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The annual revision of the European Union’s “blacklist” of countries that are “non-cooperative” for tax purposes always puts the Caribbean’s financial services sector in a momentary spotlight. This year the EU added two new Caribbean nations to its list of non-cooperative jurisdictions – Antigua and Barbuda and Belize. Three jurisdictions were removed from the list: the British Virgin Islands, Costa Rica, and the Marshall Islands. (European Council)
Belize’s government rejected “this automatic listing,” viewing it as unjust, procedurally unfair, and leading to incorrect conclusions about Belize’s commitment to international tax standards and transparency, reports Caribbean News Global.
The EU maintained The Bahamas on its tax blacklist, despite expectations that it might be removed in this review. The decision is based on an April OECD report that did not account for The Bahamas’ subsequent reforms to its economic substance laws, its enforcement, and an online reporting portal. (The Tribune)
A central critique of the blacklist is that it unfairly singles out small nations that account for a small percentage of global evasion, but whose economies are highly dependent on the financial services sector. “Offshore centres provide a seafood buffet of useful and legitimate services. Among laymen, however, it is the way that Caribbean islands have sometimes been used by crooks and kleptocrats that most often fuels debate”, reports the Economist.
Caribbean economist Marla Dukharan has previously argued that the EU is “weaponizing” rules on tax avoidance and money laundering, driven by a defense of “its high-tax, high-public-spending form of government from competition from countries that opt for less of each.” Dukharan also noted that the use of tax and anti-money laundering requirements “effectively discriminate[s] against smaller and mostly nonwhite countries to make it harder for them to compete economically.” (Global Americans)
Indeed, “tax havens are not a construct of the Caribbean but of Europe,” argued Kenneth Mohammed last year in the Guardian. The blacklists “are nothing short of economic bullying and hypocrisy. … All countries on the European blacklists are small and relatively underdeveloped; most are territories or ex-European colonies with small GDPs. The amount of money laundered through these countries is tiny in comparison to that of the money laundering cities of Europe.”
A draft UN resolution that claims the promotion of inclusive and effective international tax cooperation at the United Nations is a step towards initiating negotiations for a legally binding UN tax convention. Such a convention is seen as crucial to combat global tax abuse and could help prevent countries from losing nearly $5 trillion to tax havens over the next decade. (Tax Justice Network)
GCF funding hard to access for SIDS
The Green Climate Fund (GCF), the United Nations’ main climate finance initiative, has raised $9.3 billion from wealthy governments, less than the previous fundraising round four years ago. While Japan and Norway announced new contributions, most major donors, including the United States, did not provide additional funding. (Climate Change News)
Government officials from small island developing states (SIDS) have expressed difficulties in securing funding from the GCF for projects aimed at adapting to climate change. The GCP faces several challenges, including slow disbursement of funds, complex application processes, and criteria that sometimes discriminate against smaller nations. (Climate Change News)
The GCF has a legally binding mandate to ensure all SIDS are eligible, have effective representation and are prioritised for access to climate finance and readiness support. Yet research by ODI’s Resilient and Sustainable Islands Initiative (RESI) with Michai Robertson and Pia Treichel, shows that unnecessarily complex and onerous processes are restricting access. (ODI)
Economics and Finance
- The European Investment Bank (EIB) is working on a series of “debt-for-climate” swaps with countries in regions like the Caribbean and Africa. This approach involves countries receiving debt relief in exchange for commitments to combat or adapt to climate change. (Reuters)
The Caribbean and the World
- Caribbean leaders, including Prime Minister Mia Mottley of Barbados and Prime Minister Keith Rowley of Trinidad and Tobago, are urging Canada to advocate for global financial institution reform to address the region’s climate change and economic challenges. (St Vincent Times)
- St Vincent and the Grenadines Prime Minister Ralph Gonsalves expressed concern regarding the impact of the Israel-Hamas conflict’s economic impact on the Caribbean. (Loop)
- The General Assembly of the United Nations published a new draft resolution that claims the necessity of ending the economic, commercial, and financial embargo imposed by the United States of America against Cuba.
- Venezuela’s Maduro government and the opposition alliance Plataforma Unitaria reached an agreement for electoral guarantees for presidential elections, a deal signed in Barbados last week. (See Oct. 18’s Latin America Daily Briefing)
- The European Commission has published a report revealing the extent of the Caribbean passport trade for the first time. Several Caribbean countries offer citizenship to foreign nationals, with prices starting at $100,000 per person. (News Americas Now, see Oct. 11’s JCU)
Justice
- The Caribbean Court of Justice (CCJ), based in Trinidad, conducted an itinerant sitting in Barbados, aiming to provide in-person hearings and engage with various stakeholders in the country. “These itinerant sittings afford litigants, potential litigants, and members of the public from all walks of life the opportunity to see the Court at work up close; to see our Judges in the flesh as they engage upon the adjudication process”, stated President of the Caribbean Court of Justice (CCJ), Justice Adrian Saunders. (Loop)
- The legality of arrests in Cuba is subject to disagreement due to discrepancies between Law No. 143 on Criminal Procedure and the 2019 Constitution. While the Constitution stresses the exclusive intervention of competent authorities in arrests, the secondary law allows arrests without an explicit order. (CubaLex)
Food Security
- Food price inflation remains high, with over 5% inflation experienced in many countries, including low-income, lower-middle-income, upper-middle-income, and even high-income countries. The current El Niño is anticipated to affect food security more in some regions/country, such as Southern Africa, Latin America and the Caribbean, East Africa, West Africa, and Afghanistan than in others. (World Bank)
Democratic Governance
- A United Nations report has highlighted the extensive involvement of armed gangs in Haitian society. These gangs have infiltrated various aspects of life, such as controlling money exchange bureaus, medical facilities, and social foundations. They’ve used their accumulated wealth, often from ransom money, to enjoy luxurious lifestyles. (Miami Herald)
- The report, spanning 156 pages, provides an extensive overview of high-level government corruption and support for armed groups in Haiti, depicting a state marred by corruption and criminal elements that undermine the rule of law and human rights. (Center for Economic and Policy Research)
Climate and Environmental Justice
- Civil society groups have a crucial role in addressing climate immobility, particularly in the Caribbean, according to the IOM UN Migration. This includes representing marginalized and vulnerable communities affected by climate change, advocating for climate action, and providing support to both involuntarily immobile populations and voluntarily immobile individuals and communities.
- The mountain chicken frog, one of the world’s largest frog species, has rapidly declined on the Caribbean island of Dominica, going from hundreds of thousands to just 21 individuals. The decline is attributed to a chytrid fungus that infects amphibians’ skin, causing lethargy and death within a month. The fungus has wiped out 80% of Dominica’s mountain chicken frog population within 18 months of its appearance in 2002. (Repeating Islands)
- The island of Antigua has seen a significant decline in live coral coverage on its reefs, leading to the establishment of the Elkhorn Marine Conservancy (EMC) in 2021 to restore corals. Despite the challenges, coral reef restoration remains important for several reasons, including the preservation of endangered species and the ability of ecosystems to adapt with human assistance. (Repeating Islands)
- With its crucial third of scheduled four meetings, the Transitional Committee tasked by COP27 in Sharm el Sheikh to develop the operational modalities of a new Loss and Damage Fund and funding arrangements to address loss and damage moved from a technical information gathering and learning phase to the highly political phase of trying to find a ‘landing zone’ for required consensus recommendations for decision at COP28 in Dubai. (Climate Action Network, Heinrich Boll Stiftung)
- “Rather than listening primarily to the countries that have caused the climate crisis and are still failing to meet their obligations to solve it, we should be listening to what developing countries and their communities want and need”, argues Brandon Wu, director of policy and campaigns at ActionAid USA, in Context News
- Sargassum, a macroalgae that reaches Caribbean coasts from the Sargasso Sea, has generated significant problems in the Dominican Republic. The costs associated with its collection and cleanup are estimated at US$120 million, and it takes between US$800,000 to US$1.5 million a year to clean one kilometer of beach with sargassum. (Climate Tracker)
- Small island developing states (SIDS) face unique challenges in the context of a just transition, which aims to address the social and economic impacts of transitioning away from fossil fuels. While discussions around a just transition often focus on job losses in larger economies, SIDS have broader concerns. (Climate Analytics)
- In a 2023 Caribbean survey on SIDS challenges conducted by the UN Department of Economic and Social Affairs (DESA), the highest category of reported concerns cited were “adverse effects of climate change” (15%), followed by “loss of biodiversity” (11%), and “natural disasters” (8.7%). Climate change disproportionately affects the poorest, most marginalized, and vulnerable communities.
Human Rights
- Diahann Gordon Harrison, a Jamaican children’s advocate, cautions against the imposition of a mandatory minimum sentence of 20 years for children convicted of capital murder. She argues that an absolute mandatory minimum is concerning, particularly in cases involving children, as it takes away the judge’s discretion to consider individual circumstances. (The Gleaner)
- The Honduran Black Fraternal Organisation (OFRANEH), an organization dedicated to advocating for the rights and autonomy of the Garífuna people, has faced numerous challenges and threats as a result of their activism and resistance against various economic projects that encroach on their ancestral lands and culture. These threats and attacks include, but are not limited to, killings, forced disappearances, and criminalization processes. (Guardians At Risk)
- The United Nations Human Rights published their latest report where they investigate the impact of colonialism in violence and discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity. Read.
- Victor Madrigal Borloz, a United Nations Independent Expert on Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity, explores how colonialism acts as one of the root causes of violence and discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity in his latest report published by the United Nations Human Rights.
- Dr. Jamil Minnis, the 43-year-old son of former Prime Minister Dr. Hubert Minnis, has been charged with performing an abortion on a 15-year-old girl. The minor’s 48-year-old mother and 25-year-old sister have also been charged with conspiracy to commit abortion. (Loop)
- There are 31 Commonwealth nations that still have laws against homosexuality. This represents approximately three-fifths of the total 56 nations in the Commonwealth. These laws are part of the legal systems in these countries and criminalize same-sex intimacy. (76 Crimes)
- Reimagining the Internet podcast by Initiative for Digital Public Infrastructure has launched its new episode featuring Georgia Popplewell, managing director at Global Voices who has dedicated two decades to publishing local bloggers’ writing in 52 languages. Listen.
Decolonisation
- The Washington Post podcast The Empty Grave of Comrade Bishop investigates the case of Maurice Bishop, Grenada’s revolutionary leader who was executed in coup in 1983 — the whereabouts of his remains have remained unknown since. Journalist Martine Powers discovers new information about the 40-year-old mystery, including the role the U.S. played in shaping the fate of this Caribbean nation.
Migration
- A new report published by the United Nations Research Institute for Social Development challenges and reframes conventional concepts related to migration, particularly those originating in the Global North, when applied to the Global South. It emphasizes that migration experiences, opportunities, and challenges in the Global South are unique and should not be generalized.
- The Jamaican government has returned three groups of Haitian nationals who arrived in Portland by boat in 2023, with the latest group being sent back. This decision is criticized by various organizations due to the fact that deportation of these Haitians is prohibited by international refugee and human rights treaties because, back in their hometown, they may face persecution, torture, or harm, amounts to refoulement. (Stand Up For Jamaica)
- “The Government’s denial to the Haitians of the right to due process, the right to legal representation, the right to be heard, the rights of the child to special protection, and the right to access basic information on the asylum procedure, is inconsistent with human and constitutional rights principles and standards and is a brazen affront to the principle of non‐refoulement, which requires the Government to grant individuals seeking international protection access to efficient asylum procedures”, argues Emma Lewis in Petchary’s Blog.
- “Haitian migrants’ humanitarian protection needs are not being recognized or respected by a range of host countries”, states Valerie Lacarte, a researcher in Immigration and Economic Integration, in his latest report for the Migration Policy Institute. “Ongoing deportations of Haitian migrants are contributing to further destabilizing Haiti. Moreover, ambivalent policy responses by a number of governments have opened the door to discriminatory policies and treatment”.
Events
- October 26th, the Caribbean Community announced its next virtual hangout with the theme Impacts of the era of global boiling on the Caribbean. Register.
- October 26th, the Global Deep Sea Mining Call conference organized by the Sustainable Ocean Alliance will be held virtually via Zoom. Register.
- October 28th, Bahamas’ rights defender Alicia Wallace will be participating in the Global Campaign for Equal Nationality Rights session at the Global South Women’s Forum, focused on the relationship between the intentional State oppression of women and “border protection” and the experience of affected people. Register.
- November 13th, “When the people lead”, a series on Extractivisim in the Caribbean will be held virtually via Zoom. Register.
Opportunities
- The University of West Indies seeks a University Director for the Institute for Gender and Development Studies. The candidate must have a strong academic background evidenced Ph.D. in Gender and Development Studies or a related discipline as well as academic experience at a professional level, among other requirements. The deadline for application is November 17th. More information.
- Grassroot Justice Network is offering its online asynchronous course How to Build an Ecosystem for Financing aimed at anyone who works on justice issues and is seeking to advocate for financing to power their efforts.. Register.
- The CNN Academy has launched the Climate Storytelling From the Global South Program and they are seeking 15 young journalists across the Global South dedicated to shedding light on the effects of the climate crisis within their home countries. Apply.
- Climate Analytics Caribbean launches an open call to win US$ 2,000 for all individuals or organizations working on climate change or environmental projects related to emissions reduction, environmental cleanup, recycling, sustainable agriculture, renewable energy, and other initiatives aimed at addressing climate change and its impacts. The submission deadline has been extended to October 30th. More information.
- The Youth Climate Justice Fund is looking for a Development Associate which will play a major role in developing the fundraising strategy of the YCJF in partnership with the Governance and Development Director. The candidate must show proven experience in fundraising, development and/or marketing within non profit initiatives among other requirements. More information.
- The Caribbean Climate-Smart Accelerator is an official nominator for the 2024 Earthshot Prize, a global environmental award and platform. The Earthshot Prize aims to identify and support solutions that can help restore the planet within this decade. (Caribbean Climate-Smart Accelerator)