UN Newsletter TT Issue 2b (1)

Issue 2 • September 2014
I N T H I S I S S U E
PAGE 2
Taking the ‘My World’ survey to the
people - Hitting the Streets for post-
2015
PAGE 3
United with the End Hunger Campaign:
Marching - because Mental Health
Matters
PAGE 5
Putting the Tools in the Right Hands
- UNIDIR partners with CARICOM
IMPACS to tackle Illegal Small Arms
PAGE 7
UNHCR and the Living Water Commu-
nity - Protecting the Rights of Refugees
in Trinidad and Tobago
Dear Partner,
The United Nations in Trinidad and Tobago has a broad mandate to
promote human rights, foster social and economic development, and
protect the environment towards a sustainable future. In order to achieve
its mandate, the UN has formed partnerships with members of civil society,
the private and public sector, community groups and other entities to
ensure that each group is well served.
In this issue of the UNTT Newsletter entitled ‘Stakeholder Voices’, we
highlight some of the partnerships and recent work of several of our
stakeholder partners in Trinidad and Tobago.
Security Guard votes for “support for people who can’t work” for the ‘My World’ survey at Harris
Promenade, San Fernando, Trinidad and Tobago
Stakeholder
Voices

‘My World’ is a global survey for
citizens led by the United Nations
and partners. It aims to capture
people’s voices, priorities and
views so that global leaders can be
informed as they begin the process
of defining the new development
agenda for the world. Through
creative online and offline methods,
‘My World’ asks individuals which
six of sixteen possible issues
they think would make the most
difference to their lives. The
sixteen issues have been built up
from the priorities expressed by
poor people in existing research
and polling exercises and they
cover the existing Millennium
Development Goals, plus issues of
sustainability, security, governance
and transparency. From now until
2015, the UN wants as many
people in as many countries as
possible to participate in ‘My
World’; citizens of all ages, genders
and backgrounds, and particularly
the world’s poor and marginalized
communities.
‘My World’ will continue gathering
people’s voices up to 2015 and
results will be shared with the
Secretary General and global
leaders as they prepare the next
development agenda in the run up
to 2015.
“I want this to be the most inclusive global development process the world has ever known”
- UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon
‘Protection against crime and violence is the
most important thing we have to deal with !’
Indra tells us
Taking the ‘My World’ survey to
the people - Hitting the Streets
for post-2015
United Nations Trinidad and
Tobago (UNTT), under the auspices
of the Office of the UN Resident
Coordinator, launched both an
online and an ‘on the ground’
campaign to promote Trinidad
and Tobago’s involvement in the
‘My World’ survey. The survey
has been promoted since June
via the UNTT official Facebook
page(https://www.facebook.com/
UNTrinidadandTobago) and its
profile has also been raised by a ‘hit
the streets’ tour. Staff members of
the Resident Coordinator’s Office
visited the Brian Lara Promenade
and Harris Promenade, in the city
hubs of Port-of-Spain and San
Fernando respectively, to engage
passers-by one-on-one on their
top development priority areas.
Trinidad and Tobago is currently
ranked 17th in the world with
regard to the online country voting
for the ‘My World’ 2015 vote. It
appears that the UNTT ‘My ‘World’
campaign has had a positive effect
on the online country voting since
there was a noticeable ‘spike’ of
approximately 4000 votes between
June and August which took the
country’s tally from just over 26,
000 votes to over 30, 000 votes in
a timeframe that coincided with the
UNTT ‘My World’ campaign.
UN Newsletter Trinidad & Tobago | 2Stakeholder Voices

On Sunday August 17th 2014, the
End Hunger Campaign hosted a
parade through the streets of Rio
Claro in observance of the United
Nations International Youth Day
and its 2014 theme, ‘Youth and
Mental Health’. An estimated 1,500
people braved the searing 9 a.m.
heat to attend the event, held in
conjunction with United Nations
Trinidad and Tobago (UNTT) and
supported by other local NGOs and
community groups such as Friends
for Change T&T and the UWI guild
of students.
The End Hunger Committee is a
non-profit organisation with the
stated aim of “creating awareness
of world hunger and poverty.” It
has for years been raising both
awareness and funds to combat
global child hunger through its
annual, ‘Walk to End Child Hunger’
at Rio Claro. Though based in Rio
Claro, the organization possesses
a global vision for change and
has over the last eight years
encouraged philanthropy by
consistently lobbying members of
the society- private citizens and
organisations alike, to donate to
the World Food Programme. As a
result of its outreach programmes,
it can proudly boast of being
responsible forproviding food for
thousands of children in dire need
around the globe.
The year 2014 marks the second
consecutive year that The End
Hunger Committee has joined
forces with UNTT to host the
official United Nations International
Youth Day event in Trinidad and
Tobago. Last year the Day’s theme
was “Youth Migration: Moving
Development Forward,” and
the organisation sensitised the
community to the issues associated
with youth migration by way of an
address from a UN Information
Officer (UNIC).
The Public Relations Officer of the
Trinidad and Tobago Police Service
(TTPS), Inspector Wayne Mystar, also
addressed the crowd on the issue of
Youth Mental health. The Inspector
has invested personally and
Participants of the International Youth Day march proceed through the streets of Rio Claro
United with the End Hunger
Campaign: Marching - because
Mental Health Matters

professionally in tackling the plight of
youth and mental health issues as he
has been the head of an anti-bullying
campaign led by the TTPS.
Launched with the intention of
increasing awareness among
students, parents and teachers
about the ills of bullying, the
campaign provided Inspector
Mystar with the opportunity to
interact first hand with young
people who were more prone to be
battling with mental health issues
as a result of their constant fight
to deal with the effects of bullying.
He brought this unique perspective
to his address and urged those
in attendance to be vigilant in
recognising the signs of bullying
and in taking measures to halt this
harmful practice.
Member of Parliament for Mayaro,
Mr. Winston Peters, while speaking
to the Caribbean News Media
Group, whocovered the event, said
he was, “surprised by the turn out.”
He said, “it’s a clear indication that
persons understand the importance
of Mental Health as it pertains to
young people.”
During a telephone interview
following the event, the End
Hunger Committee Coordinator,
Mr. Ramla Chadeelal gave us some
insight into his views on the event.
He made many salient points, in
the process, linking mental well-
being to effective social policy and
expressing his thanks to the UN for
partnering with his organisation to
make this year’s event a resounding
success. An excerpt of his
statements is reproduced below:
“This year’s theme is important
because a lot of young people right
now are extremely challenged. They
are qualified professionally but they
only have employment by contract
and when their contract is up there
is a high level of hopelessness. This
sometimes leads to behavioural
problems. You find that even with
the high level of qualifications that
they have, they’re not getting the
level of employment based on their
qualifications.
One of the reasons why we try to
make the effort in doing what we’re
doing in the community is that most
of the times the rural communities
are neglected socially so we try to
make it a good social event while at
the same time getting the message
[of youth and mental health] out.
My aim with the community is to
host these events as social events
because there is nothing much that
these communities do socially.
I had a conversation with Mr. Earl
Lovelace yesterday and I was
letting him know that the way
people socialised in the rural areas
25 years ago is totally different
[to the way they socialise today].
There is [now] no activity. Just to
give you a picture of my life in the
rural community, long ago we didn’t
have access to pipe borne water
in these areas but now that there
is the run off of pipe borne water
into the rivers there is no river fish
or conchs.
There is absolutely nothing fun for
us now so the natural environment
which makes up part of a healthy
level of socialising in the community
is no longer there. Remember
there is a ban on hunting as well. I
discussed this with His Excellency
[the President] when he invited
us earlier this year. You also don’t
have sporting infrastructure in the
community.
There isn’t a youth development
policy for rural areas so if you have
the opportunity available to you, you
may have to go to Port-of-Spain [to
engage in social activities] and that
is probably less than 10% of the
rural areas [who have that option
available to them]. But getting a
youngster to walk behind a military
band [as was the case during the
parade] may be an experience he
remembers till he is an adult.
You will find that to get the Defence
Force and most of these other
service bands that normally come
out will normally require a parade
in Port-of-Spain. So that is one
of the things that attract people’s
attention - when they know the
army band is coming it grabs a lot
of people’s attention and they come
out to the event so we try to make it
a social event and at the same time
get the international message out.
I was very happy that the United
Nations gave us the opportunity to
host the event in the community.
It’s always a proud moment when
an event comes up and the UN
asks us “are you willing to host it?”
Sometimes you put so many ideas,
resources and information out and
people don’t really come out to
patronise, but I was happy that so
many people came out.”
UN Youth for Youth Day: members of the UNTT
contingent get ready to promote the work of the
UN by distributing UN material and engaging
interested youth

“Small arms in the wrong hands
destroy lives and livelihoods,
impede peace efforts, hinder
humanitarian aid, facilitate the illicit
trade in narcotics and obstruct
investment and development” - UN
Secretary Genral Ban Ki-moon
The United Nations Institute for
Disarmament Research (UNIDIR)
in conjunction with the CARICOM
Implementing Agency for Crime
and Security (IMPACS) hosted
a Regional Training of Trainers
Workshop on the International
Small Arms Control Standards
(ISACS) and its Assessment Tool at
CARICOM IMPACS’ headquarters
in Port of Spain between August
25th and August 27th 2014.
The International Small Arms
Control Standards Assessment
Tool (ISSACS-AT), developed by
UNIDIR provides clear, practical
and comprehensive guidance to
practitioners and policymakers on
fundamental aspects of firearms
control based on UN agreements,
which CARICOM Member States
are committed to. The ISACS-AT
is a powerful means of assisting
Member States in strengthening
firearms controls.
The workshop held in Port-of-Spain
is part of a wider global strategic
agenda instituted by the UN (and
executed by UNIDIR) to help build
a cadre of professionals proficient
in using the ISACS Assessment
Tool and in training others how
to use it. UNIDIR, in cooperation
with regional partners, organised
a series of 5 other similar regional
training-of-trainers style capacity
building workshops in the second
half of 2014 in Latin America, Africa,
Europe and Asia.
The three-day regional training
of trainers workshop on the
International Small Arms Control
Standards (ISACS) and its
assessment tool brought together
officials from the Trinidad and
Tobago Police Service, Trinidad
and Tobago Defence Force,
the Strategic Service Agency
(SSA) and the Trinidad and
Tobago Forensic Science Centre.
Other representatives included
CARICOM IMPACS, Regional
Security Systems (RSS), the
Regional Intelligence Fusion Centre
and the Caribbean Coalition for
Development & the Reduction of
Armed Violence.
In the most practical terms, the
ISACS Assessment Tool can help
practitioners design, monitor and
evaluate small arms and light
weapons (SALW) control policies,
programmes and practices and to
assess how existing SALW controls
align with international standards.
The Tool enables users to navigate
the standards quickly, sort their
provisions by importance, generate
assessment questionnaires
on operational issues covered
by the ISACS and analyse the
assessment results, including
quick identification of priorities and
potential gaps, in order to evaluate
the implementation of existing small
arms control policies, programmes
and practices.
Speaking at the conclusion of the
workshop, Mr. Callixtus Joseph,
Regional Crime and Security
Strategy Coordinator of CARICOM
IMPACS, stated that IMPACS
is “fully committed to assisting
CARICOM member states and
strengthening their capacity in
reducing the scourge of armed
violence in the Region.” He also
urged participants to utilize the
ISACS Assessment tool in their
daily activities to strengthen
firearms controls in their respective
institutions. This is an important
approach as the training delivered
to CARICOM security professionals
is an initiative of Strategic Goal 5
of the 2013 ‘CARICOM Crime and
Security Strategy’ to “Enhance
Law Enforcement and Security
Capabilities and Strengthen
Regional Security Systems.”
Leroy Brebnor, Acting Senior
Superintendent of the Trinidad
and Tobago Police Service (TTPS),
acknowledged the importance
of this training in the use of the
ISACS tools in further assisting
the TTPS in its firearms control
programmes while Paul Browne
a representative from the Trinidad
and Tobago Forensic Science
Centre indicated that the tool
would “assist immediately in
Putting the Tools in the Right Hands -
UNIDIR partners with CARICOM IMPACS
to tackle Illegal Small Arms

strengthening physical security
protocols at the Forensic Science
Centre, in particular with the
storage of firearms evidence and
the promotion of international
standards.”
Ms. Folade Mutota, Chairperson
of the NGO ‘Caribbean Coalition
for Development & the Reduction
of Armed Violence (CDRAV)’
congratulated CARICOM IMPACS
on its participatory approach to
policy making and noted that
the role of Non-Governmental
Organisations (NGOs) in policy
development, programme design,
and project implementation is being
mainstreamed globally. Ms Mutota
stated that “mainstreaming civil
society participation in decision-
making is welcomed and should be
practiced by all governments and
intergovernmental organisations.”
She further noted that the tool will
“support civil society in its dual
role of monitoring government
implementation of international
obligations and partnering with
government to control small arms
proliferation and preventing the
deleterious effects of misuse.”
She also welcomed the planned
inclusion of gender indicators as
an imperative for comprehensive
analysis of small arms control.
Himayu Shiotani, project manager
and researcher of UNIDIR and the
primary facilitator of the Trinidad
workshop, noted that this capacity
building initiative in the Caribbean
region has advanced a sustainable
model for long-term use and
adherence to SALW control
standards and “enabled trained
participants to serve as a force-
multiplier in assisting interested
users (including Member States
and Agencies) to implement the
Standards into their small arms
strategies, programmes and
practices in a practical manner at
the national level.”
Delvin Mathurin, Senior Analyst at the Regional Intelligence Fusion Centre (RIFC) makes a point to participants during a simulation on border control.

Mandated to protect millions of
refugees, stateless, internally
displaced and other people of
concern, the Office of the United
Nations High Commissioner for
Refugees (UNHCR), also known as
the UN Refugee Agency, often acts
through implementing partners in
various countries.
The agency’s implementing partner
in Trinidad and Tobago is the ‘Living
Water Community’.
We sat down with Ms. Rochelle
Nakhid, Programme Coordinator
of the Living Water Community’s
Refugees and Asylum Seekers
Program to gain some insights into
their work.
NB: Interviewer: DR - Mr. David
Riley (UN Communications
Associate in the Office of the UN
Resident Coordinators Office)
Interviewee: RN - Ms Rochelle
Nakhid(ProgrammeCoordinator
for the Living Water Community
Ministry for Refugees and
Asylum Seekers)
• Immigration refers to the
Immigration Division of Trinidad
and Tobago
• A Minister’s Permit is a
document that is issued by
Immigration to immigrants
granting them certain rights in
Trinidad and Tobago.
DR: Good day Ms. Nakhid. For
the benefit of those that don’t
know, can you give us some
background information on the
Living Water Community?
RN: Living Water Community will
be 40 years old in 2015. It was
founded by Rhonda Maingot who is
pretty much a well-known figure in
the community. How it functions is
that there are community members
who are household members. They
all live together in a community and
they work for the community 24/7.
That’s their life. They all dedicate
their lives to serving the poor and
the needy. There are probably
about 20 community members.
This is the home base (109 Fredrick
Street, Port-of-Spain) but there are
also Living Water Communities
in Saba [Netherland Antilles],
Barbados and St. Lucia. The
household members rotate to the
different missions. It’s a little United
Nations (laughing). The community
has numerous other ministries. The
Ministry for Refugees and Asylum
Seekers is just one but there are
pastoral ministries where they
evangelise, then there are social
ministries. We have a soup kitchen,
a home for boys, a halfway house, a
cancer hospice as well as three drug
rehabs. A lot of people would know
these entities but they wouldn’t
know that Living Water Community
is the umbrella organisation. So, for
example, the drug Rehab in Mount
St. Benedicts, New Life Ministries,
is run by us.
DR: As an organisation, when
did Living Water Community first
start to deal with refugees and
how did that come about?
RN: It’s been over two decades
since UNHCR has been working
with Living Water on refugee issues.
LWC was actually approached by
UNDP(UnitedNationsDevelopment
Fund) at that time. Previously all
cases in the Caribbean were seen
by the UNHCR Venezuelan office
and of course that meant long
delays and processing times and
everything else that goes with it. So
a partnership was formed between
Living Water and UNHCR which is
more or less their standard way of
operating [forming partnerships].
I think even more so than many
other UN organisations.
They have many more partnerships
with local organisations than
do other organs of the UN. Our
director serves as the honorary
liaison to UNHCR. Over the years
the numbers of refugees have just
kept increasing and a Caribbean
[UNHCR]unitwasformed.It’sbased
in Washington DC. Traditionally it
had very few staff members. It’s
now growing. The work that we do,
we also have to do in partnership
with numerous stakeholders - with
government stakeholders, with the
IOM (International Organisation
UNHCR and the Living Water
Community - Protecting the Rights
of Refugees in Trinidad and Tobago

for Migration) who we work very
closely with and with other NGOS
like the Emancipation Support
Committee.
So over the years the number of
refugees has grown. Initially there
were just one or two. Now we
have basically over one hundred
refugees and asylum seekers.
Right now our number stands at
60 refugees, which is completely
unprecedented, especially when
you consider our population size.
We have about the same number
of asylum seekers or more actually.
And from various countries ranging
from Bangladesh to Congo, Cuba,
Egypt and Syria.
DR: You’ve worked with refugees
before in the United States.
How was your experience there
different from your current
experience in Trinidad and
Tobago?
RN: Here it’s a completely different
phenomenon from what I’ve worked
with in the US. In the US we worked
with refugees that had already
been granted refugee status. Here
you have asylum seekers - people
whose claims have not yet been
verified. It’s a completely different
dynamic because now you’re
working with local immigration
authorities and not just social
service providers. You have people
who enter the country ‘illegally’ and
who are undocumented.
All of these are issues that we
have to deal with - we do a lot of
lobbying, advocacy and work with
a wide range of stakeholders to
‘regularise’ people’s status through
an order of supervision and get
them settled into the community
or resettled to a third country.
However, Trinidad has no refugee
law and this impacts what we
would do. We work with IOM and
the US government and most of
our refugees are resettled in a third
country. For example, we sent a
batch of nine individuals earlier this
year to the US and we have another
batch that’s coming up but it’s
still a very small number because
the US, which takes in seventy to
eighty thousand refugees a year,
only take a couple hundred from
the Caribbean.
It’s understandable because
they prioritise based on political
interests and those people coming
from refugee camps. The situation
for a refugee living in a camp
and the urban refugee, like our
refugees who live in the City in
pretty much an urban environment,
is very different. So it’s challenging
working in the Americas I would
say. It has its own challenges just
as working in a refugee camp does.
When you’re contained in a refugee
camp there is some level of control.
When refugees are integrated and
working illegally, it’s a different story
and it is much more of a concern
for authorities than it is for people
Ms Rochelle Nakhid (Left), Programme Coordinator for the Living Water Community Ministry of Refugees and Asylum Seekers with Ms Jessica Eby,
Refugee Status Determination Associate, Caribbean Protection Unit UNHCR Regional Office for the US and the Caribbean

living, and contained, in a refugee
camp that are more dependent on
aid and other assistance. It’s an
interesting dynamic. However, in
June Cabinet approved a refugee
policy. It covers just refugee status
determination and right now
UNHCR pretty much handles that
part. We liaise with them when we
get new cases.
We pre-screen cases when they
come to us and if they have a
claim we refer them to UNHCR
and then they register the claim
and they send a representative.
Usually it’s someone who has a
legal background will come and do
these interviews for refugee status
determination. So next week,
for example, we have a UNHCR
Refugee Status Determination
Officer coming and within a couple
months she’s going to give us
a determination on the asylum
seeker’s claims. So how it works
is that if you get refugee status we
inform Immigration and right now
we’re waiting on the government to
issue Minister’s Permit for refugees.
In the past there was nothing. You
went from being an asylum seeker
to a refugee and there was nothing
- you still could not work legally.
You still had no ID [identification]
documents. We actually resettled
someone in February who has been
here for twenty years basically
living in limbo because [if you were
a refugee in times past] you were
just under the radar working and
you couldn’t integrate.
I mean, he actually went on to
marry a Trinidadian and had a
daughter who is now in university
and that’s sort of the challenges
that refugees face - refugees in
Trinidad and Tobago and urban
refugees in general - especially
if there is no provision by the
government. People basically live
their whole lives in limbo hoping
that a third country will accept
them. That’s how it’s been for most
of our refugees.
And some of them, because they’ve
been here for so long, want to stay
here but there are no provisions
for that. They can stay here on an
order of supervision, which is our
arrangement with Immigration.
They go every month for an order of
supervision. But they still can’t work
legally. Right now, for the first time,
we’re working with the Ministry of
Education and we’re supposed to
get some of our refugee kids into
public schools from September.
That’s a big success! So the order of
supervision from Immigration offers
protection from being detained and
deported. That’s all it does, which
really and truly, when you are a
refugeeandyoucan’tgobackhome,
is important yet still insufficient.
We’ve had some problems with the
Immigration Detention Centre (IDC).
And to be honest, it’s been a huge
step up because previously people
entering the country undocumented
would end up in jail. Now they go to
the Immigration Detention Centre
but we’ve had some problems with
police brutality and lengthy stays.
Ideally, per the 1951 Convention
Relating to the Status of Refugees
you would be free and not be
detained while your claim is
assessed. And so this year we had
changes in Immigration. We had
a few asylum seekers detained.
Actually for the past couple of
months we’ve had a couple of
refugees in there too. They were
in there, they were interviewed in
there and they got refugee status
determination and their refugee
status and it’s been hard to get
them out and then yesterday we
finally got them out.
So we got four refugees out of
IDC yesterday so that’s a big plus
for us. Now we just have to figure
out where we’re putting them to
live. So that’s the other challenge
along with integrating them back
into society. So it’s a rewarding job.
I don’t know if you have any other
questions for me (chuckles)
DR: (laughs) Yes I definitely do but
in the course of your response
you’ve answered a lot of them.
RN: I’m sorry I talk a lot
DR: (laughs) No, that’s ok. That’s
very helpful in a job like this
actually. The next thing that I
wanted to ask, which I thought
about while I was downstairs
in the café, is the fact that I eat
here regularly and I’m always
amazed at the high standard of
service. Everyone always seems
to be on time and friendly and
the customer service in general
is just excellent. What accounts
for that?
RN: We have an excellent director
in Rhonda Maingot. But I think
it’s also about the spirit of the
community. It’s about serving
people -whether you’re poor and
vulnerable or you’re coming to eat
in our café. That’s also the money
we need to run our ministries. But
we’re serving. That’s what the
community is here for - to serve.
DR: What are the challenges of
running the refugee and asylum
seekers program] and keeping it
going?
RN: I’m sure you know that I’m
going to say financing. We do
receive some financing from
UNHCR but it doesn’t cover all of
our expenses. The beautiful thing
about the community is that we
have a lot of volunteers so lots of

the people that you see are actually
volunteers. The receptionist and
the bookshop people are usually all
volunteers and so that really helps
in terms of keeping our expenses
down.
With regards to the refugee
program in particular we receive a
lot of donations of goods. I’m sure
most of these things are donations
(points to textbooks which cover
the floors and desks in the room in
which the interview is being held).
So we receive lots of donations
and that really really helps in terms
of meeting our everyday needs
because when people come in to
us and they have recently arrived in
the country, they need to furnish an
apartment.
There are challenges when
you move to a different place,
especially if you speak a different
language. So it’s really just about
being resourceful and networking
with people. Right now our kids
are getting English lessons from a
language school nearby and this
is being offered to us for free. You
really just have to be resourceful.
DR: What has been your proudest
moment in running this refugee
camp thus far, if you can narrow
it down to one?
RN: I don’t know if I have any one
proud moment. Every day is an
act of service. Every day you do
what you have to do to help those
in need. We do have times when
(pauses with a smile), for example
yesterday, when those four came
out of IDC (International Detention
Centre) that was...that was just
beautiful.
I was actually off yesterday and I
got a call from immigration saying
“we’re getting these guys out
today. Just get us those certificates
and we’ll get them out but you
have to come and bring it.” I’m
like (shocked expression followed
by laughter) sure! Why not?! I
mean those are some of the good
moments.
DR: What would you consider the
programs biggest success?
RN: I think right now definitely the
approval of the refugee policy.
That’s big that the government
would take a step like that. What’s
beautiful is that now that the policy
has been approved our relationship
with our government stakeholders
has greatly improved and we’re very
much impressed with Immigration
right now. There is a new Deputy
Chief Immigration officer. Her name
is Charmaine Gandhi-Andrews.
She’s definitely been a great
resource in immigration.
DR: And what about your
relationship with IOM
(International Office of
Migration)?
RN: We have an excellent
relationship with IOM. They help us
when we’re resettling people to the
US. They work with Immigration in
terms of getting them [refugees] to
leave, organising their tickets and
orienting them and those kinds of
things. But in general we just have
a great relationship with them.
DR: Finally do you have anything
you’d like to say to the public
about the refugee program?
RN: Well we’re always in need of
donations, housing supplies and
food. We hope very soon to have
Ministers Permits which means
our refugees will be able to work
legally and at that point we’ll
need employment opportunities.
So when they get their Minister’s
Permit employment would be
greatly appreciated. The thing is
we have people with a wide range
of skills.
We have people who may not
have formal education but they’ve
worked for years as a plumber
or possess other technical skills.
Some people can do stone carving,
carpentery and possess other very
unique talents. There is a lot that
they can contribute to the economy.
We have professional interpreters,
chefs from different cultures and
people with just a wide array of
skills.
One of the things we want to do is
to do a report on refugee livelihood
here in Trinidad and pin point just
how some of our refugees and
asylum seekers are contributing
to the economy and how they can
further contribute to the economy.
Even though we will soon have
Minister’s Permits for recognised
refugees, it’s only for refugees
but we also have asylum seekers
who per the convention [1951
Convention relating to the Status
of Refugees] should be allowed
the right to work while their status
is being determined and that’s
something hopefully in the coming
months we’ll be able to work on.
And I didn’t explain this, but what
we do is provide protection. That’s
our main focus and protection is
not just a physical protection. It’s
not just protection from detention
or protection from deportation,
but it’s protecting the rights of the
individual. It’s protecting the dignity
of every human being. It’s pretty
much a wide range of protection
related services that we offer.
So now that the refugee policy has
been approved, people arriving at
the airport should be able to say I
am here because I can’t return to
my home. I have a fear of return.

And that fear - that demand for
asylum should be acknowledged.
We’re now in the baby stages so
it’s expected that once anybody
does that, that Immigration will call
us.
One other important thing to
mention is not only that refugees
have a lot to offer, but we have a lot
to learn. Not just about their various
cultures, or language or food, but
also, about their resilience, their
strength. It’s very inspiring.
DR: I’m guessing there’s a lot of
sensitisation that would need to
happen?
RN: Right. And so what UNHCR is
offering right now is trainings - a lot
of trainings to Immigration officials
and other stakeholders. There
is one next week that a couple
Immigration officials are going to
and then there are a couple others
happening throughout the year.
There is the 1951 Convention
relating to the Status of Refugees
and there is also the Cartagena
Declaration of 1984 which turns
thirty this year and so it is a huge
year in terms of re-evaluating the
declaration.
The declaration expanded on the
original definition and the original
convention relating to the status
of refugees in terms of who would
be determined a refugee to meet
the varying needs and phenomena
of the Americas. And so it turns
30 this year and there will be
different regional consultations and
the regional consultation for the
Caribbean comes up in the second
week of September. Government
officials will be there so there will be
a lot more sensitisation in addition
to the upcoming trainings.
DR: That sounds great. I know
that capacity building is extremely
important to this process. I think
you’ve more than given me a great
insight into the process of the
regularisation of refugees here and
the tremendous and important role
which Living Water and UNHCR
play. Thank you very much.

International Day of Democracy
(September 15 )
International Day for the Preservation of the Ozone Layer
(September 16 )
International Day of Peace
(September 21)
World Maritime Day
(September 26)
International Day for the Total Elimination of Nuclear Weapons
(September 26)
World Tourism Day
(September 27)
This message has been sent on behalf of the United Nations Office of the Resident Coordinator in Trinidad and Tobago. It’s content may not be reproduced without
recognition of the source. The United Nations in Trinidad and Tobago also acknowledges the importance of protecting your your privacy and personal information, and will
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UP COMING EVENTSCONTACT THE EDITOR
David Riley
UN Communications
Associate
Office of the United Nations
Resident Coordinator
david.riley@one.un.org
868 623 7056 Ext 256

UN Newsletter TT Issue 2b (1)

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UN Newsletter TT Issue 2b (1)