Speaking at the general debate of the 64th Session of the United Nations General Assembly, Belize Minister of Foreign Affairs and Foreign Trade, Wilfred Elrington, said that the “club model of cooperation” entrenched in the existing multilateral systems that include the UN, the IMF, the World Bank, the WTO, and the G7, G8, and G20 groupings “suffers from a crisis of legitimacy.”
“We need a new model of multilateral cooperation framework in which all nations can have meaningful input into the decision making process on issues that have a direct impact on their interests,” said Elrington. “This requires fundamental structural reform and not mere cursory efforts for technocratic coherence.”
Elrington said that while globalization was touted as the tide to lift all boats, it has not been even, and small states like Belize have suffered and continue to suffer aftershocks of the global economic crisis, for example, without being invited to the table to talk about the solutions.
“Its evolving system of global governance is unresponsive to the cares and concerns of micro- middle- income states like ours, for despite the devastating impact it is having upon our economies we are yet to be invited to the table to make our input into the discussion on the global economic crisis,” said Elrington.
Early on in his speech, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs pointed to a worrying state of affairs in Belize:
“All indications are that the aftershocks of the global economic crisis have now begun to affect Belize’s real economy. We are experiencing declining levels of revenue, worrying reduction in productivity, diminishing remittances, crushing debt servicing obligations, unrelenting budgetary pressures, and a drying up of resources on which to draw upon,” he added.
Addressing another high profile issue – central to high level talks at the UN in the last few days – Elrington commented that “…climate change presents the most serious threat to our sustainable development and viability.”
Belize, he said, plays host to the Caribbean Community’s Climate Change Centre.
“Considering that small island developing states and other particularly vulnerable countries are already experiencing dangerous climate change, then avoiding adverse effects on these particularly vulnerable countries should be the benchmark for determining our targets and our levels of support,” he added.
Other issues Belize addressed in the general debate include the ongoing political stalemate in Honduras, following the ousting of Manuel Zelaya.
Before concluding his speech, Elrington went back to the issue of multilateral cooperation, stressing that, “For us, the model of multilateral cooperation must be imbued with legitimacy and for that we must work for a more inclusive process. The 21st century challenges instruct a new dynamic for international relations – one that must be inclusive, and dare I say democratic.”