Alva R. Baptiste, Minister for External Affairs, International Trade, Civil Aviation and Diaspora Affairs, said the global economy is facing multiple shocks that are threatening to reverse Saint Lucia’s progress on its sustainable development agenda.  The impact of these shocks is aggravated by an unfair global financial system that is short-term oriented and crisis-prone, which intensifies inequalities.  “Not to mention that small island developing States like Saint Lucia face existential threats amplified by climate change,” he said, adding:  “Climate action is a moral obligation to protect human life, uphold global stability and ensure a sustainable and equitable future for all of humanity.”

Turning to Gaza, he said Saint Lucia joins with most Member States in calling for de-escalation, dialogue and adherence to international law. “I speak to you as one who is conscious of how the transatlantic slave trade inflicted unimaginable suffering, dehumanization and economic exploitation upon millions of Africans,” he said.  For this reason, Saint Lucia adamantly supports the just cause for reparations from Europe for the African slave trade.  Reparations are a moral imperative rooted in justice and acknowledgment of profound historical injustices that have long-lasting consequences. “Unsurprisingly, Saint Lucia will sustain its condemnation of the atrocities being committed against the Palestinian people — rooted in decades of oppression — including the systemic undermining of Palestinian statehood,” he said.

Shifting to regional issues, he said Saint Lucia is extremely concerned that the Multinational Security Support Mission in Haiti (MSS) is “woefully short” of the personnel and equipment needed to pursue its mandate.  Of the $900 million that the United Nations anticipates raising for Haiti, only 9.2 per cent has been received.  In June, at the Brazil-Caribbean Summit in Brasília, Heads of Government reaffirmed their commitment to maintaining the region as a zone of peace, as declared at the January 2014 meeting of the Community of Latin America and Caribbean States (CELAC).  Saint Lucia, like other Caribbean Community (CARICOM) Member States, is concerned with regional developments that have aggravated tensions between Venezuela and the United States.  “We pray that this tension does not degenerate into violence, hence maintaining our region as a zone of peace,” he added.