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Seychelles hails Sids’ inclusion in Commonwealth charter (4) |10 October 2012

Commonwealth ministers have endorsed the draft Commonwealth charter proposed by the Commonwealth ministerial task force.

Seychelles’ representatives at the meeting

This was during a meeting held in New York, United States of America, recently on the margins of the United Nations general assembly. The charter will now be submitted to the heads of state and government for final adoption.

Seychelles’ Minister for Foreign Affairs Jean-Paul Adam was a member of the Commonwealth Ministerial Task Force that recommended the draft charter for the full assembly of Commonwealth ministers’ endorsement. 

The ministerial task force was composed of representatives of Australia (chairperson), Barbados, Belize, Canada, India, Malaysia, Nigeria, Rwanda, Seychelles, South Africa, Solomon Islands and the United Kingdom. It met in London in June this year.

“This new Commonwealth charter enshrines the Commonwealth’s commitment to support small and vulnerable countries, in particular Small Island Developing States (Sids), in new and more fundamental ways. Seychelles is pleased and proud to have played a key role in the process and we look forward to its adoption after being sent out to all heads of state and government,” said Minister Adam.

The Commonwealth ministerial meeting in New York also endorsed the recommendations of the Eminent Persons Group that had also been reviewed by the ministerial task force, as well as considered the initial proposals for the Commonwealth strategic plan put forward by the secretary general.

“We are very encouraged by the process of renewal being undertaken by the Commonwealth which will strengthen its position as a defender of the values of good governance which we share in the Commonwealth family, as well as strengthening its support for the development capacity of its members, and in particular its smallest and most vulnerable members,” added Minister Adam.

The Sri Lankan delegation also used the opportunity of the ministerial meeting to update partners on the preparations being undertaken to host the Commonwealth summit in 2013 in Colombo. The Commonwealth meeting congratulated Sri Lanka on its preparations.

“The fact that the last CHOGM was held in Perth (Australia), to be followed by Sri Lanka next year and Mauritius in 2015, is a strong indication of the strategic importance of the Indian Ocean region and we reiterate our support for the Commonwealth’s efforts in strengthening the capacity of our region,” Minister Adam noted.

Minister Adam was accompanied at the meeting by Marie-Louise Potter, Seychelles’ permanent representative to the United Nations; Ronny Jumeau, ambassador for Sids and climate change; and Selby Pillay, minister’s counsellor in the Seychelles mission to the United Nations.

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