Haiti’s Foreign Minister Pierrot Delienne

WASHINGTON, Jul 20, CMC – Caribbean Community (CARICOM) countries Wednesday said they remained optimistic that free and fair elections will be held in Haiti in October even as strategies are being discussed to strengthen the democratic process in the French-speaking CARICOM country.

Chairman of the Permanent Council of the Organization of  American States (OAS), Ambassador Eliston Rahming of the Bahamas said he remained optimistic that the people of Haiti will find ways to strengthen their democracy.

Prime Minister, the Most Hon. Andrew Holness, said a bilateral meeting with Prime Minister of the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago, Dr. the Hon. Keith Rowley, on July 18, has led to a deeper understanding of critical issues between the two countries.

Making a brief statement at the Office of the Prime Minister following the meeting, Mr. Holness said he and Dr. Rowley have developed a good friendship and understanding.

President of the Caribbean Court of Justice (CCJ) Sir Charles Dennis Byron informed participants of the Hague Convention Conference that the CCJ is in the final stages of developing programmes that would reduce the use of paper in judicial processes throughout the region.

“That (programmes being developed) would facilitate that process in domestic jurisdictions throughout the region, so it’s something that we would like to encourage acceptance to,” Sir Byron said on Friday. The three-day Hague conference on private International Law concluded on Friday.

Energy security and the efficiency of use of energy in the buildings of CARICOM is the focus of a three-day workshop in Grenada from July 13-15, 2016.

The regional workshop on Energy Efficiency Standards and Regulations brought together over 40 experts from the 15 Member States of CARICOM to examine two key objectives: the establishment of benchmarks for the energy performance of buildings in the form of agreed Minimum Energy Performance Standards (MEPs), and the provision of a firm basis for the development of a Regional Energy Efficiency Building Code (REEBC).

The Hague Conference being hosted by Guyana, in collaboration with the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) sets the foundation for Caribbean member states to work towards establishing laws that can be applied in relation to family law matters.

The three-day regional conference being hosted at the Pegasus Hotel, will address the Hague Conventions on child adoption, abduction, maintenance and international family mediation.