Remarks at the United Nations Day Reception in Barbados

• The Honourable Mia Amor Mottley, Prime Minister of Barbados
• Senator Dr. The Honourable Jerome Walcott, Minister of Foreign Affairs and Foreign Trade
• Honourable Ministers
• Bishop Joseph Atherley, Leader of the Opposition
• Members of the Senate
• Ambassadors and Members of the Diplomatic Corps
• Heads of Agencies and Members of the United Nations Sub-Regional Team
• Permanent Secretaries and representatives of the Government of Barbados
• Honorary Consuls 
• Representatives from the private sector, civil society and faith-based groups
• Members of the UWI Guild of Students and SDG Youth Speakers and
• Members of the media;
• United Nations colleagues, ladies and gentlemen,

It gives me great pleasure to welcome you to the UN House, YOUR house, to commemorate the 74th anniversary of the United Nations. Today, we remember and reflect on the vision of world leaders who on that day, in 1945, signed and ratified the UN Charter, officially establishing the existence of the United Nations. In a post-world war, the Charter called all signatories to reaffirm their faith in fundamental human rights, to promote better standards of life and to unite for international peace and security. These values remain as necessary today as they did back then. They echo throughout generations to remind us that we must unite to face global challenges.

Honourable Prime Minister, I am inspired by your leadership in the cause of multilateralism and strong support for the ethos of the Charter so clearly communicated to the world at the 74th UN General Assembly last month. Your call for dialogue to reign over the use of force, as well as respect for the rule of law, human rights and democracy, as you indicated will guarantee the rights of the people of Latin America and the Caribbean.

I also listened intently to your passionate plea on behalf of the Alliance of Small Island States for world leaders, to act now to halt and reverse climate change. Please rest assured that the UN Team is and will continue to support you and other governments in the sub-region in every way possible. Indeed, the UN remains undoubtedly, the best example of multilateralism at work, to address not only climate change, but other complex global challenges confronting humanity. As the UN Secretary General stated in his UN Day message, ‘amid stormy global seas, the Charter remains our shared moral compass.’

Ladies and gentlemen, celebrating and hosting the UN Day reception with the government of Barbados reflects the strong cooperation of the UN with our host country. The UN is deeply grateful to the government and people of Barbados for the generous provision of this beautiful UN House. It enables the UN agencies to efficiently and effectively delivery programmes that support not only Barbados, but also 9 sister countries and territories in the sub-region. Our work continues to be driven by the strategic priorities of the governments whom we serve.

In Barbados we support several key areas including but not limited to Climate Change and Resilience, Disaster Risk Management, Gender Equality, developing the Green and Blue Economy, Children’s Rights and Protection, Youth empowerment, Health and Food Security. Honourable Prime Minister, we are committed as a UN system to support Barbados in achieving its ambition of becoming a fossil-free country by 2030. Count on us to build resilience and further the development of the blue economy to benefit youth and future generations of Barbadians.

Ladies and gentlemen, the UN Development System since January 2019, has been undergoing an ambitious reform process to be more articulated and impactful to better serve countries in achieving the SDGs. The UN Sub-regional Team for Barbados and the Eastern Caribbean, which I have the honour to lead, has been mandated by the UN Secretary General and all member states to foster a collective and coherent UN system response to national needs and deepen accountability with governments and the citizenry.

As we move forward to Deliver as One, I am pleased to announce that Barbados will benefit from 2 new joint programmes. One under the recently created UN Joint SDG Fund, focusing on shock responsive and universal social protection. The second under the UN Human Security Trust Fund will build resilience of the agriculture and fisheries sectors through women empowerment. These initiatives and other cooperation of UN agencies would not be possible without the kind support of our development partners, many of whom are here today. So, I take this opportunity to thank you, on behalf of the whole UN team, for your commitment to ensure we leave no one behind.

For this UN day celebration, we decided to put the emphasis on Youth. Recognizing the important mobilization of young people in support of climate action last month in NYC during the UN GA, and also recognizing the importance of youth empowerment to the government of Barbados. Yesterday I was with the Hon Minister of Youth Adrian Forde at the University of the West Indies; and we heard the voices and aspirations of young students on SDGs through a Spoken Word Challenge. It was refreshing and thought provoking. This evening you will also hear two other youth leaders, speaking on climate change and youth employment.  

In closing, I call upon each one of you, from government to civil society, from private sector to development partners and youth to stay the course with us as we fulfill our mandate to support you as “firm craftsmen of your fate”.

Thank you for joining us and I wish you an enjoyable evening!