AS I continue to follow and articulate the appearances of Prime Minister Dr Terrance Drew as he addresses the United Nations General Assembly, it is with pride that publsh this article, STANDING TALL ON THE GLOBAL STAGE. Not only did Prime Minister Drew stand tall on the largest political world stage with a viewing audience of billions. He did so effectively punching above his weight. His address to this august body encapsulated the global issues of climate change, world peace, and equitable justice, while he highlighted on the world stage the contribution of the Labour Movement in St Kitts and Nevis in bringing justice to our people engendering upward mobility and dignity.
In addressing the hundreds in the chamber and billions around the world, Prime Minister Drew’s address provided all and sundry with something positive to take away from his presentation. In highlighting the enormity of the problems faced by small island states like St Kitts and Nevis, he said. ” We are small yes, but our voices carry the weight of rising seas, thundering storms, and livelihoods tethering on the edge of erasure.”
As he recalled the words the late UN Secretary General Kofi Annan in addressing the foundation of justice, peace, security, and prosperity, he said. “That foundation is fragile, but it is essential. It is crumbling under the weight of neglect, greed, and abuse of power.” As he continued to expound on the issue of peace, security, and equitable justice, he brought into focus the plight of persons in various countries whose rights are ignored and trampled upon by the powerful global north. He said, “we must rise from these chambers, not resigned to the idea that the children of Haiti, Congo, Sudan, and Palestine is less deserving of the rights and freedoms that we enjoy. We are all one people one world.” In addressing the continued prevalence of wars and instability our Prime Minister said, “yet today we stand on the precipice of a perilous return to a world where peace is kept at gunpoint. Where weapons are romanticised and violence is exalted in the pursuit of absolute power.” In bringing this issue to the fore, Prime Minister Dr Terrance Drew called global leaders to pay attention to their responsibilities by stating emphatically to them. “We need more than diplomatic platitudes. We need a humanity steeped in humanity, decency, equity, and inclusively.” He also said, “we can not have peace without justice nor justice without true, solid equity.”
As he made the case for that security and sustainability are not separated but rather intertwined he spoke to it as a great delusion that we consume and admonished that the lived reality in the Caribbean demands that we be shaken from complacency. He also addressed the issue of food inequity and colonial arrogance exhibited by the global north. “We can not build secure nations while allowing the climate crisis to rob future generations of their birthright. Security is more than the absence of conflict. It is the presence of dignity, justice, and hope.”
As Prime Minister Drew crowned his address to the United Nations General Assembly, he did so by highlighting the contribution of the Labour Movement in St Kitts and Nevis to human development and progress. “Generations ago, the Labour Movement in St Kitts and Nevis paved the way for our people’s emancipation, an emancipation built on the principles of social, economic, and human dignity.” As he endeavoured to echo their call, he said, “our ambition must be grander our vision clearer.”
It is with extreme pride that I congratulate Prime Minister Dr. Terrance Drew on his stellar performance on the world stage. It was an address worthy of high praise and commendation. On which every citizen of St Kitts and Nevis can and should be proud of. Well done, Cde Prime Minister.
