Deputy Premier signs UNICEF agreement on behalf of government
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| Deputy Premier and Minister of Health and Social Development Honourable Dancia Penn, OBE, QC is seen as she signed the UNICEF Country Programme Action Plan 2008-2011, earlier today in her office. Acting Permanent Secretary Ms. Petrona Smith observed the official signing. Photo credit – Aldrin Rabsatt/GIS |
Roadtown, Tortola - The Virgin Islands Government has officially signed the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) Country Programme Action Plan 2008-2011.
Deputy Premier and Minister of Health and Social Development Honourable Dancia Penn, OBE, QC affixed her signature to the agreement this morning on the Territory’s behalf.
Government leaders of Antigua and Barbuda, Barbados, the Commonwealth of Dominica, Grenada, Montserrat, St. Kitts and Nevis, St. Lucia, St. Vincent and the Grenadines, and the Turks and Caicos Islands have already signed the agreement. UNICEF Representative Mr. Tom Olsen has also signed on behalf of UNICEF.
The Country Programme Action Plan seeks to promote mutual agreement and cooperation for the fulfilment of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child, and the Convention for the Elimination of all forms of Discrimination against Women, among other international treaties.
The 2008-2011 programme specifically focuses on childhood development, child protection, HIV prevention, and life skills.
“I am extremely grateful for Cabinet’s permission to sign this important regional agreement on behalf of the Virgin Islands
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| Hon. Penn displays the section of the Country Programme Action Plan 2008-2011, which contains her signature along with those of her fellow-leaders from Barbados and the Eastern Caribbean. Acting Permanent Secretary Ms. Petrona Smith is also pictured. Photo credit – Aldrin Rabsatt/GIS |
Government. I am confident that our involvement with this initiative will play a role in helping the Government to achieve our vision to enhance the overall quality of life for the Territory’s children and people in general,” the Minister said.
Speaking via the Department of Information and Public Relations, the Minister said she is positive about the benefits that the Territory stands to gain from entering into a new period of mutual cooperation with UNICEF, which will extend until December 31, 2011.
The Country Programme Action Plan is a multi-country agreement, which covers 10 countries. It is managed by the UNICEF Office for Barbados and the Eastern Caribbean, which is based in Bridgetown. UNICEF works for children's rights, survival, development and protection, guided by the Convention on the Rights of the Child.
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British Virgin Islands News