World Development Summit:
strong words from the Pacific Islands

The Pacific Island Leaders and Ministers attending the World Summit in 
South Africa called for firmer international commitments to sustainable 
development.

Those who spoke on the first day of the High-Level Segment of the Summit 
include the President of the Republic of Marshall Islands, Kessai Note, 
Prime Minister of Tuvalu Saufatu Sopoaga, the Deputy Prime Minister of 
Vanuatu, Rialuth Serge Vohor, and Minister of Foreign Affairs and 
Immigration of Papua New Guinea, Sir Rabi Namaliu.

They spoke of the commitments of the Pacific Islands to environment 
protection and sustainable development and lamented what Sir Namaliu called 
"the broken promises" of the Rio Earth Summit held in 1992.

The Marshall Islands President reminded the Summit that, ten years after 
Rio, "there remains mass poverty" and widening gaps between rich and poor.

Environmental problems were highlighted, with the Tuvalu Prime Minister 
describing the "very scary experience" faced by his people on the tiny 
atolls of Tuvalu as a result of climate change and sea level rise.

He, like the others who spoke, called on all parties to take immediate 
steps to ratify the Kyoto Protocol "as a matter of urgency".

The Tuvalu Prime Minster also expressed disappointment that the Summit 
could not agree on targets for implementing renewable energy "given the 
direct link between energy and climate change" and despite Tuvalu's 
continued call for a minimum target of 15 per cent on renewable energy by 
2015.

He blamed those countries that had refused to ratify the Kyoto Protocol for 
the failure to agree on renewable energy targets. He welcomed the positive 
stance taken by the European Union and others on climate change and 
renewable energy.

The President of the Marshall Islands called the impact of climate change a 
matter of "life and death" and he spoke of the Ocean as the means of 
livelihood that was "now turning against us as a result of foreign forces 
beyond our power to combat."

The Deputy Prime Minister of Vanuatu expressed concerns over the shipment 
of radioactive materials through the Pacific Ocean, in particular the 
absence of compensation in the event of an accident involving such 
shipments in the Pacific.

Part of the problem according to the PNG Minister is that "there has been 
much rhetoric" without genuine commitment.

He and others who spoke therefore called for commitment of new and 
additional resources to implement the outcomes of the Johannesburg Summit, 
and not "mere expressions" of moral obligations by industrialised 
countries.

They also called for international support to the Pacific's own Initiative 
Partnerships tabled at the Summit to turn the Summit outcomes into tangible 
benefits for everyone.

There were also concerns about the absence of transparency and 
accountability in the development process, and while the Tuvalu Prime 
Minister called on developing countries to make commitments to good 
governance, the Deputy Prime Minister of Vanuatu called on the OECD to be 
more transparent and inclusive in its pursuit of the Harmful Taxation 
Initiative.

The President of the Marshall Islands called on the world to use its 
brilliance and capability to rebuild a world of peace and prosperity for 
all, while the Tuvalu Prime Minister evoked the spirit of partnership by 
quoting from Ben Franklin: "We must all hang together, or most assuredly we 
will hang separately."

* * *

Acknowledgements: Pacific Island Forum Secretariat