Secretary General the Honourable Antonio Guterres
Madam President of the General Assembly, H.E. Marina
Espinosa Madam President of ECOSOC, H.E. Rhonda King,
Distinguished Delegates.
Madam President, of the General Assembly at the onset I congratulate you as only the fourth woman to be appointed to this position in the nearly 74 years of the UN’s existence and commend you for convening this important and timely meeting on a subject which the United Nations, through its Secretaries General, has deemed, “the defining human development issue of our generation.” Permit me to also formally record my delight that two very capable female leaders from Latin America and the Caribbean have been elevated to the high offices of the Presidencies of the General Assembly and ECOSOC. The reports of your demonstrated competence and excellent performance have reached my ears and I must pause to indicate that in you both, I am well pleased.
Two short years ago, I stood in this Chamber and declared an “international humanitarian emergency” in Dominica, after an indirect strike by the Category 5 Hurricane Irma, followed a mere two weeks later, by a direct strike from the Category 5 Hurricane Maria; one of the most powerful storm systems ever recorded.
