STATEMENT ON THE PSIDS DRAFT RESOLUTION A/63/L.8/REV.1 OF 18 MAY 2009

CLIMATE CHANGE AND ITS POSSIBLE SECURITY IMPLICATIONS

UNITED NATIONS, NEW YORK, 3 JUNE, 2009

Thank you Mr. President,

Fiji welcomes this opportunity to make this statement after the vote on the Pacific SIDS draft resolution on climate change and its possible security implications as contained in document A/63/L.8/Rev.1 of 188 May, 2009.  

My delegation supports and endorses the statement made by the distinguished Permanent Representative of Nauru, on behalf of the Pacific SIDS and other co‐sponsors of the draft resolution. Fiji deeply appreciates and values their unwavering support and we pay tribute to this Assembly for adopting the draft resolution by consensus.

When we started this initiative, little did we realize that we would ruffle some feathers and unintentionally step on some sensitive toes.  

We were encouraged by the reception accorded to us by the five Permanent Members of the Security Council. We were never given a lecture by any one of them. We were given advice and suggestions. On reflection, this particular reception gave us enormous courage to press on.

A reading of the list of co‐sponsors speaks volume of the intensity of our lobbying effort s but more importantly a testimony off human solidarity, for the sponsors of the resolution are among the small lest and most vulnerable of member states of t he United Nations.  

Looking back over the last twelve months or so, our draft resolution has generated wide spread discussion and debate. However, the approval of the resolution by consensus is a tribute to all of those who have been pre‐occupied by the long and drawn out consultation. Equally important, it is recognition that the international community has acknowledged that the issue of climate change cannot and should not be viewed in isolation.

This resolution we believe, touches a wide area of concern to the human family. It touches economic, social, demographic and political interest and above all, international peace and security to name but a few of areas of concern. At the end of the day, these concerns are part of the matrix that affect our life and for us in the Pacific, our survival, the protection of our identity, our traditions and our culture.

For small island states, the security implications of climate change have been; first and foremost, a threat to our very existence as sovereign nations. All else will be immaterial, if statehood is lost; lost through rising sea levels and warming seas caused by climate change. It is for small island states, a clear and present danger – a zero sum game, if you will, that may just decide their future membership of this August assembly.  

Our situation bears some parallel to the current global financial and economic crisis. Small island states have become victims of a devastating phenomenon not of their own making. Having said that Mr. President, Fiji has no desire to apportion blame – we must however acknowledge the past in order to address the present and plan for the future. We fully recognize that climate change is a global problem that requires a concerted global plan of action – and this resolution is but one of the many plans needed to address the existential threat posed by climate change. 

Fiji is therefore pleased that the General Assembly has adopted this resolution by consensus. We invite the United Nations and all its relevant organs, including the General Assembly, ECOSOC and indeed the Security Council within their respective mandates, to re‐double their efforts in addressing the issue of climate change and its possible security implications. The journey to Copenhagen is thus strengthened. 

Mr. President,To conclude, allow me to again thank this Assembly for adopting the resolution by consensus.  

I thank you.