THE Caribbean Community has expressed its concern over the decrease in United Nations (UN) representation in the Region, and has called for favourable consideration of a stronger UN presence here.

Ambassador Lolita Applewhaite, CARICOM Secretary-General (ag) raised the concern yesterday in her address to the opening ceremony of the Sixth General Meeting of the Caribbean Community and the United Nations System at the CARICOM Secretariat, Turkeyen, Greater Georgetown, Guyana.

The acting Secretary-General called attention to the closure of the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) in Barbados “even while it was simultaneously being acknowledged that crime posed one of the biggest threats to our Region”; and the closure of the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) Regional Office in Port-of-Spain, Trinidad and Tobago. She also pointed out that the UN Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (UNECLAC) Sub-Regional Headquarters in Port-of-Spain had been without a Director since Mr. Neil Pierre demitted office early last year.

“We in CARICOM are of the firm belief, that while we enjoy very good working relations with our counterparts at the Head Office in New York, much more can be achieved by having a stronger UN presence in the Region, with the appropriate level of representation. We trust that this is a matter which the UN will take into favourable consideration and we look forward to positive feedback in the near future, regarding the re-opening of these critical agencies and the relevant appointments, which, we are confident, will enhance an already strong partnership,” Amb. Applewhaite said.

Earlier, the acting Secretary-General had expressed appreciation for the UN System’s significant support and cooperation that assisted the Community’s efforts to achieve sustained social and economic development in what she characterised as an increasingly hostile international environment.

The biennial meetings between CARICOM and the UN System, she said, represented an invaluable forum to review cooperation between the two parties, and, through frank exchanges, facilitate strategic planning to enhance collaboration.

Discussions at the two-day meeting will provide an opportunity to assess the progress made in the four areas which were identified under the Regional Strategic Framework, adopted at the Fifth General Meeting in 2009, as the main focus for collaboration.

Those areas are: (i) momentum towards achievement of the Millennium Development Goals; (ii) support to regional economic integration, growth and development; (iii) the creation of a safe and secure environment for citizens and respect for the rights of all; and  (iv) enhanced governance, transparency and accountability in CARICOM.

UN Assistant Secretary General for Political Affairs Mr. Oscar Fernandez-Taranco, who represented the UN Secretary General at the forum, readily acknowledged that the Caribbean Community is a key United Nations partner in achieving shared goals in developments and human rights, among others.
“I commended your strong commitment to move lateral agreements, to have regional integration and your leadership on global challenges some of which includes combating climate change and strengthening democracy,” he lauded.

Mr. Fernandez-Taranco noted that many Caribbean countries are faced with several challenges, some of which includes negative circumspect of the global financial crisis, climate change and threats to government among others.

“The meeting provides for us to build on our long lasting partnerships and our shared efforts to develop the regional strategic framework have allowed us to map our activities in the region and identify areas of redundancy or duplication,” the Assistant Secretary General noted.
“I am pleased that the recommendations and the report was fully endorsed by both the UN and Caricom…,” he said, adding that the Caribbean region has made commendable progress towards the millennium  development goals even though countries in the regional bloc were faced with significant challenges including the increases in fuel and food prices.