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CARIBBEAN TODAY


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 Tourism summit offers opportunities U.N. monitoring cost of living

for Caribbean diaspora to connect in U.S. impact on Caribbean children


WASHINGTON, D.C. The
Caribbean diaspora in the
United States will have the
opportunity to directly inter-
act with visiting Caribbean
tourism ministers this month
during town hall meetings
organized in conjunction with
the first Annual Caribbean
Tourism Summit (ACTS).
 Ministers of tourism will
converse with Washington/
Virginia/Maryland-based
nationals in open forum dis-
cussions on June 22. The
event is designed to appeal to
Caribbean nationals,
Caribbean Americans,
Caribbean interest groups and
young adults considering a
career in tourism.
 The Caribbean Tourism
Development Company
(CTDC), the marketing and
business development unit
owned equally by the
Caribbean Hotel Association
(CHA) and the Caribbean
Tourism Organization (CTO),
has created ACTS as a major
forum in which to focus on the
economic future of the
Caribbean region. A primary
objective of ACTS is to bring
the services industry in the
Caribbean, of which tourism is
a part, to the forefront of
development discussions.

ENGAGEMENT
 The conference will take
place June 21-24 at the
International Trade Center at
the Ronald Reagan Building
in downtown Washington,
D.C and will celebrate
Caribbean heritage while
coinciding with June's
Caribbean American Heritage
Month in June.
 "We have designed this
conference as a way to engage
influencers to help grow
tourism and increase invest-
ment in the Caribbean
region," said Hugh Riley, co-
chief operating officer for
CTDC.


 "At the same time, we
want to celebrate the tremen-
dous contributions of the peo-
ples of the Caribbean and to
continue raising the awareness
of our brand."
 All events and activities
are open to participants who
register. In addition to town
hall meetings, there will be:

* June 21 CTDC and Cond6
Nast Bridal Media will host a
"Capital Caribbean
Wedding", resulting from
Cond6 Nast Bridal Media's
online search for a couple
with a compelling story on
the theme of "When You
Knew Your Love was
Monumental! Tell us Your
Love Story or Your Picture
Perfect Proposal". The win-
ning couple will publically
exchange vows and receive a
honeymoon to a Caribbean
destination. There's free
admission to attend the wed-
ding, but registration is
required.

* June 22 Founder and
Senior Pastor of Bahamas
Faith Ministries International
Dr. Myles Munroe will make a
presentation at a motivational
brunch. There is an admission
fee of $35. Register online.


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* June 23 Gala Awards
Dinner and Ball. The black-tie
event will feature music from
Byron Lee and the
Dragonaires. Caribbean per-
sonalities, including Professor
Rex Nettleford and the Mighty
Sparrow, are among those list-
ed to attend. Contemporary
luminaries from entertainment,
public service and sports will be
presented with awards named
after famous Caribbean
heroes. Ticket information
available at www.ACTSdrccom.

* June 24 Financial experts
will convene for an interac-
tive "Workshop on Small
Business Investment in the
Tourism Sector", featuring
information on how to source
funding, technical assistance
and incentives offered by gov-
ernments, hotel chains and
investment groups to ensure
greater business success.
Admission fee is $25.

* June 24 Rum & Rhythm
Celebration, from 6 p.m. to 10
p.m. The event will include a
sampling of premium
Caribbean rums, traditional
Caribbean hospitality, and
interactive demonstrations on
how rum is made. Tickets are
at $60.
 For more information on
the first ACTS and to register
for all events, visit
www.ACTSdc.com or call
800-603-3545.
0


LONDON, CMC The
London-based human rights
group Amnesty International
says murder and police
killings in Jamaica have
remained at a high level.
 "Police officers were
largely unaccountable and
rarely brought to justice for
human rights violations.
Discrimination and violence
against women and gay men
were widespread", the human
rights group stated in its 2008
report released late last
month.
 It said homicide rates
reached another record high
with more than 1,500 people
murdered during last year.
 Amnesty said that
although the Jamaican Justice
System Reform Task Force
launched its preliminary
report last May, with compre-
hensive reform recommenda-
tions, "no clear plan for their


BRIDGETOWN, Barbados,
CMC A top official at the
Barbados office of the United
Nation Children's Education
Fund (UNICEF) says the
U.N. is concerned about the
impact which the rising cost of
living is having on children
and other vulnerable groups
throughout the Caribbean.
 Tom Olsen,
UNICEF repre- -; ,
sentative at the .
Office for .V ,


Barbados and
the Eastern
Caribbean, told
reporters at a
media exchange
last month that
governments
need to do more
to mitigate the
effects of the


implementation had been
devised by the end of the
year".

CONCERN
 It added that while there
has been a continuation of a
review of the Jamaica
Constabulary Force, initiated
by the previous administra-
tion, "there was concern
about the lack of consultation
with human rights organiza-
tions".
 Amnesty said that during
2007, reports of police brutali-
ty also increased.
 "According to the Bureau
of Special Investigations, 203
people were killed by police
between January and
September, a significant
increase compared with 2006.
Victims were mainly from
socially excluded inner-city
communities", it stated.
 "Although the police rou-


 ness on it," he added.
 Olsen said UNICEF's
 office in Barbados has to
 come up with a strategy to
 offer assistance to children
 and families affected by the
 increasing food prices.
 "When we are responding
 to it we want to do it adequate-
 ly with facts and data and not
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global problem -
on children U.N. worried aboi
 "What do region's children.
you do in the
meantime? I think that's
where you have to get a gov-
ernment that is proactive.
Government needs to be on
top of it as well and having
mechanisms in place to ensure
that there are fair prices out
there," he said.
 "I hear many people talk-
ing and saying I don't under-
stand because last week the
food prices were like
this'...They come in the shop
today and food prices have
gone up and no container has
come into the port. I would
say somebody is doing busi-


ut impact rising food prices is having on


 only making statements. I
 think we need some time to
 develop that kind of strategy to
 see how we can deal with the
 increase in food prices and the
 impact on children and the
 most vulnerable groups," the
 U.N. official added.
 He noted that the issue of
 high food prices is bigger than
 the region, pointing to the fact
 that U.N. Secretary General
 Ban Ki Moon has established
 a special committee to deal
 with the issues.
 0


tinely claimed that these
killings occurred during shoot-
outs with criminal gangs, eye-
witness accounts often alleged
that police had extra judicially
executed victims".

SEXUAL VIOLENCE
 Amnesty also said that
sexual violence against women
and girls was prevalent
throughout the country, and
that "the authorities failed to
bring those responsible to jus-
tice".
 Amnesty also said while no
one was executed in 2007, the
new government announced
there would be a free vote
"allowing representatives to
vote according to personal con-
science, in Parliament on the
resumption of hangings".
 The last execution in
Jamaica took place in 1988.
0


June 2008


Amnesty International worries over

 human rights abuse in Jamaica