[xml][/xml]
The Bahamas Weekly Facebook The Bahamas Weekly Twitter
News : International : Organization of American States (OAS) Last Updated: Feb 13, 2017 - 1:45:37 AM


Saint Lucia Assumes Chair of the OAS Permanent Council
Jul 4, 2014 - 12:44:24 PM

Email this article
 Mobile friendly page


oas_1.jpg

The Permanent Representative of Saint Lucia to the Organization of American States (OAS), Sonia Merlyn Johnny, today assumed the Chair of the Permanent Council of the hemispheric Organization, held during the previous period by Saint Kitts and Nevis.

Upon receiving the gavel that represents the Council's authority from her predecessor, the Ambassador of Saint Kitts and Nevis, Jacinth Lorna Henry-Martin, Ambassador Johnny noted that chairing the Council for the next three months represents a "high honor and great responsibility" for her and her country, and highlighted the importance having a woman lead the body once again. "For us, females in the Caribbean, in some places the ceiling of leadership is sometimes pushed very high.”

The Caribbean diplomat noted that during her period as Chair the Council will engage in the preparatory work for the Special General Assembly to be held next September in Guatemala as well as the new budget of the hemispheric Organization.

On the occasion Ambassador Johnny called on member countries to show that "in this Organization we can work together and we can reach consensus."

For her part, the outgoing Chair said it had been a great honor both personally and on behalf of her country, having led the Permanent Council the past three months, since it was "a very important responsibility to have directed the body that brings together the countries of the Hemisphere."

The handover ceremony, held at OAS headquarters in Washington DC, was attended by the Secretary General of the Organization, José Miguel Insulza, and the Permanent Representatives of several member countries.

The Permanent Council’s statutes establish that the Chair be held by each of the Permanent Representatives in turn, following the alphabetic order in Spanish of the names of their respective countries, and the office of Vice Chair, by identical standards, following reverse alphabetical order. The Vice Chair of the Council will be the Permanent Representative of Trinidad and Tobago, Ambassador Neil Parsan.


For more information, please visit the OAS Website at www.oas.org.


Bookmark and Share




© Copyright 2014 by thebahamasweekly.com

Top of Page

Receive our Top Stories



Preview | Powered by CommandBlast

Organization of American States (OAS)
Latest Headlines
OAS General Secretariat on the Assassination of the President of Haiti
OAS Simultaneously Deploys Electoral Observation Missions in Ecuador, Peru and Bolivia
Secretary General of the Organization of American States on equitable distribution of vaccines
OAS Electoral Observation Mission in Ecuador expresses concern about lack of definition regarding electoral process
OAS Mission in Ecuador observes Post-Electoral Process and that different actors have necessary guarantees