We remain a highly unequal society in which poverty and prosperity are still defined by race as well as gender.

In working to end violence against women and children, we need to ensure that men are centrally involved. Men need to organise themselves in a sustained campaign against gender-based violence.

We are building a country where a person's prospects are determined by their own initiative and hard work and not by the color of their skin, place of birth, gender, language, or income of their parents.

All our policies must be measured by the extent to which they contribute to job creation. Policies that do not create jobs - or that threaten jobs - must be reviewed and revised.

We in the small developing countries are beginning to understand that our own citizens share a common fate requiring the active role of government to ensure that every citizen has a chance and means to participate productively within the society and to curb society's dangerous encroachment on the physical environment.

I have donated money to campaigns. And I have been known to take to the street in protest. But I am more committed to my immediate politics than general politics.

So, two cheers for Democracy: one because it admits variety and two because it permits criticism.

Religion forbids us from assuming a God-like character. This is especially true in politics and government, where limiting the power of the state, division of powers, and the doctrine of checks and balances are established in order to prevent accumulation of power that might lead to such Godly claims.