Prime Minister Ralph Gonsalves

JAMAICA: Amnesty International says police killings on the rise in Jamaica KINGSTON, Jamaica (AP) — An increase in fatal shootings by police is setting back efforts to curb violence and build faith in the Caribbean nation's justice system, Amnesty International said Tuesday. A report by the London-based group said the killings reflect a disregard for human rights in the island's inner cities, where residents are cut off from many basic services and violent gang leaders often hold more influence than government authorities. Still, the report praised a series of reforms the government has proposed since last year, when an Amnesty report found the island ... Read Full Story

A human-rights watchdog group in St. Vincent and the Grenadines accused the Caribbean island chain's police commanders Monday of failing to hold officers accountable for alleged brutality. Nicole Sylvester, leader of the St. Vincent and the Grenadines Human Rights Association, said her group has received more than 30 allegations of police abuse in recent months, backed up by photographs and medical reports. Under a so-called blue code, officers lie or keep silent about misconduct to protect each other from outside criticism, she added. "We are not going to continue with this code of silence," Sylvester said. "The uniform is a cloak for abuse, oppression ... Read Full Story

Thanks to a number of colleagues, especially Joseph Palacio, Paul Lewis, and Wellington Ramos, for forwarding this news over the past three weeks (my apologies for the delay in posting these items). This news concerns moves by the Government of St. Vincent & The Grenadines to possibly sell off the island of Balliceaux: Garifuna may lose the right to visit the island of Balliceaux Tuesday, April 22, 2008 By: Paul E. Lewis KINGSTOWN, St Vincent: If Dr Ralph Gonsalves, Prime Minister of St Vincent and the Grenadines, is allowed to have his way, the Garifuna and all Vincentians may soon lose the right to ... Read Full Story

29 September 2009 – The efforts of major and industrialized economies to crack down on so-called tax havens are just an excuse to spread the blame for the global financial crisis on small nations’ legitimate attempts at development, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines told the General Assembly today. Camillo M. Gonsalves, the Caribbean archipelago’s Permanent Representative to the United Nations, told the sixth day of the Assembly’s high-level segment that is country faces “being stigmatized out of our transition into financial services” by the Group of Twenty (G20) major economies, the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) and what he called “other non-inclusive ... Read Full Story

NEW YORK, USA -- Dr June Soomer, St Lucia's Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary with responsibility for the OECS, CARICOM and Diaspora Affairs, says the OECS Economic Union to be launched in July next year will not counter Caribbean Community (CARICOM) efforts to unite the region. Ambassador June Soomer To be held under the auspices of St Lucia's Prime Minister's office, in partnership with St Lucia's Consulate General in New York and Permanent Mission to the United Nations, Ambassador Soomer will join other government officials and St Lucian and Caribbean nationals at a town hall meeting this Thursday in New York. The roadshow features country ... Read Full Story