Statement by Dr. the Most Honourable Andrew Holness ON, PC, MP, DLP At the Plenary Session of the UN Future Summit on 22 September 2024 —————————————————————————————————– Mr. President, Jamaica welcomes the convening of the Future Summit. We commend the co-facilitators of the Future Compact, the Declaration on Future Generations and the Global Digital Compact for their hard work. Together, this Summit and the Compact embody renewed hope in advancing a common vision of harnessing multilateralism to create a dynamic framework in which our future generations will thrive. Jamaica is proud to have contributed to this historic process, particularly as a co-facilitator of the Declaration on Future Generations. Mr. President, the Compact rightly reaffirms the importance of achieving the SDGs. The 2023 SDG Summit laid bare the lack of progress in implementing the SDGs, including the reality that small island developing States are particularly far off from meeting them. With many still recovering from the pandemic, the heart of the challenge, and one that must be addressed urgently, lies in the glaring SDG financing gap of $2.5-4 trillion annually. As the Compact affirms, we must redouble our efforts to tackle global poverty, income inequality and food insecurity; we have a duty to limit global temperature rise to 1.5 degrees Celsius above pre-industrial levels; and we must create a future that promotes peaceful societies and ensures debt sustainability, resilience to climate shocks, infrastructure development, quality health and education systems, full respect for human rights, the empowerment of women and girls AND an enabling environment that makes international trade and the economy work towards sustainable development. I wish to emphasise that these are all priority areas in Jamaica’s National Development Plan-Vision 2030. Mr President, we are facing unprecedented challenges to international peace and security, driven primarily by geopolitical motives, but increasingly by transnational organised crime networks. These challenges go to the heart of the UN Charter. The Compact provides a realistic framework within which we can all live together in peace and harmony, within and between countries, and transmit the nature of such coexistence to our future generations. It is therefore well aligned with and supportive of the Secretary-General’s Agenda for Peace. We welcome the Compact’s focus on the importance of science, innovation and technological advancement, including digitalisation. Admittedly, new technologies, such as artificial intelligence and robotics, create new challenges to security and some livelihoods. However, they also create important opportunities, particularly for young people; and have great potential to empower generations, transform economies and solve complex challenges. The potential is, in fact, so great that we must emphasize the importance of international cooperation to address the challenges and seize the opportunities, particularly for the benefit of people in developing countries. I must stress that reforms in our international systems are needed to better meet the needs of today’s world. In particular, I agree with the Secretary-General that “the international financial system is outdated, dysfunctional and unjust.” Moreover, the UN Security Council must be more representative, inclusive and effective in a changing global security landscape. As a small island developing state, the Compact presents a path to turbocharging SDG implementation, addressing the impact of and tackling the root causes of climate change, and setting the framework for making global governance fairer, more equitable and more inclusive. Fellow facilitators, the world is counting on us to use this Summit to nurture renewed hope for the future, lay a suitable foundation for the prosperity of our descendants, and take bold steps to make this a reality. We must seize this opportunity! Thank you!