UN General Assembly
2014

I would like to begin by congratulating His Excellency Mr. Sam Kutesa, former Minister for Foreign Affairs of Uganda, on his election to the presidency of the General Assembly at its sixty-ninth session. I would also like to take this opportunity to thank His Excellency Mr. John Ashe for his leadership of the Assembly at its sixty-eighth session, and to salute Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon for his continued efforts to promote peace, security and development throughout the world. Dominica is among six small independent States in the Caribbean that, together with three non-independent small island territories, constitute the Organization of Eastern Caribbean States (OECS). The OECS States are not simply small island developing States (SIDS), they are very small island developing States, and therefore among the most vulnerable members of the United Nations family. Twenty years after the adoption of the Barbados Programme of Action for the Sustainable Development of Small Island Developing States, and 10 years after the approval of the Mauritius Strategy for Implementation, most of the commitments made to promote sustainable development in SIDS have yet