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.”