The Tribune

An historic “first” was recorded at the General Assembly of the Organization of American States (OAS) when 20 countries, drawn from Central America and the Caribbean, issued a joint declaration, calling on international financial and development institutions “to prioritize the provision of funds and resources to support the efforts of Central America and the Caribbean in addressing climate change, recognizing the urgency and magnitude of the challenges faced by these regions”.

The original declaration was drafted by Antigua and Barbuda’s Ambassador to the United States and the OAS, Sir Ronald Sanders, who also presented the declaration on behalf of the 20 Caribbean and Central American countries after securing unanimous support.

Ambassador Sanders explained that, hitherto, the countries of Central America and the Caribbean at the OAS had never joined together to express their shared concern about the evident heating-up of the planet. “Now, they have not only let the world know of their joint worry, but they have also collectively called for action”.

The joint declaration calls for international financial and development institutions to prioritize the provision of funds and resources to Central America and the Caribbean, “recognizing the urgency and magnitude of the challenges faced by these regions in building resilience to Climate Change”.

Sir Ronald said that while small island developing states have been making their voices heard at meetings of the UN Committee of the Parties (COP) at many Climate Change meetings, there is a need to widen the alliance of states which are jointly seeking remedies for loss and damage to their economies and the livelihoods of their people.

The 20 countries that made the joint declaration at the OAS General Assembly on June 21, were the 14 independent states of CARICOM and six Central American countries – Costa Rica, Dominican Republic, Guatemala, El Salvador, Honduras, and Panama.