Ambassador Rhonda King, Permanent Representative to the United Nations handed over St. Vincent and the Grenadines Presidency of the Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC) to Norway on July 25th.
After two years as a member of the Bureau of the Economic and Social Council, first as Vice President, and then as President, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines has left a solid record of performance which has been lauded by the members of both ECOSOC and the General Assembly.
Ambassador King said, “We successfully revived the Council and made great inroads into restoring the deliberative function of this important organ responsible for development generally but more importantly the implementation of the Agenda 2030 and its 17 Sustainable Development Goals”.
Ambassador King also highlighted that the 2019 High Level Political Forum (HLPF) under the auspices of the ECOSOC during St. Vincent and the Grenadines’ presidency was the most successful yet. St. Vincent and the Grenadines has left a solid legacy, as underscored by the membership during (and beyond) the closing ceremony.
Norway has promised to carry on and build upon on the work done by St. Vincent and the Grenadines. One of our noteworthy innovations/contributions is the unprecedented level of collaboration between the General Assembly and the EOCOSC. Ambassador King said, “We will endeavor to do likewise between the ECOSOC and the Security Council.
Given the mission’s deeper understanding of the Economic and Social Council and the urgent need to strengthen multilateral processes, we believe our tenure on the Security Council provides us with the perfect opportunity to explore the security and development nexus and the greater use of Article 65”.
Article 65 states, “The Economic and Social Council may furnish information to the Security Council and shall assist the Security Council upon its request.” We believe our sister island Haiti provides us with the perfect case- study for demonstrating the security and development nexus and it will be our duty to endeavor, not only, to demonstrate this but to facilitate movement on this issue of grave importance to CARICOM.
