Black Immigrant Daily News

Two Distinguished Caribbean Citizens to receive UWI Honorary Degrees at The UWI Open Campus Virtual Graduation Ceremony 

The University of the West Indies (The UWI) Open Campus at its upcoming Virtual Graduation Ceremony will confer Honorary Degrees of Doctor of Laws (LLD) on two distinguished Caribbean citizens – Dr Cleopatra Doumbia-Henry (LLB, LLM, PhD) for her contribution to International Law and The Honourable Sir Hugh Rawlins for his contribution to Law and the Judiciary.

Dr Cleopatra Doumbia-Henry, Dominican-born, UWI alumna and Barrister at Law, has made her mark as a woman expert in international law, trade and Maritime labour standards. Her career began at The UWI, Cave Hill as a Law lecturer.  She then worked with the Iran-US Claims Tribunal in The Hague, Netherlands, followed by a 29-year-long career at the International Labour Office (ILO).

Dr Doumbia-Henry considers her time at the ILO some of her best years as she witnessed the on-the-ground effect of international standards. From the 1990s, she led the ILO’s participation in many International Maritime Organization (IMO)/ILO interagency collaborations including joint working groups on ‘Fair Treatment of Seafarers’ and ‘Liability and Compensations regarding Claims for Death, Personal Injury and Abandonment of Seafarers’.

During this time, she also led legislative reform of the body of 72 maritime labour instruments adopted by the ILO since 1920. In 2006, 68 of these would be consolidated into a single convention—The ILO Maritime Labour Convention (MLC), which is considered one of the most innovative and effective maritime labour instruments.

The MLC seeks to establish a level playing field for ship owners and effective protection and rights at work for seafarers, which today remains applicable to the global Maritime industry.

In 2005, Dr Doumbia-Henry became the first woman appointed Director of the International Labour Standards Department—one of the ILO’s largest portfolios.

Appointed by the Secretary-General of the International Maritime Organization (IMO) in 2015, she left the ILO and became the seventh President of the World Maritime University (WMU), a university established within the framework of the IMO. She is the first woman President and the first President from a developing country.

As the Chief Executive Officer of WMU, she oversees and directs the operations and administration of the University, positioning it as the global centre of excellence in maritime and ocean education, research and capacity building, taking on board the UNSDGs. Dr Doumbia-Henry is also a Panel Member for the Rapid Response Labour Mechanism of the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA).

In 2021, Dr Doumbia-Henry was selected for the Lloyd’s List – 100 most influential people in shipping. She was also recognised as a remarkable woman in the field of transport for the year 2021 by the Transformative Urban Mobility Initiative.

The UWI alumnus, The Honourable Sir Hugh Rawlins has long served the regional community as an educator, a senior civil servant, and a member of the Judiciary.

Sir Hugh, a national of St Kitts and Nevis, began his long and notable legal career in 1985 when he was admitted to practise Law having received his Legal Education Certificate (LEC) from the Norman Manley Law School, Jamaica. He also holds a BA (Hons. 1974), an LLB (Hons. 1983) and an LLM (1991) from The UWI. In his legal career, Sir Hugh served as Crown Counsel, Registrar, Additional Magistrate and Solicitor-General of St. Kitts and Nevis before returning to the The UWI Cave Hill Campus as a Lecturer in the Faculty of Law from 1995-2000.

Sir Hugh joined the Eastern Caribbean Supreme Court in 2000 serving as a Master assisting with implementing New Civil Practice Rules.

In 2002, he was appointed High Court Judge and served in this capacity in Saint Lucia, Dominica, Antigua and Barbuda, Montserrat and the British Virgin Islands before he was appointed to the Office of Justice of the Court of Appeal in September 2005.

He has served as Chief Justice of the Eastern Caribbean Supreme Court from 2008 until his retirement in 2012. He is the only person to date who has substantively assumed duties in the four levels of the Court. His judgments have been quoted with approval by the Privy Council; the Supreme Court of Kenya and by Commonwealth Caribbean Courts.

Sir Hugh has published several legal articles in Regional and International Law Journals in the areas of Constitutional Law, Administrative Law, Civil Practice, Public Law Remedies and International Commercial Contracts.

Today he is a Judge of the ILO International Administrative Tribunal in Geneva, Switzerland having been appointed in 2012 upon his retirement from the Office of Chief Justice.

In 2012, Sir Hugh was conferred the Award of the Order of the Knight Bachelor. He was also awarded the Pelican Award on the nomination of the St. Kitts and Nevis Alumni Chapter of The UWI Alumni Association.

Each year, The UWI recognizes individuals for making significant contributions to the Region and the wider world in their respective fields of expertise. The UWI Open Campus salutes these two legal luminaries and wish them continued success in their endeavours.

Families and friends of these honorary graduands can tune in to the virtual graduation ceremony via www.uwitv.org, UWItv’s channels on Flow EVO or on Facebook live on Saturday, October 15, 2022 from 4:00 p.m. (Eastern Caribbean/AST) 2:00 p.m. (Belize/CST).

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Black Immigrant Daily News

Persons travelling to Guyana no longer need to present proof of vaccination against the novel coronavirus, according to updated measures instituted by the government.

The new measures were put in place today, according to a letter sent by the Guyana Civil Aviation Authority (GCAA) to all operators.

“Please be guided that the Ministry of Health – Guyana has removed the Covid-19 vaccination requirement for entry into Guyana effective October 7, 2022,” the letter stated.

In the past, travellers were required to produce proof of vaccination against the novel coronavirus before they were allowed on the plane for travel to Guyana.

In June 2022, the government lifted the Covid-19 testing requirements for international travellers.

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A flash flood watch in effect for Barbados until 6 pm.

According to the Barbados Meteorological Services (BMS), unstable conditions are affecting the island has already generated 1 to 1.5 inches of rainfall across parts of St James, St George and St Michael this morning.

Occasional moderate to heavy shower activity is expected to continue throughtout the remainder of the day with an additional inch of rainfall is likely.

A flash flood watch is in effect for Barbados

Residents and visitors should note that the following impacts are possible :-.

Significant runoff from higher elevations. -Significant soil erosion is likely on exposed or scarred land surfaces.Large water settlements on roads and fields.Significant adjustments to water levels of existing water bodies (ponds etc.).Significant delays on traffic routes with some roads possibly impassable.Large objects or debris from higher elevations may also become embedded within fast moving water flows.Significant flooding at the foot of hillsides and coastal roads is possible.

This alert will be updated at 6 pm or sooner should conditions warrant.

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News

File photo: Karen Nunez-Tesheira. –

FORMER PNM government minister Karen Nunez-Tesheira has expressed concerns about the voting process for the party’s internal elections on December 4.

Nunez-Tesheira is challenging the Prime Minister for the post of PNM political leader in those elections. Dr Rowley has been PNM political leader since 2010.

In a letter to PNM internal election committee chairman Anthony Roberts, Nunez-Tesheira said, “It is a matter of grave concern, as it is my understanding, that the voting by qualified registrants, is to be conducted over two days – November 26 and 27 2022 and again on December 4, almost a week later and on the same date of the national executive elections.”

She claimed this ” amounts to nine days as the counting of the votes cast will not occur until the final day set aside for voting.”

While there is no express by-law or rule that the voting process should be completed in one day, Nunez-Tesheira said, “It has been the practice and custom from the very inception of the party that the voting would be so completed and votes immediately counted in the presence of appointed representatives.”

She said, this process “becomes even more baffling” in light of the fact that in general elections in TT and elsewhere, hundreds of thousands of people vote in one day.

But Nunez-Tesheira added, “I expect that there is sound rationale for adopting a one-day voting process on which the Elections and Boundaries Commission (EBC) can shed light.”

She asked about the arrangements to secure the storage of the ballot boxes during the one-week interval to December 4 “so at ensure that there is no opportunity for tampering with the boxes.”

Nunez-Tesheira was also concerned about what she said is a requirement regarding new registrants who want to vote.

“I was told it was three months, but I sought confirmation from one of the senior officers at Balisier House responsible for the voting process.”

She claimed to have been told new applications are sent to Balisier House, where a decision is made as to who qualifies or not as a registrant for the purpose of being added to the final list of voters.

Nunez-Tesheira said she was not privy to the guidelines for this.

“The process seems intrinsically flawed and lacking in the basic tenets of transparency and objectivity.”

She claimed this could facilitate ” a form of cherry-picking of potential registrants which can only lead to speculations as to the very integrity of this important aspect of the process.”

Nunez-Tesheira was particularly concerned about an alleged “lack of communication and/or timely communication as to the electoral requirements.”

She said this included “the availability and locations of the requisite forms and the publication of clear and settled guidelines for new registrants.”.

On the basis of her concerns, Nunez-Tesheira called on the PNM ‘s executive keep to “to its time-honoured electoral process of one day of voting and (ensure) that the relevant voting information be communicated and published in a timely and easily accessible manner.”

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Black Immigrant Daily News

Provisions will soon be made in Guyana’s legislation to allow for the development of Multi-Hazard Early Warning Systems (MHEWS) in Guyana.

MHEWS can address several hazards and/or impacts of a similar or different type in situations where hazardous events may occur alone, simultaneously, cascading or cumulatively over time, taking into account the potential interrelated effects.

These developments will be made possible through targeted investments by the government, which will be allocated to improving Early Warning Systems in Guyana.

Speaking Thursday at the opening of the Improving Multi-Hazard Early Warning Systems’ Governance Consultation with National Disaster Risk Management Offices in the Caribbean workshop, Prime Minister, Brigadier (ret’d) Mark Phillips, said the consultation is an important one for the country.

“The importance of Multi-Hazard Early Warning Systems for national and local government cannot be underscored. It is important that we have this consultation on a regular basis so that a country like Guyana can update and improve on what we are doing in the areas of Early Warning, because as you heard before, early warning saves lives, and if we can forecast and we can warn people at an early time of any upcoming disaster, it can also minimise the damage that people suffer during times of disaster,” he said at the event held at the Herdmanston Lodge.

The prime minister noted that Guyana’s vulnerability to multi-hazards, specifically floods and droughts, has been further exacerbated by climate change.

As such, the development of early warning systems that are end-to-end and people-centred is critical at this time.

“The government is committed to ensuring these provisions in our legislation to support the Early Warning Systems. Guyana’s efforts at improving Information and Communication Technology (ICT) will allow us to transition to a better system of what is termed impact-based forecasting. Our plans to ensure that Multi-Hazard Early Warning Systems, however, will be based on sound scientific and technical approaches that are centred around those in our society who are most at risk or most vulnerable,” the prime minister relayed.

He assured that plans for improving and digitising risk data across all sectors, while simultaneously considering the changing reality and potential for the development of new multi-hazard risks will be addressed.

“We are committed to ensuring that all our efforts are aligned with Guyana’s country work programme, our Low Carbon Development Strategy 2030, CDEMA’s Comprehensive Disaster Management Strategy, and the Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction.”

PM Phillips said lessons learnt from previous disasters in Guyana and around the region will be incorporated into the government’s approach to mitigating the negative effects caused by a disaster.

Guyana’s goal is to have a robust and comprehensive system of hazard monitoring that will enable individuals, communities, the government, and the business sector in Guyana to take timely action to reduce disaster risk.

As such, the Prime Minister reiterated, the consultation is considered a crucial initiative, and the outcome of the workshops will be incorporated into the framework to improve governance as it pertains to disaster risk reduction in Guyana.

The two-day workshop aims to revise existing governance mechanisms in the Caribbean region to identify good practices and recommendations to monitor and manage multi-hazard early warning systems.

Representatives from the World Bank, the United Nations Office for Disaster Risk Reduction (UNDRR), the Guyana Civil Defence Commission (CDC), Caribbean Disaster Emergency Management Agency (CDEMA) and the World Meteorological Organisation (WMO) are participating.

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