Consider St. Lucia for the Security Council’s Latin American Seat

[IndianaGreen]

We don't want a Bush puppet to sit at the Security Council. If we can't get Venezuela in, let's find someone that has not whore itself to the Bush dictatorship.

Consider St. Lucia for the Security Council’s Latin American Seat

By Council On Hemispheric Affairs

Guatemala and Venezuela have persistently fallen short of the two thirds majority needed to secure GRULAC’s (the UN’s Latin American and Caribbean caucus) seat in the UN Security Council (UNSC) after more than two days of voting and 22 grueling rounds of balloting. Now, into the third day of voting, the results read: Guatemala 110, Venezuela 77. Voting was suspended on Tuesday until today, Thursday October 19, giving Venezuela and Guatemala’s ringmaster and vociferous supporter – the United States –time to lobby other governments into supporting their respective camps, or to consider a compromised third nominee.

The Rise of a Third Candidate

Considering that Guatemala’s and Venezuela’s aspirations might continue to falter, it would be prudent for UN delegations, which may be looking around for that third-country candidate to arise, to consider the Caribbean nation of St. Lucia. St. Lucia is an English-speaking country whose population of nearly 170,000 enjoys high literacy standards, relatively low levels of corruption, a transparent banking system, a worthy environmental reputation, and a good record on combating drug trafficking. It is in every way a “model democracy,” and unlike Guatemala, it has no ghosts in the closet. It is also one of ten Caribbean nation states which have never been elected to the UNSC, as Cuba, Jamaica, and Trinidad and Tobago have been the region’s only nations that have been honored with this post.

St. Lucia has also demonstrated sensitivity to issues of stability and mutual respect for national sovereignty. Its highly regarded Prime Minister, Dr. Kenny Anthony is looked upon as one of the Caribbean area’s most respected figures. Unlike Guatemala it has an exemplary human rights record and has been very responsive to international agreements. In the mid 1990s, St. Lucia actively backed UNSC Resolution 940 to restore democracy in Haiti after three years of brutal control by a military junta, thus supporting former President Aristide’s return to power peacefully. Prime Minister Anthony stood behind President Aristide even after he was forced to flee Haiti in 2004, insisting that the leader continued to be the lawful president of Haiti. After that, St. Lucia, along with most of the CARICOM nations, refused to recognize the U.S.-backed interim government of Gérard Latortue. Nevertheless, Prime Minister Anthony’s distaste towards Washington’s de facto ousting of President Aristide has not challenged his commitment to the poverty-wrecked citizens of neighboring Haiti. Since Aristide’s last forced departure, Anthony has repeatedly headed delegations seeking to integrate Haiti into the CARICOM common market and also has participated in the monitoring of Haitian elections. As such, St. Lucia deserves to receive considerable appreciation for its consistent endeavors to favor cooperation and the use of peaceful means over unilateral action and the resort to force, as validated by its regional leadership and unqualified neutrality.

http://www.politicalaffairs.net/article/articleview/4267/1/216/

[bemildred]

1. Second that.

I can think of a couple others in the Carribean too.