By LEANDRA ROLLE

Tribune Staff Reporter

lrolle@tribunemedia.net

IN his address at the 77th United Nations General Assembly on Saturday, Prime Minister Phillip “Brave” Davis highlighted such ongoing challenges facing The Bahamas as the impact of climate change, irregular migration and the long-standing problem of gun trafficking to the country.

He told world leaders that some of these issues are not just limited to The Bahamas, but are being experienced in other regional countries and pledged his administration’s support of multilateral efforts to tackle the shared challenges of our time.

 “When my neighbours are in crisis, whether the cause is climate, or crime, or instability, The Bahamas is impacted by the humanitarian and security needs which arise,” Mr Davis said.

 “We repeat once again our opposition to the decades-long embargo and sanctions on Cuba. COVID has exacerbated the situation for the people of Cuba, and made existing hardship and deprivation much worse.

 “The people of Haiti continue to suffer. The political vacuum left after the assassination of the president just over a year ago has led to more violence – with the instability fueling more tragedy and threatening the entire region.”

 While noting that migration is not the only regional problem with which The Bahamas is faced, Mr Davis also lamented the issue of gun smuggling.

 This comes as the nation continues to see an increase in homicides, with more than 90 murders recorded so far this year.

 “We do not manufacture guns in our country, and yet they illegally find their way to The Bahamas, and within days, can be connected to some criminal activity,” Mr Davis added.

 “In an archipelagic nation, made up of some 700 islands and cays, and ranged across 100,000 square miles of water, defending our borders is an expensive challenge. We believe more manageable and effective efforts can be made at the source, to ensure that a right to bear arms does not so quickly and easily translate into a right to traffic arms.”

 Meanwhile, on the issue of climate change, the prime minister repeated his calls for more to be done to address the environmental crisis.

 He reminded leaders that the first UN climate conference was held in 1992 but noted that “despite decades of conferences and meetings featuring warnings from scientists and experts,” one sixth of the world’s carbon emissions occurred between 2010 and 2020.

 Mr Davis asked: “Why should small island nations like mine – we who have contributed so little to the climate crisis – experience the biggest burdens and risks of a changing climate? The argument might be straightforward – but it has not been effective.”

 With a little over a month left until COP27 — the United Nations’ Climate Change Conference — Mr Davis urged world leaders: “Let this be the year that we turn talk into action.”

 He continued: “Let’s roll up our sleeves and get to work. Let those who pledge, write the cheque. Countries like mine, already trapped by billions in climate debt, need funding to transition to renewable energy infrastructures. We have begun to install solar microgrids across our islands, but scaling-up will require a lot of additional funding. We in The Bahamas are playing our part.”

 He also invited those with potential technological solutions to bring their innovations to The Bahamas, saying his administration is actively “defining ways to protect and safeguard our shallow seas, mangroves and seagrasses.”