Mr. President,
I have the honor to deliver the following statement on behalf of the Alliance of Small
Island States (AOSIS).

This year’s Forum comes at a crucial juncture. With just five years left to deliver on
the promise of the 2030 Agenda, the message is clear: the world is not on track.
SIDS are living the consequences of eroding multilateralism and global inaction:
rising sea-level, worsening climate disasters, and escalating debt burdens. The
climate crisis is no longer a distant threat; it is a daily reality that impacts our lives
and livelihoods.

Our progress on the SDGs has been slow and uneven, often undermined by external
shocks beyond our control. We are often the first to be hit, and the last to recover.
Therefore, we call on the international community to uphold the principle that SIDS
are a special case for sustainable development, as recognized in the Rio Declaration
on Environment and Development, the 2030 Agenda, and boldly reasserted in the
Antigua and Barbuda Agenda for SIDS (ABAS).
The ABAS reflects the unique circumstances of small islands and charts a course
that integrates climate action, economic resilience, and sustainable development.
But its implementation cannot wait.

We urge all partners to match the political will of the ABAS with the financial,
technical, and institutional support necessary to bring its ambitions to life.
The HLPF must be a catalyst for delivery.

We welcome the Sevilla Commitment, adopted at the Fourth International
Conference on Financing for Development, as a concrete step forward. Its call for
reforming the global financial architecture, starting with the full operationalization
and use of the Multidimensional Vulnerability Index, must be acted upon.
The MVI reflects a fundamental truth: GDP per capita cannot capture the real risks
and vulnerabilities that SIDS face.

The Debt Sustainability Support Service (DSSS) is another critical initiative whose
operationalization must be accelerated. With so many SIDS grappling with
unsustainable debt burdens, the DSSS represents an important tool to unlock fiscal
space while supporting long-term resilience.
We also call for the full support of the SIDS Center of Excellence. This institution
will empower SIDS to lead with our own expertise, data, and innovation that are fit
for our realities and rooted in our priorities.

Lastly, we firmly reject the imposition of unilateral coercive economic measures
that are inconsistent with the principles enshrined in the Charter of the United and
international law. We call on the international community to eliminate the use of
such measures.

Mr. President,
We cannot speak of our sustainable development without speaking of the ocean.
This year’s review of SDG 14 has reaffirmed that the ocean is our foundation. It
sustains our economies, nourishes our communities and anchors our identities. Yet,
it remains the least funded SDG.

From the commitments made at the Third United Nations Ocean Conference in
Nice to the historic decisions by ITLOS and at COP28, we are seeing a growing
recognition that ocean health in inextricably linked to climate change, sustainable
development and biodiversity.
But we must move from recognition to action.
This means significantly scaling up investments in marine protection, sustainable
fisheries, ocean-based economies, and the technologies that can help us monitor
and protect vast ocean spaces.

Mr. President,
AOSIS remains steadfast in our resolve. We are doing our part with limited means
and infinite will.

But we cannot do it alone.

We urge this Forum to treat the development of small island states not as peripheral
to the global agenda, but central to it.
If we fail SIDS, we fail the 2030 Agenda.
But if we enable SIDS to thrive, we unlock solutions that can benefit the entire world.
The time to act is now. The tools are within our reach. Let us deliver.

I thank you.