51吃瓜

“All of us from small islands can relate to the word’s perception of us, as small islands”, but rather than?treating them as distant vessels,?imagine?instead “an undivided?Pacific, connected by an ocean highway.”?That was the plea to world leaders?from?Vinzealhar?Ainjo?Kwangin?Nen,?on Friday,?speaking on behalf of?her?generation,?on the front line of?climate change.?

The young advocate from the?island nation of Papua New Guinea, painted?a?vivid?picture?of the dangers?for delegates on?Friday, during the last major summit of the UN’s?high level?week,?dedicated to looking at the?progress and pitfalls?facing?Small Island Developing?States?(SIDS)?as the world warms, and the seas rise.

Speaking from the?General Assembly?Hall podium,?she offered?a personal view?in poetic form, of?the?struggles she is dealing with:?“I am a youth of a small island, when in a global community, most everyone doesn’t know where I am. And what hurts the most, is I know where they all are”.

Testimonies like Ms.?Nen’s?received a warm welcome during the event, geared?towards?addressing?climate and development?issues?unique to island states, and?assessing?the?implementation of?priorities?laid out in a?2014 mandate,?to accelerate SIDS development.

The Small Island Developing States Accelerated Modalities of Action?– or??Pathway,?was agreed?in September 2014, during the??to focus the world’s attention on islands’ special development roles and particular vulnerabilities.

As world leaders gathered for a mid-term review on the plan’s implementation, five years form its adoption, they conceded that progress toward sustainable development for SIDS require a major increase in urgent investment, and the road to stability for many island nations is threatened by amplified environmental challenges, economic crises, food security, and others.

While some progress has been made in addressing social inclusion, gender equality, poverty and unemployment, inequality continues to affect vulnerable groups, and devastating effects of climate change cause lasting loss of life and property.

Putting the plan into action represents “an important chance for the international community to demonstrate solidarity”,?Secretary-General?António Guterres?stressed.

“Small Island Developing States are a special case for sustainable development. They?require?the?concerted long-term attention and investment?of the entire international community”,?he said.

Following in line for comment, President Michael Higgins of Ireland, which sponsored the event, emphasized that “we cannot allow our words in one compartment to be contradictory to another. There must be consistency across the architecture and?delivery,?most of all the words must be followed by action.”

“This is not academic, this is about life,” he added, highlighting that for island nations “the word ‘disaster’ has a different meaning…as it is a disaster that will come again and again, and therefore response must take?account?of the danger of recurrence.”

The day-long review comes one month after Hurricane Dorian devastated parts of the Bahamas, adding to the increasing frequency, scale and intensity of natural disasters and their unique threat to island nations and their people.

Keynote speaker and?leading Hollywood?actor, Jason?Momoa?said, “I am standing here today because I am ashamed that not all leaders have wanted agreement”, referring the groundbreaking??pledge to limit the globe from warming beyond 1.5 degrees Celsius.

“I have seen how one place can be oblivious to another…with a foothold in two worlds, I began to see how a problem for one can become a problem for all,”?said the?star of the?Aquaman?superhero?movie, speaking to his background as Hawaiian-born, and Iowa-raised.

A political declaration is expected to come at the summit’s conclusion, a concise action-oriented agreement to further propel the SAMOA pathway’s integration which will require the international community’s support.

Source: UN News