Mr. Chairman,
Honourable Ministers,
Members of the Diplomatic Corps,
Officials of Member States
Representatives of Regional and International Organisations
Distinguished guests
Staff of the CARICOM Secretariat
Ladies and Gentlemen_
Good Morning.
It is my pleasure to welcome you to this important meeting which is essentially a follow up to the UN General Assembly Special Session on the Rights of the Child held in New York in May this year. It also provides an opportunity for the Caribbean to continue the process of building on the previous proposals for a Regional Framework to guide further initiatives in this area.
The Secretariat wishes to acknowledge the support from UNICEF for this meeting and in particular for its sponsorship of the Background paper that will be a focus of the discussions.
ASG, Dr. Edward Greene
Minister Shaddik
Director, Jacqulyn Joseph
Excellencies and Distinguished Participants
The Region should expect a much more integrated approach to Human and Social Development (HSD) in the future as the Seventh Meeting of the Council of Human and Social Development (COHSOD VII) scheduled for Georgetown, Guyana October 23-25, 2002 will focus its attention on new strategies in education, health, labour, youth and gender in order to better place the people of the region for today’s global challenges.
The Sixth Meeting of the Council for Social and Human Development (COHSOD) was held on 17-19 April 2002 in Georgetown, Guyana under the Chairmanship of the Hon. Dr. Douglas Slater, Minister of Health and the Environment, St Vincent and the Grenadines. The Meeting was attended by Dr the Hon. Jerome Walcott, Minister of Health, Barbados; Dr the Hon. Leslie Ramsammy, Minister of Health, Guyana; the Hon. John Junor, Minister of Health, Jamaica; the Hon. Earl Martin, Minister of Health and the Environment, St Kitts and Nevis; the Hon.
The Fifth Meeting of the Council for Human and Social Development (COHSOD) was held at the Le Meridien Pegasus Hotel, Georgetown Guyana, 3-5 October 2001 under the distinguished Chairmanship of the Hon Girlyn Miguel, Minister of Social Development, Cooperatives, Family, Gender and Ecclesiastical Affairs, St Vincent and the Grenadines.
It is a special pleasure for me, as Secretary-General of the Caribbean Community, to welcome you to the Fifth Meeting of the Council for Human and Social Development (COHSOD). This Council is one of the critical organs of the Community. In focusing as it does on vital areas such as education, health, youth, sport, gender and culture, it is concerned with the issues that directly affect the quality of life of the people of this Region.
I am pleased to lead my country's delegation to this Fifth Meeting of the Council for Human and Social Development (COHSOD) and to bring greetings to you in our capacity as its out going Chair.
Honourable Minister of Saint Vincent and the Grenadines and Chairman of COHSODÂ
Honourable Ministers
Mr. Secretary-General
Distinguished Delegates
Ladies and Gentlemen_
I am very pleased, on behalf of the President, the Government and people of Guyana, to welcome you all to this Fifth Meeting of the Council on Human and Social Development.
I know that air travel is not easy these days so that the attendance by some of you on this occasion must be seen as a reflection of your commitment to the business of the Caribbean Community.
The Council for Human and Social Development (COHSOD), an Organ of the Caribbean Community (CARICOM), will examine proposals aimed at refashioning the Region's 1997 human resource development strategy as it places emphasis on human capital development in the Community at its Fifth Meeting in Georgetown, Guyana.