Strachan says COVID vaccine inequality and gender equality among global priorities
NASSAU, BAHAMAS – The Bahamas has recommitted to supporting the mission of the United Nations Human Rights Council.
Jamahl Strachan, MP for the Village of Nassau and Parliamentary Secretary to the Department of Foreign Affairs, addressed the high-level segment of the 49th session of the Human Rights Council on Thursday.
We are fully committed to leaving no one behind, reducing poverty and inequality, promoting social and economic empowerment and non-discrimination…
– Jamahl Strachan
He conveyed “full assurances” of the Bahamas’ continued support as the council carries out its mandates and reaffirmed the country’s solidarity.
“We recommit to continued positive engagement with the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights and welcome the High Commissioner’s stated intention to establish a strengthened presence of her office in the Caribbean sub-region,” Strachan said.
He said the Bahamas looked forward to joining the international community in facilitating direct pathways to sustainable recovery, development and the realization of human rights and fundamental freedoms for all.
“We support the Secretary-General’s call [Antonio] Guterres for a new social contract and a new global agreement that will create a level playing field, respect the rights and freedoms of all, and set the course for achieving the Sustainable Development Goals,” Strachan said.
“We underscore the need for more innovative partnerships, financing and debt solutions, including debt-for-climate adaptation swaps and access to affordable finance to realize the right to development.
“This is in line with the Secretary-General’s call, which we fully endorse, to close ‘blind spots’ in the way we measure economic prosperity by going beyond gross domestic product (GDP) as the threshold for determining the ‘eligibility for international aid’.
Strachan highlighted vaccine inequality amid the COVID-19 pandemic and gender equality as global priorities.
“The Bahamas is therefore taking a multidimensional approach to achieving gender equality and working to level the playing field,” he said.
“We are fully committed to leaving no one behind, reducing poverty and inequality, promoting social and economic empowerment and non-discrimination, while preserving civil society space and protecting the rights of vulnerable people in our society, including children, people with disabilities, the elderly and young people at risk.
Strachan pointed out that the legacy of historical injustice committed against people of African descent permeates contemporary realities, leading to inequality, discrimination and even violence.
“The Bahamas therefore welcomes the operationalization of the Permanent Forum for People of African Descent and stresses the importance attached and inherent to the candidacy of Ms. Gaynel Curry, a Bahamian national and endorsed CARICOM candidate, for appointment to the forum” , did he declare. noted.
