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Regional Director for Latin America and the Caribbean, Ms Marisela Padron and other Representatives of the United Nations Population Fund
Excellencies, Ambassadors and High Commissioners accredited to the Cooperative Republic of Guyana and Plenipotentiary Representatives to CARICOM Other Members of the Diplomatic Corps and representatives of International and Regional Organisations Guest Speaker, Dr. Denis Benn Colleagues of the CARICOM Secretariat Members of the Media Ladies and Gentlemen, It is a pleasure to welcome you all here today on behalf of the Secretary-General and the Staff of the Secretariat and to the launch of the CARICOM-UNFPA South-South Cooperation Initiative. This initiative, aimed at strengthening and accelerating programmes crafted as a result of the partnership between the Caribbean Community and the United Nations Population Fund, marks a significant advance in the relations between our two organisations. The new millennium has brought new problems of social injustice never before faced. In an effort to combat any deleterious effects on the world’s population, eight Millennium Development Goals were developed by the 55th Session of the United Nations General Assembly. As you are aware, these goals focus on, inter alia, promoting gender equality and empowering women; improving maternal health; combating HIV/AIDS, malaria and other diseases; and developing a global partnership for development. In the partnership between our two organisations, the UNFPA brings to the worldwide collaborative effort of meeting the MDGs, its special expertise in reproductive health and population issues and the conviction that reproductive health is not only a means to sustainable development but also a human right. The CARICOM Secretariat brings to this partnership a solid tradition of coordinating sustainable human development initiatives among its diverse, yet dynamic, constituency of fifteen Member States, and of serving as the fulcrum for these activities. In the words of United Nations Secretary-General, Mr. Kofi Annan, “we cannot win overnight”. However, we know that the longest journey begins with the first step. Today’s initiative is our first step on the road to strengthened South-South cooperation as the main strategy for improving regional capacity in the areas of reproductive health and population, and development strategies, as well as the capacity of Member States to achieve the Millennium Development Goals. This initiative puts on a more comprehensive and holistic footing the hitherto ad hoc cooperation between our two organisations. It is envisaged that by sharing their expertise and relevant experiences among themselves, our Member States can transform the MDGs and other development initiatives into reality. Of specific interest to the Caribbean Community is the strengthening of cooperation in the areas of Adolescent Sexual and Reproductive Health, Health and Family Life Education, Gender, Parenting, Community Outreach and Out-of-School Youth. Life Skills and HIV/AIDS education, along with Career Planning, also form part of the Community’s priority areas. The Secretariat’s Work Programme for the next biennium is focussed on bringing the CARICOM Single Market into operation. Central to that, is the human face of the Community: facilitating access and movement across the Region under the tenets of the CSM underscores the need to consolidate, rationalise and bring greater cohesion to our approaches for enhancing the quality of life of our people. Hence the theme of our launch: “Transcending boundaries: Uniting people”. Taking advantage of the myriad opportunities today’s technological advances have to offer, linkages with partners with experiences in human development conditions could only redound to the mutual advantage of our two organisations, and the ultimate benefit of the Caribbean. We anticipate that, in time, we would also be able to offer best practices to other regions of the world. Against this background, it is envisioned that the South-South Cooperation Initiative will strengthen the integration mechanisms of our Region, while fortifying national capacities to deal with population and development issues. Located in the Secretariat, the coordinating mechanism will become a more dynamic hub of Community access to skills, quality service, innovative practices and viable sustainability, with the goal of becoming a Centre of Excellence for delivery of resources. The Caribbean Community, through its Secretariat, sincerely appreciates the steps taken by the UNFPA to advance its new programme of cooperation with the Region, deepening and strengthening the Agreement of December 2004 between the two agencies. As we launch the CARICOM-UNFPA South-South Cooperation Initiative, I am confident that our new venture will meet with success, as we share priorities and strategies with the objective of making our Region a better place for our people. I close by extending our thanks to UNFPA for our long and fruitful collaboration and I look forward to an even longer and more fruitful association. Thank you. |
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