BARBADIAN?YOUNG people have been told to make their voices heard in order to influence any sustainable developmental processes in Small Island Developing States (SIDs).
That message came from Senator Maxine McClean, Minister of Foreign Affairs and Foreign Trade, as she addressed a national forum last Saturday to sensitise young people on SIDS at the Ministry of Culture and Youth in Haggatt Hall, St Michael.
She said the young participants would be the beneficiaries or casualties in any effort in achieving sustainable development.
McClean stressed that SIDS had “certain vulnerabilities” which made them “susceptible” to what was happening in the global environment because of their openness.
She added that notwithstanding those challenges, “we in the Caribbean” have realised significant successes which made “us middle income countries”.
The minister said this upward movement “has resulted in our being excluded from a number of concessional supports from many multilateral organisations, whether it be the World Bank, the IMF [International Monetary Fund] and various agenices in the United Nations”.
She said after the 1994 SIDS conference, Barbados and the Caribbean were at the forefront of negotiating for recognition of [their] vulnerabilities and the region’s special status as small island developing states.
“We have been at the forefront of lobbying efforts, whether it is in the context of discussions within bodies of the United Nations addressing matters of climate change . . . beyond our efforts to lobby . . . . We also have to address our own issues and therefore the focus on South-South co-operation has been something that has been championed by Barbados . . . .”
She said Barbados and the Caribbean identified solutions to many of the problems in terms of their physical environment.
“We are in a position to share with the world some of our successes.”
(JS)
