MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

Falklands initiative to promote safeguarding children, supported by OTs

Falklands were represented at the JMC by MLA Roger Edwards and Sukey Cameron MBE, head of the Falklands government office in London.

An initiative from the Falkland Islands to promote more effective collaboration between the British Overseas Territories for safeguarding children was opened for signature at the recent Joint Ministerial Council meeting held at Lancaster House in London.

 The Falklands were represented at the JMC, (between the OTs and UK ministers), by MLA Roger Edwards and Sukey Cameron MBE, head of the Falklands government office in London.

According to the communiqué on the JMC meeting the leaders of the OTs demonstrated their commitment to ensuring the highest standards of protection for children in the Territories, including through the development in the next year of national response plans for safeguarding.

JMC besides welcoming the opening for signature of the OTs Memorandum of Understanding developed by the Falkland Islands, testified to the signing by the governments of Bermuda, the British Antarctic Territory, the British Indian Ocean Territory, the British Virgin Islands, the Cayman Islands, the Falkland Islands, Gibraltar, Montserrat, St. Helena and Tristan da Cunha, Pitcairn, the Sovereign Base Areas of Akrotiri and Dhekelia, South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands and the Turks and Caicos Islands.

The Falkland Islands were also praised for their leadership acknowledging the need to safeguard the environment and the rich biodiversity of the Territories, particularly the extension of the Convention on Biodiversity to the Falkland Islands.