Lord Tariq Ahmad, Minister for the Commonwealth, the UN and South Asia and Christopher Pincher, Minister for Europe and the Americas
#TCI Office of the Governor – January 29, 2020 — “As the United Kingdom Government’s Ministers of State responsible for our Overseas Territories (OTs), a priority for us, and for the entire Government, has been to work closely with Territory leaders to identify the opportunities and concerns in each OT associated with Brexit.
You
will be aware of the recent General Election in the United Kingdom, the resulting
new dynamics in the United Kingdom’s Parliament and the decisive action of the
Prime Minister to press ahead with Brexit. The United Kingdom is set to leave
the EU on 31 January with a deal – the Prime Minister’s newly negotiated
Withdrawal Agreement. The Withdrawal Agreement provides for an implementation
period lasting until 31 December 2020, a time-limited period of transition
before Brexit-related changes take place. We want to take this opportunity to
set out what this means for people and businesses in the OTs.
To
summarise – during the implementation period, your rights and those of your
family members will not change, and neither will the relationship OT
companies and NGOs have with the EU.
Many of you may be thinking about how Brexit could affect your ability to travel or live abroad. Firstly, we would like to make clear that eligibility criteria for British passports of all types will not be affected by our departure from the EU. Secondly, the rules on travelling to the EU will remain the same throughout the implementation period.This means British Citizen passport holders will be able to continue to live, work and study in the EU as they do now. The rights of British Overseas Territory Citizen (BOTC) passport holders – including 90-day visa-free access to the Schengen area in any 180 days – will also not change, either during the implementation period or afterwards.
Minister Christopher Pincher, Europe & the Americas
We fully understand the importance of EU
funding for a number of organisations in the Territories. That is why the United
Kingdom Government had agreed to cover EU-funded projects in the OTs under EDF,
BEST, Horizon 2020 and Erasmus+ if the EU were to cease payments. As part of
the Prime Minister’s deal, there is no longer any risk of this: projects in the
OTs under these funding streams will continue to be covered by the EU for their
duration.
Businesses in the OTs exporting goods to the
EU27 will continue to be able to export tariff and quota-free for the duration
of the implementation period. Tariff and quota-free access to the United Kingdom
market for OT goods will continue indefinitely. While post-2020 access to the
EU27 market is a matter for the upcoming negotiations on the Future
Partnership, the United Kingdom Government is absolutely committed to seeking
the best possible access for OT goods as part of our future relationship with
the EU. During these negotiations the United Kingdom Government
will also work to ensure that any post-2020 mobility arrangements agreed with
the EU consider the specific needs and requirements of the OTs.
We
want to both assure you and to leave you in no doubt that the United Kingdom is
absolutely committed to the safety and prosperity of each of our British OTs.
Brexit is no exception to this. As we head into the next phase of the
negotiations and take up the opportunities afforded by our departure from the
EU, including the ability to negotiate our own trade agreements around the
world, the continuing priority for the United Kingdom Government is to ensure
that the voices of our OTs are heard. And that your priorities inform our
approach to the negotiations every step of the way.
The
Governor, His Excellency Nigel Dakin, added: “The Governor and Premier’s Office
have been in close touch with the UK Government, and in particular Lord Ahmad,
over the last year ensuring TCI’s voice has been heard. While this
statement should reassure citizens about the impact of Brexit, the more
interesting opportunity is how the United Kingdom now refocuses her attention
towards a more global outlook. I anticipate far greater positive engagement
with the Caribbean in general, and the Overseas Territories in particular, from
2020 onwards. As a result, I look forward to a visit by Lord Ahmad in the near
future. His programme will be designed to ensure he meets, as well as the
Premier and Leader of the Opposition, those involved in national security,
serious crime and criminal justice as well as seeing the recovery the Islands
have experienced since his last post-hurricane visit.”
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#USA, August 4, 2022 – For the first time in almost a decade a new case of polio was recorded in the United States. The case which ended in paralysis emphasizes the danger the region faces as vaccination levels drop to 30-year lows.
The World Health Organization warned in early July explained that vaccination in the region of the Americas and the rest of world was dropping rapidly because of various spin off effects precipitated by the Coronavirus Pandemic.
Over 65 million infants missed out on basic vaccines in the last three years thanks to disruptions in routine healthcare, lockdowns and other circumstances. The effects are already being felt as once eradicated disease like measles and polio are once again emerging.
The Pan American Health Organization announced earlier this year the Americas are now facing another measles outbreak after having been declared free of the disease in 2016.
Dr. Jarvis Barbosa, Assistant director of PAHO said vaccination levels are now as low as they were in 1994 for measles and polio and Brazil has had several outbreaks of measles.
In the case of the United States an unvaccinated young adult developed the disease after contact with another individual vaccinated with a live version of the vaccine.
The breakout polio case in the US sent shockwaves across the country because of the severe nature of the disease. Polio is an extremely dangerous disease with no known cure. It causes paralysis in as many as 1 in 200 infected and that paralysis is permanent.
Normally very few school age children would be at risk in the Americas as the vaccine is required to start school but with the gap in vaccinations many more children are now at risk.
Polio was one of the most feared diseases of the 20th century, paralyzing and killing hundreds of thousands, especially children. Thankfully vaccinated individuals are not at risk and as such the WHO is advising that the best way to protect against polio is vaccination.
Photo Caption: Child in Benin takes Polio vaccine, UNSDG
#Kansas, USA, August 5, 2022 – Voters in the state of Kansas have moved to uphold abortion rights in their state. Kansas legislators will now be prevented from putting restrictions or bans on abortion. In order to do so they would have to call for a constitutional review, a lengthy drawn out process.
“Kansans stood up for fundamental rights today. We rejected divisive legislation that jeopardized our economic future & put women’s health care access at risk,” Laura Kelly, Kansas’ Democratic Governor tweeted on Wednesday.
Kansas is the first state to put the issue on the state ballot since Roe v Wade the case making abortion a constitutional right was overturned at the Supreme Court level and US media
President Biden proclaimed his support for the bill encouraging congress to write Roe v Wade into law.
Roe v Wade was overturned on June 24, nearly 50 years after it was won.
#USA, August 5, 2022 – A Miami-based Federal Court returned a more than $10.2 million verdict against Carnival Cruise Line in favour of a passenger who claims a former crew member raped her in a storage closet aboard the Carnival Miracle in 2018.
A jury issued the verdict recently in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Florida finding Carnival liable for damages to the plaintiff, for false imprisonment and sexual assault by a crew member, in December 2018.
The jury separately found that Carnival was not negligent and that the former crew member did not intentionally inflict emotional distress on Plaintiff.
According to a statement issued last week Tuesday, Carnival Cruise Line said the incident between the plaintiff and the former crew member was consensual and plans to appeal the court’s decision.