Antigua and Barbuda will have a unique opportunity to stake its place in history
next year when it hosts the 4th SIDS Conference, a once-every-decade meeting
that brings together the foremost minds and political leaders from small island
nations across the globe.
The event comes as these islands continue to face constant pressure on their
economies from burdensome debt and the devastating consequences of climate
change. Small Island Developing States have unrelentingly sought to devise
solutions, advocated by the international community, and petitioned international
financial institutions for remedies and solutions, but to no avail.
Antigua and Barbuda’s Deputy Permanent Representative to the United Nations
Mr. Tumasie Blair said the time has come for a tectonic shift from traditional
approaches and perhaps next year’s meeting in Antigua and Barbuda, with the
unprecedented global attention it will receive, will emerge as their best possible
chance yet.
“The 4TH SIDS Conference presents the opportune time for us to make our
demands known and no longer retreat until our demands are met,” Blair
emphatically told a meeting of SIDS which was held this week on the margins of
the UN’s High-Level Political Forum in New York.
“The current global outlook demands a global shift for SIDS, perhaps we need to
shift how we shape our ‘asks’ by moving them from mere requests to demands,”
the high-level diplomat told the meeting. A major imperative for the Antigua and
Barbuda diplomat is ensuring that SIDS makes meaningful use of the remaining
months until the conference, to impact and influence every possible opportunity to
ensure SIDS4 is a resounding success.
Blair said SIDS need to take advantage of every opportunity before the Conference
to make their demands known and forcefully insert their perspectives at major
events.
“There are numerous global events that will help pave the way to SIDS4, processes
inside the United Nations and external to the UN. All must be seen as important
and of equal weight. We must engage with each and all of them. We must have a
say in policy directives and we must ensure that the means of implementation
accompany those directives,” he continued.
A significant portion of this week’s SIDS meeting was dedicated to looking
forward to the 4th SIDS Conference and how the international community could
best partner with SIDS in achieving its development goals despite the prevailing
challenges.
Out of the 4th Conference will come the “Antigua and Barbuda Accord for SIDS”
otherwise known as ABAS. Besides the significant and far-reaching outcomes that
it will likely achieve for island nations, the conference is set to bring major benefits
to all areas of Antigua and Barbuda’s economy as it will be the largest such
meeting to be hosted anywhere in the Caribbean.
