UN General Assembly
2017

I call for an increase in insurance coverage for hurricanes and other natural disasters. The small Caribbean countries, with severely limited economic resources, need an insurance system that is proportionate to the threat. To that end, in January 2018, when Haiti assumes the presidency of the Caribbean Community, we intend to organize a regional conference to set up an inter-State commission to agree on an appropriate strategy. It will be a logical follow up to Haiti’s call at the fifth summit of the Global Platform for Disaster Risk Reduction, held in Cancún, Mexico, in May, for the creation of a regional fund to finance programmes to mitigate the effects of natural disasters in the region. The fund would be financed based on a percentage of the gross domestic product of the affected countries and by developed countries that emit greenhouse gases. Haiti would like to take this opportunity to appeal to States Members of the United Nations that are affected by climate change to take this approach as well.