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Foreign Minister Emphasizes Right to Development
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Foreign Minister Emphasizes Right to Development
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December 12, 2000 - The right to development is a principle which developing countries like St. Lucia must fight for, Minister of Foreign Affairs, Honourable George Odlum, told a second meeting here last Friday that discussed the worldwide promotion and protection of human rights. According to Mr. Odlum, development of a society is necessary in order for its inhabitants to exercise all their basic freedoms. "I refuse to give peace keeping and humanitarian aid, the preference over the right to development," he said. Pointing to the Government’s own Poverty Reduction Fund (PRF), he said such mechanisms were desirable "to let people rise and reach for the higher levels of human civilization." Addressing the same meeting, Parliamentary Commissioner, Ms. Lawrence Laurent, made mention of a major international human rights conference – the United Nations world forum on racism and all forms of intolerance – scheduled to take place in the new year. "We in the Caribbean believe that we are above racism but all we have to do is examine our daily lives, our actions, thoughts and how we speak of others and when we do this, we will realize that in one way or another, we may be exhibiting some form of racial injustice," she observed. Miss Laurent said her regional colleagues in the Caribbean Ombudsmen Association were planning a major event to sensitize persons about human rights abuses and help them recognize when they are violating the rights of others. The purpose of the workshop will be to train investigators, both for human rights institutions and Ombudsmen’s offices. Also addressing the meeting was Speaker of the Saint Lucia House of Assembly, Honourable Matthew Roberts. He mentioned the need for increased public sensitization on human rights issues, saying the pursuit of human rights should never be a matter for debate. "Indeed, in our still emerging democracy, the human rights factor has to be preserved and promoted as a vital enabling strand of the fabric of our society, designed to ensure social stability and the suppression of conflict," said Mr. Roberts. Governor General, Her Excellency Dame Pearlette Louisy, formally opened the meeting. She stressed the need for persons to begin thinking globally. "Accepting that the new trends are leading us in the direction of a global village, we do have to understand and appreciate what it means for each one of us to be close to our neighbour and our community and to live with our neighbour and community as we would in a traditional village," she observed. The meeting, held under the theme "Respecting Human Rights for a More Civilized Saint Lucia – Our Only Hope," coincided with the observance of this year, as the Year for the Culture of Peace. |
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