Antonio Guterres urges Caribbean to keep pushing for peace, climate action at CARICOM meeting: ‘Trouble in paradise’

United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres delivered an all-encompassing speech at the opening ceremony of the Caribbean Community (CARICOM) 48th Heads of Government Meeting in Bridgetown, Barbados. In his address, the diplomat appealed for unity to achieve progress in peace and security, climate and sustainable development.

Speaking at Sir Lloyd Erskine Sandiford Centre where the audience included CARICOM heads of government and international dignitaries such as the president of the European Commission, Guterres said “a unified Caribbean is an unstoppable force”.

“I urge you to keep using that power to push the world to deliver on its promises,” he added.

‘Trouble in paradise’

Underscoring the various challenges that the Caribbean region faces today, the UN chief said while its exquisite beauty is famed globally, “there is trouble in paradise”.

Addressing the regional leaders, Guterres said “wave after wave of crisis is pounding your people and your islands – with no time to catch your breath before the next disaster strikes”.

The small island countries in the Caribbean face several challenges, ranging from natural disasters, geopolitical tensions and lingering socio-economic effects of the COVID-19 pandemic, rising debt and interest rates, and the soaring cost of living. 

The recent tariff wars between top economies of the world and the Donald Trump Administration’s decision to deport unlawful immigrants back to their countries, including those in the Caribbean, have also created fresh concerns for the region. 

Guterres made a special mention of climate disasters, saying all the challenges are present “amidst a deadly swell of climate disasters” which are leaving those countries’ development programmes in shambles and “blowing holes” through their national budgets. 

Hurricane Beryl in June-July 2024 left many island-nations in the Caribbean devastated and they are still struggling with the recovery efforts.

“And all as you remain locked-out of many international institutions — one of the many legacies of colonialism today,” he added. 

The diplomat said only global solutions can cure these ills and that the world needs to deliver on hard-won global commitments to address the enormous challenges the international community is witnessing. 

Guterres identifies three areas of progress

Lauding the theme of this year’s CARICOM meeting -- “Strength in Unity: Forging Caribbean Resilience, Inclusive Growth and Sustainable Development” – Guterres said it reflects these times and identified three areas where the world must drive progress together. 

The areas are unity for peace and security, unity for climate action and unity for sustainable development. 

Haiti situation

Speaking on unity for peace and security, Guterres cited the situation in Haiti where gang wars have left people terrified. Stressing a united effort to deal with the situation in that country, the UN chief said CARICOM and its Eminent Persons Group have offered key support in this regard. “We must keep working for a political process – owned and led by the Haitians – that restores democratic institutions through elections,” he said.

The diplomat said he would report to the UN Security Council on the situation in Haiti, including proposals on the role the international body can play to support stability and security there, and address the root causes creating the crisis. 

He intended to present a proposal similar to the one in Somalia in Africa, where the UN assumes responsibility for structural and logistical expenses required to keep the force in place. He hoped the council would accept the proposal which would create conducive conditions to station an effective force to defeat the gangs in Haiti. 

Climate crisis

Guterres’s second emphasis, unity on the climate crisis, spoke about “a deplorable injustice” as the countries in the Caribbean “have done next to nothing” to create it. “Together, you have fought tooth and nail for the global commitment to limit global temperature rise to 1.5 degrees,” he said, lauding the region’s nations. 

He urged the countries to deliver new national climate plans ahead of the COP30 UN climate meet scheduled in Brazil in November 2025. According to him, the plans must conform with the 1.5 goal, with the G20 nations, who he called “the big polluters”, leading the way. 

“This is a chance for the world to get a grip on emissions,” Guterres said. “And it’s a chance for the Caribbean to seize the benefits of clean power, to tap your vast renewables potential, and to turn your back on costly fossil fuel imports.”

Since finance plays a major role, the UN secretary-general brought the focus back on confidence saying the world needs to get the assurance that the $1.3 trillion agreed at COP29 in 2024 will be mobilized. He asked the developed nations to honour their pledges on adaptation finance and more. 

“We need meaningful contributions to the new Loss and Damage Fund.  When the fund was created, the pledges made are equivalent to the new contract for just one baseball player in New York City.  Let’s be clear:  the Loss and Damage Fund must be a serious thing,” he said. 

Sustainable development

Stressing the unity for sustainable development, his third area of focus, Guterres said Sustainable Development Goals “are starved of adequate finance, as debt serving soaks up funds, and international financial institutions remain underpowered”. 

He praised the Caribbean countries for being at the forefront of the fight for change, showing the path towards bold and creative solutions. The diplomat also said that initiatives such as Pact for the Future and Bridgetown Initiative have made significant progress. Guterres also thanked the Caribbean nations for backing the Pact, which the UN members adopted in 2024. 

The Pact’s features include advancing an SDG stimulus of $500 billion annually and committing to reform international financial institutions to allow greater participation by developing countries.   

‘Need more bigger and bolder banks’

Guterres also said, “We need bigger and bolder multilateral development banks, with more capital, more lending capacity and more capacity to also leverage private funding for the kind of investments that are essential to build resilience and to promote sustainable development in countries like the countries of the Caribbean.”

While concluding his remark, the UN chief advised the Caribbean nations to keep using its “unstoppable” power to push the world to deliver on its promise. 

“I can guarantee that the United Nations and myself are with you, and will remain with you, every step of the way,” he said.