President of United Nations General Assembly Julian Hunte made the statement at the opening ceremony of the inter-regional preparatory meeting to review the implementation of the Barbados Programme of Action for the Sustainable Development of Small Island States at the Radisson Resort, Cable Beach on Monday.
“International trafficking in drugs and in small arms and light weapons and the threat of terrorism and other transborder crime have created urgent problems for many SIDS especially those like The Bahamas that are archipelagos,” Mr. Hunte said.
Mr. Hunte is from Saint Lucia, which is also a SIDS country.
The issue is one that Bahamian diplomats at the highest levels have fought for decades and continue to fight in special United Nations fora.
Mr. Hunte also said that the issue of HIV/AIDS remains of critical concerned to SIDS-members, which is one of the major issues that delegates are addressing during the meeting, which ends Friday.
He said that the disease is so destructive to small populations and added that it is critical to have access to affordable medicines.
“Accessing these challenges draw heavily on national budgets and can effectively disrupt even the most well-planned development strategy,” Mr. Hunte said.
Some officials have also expressed concern that the rapid inroads that HIV/AIDS is making in SIDS countries could have a negative impact on the tourism industries, which so many SIDS countries like The Bahamas depend on as a premier industry.
Other key points to be discussed by SIDS delegates by Friday when the meeting ends include good governance, trade, tourism, fresh water, energy, transport and communications.
The common priorities for action identified in the Nassau meeting will be presented at the 12th session of the UN Commission of Sustainable Development in New York, April 14 -16 and will
Julian Reid, The Bahama Journal
