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Statements and speeches Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights

UN Human Rights Chief welcomes creation of Regional Office in the Caribbean

22 August 2024

UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Türk and Permanent Representative of the Bahamas to the UN in Geneva H.E. Ms. Patricia Hermanns  ©OHCHR

Location

Geneva

GENEVA (22 August 2024) – I warmly welcome the agreement signed with the Government of the Bahamas, paving the way for the UN Human Rights Office to open a Regional Office in the Caribbean.

I thank the Bahamas for its unwavering support for the establishment of this new Office, which it will host in Nassau, to serve all the countries that belong to the Caribbean Community (CARICOM*).

CARICOM States’ unanimous support for the creation of this 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. I am encouraged by their willingness to increase cooperation with us to address numerous challenges in the region, including climate change, the implementation of the Sustainable Development Goals and the enjoyment of the full range of human rights, and to strengthen their human rights architecture.

Together with my team, I look forward to working with all CARICOM countries, fellow UN actors and other partners to advance human rights for everyone in the region.

*Member States of CARICOM: Antigua and Barbuda, Bahamas, Barbados, Belize, Dominica, Grenada, Guyana, Haiti, Jamaica, Montserrat, Saint Lucia, St Kitts and Nevis, St Vincent and the Grenadines, Suriname, and Trinidad and Tobago.

Associate Members: Anguilla, Bermuda, British Virgin Islands, Cayman Islands, Curaçao, Turks and Caicos Islands

For more information and media requests, please contact:

In Geneva
Ravina Shamdasani - + 41 22 917 9169 / ravina.shamdasani@un.org 
Liz Throssell - + 41 22 917 9296 / elizabeth.throssell@un.org 
Jeremy Laurence - +41 22 917 9383 / jeremy.laurence@un.org

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