UN General Assembly
2021

We have been — and are — victims of others who must recognize their responsibilities and act on them. In this connection, my government is extremely disturbed about incidents in which some countries have not recognized vaccines administered in Caribbean countries, and have forced fully vaccinated travellers into quarantine. Governments cannot urge people to get inoculated on the basis that the best vaccine is the available vaccine, and yet discriminate against vaccines that were not manufactured directly in North America and Europe. This would not only be a form of vaccine apartheid, it would defeat the objective of inoculating 70 per cent of the world’s people by this time next year. This discrimination must cease now before it becomes a norm by some developed countries. It is wrong; unjust, and patently unfair. Mr President, my government will cooperate with all governments to protect our world, giving our young people the chance to live a safe, secure, and enjoyable life, but stopping the COVID-19 pandemic still is a global responsibility and the burden of sharing its cost must be borne equitably.