CARIBBEAN ROUND-UP

ANTIGUA AND BARBUDA

Prime Minister Gaston Browne has confirmed reports that migrants from Cameroon who were rescued from a recent boat disaster, will not be allowed to re-enter the country.

“Why bring them back when they are likely to smuggle out of the country again,” Browne said in an article written in his own publication. His comment confirmed a recent statement from the government of St. Kitts and Nevis, which indicated that Antigua and Barbuda had reneged on its previous promise to accept the refugees back into the twin-island nation.

More than a month ago, 14 migrants along with two Antiguans were rescued after their boat capsized in water offshore St. Kitts en route from Antigua to St. Thomas, in the Virgin Islands.

Most recently, eight of nine people who fled the detention facility outside Basseterre have been located. They were among some of the survivors of a fishing vessel which ran into difficulty while dangerously overcrowded with around 30 passengers. Three bodies were pulled from sea but more than a dozen are still missing and presumed dead.

They were among hundreds of Cameroonian refugees fleeing conflict back home who arrived in Antigua and Barbuda late last year on chartered flights from Nigeria.

BAHAMAS

The Bahamas’ human rights record will be examined by the United Nations Human Rights Council’s Universal Periodic Review (UPR) Working Group for the fourth time.

The Caribbean Community (CARICOM) country is one of 14 states to be reviewed by the UPR Working Group during its 43rd session from May 1-12.

The Bahamas’ three UPR reviews took place on December 2008, January 2013 and January 2018. The Bahamas delegation will be led by Attorney General and Minister of Legal Affairs, Leo Ryan Pinder.

According to the UN Human Rights Council, the reviews will be based on national report — information provided by Nassau, information contained in the reports of independent human rights experts and groups known as the Special Procedures, human rights treaty bodies and other UN entities, as well as information provided by other stakeholders including national human rights institutions, regional organizations and civil society groups.

CARICOM

The Caribbean Domestic Workers Network (CDWN) is calling on regional countries to ratify and implement the International Labour Organisation (ILO) Convention that recognizes and protects the rights and decent work conditions of domestic workers.

In a message to mark Labour Day, the international day set aside to recognize workers, the CDWN said it wanted to give a “special salute to the women and men who work in homes and support families throughout our communities.”

“Domestic Workers are workers and deserve to the same rights and protections as any other worker. It is because of domestic workers that our societies can function, businesses can run, schools can open and doctors at hospitals can take care of the sick. Domestic Workers are a critical part of the fabric of our countries.

But the CDWN, a network of unions and associations from Antigua and Barbuda, Barbados, Guyana, Grenada, Jamaica, St. Kitts & Nevis, St. Lucia and Trinidad and Tobago, said yet domestic workers have been among the least protected workers worldwide, facing long-standing challenges such as lack of recognition, poor working conditions, low pay and limited access to social protections.

It said the pandemic further exposed the vulnerability of domestic workers, with many losing their jobs and facing economic hardship.

CDWN is calling on regional governments to ratify and implement the ILO Convention 189 to recognize and protect the rights and decent work conditions of domestic workers, while applauding the governments of Guyana, Grenada, Jamaica and Antigua and Barbuda for ratifying the Convention. It said, “ratification is the first step to show commitment to protecting and respecting domestic workers.”

GRENADA

Grenada’s former ambassador to Russia, Oleg Frier, has been removed from the list of international marketing agents licensed to conduct business on behalf of the island’s Citizenship by Investment (CBI) programme.

“The Grenada Citizenship by Investment Committee advises that Oleg Frier is not a licensed marketing agent, nor a registered sub-agent of the Grenada Citizenship by Investment programme. He is therefore not authorised to market, promote or disseminate information on the programme, act on behalf of or engage with current or potential applicants or their authorized representatives,” said on a notice on the updated website of the CBI programme which was dated March 28.

The website said there are 59 international marketing agents for the CBI programme and it is not known when Frier became a marketing agent.

On April 6, 2017 Frier presented copies of his credentials to Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs of Russia Sergey Ryabkov and became the first Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of Grenada to Russia. On Oct. 3, 2017, Frier presented his credentials to President of Russia, Vladimir Putin. On Feb. 22, 2022 he was refused entry into Grenada and had his diplomatic passport confiscated by immigration authorities. His lawyer, Cajeton Hood said no reason was given to him by immigration officials.

Grenada changed government on June 23, 2022 and the new government, led by lawyer Dickon Mitchell immediately recalled all diplomats appointed by the former administration of the prime minister Dr. Keith Mitchell.

JAMAICA

The Jamaica government recently expressed concern regarding the”unauthorized” disclosure of information regarding the selection process for the principal of the Mona Campus of the University of the West Indies (UWI).

The incumbent, Professor Dale Webber, has already indicated that he would not be renewing his contract when his tenure ends on July 31.

The Ministry of Education and Youth said that while the government values transparency and integrity in all its operations, “leaked reports undermine the professionalism of the selection process and introduce unnecessary speculation, which could compromise the process.”

They have requested that UWI does a thorough investigation into the matter and that it is “hopeful that those who continue to attempt to compromise the process recognize the damage they are doing to the university and will refrain from this type of action.”

Media reports have identified UWI Pro Vice-Chancellor Densil Williams, who is principal of the Five Islands campus in Antigua and Barbuda, as the front runner to replace Webber.

SURINAME

The Suriname government is considering the tax-free limit for workers as the Dutch-speaking Caribbean Community (CARICOM) continues to feel the impact of an economic crisis.

Addressing Labour Day activities recently, President Chandrikapersad Santokhi said his administration wants to increase the purchasing power of citizens even as the economic situation worsens partly as a result of cost-increasing measures taken by the government as part of its structural adjustment programme.

Santokhi also said that the government is considering the tax-free limit of SRD$7,500 (US$200) and that 80,000 food packages will be distributed to low income workers soon.

“I wish to emphasise that the provision of food packages is only a bridging measure. It must be seen in the context of an urgent short-term approach. We intend to move towards a sustainable and structural approach,” Santokhi said.

“The economic problems that we are facing in addition, the influence and impact of the global economic crisis, which has not passed us by, unfortunately have consequences for every citizen in our beloved country,” he added.

“The negative effects include unemployment and job security, but at the same time also in a shortage of labour in certain sectors. Furthermore, citizens have to deal with declining purchasing power due to negative developments regarding the exchange rate on the one hand and necessary government cuts on the other,” Santokhi said.

— Compiled by Devika Ragoonanan