From Antigua Observer

WASHINGTON, Jan 13, CMC – Caribbean nationals have taken over key positions within the Organization of American States (OAS) including chairing the hemispheric body’s Permanent Council.

Belize Permanent Representative to the OAS, Patrick Andrews, Thursday assumed the chair of the Council.

“It is undeniably an incredible opportunity for each Member State that assumes the chairmanship to leave his or her mark in elevating the institution’s history and in contributing to its betterment and that of our hemisphere and all our countries,” said Andrews, adding that climate change and sustainable development will occupy a prominent place in the Permanent Council’s work agenda.

The outgoing chair of the Council and Permanent Representative of Barbados, Selwin Charles Hart, thanked the OAS Secretary General, Luis Almagro, and his colleagues in the Council for the support received during his term.

Belize will chair the Council until March 31, while the vice chair will be occupied by Honduras.

Dominica’s Permanent Representative, Vince Henderson, also assumed the chair of the Inter-American Council for Integral Development (CIDI), which also confirmed another Dominican diplomat, Kim Osborne as the Executive Secretary for Integral Development of the OAS.

Henderson pledged to continue working to take advantage of the forum for meaningful discussion of the development agenda and how CIDI can better focus its efforts for greater impact while keeping in mind its comparative advantages and available resources.

Mrs. Osborne was recommended for the position by the OAS Secretary General, based on her wealth of experience working on the socio-economic development of the Latin America and Caribbean region.

She said one of the most challenging tasks for the development pillar of the organization will be the coherent and purposeful implementation of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, cognizant of the need to expand the rights of all people in the hemisphere.

For more on this story go to: http://antiguaobserver.com/caribbean-nationals-assume-key-positions-at-oas/

IMAGE: Logo OAS