CARICOM to improve and enhance relations with Cuba

Saint Vincent and Grenadines' Prime Minister and President of CARICOM, Ralph Gonsalves, said this organization of Caribbean states will further encourage its relations with Cuba, Venezuela and the Dominican Republic in 2008 to the benefit of regional development.

Gonsalves also announced that in 2008 CARICOM will continue supporting the creation of the Caribbean Single Market and Economy (CSME) with a defined multilateral relation, trade agreements and important environmental accords.

The intensification of cooperation among Caribbean nations is precisely the bottom line in the agenda of the CARICOM Conference of twenty eight Heads of State and/or Government to take place on July 1-4, reports PL news agency.

During that meeting Barbadian Prime Minister, Owen Arthur, will assume CARICOM presidency. Mr. Arthur is currently in charge of giving a boost to the CSME and is actually responsible of the achievements of the Single Market already functioning in the area.

The summit will also include highly topical subjects such as maritime and air transport, regional security, agriculture, free movement of the people in the area, as well as the establishment of a Fund for Caribbean Development and an Agency for Regional Development.

The opening ceremony will take place at the Parliament headquarters in Bridgetown and the lectures at the Barbados Hilton hotel.

CARICOM is made up of Antigua and Barbuda, Bahamas, Barbados, Belize, Dominica, Granada, Guyana, Haiti, Jamaica, Montserrat, Saint Kitts and Nevis, Santa Lucia, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Surinam and Trinidad and Tobago.

Source: ACN

2008 applications forms for the UN Voluntary Fund for Indigenous Populations

Dear Sir or Madam,

Please find enclosed the 2008 applications forms for the UN Voluntary Fund for Indigenous Populations.

Be kindly reminded that the deadline for applying is 1st october 2007.

You will find more information on this fund on our website:
http://www.ohchr.org/english/about/funds/indigenous/


Regards,

Mélanie Clerc
Indigenous Peoples and Minorities Unit
Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights
Office Motta 2.06
1211 Geneva
Tel: +41 22 928 9737
Fax: +41 22 928 9010

Taino and Other Caribbean Indigenous Peoples Engage the United Nations System

United Nations (UCTP Taino News) - Amid the diverse delegations of Indigenous Peoples highlighting the complex issues associated with “land, territories, and natural resources” at the UN Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues, Caribbean Indigenous Peoples were actively presenting sound advice to Governments and intergovernmental organizations about how to meet their needs for survival. Working together in the form of the Indigenous Caucus of the Greater Caribbean (IPCGC), indigenous representatives from throughout the region presented their collective views on such topics as urban Indigenous Peoples and migration, the Second Decade of the World’s Indigenous Peoples, and future work of the Forum.

Read the full story at:
http://uctp.blogspot.com/2007/06/taino-and-other-caribbean-indigenous.html

Indigenous Peoples Address Ways to Ensure Participation

Indigenous Peoples Address Ways to Ensure Participation
Excerpt from United Nations Press Release on 22 May 2007:

MILDRED GANDIA REYES, representing the Indigenous Caucus of the Greater Caribbean, said her organization had submitted recommendations at other sessions, but had received no follow-up. She asked the Forum to urge the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) to support the recovery of Caribbean heritage, culture and writings, and, further, to sponsor special regional meetings with indigenous experts as it worked with endangered education.

She pressed States and UNESCO to provide resources to develop language and cultural exchange programmes, in order to support ancient languages that had been virtually wiped out by dominant languages. Further, she encouraged States, including Puerto Rico, to review public education material and remove erroneous historical accounts that had rendered indigenous peoples invisible, or had misrepresented them in any way. She asked Caribbean States, particularly Puerto Rico, to work with indigenous Caribbean islanders to promote indigenous human rights and ensure that Constitutions recognized them, as such. She urged the Association of Caribbean States, the Rio Group and Caribbean Community (CARICOM) to establish a special regional fund for indigenous representatives, so they are able to attend Forum events throughout the Second Decade.

Source: http://www.un.org/News/Press/docs/2007/hr4923.doc.htm

2007: IPCGC - Second International Decade of the World’s Indigenous People

INDIGENOUS PEOPLES CAUCUS OF THE GREATER CARIBBEAN (IPCGC)
Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues
Sixth Session - Special theme: “Territories, lands and natural resources”

IPCGC Intervention: Joboshirima Lokono Arawak Community; Caney Quinto Mundo; Presencia Taina; KuKarey Spiritual Circle; United Confederation of Taino People[i]

Tuesday, 22 May 2007 - Item 4 (g) Second International Decade of the World’s Indigenous People

Madam Chair, and distinguished delegates, we welcome this opportunity to address the plenary on Item 4 (g) the Second International Decade of the World’s Indigenous People. While we have submitted a majority of these recommendations to previous sessions, we have received no response from any United Nations agencies, including the Permanent Forum, with regard to substantive follow-up or consultations.

With this in mind, and with specific refference to the implementation of the Plan of Action (A/60/270) for the Second Decade, we recommend that the Permanent Forum:

1.) Urge UNESCO to work in collaboration with indigenous Caribbean islanders to promote and support the recovery of their heritage, oral traditions and ancient writings with a view to recognizing them as heritage of humanity under the framework of the Convention Concerning the Protection of the World Cultural and Natural Heritage and the Convention for the Safeguarding of the Intangible Cultural Heritage[ii];

2.) Urge UNESCO to sponsor a special regional meeting with representatives of the Indigenous Peoples Caucus of the Greater Caribbean as well as other regional initiatives to facilitate their full and effective participation in its work relating to endangered languages, education, literacy, nomination of indigenous sites to the World Heritage List and other relevant programs[iii];

3.) Urge States, UNESCO and other relevant UN agencies to provide the resources, technical, or other assistance necessary to develop language, education and cultural exchange programs to restore and revitalize, and strengthen their languages, especially these ancient languages have been replaced by a dominant language or are not being used as a result of the actions of governments, assimilation and acculturation policies;

4) Urge Caribbean States including the “Free Associated State” of Puerto Rico to work in collaboration with indigenous Caribbean islander organizations to review all public education materials to eliminate any discriminatory and derogatory contents as well as erroneous historical accounts, which continue to render Indigenous Peoples invisible, subject to ridicule, or misrepresents them in any way[iv].

5) Urge the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights to include Caribbean Indigenous Islanders, including the Taíno People of Puerto Rico without discrimination, into the future sessions of the Indigenous Fellowship Program[v].

5) Urge Caribbean States including the “Free Associated State” of Puerto Rico to work in collaboration with indigenous Caribbean islanders to further develop national legislation for the protection and promotion of human rights, including means of monitoring and guaranteeing those rights and urge that where it is not already the case, like in the case of Puerto Rico, national constitutions recognize the existence of indigenous peoples, and make explicit reference to them, where relevant[vi].

6) Urge the Rio Group, CARICOM and the Association of Caribbean States to develop policy guidelines in collaboration with the member organizations and communities represented within the Indigenous Peoples Caucus of the Greater Caribbean as well as other regional initiatives with a view to work closely with respective governments to use said guidelines in the implementation of regional agreements and to assist in strengthening fair trade, socio-economic systems, and other potential areas of cooperation among Indigenous Peoples of the region.

7) Urge the Association of Caribbean States, the RIO Group, and CARICOM (including its Associate and Observer members) to establish a special regional fund for representatives of the Indigenous Peoples Caucus of the Greater Caribbean and other regional initiatives to attend the Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues throughout the remainder of the Second Decade and beyond.

Madam Chair, and distinguished delegates, we say bo’matum (thank you) for your time and consideration.

Statement Presented by: Mildred Gandia Reyes, UCTP

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[i] Following an organizational structure similar to the Association of Caribbean States, the “Greater Caribbean” is defined here as an area of cooperation in recognition of common ancestral heritages and common geographic spaces shared by the Indigenous Peoples of the region historically and at present.
[ii] Relating to item 15
[iii] In accordance with paragraphs 23 & 16
[iv] Under Item 18
[v] Under item 47
[vi] Under item 56