Brazil
1
BRAZIL
Third International Conference on Small Island Developing States. Samoa, 1-4 September 2014
Ambassador Eduardo Gradilone remarks
3-9-2014, morning session
DESCULPEM MEUS COLEGAS DA CPLP POR NÃO FALAR EM PORTUGUÊS, MAS JÁ TINHA MANDADO O TEXTO DO DISCURSO EM INGLÊS, E SE FALASSE NA NOSSA LÍNGUA CAUSARIA PROBLEMAS DE TRADUÇÃO.
Mr. President.
My first words are to endorse fully what has been said here about the outstanding way by which Samoa is receiving us in Apia. My congratulations and expressions of gratitude to His Highness the Head of State, to His Excellency the Prime Minister, to the United Nations and other international institutions and NGOs, and to all the authorities and people involved in the careful preparation of this important international event. Let me also add, on the other hand, that the city appeared to me particularly beautiful, charming and full of energy, as my Latin American colleagues and I could testify being present at some of your colourful and vibrant popular celebrations. Samoans have all reasons be proud of their country and their accomplishments.
2. Brazil also has given its best to organize this year the last FIFA Soccer Cup and make hundreds of thousands of visitors feel at home on that occasion. The results of the games were catastrophic for Brazil, but the venue was praised by all. The venue here in Apia is also marvellous, even if in the last days we were listening to a distressing number of problems related to our environment and the disastrous effects they can have on the lives of the peoples of the small island developing states.
2
3. This Third International Conference on Small Island Developing States is an important and necessary follow-up of the decisions taken in the conferences held in Barbados and Mauritius. It is a great opportunity to review the advances achieved in the last years and the remaining challenges for the promotion of sustainable development in SIDS. It also provides us with an invaluable opportunity for agreeing on further actions in the context of the implementation of the Rio+20 outcome document.
4. As laid out in the outcome document of the Rio+20 Conference, "small island developing states remain a special case for sustainable development in view of their unique and particular vulnerabilities, including their small size, remoteness, narrow resource and export base, and exposure to global environmental challenges and external economic shocks, including to a large range of impacts from climate change and potentially more frequent and intense natural disasters".
5. Brazil recognizes the unique challenges and vulnerabilities faced by SIDS in their attempts to strengthen their resilience. Adaptation to climate change is undoubtedly one of the main challenges faced by SIDS. In this regard, Brazil looks forward to a positive outcome in the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) negotiations, with real progress in financing for adaptation and mitigation, forests and the reaffirmation of the Kyoto commitments. We believe that a lasting solution lies on a global, comprehensive and ambitious agreement.
6. Oceans are important socio-economic and environmental assets for SIDS. By providing SIDS with food, transportation and economic growth, oceans have direct impacts on the lives of their populations. Therefore, it is very important to address issues like marine pollution, overfishing and ocean acidification, in order to conserve and enhance the resilience of oceans and thus improve living standards in SIDS.
3
7. The promotion of sustainable development depends on international cooperation. That is why Brazil is fully engaged in the negotiations of the Post-2015 Development Agenda, an initiative that presents us with the possibility to strengthen our efforts to eradicate poverty and promote sustainable development globally. In this sense, Brazil believes that fulfilling previous agreements and commitments in terms of Official Development Assistance (ODA), as set out in the Monterrey Consensus, is fundamental for our collective efforts in support of SIDS. South-South cooperation can also play an important role as a complementary source of resources.
8. In this regard, Brazil has been implementing several cooperation programs with SIDS, both bilaterally and through other mechanisms. Our cooperation efforts are aimed at tackling challenges in a very wide range of areas, such as energy; food security; human resources; marine environment; sports; health; and climate change.
9. Please allow me to highlight some examples of Brazil's engagement to SIDS through cooperation initiatives and programs.
10. In early 2011, Brazil established a broad multilateral cooperation program called "Brazilian Technical Cooperation: Agriculture, Food Security and Social Policies". This program consisted of 22 capacity-building courses elaborated by 20 Brazilian institutions. In total, 70 countries from different continents were contemplated by the program, including several SIDS.
11. In the Caribbean region, Brazil has been determined to establish resident embassies in all CARICOM countries, while also naming ambassadors to CARICOM and to the Organization of Eastern Caribbean States. Furthermore, we were honored to host leaders from that region in the first Brazil-CARICOM Summit, in April 2010.
12. Also in April 2010, Brazil and CARICOM signed an Agreement of Technical Cooperation, in order to support
4
the execution of projects within the 'Brazil-CARICOM Technical Cooperation Program'. This Agreement is still to be fully processed, but meanwhile Brazil is implementing courses in the field of agriculture, livestock, seed production, soil use planning and environmental preservation, at the request of CARICOM countries.
13. Besides multilateral initiatives, the Brazilian Cooperation Agency has several bilateral cooperation programs with Caribbean SIDS, especially Haiti, the Dominican Republic and Jamaica. In Haiti, for instance, Brazil has a long-standing commitment to achieve equitable inclusive and sustainable development and to consolidate democracy.
14. In 2013, a Brazilian mission to the Caribbean established initiatives in the fields of agriculture and water resources in 7 countries, namely: Antigua and Barbuda; Bahamas; Barbados; Grenada; Saint Lucia; Saint Kitts and Nevis; and Saint Vincent and the Grenadines. Brazil is willing to extend capacity building programs in such areas to all CARICOM countries.
15. Since 2009, our National Fund for the Development of Education implements school feeding programs in Caribbean countries. In 2014 alone, three SIDS have joined the program: Antigua and Barbuda, Jamaica and Saint Lucia.
16. Notwithstanding all these initiatives, the Brazilian action in support of SIDS is not restricted to the Caribbean region. In Africa and Asia, Brazil has partnered with the Portuguese-Speaking SIDS (São Tomé and Principe, Cape Verde, and Timor-Leste) to share our experience in different areas that are key to development, particularly in agriculture and renewable energy production.
17. With the Pacific SIDS, our efforts have been to strengthen and expand our ties, especially in issues related to oceans and seas. Our commitment to engage with countries from that region was further reaffirmed during a visit to Brazil of the P-SIDS Permanent
5
Representatives in New York, where potential areas for cooperation were identified.
18. To different extents, all these initiatives that Brazil has been implementing are useful for addressing the unique challenges and vulnerabilities of SIDS. In concluding, Brazil would like to reiterate its commitment to the sustainable development of SIDS and to a fruitful outcome in this Conference.
TALOFA LAVA. FAATALOFA ATU ILEA AGAGA (ANHANHA) FIAFIA MA LE FAAFETAI ILE MALÖ MA TAGATA NUÚ UMA O SAMOA. ALOFA´AGA MAI TAGATA NUÚ UMA O BRAZIL.
FAAFETAI MA MANUIA.
THANK YOU.
______________________________________
BRAZIL
Third International Conference on Small Island Developing States. Samoa, 1-4 September 2014
Ambassador Eduardo Gradilone remarks
3-9-2014, morning session
DESCULPEM MEUS COLEGAS DA CPLP POR NÃO FALAR EM PORTUGUÊS, MAS JÁ TINHA MANDADO O TEXTO DO DISCURSO EM INGLÊS, E SE FALASSE NA NOSSA LÍNGUA CAUSARIA PROBLEMAS DE TRADUÇÃO.
Mr. President.
My first words are to endorse fully what has been said here about the outstanding way by which Samoa is receiving us in Apia. My congratulations and expressions of gratitude to His Highness the Head of State, to His Excellency the Prime Minister, to the United Nations and other international institutions and NGOs, and to all the authorities and people involved in the careful preparation of this important international event. Let me also add, on the other hand, that the city appeared to me particularly beautiful, charming and full of energy, as my Latin American colleagues and I could testify being present at some of your colourful and vibrant popular celebrations. Samoans have all reasons be proud of their country and their accomplishments.
2. Brazil also has given its best to organize this year the last FIFA Soccer Cup and make hundreds of thousands of visitors feel at home on that occasion. The results of the games were catastrophic for Brazil, but the venue was praised by all. The venue here in Apia is also marvellous, even if in the last days we were listening to a distressing number of problems related to our environment and the disastrous effects they can have on the lives of the peoples of the small island developing states.
2
3. This Third International Conference on Small Island Developing States is an important and necessary follow-up of the decisions taken in the conferences held in Barbados and Mauritius. It is a great opportunity to review the advances achieved in the last years and the remaining challenges for the promotion of sustainable development in SIDS. It also provides us with an invaluable opportunity for agreeing on further actions in the context of the implementation of the Rio+20 outcome document.
4. As laid out in the outcome document of the Rio+20 Conference, "small island developing states remain a special case for sustainable development in view of their unique and particular vulnerabilities, including their small size, remoteness, narrow resource and export base, and exposure to global environmental challenges and external economic shocks, including to a large range of impacts from climate change and potentially more frequent and intense natural disasters".
5. Brazil recognizes the unique challenges and vulnerabilities faced by SIDS in their attempts to strengthen their resilience. Adaptation to climate change is undoubtedly one of the main challenges faced by SIDS. In this regard, Brazil looks forward to a positive outcome in the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) negotiations, with real progress in financing for adaptation and mitigation, forests and the reaffirmation of the Kyoto commitments. We believe that a lasting solution lies on a global, comprehensive and ambitious agreement.
6. Oceans are important socio-economic and environmental assets for SIDS. By providing SIDS with food, transportation and economic growth, oceans have direct impacts on the lives of their populations. Therefore, it is very important to address issues like marine pollution, overfishing and ocean acidification, in order to conserve and enhance the resilience of oceans and thus improve living standards in SIDS.
3
7. The promotion of sustainable development depends on international cooperation. That is why Brazil is fully engaged in the negotiations of the Post-2015 Development Agenda, an initiative that presents us with the possibility to strengthen our efforts to eradicate poverty and promote sustainable development globally. In this sense, Brazil believes that fulfilling previous agreements and commitments in terms of Official Development Assistance (ODA), as set out in the Monterrey Consensus, is fundamental for our collective efforts in support of SIDS. South-South cooperation can also play an important role as a complementary source of resources.
8. In this regard, Brazil has been implementing several cooperation programs with SIDS, both bilaterally and through other mechanisms. Our cooperation efforts are aimed at tackling challenges in a very wide range of areas, such as energy; food security; human resources; marine environment; sports; health; and climate change.
9. Please allow me to highlight some examples of Brazil's engagement to SIDS through cooperation initiatives and programs.
10. In early 2011, Brazil established a broad multilateral cooperation program called "Brazilian Technical Cooperation: Agriculture, Food Security and Social Policies". This program consisted of 22 capacity-building courses elaborated by 20 Brazilian institutions. In total, 70 countries from different continents were contemplated by the program, including several SIDS.
11. In the Caribbean region, Brazil has been determined to establish resident embassies in all CARICOM countries, while also naming ambassadors to CARICOM and to the Organization of Eastern Caribbean States. Furthermore, we were honored to host leaders from that region in the first Brazil-CARICOM Summit, in April 2010.
12. Also in April 2010, Brazil and CARICOM signed an Agreement of Technical Cooperation, in order to support
4
the execution of projects within the 'Brazil-CARICOM Technical Cooperation Program'. This Agreement is still to be fully processed, but meanwhile Brazil is implementing courses in the field of agriculture, livestock, seed production, soil use planning and environmental preservation, at the request of CARICOM countries.
13. Besides multilateral initiatives, the Brazilian Cooperation Agency has several bilateral cooperation programs with Caribbean SIDS, especially Haiti, the Dominican Republic and Jamaica. In Haiti, for instance, Brazil has a long-standing commitment to achieve equitable inclusive and sustainable development and to consolidate democracy.
14. In 2013, a Brazilian mission to the Caribbean established initiatives in the fields of agriculture and water resources in 7 countries, namely: Antigua and Barbuda; Bahamas; Barbados; Grenada; Saint Lucia; Saint Kitts and Nevis; and Saint Vincent and the Grenadines. Brazil is willing to extend capacity building programs in such areas to all CARICOM countries.
15. Since 2009, our National Fund for the Development of Education implements school feeding programs in Caribbean countries. In 2014 alone, three SIDS have joined the program: Antigua and Barbuda, Jamaica and Saint Lucia.
16. Notwithstanding all these initiatives, the Brazilian action in support of SIDS is not restricted to the Caribbean region. In Africa and Asia, Brazil has partnered with the Portuguese-Speaking SIDS (São Tomé and Principe, Cape Verde, and Timor-Leste) to share our experience in different areas that are key to development, particularly in agriculture and renewable energy production.
17. With the Pacific SIDS, our efforts have been to strengthen and expand our ties, especially in issues related to oceans and seas. Our commitment to engage with countries from that region was further reaffirmed during a visit to Brazil of the P-SIDS Permanent
5
Representatives in New York, where potential areas for cooperation were identified.
18. To different extents, all these initiatives that Brazil has been implementing are useful for addressing the unique challenges and vulnerabilities of SIDS. In concluding, Brazil would like to reiterate its commitment to the sustainable development of SIDS and to a fruitful outcome in this Conference.
TALOFA LAVA. FAATALOFA ATU ILEA AGAGA (ANHANHA) FIAFIA MA LE FAAFETAI ILE MALÖ MA TAGATA NUÚ UMA O SAMOA. ALOFA´AGA MAI TAGATA NUÚ UMA O BRAZIL.
FAAFETAI MA MANUIA.
THANK YOU.
______________________________________
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