VI elected vice chair of UN committee

The Virgin Islands was elected last week to serve in a leadership position in the United Nations’ intergovernmental body for the Caribbean, government announced.

In a vote of acclamation, the territory was selected as one of three vice chairs of the Caribbean Development and Cooperation Committee, a subsidiary of the Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean.

The decision was approved on Sept. 11 at the 30th session of the CDCC in Port of Spain, Trinidad and Tobago.

Benito Wheatley, special envoy of Premier Dr. Natalio “Sowande” Wheatley, assumed the new role on the territory’s behalf in his capacity as VI representative to the UN in Latin America and the Caribbean, according to government.

“We are humbled by the trust and confidence of ECLAC, the UN system and membership of CDCC in the British Virgin Islands to serve as a vice chair of this important intergovernmental UN body that supports the sustainable development, climate resilience and economic transformation of the Caribbean,” Mr. Wheatley said.

Other officers

The other CDCC officers confirmed were Trinidad and Tobago as chair; St. Lucia and Jamaica as vice chairs; and St. Kitts and Nevis as rapporteur.

As a vice chair, the VI will support Trinidad and Tobago Planning and Development Minister Pennelope Beckles-Robinson in carrying out the CDCC work programme for 2024 through 2026.

This effort, according to government, will focus on advancing the region’s sustainable development and climate resilience under the Antigua and Barbuda Agenda for Small Island Developing States and the UN’s 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.

The VI will also serve as lead ECLAC associate member of a new working group established by a CDCC resolution to facilitate UN assistance to ECLAC associate members in support of sustainability, resilience and development, government stated.

ECLAC reps

Senior ECLAC officials who attended the meeting included Executive Secretary Jose Manuel Salazar-Xirinachs and Diane Quarless, director of the ECLAC Subregional Headquarters for the Caribbean in Port of Spain.

Before the CDCC meeting, Mr. Wheatley also attended the Eighth Meeting of the Caribbean Development Roundtable from Sept. 9-10.

Associate member

The VI joined ECLAC as an associate member in 1984 and was admitted to the CDCC in 1985.

The CDCC itself was established in 1975 to help facilitate cooperation and development in the Caribbean, according to government.