Since Azerbaijan became the host country of COP29, our relationship with small island developing states (SIDS) has been elevated to a new high level. The voices of SIDS must be heard on the global stage. I call on all developed countries, especially those with a colonial past, to provide tangible financial and technical support to small island states so that they can protect their countries from the complications of climate change.
Climate change affects every country, including Azerbaijan. We see that year after year. The Caspian Sea becomes more and more shallow. We see that there is less water in our rivers, less snow in our mountains, and floods and heavy rains, which we never experienced in the past, is unfortunately a reality today. Every country is affected, but for SIDS, it is an existential threat.
Azerbaijan is demonstrating its unwavering support for small islands states. We have provided assistance to a number of disaster-prone countries in mitigating the impact of hurricanes, earthquakes, and floods. We have also supported water supply, food security, and the restoration of cultural heritage projects.
More than 10 small island states have benefited from our educational grant program to study at universities in Azerbaijan. During our four-year-long chairmanship of the Non-Aligned Movement, we provided financial and humanitarian assistance to more than 80 countries, including 20 small island states.
Addressing the challenges faced by these countries is at the centre of Azerbaijan’s efforts at COP29. The leaders from The Bahamas, Tonga, and Tuvalu visited Azerbaijan this May to discuss their vision for COP. The adopted Baku Communiqué called for a meaningful outcome at COP29 and underscored the importance of accessible climate finance. Serious progress was achieved on making operational the Loss and Damage Fund in Baku this September. Now, the process must be completed to deliver finance to countries in need, in particular small island states.
This summer in Tonga, Azerbaijan signed a joint declaration with the Commonwealth. We are providing contribution of $10 million US dollars to support joint projects in Commonwealth small island states. A Memorandum of Understanding with the Commonwealth was also signed to use satellite data from Azercosmos – the Space Agency of Azerbaijan – for environmental monitoring and evaluation.
I would like to use this opportunity to raise one of the important issues on the international agenda – neo-colonialism and climate change. The so-called overseas territories of France and the Netherlands, particularly in the Caribbean and Pacific, are amongst the most severely impacted by climate change. Rising sea levels, extreme weather events, and biodiversity loss create serious threats to these regions.
The voices of these communities are often brutally suppressed by the regimes in their metropolises. The peoples of French colonies such as New Caledonia, French Polynesia, Mayotte, Wallis and Futuna, Corsica, Réunion, Guadeloupe, Martinique, French Guiana, Saint Pierre and Miquelon, Saint-Martin, Saint Barthélemy, and colonies of the Netherlands such as Aruba, Curaçao, Sint Maarten, Bonaire, Sint Eustatius, and Saba – let us applaud the people of these territories. They are still suffering today – in the 21st century – from colonial rule.
French Polynesia and New Caledonia have been recognised as non-self-governing territories by the United Nations since 1946-1947. However, their decolonisation process is still delayed. Between 1966 and 1996, French Polynesia faced serious environmental degradation due to 193 nuclear tests conducted by France.
France is responsible for severe soil and water contamination and radiation there. Radiation levels exceeded 4,900 per cent. If we add the 17 nuclear tests conducted by France in Algeria during the years of occupation, we will see what damage this country made to the ecosystem of the planet.
The list of France’s crimes in their so-called overseas territories would not be complete if we did not mention the recent human rights violations by the regime. The regime of President Macron killed 13 and injured 169 people during this year’s legitimate protest by indigenous Kanaks in New Caledonia. 1,700 people were arrested. During the protest in Martinique and Guadeloupe, also this year, 38 people were arrested.
After all that, France was not denounced – neither by the European Commission, nor by the European Parliament, nor by the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe. This is a political hypocrisy.
The European Parliament and the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe, two institutions that have become symbols of political corruption, share responsibility with the government of Emmanuel Macron for the killings of innocent people. All political prisoners in France must be immediately liberated.
But what else can we expect from the European Parliament and the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe if Chief European diplomat Josep Borrell calls Europe a garden and the rest of the world jungles? If we are jungles, then stay away from us and don’t interfere in our affairs.
Azerbaijan supported small island states as the chair of the Non-Aligned Movement, supports them as President of COP29, and will continue to support our friends in the future.
This is an abridged version of a speech delivered at COP29 by Ilham Aliyev, president of the host country Azerbaijan.