CARICOM observers declare satisfaction with Haiti’s elections

 November 22, 2016 @ 6:29 pm   
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Haitians voting on Sunday
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Dr. Robert Surujbally, Head of the CARICOM Electoral Observer Mission to Haiti.

After observing over 300 polling stations during Haiti’s presidential and legislative elections Sunday last, the Caribbean Community (CARICOM) Election Observer Mission (CEOM) has declared general satisfaction with the conduct of the poll in the French speaking CARICOM Member State.

In its first post-elections statement, the Mission reported that the officers of Haiti’s Provisional Electoral Council (CEP) “not only displayed an improved competence, but a uniform execution of their duties,” on Sunday 20 November.
The 300 polling stations it visited were situated in three districts in and neighbouring the capital city Port-au-Prince, including areas affected by Hurricane Matthew.
Noting the bold step by the CEP to convene the elections so close after Hurricane Matthew had wreaked havoc on the country, the CEOM said in its initial assessments, it was assured the Haitian election management body was well prepared.
“Staff were trained, committed and dedicated to effectively conduct the elections for president and senators.”
“The CEOM, with its tested and proven technical officers from six CARICOM Member States, collectively visited and keenly monitored well over 300 polling stations.
“The overall considered opinion is that compared with the 25 October 2015 poll, on this occasion the CEP officers at the Polling Stations not only displayed an improved competence, but a uniform execution of their duties. The team attributed this noticeable amelioration to the training of poll staff conducted by the CEP. With few exceptions the poll staff treated CEOM members with the utmost respect, and demonstrated a genuine willingness to accommodate queries,” the statement said.
The CEOM said it will specify and recommend new improvements in its final report, but noted that many of the lapses observed were “not of any great consequence or of the nature to disturb the electoral results.”
“It is worthy of note that many of the suggestions documented by the CEOM following the elections of 25 October 2015, were incorporated into the CEP’s Training Programme and were used on E-Day, 20 November 2016.
“The CEOM urges all Political Parties and their candidates to ensure that their post-electoral behaviour coincides with the law of the land, the tenets associated with electoral processes, and internationally accepted standards and best practice,” the statement noted.

 

Read: Post Election Statement from CARICOM Election Observation Mission

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CARICOM’s relief, early recovery operations in Haiti successful

 November 22, 2016 @ 3:39 pm   

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“The efforts spearheaded by CDEMA underscore the importance and urgency in which the Region needs to continue to strengthen its capacity. We need to identify sustainable mechanisms to finance these systems so we can continue to serve the needs of our Participating States in a predictable way. – Mr. Ronald Jackson, Executive Director, CDEMA
Barbados, (CDEMA) – The Caribbean Community’s (CARICOM) response to the devastation in Haiti as a result of Hurricane Matthew on October 4, 2016, is deemed a resounding success. CARICOM’s response was led by the Caribbean Disaster Emergency Management Agency (CDEMA) in providing emergency relief supplies and early recovery operations in the two most affected areas of Les Cayes and Jérémie.

 As part of a legacy intervention, CARICOM supported repairs to the Ecole Nationale De Sicard de Pelerin School in Les Cayes and a feeding programme for the students for a period of two weeks. The CARICOM response also provided US$53,000 in relief supplies (including items such as tarpaulin, water, protein, starch, hygiene products and supplies for babies) to 805 families in Les Cayes. Additionally, the Government of the Commonwealth of Dominica shipped two 20-ft containers of relief supplies to Haiti and provided cash donations of US$100,000 to support CARICOM’s efforts. The Government of Jamaica also shipped two 20-ft containers of relief supplies donated by the people of Jamaica while the Government of the Turks and Caicos Islands provided cash donations of US$50,000 and personnel to also aid the recovery and relief process.

Noting that the relief and early recovery operations in Haiti have come to a close, CDEMA’s Executive Director, Mr. Ronald Jackson said:

“The success of the mission would not have been possible if it wasn’t for the personnel, the regional response teams, the contributions made by CDEMA Participating States, regional and international partners including the United States Southern Command and the World Food Programme (WFP). On behalf of the CDEMA System and the wider Caribbean Community, I wish to recognise and thank them all for their contributions”. The Executive Director also expressed gratitude to Digicel Business (Barbados) for demonstrating their support by offsetting the costs for calls and data usage incurred by CDEMA’s staff during the response period.

 “The efforts spearheaded by CDEMA underscore the importance and urgency in which the Region needs to continue to strengthen its capacity. We need to identify sustainable mechanisms to finance these systems so we can continue to serve the needs of our Participating States in a predictable way”, added Mr. Jackson.

The region’s response started with the deployment of the CARICOM Operational Support Team (COST) between 7 and 19 October 2016, at the request of the Government of Haiti. The COST provided direct support to the Emergency Operation Centres of Les Cayes and Jérémie by compiling data, generating information, coordinating both external and internal resources, as well as generating reports. The team was led by CDEMA and supported by technical personnel from Barbados, Jamaica, Montserrat, Saint Lucia, Trinidad and Tobago, Turks and Caicos Islands and the Caribbean Media Corporation (CMC).

Highlighting the valiant efforts and contributions to the early recovery process by the local Haitian officials, retired Brigadier General Earl Arthurs, CDEMA’s Operations Specialist and Special Coordinator on the ground in Haiti said:

“I think one of the major achievements of the mission was the show of ownership and leadership by the Haitian Directorate of Civil Protection (DPC) of the response operations at the National and Departmental levels”. General Arthurs who was stationed in Haiti with the COST for four weeks also stressed the high level of participation of all the relevant sectors in meetings. He also commended the high standard of the Situation Reports produced and circulated by the DPC Haiti throughout the period.

 In addition to the COST, a CARICOM Disaster Relief Unit (CDRU) team was deployed to assist with the distribution and management of relief supplies. Deployment of the CDRU and the Jamaica Defence Force (JDF) personnel was facilitated by the Regional Security System (RSS) and the Government of Jamaica. The CDRU also assisted with establishing High Frequency radio communication between Jérémie and Les Cayes.

 The school repairs were facilitated by Structural Engineer, Grenville Phillips, who donated his time to provide supervision and onsite training to Haitian artisans. Military engineers from the JDF also facilitated the repairs to the school in Les Cayes as well as provided military security for the CARICOM humanitarian actors on the ground, including members of the CDRU and COST. All teams that were deployed to Haiti were redeployed by 16 November, 2016, signaling the end of the operations.

 Hurricane Matthew, the 5th named hurricane of the 2016 Atlantic Hurricane season, was formed near the Windward Islands on September 28, 2016. Hurricane Matthew subsequently impacted Haiti on October 4, 2016. Matthew provided significant impact to Haiti as a powerful Category 4 hurricane on the Saffir-Simpson Hurricane Wind Scale with maximum sustained winds up to 140 mph (220 km/h) with higher gusts. Daily weather analysis and briefings was provided by the Caribbean Institute for Meteorology and Hydrology (CIMH) in supporting the preparedness and response teams in Haiti to inform operations. The Government of Haiti reported that Hurricane Matthew resulted in 546 deaths; 1,410,774 persons being in urgent need of humanitarian assistance at the height of the emergency and 120,000 families had their homes destroyed or damaged.

COTED endorses regulatory system for medicines roadmap

 November 22, 2016 @ 1:13 pm   
Delegates at the COTED Meeting at the Ramada Princess Hotel, Georgetown, Guyana
Delegates at the COTED Meeting at the Ramada Princess Hotel, Georgetown, Guyana

Caribbean Community (CARICOM) Ministers with responsibility for Trade have endorsed a roadmap for the implementation of the Caribbean Regulatory System for Medicines (CRS).

The endorsement was made at the Council for Trade and Economic Development (COTED) during its Forty-Third Meeting held last Thursday and Friday in Georgetown, Guyana.

The CRS was tabled at the COTED given the Council’s mandate to approve standards and technical regulatory systems – in this instance as they pertain to market access for medicines. Under Article 67 of the Revised Treaty of Chaguaramas, the COTED has responsibility for establishing standardisation programmes consistent with the Treaty and international obligations of Member States. The standardisation programme includes harmonisation of standards and technical regulations.

The endorsement was one of two decisions taken on health-related matters that came before the Trade Meeting. Given the economic and development consequences that non-communicable diseases (NCDs) present, Ministers also discussed inter-sectoral collaboration to fight NCDs in the Region. They agreed to collaborate with the Council for Human and Social Development (COHSOD) to establish a regional multi-sectoral taskforce to promote and monitor the process of implementation of the priorities the CARICOM Heads of Government have adopted.

At their Regular Meeting in July this year in Georgetown, Guyana, the CARICOM Heads of Government focused on the issue of NCDs and agreed to adopt a more holistic approach to the subject. They pledged to address issues such as the banning of smoking in public places; trade-related measures; banning advertisement of potentially harmful foods which specifically target children; and elevating taxes on foods high in sugar, salt and trans-fats.

PM Harris: St. Kitts and Nevis will support The Bahamas, Haiti

 November 22, 2016 @ 12:44 pm   
Prime Minister of St. Kitts and Nevis, Dr the Hon. Timothy Harris
Prime Minister of St. Kitts and Nevis, Dr the Hon. Timothy Harris

BASSETERRE, ST. KITTS  (PRESS SEC)  — Prime Minister Dr. the Honourable Timothy Harris has pledged approximately EC$1 million to Haiti and the Bahamas, as the two countries work to rebuild and recover in the wake of Hurricane Matthew.

Prime Minister Harris’ weekend announcement came after the Cabinet of Ministers received and considered a recent report prepared by CARICOM Chairman the Honourable Roosevelt Skerrit, the Prime Minister of Dominica.  Chairman Skerrit’s report detailed the extent of the hurricane impact on the two countries.

Dominica’s Prime Minister assumed the Chairmanship of the Conference of CARICOM Heads of Government on July 1st, 2016 for the period up to December 31st, 2016.  Last July, Dominica was not able to host the 37th Regular Meeting of the CARICOM Heads of Government Conference because of extensive damage from Tropical Storm Erika. Guyana hosted the Conference instead between July 4th and 6th, 2016.  

Prime Minister Harris reached out to Prime Minister Skerrit after Tropical Storm Erika hit Dominica in August 2015 and pledged similar financial support for the country.

“We are prepared as a people not only to sympathise with those who suffer, but also to extend a helping hand,” the Prime Minister of St. Kitts and Nevis said during his National Address last Saturday night on ZIZ Television and Radio.

“We are happy to be in this position, to experience the satisfaction of giving to others,” Dr. Harris added.

Discussing the aid package to the Bahamas and Haiti on Saturday, Prime Minister Harris stated that, “Cabinet pledges its support to these islands totaling just over $1 million dollars.  This amount will be shared between the two countries on an equitable basis, taking into account the damage and economic health of each member state.”

 Addressing the citizens and residents of St. Kitts and Nevis, Dr. Harris noted that, “We have been fortunate so far to be spared the ravages of a hurricane for the 2016 season.”

CARICOM’s work in crime and security more urgent – CARICOM SG to Security Ministers

 November 21, 2016 @ 4:43 pm   

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CARICOM Secretary-General, Ambassador Irwin LaRocque, in  his remarks on Monday,  21 November, to the official opening of the Seventeenth Meeting of the Council for Security and Law Enforcement,  alluded to the threats which challenged the Region’s peace and security.

Noting these were both internal and external, Ambassador LaRocque said “in many of our Member States, the Community’s work  in the area of crime and security has become more urgent”. He called on the Region’s security policy makers  to deepen their resolve and to remain committed to the task of further strengthening the regional security architecture through individual and collective action.

The Secretary-General  pointed to the outstanding security  agreements by Member States, reiterating  that “the regional security agenda  is linked significantly to the application of these legal instruments”.

Commending the  progress made, evident by the advanced stages of negotiations  with a number of Third States and the “stronger partnership for the future between the Caribbean and the United States, the Secretary-General expressed his appreciation for their assistance. He however emphasized that the  onus was on the collective Region to demonstrate that it was serious about its own security, and underscored the important role of IMPACS (CARICOM Implementing Agency for Crime and Security) as the hub of the regional crime and security framework, along with its sub agencies.

The one-day meeting taking place at the CARICOM Secretariat under the chairmanship of  Barbados’ Attorney-General and Minister of  Home Affairs, Hon. Adriel Brathwaite,  will engage  the Region’s ministers with responsibility for national security on issues related to cyber crime and cyber security; Member States’ Citizenship by Investment Programmes (CIPS); CARICOM’s relationship with Third States and financing the regional security agenda, among other critical security issues.

“The Council for National Security and Law Enforcement (CONSLE) is responsible for the coordination of the Region’s multi-dimensional security agenda, to ensure a safe and stable Community”.