Mr. President,

At the outset, I would like to thank the Government of New Zealand, the President of the Security Council for the month of July, for convening this timely debate on the Peace and Security Challenges of Small Island Developing States (SIDS), and for the opportunity to highlight the specific vulnerabilities of SIDS in this forum.

Mr. President,

The Bahamas has reiterated in many fora that for our country there are no higher priorities than the environment, fighting crime, and containing illegal immigration. These matters for The Bahamas go to the very root of our existence.

I wish to add to that list unemployment and the economy.

All of the efforts go to the root of peace and security. The main themes are buttressed by our work to ensure that we have a Safer, more Prosperous, Modern, Peaceful and ultimately Stronger Bahamas and region.

Mr. President,

Climate Change represents the most serious global environmental and development challenge, with far reaching security implications. As a country particularly vulnerable to the adverse impacts of climate change, The Bahamas believes that the security implications of climate change must be primarily addressed at the multilateral level by bodies which are inclusive, representative and transparent. We underscore that if urgent and ambitious actions are taken to comprehensively address climate change in this context, this will reduce the security implications associated with climate change including the existential threat faced by some SIDS, including those of us in the Caribbean.

The Bahamas is entirely convinced that the international community must attach the highest priority to completing ongoing climate change negotiations within the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) on a new legally binding agreement that results in the achievement of substantial emission reductions in the shortest time frame possible and significantly increases the level of resources available to vulnerable developing countries, including SIDS, to assist them to adapt to the adverse impacts of climate change.

What is important is that access to these resources must for all SIDS and low lying coastal developing states be at the concessional rates and not made available based on the determinant of GDP per capita.

Mr. President,

The Bahamas has been grappling with serious crimes in our society, related, in large measure, to the inability of young males to settle disputes without regard to violence, and the resultant proliferation of gang activity and illicit drugs, small arms and light weapons, and ammunition trafficking.

The Bahamas was, therefore, actively involved in the negotiations leading to the successful adoption of the Arms Trade Treaty and considered its adoption a landmark accomplishment of the UN. The Government believes the entry into force of the ATT will contribute to peace and security in The Bahamas, and in this connection, we deposited the Instrument of Ratification of the Commonwealth of The Bahamas to the Arms Trade Treaty on 25th September, 2014.

We continue to fight the illegal drug trade, to fight trafficking in persons, and investing in social intervention programmes, in order to fight crime.

Mr. President,

I spoke earlier of the adverse effects of illegal immigration on our national security. We have made serious efforts, in this regard, to stop the flow of undocumented non-nationals into Bahamian territory. New policies are now in place and there will be stricter adherence to these measures to stop it.

Last year, The Bahamas entered into important agreements with our immediate neighbours – Cuba, the Dominican Republic and Haiti – to come to terms with vexing situations that impact our good relations. These include accords on fishing and on migration.

We mean to bring illegal migration under control.

I added unemployment and the economy to the list. On that front, The Bahamas faces now a threat which is existential to good governance, the realization that a single investor can if not properly managed seek to destabilize the governance of a country by its dominance of the economy and by deliberately and improperly interfering in the local politics of the country. Add to that the efforts by various multilateral bodies and some member states to undermine the economies of many Caricom states by imposing mandates on the financial services sectors now an essential part of our economies. These imposed mandates are inimical to fair trade.

While these multilateral bodies and member states may see their zeal on tax collection as a moral triumph on their part, the resultant destruction which moving the goal posts and changing the rules without consultation causes, is not a moral triumph but a moral negative. If the economies of our countries collapse, leading to the departure of the citizens from home, the migration which it will cause can only be destabilizing around the world. That is a threat to peace and security.

Mr. President,

We have been asked today to consider the role that the Security Council might play as it regards the assistance provided to SIDS in addressing the challenges in maintaining peace and security, including those highlighted above.

And in response, The Bahamas would say that while we see a role for the Security Council in combating these threats and challenges, as a part of a multifaceted and collaborative global response, it bears repeating that these threats and challenges must be addressed primarily at the multilateral level by bodies which are inclusive, representative and transparent.

In this connection, I would conclude by calling for the reform of the Security Council – a change that is long overdue, and a change that would see a rotating seat for the small island developing States.

Thank you, Mr. President.