Annual luncheon of the Royal Commonwealth Society
The Royal Commonwealth Society of Jamaica, recently held its annual luncheon at The Jamaica Pegasus hotel. The guest of honour was the British High Commissioner, David Fitton.
The president, Indera Persaud, consul for Guyana, in her address spoke about the main tenets of the Royal Charter of the Commonwealth, which was signed last year by Queen Elizabeth II.
These include Democracy; Human Rights; International Peace and Security; Tolerance, Respect And Understanding; Freedom of Expression; Separation of Powers; Rule of Law; Good Governance; Sustainable Development; Protecting The Environment; Access To Health, Education, Food and Shelter and Gender Equality.
The Commonwealth is divided into five Regions, the 53 country members of The Commonwealth include a significant number of small states, alongside some of the world's largest and wealthiest countries. All members are equal and all subscribe to the values described in the Commonwealth Charter. Within the Americas region, there are 13 Commonwealth countries: Antigua and Barbuda, The Bahamas, Barbados, Belize, Canada, Dominica, Grenada, Guyana, Jamaica, St Kitts and Nevis, St Lucia, St Vincent and the Grenadines, and Trinidad and Tobago.