Archive for March, 2009
Cayman’s human rights debate goes global
(CNS): The world’s leading international human rights watchdog has picked up the current debate in the Cayman Islands regarding section 16 in the Bill of Rights of the proposed Constitution and issued a global press release stating that the territory should revise the draft constitution to give full protection to all against unequal treatment, and the British government should ensure that this happens. Human Rights Watch (HRW) has sent letters to both the governor, Stuart Jack, and the British foreign secretary, David Miliband, urging them to make section 16 a free standing right.
In its worldwide release HRW explained that Cayman is going through the process of voting on a new constitution and told the story of how the government had eliminated what was originally proposed as a free-standing guarantee of equality before the law but had limited anti-discrimination protections only to rights expressly included in the constitution.
“This means that large and critically important areas of daily life would not be covered, including access to jobs, housing, and medical treatment,” HRW states. The release says that it is understood that the government has succumbed to pressure from religious groups, and the action was apparently intended to deny protections to lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender people.
“The British government is using a double standard, approving a draft constitution for an overseas territory that gives fewer protections than British citizens enjoy at home,” said Boris Dittrich, advocacy director of the lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender rights programme at Human Rights Watch. “Equality means equality, and it should apply across the board.”
Human Rights Watch urged the British and Cayman governments to ensure that protections in the new constitution apply not only to discrimination by the state, but also to discrimination by private entities. The HRW also cited the work of Equality Cayman, a nongovernmental organization which has strongly criticized the scope of the proposed language for section 16 in the draft constitution, stating that it offers inadequate protections against prejudice and inequality. “Protecting against discrimination and promoting equality should be core purposes of a bill of rights,” said Dittrich. “The territory’s new constitution should not fall short of that aim.”
In a letter to the governor the widely respected group urged support for full protections against discrimination in the new constitution. “We urge you and your government to support the introduction of a new section 16 in the Cayman Islands constitution that will include a free-standing right not to be discriminated against in all aspects of life,” wrote Dittrich on behalf of HRW. “This right should apply to all people in the Cayman Islands on a broad range of grounds, including sexual orientation and gender identity. This free-standing right should apply against discrimination originating both from acts by the government and by private parties in the Cayman Islands.
Equality Cayman intends to submit its petition to government this weekend requesting a choice at the referendum between the originally proposed free standing right and the laterally introduced closed right in section 16. Despite the passage of the referendum bill, the grass roots organisation is still hopeful that the government will listen to their proposal.
FOI commissioner favours mediation
(CNS): Cayman’s Information Commissioner has issued a set of policies and procedures on how she intends to be guided in exercising her duties and authorities under the Freedom of Information Law. Jennifer Dilbert said her overriding policy will be to seek mediated resolutions to appeals without having to resolve matters through a formal hearing, as she said both parties maintain more control over the outcome and it is more efficient.
“I hope, through these policies and procedures to provide, for all Cayman, certainty, transparency and efficiency in the dispute resolution and appeal processes,” she stated. “I intend to actively seek mediated resolutions as part of the process.” She said mediation would take into consideration the fact that the learning curve for public authorities about their new responsibilities is steep, and the understanding of the public will take some time to mature.
In the policies and procedures Dilbert explains the grounds for appeal, which includes the failure within the 30 day period of offices to indicate whether or not it holds a record, to communicate the information contained in a record, respond to a request for a record, to provide a notice in writing of its response, or otherwise failed to comply with an obligation imposed under this Law. Applicants can also appeal if a government office charges a fee that is in contravention of the law.
Dilbert explained that the information commissioner may direct staff from the ICO to investigate an appeal and attempt, through mediation, to assist theparties to settle the dispute, but she noted that not all files would be appropriate for referral to mediation. The mediation process is separate from a subsequent formal hearing by the information commissioner. All information provided by the parties during mediation is treated on a “without prejudice” basis, which means each party can engage in free and frank discussions without fearing damage to their case should the matter proceed further. The details of the mediation discussions will not be shared with the information commissioner to ensure that, if the matter proceeds to a formal inquiry, the commissioner remains impartial. Where an appeal is not settled, the applicant may request the matter proceed to a formal hearing before the commissioner under section 43 of the Law.
The commissioner is responsible for monitoring and enforcing compliance with the Freedom of Information Law by over eighty public authorities. That law gives the public the right to request records in the custody or control of a public authority, and requires that authority to provide the record within 30 days, unless one of the limited exceptions to disclosure applies. Individuals who are dissatisfied with the response of the public authority to their request may file an appeal with the information commissioner.
The public is invited to submit any comments on the interim guidelines to the Information Commissioner’s Office at the address below by the end of March 2009. For more information contact Jennifer Dilbert, Information Commissioner for the Cayman Islands, Information Commissioner’s Office, 1st Floor, Cayman Corporate Centre, 27 Hospital Road PO Box 10727, Grand Cayman KY1-1007, CAYMAN ISLANDS, Telephone: +1 345 244 3619 email: appeals@ico.gov.ky
UDP fields team of eleven
(CNS): The United Democratic Party has announced the names of the eleven candidates who will represent it at the forthcoming General Election on 20 May. The eleven ‘man’ team includes two women and is made up of the five existing members of the Legislative Assembly and six new candidates, who with the exception of Mark Scotland are new to the party slate. Criticising the current administration, party leader McKeeva Bush also introduced the UDP campaign slogan of "A better way forward" as well as his political colleagues.
Former CEO of Cayman Airways Mike Adam, Corporate Manager Pearlina McGaw-Lumsden, Butterfield Bank Senior Analyst Jonathan Piercy and talk show host Ellio Solomon will run in George Town, and MD of ARCP Mark Scotland, and owner of APS Security Dwayne Seymour will run in Bodden Town. Julianna- O’Connor-Connolly, the First Elected Member for the Sister Islands, will contest her seat for Cayman Brac and Little Cayman again, and the four familiar West Bay MLAs, Leader of the Party McKeeva Bush, Rolston Anglin, Cline Glidden Jr. and Eugene Ebanks, will also return to the hustings to contest their West Bay seats.
Introducing his full team, Bush said that between them they had more than 60 years of legislative experience and a wide range of professional backgrounds. “Together, we will pursue an agenda that puts every Caymanian in a good job, lowers the cost of living for every family and prepares every student for success in our rapidly changing economy,” he said.
The number of candidates won’t go unnoticed by sporting fans but Bush said he also had at least one more potential on the bench in North Side, since Ezzard Miller, while he was running as an independent, had publicly announced his willingness to work with the UDP. He also introduced a new ‘coach’ when he said that well know local lawyer and party member Sherry Bodden would be sharing the post of party chairman with Billy Reid.
Announcing the official team on Wednesday morning, 11 March, Bush said it was a feel-good day when the campaign to rid the country of the shackles of the old government had started. He said the team could not have come together at a better time to save the Cayman Islands from spiralling debt and spending as well as a financial service industry facing trouble.
“The problems we face are in part because of the global recession, but they have been compounded by government mismanagement,” Bush said. “The education system is failing students and the cost of living is rising every passing day. While the emphasis is put on buildings teachers and students left behind. Our way of life is being threatened and at this critical point the Cayman Islands needs new ideas and leadership to put us back on solid footing for the challenges ahead.”
Although the manifesto is not yet complete, he said that a priority for a UDP administration would be to balance the government budget and publish the accounts. He said it was ridiculous that the country does not currently know the state of government finances and that the current government was in breach of the Public Management Finance Law.
“We are committed to returning fiscaldiscipline to government spending and borrowing,” he said. “We will also pursue an agenda that puts every Caymanian in a job.”
Cline Glidden also said he was hoping to spearhead a campaign to better manage legislative time and said he was hoping to change Standing Orders so that the meeting times of the House could be changed to start sitting in the afternoon and continue later into the evening to accommodate the needs of ministers. “We recognise that we have not, under this administration, been making the most efficient use of parliamentary time,” he said. Bush offered his support to Glidden and said he himself had raised the problem of the time the House sits back in 1985 but for one reason or another it was never possible to change the situation. However, he was now making a commitment to do that if elected.
Bush also defended the party system and said it was the way forward, as party politics reflected the maturity of a political system. “It brings Cayman more in line with other advanced countries,” he said, explaining that it was better for voters to understand who was supporting who when they voted for them and not after the fact. “We can’t run this in an ad hoc fashion. We need organised politics by coming together before the election so people can see where we stand,” Bush added. He said while there were debates and discussions among his team, his was impressed with their input and their new ideas and that he was confident they were all up to the job.
Cayman signs deal with Northern European states
(CNS): With the G20 meeting only a few weeks away, the Cayman Islands government has signed another information sharing agreement, this time with the seven European nations known as the Nordic countries. According to the Portfolio of Finance and Economics, the series of bilateral agreements, including tax information agreements, were successfully concluded during technical negotiations held on 5-6 March 2009 in Copenhagen. Minister Alden McLaughlin said the agreement was further evidence that Cayman does not trade in secrecy.
The portfolio said in a statement that the recent meeting in Denmark was the second-round of negotiations, the first round having taken place in the Cayman Islands 17-18 April, 2008.
“We are very pleased to see these agreements come to fruition with our Nordic Group partners. It is proof of what can be achieved when parties approach negotiations in a fair manner, and we are keen to continue this trend, involving, on our part, effective arrangements for the provision of information on tax matters,” said the Minister for International Financial Services Policy, Alden McLaughlin. “This is further evidence that the Cayman Islands does not trade on secrecy or illicit tax activity.”
The seven tax information agreements are currently going through the political authorization process on both sides, to enable execution at a signing ceremony to be conducted in Stockholm in April 2009. The collateral commercial agreements will be signed in mid-June at the Embassy of the Kingdom of Norway in Paris. The Nordic countries comprise Denmark, Faroe Islands, Finland, Greenland, Iceland, Norway and Sweden.
Police name visiting snorkelling victim
(CNS): Elizabeth Ann Palm of Wisconsin, US, a 57-year-old visiting cruise passenger, died following a snorkelling trip off Seven Mile Beach on 4 March, the Royal Cayman Islands Police Service (RCIPS) has said. The 911 Emergency Communications Centre received a call at around 1:30 pm that afternoon from a staff member of Red Sail Sports who reported that she was being brought to shore unconscious. Despite receiving CPR and being met by medics, Mrs Palm was unfortunately pronounced dead at the hospital. The police send their condolences to the family and friends.
Local book store to celebrate bedtime reading
(CNS): To mark the ‘Week of the Young Child’, which starts on Monday, 16 March,Early Childhood Services will be holding its second Annual Pajama Party storytelling event at Books & Books between 6-8pm. The time-honoured tradition of the bedtime story will be celebrated when local children come together in footie pajamas and sleeping caps for an evening of family fun with night time tales from local personalities.
The first 100 children will be able to decorate their own pillowcase and will receive a 5 percent discount coupon from Books & Books. Milk and cookies will also be served for the first 150 children.
No dates on gender legislation
(CNS): Speaking at the celebration for International Women’s Day on Monday of this week, the Minster for Health and Human Services Anthony Eden said again that his ministry was working on the issue of gender violence in the Cayman Islands to strengthen the Domestic Violence Law; and bring forward new anti-discrimination legislation. However, the minister did not offer any timelines or whether he was intending to push through any legislation before dissolution of parliament on 24 March.
He also said he was seeking to re-establish a national committee that would address gender violence and other inter-linked issues, such as family violence, sexual violence and child abuse.
The minister also noted that while institutional mechanisms and strong legislation are essential individuals must play their part. “Each of us must refuse to turn a blind eye so that acts of violence against women and girls are ended in our families, workplaces and communities. It is the least we can do to ensure a brighter, safer future for girls and women,” he said.
Jack: ‘Glad’ Bridger came
In a statement issued on Wednesday morning, 11 March, the governor said that while mistakes had been made during Operation Tempura the investigation had succeeded in clearing the names of people who were unjustly accused of wrongdoing. “Many of us in the Cayman Islands – including myself – have acknowledged that some mistakes were made later on, as unfortunately sometimes happens with the best of intentions.”
He said he believed the Caymanian people wanted to see a better police force. "I am confident many people in the community will continue to support the actions taken by the acting commissioner of police to achieve that important national goal,” he said.
He noted that while Operation Tempura is winding down there was another report to consider and that the police operation would continue. “We must do so to provide justice for this community and for the RCIPS. The Cayman Islands’ reputation for integrity is even more important given the current economic pressures,” Governor Jack said.
“I want to reassure people who provided information to us, confidentially, that their claims have been carefully considered, and each one will be dealt with appropriately. In taking these investigations forward, I have also asked the acting commissioner and the Portfolio of Internal Affairs to look carefully at the financing arrangements to ensure that, in these difficult economic times, we are receiving the best possible value for money.”
He repeated Smith’s announcement that there will be a new senior investigating officer of this second phase investigation, known as Operation Cealt, but did not name anyone or state where the new SIO would be from.
However, he said there was a commitment to taking action against police officers who did not meet what were the high standards of the majority. “We equally remain determined to sort out key systems in the RCIPS that are not working well, so that the public can have greater confidence in their police service,” the governor added.
Bridger set to depart Cayman
Smith said in his statement that he had met with Cabinet on Tuesday, 10 March, and updated them on the special police investigations, Operation Tempura and Operation Cealt. Despite the elected governments continued and persistent public concerns regarding how SPIT has conducted the investigations, Smith claimed they had been “very supportive of the Royal Cayman Islands Police Service (RCIPS) and will continue to fund the two investigations.”
Smith also said he had asked Cabinet for almost CI$ 915,810 to continue SPIT’s work and it was approved. CNS continues to try and reach members of Cabinet to confirm if indeed they have made a u-turn on their position regarding the financing of the investigations.
Meanwhile, Smith stated that Operation Tempura’s active investigations were now primarily focused on preparing for upcoming trials. He said Bridger would continue to work on it until the end of April to ensure continuity of the process and facilitate a handover.
He did not say if or when Stuart Kernohan would be interviewed or if Chief Superintendent John Jones, who has remained suspended from office on full pay for the last 12 months, would be returned to post or charged with any offence.
Smith said an initial report had been completed and passed to him by SIO Bridger, who he said would also hand over the preparatory work that he has done on these investigations to his deputy senior investigating officer, who will lead Operation Tempura to its conclusion, and to a new SIO who would oversee Operation Cealt. However, Smith did not state who would take over from Bridger.
“SIO Bridger’s departure does not mean that these investigations are over,” said Smith. “The investigations are not just about one person. This decision is the result of discussions with Mr Bridger over several weeks, and is supported by both HE the Governor, Mr Stuart Jack, CVO and Metropolitan Police Assistant Commissioner John Yates. I would like to publicly thank Mr Bridger for his professionalism and for the work that he has done on Operation Tempura and the work he started on Operation Cealt. After 35 years as a police officer, I know how difficult anti-corruption investigations can be.”
No mention was made of Bridger’s culpability in the recently concluded case regarding the unlawful arrest of Justice Alex Henderson or the latest legal action by Burman Scott, who was also allegedly unlawfully arrested by one of Bridger’s SPIT members.
Smith turned his attention to the second phase of the investigation, which is based on alleged reports from the community regarding potential corruption within the ranks of the RCIPS.
“Over the past few weeks, I have been reviewing each of the statements made by members of the community on alleged incidents of police corruption. Today, I advised Cabinet that I wished to investigate certain of these allegations as a priority,” Smith stated.
He said that he and the Special Investigation Advisory Group (SAIG), which includes Deputy Chief Secretary Donovan Ebanks, Strategic Advisor Peter Gough and Chief Immigration Officer Franz Manderson, have also advised Cabinet on the importance of creating an environment which makes it extremely difficult for corruption to occur in the first place.
“The initial report that I received in January identified a number of systems in need of improvement,” Smith said. “We need to look at our vetting procedure when we recruit police officers. We also need to look at the way we access information and intelligence because it is imperative that we be able to ensure the public confidentiality when they give us information essential for our work.”
He said this would cost money and he was aware that the economic situation means that Cabinet must look very carefully at any requests for funding. Cabinet, he said, had approved CI $915,810 to continue the work of Operation Tempura up to the end of the current fiscal year and to take forward priority actions on Operation Cealt.
“This is a considerable sum, but these investigations are an investment in the future of the RCIPS. I want to see a community with full confidence in its police service. Over the past few weeks, along with my colleagues in the Advisory Group, I have looked very carefully to see where we can make cuts in spending that reflect the current economic circumstances and have examined staffing matters very carefully,” Smith said.
“As head of the RCIPS, I can assure the public that I will consider all the allegations that have been made. Some are particularly serious, and must be investigated so that we can establish the truth – and either bring criminal charges in appropriate cases, or end the suspicions against the innocent.”
CAL helps Brac craft ladies
(CNS): To ensure the Sister Islands were represented at this year’s Art @ Governor’s event, Cayman Airways sponsored the air transportation of three craft ladies from Cayman Brac whose families and neighbours are still recovering from the impact of Hurricane Paloma last November. Colleen Gibson will be travelling with Annelee Ebanks and Valda Watson, who says she has been twisting thatch twine for over 60 years.
Ebanks says she’s been making thatch hats and baskets for 56 years and “doesn’t plan on giving it up yet!” She has started teaching these traditional crafts in the Brac through the National Gallery’s Sister Islands office.
For more information on these classes email simones@candw.ky
Photo: CAL Express Pilot Devon Mclaughlin (centre) with (standing from left) National Gallery Deputy Director Natalie Coleman, Lineaya Hendricks representing her mother Colleen Gibson, the Gallery’s Sister Islands Office Coordinator Simone Scott, theGallery’s Communications & Marketing Manager Mona Lisa Tatum-Watler, and (sitting, from left) craft ladies Mrs. Annelee Ebanks and Mrs. Valda Watson.