Minister of Foreign Affairs and Immigration, the Hon. Fred Mitchell traveled to Panama this week where he addressed the 56th session of the General Assembly of the Organization of American States.
The full script of his presentation is below.
Wednesday, 24th June 2026
Remarks Delivered by The Hon. Frederick A. Mitchell at the 56th Regular Session of the General Assembly of the Organization of American States
Thank you, Mr. Chairman, it is a pleasure to be here in Panama. And you, the guardians and protectors and owners of the canal. Nice to be back. Thank you, Secretary General, our support for you as a CARICOM national is strong. You are an important symbol to our nationals of all of our countries. You have brought a ray of hope to the region. And on this International Day for women diplomats, I see that Guyana has put forward another CARICOM national to be Secretary General to the UN. It did not escape me when there was the Summit recently between the two most powerful countries in the world that there were no women at the table, so we have some way to go.
We believe in The Bahamas in the rule of law, of lifting the oppressed, equity and justice for all, regardless of race, colour, creed or national origin. We support the lawful, right of all people to migrate lawfully to another country and return to their country. Thousands, if not, tens of thousands of Bahamians and CARICOM nationals have done so and contributed to the rich tapestry of all of our neighbours.
Thank you to the OAS for the Observer Mission for the General Election, which we held on the 12th of May this year, and the incumbent government of Prime Minister Philip Davis was returned. The Bahamian people expressed their will freely and resoundingly.
We in The Bahamas, believe in the judicious use of power, this requires an understanding that the world belongs to all the rich and the powerful, the strong and the weak, the strongest must have a moral compass that ensures that all survive. That is why the Organization of American States was invented, and the lessons of history compel us today to support its continued existence. The continued existence requires us to pay our bills to the Organization, and the Organization must manage its affairs in an equitable matter. The lessons of history compel us to support the value of multilateralism that it is better to keep talking than shooting guns, and that we do not interfere in the internal affairs of other countries except by invitation. In this regard, we support the work in Haiti, and we are examining what role we can play in Bolivia to support the legitimately elected government there. We support the Cuban people and the right to independence and territorial integrity and their right to participate in the world economy, the work of the hemisphere and the right to eat and healthcare. We apply the same values to Haiti that struck the first blow for African People in the world for freedom. We agree that there is still a need in this world for affirmative action and reparations for past discrimination against people of African descent.
For us, climate change is existential, and we call upon all nations to accept the science and take the steps to pay for adaptation and mitigation, and end the reliance on fossil fuels.
Now I would like to end with this. There is a moral tale to be told, and I often repeat this to my constituents, about the judicious use of power. The Star Wars trilogy is instructive Star Wars, the Empire Strikes Back, Return of the Jedi. And these three movies show you in this trilogy, that the powerful can be brought down by the small and meek, that is why we in The Bahamas, argue for the judicious use of power.
And there is this aphorism. People who say that a small voice does not matter, have obviously never spent the night in a dark room with a mosquito.
Thank you, ladies, and gentlemen.
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