Reparations
At the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM) in Samoa, the 56 leaders of Commonwealth governments and the UK Prime Minister signed a document asserting that the “time has come” to discuss reparations for the slave trade, despite the Prime Minister’s reluctance to bring the issue to the table, report Reuters and BBC.
British conservative leader Robert Jenrick believes that former colonies owe the U.K. a “debt of gratitude,” and touts the “Christian values” the empire brought to the Caribbean, reports the Guardian. Critics have summarized his statements as “historical revisionism.”
Climate Justice
Climate scientists emphasized the importance of their emotional responses to climate change, especially regarding the uncertainty of the future, and argued science and society were inherently interconnected, reports the Guardian.
In her blog, Petchary goes deeper into a case currently under consideration by Grenada’s High Court that could have wide-reaching implications for environmental defenders and land actors.
The Loss and Damage Collaboration provides a brief overview of topics that will be discussed at COP29, and identifies high-ambition outcomes for the Summit.
Environmental scientist Theresa Rodriguez-Moodie spoke at UTECH’s International Climate Change Conference, where she offered eight strategies to change how Jamaicans communicate about climate mitigation and adaptation.
Also at the Samoa summit, Commonwealth leaders endorsed the Apia Commonwealth Ocean Declaration, which prioritizes cohesive action on climate resilience, reaffirms the commitment to the Paris Agreement’s 1.5°C target, and underscores the urgent need for robust ocean-based climate action,” writes Ambassador Jerry Enoe, Special Envoy for Oceans of the Government of Grenada, on LinkedIn.
At COP16, CARICOM launched a new report on the status of environmental agreements on biodiversity, chemicals, and waste management. The report noted many of the challenges governments face while implementing biodiversity-related Multilateral Environmental Agreements (MEAs) and offered solutions to these general issues.
On October 29 the UN Department of Economic and Social Affairs (UNDESA) held a multistakeholder hearing to discuss financing for Small Island Developing States (SIDS).
Fossil Free Politics is requesting signatures calling on the EU not to bring fossil fuel lobbyists to COP29 in December.
Public Security
The ACLED analyzes the increase in gang activity across the Caribbean - not just in Haiti - especially with regards to weapons proliferation and transnational drug trafficking. The group specifically notes gang activities in Jamaica, Trinidad and Tobago, and Puerto Rico.
Students in secondary schools across St. Vincent and the Grenadines are feeling increasingly unsafe at school, citing rotting infrastructure, weapons, and poor security, among other issues, reports IWitness News SVG.
Energy
Stabroek News draws attention to a recent report by oil and gas company Exxon, alleging that the company’s drilling activities in Guyana are in direct contradiction of the safe working limits specified in the Environmental Impact Assessments.
Human Rights
The Guyana Human Rights Association published a press release calling for a comprehensive reform package that would address the militaristic view of police functions, and the Guyana Police Force writ large.
There has been “escalating violence against those who defend the rights of migrants and people of Haitian descent in the Dominican Republic,” reports Front Line Defenders (via Americas Migration Brief)
The Jamaica Observer reports that 17 Haitians who had been in Jamaica for over a year were deported last week. (via Americas Migration Brief)
Culture
A History of Haitian Literature by Marlene L. Daut and Kaiama L. Glover will be published in November by Cambridge University Press.
Dominica historian Lennox Honychurch discusses his new book, Resistance, Refuge, Revival: the Indigenous Kalinagos of Dominica, in this video.
Tax Reform
At an event at the University of the West Indies - St. Augustine Campus, Attorney General and Minister of Legal Affairs of the Bahamas, Senator the Hon. L. Ryan Pinder, opined that a new international tax administration architecture was needed, and that the UN was the correct body to design and build such a system.
Cuba
Frequent power outages on the island signify a broader representation of the country’s systemic collapse, with high levels of poverty and inequality, low economic growth, and a worrisome decline of energy production, among others, writes Javier Corrales in Americas Quarterly.
Democratic Governance
Many Puerto Ricans “feel robbed” of the ability to vote in the U.S. elections, as residents in U.S. territories are not able to participate in presidential elections, reports the Guardian.
In Responsible Statecraft, William Leogrande analyzes how Cuban Americans in Florida are growing increasingly conservative, supporting Donald Trump and other Republicans in a more decisive manner than ever before.