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The CARICOM Secretariat this week marked the UN’s 75th Anniversary with a lighted display on its building in Georgetown.
The UN on Monday marked the anniversary with the special meeting under the theme ‘The Future We Want, the UN We Need: Reaffirming our Collective Commitment to Multilateralism’.
The Caribbean Community (CARICOM) and nationals of its Member States have made significant contributions to the work of the UN over the years of its existence.
#CARICOM #UN75
Source: CARICOM TODAY
Secretary-General of the Caribbean Community (CARICOM) Ambassador Irwin LaRocque and Acting Director of the United Nations Environment Programme (UN Environment) Mr. Arnold Kreilhuber have signed a new Project Cooperation Agreement approving continued capacity building related to Multilateral Environmental Agreements (MEAs) support for the region.
The programme on capacity building related to MEAs in African, Caribbean and Pacific (ACP) countries results from a partnership between the European Commission (EC), the Secretariat of the ACP Group of States (ACP Secretariat), the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) and the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO). The aim of this Programme is to empower key stakeholders to address environmental challenges and to reap the benefits of improved environmental management at the national and regional levels.
The CARICOM Secretariat has hosted the Caribbean Hub from 2009 and throughout the first two phases of the Programme, the Hub has worked to mainstream the relevant Conventions on biodiversity, chemicals and waste management into institutions and national development plans by promoting an integrated and synergistic approach to environmental management.
As part of the Sustainable Development work programme of the Human and Social Development Directorate of the Secretariat. Dr. Douglas Slater, Assistant Secretary General, Human and Social Development “recognizes that the COVID-19 has caused delays and has thrown us off course temporarily – but notes that the potential opportunities to build the capacity of the Region with current and cutting edge information remain a priority”.
The ACP MEAs Phase III aims to further enhance the mainstreaming and implementation of the biodiversity, chemicals and waste MEAs clusters with tailored awareness raising activities and the development of knowledge building and knowledge sharing tools for targeted audiences, especially decision-makers, technical officers and Convention negotiators.
A key area of focus is on building enforcement and compliance processes and mechanisms within Member States to enable them to fulfill commitments under the selected MEAs and to participate more effectively in the international negotiating arena.
#caricomsecretariat #europeancommission #unep #acpmeasprogramme
Source: CARICOM TODAY
(The Guardian) When you first hear Koffee’s music, you would be forgiven for not pairing the big, bold voice that commands her roots reggae sound with the slight, unassuming 19-year-old who jumps out of the car and pulls me into a bear hug outside my hotel in Kingston, Jamaica.
She might be small, but the impact that Koffee has made on Jamaica and its reggae scene is mighty. The night before we meet, she won single of the year at the Jamaica Music Industry Association awards for Toast, which has amassed more than four million streams on Spotify. Toast is typical of Koffee’s style. It’s steeped in the positive-vibes-only doctrine of roots rather than dancehall’s brashness, and she is driving modern reggae forward at a time when Rihanna is reportedly about to do the same with her new album.
“I would say it all began with my guitar,” Koffee says as we sit on a bamboo bench on Wickie Wackie beach outside the city.
The first piece she wrote was a tribute to Usain Bolt, entitled Legend, which she posted on Instagram – it quickly went viral. “He reposted it!” she says. “So that was kind of the first recognition that I got as an artist.”
Read more at: The Guardian
Source: CARICOM TODAY
(CARPHA Press Release) The Caribbean Public Health Agency (CARPHA) introduced a new initiative to help CARPHA Member States develop national systems to protect their communities and healthcare workers from outbreaks.
Recognising the need for the Caribbean to strengthen Regional Health Security to protect the health of our resident and visitor populations, the initiative is geared at improving regulations and practices of laboratories in accordance with international best practices.
During a Regional Workshop on the Development of National Frameworks for Pathogen Biosafety and Biosecurity from 26 -28th June 2019, held in Trinidad and Tobago, CARPHA hosted twenty-four (24) participants from five (5) Member States; Belize, Guyana, Jamaica, The Bahamas and Trinidad and Tobago. Representatives from the health, veterinary sciences, agriculture, policy, trade, and security sectors participated.
According to Ms. Sacha Wallace-Sankarsingh, Biorisk Manager CARPHA, “Although some countries have parts of a national mechanism to monitor the spread of diseases, there is urgent need for oversight through updated national laboratory policies within a framework to prevent laboratories from being the cause of accidental or deliberate release of materials which can cause harm to their communities and the environment.”
Laboratories form part of systems for the monitoring and timely detection of diseases e.g. dengue, influenza, measles and agricultural pests which can quickly become outbreaks, causing unnecessary burden on the health system and the economy. They also provide services and information that are used in more than 80% of doctors’ decisions for care and treatment of patients. As part of its mandate, CARPHA has trained over 500 regional laboratory professionals to use standardised operational practices to ensure safe and secure handling of samples from humans and animals.
This workshop was held in collaboration with the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) and the Caribbean Regional Office for the Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), with support from Mr. O’Neil Hamilton, CARICOM UNSCR 1540 Coordinator; Ms. Basia Schreuders, Office Pathogen Security, Public Health Agency of Canada and Ms. Giselle Guevara, Laboratory Strengthening Team Lead, Caribbean Regional Office, CDC
CARPHA will continue to assist Member States using a multisectoral approach to maintain the momentum towards the establishment of sustainable systems which satisfy national and international obligations.
Source: CARICOM TODAY
(Caribbean Meteorological Organisation Press Release) English–speaking Caribbean States were well represented at the Eighteenth World Meteorological Congress (Cg18) which took place in Geneva, Switzerland, from 3 -14 June 2019. The Congress is the Supreme body of the World Meteorological Organization (WMO) – the Geneva-based United Nations Specialised Agency that coordinates global activity in weather, climate, water, and related aspects of the environment.
Directors of Meteorological Services and other official delegates from the Caribbean Meteorological Organisation (CMO) Member States of Barbados, Guyana, Jamaica, Saint Lucia, the British Caribbean Territories (BCT), and Trinidad and Tobago, were involved in the two-week Congress. In addition, the Caribbean was also represented by the Directors of National Meteorological Services from the Bahamas and Curaçao and Sint Maarten.
The WMO Congress meets once every four years and brings together delegations from its 193 Member States and Territories to determine, among others, the general policies, strategic priorities, and operational plan of the Organisation. Several leaders of Governments from around the world addressed the Congress on the socio-economic benefits of weather, water, and climate to their countries and regions. Additionally, a broad cross-section of global stakeholders contributed to special sessions on public-private engagement and operational hydrological services as an integral part of the WMO activities.
The Congress debated and approved a new governance structure for the WMO (https://public.wmo.int/en/media/press-release/world-meteorological-congress-approves-sweeping-reforms). The reform will enable the WMO to have a stronger focus on extreme weather, water resources, the ocean, coordinated climate services, environmental degradation, urbanization, and public health; while harnessing technological advances from satellites, supercomputing and data integration to translate science into services for society.
Congress also approved greater and controlled engagement with the private sector and academia and more structured collaboration with development agencies. The new governance structure is aligned to the strategic plan, which sets five long term goals and top overarching priorities including:
• Enhancing preparedness for, and reducing losses of life and property from hydrometeorological extremes,
• Supporting climate-smart decision making to build resilience and adaptation to climate risk, and
• Enhancing socioeconomic value of weather, climate, hydrological and related environmental services.
Caribbean delegations were involved in negotiations on the WMO long-term plans and budget allocations, which included increasing the level of support to developing countries and regional operations—to meet increasing demands for service delivery to specific sectors such as: aviation, disaster management, water, marine, agriculture, health, energy, and tourism.
For example, Caribbean delegates supported the establishment of a Global Multi-hazard Alert System that would compile information from existing or planned national and regional systems and boost impact-based forecasting services, which focus on what the weather will do rather than purely on what the weather will be.
Directors of Meteorological Services endorsed an earth-system research approach and measures to strengthen early warnings against hazards like floods and tropical cyclones and to ensure that their authoritative weather, climate, and water information is part of humanitarian operations.
Regional interest also focused on the delegates’ approval of education and training activities including the WMO Global Campus, a collaboration among WMO Regional Training Centres (RTCs) to help overcome the gap between training demand and supply, which received very positive feedback from Members.
The Caribbean Institute for Meteorology and Hydrology (CIMH) co-chaired the WMO Global Campus for the past four years, while developing and hosting the WMOLearn Calendar of Training Events. The recent Congress further resolved that leadership and management development in national meteorological services should be given prominent attention; meanwhile CIMH, a designated WMO RTC since 1978 and innovator in education and training, has offered leadership and management courses to its students since 2015. The CIMH, a regional research, data and instrument centre and technical arm of the CMO, also hosts the WMO Regional Climate Centre for the Caribbean; and the Pan American Centre for the WMO Sand and Dust Storm Warning Advisory and Assessment System.
The Caribbean also featured in the election of officials to oversee the work of the WMO over the next four years. The WMO Congress re-appointed Professor Petteri Taalas of Finland as its Secretary General. Professor Gerhard Adrian of Germany was elected as President of the WMO. Also elected were: the First Vice-President, Dr Andrea Celeste Saulo, from Argentina; Second Vice President, Dr Albert Martis, from Curaçao and Sint Maarten; and the Third Vice-President, Dr Agnes Kijazi, from the United Republic of Tanzania. The Permanent Representative of the British Caribbean Territories (BCT) and Coordinating Director of the Caribbean Meteorological Organization (CMO) Headquarters Unit, Dr Arlene Laing, was elected to the WMO Executive Council ensuring the BCT’s continued presence on the Council since 1983. The 71st Session of the WMO Executive Council was held from 17 to 19 June 2019.
The Executive Council is the second highest body of the WMO. It implements the decisions of the WMO Congress, coordinates programmes, manages the budget, considers and acts on resolutions and recommendations from the regional associations and technical commissions, and studies and makes recommendations on matters affecting international meteorology and related activities.
Source: Caricom Today
(Antigua News Room) The Antigua and Barbuda government says it has received ‘positive” feedback to a proposal that would allow it to own at least 40 per cent of the Scotiabank branch here, which is being sold as part of several branches in the Caribbean to a Trinidad and Tobago-based financial institution.
Prime Minister Gaston Browne, speaking on his privately –owned radio station, said that his administration had put two options on the table with the Trinidad-based Republic Financial Holdings Limited (RFHL) regarding the sale.
“Our first position is that Antigua and Barbuda consortium comprising the government and a group of domestic banks should be given the first option to buy the Antigua Scotia branch.
Read more at: Antigua News Room
Source: Caricom Today
(Caribbean Entertainment Hub) World Record Holder and Jamaican Retired Sprinter Usain Bolt is causing quite a stir on the music scene as he makes his musical debut as the executive producer of the new ‘Olympe Rose’ Riddim.
Officially released on July 5th 2019, the dancehall riddim features five (5) sizzling tracks from some of Jamaica’s top dancehall artistes as Bolt describes it. The list includes Christopher Martin, Ding Dong, Dexta Daps and Munga Honorable. Also featured is Bolt’s close friend and former national footballer Ricardo ‘Bibi’ Gardner.
The Olympe Rose riddim is named after Bolt’s signature sweet champagne cuvee ‘Usain Bolt’s Olympe Rose’ which he launched at his very own Usain Bolt’s Tracks and Records in St Andrew last Thursday.
Read more at: Caribbean Entertainment Hub
Source: Caricom Today
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