United Nations, New York, September 23, 2026 (SKNIS): Acting Prime Minister of Saint Kitts and Nevis, the Honourable Dr. Geoffrey Hanley, delivered a statement on behalf of the fourteen Member States of the Caribbean Community (CARICOM) on Wednesday, September 23, during the High-level Segment of the United Nations General Assembly commemorating the 40th Anniversary of the Declaration on the Right to Development.
In presenting CARICOM’s position, Acting Prime Minister Hanley underscored the particular development challenges confronting Caribbean states, including climate-related disasters, high debt burdens, limited fiscal space, restricted access to concessional financing and structural inequalities within the international economic system.
“For CARICOM, the climate crisis is also a development crisis,” Acting Prime Minister Hanley stated, noting that Caribbean countries contribute minimally to global greenhouse gas emissions yet remain among those most exposed to climate-related impacts capable of erasing decades of development progress within hours.
He stressed that protecting the right to development requires greater international cooperation and an international financial system that responds more effectively to the realities of vulnerable developing states.
“Promoting the right to development must therefore include resilience building, the use of the Multidimensional Vulnerability Index (MVI) and other measures of progress beyond GDP as well as the overall reform of the international financial architecture,” he said.
The CARICOM statement also highlighted the importance of a fair and rules-based international trading system, greater opportunities for small states to diversify their economies and strengthen productive capacity, and responsible use of emerging technologies, including artificial intelligence.
Acting Prime Minister Hanley reaffirmed CARICOM’s commitment to working with the international community to ensure that the right to development moves beyond aspiration and produces tangible improvements in the lives of people across the Caribbean and the wider world.
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