Rights groups criticise T&T deportations
Aug. 22, 2023
Trinidad and Tobago deported 98 Venezuelans earlier this month, provoking backlash from rights groups which say the country is violating its international obligation to protect refugees.
UNHCR and local civil society have called for Trinidad and Tobago to provide protection to Venezuelans in the country and not deport them. (Guardian, El Pitazo, El Pitazo, Americas Migration Brief)
In July Trinidad and Tobago’s Supreme Court ruled that 1951 Refugee Convention obligations do not apply and cannot be enforced in the twin-island republic. (See July 5’s Just Caribbean Updates)
“The recent measures taken by the authorities of Trinidad and Tobago are extremely alarming,” said Amnesty International Americas Director Erika Guevara-Rosas. “International law leaves no room for doubt: refugees and asylum seekers throughout the world cannot be returned to places where their life and integrity could be at risk. No-one can be subjected to mass expulsions”
The Caribbean Centre for Human Rights also condemned the deportations, which endanger “those who fled persecution in their country of origin and sends them back to a situation where risks to their safety and security prevail,” said Executive Director Denise Pitcher.
One of the deported Venezuelan migrants returned to Trinidad and Tobago, and his legal representative is now calling on the Commissioner of Police to investigate the National Security Minister for crimes against humanity for signing the deportation order, reports Newsday. (Via Americas Migration Brief)
Kenya assesses security mission to Haiti
A Kenyan delegation met with leaders of Haiti's national police this week, as it assesses leading a possible United Nations-backed multinational security force to help police fight escalating gang warfare, reports Reuters.
Before arriving in Haiti on Sunday, the Kenyan delegation met with countries and groups in New York that are trying to decide how best to help Haiti, reports the Associated Press.
The visit comes in the midst of “another wave of brutal gang violence following a rise in vigilante justice,” reports the Miami Herald. Experts say the possibility of external intervention is one of many factors feeding into the current surge in violence.
There is an escalating crisis of killings, kidnappings, and sexual violence by criminal groups in and around Haiti's capital, Port-au-Prince, since the beginning of 2023, reports Human Rights Watch. There is an urgent need for a rights-based response to address this crisis, including the possibility of international security support.
“The longer that we wait and don’t have this response, we’re going to see more Haitians being killed, raped and kidnapped, and more people suffering without enough to eat,” said Ida Sawyer, the group’s crisis and conflict director, who visited Haiti to compile a report on the violence, for The Washington Post.
In a letter to the UN Security Council Amnesty International called attention to the “troubling history of abuses and impunity associated with past multinational or foreign interventions in Haiti,” and also to “the use of excessive and unnecessary force, including lethal force, by security forces in Kenya (which) has led to increased deaths and injuries of both adults and children.”
The recent kidnapping and release of a U.S. nurse and her daughter in Haiti brought brief international attention to the crime situation in the country, but such incidents are common for Haitians. Jorge Heine argues, in the Conversation, that the lack of action from countries in the Americas and transnational bodies is seen as a failure to address a humanitarian and regional security crisis.
Energy
There is a growing interest among Caribbean leaders in bringing back the Petrocaribe agreement, a subsidized oil procurement arrangement with Venezuela that collapsed in 2019, reports Americas Quarterly. They are seeking to resume the treatment due to their flawed and oil-dependent energy sectors, as well as a lack of meaningful assistance from the US and other Western countries for transitioning to alternative, cleaner energy sources.
The Petroleum Activities Bill, passed by the PPPC government in Guyana, appears to conflict with the country's Constitution and goes against the earlier stance of the party to insulate decision-making and authority in the petroleum sector from political control. (Kaieteur News)
Guyanaese Vice President Bharrat Jagdeo lost his temper during a media engagement when questioned about releasing Cost Recovery Statements and forecasts of expenditure by the ExxonMobil-led consortium in the Stabroek Block, an oil-rich area. Critics argue that the secrecy around these expenses violates transparency commitments and accountability. (Kaieteur News)
Jake Tran’s new documentary How Exxon Stole a 3rd World Country is now available on YouTube.
Climate and Environmental Justice
Avinash Persaud, a professor and economist related with activism for climate change, presented the Bridgetown Initative, a groundbreaking vision of how rich countries can catalyze climate mitigation, contribute to loss and damages and help build a sustainable future for all, in a recent TED Talk.
Guyana and the Caribbean region are facing significant challenges due to climate change, and there is a need for both mitigation and adaptation strategies to combat its effects. Additionally, there is an ongoing difficulty to access sufficient climate finance for implementing sustainable strategies. A possible solution may be leveraging the revenue generated from oil and gas resources in Guyana and Suriname to establish a regional investment fund that can supplement climate finance and expedite climate resilience programs. (Oil Now)
Hipolito Novelo chats with Maureen Valmond, a social and climate justice journalist with indigenous heritage, living in Dominica in the latest episode of Climate Tracker’s Caribbean Climate Calabash.
Professor Winston Moore addresses COVID-19 recovery, green jobs, economic development, and the just transition of the workforce in the Caribbean, in third episode of The Climate Conscious Podcast’s Better Than Before, leveraging COVID-19 for a sustainable Caribbean.
The first conference of The Climate Governance Webinar Series, which took place in May and was organized by CARICAD, is now available to stream on YouTube.
Medical professionals emphasize that climate change directly affects public health, including air and water quality, food availability, infectious disease ocurrence, and mental health according to Petchar’y Blog. They also highlight the need for resilient health facilities and systems that can withstand extreme weather events and reduce their environmental impact.
Economics and Finance
Marla Dukharan discusses the ripple effects of tax blacklisting on Caribbean progress, on Caribbean Progress. They dare to question the motives and fairness of international entities like the Financial Action Task Force and the OECD and how their blacklisting practices have devastatingly derailed these countries' reputation and development targets. (CPSI)
Zambia's debt crisis has profound implications for the countries in the Global South where essential services are cut while creditors continue to receive payments. Zambia made a deal with its foreign government creditors as part of the G20's Common Framework for debt relief. However, the deal is seen as only a partial solution, as private creditors must also agree to debt restructuring. (Jacobin)
Civil Society Financing for Development Mechanism announces that they are joining members of the Global Alliance for Tax Justice in welcoming the recent SG tax report and calling on UN member states to support a UN framework convention on international tax cooperation.
Public Security
Many of the illegal firearms in Haiti can be traced back to Florida, where lax gun laws make it easy for smugglers to acquire weapons and transport them to Haiti via various means, writes Doug Barry, a senior adviser for Global Action on Gun Violence, in an opinion article for The Washington Post. He highlights the contradiction of praising international efforts to assist Haiti, while ignoring the contribution of U.S.--made guns contributing to the violence and instability in the country.
Migration
The conditions for internally displaced persons in Haiti are becoming increasingly dire, with nearly half of them leaving their temporary accommodations in host communities to reside in vulnerable improvised sites. The situation is worsened by high levels of insecurity, creating mistrust between host communities and displaced populations, leading to deteriorating social cohesion. (IOM UN Migration)
“I was afraid of being eaten by the sharks, being crushed to death on the rocks, or disappearing at sea. I just cried, prayed for my baby, and held on to my partner”, expressed Génes a 22 year old pregnant Venezuelan tells of her efforts to reach Curaçao and how she is now forced to live a secretive existence due to her illegal status. (United Nations)
“The life of a Venezuelan migrant in Curaçao is not easy. Cultural and linguistic differences and the lack of a formal pathway to obtain work and residence permits or Dutch citizenship means the state’s migrant population live in constant fear of being deported,” says IOM. (Via Americas Migration Brief)
Youth
In an article for Newsweek, Sofia Carson and Ashley Lashley, both UNICEF ambassadors, state the importance of listening to and including youth voices in decisions that affect them, especially considering that young people are both current and future consumers, voters, and contributors to society.
Democratic Governance
Opposition politicians in Dominica have expressed concerns over an electoral reform report on electoral reform conducted by Sir Dennis Byron, a prominent international jurist and former president of the Caribbean Court of Justice. Opposition Leader, Jesma Paul Victor, pointed, for example, to the issue of the transportation of Dominicans living overseas for voting in a general election and campaign finance. (Caribbean Times)
Culture
Haitian writer Edwidge Danticat won the 2023 PEN/Malamud Award for Excellence in the Short Story. “The short story has also been a unique space for me to experiment, explore and grow as a storyteller which makes this award even more gratifying”, said Danticat according to Repeating Islands.
Reparations and Decolonisation
Kenneth Mohammed, a journalist analyst with focus on corruption, developed a report that calculates the significant economic and intangible costs of slavery, arguing that nations like Britain, the US, Portugal, Spain, and France owe trillions in reparations.The author addresses criticisms of reparations, asserting that they are not solely about assigning blame but are a means to acknowledge historical wrongs, foster healing, and address systemic inequalities perpetuated by slavery and colonialism. (The Guardian)
Six descendants of William Gladstone, a 19th century British Prime Minister whose family wealth was funded by enslaved Africans, are traveling to Guyana to apologize for their historical involvement in slavery, reports The Guardian.
History
New book by Fernando J. Padilla Angulo Volunteers of the Empire. War, Identity, and Spanish Imperialism, 1855-1898 was published by Bloomsbury in January 2023. It is the first book that covers the history of the Volunteer Corps, established in Cuba in 1855 as a Spanish Loyalist militia, and later extended to Puerto Rico, Santo Domingo, and the Philippines.
Opportunities
If you are passionate about making a difference in your community or believe in the power of youth to build a peaceful world, you can now apply to be a country representative for The Commonwealth Youth Peace Ambassadors Network (CYPAN). The deadline is on August 25th and you can find the information application here.
Events
26 August — Climate Gen Z Conference Pre-Event organized by CESaRE and The Cropper Foundation. You can join this event via Zoom by following the link.
30 August — Moving Together: Mass Transit, Mass Mobility organized by Island City Lab via Zoom. For further details and registration follow the link.
6 September — Caribbean Climate Network, a training to learn more about creating impactful videos to talk about climate and activism organized by CNN. Follow the link to register.
8 September — Believe in Your Journey, a conversation with Dr. Len Ishmael organized by CESaRE and The Cropper Foundation as part of the Climate Gen Z Conference. You can subscribe to the event via Zoom at the following link.