Black Immigrant Daily News

The Commonwealth must work together to end the institutional care of children and reform protection services to ensure: “every child is safe, protected and able to reach their full potential”, the Commonwealth Secretary-General has said.

Her comments came during a roundtable meeting of government officials, stakeholders and experts on Thursday, to discuss the implementation of the Kigali Declaration on Child Care and Protection Reform – one of the four declarations unanimously agreed upon by Commonwealth Heads of Government in Rwanda last June.

The Declaration is a historic agreement among Commonwealth countries that focuses on ensuring and restoring the rights of children following the COVID-19 pandemic, paying particular attention to the most marginalised and excluded.

It contains commitments to phase out orphanages in the Commonwealth and opt for community care of children; to tackle the underlying causes that lead to separation of parents and children, to establish sustainable and effective safeguarding systems and to eliminate child labour in all its forms, including forced labour, trafficking, and sexual exploitation.

Commonwealth Secretary General Patricia Scotland KC, said: “More than five million children around the world still live in institutions. Most of these children are not orphans – around 80% of them have at least one living parent.

“But their institutionalisation disproportionately exposes them to vulnerabilities and marginalisation, which can inhibit their development and life chances.

“The truth is that growing up in a family environment is critical to a child’s well-being and development, and every child is entitled to a happy and fulfilling upbringing under the Convention on the Rights of the Child.”

She added: “This is just one of many areas where the Commonwealth can make a real difference.

“We can all work together to prioritise support for, investment in, and reform of childcare and protection services – to enable children to live without abuse or discrimination of any kind; to enjoy their civil, political, social and cultural rights; and to flourish as equal, valued and productive human beings.

“We cannot afford to fail our children, so we must give their wellbeing the priority it deserves – and act together to ensure that every child in Commonwealth is safe, protected and able to reach their full potential.”

The far-reaching Declaration recognises that child protection and safeguarding are cross-cutting issues that have strong links to the Commonwealth Secretariat’s work on youth, disability, health, education and early childhood development.

Youth-focused action is being given a spotlight in 2023 as it is the Year of Youth – a seminal 12 months designated for the empowerment and inclusion of the 1.5bn under-30s living in the Commonwealth.

The roundtable meeting was set to build a consensus on a focus for the effective implementation of the Declaration and to agree on collabroation between Commonwealth governments and civil society organisations, with the support of the Commonwealth Secretariat.

Other speakers at the meeting included Joseph Kabakeza, First Counsellor from the Rwandan High Commission, Mark Waddington, CEO Hope and Homes for Children – a civil society organisation working with the Rwandan government on the Declaration initiative, and David Jones, Chair of Commonwealth Children Interest Group, Children of the Commonwealth.

Kabakeza said: “The Kigali declaration on Child Care and Protection Reform highlights many of the areas where we must bolster our efforts.

“Rwanda will continue to collaborate with partners, and the Commonwealth network to champion the Kigali declaration, during our tenure as Commonwealth Chair-In-Office and beyond.”

Waddington said: “Eliminating orphanages is a precondition of developing effective child protection and care systems and a key to unlocking the hardest to reach Sustainable Development Goals.

“The Kigali Declaration, agreed at the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting in Rwanda in 2022, recognises this imperative for action and places the Commonwealth at the centre of this global movement. Countries across the Commonwealth are demonstrating that care reform is possible and there is much learning and experience to share. Today’s roundtable is an important step.”

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Black Immigrant Daily News

The Standards and Trade Development Facility (STDF) and the Inter-American Institute for Cooperation on Agriculture (IICA) launched a project to promote the use of biopesticides and integrated pest control options on crops exported from Latin America and the Caribbean (LAC), with a view to improving compliance with pesticide Maximum Residue Limits and facilitating international agricultural trade.

The project–Mitigating Pesticide Residues in Latin America Using Biopesticides–will be implemented over a three-year period in Argentina, Bolivia, Colombia, Costa Rica, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Nicaragua, Paraguay and Peru.

An investment of more than US$1.8 million will fund the project, which is aiming to improve product access to international markets, by mitigating chemical residues through the use of biopesticides at the end of the crop growth cycle, thereby complying with established global trade standards.

It was developed to support the establishment of a regional training center on pesticide residue and biopesticides, as well as to develop soft skills. It is also aiming to assist countries to develop harmonized regulations on biopesticides at the regional level; to generate data on residues; and to improve knowledge on how to interpret the resulting data (residue mitigation studies).

Its implementation will include the development of a regional strategy to improve the supply of phytosanitary products for minor crops and the creation of a communication program to promote the use of biopesticides among farmers.

The project was launched virtually, enjoying the participation of technical officers from the region’s phytosanitary services and from research and extension institutions in 10 of the 12 countries, in addition to representatives from private sector entities involved in the initiative and other strategic partners.

Catalina Pulido, Economic Affairs Officer of the Fund, maintained that, “This project addresses an issue that we consider to be very important: residue mitigation in order to abide by maximum limits and therefore to access international markets, which speaks to the purpose of the STDF itself”.

“Global trade and food value chains are continuously expanding, hand in hand with safety requirements for food products”, she remarked. There is also growing evidence of the speed in which pests and animal diseases can cross borders and create damage and of the negative effects of phytosanitary capacity limitations on exports, employment and economic development”.

On the other hand, Ana Marisa Cordero, Manager of IICA’s Agricultural Health, Safety and Agrifood Quality program, remarked that, “We hope to achieve the stated objectives, promoting more and better tools for our agriculture sector. We thank the STDF for selecting IICA as a strategic partner for this project, which we will develop with the countries, aiming to facilitate food trade and to generate and adopt new, modern, science-based standards”.

Project beneficiaries will include selected producers and exporters, biopesticide manufacturers, the official regulatory sector and extension institutions in the 12 participating countries”.

IICA will execute the project with the support of the Minor Use Foundation (MUF); the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA); the Interregional Research Project No. 4 (IR-4), which is the agricultural program of the USDA’s Cooperative State Research, Education and Extension Service (CSREE); the National University of Colombia (UNAL); the University of Buenos Aires (UBA) and the University of Costa Rica.

Private sector partners include CropLife, Avance Pasiflora, Bioprotecci?n Global and the Colombian Association of Bioinputs (Asobiocol).

“This is a most ambitious project and we must work together to move it forward”, stressed Adriana Casta?eda, manager of the project.

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President Dr Irfaan Ali told Guyanese in the Bahamas that Guyana presents very strong leadership in the areas of food security, energy security, and climate security.

“Today, in this region, we present very strong leadership on food security, energy security, and climate security. The next seven years are dedicated to building an economy and a country that will be able to efficiently and competitively survive in a global system that will be very, very different from what we see today.”

The Head of State also spoke extensively about Government’s development plan in these as well as other major areas, including agriculture and healthcare, at a meeting with the Diaspora on the margins of the 44th Regular Meeting of the Heads of Government of the CARICOM Community.

Dr Ali emphasised that his administration is working in a very strategic way to position Guyana not as a participant, but as a leader in these areas, pointing to the hallmark agreement made between the Government of Guyana and Hess Corporation for the sale of carbon credits for a minimum of US$750 million.

“So we are already positioning Guyana to be the leader in relation to biodiversity services, carbon services, environmental services…”

The President said that Guyana is working with India and Rwanda to explore the pharmaceutical value and potential of the country’s forest.

Regarding Energy Security, Dr Ali pointed to ongoing discussions with Brazil, French Guiana, Suriname and Trinidad and Tobago to develop an energy corridor.

“The energy potential of Guyana is enormous- wind, solar, hydro. And, we are now presenting an energy platform that is diversified and has the potential of being a major revenue earner for our country.”

He also spoke about Guyana’s natural gas potential and the establishment of a natural gas plant.

“I had a meeting with the Chairwoman of the Export-Import Bank of the United States, and they are in the final stages of wrapping up things to lend the resources for the first natural gas pipeline and natural gas plant for Guyana. This is easily the largest investment in the energy sector and in any single project in the history of Guyana.”

President Ali explained that this investment will facilitate the delivery of energy at 50% per cent of the cost every household is paying now for electricity in less than two years. He also explained that this would allow Guyana to have the most competitive environment for manufacturing and industrial development in the entire Latin America and the Caribbean. This advancement will bring another wave of opportunities, including direct savings to families.

A NEW STORY IN FOOD PRODUCTION

President Ali spoke at length about the country’s leading role in food security and its role in the global planning framework on energy security and food production.

“And we are already presenting global leadership on food security… Two years ago, we set ourselves a target to produce all the corn and soya that we need as input for our feed production for livestock and poultry. And I’m very pleased to report to you, with the investments we have made and the private investment, we are well on our way to becoming self-sufficient by 2025 and might very well be in a position to export in the region for the first time…”

The country, President Ali added, continues to attract major investments in the sector, including from the African Export-Import Bank.

“So, a new story is unfolding in food production and agriculture.”

Another noteworthy development is the single window permit system that his Government is developing to fast-track investment and development.

The President also elaborated on various development projects being undertaken by his Government as well as the ongoing transformation of the health sector, including the increase in salaries and training of nurses.

He also spoke of his plan to ensure world-class education system for Guyanese, including special needs education.

ONE GUYANA

The Head of State noted that while Guyana’s story is unfolding globally, this development story is not only predicated on oil and gas but rather policies and programmes to build a resilient, sustainable and strong country under the umbrella of ‘One Guyana’.

“And that is what I’ve been working on; creating this one Guyana in which we build a system that delivers prosperity for every single Guyanese and every single Guyanese family.”

RIGHT COLLECTIVE MINDSET

Aside from the major transformative projects, the Head of State pointed to the importance of shaping the right collective mindset.

“And this, for me, is the important project, changing the mindset, changing the way we relate to each other, community by community, household by household. And I assure you I will not rest until this country is unified.”

He added that this requires the involvement and support of every Guyanese.

“It requires every single Guyanese changing from the inside. It requires every Guyanese making a special effort and a special commitment to being part of the positive transformation, to be part of the solution and not part of the problem.”

He encouraged those present to join with his Government in building a country and a society that is stronger, more prosperous and one that delivers to the aspirations and ambitions of the people of the country.

“I stand committed to this…”

The President reiterated the importance of engagements with the Diaspora, which he said provides an opportunity to connect with those who continue to contribute to the development of Guyana and facilitate the exchange of ideas.

The Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation, Honourable Hugh Todd and the Director of Presidential Affairs, Ms Marcia Nadir-Sharma, were also at the meeting.

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