Senator Michael Freeland has reaffirmed Antigua and Barbuda’s commitment to advancing disability inclusion and climate resilience on the regional stage.

Representing Rawdon Turner, Minister of Social and Urban Transformation, Senator Freeland addressed the Sixth Meeting of the Presiding Officers of the Regional Conference on Population and Development in Latin America and the Caribbean, held in Santiago, Chile, on October 29 and 30, 2025.

Antigua and Barbuda participated as one of the Vice Presidents of the meeting, focusing on persons with disabilities under the theme, “From Statistical Visibility to the Exercise of Rights.”

In his address, Senator Freeland emphasized that people with disabilities have long been “invisible in our data and underserved in our policies,” calling for a shift from recognition to real action. “Antigua and Barbuda strongly supports the work of the open-ended Cartagena Group on the rights of persons with disabilities,” he said. “Statistical visibility must translate into tangible rights, accessible health services, inclusive education, decent work, and meaningful participation in decision-making.”

He pledged the government’s continued efforts to strengthen data collection disaggregated by disability, guided by the Washington Group Short Set, and to ensure accessibility is integrated into all Sexual and Reproductive Health and Rights services. Freeland also urged greater regional cooperation, noting that “disability inclusion must not be an afterthought, but a foundation of our population and development agenda.”

Highlighting local progress, the senator commended the Antigua and Barbuda Association of Persons with Disabilities for its leadership role in promoting inclusion and for helping to shape the Disabilities Act (2017), which remains a key milestone in the nation’s legislative framework for equality.

Turning to the broader development challenges facing the region, Senator Freeland reminded delegates that climate change continues to threaten the very survival of Small Island Developing States (SIDS). “We have seen, in just the past few days, the devastation caused by Hurricane Melissa across the Caribbean,” he said. “For us, climate change is not a distant concern — it is an existential threat. It disrupts health systems, livelihoods, and access to essential services.”

He called on regional partners to ensure that climate resilience becomes fully integrated into all aspects of population and development planning.

Reaffirming Antigua and Barbuda’s commitment to the Montevideo Consensus, Senator Freeland described it as “the most progressive and comprehensive framework for population and development in our region” and underscored the country’s determination to see its principles translated into concrete action across the Caribbean and Latin America.