Latin America & the Caribbean

EU-Mercosur Trade Deal Worries 79-Nation ACP Group

By Robert Johnson

BRUSSELS (ACP-IDN) – The 79-nation ACP Group of States and the Least Developed countries (LDCs) are concerned about the free trade agreement (FTA) between the European Union (EU) and the South American trade bloc Mercosur announced on June 28, 2019. The agreement has been concluded after 20 years of negotiations.

The agreement is perceived as a thorn in the flesh of the ACP Group and LDCs, which includes 180,000 metric tonnes of tariff-free access for sugar in the under the existing 334,054 tonnes CXL quota at 98 €/t for Brazil. In other words, the first 180,000 tonnes of access would be duty-free each year, and also an additional 10,000 tonnes duty-free quota for Paraguay.

: Robert Johnson; GLOBAL GOVERNANCE; ACP Group of States; 30 June 2019

Photo: Caribbean Experts with Nobel Peace Prize 2017 representatives. Credit: ICAN

Caribbean States Vow to Facilitate Swift Entry into Force of Nuclear Ban Treaty

By Jaya Ramachandran

GENEVA (IDN) –Seventy countries have signed and 23 ratified the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons (TPNW) since it was opened for signature at the UN headquarters in New York on September 20, 2017, nearly two-and-a-half months after it was adopted by 122 states. The Treaty will enter into legal force 90 days after 50 nations have signed and ratified it.

The TPNW was adopted in the wake of a decade of advocacy by ICAN, the International Campaign to Abolish Nuclear Weapons, and its partners around the world.

: Jaya Ramachandran; ARMAMENTS; Nuclear Weapons; 30 June 2019

Collage: Ambassador Richard Bernal, Pro-Vice Chancellor, Global Affairs at The UWI (left) and Professor Robert Dussey, the Chief Negotiator ACP-EU Post-Cotonou 2020 by IDN-INPS with photos from public domains.

Lending a Research Hand to CARICOM, Strengthening the ACP

By Desmond Brown

This report is part of a series focusing on the European Union and the African, Caribbean and Pacific (ACP) Group of States working to "modernize" their relations, and in the process giving the ACP Group "a greater presence" at the United Nations. – The Editor.

KINGSTON, Jamaica (IDN) – In the face of a rapidly changing global environment, a top Caribbean diplomat and technocrat strongly suggests the establishment of an independent research institute to supplement and support governments and the Caribbean Community (CARICOM) secretariat.

: Desmond L. Brown; GLOBAL GOVERNANCE; ACP Group of States; 11 May 2019

Photo (left to right): Neil Paul of Ramphal Center; Sandra Husbands, Minister in the Ministry of Foreign Trade at Government of Barbados; Dr Patrick I Gomes, ACP Secretary-General; Sir Shridath Ramphal, one of the original drafters of the Georgetown Agreement; and Prof. / Ambassador Ibrahim Gambari, Nigeria. Credit: ACP Secretariat.

The Primacy of Institutionalised Unity is Key to the Georgetown Agreement

Viewpoint by Sir Shridath Ramphal

"The truly compelling lesson . . . is how critical it is to pool our resources: political, economic and intellectual in negotiating with countries beyond ourselves: globally, in Europe, in the Hemisphere," says Sir Shridath Ramphal – one of the original drafters of the 1975 Georgetown Agreement that created the African, Caribbean and Pacific Group of States (ACP). The following are extensive excerpts from his Opening Remarks on 26 February 2019, tracing the genesis and the process of unification for the ACP at the Inter-Regional High-Level Consultation in Barbados.

: Reinhard Jacobsen; OPINION; 28 April 2019

Mexico: A Growing Global Crisis of Confidence

By Bill Dahl*

At least one child dies from a residential home fire every day. Another three hundred are injured as a result of fire. However, before the fire breaks out, there’s something smoldering before it bursts into flames. The same is true with the economic sectors of nations. In this article, we examine two dimensions of Mexico’s economy that are currently smoldering: Tourism and oil Mexico’s energy sector.

REDMOND, Oregon, USA (IDN) – According to the World Travel & Tourism Council’s report on Mexico for 2018, travel and tourism made direct contributions to Mexico’s GDP of US$82.2 billion or 7.1 percent in 2017. However, the total contribution to Mexico’s GDP by the T&T industry was US$185.4 billion or 16.0 percent of GDP in 2017.

: Admin; OPINION; 14 March 2019

U.S. and Canadian Baby Boomers Retiring to Mexico

By Bill Dahl*

REDMOND, Oregon, USA (IDN) – The term boomerang is considered a noun and a verb. As a noun, it is defined as a curved flat piece of wood that can be thrown so as to return to the thrower, traditionally used by Australian Aborigines as a hunting weapon. As a verb, boomerang means a plan or action that results in a return to the originator, often with negative consequences.

One of the overlooked, unanticipated consequences of social, economic and political policies is that they inherently possess a boomerang effect; they return to the sender with negative consequences. A current example of this phenomenon are the negative consequences U.S. President Donald Trump’s range of policies have thrust upon a major demographic cohort in the U.S.: The Baby Boomers.

: UN Bureau; THE WORLD; USA and Canada; 21 February 2019

Photo: Haitian National Police units have been having a tough task containing the outbreaks of violence and looting, restore order and freedom of movement. Credit: Guestonn Fermy / PNH 2019

Haiti Unrest Beginning to Take A Humanitarian Toll

By Lisa Vives, Global Information Network

NEW YORK (IDN) – Demonstrators have been filling the streets of downtown Port-au- Prince in Haiti, as anger and frustration over government mismanagement and corruption boils over.

Protestors are now demanding the resignation of President Jovenel Moise. Hundreds gathered in downtown Port-au-Prince a few days ago to demonstrate against economic mismanagement and corruption and to ask for President Jovenel Moise to step down.

: Global Information Network; THE WORLD; Latin America & the Caribbean; 18 February 2019

Photo: José David Dominguez, 9 years old, is accompanied by his mother, Yenni Dominguez, to get his vaccine at UNICEF's health point in Ipiales, Colombia. UNICEF has launched a regional response effort to support Venezuelan children and families, as well as children in host communities. © UNICEF/UN0253234/Moreno Gonza.

UN Committed to Providing Humanitarian Aid to Venezuelans

By J Nastranis

NEW YORK (IDN) – In view of the increasingly critical situation for ordinary Venezuelans, the United Nations remains committed to providing humanitarian support, based on “need, and need alone”, according to a senior aid official.

But the oil-rich country is not only suffering from food and medical shortages. The Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU) noted that dozens of opposition politicians continue to face ongoing harassment in the South American country.

: J Nastranis; THE WORLD; Latin America & the Caribbean; 11 February 2019

Photo: Signatories oft he Montevideo Mechanism. Credit: CARICOM.

'Montevideo Mechanism' Seeks to Resolve Venezuela Crisis

By Rodrigo Pérez

MONTEVIDEO (IDN) – The United Nations is willing to bring Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro and opposition leader Juan Guaido together for "serious negotiations" at their request, UN Secretary-General António Guterres said during a press conference at the 32nd African Union summit on February 10 at Addis Ababa. Ethiopia.

Earlier, the spokesman for Guterres, Stéphane Dujarric, said that the UN Chief "supports the efforts of the international community that will help find a political solution" to the situation in Venezuela.

: Rodrigo Pérez; THE WORLD; Latin America & the Caribbean; 11 February 2019

Photo: Caribbean Leaders with the UNGA President María Fernanda Espinosa Garcés (centre). Credit: Twitter @UN_PGA

CARICOM Alerts UN As Situation Escalates In Venezuela

By J C Suresh

TORONTO (IDN) – With the Venezuelan crisis worsening on its doorsteps, the 15-nation Caribbean Community (CARICOM) has been at pains to prevent the situation in the Bolivarian Republic taking a sharp turn for the worst.

It has censured the Secretary General of the Organization of American States (OAS) Luis Leonardo Almagro on his “unilateral” stance in accepting Juan Guaido as interim president of Venezuela, according to a report by the Caribbean Media Corporation (CMC).