Trinidad and Tobago

SALUTATIONS

Madam President, Excellencies, distinguished delegates, friends.

INTRODUCTION

It is an honour to address this Assembly on the 80th anniversary of the United Nations. On behalf of Trinidad and Tobago, I congratulate you, Madam President, on your election. I thank your predecessor, His Excellency Philemon Yang, for his service.

UN'S FOUNDING VISION / REFLECTION ON ITS 80-YEAR PROGRESS

The United Nations has been much more than diplomacy; it is a lifeline to many countries, bringing education to classrooms, care to clinics, recovery to villages, and growth to fragile economies.

On this milestone anniversary, we must face a hard truth: the spirit of multilateralism is under strain, the effects of which has begun to undermine the foundations of stability and peace.

THE HARD TRUTH: TRANSNATIONAL CRIME AND NARCO-TRAFFICKING

Trinidad and Tobago confronts conflicts that seriously threaten our stability and peace. The notion that the Caribbean is a Zone of Peace has become a false ideal. The reality is stark—no such peace exists today.

For too many in our region, peace is not daily life but an elusive promise glimpsed, never grasped. In its absence, our citizens pay a terrible toll.

In 2024, Trinidad and Tobago, a nation of 1.4 million, recorded 623 murders — forty-one per one hundred thousand — with over forty per cent gang-related, driven by narcotics and firearms. In the last 25 years, we have had over ten thousand murders, which is equivalent to losing 1% of our adult population. Across Latin America and the Caribbean, homicides range from twenty to more than sixty per one hundred thousand.

President Trump's comments on the deleterious effects on countries of relentless narco and human trafficking, organised crime, and illegal immigration are correct. Countries are not only defined by geographical borders but also by cultural identities, religious beliefs, ethnic compositions and legal structures.

That is why through legal immigration persons are allowed entry because they fulfil the criteria to integrate into the existing population and add value to their own lives as well as their adopted society at large. Illegal immigration neglects all checks and balances and will only create long term disorder as most illegal immigrants will not be able to assimilate into the existing societies, inevitably leading to greater poverty, crime and cultural antagonism. This is not phobia or hyperbole; it is simply the truth.

Small countries like Trinidad and Tobago also suffer from illegal immigration. Because of the recent increased protections at the US southern border, illegal migration of drug cartels and criminal gangs has been rerouted into the eastern Caribbean. It is driving increasing gang violence, drug, arms and human trafficking.

Efforts to repatriate illegal immigrants from Trinidad and Tobago within recent times have proven difficult. Criminal syndicates are abusing asylum requests for refugee status. Therefore, Trinidad and Tobago is particularly grateful for the US military presence in the southern Caribbean, which has been very effective in inhibiting the innumerable activities of drug cartels within our country.

While there have been objections to the US military action against drug cartels from some countries, Trinidad and Tobago reminds the international community that, unless forceful and aggressive actions are taken, these evil drug cartels will continue their societal destruction because they believe affected nations will always unreservedly subscribe to morals and ethics which they themselves blatantly flout.

That is why we willingly supported the international security alliance announced by US Secretary of State Marco Rubio, involving the US and several countries in South America to combat drug-trafficking in the hemisphere. Trinidad and Tobago is committed to contributing its resources and capabilities to this alliance, in line with the theme of this year's General Assembly, 'Better Together'.

The United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC), in its 2025 World Drug Report, makes the truth unmistakable: the global drug economy destabilises institutions, corrodes democracy, and undermines development. It is a war without borders, measured in murdered children, broken families, and stolen futures. The cartels and the Governments that enable them are taking us for fools. If left unchecked, gangs could replace governments, and States may stand in name but collapse in substance.

HAITI

Nowhere is this warning more explicit than in Haiti, where armed gangs, political collapse, and food insecurity have converged to overwhelm democracy and create a protracted emergency. We commend Kenya for leading the Multinational Security Support Mission.

Trinidad and Tobago endorses the comments made by US Ambassador Dorothy Shea on August 28th 2025, when she noted that "the next international force must be resourced to hold territory, secure infrastructure, and complement the Haitian National Police. In parallel, a comprehensive approach, which includes disrupting gang financing, arms trafficking, and other illicit flows fueling instability, is required to restore order in Haiti".

As Member States consider the form of greater support, we urge the international community to support the US and Panama's proposed Gang suppression force to allow the deployment of a 5500-member force to subdue the gangs and restore order in Haiti.

The theme before us is "BETTER TOGETHER": FROM PRINCIPLE TO PRACTICE. This principle, 'Better Together', is not just a slogan but a call to action. It signifies the collective effort required to combat transnational crime, uphold democracy, and restore peace and security in our nations.

Therefore, despite being a small country with limited resources, we are committed to sharing the burden with the US, Panama and willing countries in assisting the Gang suppression force to bring some semblance of peace to Haiti.

THE CLIMATE AGENDA

This week the climate agenda has been at the forefront of many speeches. The antagonistic approach adopted by climate activists towards the implementation of their climate agenda does more harm than good.

Developed countries cannot force feed a climate agenda onto developing countries and blackmail them into cooperation. That is exactly what has been happening where the access to financial systems, media platforms, new technologies and development funding has been weaponized in order to coerce compliance with climate goals.

What adds insult to this injustice is that many of the same developed nations actively supporting the imposition of the aggressive climate agenda actually achieved developed nation status and prosperity through highly environmentally destructive and polluting industries in the many decades gone by.

While there is definitely a space for renewable energy, the fact remains that fossil fuels are essential for our continued survival. It cannot be ignored that the thousands of products created from fossil fuels, essential for daily life, cannot be produced economically in the quantities required from other means to satisfy the current world population.

Trinidad and Tobago will within reason support actions to protect the environment for future generations. However, independent nations must be free to create a climate policy that is crafted to balance their development goals and poverty eradication policies with environmental protection. This balance is a pragmatic necessity for food security, civil order and economic growth.

As we progress into a multipolar world order, where power is diffused across regions, it will be impossible to coerce all actors to adhere to the current climate agenda being advocated. Trinidad and Tobago will not adopt unbalanced and unreasonable, imposed climate policies that will simply lead to the exportation of our jobs, lowering of our standard of living and stunting of our economic development, pushing our people into poverty while many larger countries completely ignore their responsibilities.

FAITH IN MULTILATERALISM / 30TH ANNIVERSARY OF BEIJING DECLARATION

For Trinidad and Tobago, the United Nations has always been unwavering in supporting us through crises and empowering our citizens through UNICEF, UNDP, ILO, UNESCO, and UN Women.

In return, we have sought to repay that trust by advancing the proposal for the International Criminal Court in 1989; introducing Resolution 65/69 on Women and Disarmament, Nonproliferation and Arms Control in 2010; and signing the Arms Trade Treaty early in 2013.

We also created a Children's Authority and a Children's Life Fund; expanded early childhood education; and ensured trailblazing adherence to the Millennium Development Goals, especially in education, proving that even the smallest nations can align domestic progress with global ambition.

As we now mark the 30th anniversary of the Beijing Declaration, we reaffirm that women and girls must be equal partners in peace and sustainability, just as we called for in our 2010 Resolution. We continue to champion their empowerment, knowing it is essential to global progress.

T&T'S APPEAL FOR SUPPORT AS A NON-PERMANENT MEMBER OF THE UN SECURITY COUNCIL

Our commitment to the United Nations is clear and our voice steady. For sixty-three years, we have upheld the rule of law, championed human rights, strengthened international law, and never been silent in the face of injustice.

This is why Trinidad and Tobago sought support as a non-permanent member of the United Nations Security Council for the 2027–2028 term. We are happy that the same was met with a non-objection.

During our term we will build on this record, amplifying unheard voices to ensure that justice and equality anchor lasting security. Madam President, colleagues, Trinidad and Tobago may be small in size, but we are large in conviction. We continue to ask for your support so that this Council reflects not only the interests of the powerful, but also the voices and aspirations of all people.

CONCLUSION: TRINIDAD AND TOBAGO REMAINS FULLY COMMITTED TO THE UN

Trinidad and Tobago is firmly committed to the tenets of multilateralism. I specially thank Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Qatar, Turkey, Kuwait, Bahrain and Ghana who have been actively working with us to increase cultural and economic cooperation. The United States, Canada, the United Kingdom, India, China and the European Union remain always reliable partners as they have been for decades.

On this anniversary, let us agree to strive for greater cooperation and an openness to respecting free speech and dissenting opinions. Over the past decade there has been an inclination to cancel views that are not fashionable to the dominating narrative. Let us pledge to listen to each other with an objective mindset.

Peace and progress can only be fulfilled through honest, sometimes uncomfortable, discussions, and this is the place for it. This honest communication is even more important in a multipolar world order where military and economic power is now disseminated across the globe.

Madam President, Trinidad and Tobago commits to the work of this body, not for conquest, not for power, but for the sake of humanity.

I thank you.