UN team satisfied with Guyana’s preparation to host CRIC17

Commissioner and Chief Executive Officer of the Guyana Lands and Surveys Commission (GL&SC), Trevor Benn, has assured a visiting mission from the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD) of Guyana’s full support as the country prepares to host the 17th session of the Committee for the Review of the implementation of the Convention (CRIC17).
The conference which is slated for January 28-30, 2019, at the Arthur Chung Convention Centre is expected to see the participation of 197 countries.
The visiting UN delegation, which is led by the Chief-of-Staff of the UNCCD, Rajeb Boulharouf, is currently in Guyana to undertake a second round of assessment of the conference venue and other facilities that will be used for the conference.
Other members of the visiting delegation include Somarajan Pillai, Administration/Budget and Finance Officer; Carmen Alina Margina, Conference

Affairs Officer; Omer Sebat, Information Systems Assistant; Kayhan UI, Logistics Assistant; Fernando Garcia Lopez, Regional Security Advisor; and Masud Rana, Documents Management Officer.
“I want to say once again that I am very pleased that the decision was taken to host this conference in Guyana. This is a clear indication of our commitment to issues relating to sustainable land management, desertification, drought and the social issues resulting from improper land management,” Benn said to the visiting delegation. “This is an opportunity that we have as a country to showcase to the rest of the world that even as a small country, we are prepared to accept the challenge,” Benn stated.
He reminded that he has attended several conferences of similar nature and said while Guyana may not be able to provide all the amenities that the more wealthy countries were able to, the Government and the people of Guyana commitment to fulfil its obligations to host the conference is unwavering.
Meanwhile, Boulharouf said his team is satisfied with the level of commitment, goodwill and preparation shown thus far. He reminded that the host country agreement was recently finalised and signed and this sealed the deal for Guyana to host the conference in late January, making it the first country in this part of the world to host the CRIC conference.
The UN official also took the opportunity to commend Guyana’s efforts in the global climate change arena and its long-standing commitment to sustainable development.
CRIC assists the Conference of the Parties to the UN Convention to Combat Desertification and is an integral part of the Performance Review and Assessment of Implementation System.