Trinidad and Tobago protests against police violence (July 7, 2022)

Trinidad and Tobago's capital, Port of Spain, was paralyzed on Monday by demonstrators protesting police killing of three young men over the weekend. At least eight people were arrested in relation to the protests, which police claim were instigated by an "outside force." (Trinidad Express, Loop News, Caribbean Media Corporation)  

Demonstrators were warned to protest peacefully and stop the disruption or risk facing jail time, but residents have sworn to continue to show their outrage until justice is served, writes Janine Mendes-Franco in Global Voices.

Protesters say the deaths form part of a larger pattern of police violence against poor, Black youths.The deaths were also part of a broader problem Trinidad faces with gun violence: 13 people were killed this weekend within 36 hours, four believed to be police-involved shootings. (Guardian)

More Public Security

• An increase of police killings in Cuba, where use of firearms by security forces has been minimal since 1959, is a symptom of a poor preparation of law enforcement officers in situations of maximum tension and, in some cases, of a dangerous feeling of police impunity, argues La Joven Cuba.
  
  
• A new United Nations program carried out with the Jamaican government aims at reducing illicit weapons in the country, while also addressing root causes of violence. The SALIENT program presents a true reform in the government’s strategy, which has traditionally focused on reactionary policies that have failed to dislodge arms trafficking. But the slower, holistic, data-driven approach will take time, warns InSight Crime.

Suriname's conservation crossroads

Suriname is considered a global leader in biodiversity conservation, with more than 90 per cent of its land surface covered by native forests. United Nations Secretary General Antonio Guterres congratulated the country, which is considered carbon negative as its rainforests absorb more emissions than the country emits, during a recent visit. (United Nations News)

But Indigenous communities say their contribution to conservation, lauded by Guterres, is not matched by national regulations in Suriname, where Indigenous and tribal peoples' land rights are not codified by law, note activists.

Significant oil reserves could turn Suriname into an oil producing country within a few years, an economic boon that has provoked negative reactions among activists concerned about environmental impact. (RFI)

In fact, Guterres noted Suriname's oil and gas development plans, and said he does not favor that path. (Star Nieuws)

More Climate Justice and Energy

• Seven years after Guyana's government pledged to aggressively pursue renewable energy to power the national grid, the current government is pressing ahead with the use of natural gas in a bid to reduce its greenhouse gas emissions. But using gas instead of heavy fuel oil to generate electricity makes absolutely no sense according to Guyanese international lawyer Melinda Janki. (Kaieteur News)
  
  
• Over half of the Caribbean's beaches could be lost by the end of the century due to climate-related sea level rise, which could, in turn, deal a significant financial blow to the region’s tourism industry, warns a new study by University of the West Indies scientists. (Jamaica Gleaner) 
  
  
• Global leaders, scientists, environmental advocates, and civil society groups voiced their opposition to deep sea mining during the UN Ocean Conference that ended earlier this month. (Global Voices)
  
  
• Steve Maximay writes about “Just Transition” climate change considerations within CARICOM as part of a new series by the Caribbean Investigative Journalism Network looks at climate change issues in the Caribbean.
  
  
• Two paradigm-shifting projects in Barbados demonstrate the country’s position as a small island state combatting climate change and the costs of the battle, writes Esther Jones in another piece of the CIJN series. She looks at new fishing regulations, which focus on measures to protect marine life, and the island-wide conversion to electrified vehicles by 2030.

Covid-19 Recovery

• The Caribbean Natural Resources Institute assessed 446 public sector Covid-19 recovery initiatives in six Caribbean countries and at the regional level and mapped to what extent these were designed to contribute to: Transforming economic governance; supporting fairness, inclusion and justice in economic development; supporting environmental sustainability while recognising and managing trade-offs, and ; enabling a low-carbon transition and building resilience to address multiple risks.

Economics and Finance

• The Caribbean Development Bank is piloting the Recovery Duration Adjuster (RDA), a new concept which would allow countries in the Caribbean to access financing following natural disasters and other shocks to their economies. The measure is aimed at changing the way vulnerability is measured for small island states, and would replace the current standard measurement, the Multidimensional Vulnerability Index (MVI) which primarily considers a country’s Gross National Income. (Loop News)

Migration

• Haiti’s educated youth are leaving the country as fast as they can, an accelerating brain drain of migrants that often go through Latin America en route to the U.S., reports the Miami Herald. A recent national survey by the country’s Citizen Observatory for Institutionalization of Democracy found that 82% of Haiti’s nearly 12 million people would migrate if they had the chance.
  
  
• Cuba’s Coast Guard was recently involved in two shootouts at sea with speedboats coming from the United States to pick up Cuban migrants, resulting in the death of one of the smugglers. The Cuban authorities said they have intercepted 13 speedboats and detained 23 people from the United States involved in migrant smuggling operations this year, reports the Miami Herald.
  
  
• Denise Pitcher, Executive Director, Caribbean Centre for Human Rights, spoke to WESN about refugees in Trinidad and Tobago, the government's failure to sign the Declaration on Migration and Protection at the Summit of the Americas and the need for a refugee policy and legislation in the country. 

LGBTQ Rights

• The Eastern Caribbean Supreme Court has ruled a law in Antigua and Barbuda that criminalises gay sex is unconstitutional. The ruling also said the twin-island nation's 1995 Sexual Offenses Act "offends the right to liberty, protection of the law, freedom of expression, protection of personal privacy and protection from discrimination on the basis of sex." (ABC)
  

Gender

• Cuban journalists Milena Recio and Mónica Rivero’s online platform Matria features articles centering Cuban women and challenges the patriarchy, working towards a more equitable Cuba -- Startup Cuba.
  
  
• A tampon shortage believed to have been triggered by global supply chain issues compounded by rising fuel costs, problems sourcing raw materials, and labour shortages has been causing distress for many Jamaican women, reports the Jamaica Gleaner.

Events

• 8 July -- Barbados Youth Climate Action Summit and Expo -- Register
• 11 July -- The Global Forest Governance Forum 2022 -- Chatham House. Register

Opportunities

• Call for Manuscripts --- Brill’s Caribbean Series editor Sophie Maríñez (Repeating Islands)
  

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