Remarks by the President of the General Assembly,

Mr. Dennis Francis,

At the Meeting of Smaller Island States (SIS) at the Pacific Island Forum Leader’s Meeting

[As Delivered]

6 November 2023

Excellencies,

Pacific Brothers,

Thank you for the kind invitation to be with you today and to address the Smaller Island States.

Allow me to express my thanks to the Prime Minister, Mr. Mark Brown, for the honor of being the first sitting President of the General Assembly to participate in the Pacific Island Forum.

I hope I am the first of many.

I say that, because multilateralism thrives when there is dialogue and diplomacy.

The Pacific, and Pacific Islands, are an integral constituency of the United Nations and as such, your voices must be part of that dialogue.

I am here to be part of that conversation with you.

Colleagues,

The reality is that the future of smaller states and vulnerable coastal communities is contingent upon our ability to act decisively on the threats of climate change and sea level rise.

And as I told Ambassadors in New York on Friday, at the Informal Plenary on the Existential Threats of Sea-Level Rise, we cannot ask the tough questions after the fact; we need to ask them now while we still have time and space to do something about it.

The questions I speak of pertain to very poignant, very profound issues; questions around sovereignty and statehood, around self-reliance, and around culture and identity.

We know that rising seas threaten to wash away vulnerable islands. But what we do not know, not with any degree of certainty is, what is to become of the peoples, their homes, and their heritage when these homelands are lost.

Do we allow communities to be dispersed – and be bystanders to the loss of millennia of history – or do we choose to be the authors of our own destiny.

It is for that very reason that I held the Informal Plenary last week.

That is also why I co-hosted a Breakfast Summit, on the sidelines of the High-Level Week, in September.

And that is why I am with you today.

I understand the gravity of the situation and I understand the challenges faced by Smaller Island States, who are even more vulnerable, often more remote, with fewer resources to cope.

And I am committed to working with you – with the Pacific Island Forum and its Members – to do something impactful about it; to bring to a close the uncertainty that exists, and to support you in safeguarding what is yours for all times.

This includes working with the Director-General of UNESCO to help protect irreplaceable cultures and heritage.

It means working with each of you to unlock climate finance for communities. Particularly, to meet the unique and particular needs of your communities through quick, accessible, flexible, and dedicated grants.

It means promoting sustainability though helping to protect homes, livelihoods, and jobs, which lie at the core of maintaining social cohesion and national identity.

And it means asking those very profound questions and definitively putting to rest any misunderstanding, any anxiety, any lingering doubt about the full future statehood and sovereignty of these Member States.

Excellencies, colleagues,

As I have said before, no effort should be spared to safeguard and defend the inalienability of affected Member States’ sovereignty and statehood. 

That principle must be championed as the core of our strategy going forward.

Together we can make that happen, and thus create a credible multilateral outcome.

Colleagues, thank you for allowing me the privilege of joining you today. Let us go forward in unity and conviction, and in relentless pursuit of justice.

I thank you.