 Excellencies, esteemed colleagues, ladies and gentlemen, on the occasion of the 75th anniversary of the adoption of the United Nations Universal Declaration of Human Rights, born out of the devastation of the Second World War, the Bahamas is pleased to make the following commitments to champion human rights as part of its contribution towards advancement of the objectives of the UDHR. The beacon that must guide us as we innovate human rights-based solutions in responses to present and future challenges. Our journey begins with an acknowledgement of the pivotal role of strengthened national institutions and mechanisms for the promotion of human rights. The Commonwealth of the Bahamas pledges to strengthen and develop its national human rights mechanisms in alignment with international standards. This includes the establishment of a Parliamentary Human Rights Committee, the creation of an independent National Human Rights Institute in compliance with the Paris Principles through the Office of the Ombudsman, and the strengthening of our National Reporting Cooperation Mechanism, or a National Mechanism for Implementation, Reporting and Follow-up. Central to these efforts is the installation of the National Human Rights Recommendation Tracking Database. This will ensure our commitment to human rights is one transparent, accountable and progressive. The Bahamas also commits to strengthening cooperation with the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights. As host country for the proposed Regional Office of the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights for the Caribbean Community, the Bahamas pledges to strengthen its cooperation with the OHCHR, particularly through technical assistance and capacity building to support efforts to promote and protect human rights at national and at regional levels. My government has committed to addressing the issue of statelessness as well as ensuring equality and nationality rights. We pledge to ensure that Bahamian women can pass their citizenship to their children, regardless of their marital status, or the child's place of birth, as well as the recognition that Bahamian men, whose children are born out of wedlock in the Bahamas, to non-Bahamian women can confer that nationality at birth. Furthermore, the Bahamas is dedicated to improving the birth registration processes and ensuring all registration of all unregistered births in the country, so as to prevent statelessness and ensure that every child's right to a nationality. Before I bring this contribution to a close, I would be remiss if I did not address the undeniable global reality that poses a threat to human rights, that of climate change. Bahamians are living the daily reality of climate change and its adverse impact on their human rights. The future of our children hangs in the balance. We are therefore committed to taking concrete measures to address this existential threat. The Bahamas has signed the United Nations multi-country sustainable development cooperation framework. We've passed legislation, including the Climate Change and Carbon Market Initiatives Act, and we've established a climate change and environmental advisory unit within the Office of the Prime Minister. We pledge to take proactive and significant steps in combating climate change. These include its impact on the full enjoyment of our human rights through advocacy for global environmental protection, education, innovation, ensuring inclusivity in relevant decision-making, including from the voices of our youth, implementing sustainable practices in the Bahamas, while also participating in international climate change dialogues and adhering to our climate commitments. We are calling on each and every state to intensify efforts aimed at mitigation of climate change and the rectification of the existing negative impacts that pose a threat to all of us. Our journey today underscores the Bahamas' unwavering commitment to fortifying and promoting human rights across our archipelago. The Bahamas pledges to be an active ally in our shared pursuit of a world where human rights are upheld at the center of solutions now and for generations to come. I thank you.