Small islands raise voices on the big stage

Kiribati president Anote Tong with Cook Islands finance minister Mark Brown at the BBQ afterwards. Photo / Audrey Young

What is sometimes called the most important room in the world was yesterday occupied by a group sometimes regarded as the least important people in the world.

The Security Council chamber at the United Nations was chock-a-block with small island developing states (SIDS) for a big open debate about the risks to their peace and security, primarily climate change, crime, and illegal fishing.

It wasn't a revolution although Venezuela Foreign Minister, Delcy Rodriguez, talked at length about the effect of capitalism, imperialism and colonialism on small states.

An open debate means any country at the UN can take part and 75 countries, almost 40 per cent, signed up to take part.

Murray McCully's chairmanship was almost flawless - he introduced Niue Premier,Toke Talagi, who know each other well, as the Premier of Tokelau.

"Oh Murray," Mr Talagi sighed, in a refreshing break with protocol, and joked that he had just acquired another island to govern.

He praised New Zealand's efforts to make the Pacific islands self reliant on energy, but said small islands should get a bigger share of the wealth from fisheries and minerals and reckoned too much of New Zealand's aid to Niue went on consultants.

President Anote Tong of low-lying and impoverished Kiribati devoted his speech to climate change.

Jamaican Prime Minister Portia Simpson Miller talked about drugs and arms trafficking that have led to unusually high homicide rates in the region.

The debate was a simple way of New Zealand meeting its commitment to elevate the issues of small states , a promise it made when it campaigned for a seat on the Security Council.

The stronger ties with small island states and greater awareness by others of their problems will be one of the legacies of New Zealand's two years on the Security Council.

But it wont be a legacy based on one debate.

As Mr McCully pointed out in his own contribution to the debate, New Zealand is integrated with the Pacific is a way that many developed are not within their neighbourhoods.

And it is an area in which New Zealand is making a difference. New Zealand aid has funded the conversion some countries from 100 per cent reliance on diesel for their energy needs to 100 on renewable energy.

The end of the SIDS debate also marked the end of New Zealand's month of presidency of the Security Council.

That was a good excuse for an informal BBQ reception in a basement of a UN building with plenty of leis and lamb chops, and waiata and wine.

The event competed with receptions hosted by Morocco and Japan but yesterday's most important people, the small island states, joined the Kiwis.