Cayman’s position in the world on briefing agenda
(CNS): International governance expert, Dr Carlyle Corbin will be the guest speaker at a special interactive briefing hosted by the People for Referendum at the University of the Cayman Islands tomorrow evening. With many international changes taking place that will affect Cayman the meeting is intended to offer a forum to discuss their relevance to the country and how it becomes engaged on the global stage. Dr Corbin who was an expert presenter at the recent C24 Pacific Seminar in New Caledonia will be joined by Cayman’s own Steve McField who represented the Cayman Islands at the C-24 Seminar.
“The Cayman Islands would benefit by understanding how we can better utilize our membership in the UN Economic Committee of Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC) and other UN organizations that allows us to gain access to the UN system and further our international exposure,” said the organisers.
“We are Associate Members of CARICOM but as an organization CARICOM consistently does not speak up, when it should, in matters adversely affecting the UKOTs and our displeasure of the lack of support for UK OT’s interests should be made known to the organization. Dr. Corbin is familiar with all of these issues.”
In 1986 the UK, Cayman’s administering power formally withdrew from active participation in the work of the C-24. Since the time of the C-24 2003 Atlantic Seminar in Anguilla the UK has been unofficially participating in some aspects of the work of the committee.
In March 2009 they informed the committee that they have “devolved powers” to some of their Overseas Territories (OTs).
“This is just plain not true,” said the People for Referendum spokesperson. “All of the recently revised constitutions put the OT’s under more direct personal control of the UK Prime Minister with the power of the Order in Council now eliminating the Privy Council from the process. No powers have been devolved to the UK OT’s.’
The UK is however, actively seeking the “delisting” of their OTs from the Non-Self-Governing Territories List created in 1945 and reaffirmed again in 1960.
“We will also discuss the adverse effect premature “delisting” has had to other Non-Self-Governing Territories and why some of them are trying to get back on the list,” the organisers stated. “We can never know too much in the relations with our Administering Power and knowledge will assist us as we move towards developing a constitutional model that truly benefits the peoples of our Islands.”
Dr Corbin is the former Minister of State for External Affairs of the US. Virgin Islands, and was the territory’s representative to various United Nations agencies. He was that territory’s Washington Representative, and presently serves as the international advisor to the US Virgin Islands Fifth Constitutional Convention.
He has served as a United Nations (U.N.) expert on self-determination and governance for over two decades, and was the UN independent expert on UN political missions to Bermuda, and to the Turks and Caicos Islands, as well as constitutional advisor to the Government of Anguilla. He has also served as political advisor to successive chairs of the U.N. Special Committee on Decolonisation, and is Senior Editor of the journal Overseas Territories Review.
He has lectured widely on governance and political development in the Caribbean and Pacific, is the author of two United Nations studies on small island countries, two books and numerous scholarly articles on political and constitutional advancement.
Dr Corbin is also the author of three book chapters: “Direct Participation of Non-Independent Caribbean Countries in the United Nations,” in the book Islands at the crossroads: Politics in the Non-Independent Caribbean (Ian Randle, Jamaica, 2001); “A View of the Metropole,” in the book Governance in the Non-Independent Caribbean (Ian Randle Publishers, Jamaica, 2009); and Dependency Governance and Future Political Development in the Non-Independent Caribbean in the book “The Diplomacies of Small States” (Palgrave Macmillan, United Kingdom, 2009).
The Interactive Briefing will take place on Wednesday July 14 at 6:30 PM in the UCCI, Cascade Lecture Room at the campus South Entrance.
Category: Local News
As a developing nation albeit still a UKOT, we need to be cognisant to the world order and be more aware of the realities.
It is hoped that the presentation is taped and rebroadcast for the benefit of the wider Cayman public.
There are too many persons who wish the realities that face us would just go away – and are content with burying their face in the sand.
Like our 2009 Constitution, which was wrongly worded…
Yes I said it!
Everyone seems to think it is a fantastic document and reserves all authority and rights on behalf of and for the people of these islands. I recall I voted "no" for it
About time someone told us what is really going on.
Thanks