OAS Pays Tribute to the Late Richard Bernal

Jamaica’s late former Ambassador to the United States (US) and Permanent Representative to the Organization of American States (OAS), Professor Richard Bernal, has been hailed by the OAS as an economist, diplomat, regionalist, educator and a consummate negotiator.

At a special sitting of the OAS Permanent Council held in the Hall of the Americas on February 1, Secretary General, Luis Almagro, noted that Ambassador Bernal embraced the OAS as an institution for the “promotion and consolidation of democracy, the protection of human rights and fostering of economic and social development throughout the Americas”.

He said that Ambassador Bernal was a visionary in many respects, whose indelible economic and trade development policies continue to serve as a reference point for his fellow countrymen and the people of the Americas.

The OAS Secretary General pointed out that the late former Ambassador played an intrinsic role during negotiations as a member of the Core Group on the Situation in Haiti, adding that the restoration of democracy in the country in 1994 was one of the highlights of his diplomatic career.

Jamaica’s Permanent Representative to the OAS and Ambassador to the US, Her Excellency Audrey Marks, said that Ambassador Bernal, who was Jamaica’s top diplomat in Washington from 1991 to 2001, had a long and distinguished career.

“He was unstinting in the service he gave to the Government and people of Jamaica, representing the country in many regional and international engagements, always with keen insights and avid interest in preserving the integrity of diplomacy. He earned an admirable reputation for his clinical analyses on regionalism and for his commitment to promoting the higher virtues of regional integration,” Ambassador Marks said.

US Ambassador to the OAS, Francisco O. Mora, said that Ambassador Bernal will be remembered as an outstanding diplomat, educator, public servant and a friend of the American people.

“I knew him as Professor Bernal, as we worked on several projects. He was a teacher to me, and I will miss him very much. The US diplomatic community offers our deepest condolences to his wife and family. His service was a legacy and example to many generations of Jamaicans,” Ambassador Mora said.

Barbados Ambassador to the US, Noel Lynch, speaking on behalf of the CARICOM Caucus of Ambassadors, described the late Ambassador Bernal as a “committed and unapologetic regionalist who believed strongly in CARICOM and the story of CARICOM”.

“He also believed in the process and power of regional integration and multilateralism in determining the social and economic improvement of people the world over,” Ambassador Lynch said.

Tributes were also delivered by the representatives to the OAS from Belize, Brazil, Canada, and Mexico as well as an observer from the Holy See and other Latin America representatives.

The OAS extended sincerest condolences to his wife, Margaret Bernal, his children, and friends.