SPECIAL CASES

Barbados’ Foreign Affairs and Foreign Trade Minister has issued a call for dialogue between development partners and Small Island Developing States (SIDS), as well as “greater policy space and policy flexibility” for such countries.

 

Delivering a wide ranging address to the United Nations (UN) General Assembly at the UN Headquarters in New York City yesterday afternoon, Senator Maxine McClean touched on a number of issues faced by countries such as Barbados, including climate change; the withdrawal of correspondent banking relationships; and the “unilateral and unidimensional graduation policies” imposed on SIDS by international development agencies. Through the latter, she said, SIDS are penalised for progress in human development, with no consideration given to our obvious vulnerabilities.

 

The Foreign Affairs Minister said that these issues, coupled with the persistent and unwarranted attacks on our international financial services sector and the imposition of onerous conditionalities, not only threaten our economic stability, but our ability to participate in global financial trade and economic systems. Moreover, she said they undermine our capacity to achieve full implementation of the Sustainable Development Goals.

 

Her comments came as she called attention to the recently launched Caribbean Human Development Report 2016, under the theme “Multidimensional Progress: Human Resilience Beyond Income”, which she noted highlights the unique situation of SIDS and low lying coastal states in the Caribbean. The three central points that stand out, she indicated, are vulnerability, resilience and sustainability.

 

“Barbados welcomes the report, it validates the consistent call by the Heads of Government of the Caribbean Community, CARICOM and of SIDS in general for SIDS to be recognised as a special case for sustainable development,” she said.

 

McClean further stated that the Government of Barbados is devising and implementing effective strategies to strengthen social, economic and environmental resilience, which are 

consistent with the national growth and development philosophy. This, she explained to the international body, is based on four pillars - to support a Barbados that is socially balanced, economically viable, environmentally sound and characterised by good governance. In that vein, she said Barbados is already pursuing the ideals enshrined in Agenda 2030 for Sustainable Development.

 

Turning her attention to climate change, the Foreign Affairs Minister said Barbados has long been a leading advocate for coordinated action at the international level to address the sources and consequences of SIDS’ vulnerabilities. And, she affirmed, the country has been leading by example, having developed a National Climate Change Policy Framework, which has worked well with the Barbados Sustainable Development Policy to address issues of climate adaptation and mitigation.

 

She went further, as she disclosed that the Government is developing a comprehensive National Ocean Governance Strategy for Barbados, intended to address the sustainable management of our maritime space and the sustainable use of the country’s marine living and non-living resources. With that in mind, she added that the Barbados delegation was collaborating with other members of the Association of Caribbean States to strengthen the level of support for the Caribbean Sea Resolution, aimed at having the Caribbean Sea designated a special area in the context of sustainable development and she called on all present to support the resolution. (JRT)