St Kitts and Nevis reaffirms commitment to UDHR

The world observed the Human Rights Day on December 10 and on the next day, the Permanent Council of the Organization of American States (OAS) convened a special discussion at the grouping’s headquarters in Washington DC to celebrate the same occasion. 

The event saw the grouping’s member states reflect on their commitment to human rights and acknowledge contributions made by the international human rights community.

At the meeting, Jacinth Henry-Martin, Ambassador of St Kitts and Nevis to the United States and Permanent Representative to the OAS, addressed a session where she reaffirmed her country’s commitment to the defense and advancement of human rights universally.

The ambassador in her speech emphasised on the long-cherished values of of equality, dignity, and respect which are enshrined in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR), which was adopted by the United Nations General Assembly in Paris on December 10, 1948. The extraordinary vision of the document, which for the first time articulated the rights and freedom of every human being, is relevant to this day.

However, Henry-Martin said despite the noble document and continuous efforts to mitigate human rights violations across the world, they continue to happen.

“This delegation acknowledges the ongoing and deeply troubling violations of these fundamental rights in various parts of the world,” Henry-Martin said in the Simon Bolívar Room at the OAS headquarters.

“We are mindful of the plight of individuals and communities who are wantonly deprived of their liberty and subjected to conditions that erode their constitutional, fundamental, and inalienable rights,” she added. 

Henry-Martin, who was the advisor to the OAS assistant secretary general and coordinator of OAS National Offices in the Americas before taking over the current role in July last year, said St Kitts and Nevis is opposed to such injustices, which is called an affront to the global pursuit of peace, security, and sustainable development. 

Climate change affects human rights

Climate change also hurts human rights and highlighting it, Henry-Martin said in small countries such as St Kitts and Nevis, threats by rising sea levels, extreme weather conditions and environmental degradation put people’s livelihoods, accommodation and access to essential resources in danger. 

“For many, these climate-induced disruptions undermine the right to a standard of living adequate for health and well-being,” she said. 

Climate insecurity, which includes threats to people’s food security, makes things worse, the envoy emphasized. She said lack of access to adequate, safe, and nutritious food sees people’s right to health, life, and dignity getting “fundamentally compromised”, and this makes integrated approaches to climate resilience and protection of human rights more urgent. 

The envoy also expressed gratitude for the efforts made by judges Eduardo Ferrer Mac-Gregor Poisot and Humberto Antonio Sierra Porto, whose terms at the Inter-American Court of Human Rights are nearing conclusion. She thanked them for their tireless contributions to safeguarding human rights in the region.

The ambassador’s passionate talks about the UDHR and its core principles reasserted St Kitts and Nevis’s relentless contribution towards advocating human rights within the OAS and beyond.