NASSAU, The Bahamas – The Bahamas is well on its way to achieving some of the United Nations (UN) millennium development goals agreed to by world leaders in New York at the start of the 21st century, Minister of Foreign Affairs and the Public Service the Hon. Fred Mitchell said on Friday, November 3.
The leaders committed themselves to achieving universal access to education, improving health care, especially the elimination of HIV/AIDS and infant mortality and cutting poverty in half by the year 2015.
Mr. Mitchell spoke at a flag raising ceremony celebrating United Nations Day on the grounds of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs headquarters on East Hill Street.
The UN came into being on October 24, 1945, when the independent nations of the world signed the organization’s Charter at San Francisco.
Minister Mitchell said there have been rapid political and economic changes around the world since the signing of the Charter.
“Politically, one country after another achieved its independence. Today, some 192 countries around the world are jurisdictionally responsible for their own countries,” he said.
This year’s UN Day theme is “Desert and Desertification,” drawing attention to the fact that around the world, countries are losing their vegetative cover that has been replaced by dust, sand and dirt.
“The management of all the resources of the planet is important as a whole because what happens in one part of the world affects the other parts of the world,” Minister Mitchell said.
He noted that in December, 1948, a document came into force known as the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and delineated for the first time universal rights for the citizens around the world and the obligation of States to ensure that the rights of their citizens are protected.
Minister Mitchell said even in territories that are colonies the United Nations has a presence and an influence.
“Just as late as last year, the Committee of 24 on Decolonization met in St. Vincent and the Grenadines to discuss the future of those countries that are still colonies of other countries,” he said.
The Bahamas became a member of the UN in 1973 following its independence from Britain. This year marks the 33rd year of The Bahamas’ membership in the UN.
“Even before our independence, those who were responsible for establishing the modern Bahamas traveled to the UN to appear before the Committee of 24 on Decolonization to make the case for The Bahamas, universal adult suffrage and for one person, one vote,” said Minister Mitchell
“Among those rights,” he said, “are the right to education, the right to housing and to freely practice ones’ religion, the right to freely choose your government. Many of these rights are enshrined in the Constitution and the Statute Law of The Bahamas,” said Minister Mitchell.
He noted that The Bahamas is also an active member in the specialized agencies of the UN, including the International Labour Organization (ILO), the Food and Agricultural Organization (FAO), the World Health Organization (WHO) and the United Nations Education, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO).
“We also subscribe to the millennium development goals agreed upon by leaders when they met in New York at the turn of the century committing themselves to, amongst other things, universal access to education, improving health care especially in the elimination of HIV/AIDS and infant mortality and cutting poverty in half by the year 2015,” Minister Mitchell said.
The Minister said The Bahamas is well on its way toward achieving some of these goals.
“My point is that the work of the UN around the world is our work. We have embraced the philosophy of multilateralism as our best protection in an often predatory world,” he said.
Minister Mitchell said that in the international arena, diversity gives expression to and defends the Bahamians right to exist within defined borders, to choose for themselves a way of life, with their own national identity.
“We support the work of the UN,” he said.
He commended the work of the UN to all citizens and urged that they embrace its values.
