on behalf of the general assembly I have the honor of welcoming to the United Nations his Excellency Mr sangel whips president of the Republic of palao and I would invite him to address the general assembly Mr President Mr Secretary General excellencies ladies and gentlemen it is a privilege to speak before this esteemed body for the first time I bring warm greetings from the people of the Republic of palao my sincere congratulations to Mr Abdullah Shahid on your election as president of the 76th session and I commend Mr Vulcan bosier on his leadership during the previous
session ladies and gentlemen our 76 session convenes at a unique time in United Nations history member states are still confronted with a Monumental test of solving the co9 pandemic on behalf of the people of palao we applaud and salute the First Responders doctors nurses public health professionals and all those who have worked and continue to diligently respond to this pandemic science including scientists pharmaceutical companies Civil Society governments and others who have taken the lead in creating life-saving vaccines and Innovative treatments in Swift response Pala would like to thank all our International allies and friends who
came to our Aid during this difficult time especially the United States Taiwan Japan and Australia who delivered the covid-19 vaccines PPE testing capacity and vital training to the people of palao which allowed us to remain covid free through most of this pandemic and now covid safe with over 80% of our total population fully vaccinated with zero deaths and zero hospitalizations the people of palao are eternally grateful for your friendship generosity and cooperation along these lines we would like to highlight the Republic of China taiwan's leadership in the Global Response against co9 not only have they
demonstrated consistent and effective management of the pandemic within their borders but their relation their leadership has also extended to palao taiwan's International response facilitated cooperation and implementation of an effective sterile travel Corridor between Taiwan and palao this sterile Corridor has allowed Taiwan and palao to resume medical and educational cooperation and recoup economic engagement and other benefits of international travel we encourage the UN system to accept Taiwan as a valuable contributor to our Collective efforts and strongly advocate for taiwan's participation in the UN system on behalf of the people of palao we also extend our deepest
condolences to those whose lives have been imp impacted by the pandemic our prayers go out to you and your loved ones and we also pray that we'll further ban together to find more Equitable approaches to subdue the pandemic and continue healing and economic recoveries of our people communities and Nations ladies and gentlemen if there is a silver lining in this pandemic it's the strength of human resolve in record time we mobilize global resources and information to send protective equipment around the world and created numerous vaccines and treatments to counteract the cid9 virus although more can
and must be done in our efforts to contain the pandemic the global Community responded to to the threat of Despair by taking action and working at Breakneck speed to contain the Corona virus today I ask the global community to take the same level of urgency and bold action into responding to the existential threat of climate change in April of this year palao which historically is outside the typhoon belt was hit by typhoon surrogate our third typhoon since 2012 which damaged 20% of our homes destroyed major infrastructure including our aquaculture facilities it also destroyed millions of
dollars of crops and wrecked significant Havoc on our reefs and corals and con and consequently undermining our Pala Fe food security this is particularly notable because palao and other SIDS depend on imported highly processed food products due to the lack of economies of scale as a result of our small population resulting in a significant increases in our ncds among our people and while there is potential for increased local production our efforts are hampered by the adverse impact of climate change including sea level rise typhoons droughts and other stress on marine and terrestrial ecosystems the gradual
destruction of climate change has allowed us to be complacent and respond mostly by kicking the can down the road however ladies and gentlemen the ipcc report has indicated that we are running out of time simply put we must act now to ensure our children inherit a healthy and reliable future we need to act now before further irreparable damage is made to our planet as a SIDS Nation we stand here as one of the states most vulnerable to climate change and we urge fast and comprehensive multilateral action to mitigate the effects of climate change ocean-based climate
action can play a significant role in shrieking the world's carbon footprint the ocean Pano has commissioned research that found ocean-based climate action can deliver up to a fifth or 21% of the annual greenhouse gas emission Cuts needed to limit Global temperature rise to 1.5ยฐ Celsius by 2050 one of the major issues addressing the risk of climate change and climate ocean Nexus is our inability and lack of capacity in accessing climate financing this further exaggerates our vulnerabilities and we are not alone in this respect of the 20% of the climate P financing provided on adaptation only
2% of that support went to Sid's countries further of the 2% at least half of those funds were not in the form of Grants but in the form of loans we urge the UN to address this inequality and reduce the artificial barriers to allowing small countries to access climate finance and for the UN to create systems to address its Charter and represent we the peoples for all people as a Sid's country palao relies heavily on the ocean not only as its main economic engine via tourism and Fisheries but also as its food security for its
food security a recent study on the palao national marinees Sanctuary or the pnms by Stanford University stated that Rising temperatures will produce warmer Waters that will hold less oxygen these twin pressur will cause tuna and billfish that have particularly High oxygen requirements to migrate in search of areas with cooler Waters and higher oxygen concentrations these analysis project a 40% decline in skipjack and yellow fin biomass in Pala Waters by the year 2100 if we continue on this High emissions trajectory as palao prepares the h host the 7th our ocean conference in February of 2022 we
reaffirm our commitment to sustainably manage and use and conserve our oceans in 2015 we declared most of our e as a palao national Marine Sanctuary but this is not enough we need Global action it's time that the International Community commits to establishing a 30% Target that focuses on Marine protected areas within and beyond our national jurisdictions Mr President many of the challenges that will be presented here this week must be addressed within the framework of the United Nations as custodian of the world to this point palao is undergoing a renewal of its compact of free
association or Kofa with the United States this relationship was a result of the un's historic role in a ing the trustee ship to administer to the United States to administer our Islands as part of a Str strategic trust territory with the duty of developing the territory into a full self-government and self-reliance after seven referendums the people of palao agreed to the compact of free association in 1994 allowing the US to exercise the fundamental elements of our national sovereignty control over our national security and defense and this enabled the US to deter other nations access to
our lands and Waters and ultimately restricting our association with some members of the International Community and limiting our perspective Economic Development opportunities in this regard previous Kofa reconsiderations have been unsuccessful because of inadequate regard of the complex dynamics of the modern world and the compounding vulnerabilities palao is challenged with regardless I am confident the new US Administration will rise to the task and correct the deficiencies in previous deliberations ladies and gentlemen as the eldest or big brother in my family the Safety and Security and well-being of my siblings was the ultimately my responsibility we grew
up in a community as a collective unit whereby I was always synonymous with we this reassured us that no one would be left out and reinforced the principle that each of us reflected the stability and character of the family and extended Community this is a fundamental palon principle which I believe signifies the the Pacific Way and reflects the UN system Mr President this family the United Nations has the opportunity to reconcile Global issues and though through its Collective membership take actions necessary to develop Implement innovate and crucial Solutions this is our mandate and we must
not fail in there are many different fishes of the ocean that are painted on our traditional Chief's meeting houses we call abis there are the sharks that symbolize bravery and then there are the Stingrays that symbolize steadfastness and then there is the surgeon fish we call the masu that symbolize Unity the surgeon fish represents a unique characteristic they are fish that graze and roam on the reef alone eating algae but once danger Le Works they all swim quickly from wherever they are along the reef and come together in a large school resembling an intimidating ocean
animal to provide Safety and Security for all the nations of this world must act like the surgeon fish and come together including Taiwan taiwan's 23.5 million people must also be given a voice is our un Charter States we the peoples All Nations working together can overcome the challenges of our time from covid to climate and act with integrity and resolve to leave a better world for our children Mr President Brothers and Sisters of the UN I am proud to stand among you and Champion a brighter and more sustainable World God bless you allang thank you
[Applause] I want to thank the president of the Republic of Pala for the statement he's just made and I would to ask protocol to please escort his Excellency
