São Tomé calls for advances in climate finance and UN reform

O appeal of Ilza Amado Vaz was held in a speech at the 81st UN General Assembly in New York, United States.

The Minister for Foreign Affairs, Cooperation and Communities spoke of the impacts of global warming on small island states and said that “this reality is a profound climate injustice”.

“ In this context, we call for the Multidimensional Vulnerability Index to translate into concrete criteria for access to concessional funding. We also advocate full operationalisation of the Loss and Damage Fund and simpler and more effective access to the Green Climate Fund. The limited institutional capacity of vulnerable countries cannot become an obstacle to access to the instruments created to support them,” he said.

The head of San Tomese diplomacy also stressed that the experience of the country as a small democracy also influences the way it views representation at international level, pointing out that “Africa today occupies a demographic, economic and political place that does not yet find adequate correspondence in the institutions where decisions are made of greater scope”.

“It is in this area that the reform of the Security Council is required. This is not a concession to Africa. It is a question of legitimacy, justice and effectiveness. An institution responsible for international peace and security cannot remain indefinitely based on a distribution of power inherited from another era,” he said.

In this effort for “greater historical justice and representation”, Ilza Amado Vaz took the opportunity to welcome “the recent decisions that recognized the historical gravity of the transatlantic trafficking of enslaved Africans and promoted a more faithful cartographic representation of the dimension of the continents, correcting distortions that visually reduced Africa.”.

The minister added that “it is necessary for these recognitions to be translated into an international order in which Africa participates fully in the definition of the future and does not just remain in the position of responding to decisions taken elsewhere.”.

In her speech at the UN General Assembly, the head of Santomese diplomacy also addressed the international geopolitical scene, stating that the country follows with concern the conflicts in Ukraine, Sudan, Sahel, Great Lakes, the Horn of Africa and the Middle East, and that it calls for the strengthening of diplomacy and the protection of civilians in accordance with the United Nations Charter and international law.

“ We reaffirm our support for a two-state solution that will allow Israel and Palestine to coexist in peace and security, based on international law and relevant UN resolutions,” the ruler recalled.

“ We also follow with concern the persistence of economic, commercial and financial restrictions affecting Cuba and call for its lifting, for the development and welfare of the Cuban people and we express our solidarity ", said.

Finally, Ilza Amado Vaz made a mention of this Sunday’s legislative, local and regional elections in São Tomé and Príncipe, highlighting that “they are marked by important innovations, namely the automatic electoral census and the first application of the Parity Act, representing a significant step in strengthening the inclusion and participation of women”.