Saint Lucia

Letter sent to Foreign Minister in advance of Buenos Aires conference.

May 2018: Zama met with the ambassador who says that he doesn’t see any reason St. Lucia can’t sign and he will send it all back to capital. Zama will follow up with links in a sample endorsement letter.

August 2018: Sent an email to the mission in Geneva requesting for a meeting. No response.

May 2019: Participated in the Third International Conference in Palma.

October 2019: I met with the Deputy Permanent Representative, with whom Zama had previously met. They saw no reason why they could not endorse the Declaration. However, since they are not in conflict, they are having difficulty getting the issue prioritised in capital. He responded well to the idea that the Declaration provides a framework for cooperation, and to provide assistance and advice to states in conflict. He also thought the sharing of experience would also be relevant for countries experiencing disaster. He responded well to advocacy points on the community of states and the gender dimension and promised to brief the Ambassador. Follow-up: Letter for Foreign Minister, gender recommendations, the factsheet on the implementation of the Declaration, and key points on why they should endorse.

June 2021: Apolline met with Ambassador Cosmos Richardson. We had a very positive and open discussion on the Declaration. I highlighted the added value of endorsing, even for a smaller country that is not in a conflict-affected area, he fully agreed. We discussed the recent GRULAC meeting, how many islands had/had not endorsed, how many states had/had not endorsed in GRULAC. Overall, it was very positive. He said it was a “no brainer” that his country ought to endorse. I followed up with a comprehensive email with the template letter to endorse and all of the relevant information that he will share with his capital. He said he really wants to move forward on endorsement.

November 2022: On 10 November, we met with Carlton Henry, First Secretary at the NY mission. He was up to speed on the Declaration so we focused on progress made in the last few years – Abuja Conference, UNSCR 2601, state-led network, and upcoming Malaysia Conference. The delegate explained that there had been a change of government last year therefore he would renew the discussions in capital. There are no concerns with regards to endorsement, and his PR is supportive.

November 2022: Following Colombia’s endorsement to the SSD, GCPEA convinced and supported the Permanent Mission of Argentina in Geneva to send a Note Verbale to the remaining GRULAC non-endorsing states: Bahamas, Barbados, Belize, Cuba, Dominica, Grenada, Guyana, Saint Lucia, Saint Kitts and Nevis, Suriname, Trinidad and Tobago, Venezuela – encouraging them to endorse the SSD.