Vanuatu has urged the United Nations to continue to assist and to bring to pass a long-standing plea of Small Island Developing States (SIDS) for special and differentiated treatment.
The message was conveyed by Vanuatu’s delegation to the Comprehensive High-Level Mid-term Review organized by the United Nations (UN) on the Implementation of the Program of Action for Least Developed Countries (LDC) in Antalya, Turkey from 27 to 29 May, 2016.
The Vanuatu delegation was headed by the Government’s Special Envoy on LDC, Jerome Ludvaune, Member of Parliament for the Malekula Constituency.
In an official address during the plenary of the Comprehensive High-level Mid-term Review on 28 May 2016, Mr Ludvaune cited three (3) critical forms of external support to Vanuatu, in the form of financial aid for infrastructural development and investment, preferential market access for Vanuatu’s goods and services and technical assistance.
Mr Ludvaune further explained that in addition to challenges facing small island states that are also LDC’s, Pacific SID’s including Vanuatu are placed quite high on the vulnerabilities hierarchy and with very limited capacities to cope with external shocks and natural disasters which contribute to hampering economic and social progress of these nations.
The LDC Special Envoy singled out resilience-building as the most important development objective of Vanuatu and like most Island nations in the region, will not build its resilience without external support.
The Vanuatu Government is very concerned about the impact of climate change which remains an imminent threat to the survival of small Islands states and recalled the destructive impact of Tropical Cyclone Pam in March 2015.
Mr Ludvaune urged the United Nations to establish a financial mechanism that can support LDCs and particularly Small Islands Developing States (SIDS) on their recovery phase.
Vanuatu is due to graduate from LDC status in 2020.