An in-depth critique of the Port of Spain Declaration prepared for the Vth Summit of the Americas, for its failure to address fundamental issues in sustainable development from the perspective of the interests of the Global South. Discusses issues of land degradation,  sustainable agricultural practices, ecology and agroecology, water resource depletion, lessons of the Cuban experience in sustainable growth with equity, developing a culture of sustainability, renewable energy, toxic emissions, nitrous oxide, global warming, deforestatiion, the role of traditional agroecological practices and indigenous knowledge, disaster prevention, food security, intellectual property, biopiracy, cultural heritage, creativity, and the extreme envionmental situation in Haiti. Concludes with  concrete proposals for an Internet discussion of sustainable development practices and policies  forr the Caribbean and initiatives that Caricom can take with respect to Haiti and  at  the upcoming (2010) conference  of the Inter-American Program for Sustainable Development.

I strongly believe that all public policies, actions, and decisions would benefit greatly from a critical examination and that the more searching the examination, the healthier would be the society concerned and the better the quality of its democracy. I also firmly believe that such criticism is useful and valuable to the extent that it is complemented by suggestions or proposals for alternative policies/actions which are demonstrably or, at least, arguably better than those criticized.

A given public policy or action may be criticized for one or more justifiable reasons but unless that policy or action can be shown to be worse than adopting no policy or undertaking no action at all on the particular matter, and if the person who criticizes it is unable to propose feasible alternatives which are demonstrably/arguably better than the one criticized, he/she should acknowledge the possibility that the policy/action in question might be the least worse option available to the authority and, as such, does not merit outright condemnation. I have always tried to apply that principle to any criticism I make on all issues I examine, whether they concern public policy or not. It is a principle that I applied in this paper, which criticizes quite severely many if not most of the policies and actions advocated in the Port of Spain Declaration of Commitment.

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Rev. Gérard Jean-Juste, Champion of Haitian Rights in U.S.

Through demonstrations and legal action, he fought tirelessly to force the United States government to change its policy of regarding Haitians as economic rather than political refugees, in sharp contrast to its policy toward Cubans.

Dr. Ivan Van Sertima

The Guyanese-British historian was the author of “They Came Before Columbus”, which claimed a pre-historic African influence on South and Central America

From the Barbados-based Coalition for a Humane Amnesty, David Comissiong, Executive Secretary

I write to you in my capacity as a founding member and secretary of the newly formed Barbadian lobby group- ‘The Coalition For A Humane Amnesty’. Our organisation is a broad based grouping of citizens and residents of Barbados , and comprises natives of several Caribbean countries, inclusive of St. Vincent, Guyana, St. Lucia, Dominica, and of course, Barbados. The primary purpose of our ‘Coalition’ is to campaign against a new Immigration policy in relation to citizens of CARICOM countries that was recently enunciated by the Government of Barbados….

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The thought-provoking article by Barbadian artist Annalee Davis Thoughts on the ‘Amnesty’, which first appeared in the Stabroek News of 25 May 2009, has drawn attention to the human implications of the treatment of Caricom nationals in Barbados and the alarming rise of anti-Caribbean xenophobia in our region. This must concern everyone who cares about the quality of human and social relations among members of the Caribbean ‘family’ andthe impact on Caribbean integration where it matters most–at the level of ordinary citizens.

Another alarming aspect of developments in Barbados is the risk of ‘tit for tat’.Caricom is the largest single market for Barbadian manufactured exports. Caricom visitors are the second largest category of Barbadian tourism. Barbados derives benefits from being an airline travel hub for the Eastern Caribbean. A large number of regional organisations, with their Caricom staff and dependants, are based in Barbados. Barbados is both recipient and source of foreign investement with the rest of Caricom. Retaliatory actions against Barbados by other Caricom states for perceived uinhumane and discriminatory actions will leave Barbados and the  entire Community poorer.

There needs to be a reasoned, region-wide method to handling this question. First, it seems to me that the principle of free movement throughout the Community that is enshrined in the Revised Treaty is quite unrealistic. However, there is no reason why honouring existing commitments in respect of freeing seven occupational categories cannot be maintained. The numbers involved are relatively small. The problem arises with occupations like construction, agriculture and tourism when host economies that have been booming enter a period of recession. Some region-wide management system for this is necessary. And it should be comprehensive in the sense of speaking to several issues. One approach would be to grant temporary work permits for such categories of workers, or a regional guest workers type scheme aimed at filling labour market shortages which may be inherently temporary because of construction ‘booms’.

Second, a consistent and humane approach to exisiting undocumented Caricom nationals must be adopted, if intra-Caribbean human relations at the popular level are not be poisoned for a generation. The proposal of a regionally agreed five-year amnesty for undocumented Caricom nationals from the Coalition for a Humane Amnesty seems to me to be eminently reasonable.

In addition governments, civil society, religious organisations and concerned individuals should actively discourage public expressions of stereotyping, hatred and abuse directed at Caricom nationals. Political parties should also be pressed to subscribe to a Code of Conduct that prohibits the use of such inflammatory statements, which are akin to racism, in election campaigning.

This might seem to be radical and even anti-free speech but if you think about it, there are many precedents. Many countries internationally have laws on the books that criminalise anti-Semitism and other forms of racist abuse; even homophobia. I don’t know how many Caribbean governments would tolerate for long public expressions of blatantly racist sentiments, whether directed at white, black or East Indians or at any other ethnic category. The social, economic and political consequences would be simply unacceptable. In the present circumstances Caricoms from another country are an ‘ethinicity’. We simply cannot have a situation where people are publicly denounced or targeted because they look or dress in a certain way or speak with a particular accent; or are made into a political football, and have no means of defending themselves. Let alone police raids in night clubs, bus stops etc in the dead of night. That is a prescription for a human relations disaster.

We would like to have your comments on this and and on the questions raised by Ms Davis.

Presentation at Caribbean Diplomatic Training Programme for Mid-Career Diplomats, Georgetown, Guyana, May 22, 2009

• EPA Criticisms
• Strategic Lessons
• EPA Review Clause
• Canadian FTA 

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Presentation to Caribbean Diplomatic Training Programme for Mid-Career Diplomats, Georgetown, Guyana, 20 May 2009

I want to begin by congratulating the CARICOM Secretariat on the mounting of this Workshop. It is no secret that I place great store by the role of Caribbean diplomacy over nearly fifty years of engagement with the international community. Some of our most notable achievements have been in this field – at the United Nations, in the Non-aligned Movement, in the Commonwealth, in Brussels and in Geneva, in the ACP and at the OAS – and always on the right side of history! You are heirs to a great tradition. It will be your challenge to enhance it…

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5 May 2009  (AlterPresse www.alterpresse.org ) - Trade unionists from the Public Services International (PSI) concluded their solidarity mission to Haiti on 5th May, according to information received by the online news agency, AlterPresse.

Andrew Garnett, representing Guyana’s local government officers’ union, said that the visit enabled the PSI delegates to learn about the situation of Haitian unions and to establish solidarity links with different sectors of Haitian civil society…

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Revised version of a paper presented at a Pre-Conference on the Global Economic History of Bauxite, Paris, September 2008.

Since the late 1970s, the Jamaican government has progressively changed its policy stance vis-a-vis the Transnational Corporations (TNCs) operating in its bauxite industry from relatively confrontational to relatively accommodating.  The changes were due to a steep decline in the government’s bargaining power in relation to the traditional TNCs players and to the new players in the global industry; manifested in a dramatic fall in Jamaica’s global bauxite and alumina market share and the perceived need to restore international competitiveness. The policy changes, in the context of the global restructuring of the aluminium industry; resulted in new investment with increases in plant capacity and production; but aggregate returns from the industry have not grown significantly as per unit returns have declined; and the recent global economic slowdown has resulted in plant closures. The paper argues that taxation as a policy tool for securing benefits and externalities from the bauxite industry may have reached the limits of its effectiveness in Jamaica. …

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Council on Hemispheric Affairs (COHA) 20/05/09

• Economic inequities prompt unrest
• Paris refueling unrest due to flawed economic policies
• Government fails in authorizing policies
• Attended by Guadeloupe’s well-fare

The social unrest that plagued the French départments d’outre-mer earlier this year has largely subsided. Yet Paris’ problems with its organically connected Caribbean dependences are far from resolved. In fact, they’ve only just begun….

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EPA Negotiations with Central Africa: The state of play, by Claude Maerten and Elisabeth Tison, March 2009

‘Although progress on the EPAs is necessary, it should not be rushed. ..The EU has no wish to exercise pressure at the risk of obtaining agreements that might not meet the specific needs of each region. The EU has no wish to exercise pressure at the risk of obtaining agreements that might not meet the specific needs of each region.’

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