BRASILIA/RIO DE JANEIRO, June 19 (Reuters) – Thousands took to the streets across Brazil on Saturday to protest against President Jair Bolsonaro’s pandemic response, blasting the leader for not acquiring vaccines fast enough and for questioning the need for mask-wearing.

Brazil surpassed 500,000 deaths from COVID-19 on Saturday, according to the Health Ministry, the world’s highest death toll after the United States.

The government faces fierce criticism for passing up early opportunities to buy vaccines. Pharmaceutical maker Pfizer said it got no response to offers to sell vaccines to the government between August and November last year.

“We are protesting against the genocidal Bolsonaro government that did not buy vaccines and has done nothing to take care of its people in the last year,” said 36-year-old Aline Rabelo, while protesting on the national mall in Brasilia.

Bolsonaro’s press office did not respond to request for comment. Only 11% of Brazilians are fully vaccinated and 29% have received a first dose, Health Ministry data shows.

Brazilian media reported that protests had been held in all 26 states as well as the capital Brasilia.

Many demonstrators called the 500,000 dead a form of genocide carried out by the government on the Brazilian people. They chanted, beat drums and held up signs demanding Bolsonaro be removed for office.

“Half a million reasons to oust Bolsonaro,” read one protestor’s sign in downtown Sao Paulo.

While organizers promised the largest demonstrations yet in more than 300 cities, gatherings in Rio de Janeiro and Brasilia on Saturday morning did not appear to be larger than the last major protests on May 29.

Protests in Sao Paulo, Brazil’s largest city and financial center, blocked major downtown thoroughfares, where protesters unfurled a banner the size of a city block demanding “Life, Bread, Vaccines and Education.” It was unclear how the crowd compared to May 29 protest there.

A special Senate committee is probing the Bolsonaro administration’s pandemic response, highlighting delayed efforts to acquire vaccines while prioritizing unproven treatments for COVID-19.

Last month, a poll showed Bolsonaro’s popularity has sunk to new lows with only 24% of Brazilians saying his administration is “good” or “great.” The same poll showed Bolsonaro’s left wing rival, former President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, would win in a run-off vote if the 2022 elections were held today. read more

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By Rich McKay and Brendan O’Brien

 

Juneteenth commemorates end of U.S. slavery

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The International Labour Conference has adopted a Global Call to Action outlining measures to create a human-centred recovery from the pandemic and avoid the long-term scarring of economies and societies.

M. Crozet / ILO GENEVA (ILO News) – Delegates from 181 countries representing the Governments, workers and employers at the International Labour Conference  (ILC) have adopted unanimously a Global Call to Action for a human-centred COVID-19 recovery that prioritizes the creation of decent jobs for all and addresses the inequalities caused by the crisis.

The Summit also heard video messages from key world leaders , including Pope Francis; South Korean President, Moon Jae-in; Portuguese Prime Minister, António Costa and US President Joe Biden.

The Global Call to Action for a Human-Centred Recovery  outlines a comprehensive agenda. It commits countries to ensuring that their economic and social recovery from the crisis is “fully inclusive, sustainable and resilient.”

The agreement includes two sets of agreed actions. The first covers measures to be taken by national governments and their employer and trade union ‘social partners’, to achieve a job-rich recovery that substantially strengthens worker and social protections and supports sustainable enterprises.

A second set of actions covers international cooperation and the role of multilateral institutions, including the ILO, with the aim of increasing the level and coherence of their support for national “human-centred” pandemic recovery strategies.

 

“Unless we specifically address the inequalities that have deepened during this crisis there is a very real risk that the economic and social consequences will cause long-term scarring.”

Guy Ryder, ILO Director-General

It calls on the ILO – with its mandate for social justice and decent work – to play a leadership role and use all means of action to support the design and implementation of recovery strategies that leave no one behind, including by reinforcing cooperation with other institutions of the multilateral system.

The Call to Action is grounded in the ILO’s Centenary Declaration for the Future of Work , adopted at the 2019 ILC. The Call provides a path for accelerating practical implementation of the Declaration through enhanced policies and investment that support a broad-based, fully-inclusive recovery. It also calls for urgent, coordinated action in related areas, including international cooperation and solidarity to ensure global and equal access to vaccines, treatments and preventive measures.

ILO Director-General Guy Ryder welcomed the agreement: “Creating a recovery that is inclusive, sustainable and resilient must become a top priority for public policy. This resolution provides a clear and comprehensive way forward that will enable countries to convert the moral and political aspiration of leaving no one behind into concrete action.”

He added: “The effectiveness and resilience of the recovery from COVID-19  will depend heavily on how broadly-based and socially inclusive it is. Unless we specifically address the inequalities that have deepened during this crisis there is a very real risk that the economic and social consequences will cause long-term scarring, particularly for disproportionately-affected groups such as young people and women, and the small and microenterprises that provide most of the world’s employment.”

In a special sitting of the ILC, prior to adopting the Call to Action, delegates took part in the first day of the two-day World of Work Summit: Global action for a human-centred COVID-19 response. The Summit discussed the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on labour markets, and recovery strategies that promote social justice and decent work.

 

 

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LONDON (Reuters) -Britain’s airlines and holiday companies are planning a “day of action” on Wednesday to ramp up pressure on the government to ease travel restrictions, with just weeks to go before the start of the peak summer season.

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By Staff Writer

St. Kitts and Nevis has recorded its first COVID-19 death, more than one year after the pandemic began.

This was revealed by Minister of Health, Akilah Byron-Nisbett, who on Thursday said that at about 12:14pm, they received word that the Federation of St Kitts and Nevis had recorded its first death as a result of COVID-19.

“We wish to extend condolences to the family and loved ones of the dearly departed. We have repeatedly said that we are not immune to the ravages of COVID-19 – including severe disease and death,” the Minister said.

Byron-Nisbett reminded that the vaccine prevents people from getting seriously ill and dying from COVID-19.

“While we mourn the loss of our first citizen, my trust is that it will serve as a wake-up call for all.”

Bryon-Nisbett added that in the last 12 hours there have been 28 positive tests, with 26 in the prison and two in the general population.

Though the identity of the individual had not been revealed, this publication understands that it is Doval “Troy” Prince, a man in his mid-40s, from Upper Cayon.

Prime Minister Dr. The Honourable Timothy Harris has expressed his condolences, and that on behalf of the Government and people of St. Kitts and Nevis, to the family and loved ones of the deceased.

“It is indeed a sad day for all of us here in St. Kitts and Nevis, after learning that the dreaded Coronavirus has claimed the life of one of our citizens. As Prime Minister, I express my profound condolences to the family and loved ones. I also wish to assure the family that my thoughts and prayers are with them at this very difficult time,” Prime Minister Harris said.

Dr. Harris again reminded citizens and residents of the importance of being vaccinated against the deadly disease, noting that the vaccines “are our best weapon in this fight.”

Despite the death, Health Minister Byron-Nisbett is noting that the JNF Hospital remains safe for other visitors.

“We have a ward at the hospital specific for COVID-19 cases – they do not mix with the other population within the hospital. The nurses and doctors who work with those patients are properly protected and do not mingle between wards.”

Medical Chief of Staff at the Hospital Dr Cameron Wilkinson said staff at the hospital on the COVID-19 ward are well protected.

“On the COVID-19 ward and on the respiratory side of the emergency room where patients come in with symptoms, persons working there are much safer than someone in the general public. Most of the persons working in these institutions are also vaccinated.”

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By Loshaun Dixon

The total number of COVID-19 cases at Her Majesty’s Prison is now at 37, with 26 new cases confirmed on Thursday.

Speaking on the outbreak at the prison, Chief Medical Officer Dr Hazel Laws, noted that they identified the first case on June 9; on June 11, eight additional inmates were found to be positive, two more on June 15, and 26 cases on June 17th, for a total of 37.

“These cases have all been notified. These cases are being monitored as we speak, and these cases have been separated from the General Population.”

She said that they will “continue contact tracing in the prison, and that other inmates who are experiencing symptoms will be tested, so there will be serial testing of inmates in Her Majesty’s Prison, so that we can pick up additional cases at the soonest”.

“All the cases are in isolation – four of the implicated cells have been and the others will be, professionally sanitized.”

Commissioner of Corrections Terrance James said the management and staff of Her Majesty’s Prison have worked hard to protect the health of the staff and residents since the announcement of the first confirmed COVID case in March 2020.

He said the risk factor of wide scale virus spread was always possible at the correctional facility.

“It was with this risk factor in mind that we implemented a number of measures to safeguard the health of prison personnel and residents early.

“We were quite successful in preventing the introduction of the virus in the prison for over a year and two months.”

James said a mass testing exercise was conducted on June 15, when members of the National COVID task force and representatives from the Ministry of Health visited Her Majesty’s Prison.

He noted that only the male block in the prison had been affected.

The Prison head assured that the staff members who had been identified had been placed in quarantine and tested, and that most of the staff have returned negative thus far.

“We moved swiftly to protect the health of personnel and residents. I want to assure the general public we are doing everything that we can to safeguard the health of all concerned at Her Majesty’s Prison.”

He said an isolation area has been established where affected residents have been placed, and have identified additional space to house those who need to be removed from the population.

“All the prisoners in isolation are receiving good care so far, and we have upgraded their intake of supplements”

James added that at this point in time, there is no consideration or plan to have an early release or to move prisoners from the facility, but that is something that can be up for discussion.

“We have looked at challenges we have in removing the inmates from Her Majesty’s Prison. They are human beings and we will treat them like human beings.”

He said if they were to transfer inmates, staff must be with them as well.

“If we take a high number of inmates out of the prison, we have to split our staff to accommodate to provide security at these institutions. We think that we are able to isolate these 37 inmates inside the prison with the spacing that we have so far.”

 

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Benjamin Franklin in 1736 coined the phrase, “An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure”. One would think that it had something to do with health – why the American printer and publisher, author, inventor and scientist, and diplomat made that famous comment – but he was actually speaking to firefighters in, at the time, fire-threatened Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA. 

Franklin was trying to inspire firefighters to seek out areas and things that could easily catch fire, and make them less incendiary. Preventing a fire is better than trying to put it out.

What Franklin said 285 years ago can be equated to what Prime Minister Harris and Premier Brantley have been telling Kittitians and Nevisians for a year now. Get vaccinated, the life you save might be your own.

Studies show that vaccinated persons who are exposed to the coronavirus have a greater chance of surviving than unvaccinated people.

As of yesterday, at least one person has died from COVID-19 in St. Kitts and Nevis. We hope that this would be the only one, but are not overly hopeful because of the way people in St. Kitts And Nevis live, in multigenerational lodgings. In many homes up to four or five generations board .

In many cases, grandparents and great grandparents seldom leave home. Children and grandchildren care for their elderly parents at home. So the extent that COVID-19 has been taken home to the elderly is yet unknown.

The full extent of the community spread is also unknown. Sadly, more loved ones could be lost.

The people of the Federation have been begged for months to take the vaccine, in an effort to get St. Kitts and Nevis to reach herd immunity; prevent super spreaders as much as possible, and allow the country to return to normalcy as quickly as possible.

The same thing that our leaders encouraged us to avoid has happened. Hundreds of residents are now infected with COVID-19, and not even half of the country have been vaccinated. Vaccines are available and are free, yet many have scoff at them.

Life was slowly returning to normal. A cruise ship was on its way, but had to be cancelled. Only about 11,000 out of more than 50,000 persons in St. Kitts and Nevis have been fully vaccinated. Things appear to be bleak right now, and this situation could have been avoided. 

There is a major problem in our country; even persons who cannot read or write know more than the doctors and scientists. They give absurd reasons why they won’t get vaccinated, and also encourage others not to vaccinate.

Educated persons are also doing the same. Politicians are encouraging constituents and others not to vaccinate. They do so both by omission and by commission.

The picture in St. Kitts and Nevis could have been vastly different, if only good sense prevailed and the population heeded the advice to vaccinate. That ounce of prevention would have literally been worth more than hundreds of cures.

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By Sir Ronald Sanders

(The writer is Antigua and Barbuda’s Ambassador to the United States and the Organization of American States.   He is also a Senior Fellow at the Institute of Commonwealth Studies at the University of London and Massey College in the University of Toronto.  The views expressed are entirely his own)  

 

More commonality was shown by CARICOM countries in a vote on Tuesday June 15 at the Organization of American States (OAS) than has been seen in recent times.

Eleven CARICOM countries joined 15 other member states of the OAS in adopting a resolution “expressing alarm at the recent deterioration of the political climate and human rights situation in Nicaragua” and condemning “the arrest, harassment and arbitrary restrictions placed on presidential candidates, political parties and independent media”.  The resolution also urged the government of President Daniel Ortega to promote “transparent, free and fair elections in  November” including  observation by international bodies.

In full transparency, I disclose that I chaired the June 15 meeting in my capacity as Antigua and Barbuda’s Ambassador and, presently, President of the Permanent Council of the OAS.

In joining this resolution, the 11 CARICOM countries were consistent in their position that there should be no interference in the internal affairs of states.  However, no country can be a member of any Organization, which proclaims adherence to the rule of law, democracy, human rights, and free and fair elections, and remain silent when these principles are discarded.  It should be noted that, in 13 of the 14 independent CARICOM countries, these principles are fully respected, and when they were under severe threat in Guyana last year, CARICOM countries played a vital role in ensuring, particularly, that presidential and regional elections were not stolen.

Democracy, free and fair elections, a free press and the right of dissent are all vigorously upheld in the majority of CARICOM countries.   Upholding and respecting these principles might be hard for parties in power to accept, especially if false charges and accusations are made against them.  Nonetheless, opposition politicians are not locked-up and the media is not silenced.

As an example of this, a Facebook posting (at: https://fb.watch/635WS4LYwv/)  shows a live scene in Antigua of Prime Minister Gaston Browne and Leader of one of the Opposition parties, Harold Lovell, with supporters meeting in a street in a constituency while the Prime Minister was on a “walk about”.  There were verbal exchanges between them, but there was not one armed soldier present, no building was burned, no citizen threatened, and no person charged or detained.

Dissent is defended in 13 of the 14 independent CARICOM countries because it is a fundamental right for which these societies fought through slavery, indentured labour and worker exploitation.  Democracy and free and fair elections are safeguarded because they are valued by people as a peaceful means of changing governments with which the majority are dissatisfied.

Because the people of these countries respect – and expect – these values in their homelands, their representatives cannot be silent spectators when they are violated elsewhere.

There is still one member state of CARICOM where democracy and the rule of law are being ignored, and in which transparent, free and fair presidential and legislative elections are in serious peril.   Silence, so far, by CARICOM collectively on the destruction of democratic institutions in this member country disregards the Charter of Civil Society which was invoked in the Guyana situation last year.

Fascism, authoritarianism, and the sheer lust to retain power, despite the majority will, lurks dangerously everywhere – even in the United States which lays claim to being a bastion of democracy and the rule of law.  That democracy was weakened by naked political ambition backed by vested interests and manifested by an organized assault on the US Congress and a bogus claim of stolen elections.  Fortunately, for the people of the US, other institutions of democracy such as the Courts, the media, and the armed forces, remained faithful to their national obligations.  But, the US is today wounded and weakened by these events.

Ponder, therefore, how smaller nations could suffer prolonged agony in trying to regain democracy when it is seized from their grasp.

That is why 11 CARICOM delegations at the OAS, on June 15, opted to send a clear signal to President Ortega that they want him to act democratically, to release persons who have been arbitrarily arrested,  and to stop onslaughts on the media.

The 11 CARICOM countries did not come to their common position without giving President Ortega’s government every chance to remedy conditions in Nicaragua.  For example, Antigua and Barbuda and a few other CARICOM countries voted against previous resolutions aimed at Nicaragua.  They did so to give President Ortega time to address grave charges raised by the Inter American and UN Commissions on Human Rights.   These Commissions reported that the “human rights crisis has resulted in at least 328 deaths and some 2,000 injuries, as a result of action by state agents or armed civilians acting with their acquiescence and tolerance”.

The recent spate of arbitrary arrests of persons, of beatings while in prison, of denials of access to legal representation and needed medicines, with no effort to change these conditions, including no attempt to  implement much needed electoral reform, left the 11 CARICOM countries with no choice.   As the Ambassador of Barbados, Noel Lynch, said at the June 15 meeting, “the evolving circumstances in Nicaragua are sufficiently worrying to warrant a strong call from the OAS membership for adequate steps to be taken to ensure transparent, free and fair elections in Nicaragua”.

Sadly, when as President of the OAS Permanent Council, I convened a meeting on Monday, June 14 to allow the representatives of Nicaragua an opportunity to state their view on the resolution, they opted not to show up.

Nicaragua may seem distant from the CARICOM area, but CARICOM must speak out to uphold democracy and the rule of law everywhere, or risk endangering these vital safeguards of freedom at home.

Responses and previous commentaries:www.sirronaldsanders.com  

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