WASHINGTON, USA: Pledging "to urge Member States to continue implementing measures that are geared towards eradicating the effects and consequences of the Slave Trade and Slavery," the Permanent Council of the Organisation of American States, through a resolution, marked the bicentenary of the abolition of the Transatlantic Slave Trade, on Wednesday.
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| Deborah-Mae Lovell, Antigua and Barbuda's Permanent Representative to the OAS and Ambassador to the US |
t this meeting, especially convened for the occasion, the passage of the resolution constituted one component of the Agenda that included statements by the Secretary General of the OAS, Jose Miguel Insulza as well as from the co-ordinators of the regional groupings of the Hemisphere.
Ambassador Deborah-Mae Lovell, Antigua and Barbuda's, Permanent Representative to the OAS and Ambassador to the United States, who had been nominated by the CARICOM Caucus to chair the committee to organize the bicentennial events, expressed satisfaction at the outcome of the commemorative activities.
She was particularly pleased that the resolution, which was approved by acclamation, not only recognized the inhumanity of African Slavery but that it was forward-looking in that it urged Member States 'to develop programs and activities that are designed to foster an environment of respect for diversity and tolerance in its citizens and an understanding of the consequences of slavery and the Slave Trade'.
The convening of the Special Meeting of the Permanent Council of the OAS was not the only event in which the CARICOM Ambassadors marked this important milestone. On March 25th 2007, the Caucus of Ambassadors joined the Howard University School of Divinity in hosting an Ecumenical Service on the Law School Campus. Against the backdrop of African prayers, drumming, song and dance, the Reverend Jesse Jackson, the featured speaker, called upon the members of the African Diaspora to rise above the prevailing social inequities and to fulfill their God-given aptitude for excellence.
Congregants also heard presentations given by both the CARICOM and the African Diplomatic Corps.
The Ecumenical Service and the OAS Special Session represent the first in a series of activities planned to mark this bicentenary. According to Ambassador Lovell, another activity planned to commemorate this event is the launching of an essay-writing competition for university students in the Diaspora. "Through this initiative, I hope that the significance of the subject will be kept alive in the minds of our youth", says Lovell. |
