UNHR Chief Volker Türk signs agreement with Bahamas for new officer in Caribbean

United Nations’ Human Rights wing was looking to open a new office in the Caribbean region, which led to a conclusion after the cooperation of the Bahamas. The agreement was signed in trade to create a Regional Office, after which Chief Volker Türk extended his gratitude.

Volker Türk, the serving Chief of the United Nations Human Rights, welcomed the collaboration for the Regional Office in the Caribbean. The Government of the Bahamas signed the official agreement to pave the way for the presence of UN Human Rights officials in the region.

The UNHR Chief, Volker Türk, shared his words in relation to the agreement and expressed his thankfulness to the Bahamas government. He stated that the new office is destined to be established in the capital of the island nation, Nassau.

As per the available information, the new UN Human Rights officer in Nassau will serve the multiple nations of the region. The nations under observation of the regional office are those that are also members of the Caribbean Community.

The member nations of the Caribbean Community are Antigua and Barbuda, Bahamas, Barbados, Belize, Dominica, Grenada, Guyana, Haiti, Jamaica, Montserrat, Saint Lucia, Saint Kitts and Nevis, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Suriname, and Trinidad and Tobago.

The associate member nations of the Caribbean Community are Anguilla, Bermuda, British Virgin Islands, Cayman Islands, Curaçao, and Turks and Caicos Islands.

Volker Türk stated, “I warmly welcome the agreement signed with the Government of the Bahamas, paving the way for the United Nations Human Rights to open a Regional Office in the Caribbean region.”

He added, “I thank the government of Bahamas for their support for the establishment of this new office, which it will host in Nassau, to serve all the states that belong to the Caribbean Community.”

The signing of the agreement is seen as a recognition that UN human rights are a pathway for solutions for various issues in the region. The decision of the creation of the new officer was taken at the UN Human Rights Council last October.

The concept came into shape after the support of the member states of the Caribbean Community in the adoption of a consensus resolution, particularly. Volker Türk stated that he is encouraged to take steps for the Caribbean nations, not just for Human rights, but in many fields.

The cooperation between the Caribbean Community states and the UN Human Rights Office is intended to focus on the issues of climate change, sustainable development, and other regional challenges along with the betterment of human rights conditions.

Volker Türk mentioned in his words, “ The Caribbean Community members’s unanimous support for the creation of this new office, in particular through the adoption of a consensus resolution at the UN Human Rights Council last October, is shared recognition that human rights are a pathway for solutions.”

He added, “I am encouraged by their willingness to increase cooperation with UNHR to address numerous challenges in the Caibbean, including climate change, the implementation of the Sustainable Development Goals, and the enjoyment of the full range of human rights along with strengthening their human rights architecture.”