Caption: Senator the Honourable Kamina Johnson Smith, Minister of Foreign Affairs and Foreign Trade delivers a Ministerial statement at the 53rd General Assembly of the Organization of American States (OAS) on Friday, June 23 convened at the organization’s headquarters in Washington, DC.
JOHNSON SMITH HIGHLIGHTS URGENT PRIORITIES AT OAS GENERAL ASSEMBLY:
CLIMATE CHANGE, DIGITAL TRANSFORMATION AND
INTERNATIONAL FINANCIAL REFORMS
(MFA&FT: June 24, 2023)
Senator Kamina Johnson Smith, Minister of Foreign Affairs and Foreign Trade, delivered a powerful address at the 53rd General Assembly of the Organization of American States (OAS), focusing on key priorities including climate change, digital transformation and international financial reforms.
Addressing climate change, Johnson Smith underscored the urgency of collective action and called upon developed nations to take greater responsibility, saying:
“Developed countries have much more than a moral obligation to take greater action since they have built their wealth through conduct responsible for the crisis… More specifically we call on the developed world to follow through on their commitments, including operationalizing the loss and damage fund secured at COP27.”
Minister Johnson Smith acknowledged efforts by developing countries, like Jamaica in spite of fiscal constraints and said:
“Jamaica continues to do its part in mitigating climate change, but we need a multilateral approach and enhanced financial support. We continue to advocate for meaningful reforms of the international financial architecture to address climate finance and other cross-cutting development issues.”
Highlighting the significance of digital transformation, Senator Johnson Smith said:
“Digital transformation presents a tremendous opportunity to enhance the enjoyment of rights by the under-served and the most vulnerable. However, we must also recognize the misuse of technology, including cyberattacks and the spread of misinformation and disinformation, which can undermine democratic stability… There must be appropriate regulations to prevent its impinging on the rights of our citizens. It is critical that our countries and indeed this Organization pay attention to this phenomenon and recognize the changing face of what it means to support and maintain democracy and democratic accountability.”
The General Assembly is the principal organ of the OAS and is composed of the Ministers of Foreign Affairs of all the member states. The 53rd General Assembly of the OAS coincides with the Organisation’s 75th anniversary and is being convened at its headquarters in Washington, DC.
The Assembly is in charge of defining the policies and mandates of the OAS, as well as the structure and functions of its organs. It is responsible for the election of members of the decentralized and autonomous organizations of the OAS, such as the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights, the Inter-American Court of Human Rights, the Inter-American Juridical Committee, and the Justice Center of the Americas, among others.
