An attempt is now being made by a few member states of the Organization of American States (OAS), using procedural manoeuvres, to prevent a proposed ‘Declaration on the Rights of Persons and Peoples of African Descent’ from proceeding to the OAS General Assembly scheduled to be held in Panama next month.

Debate on this fundamentally important declaration should have been near its end by now, leaving the way clear for consideration and adoption by the General Assembly, the highest decision-making body of the OAS.

Normally, the positions expressed in my weekly commentary reflect my own views. I am pleased to say that this commentary has the full support of the Government of Antigua and Barbuda, whose Prime Minister Gaston Browne instructed that “We stand on the principles of justice, truth and right … . We should never cower in defending these principles”.