that rising sea levels, extreme weather events and the degradation of oceans are stark reminders of the urgent need for global action on climate change.  “But words are nothing without deeds and we have to act urgently, in unity, to make the necessary transition to a more sustainable future,” he went on to say, referring to the world military expenditure that has increased for the tenth consecutive year, reaching $2.5 trillion in 2023.  This makes even the highest estimates of $100 billion for the loss and damage fund seem modest and insignificant, he said, spotlighting this worrying reflection of the world’s priorities.

“It is unfair for SIDS [small island developing States] to suffer the consequences of these choices — we simply do not have the means to cope with the disastrous effects of climate change,” he emphasized.  “The average debt-to-GDP [gross domestic product] in SIDS exceeds 70 per cent — it is crippling and impedes our development by diverting critical resources away from where they are needed most:  in infrastructure, education and health care,” he stressed, urging to implement real reforms in the international financial system to address the preclusion of some vulnerable countries, regardless of income status, from opportunities to meet development needs.  “Our work in the multilateral system is undermined by unilateral coercive measures that are intended to leave economies crippled and Governments unable to advance dignity for their own people,” he said.

“As a small State, Seychelles believes in the United Nations, for we fear of a reality with no alternative,” he underscored.  Noting that the Antigua and Barbuda Agenda for SIDS provides the blueprint for action over the next decade, he called on the international community to commit to its implementation.  The Pact for the Future should rightly usher in a new era of engagement based on mutual interest and mutual respect, he said, urging to bridge divisions between nations on critical issues of human rights, gender equality and the rule of law.  “For Seychelles, the Declaration on Future Generations should signal our commitment to safeguarding the rights of all people who will be born by the end of this century, most of whom in developing countries — people who should not be born into hardship,” he stressed.  Calling for envisioning a world where survival is not a struggle and that ensures everyone’s right to prosperity, he concluded:  “Let us strive to be the architects of a world where no one is left behind.”