Category: CANA News

On 14 October, IMF Managing Director Kristalina Georgieva warned that higher borrowing costs, falling development assistance and other economic pressures threaten to widen the distance between advanced and developing economies. She appealed for additional resources for the Fund’s Poverty Reduction and Growth Trust and its Catastrophe Containment and Relief Trust, which assist low-income and particularly vulnerable countries.

That appeal deserves support. The poorest countries should not be abandoned.

But the discussion must also include countries whose vulnerability is obscured by their designation as middle-income or even high-income economies. Several Caribbean states fall into these categories. Their income classifications say something about their economies, but far less about their capacity to withstand a major disaster or a prolonged collapse in earnings.

This is hardly a new argument.

As far back as October 2009, I wrote about Caribbean leaders who attended the IMF and World Bank meetings in Turkey seeking relief and restructuring for the debt of vulnerable, middle-income countries. The late David Thompson, then Barbados Prime Minister, explained that restricted access to World Bank funding had pushed countries towards private borrowing at higher interest rates and with shorter repayment periods.

Seventeen years later, the region is still having to make the case that the terms on which countries borrow can determine whether they develop or spend years struggling to meet payments.

There has been progress, and it should be acknowledged.

The World Bank’s International Development Association makes provision for some small economies above its normal income threshold. The IMF’s Resilience and Sustainability Trust also provides longer-term financing for eligible vulnerable middle-income countries and small developing states. These arrangements are important departures from a system that relied too heavily on income alone.

However, eligibility for a particular facility does not settle the larger question of whether a country can obtain sufficient financing, on suitable terms, when it needs it. Nor does a new loan remove the burden of existing debt.

For Caribbean people, that burden has practical consequences.

Money committed to debt payments cannot also purchase medical equipment, improve schools or repair water systems. When governments have little room to spend, necessary work is postponed. Roads deteriorate, public services struggle and opportunities for young people diminish.

The consequences extend beyond government budgets. Businesses depend on reliable electricity, functioning ports, good roads and workers with the skills their enterprises require. A government unable to finance these services will find it harder to support the economic activity from which future revenue must come.

Debt can therefore weaken the very capacity needed to repay it.

None of this excuses careless borrowing, wasteful expenditure or poor administration. Caribbean governments owe their people transparent accounts, sound procurement, competent debt management and investments that can withstand scrutiny. Borrowing for projects with doubtful benefits places an unfair obligation on future taxpayers.

The region’s case is stronger when governments demonstrate that they are managing public money responsibly.

But even the best-managed small state cannot prevent a hurricane, control international oil prices or stop a recession in the countries from which its visitors arrive. Nor can it spread those risks across the range of industries and markets available to a much larger economy.

Consider a country whose hotels, roads, electricity network and homes suffer extensive damage in a single storm. Its government faces urgent expenditure just as tax receipts decline. It must restore essential services and help people recover their livelihoods while continuing to meet obligations incurred before the disaster.

An income figure calculated before the storm offers little guidance on what that government can now afford.

There is also a distinction between borrowing to create new productive assets and borrowing to replace what has been destroyed. Replacing a bridge may restore an essential connection, but it does not necessarily create the additional income needed to service another loan. Repeated reconstruction can leave a country owing more simply to recover the standard of living it previously enjoyed.

International financing arrangements must take account of this reality.

The United Nations General Assembly adopted the Multidimensional Vulnerability Index (MVI) in August 2024. Antigua and Barbuda’s Prime Minister, Gaston Browne, co-chaired the UN High-Level Panel that developed it, alongside Norway’s former Prime Minister, Erna Solberg. The index provides a fuller assessment of countries’ vulnerability to external shocks and their structural capacity to withstand them. That work should inform actual financing decisions, including access, interest rates and repayment periods. Recognition of vulnerability is of limited use if it leaves the terms of borrowing untouched.

There should also be wider provision for suspending debt payments after major disasters, allowing governments to direct scarce resources towards immediate recovery. Such arrangements should be agreed before emergencies occur, when there is time to settle the terms properly.

Where repeated disasters have contributed substantially to unsustainable debt, creditors should be prepared to examine restructuring and relief. Grants and deeply concessional finance should carry a greater share of the cost of adaptation and disaster recovery.

Caribbean governments and regional institutions have already done substantial work to advance this case. Barbados’ Bridgetown Initiative, the MVI, and the Caribbean Development Bank’s collaboration with other development banks on debt and resilience financing demonstrate serious regional effort.

These initiatives require decisions by international governments and institutions with the power to change financing rules and provide resources. Caribbean countries can develop proposals, supply evidence and negotiate persistently. They cannot, by themselves, secure changes that depend on the agreement of major shareholders and creditors.

The forthcoming Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting in Antigua and Barbuda offers an opportunity to press influential governments for specific commitments to advance these proposals within international financial institutions.

The people of small Caribbean island-states need financing arrangements that give them a reasonable chance to build, recover and advance. An income classification should help explain a country’s circumstances. It should never become an excuse for ignoring them.

West Indies’ bowling hero in the crucial fourth T20I, Keemo Paul has credited the team’s bowlers for their execution against India, which helped to set up a memorable 24-run win.

Paul’s five-wicket haul led the way for the visitors, as India were bowled out for 223 in 19.3 overs after captain Shai Hope’s sensational, unbeaten century earlier carried the Windies to 247 for three in 20 overs at the Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium.

While the West Indies’ bowlers were guilty of being erratic in the three previous T20Is, Paul said he was pleased with the way in which they stuck to their plans against India’s batters.

The 28-year-old Paul claimed 5-41 in his four overs, becoming the first West Indian bowler to have multiple five-wicket hauls in T20Is, while Gudakesh Motie claimed 2-13 from two overs.

‘They got off to quite a rollicking start, you know the Powerplay has been tough for us, and we haven’t been able to contain them.

‘Coming in we had our game plans – we had some pretty long bowling meetings – so I knew what I wanted to do, I knew what my field setting was and I think I executed pretty well tonight,’ Paul said.

‘This series has had some pretty big scores being chased, but I think the key factor is there is no dew. I think once there’s dew it’s quite hard to contain teams that are batting second, but the last game and this game there was no dew and I think we executed our plans perfectly.

‘From the batsmen perspective, after the first five overs the message we got was that it was a pretty good wicket. One or two balls were gripping but other than that it was pretty good. Bowling on the wicket the slower balls helped us here. Normally we weren’t getting any grip on the other grounds, but it actually worked here, so the gameplan was just to stick to bowling into the wicket as much as possible and try to execute our yorkers…’ he added.

Candidates were being nominated across Grenada on Thursday ahead of the November 5 general election, as Prime Minister Dickon Mitchell and his ruling National Democratic Congress (NDC) seek a second consecutive term in office.

Mitchell was formally nominated as the NDC candidate for St David, accompanied by supporters who walked through the constituency with yellow flags, party T-shirts, hats, costumes and music.

Speaking after his nomination, which he said took less than five minutes, Mitchell said he was pleased to be officially confirmed as the party’s candidate.

He said his manifesto, copies of which were being distributed during the walk-through, represented his commitment to constituents for the next five years. Mitchell pledged to return to the community regularly to assess progress against the promises made, and said completed commitments would be removed from the list and new ones added, allowing him to measure progress and be held accountable.

Among his priorities for St David, he identified improved healthcare, sporting facilities, infrastructure, and transportation.

The prime minister urged Grenadians to participate in the November 5 election, expressing confidence that the NDC would retain St David.

The NDC won nine of the 15 seats in the House of Representatives in the June 2022 general election, while the main opposition New National Party (NNP), led by Emmalin Pierre, who succeeded former prime minister and party founder Keith Mitchell as leader in 2024, secured six. Pierre will be the first woman to lead the NNP into a general election.

Former foreign affairs minister Peter David, who launched the Democratic People’s Movement (DPM) in November last year, is also expected to contest the election.

Special voting is scheduled for November 2, ahead of the general election.

The United States Thursday announced a multi-million dollar aid package for the Caribbean as the Caribbean Community (CARICOM) said that the United States-Caribbean Dialogue should translate into practical commitments, including financing for resilient energy systems as well as moving forward on the political and security situation in Haiti that ‘must remain central to our attention’.

St. Lucia’s Prime Minster Phillip J. Pierre, who is also the chairman of the 15-member CARICOM grouping, said that the meeting is a response to the call by CARICOM leaders for political-level consultations, following the ‘constructive engagement’ they had with US Secretary of State, Marco Rubio during the CARICOM summit held in St. Kitts and Nevis in February.

‘We value this relationship. Our countries are connected by geography, commerce, tourism, family and friendship. The Caribbean Community is a close neighbour, a stable democratic partner and a region open to investment.

‘We seek a more strategic partnership, sustained by regular dialogue and measured by improvements in our people’s lives,’ Pierre told the meeting with US Deputy Secretary of State Christopher Landau, who said Washington would be providing an additional US$55.5 million to strengthen law enforcement and US$11 million in Foreign Military Financing to build the capabilities of security forces in the Caribbean.

‘Ultimately, a modern economy cannot exist without a secure network. We all have seen vulnerabilities,’ Landau said, announcing US$175.8 million in US investment in secure infrastructure through the Caribbean and Central America underseas cables programme.

‘ This will provide trusted, high-speed connectivity across the region to build resilient, secure networks that serve your people and not outside interests.

‘So together, the numbers that I have mentioned really total hundreds of millions of dollars in new commitments, but it’s not just about a certain dollar amount. It’s about just the long term, the United States reaffirming its interest and commitment to this critical region,’ Landau added.

Pierre said that for Caribbean families, energy security means affordable electricity. Economic cooperation means jobs, investment and opportunity. Security cooperation means safer communities. Disaster preparedness means knowing that help will arrive when it is needed.’

Pierre said that these are shared interests and ‘our discussions today should translate them into practical commitments; financing for resilient energy systems; predictable trade and stronger commercial partnerships; secure infrastructure; stronger health systems and disaster response; and coordinated action against organised crime and illicit firearms trafficking’.

He said that the ongoing situation in Haiti where criminal gangs are seeking to overthrow the government in the French-speaking CARICOM country must also be a priority at the talks.

Pierre expressed appreciation to the United States for the role it played welcoming the extension of the United Nations Security mandate to extend the duration of the Gang Suppression Force (GSF) in Haiti.

The UN Security Council voted 12-0 to extend the multinational GSF in Haiti by six months, keeping the mission active through March 31, 2027.

The renewal comes amid worsening insecurity in Haiti, where armed gangs control large sections of the capital, Port-au-Prince, and have expanded into rural communities, carrying out killings, kidnappings, sexual violence and extortion.

According to the UN, approximately 1.5 million people, or 12 per cent of the population, have been displaced by the violence. More than 3,000 people were killed and over 1,500 injured between October 2025 and April 2026.

The GSF had replaced an earlier Kenyan-led security mission. About 1,500 to 1,600 personnel are currently deployed with its main function being to restore public safety, secure vital infrastructure and allow the government to function. The GSF is expected to reach its quota of 5,500 personnel in Haiti by October 2026.

Pierre said that CARICOM continues its work in Haiti through the Eminent Persons Group (EPG) chaired by former St. Lucia prime minister Dr. Kenny Anthony noting that ‘sustained international assistance and credible elections, with the widest possible participation, are essential to restoring confidence and supporting Haiti’s return to stability’.

The CARICOM chairman said that the deliberations here must also ‘make room for immigration and migration, matters with profound implications for our communities and our people-to-people ties.

‘Colleagues, the strength of today’s meeting will be demonstrated by what follows it. Let us connect political dialogue with sustained technical engagement, identify priorities and establish clear arrangements for follow-up.’

Pierre said that the Guyana-based CARICOM Secretariat will help coordinate the Community’s technical work alongside national authorities and regional institutions.

‘CARICOM comes to this table ready to listen, ready to engage and ready to build a partnership that delivers mutual benefit, with respect for our sovereignty and our shared aspirations,’ Pierre added.

In his address, Landau said said that the relationships between the United States and the Caribbean ‘have been crucial throughout our history and throughout your history.

‘The personal bonds between our countries are amazing. So many successful people in the United States, in this generation and previous generations, have come from your region. I’m going all the way back to Alexander Hamilton, but people like Colin Powell, who ran this building 25 years ago. I mean, our country has benefitted enormously from the ties with your region.’

But he acknowledged that ‘it has been a source of pain for many of us as Americans to see the United States not giving the Western Hemisphere generally the attention it deserved, and specifically the Caribbean.

‘The Caribbean is very much part of the Western Hemisphere,’ he said, noting that Washington is seeking to restore the Western Hemisphere to its position of preeminence and priority in American foreign policy.

‘For far too long, we have been looking at things that are happening halfway across the world, and we have been ignoring things that are happening right in our own neighbourhood,’ he said, adding ‘I think it’s very important that we recognise some of the flaws of recent years in our policies and we talk together to commit to ways that we can build institutional relationships’.

Landau said the challenge is to create a ‘lasting foundation that doesn’t just depend on so-and-so being friends with so-and-so.

‘I mean, it’s wonderful and it’s great. One of the great things about these kinds of gatherings is that we can establish personal relationships, right? It’s great if I can have you on WhatsApp or that kind of thing. But that is not the basis for a lasting institutional structure of a relationship that’s going to survive over decades.

‘And I think – that’s what I’m hoping that a conference like today can establish – really both those things. I mean, again, personal ties are important in diplomacy. But again, I think I’m looking to strengthen the structural ties, again’.

He said he was gad that both sides were not building ‘from scratch’ but that ‘I also want to make clear that we in the United States do not have all the answers’.

He said Rubio was ‘delighted’ to have travelled to St. Kitts and Nevis this year and that he ‘ understands better than anybody the importance of this Caribbean region to the United States, across all dynamics, again, on a human level, on a economic level, on a security level’.

He said that the idea of a dialogue ‘doesn’t mean that you have come here to have me or anybody else in the United States just give lectures.

‘I just think it’s very important that we, the United States, listen to you from the Caribbean what your vision is. I…you all are sovereign countries; you are going to decide your fate.

‘ I truly believe we wouldn’t be having this meeting if the Secretary and I didn’t believe that what is in your interests is also in our interests; that there are many, many areas where we should be deepening cooperation where there are great solutions. ‘

Landau said that while talking pointe prepared for the meeting indicated that funds would be made available to the region ‘for this and millions of dollars for that’ he is more interested ‘ where do we get the businesses that are going to be there for the long term, that are investing in real economic opportunities that are creating a lasting foundation for the relationships?

‘Because ultimately, a particular grant can be fine to fill a particular need, but for a long-term growth strategy, a particular grant isn’t going to fix that.’

Landu said that ultimately, the greatness of the United States is not driven by the government, saying ‘it is driven by our private sector, and so our job – or what I see our job as being is just to be an interlocutor so that our private sector is aware of the opportunities in the Caribbean, and that the Caribbean is aware of what the private sector might be interested in here. I mean, it’s a conversation that has to go both ways’.

The Caribbean Court of Justice (CCJ) has overturned lower court rulings in a land dispute between two brothers in Belize, granting one of them a life interest in a property he built and occupied for about 34 years.

In its judgment delivered on October 8, the court ruled in favour of Ewart Robateau, who argued that his mother had promised him a life interest in the property if he built a house on a vacant lot in Belize City.

The court found that the lower courts had materially erred in their assessment of the evidence and were plainly wrong in their decisions to grant possession of the property to his brother, Allen Robateau.

Ewart told the court that he had relied on his mother’s assurance, financing the construction of the house where he raised his family and lived for approximately 34 years.

In 2017, their mother transferred title to Allen, who subsequently filed a claim in the High Court to recover possession of the entire property. The High Court ruled in Allen’s favour, and the Court of Appeal upheld that decision.

However, the CCJ found that Ewart’s evidence that he had built and paid for the house was uncontradicted. It also noted testimony from another brother that their mother had told her children about the promise she had made to Ewart.

The court concluded that the requirements for proprietary estoppel had been established. The legal principle can prevent a landowner from going back on an assurance when another person has relied on it to their detriment, and it would be unconscionable to withdraw it.

The CCJ found that Ewart had received an assurance of a life interest, relied on it by investing his money in the property and suffered detriment as a result. It ruled that it would be unconscionable for Allen to evict him.

The CCJ allowed the appeal and granted Ewart a life interest in the property.

The appeal was heard by Justices Maureen Rajnauth-Lee, Denys Arthur Barrow, Peter Jamadar, Chantal Ononaiwu and Chile Eboe-Osuji.

Mathew Morris represented Ewart Robateau, while Michelle Trapp Zuniga and Emmertice Anderson represented Allen Robateau.

A Commission of Inquiry into the July 18 collision between two boats off Anse Cochon, Anse La Raye, has heard admissions of safety lapses by their operators, including the failure to brief passengers, distribute life jackets and notify the lighthouse of vessel departures.

The collision between Ocean Angel and Cazorla Jr claimed four lives, including Ocean Angel crew member Tyrone Paul, left several people injured and resulted in one vessel being destroyed and the other sinking.

During two days of hearings on Tuesday and Wednesday, the Commission also heard that Tyson Hippolyte, who operated Cazorla Jr on the night of the collision, did so despite having an expired boatmaster’s licence. Hippolyte further admitted that he had consumed three or four beers before departing Gros Islet for Soufrière.

The public hearings will resume next Wednesday, October 21.

Hippolyte told the Commission that he had left Soufrière at about 3 p.m. on July 18 for Gros Islet before beginning the return journey sometime after 10 p.m.

Asked by Commission Chairman, retired Justice Mario Michel, about the validity of his licence, Hippolyte said he did not know when he had last checked it.

Michel then asked whether the licence had expired on July 18, 2015, before Hippolyte was shown a copy of the document.

Hippolyte said he had not been paying attention to the licence because he was not operating other boats. He also indicated that he had operated Cazorla Jr about three or four times previously.

Asked why he felt comfortable operating the vessel given the sea conditions and circumstances that night, he responded in Kwéyòl, ‘based on experience’.

Delan Nicholas, managing director of Ocean Angel Boat Tours, told the Commission that passengers had received no safety briefing and that he had not distributed life jackets, although the vessel carried them.

Nicholas said he took over the helm from Tyrone Paul at Anse Mamin during the journey.

He also acknowledged that Ocean Angel’s navigation lights were off when the vessel departed Soufrière and were switched on only after he took over the helm.

‘During the period that the boat was being driven by from Soufrière to Anse Mamin, the lights were not on,’ he told the Commission.

Nicholas further admitted that he had not informed the Soufrière lighthouse of the vessel’s departure, as required under maritime law.

He nevertheless maintained that the vessel was seaworthy and that safety equipment, including life jackets, was on board.

Roxanne Bonaparte, a survivor who was aboard Ocean Angel, told the Commission through a statement she had given to police that she asked for a life jacket because she could not swim.

‘I told him I don’t know how to swim, so I need a lifejacket. He replied to me, ‘I am safe with him’,’ she said, confirming that the statement accurately reflected what she had told police on July 24.

Bonaparte said she did not recall seeing life jackets during the journey but remembered receiving one while in the water after the collision.

She also described the boat as travelling faster than normal and said its speed was such that the front of the vessel obstructed her view.

She testified that visibility was poor and that passengers had received no safety instructions when they boarded. She also said she had not observed any navigation lights during the journey.

Elias Nicholas, a fisherman from Soufrière and cousin of Delan Nicholas, similarly testified that he had not noticed any lights on Ocean Angel.

He said Tyrone Paul was operating the vessel when he boarded at the Soufrière jetty sometime after 10 p.m., before Delan Nicholas took over.

Comparing the two men’s handling of the boat, he said: ‘Tyrone was taking it more easy on the boat, Delan was going more faster.’

After the collision, Elias Nicholas said he grabbed a nearby life jacket before climbing onto the overturned vessel. He was later rescued and taken to Canaries, where an ambulance was called. He said he sustained a head injury and a broken leg and subsequently regained consciousness at Soufrière Hospital.

Irenus Pascal, owner of Cazorla Jr, told the Commission that his regular licensed captain was unavailable on July 18 and that Hippolyte operated the vessel instead.

‘I had no choice. Tyson was among the plans as well, so he decided to captain the boat that night,’ Pascal said, adding that Hippolyte was not his regular captain.

Pascal confirmed that no safety briefing had been conducted, attributing the omission to practices among local boat operators.

‘Well, I believe it is just a we thing, like we don’t really take serious…especially when it is not commercial use. Like using it for guests and it’s locals, we just do things,’ he said.

He also acknowledged that the lighthouse had not been informed of Cazorla Jr’s movement.

‘We don’t do it, it’s just a we thing,’ he told the Commission.

Pascal said the vessel had been travelling faster than normal on the return journey and that the driver had been asked to slow down. He maintained that Cazorla Jr’s navigation lights were on, but said he had not seen an approaching vessel and had received no warning from the lookout.

Investigating officer Luciano Guard also gave evidence on Tuesday about statements taken from witnesses and his interactions with relevant agencies during the investigation.

The Commission was appointed by Acting Governor General Felix Finisterre on September 1, 2026, to investigate the circumstances surrounding the collision and examine Saint Lucia’s legislation governing maritime accidents.

Its terms of reference include making recommendations to guide the drafting of a modern maritime act and reviewing standard operating procedures for maritime activity, safety and investigations.

CCRIF SPC will pay the Government of Panama US$17.4 million following the magnitude 7.7 earthquake that struck the country on October 9, providing funds to support its disaster response within 14 days of the event.

The Caribbean catastrophe risk insurance facility said its SPHERA earthquake model estimated peak ground acceleration of up to 0.5 g in Panama, the only CCRIF member country to experience shaking above the model’s reporting threshold of 0.03 g.

The modelled government losses exceeded the attachment point of Panama’s earthquake insurance policy, triggering the payout.

According to a preliminary assessment by Panama’s National Civil Protection System (SINAPROC), the earthquake damaged homes, schools, hospitals, public buildings and roads across several provinces.

The agency’s October 12 report identified 656 affected schools. It also reported that 14 shelters had been opened to accommodate 598 people. Damage assessments and humanitarian assistance were continuing, while no deaths or missing persons had been reported at the time the assessment was finalised.

CCRIF chief executive officer Isaac Anthony said the payout would provide the government with immediate funds to support its response.

‘Our thoughts are with the people of Panama, and especially with the families and communities affected by this earthquake. This payout will give the Government immediate liquidity to support its response at the time it is most needed. Panama’s decision to secure its CCRIF earthquake coverage through the Fondo de Ahorro de Panamá is a strong example of how parametric insurance can work alongside national savings and stabilisation mechanisms as part of a layered approach to financing disaster risk,’ Anthony said.

Panama has been a CCRIF member since 2018 and has previously received three payouts to support disaster response following excess rainfall associated with Hurricane Eta in 2020 and exceptional rainfall events in 2024.

Those payouts totalled approximately US$29 million. The latest payment will bring CCRIF’s total payouts to Panama to approximately US$47 million.

With the latest payment, CCRIF will have made 83 payouts to its members since its establishment in 2007, totalling more than US$500 million. The facility said all payouts had been made within 14 days of the triggering event.

CCRIF’s parametric insurance policies make payments based on predefined hazard events and losses calculated by its models, rather than assessments of actual damage on the ground.

The approach is designed to provide governments, organisations and utilities with rapid access to funds during the critical period immediately following a disaster.

The United Nations Security Council on Wednesday renewed sanctions on Haiti, including an arms embargo, travel ban and asset freeze, as gangs continue to fuel a severe security crisis in the French-speaking Caribbean country.

The UN said armed gangs control large parts of the capital, Port-au-Prince, and are ‘pushing into rural areas, terrorising communities, killing people, committing rape and other sexual assaults, kidnapping for ransom and extorting individuals and businesses.’

About 1.5 million people, roughly 12 per cent of the population, have been forced from their homes, according to the UN.

Although Haiti does not manufacture guns or ammunition, ‘the gangs never seem to run out,’ the UN said.

Wednesday’s Security Council action renewed the sanctions measures intended to target people and entities considered responsible for, or involved in, activities threatening Haiti’s peace, security and stability. The Council also extended the mandate of the Panel of Experts on Haiti by 13 months.

Established by the Security Council in 2022, the Haiti sanctions regime comprises an arms embargo, a travel ban and an asset freeze.

The embargo targets weapons and ammunition reaching armed groups, while the travel ban and asset freeze apply to individuals and entities designated under the sanctions regime.

Nine individuals and two entities are currently subject to the sanctions, according to the UN.

The human cost of gang violence remains severe. More than 3,000 people were killed and over 1,500 injured between October last year and April this year, according to figures cited by the UN.

A partner organisation reported treating more than 2,400 survivors of sexual violence in Port-au-Prince between January and May, most of them women and girls. Sixteen per cent were minors.

‘Cases involving children as young as eight were also reported,’ the UN said. ‘Children are also being recruited by gangs.’

Haitian authorities have recently intercepted several illicit shipments at ports, while US authorities have seized firearms and ammunition destined for Haiti and pursued trafficking investigations.

Figures released by the UN human rights office last year estimated that between 270,000 and 500,000 illegal weapons were in circulation in Haiti.

The arms embargo is violated ‘on a regular basis’, according to the Panel of Experts on Haiti, an independent body established by the Security Council to gather evidence and analyse information related to sanctions violations.

The experts have travelled to Port-au-Prince and Cap-Haïtien in Haiti, Santo Domingo in the neighbouring Dominican Republic, and Miami in the United States to meet government officials, police, financial institutions, civil society representatives and people affected by gang violence.

The panel found that some ammunition used by gangs comes from national stockpiles. Haitian police ‘do not centrally track what they seize’, the UN said.

‘So, some weapons are unaccounted for or diverted by corrupt officers,’ the UN said.

The asset freeze has been less effective, according to the panel. Only two sanctioned individuals’ accounts were reported frozen, involving small sums, because banks acted slowly and the targets moved money or concealed it under third parties’ names.

The panel found no attempts to circumvent the travel ban but warned that ‘fraudulent passports could help sanctioned people travel under false names.’

The panel warned that ‘targeting gang leaders without addressing the networks that sustain them will inevitably fall short.’

It also pointed to political, economic and security figures who support gangs, adding that many gang leaders not currently on the sanctions list meet the criteria for designation.

‘Gangs have continued their deadly expansion despite the sanctions already in place, a clear indication that enforcement matters,’ the UN said.

At Wednesday’s meeting, representatives of several Security Council members reiterated the need to disrupt gang financing, close loopholes and hold networks supporting armed groups accountable.

Haiti welcomed the renewal but warned that sanctions alone cannot restore security, according to the UN.

The UN said the key test would be whether the sanctions committee’s work, alongside efforts by the Haitian Government and countries in the region, resulted in safer neighbourhoods, fewer weapons in criminal hands and greater freedom for Haitians to travel, work and access essential services.

Following the adoption of the Security Council resolution, Jennifer Locetta, Alternative Representative for Special Political Affairs at the United States Mission to the UN, thanked Panama, the resolution’s co-penholder, for its ‘constructive leadership’.

‘We are deeply grateful for your dedication to peace and security in Haiti, as we work together towards a more secure and prosperous Western Hemisphere,’ she said. ‘We welcome the extension of the mandate of the Haiti Panel of Experts, and the renewal of the travel ban, asset freeze, and arms embargo measures for another year.

‘As Haiti continues the fight to regain control of its country, the United States wishes to make a clarifying point to all member states as it relates to the territorial arms embargo: the arms embargo does not apply to the sale, supply, or transfer of arms and related materiel, or the provision of related assistance and training, to the Government of Haiti, intended solely to further objectives of peace and stability,’ she added.

‘Today’s vote is yet another unwavering signal that the international community stands with the people of Haiti,’ Locetta continued, noting that, just a few weeks ago, the Security Council reauthorised ‘a novel mission that is uniquely designed to address immediate security threats in Haiti and to promote peace and stability in the country.’

‘In that regard, the United States encourages the international community to support Haiti’s National Commission for Disarmament, Dismantlement, and Reintegration,’ she said, describing the initiative as ‘key to tackling the gangs that are destabilising the country, and offer a pathway towards peace.’

Locetta also called on the Haitian Government to adopt a decree regulating the exploitation and trade of baby eels, also known as elvers, as provided for in the resolution.

‘This illicit exploitation of this wildlife is fueling armed groups and criminal networks in the country and depriving the Haitian people of their resources,’ she said.

Locetta said the United States would continue to consider designations through the Security Council and its subsidiary bodies ‘to ensure UN sanctions lists are fit for purpose.

‘These sanctions are key components of a broader international effort to promote peace and stability in Haiti, and in the region,’ she said.

Jamaica’s House of Representatives has approved amendments to the Jury Act aimed at strengthening the courts’ response to jury tampering and preventing disruptions to criminal trials.

The Jury (Amendment) (No. 2) Act was approved on Tuesday following debate, with Justice and Constitutional Affairs Minister Delroy Chuck saying the changes would give courts greater flexibility when jury tampering threatens the fairness or continuation of proceedings.

Chuck said the amendments would clarify the circumstances in which a criminal trial could proceed without a jury after tampering had been identified.

Under the proposed provisions, a judge would be required to give reasons for deciding whether to continue a trial without a jury, discharge the jury or order a new trial, while safeguarding the fairness of the proceedings and the interests of justice.

The minister also said the requirement for a judge to be satisfied beyond reasonable doubt would be expressly included in the relevant provision.

Chuck told the House that the Bill had undergone consultation involving the technical team, the Law Reform Department, the Attorney General’s Chambers and the General Legal Council. The process also considered cases and legislative approaches in other Commonwealth jurisdictions.

He said the Bill was withdrawn in March to address concerns raised by the Opposition and subsequently tabled on June 30, with further revisions made after discussions with the Opposition Leader.

Addressing concerns about judicial impartiality, Chuck referred to deliberations in the United Kingdom and decisions in other Commonwealth jurisdictions, arguing that a judge who had considered allegations of jury tampering was not automatically disqualified from continuing a trial.

He said both the prosecution and the defendant could seek a trial without a jury, while an application for severance could be made where co-defendants faced different circumstances in relation to the alleged tampering.

Chuck also announced plans to establish a joint select committee to conduct a comprehensive review of the Jury Act.

He said he would ask the Leader of Government Business and the Leader of Opposition Business to nominate members to serve on the committee at the next sitting of the House.

While acknowledging that the legislation could be improved, Chuck said the amendments needed to be passed promptly to enable the courts to respond effectively to jury tampering and avoid undue delays in criminal proceedings.

The amendments must now go to the Senate.

St. Lucia’s Prime Minister, Phillip J Pierre, is expected to address the United States-Caribbean Dialogue that gets underway in Washington on Thursday.

Pierre will be addressing the Dialogue in his capacity of chairman of the 15-member regional integration grouping CARICOM.

A statement issued by the Office of the Prime Minister, said the Dialogue brings Caribbean leaders together with United States Deputy Secretary of State Christopher Landau for’ high-level discussions on energy security, economic growth and commercial diplomacy, defence coordination and disaster response’.

It said that the meeting provides an opportunity to advance cooperation between the Caribbean Community and the United States, ‘with an emphasis on practical support, investment and sustained engagement in areas of shared interest’

Pierre in his address is expected to emphasise cooperation that addresses the everyday concerns of Caribbean people, including affordable energy, investment and employment, public safety and recovery after disasters.

In April 2009, at the Summit of the Americas in Port of Spain, Trinidad, the United States undertook to strengthen its security cooperation with the Caribbean and since then it has met regularly with representatives of its Caribbean partners to lay the foundation for this strengthened partnership.

In 2010, the United States hosted the Inaugural Caribbean-U.S. Security Cooperation Dialogue to deepen the commitment of the United States and to begin the institutionalization of a lasting and committed partnership founded in mutual respect and common interests. Since 2009, seven high-level security cooperation dialogues have been held in Washington and in the Caribbean.