Barbados PM to world leaders: Protect small nations by preserving international law

Barbados Prime Minister Mia Amor Mottley delivered a forceful address to the United Nations General Assembly on Friday, warning that the survival of small states and the prospects for global peace hinge on preserving a rules-based international system now under strain from war, inequality, and the climate crisis.

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“Countries of different sizes, capacities and cultures can only survive in the world in which we live if we maintain a rules-based system,” Mottley said. “The law of the jungle does not guarantee any of us a future or a liveable planet.”

Mottley cautioned that a “crisis of truth” is eroding institutions that once safeguarded order and prosperity. She said disinformation is undermining trust between citizens and governments, turning news, science, and law into “a tawdry spectacle.”

“When we lose shared truth, our countries and our global society lose their center of gravity,” she declared, warning that fairness and trust are fraying in ways that threaten stability.

Call for Peace Beyond Ukraine

Addressing ongoing conflicts, the Barbadian leader reiterated her support for peace in Ukraine but urged world leaders not to overlook other humanitarian crises. “The world must not ignore the horror in Sudan and…it must not ignore the horror in Gaza,” she said.

Mottley called for the release of hostages and condemned disproportionate attacks on Palestinians, appealing for urgent humanitarian funding. She said $66 million is needed for Gaza’s children and $200 million for Sudan over the next three months to provide food, water, and health care.

Climate Finance and Accountability

Turning to the climate emergency, Mottley urged governments to act with “honesty and urgency,” welcoming recent international court opinions affirming states’ obligations to curb emissions. She proposed a binding global methane framework to slow temperature rise, stressing that “the fossil fuel industry is not the enemy – it is the emissions.”

To finance a global green transition, she called for mobilizing $1.3 trillion annually by 2035, while criticizing the chronic underfunding of climate finance and the “grossly under-capitalised” Loss and Damage Fund.

“If we are to be protected by a rules-based system, then we must step up to the plate and provide the funds to bridge the gap to deliver the results that we desire,” she said.

Reforming Global Governance

Linking climate and development to broader governance, Mottley insisted that the UN Security Council must reflect today’s multipolar world. “You cannot ask us really to show up for family photos and votes when you need them and then exclude us from the family’s decision making. As if you are the grown-ups and we are the children,” she told fellow leaders.

A Child’s Resilience as a Global Lesson

Mottley closed with a vivid image of a young Palestinian girl in Gaza carrying her sister through rubble, describing her as “the ultimate picture of hope and resilience.”

“If a six-year-old can push past the physical and emotional pain and still find hope that there is a better moment ahead of her, then we, with much more and with an obligation to many more, must summon that same will,” she urged. “The world needs it now more than ever.”

Her speech underscored Barbados’s growing role as a moral voice for small island states and developing nations confronting intertwined crises of conflict, climate change, and global governance.