Belize represented at the 43rd Regular Session of the General Assembly of the Organization of American States in Antigua, Guatemala
June 13, 2013
BELMOPAN, Belize – Belize was represented at the Forty Third Regular Session of the General
Assembly of the Organization of American States held in Antigua, Guatemala, on June 4 – 6,
2013, by a delegation led by the Honourable Wilfred Elrington, Attorney General and Minister
of Foreign Affairs of Belize. The General Assembly was convened under the theme “For a
Comprehensive Policy Against the World Drug Problem in the Americas,” and it culminated
with the adoption of the “Declaration of Antigua” in which OAS Member States articulated their
national perspectives and the hemisphere’s analysis of the drug problem. In his statement to the
General Assembly, Foreign Minister of Belize Wilfred Elrington said that any efforts to confront
the drug problem had to include as a central element a serious and good faith effort towards
demand reduction in the principal markets in North America.
During the course of the General Assembly, the Inter-American Convention against
Racism, Racial Discrimination and Related Forms of Intolerance and the Inter-American
Convention against All Forms of Discrimination and Intolerance were both opened for signature.
It is to be noted that Belize was the Vice-Chair of the Working Group charged with negotiating
these conventions during the final stages of preparation.
Within the margins of the General Assembly, members of the Belize delegation also held
bilateral meetings to discuss issues of mutual interest with representatives of various countries
including Guatemala, Argentina, the United Kingdom, Kazakhstan, with the caucus of Foreign
Ministers of CARICOM and SICA.
In addition to Foreign Minister Elrington, the delegation of Belize included HE Alexis
Rosado, Chief Executive Officer in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, HE Nestor Mendez,
Ambassador / Permanent Representative of Belize to the OAS, HE Alfredo Martinez, Sr.
Ambassador of Belize in Guatemala, Ms. Kendall Belisle, First Secretary / Alternate
Representative of Belize to the OAS, and Ms. Margaret Juan, Minister Counsellor at the
Embassy of Belize in Guatemala.
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