PM Douglas leads delegation to UN Conference on Sustainable Development in Brazil

St. Kitts and Nevis’ Prime Minister the Rt. Hon. Dr. Denzil L. Douglas at the UN General Assembly.

BASSETERRE,ST. KITTS, JUNE 19TH 2012 (CUOPM) – St. Kitts and Nevis’ Prime Minister the Rt. Hon. Dr. Denzil L. Douglas is among some 120 heads of state and government in Brazil to attend the United Nations Conference on Sustainable Development.

Prime Minister Douglas left the Robert L. Bradshaw International Airport early Tuesday morning for Rio de Janiero on a special aircraft arranged by the Government of Brazil.

Other members of the St. Kitts and Nevis delegation which departed on Monday are Federal Minister of Energy, the Hon. Dr. Earl Asim Martin; Hon. Carlisle Powell, Minister of Planning in the Nevis Island Administration; Randolph Edmeade, Director of Physical Planning and Verna Morris, Foreign Service Officer in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

Countries have been holding talks to come to an agreement on the draft outcome document on environmental, economic and social issues at the heart of the United Nations Conference on Sustainable Development(Rio+20).

Thousands of parliamentarians, mayors, UN officials, Chief Executive Officers and civil society leaders are also expected to attend Rio+20 to shape new policies to promote prosperity, reduce poverty and advance social equity and environmental protection.

During the recent opening of the Preparatory Committee’s session, the Secretary-General of Rio+20, Sha Zukang, urged countries to seize the moment to achieve progress on negotiations.

The aircraft that was sent by the Brazilian authorities at the Robert L. Bradshaw International Airport. (Photo by Charles Jong)

The previous round of Rio+20 preparatory talks -focused on the gathering’s outcome document – ended in New York in early June, with agreement reached on more than 20 per cent of the document, with many additional paragraphs close to agreement.

Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon has said that there is still much work ahead, but foundations are in place for agreement on the remainder of the negotiating text that is expected to become the outcome of the conference.

Rio+20 follows on from the Earth Summit in 1992,also held in Rio de Janeiro, during which countries adopted Agenda 21 – a blueprint to rethink economic growth, advance social equity and ensure environmental protection.