Development
Oceans and small island States at UNGA 81
Raised by 58 of 223 speakers. Read verbatim UN transcript quotes and select a time to hear the speech.
Speeches that raised oceans and small island states
Tonga · Day 4Lord FakafanuaIf the United Nations is to remain the principal vehicle through which sovereign nations confront global challenges.
It must transform.
We need a United Nations that enables innovation, one that expands meaningful access to investment and technology, especially for the islands, developing countries, who are too often excluded from both.
11passages
Solomon Islands · Day 4Matthew Cooper WaleMr. President, Secretary-General of the United Nations, Excellencies, distinguished delegates, I stand before this Assembly conscious that I speak on behalf of a nation and a people whose future is being shaped in halls like this one.
I bring warm greetings from the people and Government of Solomon Islands.
a nation of nearly 1,000 islands stretching across as many miles of the blue Pacific.
8passages
Marshall Islands · Day 4Hilda HeineThis week's UN high-level meeting on sea level rise has helped achieve new understanding in international law.
It is the seas that are rising around us, and not our islands which are sinking.
Our boundaries and baselines of today, the political footprint on the map, will endure in the face of aggressive sea level rise scenarios.
6passages
Tuvalu · Day 4Feleti TeoThe second is the Tuvalu Digital Arc Initiative, which seeks to preserve Tuvalu's culture and historical heritage in digital form.
Mr. President, Less than 24 hours ago, Member States endorsed in this very building the landmark United Nations political declaration on sea level rise, a monumental and gratifying achievement for Tuvalu, because Tuvalu was at the forefront of global efforts demanding such a declaration.
For Tuvalu, sea level rise is not a future threat, it is a present reality.
6passages
Malta · Day 4Robert AbelaThey are constant and existential threats.
For a small nation like Malta, a small island in the Mediterranean, that relies on our connections to the rest of the world, they are, yes, existential threats.
Tackling them must be a priority, the priority for this United Nations.
5passages
Samoa · Day 4Mulipola Anarosa Ale MoliooCritically, such reforms must not weaken the operation of the UN multi-country offices or the resident coordinator system.
We, Samoa, reaffirms its unwavering commitment to the United Nations As the premier forum to address global crisis, we also caution against premature decision taken without the full consideration and endorsement by member states.
Excellencies, climate change remains the single greatest threat to Samoa and the global community.
5passages
Bahamas (the) · Day 4Philip Edward DavisThe sea does not negotiate.
It does not read communiques, and it does not recognize a veto.
In 2024, for the first time, the world was more than 1.5 degrees warmer for an entire year.
4passages
Kiribati · Day 4Taneti MaamauIt must be strengthened through implementation, accountability and results that improve the lives of our people.
For Kiribati, the theme reaffirms our shared duty to strengthen the United Nations and ensure it serves everyone.
Mr. President, Kiribati is an ocean nation.
3passages
Maldives · Day 4Hussain Mohamed LatheefThis small state can be highly vulnerable to external threats and acts of influence.
In response, this Assembly adopted resolution 44/51, an initiative led by the Maldives, affirming the importance of protecting the sovereignty and territorial integrity of small states.
That was true then, and it is true even today.
3passages
Monaco · Day 4Christophe MirmandAfter 80 years, the principality hopes that women candidates will be seriously considered.
The organization would do well to demonstrate at its helm the equality for which it stands.
Ladies and gentlemen, there is one area where multilateral trust has recently produced tangible results, and it is dear to the heart of His Serene Highness Prince Albert II, and that is to say, the ocean.
3passages
Saint Kitts and Nevis · Day 4Geoffrey HanleyStates must reduce emissions, strengthen adaptation, honor climate finance responsibilities, and cooperate with countries bearing consequences vastly disproportionate to their contribution to this crisis.
Mister President, those contributions, lease, must not pay the greatest price.
Our oceans must also move from promises to protection.
3passages
Mauritius · Day 4Dhananjay RamfulMauritius also supports the call for SIDS to have a seat on a reformed Council.
On the question of the veto, Mauritius aligns itself with the position of a growing number of states that in the event the veto is retained, Any new permanent member must have the same rights as the original permanent members.
Mauritius also supports the Franco-Mexican initiative on the suspension of the veto in cases of mass atrocities.
3passages
Liechtenstein · Day 4Sabine MonauniAnimals and pollinators are dying out.
Liechtenstein commits to working with all states to address these harms and to reverse these trends as much as we still can.
We support the advisory opinion of the International Court of Justice on climate change.
2passages
Saint Vincent and the Grenadines · Day 4Godwin FridayWe in Saint Vincent and the Grenadines experience firsthand the vulnerability of living on the front lines of climate change.
Having experienced only two years ago.
The sudden destructive power of a category five hurricane.
2passages
Lesotho · Day 4Samuel Ntsokoane MatekaneLesotho is increasingly experiencing severe floods and droughts, resulting in unparalleled land degradation and extensive damage to critical infrastructure.
Despite contributing minimally to global greenhouse gas emissions, least developed countries like Lesotho bear a heavy brunt of climate impact.
Global warming and rising sea levels pose terrible threats, particularly to small island developing states.
1passages
Papua New Guinea · Day 4James MarapeSecretary-General Guterres, on behalf of my 11 million people, Papua New Guinea thank you for your service to the United Nations and to humanity.
We remember fondly your three nights You stayed with us in the mountains and islands of Papua New Guinea.
Thank you for being a strong voice of not just Papua New Guinea, but small nations, especially my small Pacific Island nations.
1passages
Norway · Day 4Espen Barth EideAnd they are increasingly competitive from an economic perspective, as seen by the fast falling costs of renewable energy.
But we can only succeed if we cooperate.
We cannot put fences around our own climate, our own biosphere, or deal with the ills of our oceans on our own.
1passages