The newly formed Scientific Advisory Committee (SAC) has now released the full report of its meeting 5-7 May 2003. Their findings are in two parts:
Previous reports can be accessed using the links further down this page.
Montserrat's new police lauch 'Shamrock' arrived on island on 10, April and was put in the water the next day.
The boat had arrived in a container having been shipped to Montserrat from its builders, Ambar Marine Yard in Theodore, Alabama, U.S.A. The vessel, costing in the region of EC$500,000, was paid for by the Good Government Fund of Britain's Foreign & Commonwealth Office (FCO) and is thus additional funding to Montserrat's aid package.
The launch is already in operation providing marine safety and security even though it has not officially been formally launched. This ceremony is expected when H.E. the Governor, Mr Anthony J. Longrigg returns to the island in early May.
The launch is powered by two 225 horse power marine engines and is capable of a top speed of 40 knots (nautical miles per hour), and the purchase price included a set of spare engines. Included with the delivery were lifting harnesses and cradle for storage when it is necessary to take the boat is out of the water.
The launch has been designed for the demanding duties of military, coast guard and marine police matters and will have a crew of six police officers. The launch will be manned at all times she is in the water.
Commissioner of Police at the Royal Montserrat Police Force (RMPF), Mr John Douglas said "The new vessel will once again give the RMPF invaluable search & rescue capabilities and allow the resumption of regular patrols to maintain safety at sea and to counteract illegal activities".
Technical advice for the aquisition of the new vessel was provided by the British Military Advisory and Training Team (BMATT) which is based in Antigua. They will also offer advice on maintenance procedures.
The new Shamrock replaces its much smaller namesake which was damaged last year when being put back into the water at Little Bay following a period of maintenance.
From The Parliamentary Under Secretary of State
28 April 2003
J E H Kelsick Esq
via Governor's Office
Montserrat.
Dear Mr Kelsick,
I am replying to the letter sent on 7 March enclosing a petition with 219 signatures complaining about the decision to extend the exclusion zone around the Belham Valley because of the increased volcanic threat. I am writing to you as a representative of the petitioners and the first signatory. The petition has been considered carefully by Baroness Amos as Minister responsible for the Overseas Territories.
Baroness Amos understands that their sudden evacuation and continued exclusion from their homes must be distressing for the residents concerned. But she fully supports the Governor's position. The Governor took the decision to extend the Exclusion Zone only after careful consideration of the scientific advice and in consultation with the Chief Minister and other members of the Government of Montserrat. They are fully aware of the implications for individuals and Montserrat's economy. However, safety of life must be paramount, and the Government of Montserrat must be guided by the scientific assessments of the volcanic threat. At present this threat continues to grow. In January, the scientists in the Montserrat Volcano Observatory (MVO) confirmed in their second addendum to their 2002 report on the Soufriere Hills volcano that "as long as there is a substantial mass of new dome material perched above the NW flanks of the volcano, the danger of a very sizeable and energetic collapse entering the Belham Valley will persist and areas in the vicinity remain exposed to a substantial volcanic threat". These are views not only of the MVO but also an internationally respected panel of scientists. It is unreasonable to ask the Government of Montserrat to ignore them.
You suggest that it should be possible to return to your homes by signing waivers to release government from any liability. Such waivers of liability would not be appropriate where there is such a grave risk of loss of life. Nor is it possible to ensure that, if you return, you could be given adequate warning of danger. Large pyroclastic flows can occur without warning. On past experience they could reach the Belham area within about 3 minutes.
I understand that the Governor would have been prepared to meet you to discuss this issue before his departure to London for the annual Governors' conference but this was inhibited by your decision to seek judicial review. The Governor is still happy to meet you on his return to Montserrat in early May, but as the judicial review will not have been heard, any discussion may be constrained. If you wish, however, to arrange a meeting, you should contact his office. Baroness Amos has asked him to keep her fully updated.
The Governor's office will make arrangements for this letter to be published locally.
Yours sincerely,
Tom Fletcher
(Private Secretary to Baroness Amos)
In an effort to ensure that reports made by the United Kingdom under the International Convention on the Elimination of all Forms of Racial Discrimination (ICERD) are publicised as widely as possible they are accessible on this website. For the full version of the UK's 15th report under this Convention please click here: 15th Report;
For the observations on this report by the UN Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination click here: CERD Observations:
For the UK's replies to these observations which constitute the 16th report please click here: 16th Report.
The 16th report is being updated for an examination by the Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination (CERD) on 6 -7 August. An updated version will be on this website when available.
Hard copies of the reports are available at the Governor's Office, Public Library, Attorney General's Chambers and the Office of the Clerk of Council.
The synthesis report on human rights issues in the OTs produced by Social Development Direct is now available. Click the link to access as a Word document: SDD Synthesis Report
There are also several annexes to this report:
- Annex 2: Civil Society Organisations in the OTs
- Annex 3: UK and Regional Human Rights Organisations
- Annex 4: Terms of Reference for Project Officer
- Annex 5: Human Rights contact points in the OTs
- Annex 6: Thematic Recommendations
- Annex g: Montserrat
Two Prison Officers traveled to the Cayman Islands on the weekend of April 26, 2003 for a training session.
Prison Superintendent Lt. Peter W.A. White reported that Senior Officer Dennis Silcott and Officer Theodore Woodley, were involved in a two-week ‘Control and Restraint’ Re-Certification course at the Prison Officers Training Centre in Cayman.
Mr White said the course is basically to train officers to use effective and proper techniques in order to control difficult inmates without injury to either the officers or the inmates.
According to the Prison Superintendent, the officers must be certified before they can teach the ‘control and restraint’ techniques to other officers and he also added that the re-certification of key officers must be done annually.
Officers Silcott and Woodley will return to Montserrat in mid May as qualified Instructors, who will then be expected to share their knowledge and skills with their colleagues.
Lt. White said "The funding for the training course has come from the Governor’s Good Governance Fund and also the Montserrat Government. I am very happy to see that the prison staff has been exposed to such training prior to the completion of the new facility.
Recently, Anguilla’s Assistant Prison Superintendent, Neville Hamilton, conducted a one week ‘practical in-service’ course for officers at the local remand center.
Meantime, Mr Reuel Hixon, Assistant Prison Superintendent in Montserrat has completed a one week specialized course offered by CHUBB, the British manufacturers of high security locks and safes, in the United Kingdom.
Mr White said that more training courses will be offered to officers throughout the year. He also disclosed that there will be some key training assignments for the staff including an update on the new prison regulations related to the care and custody of female inmates and juveniles (young offenders).
Currently there are no female or young offenders at the facility in Brades.
Officials at the Montserrat Water Authority hosted a two-day regional workshop in Montserrat in late April on the topic ‘Pressure Valves Installation, Operation and Maintenance'. The workshop had been organised by the Montserrat Water Authority (MWA) and the Caribbean Basin Water Management Project (CBWMP). It was held at the Conference Room of the Royal Montserrat Police Force (RMPF) at Police Headquarters in Brades.
The workshop attracted participants from Antigua, Anguilla, Barbados, British Virgin Islands, Cayman Islands, Dominica, Grenada, Nevis, St Kitts, St Lucia and St Vincent as well as Montserrat.
According to the MWA, the aim of the workshop was to train and educate participants on the proper procedures of how to install, maintain and trouble shoot pressure valves.
The workshop's opening ceremony included an address by the Hon. John E. Wilson, Minister of Communications and Works, plus contributions from Permanent Secretary Mr Alric Taylor, MWA Manager Emile Duberry and Executive Director of the CBWMP Cecil Pemberton.
The workshop further shows the use the RMPF Conference Room is being put to - it has proved a valuable tool in attracting regional & international conferences to the island. This latest conference shows the confidence the region is beginning to show in Montserrat as the island recovers from the volcanic crisis.
The Government of Montserrat and HMG signed an Aide Memoire recently following the CPP Review talks held on-island. The main text of the Aide Memoire can be seen by clicking here.
Mr. Herman Francis, Montserrat’s Coordinator of Culture, represented Montserrat at the eighth meeting of the Council for Human and Social Development (COHSOD) held in Paramaribo, Suriname in late April.
On his return to Montserrat, Mr Francis reported that it was a good opportunity to see the venues that will be used during the Caribbean Festival of Arts (CARIFESTA) to be held in Suriname in August of this year.
Delegates at the COHSOD meeting recognised that Carifesta VIII offered an excellent opportunity for the region not only to showcase its creative talents, but also to demonstrate the economic value of its cultural products.
"The organisers in Suriname are enthusiastic about hosting the event", said Mr Francis, a former school teacher and one of Montserrat’s leading calypsonians.
He said that a small committee has been set up on island recently to begin preparations for Carifesta VIII and that, at a meeting in early May, the composition of the island’s delegation will be decided. While he could not say how many people would be in the delegation, the Cultural Coordinator confirmed that Montserrat would definitely be represented in Paramaribo.
Participants at the COHSOD meeting agreed that there was need for a comprehensive regional programme to support cultural industries in the Caribbean.
COHSOD also noted that the Caribbean Forum of African, Caribbean and Pacific States (CARIFORUM) cultural centers in Jamaica, Trinidad and Tobago and the Dominican Republic had completed two years of operations and that the CARIFORUM Foundation for Culture and the Arts had been established with support from the European Union and the Ford Foundation.
In a special week of activities held on island to celebrate the 30th anniversary of the Caribbean Examinations Council (CXC), Montserrat’s Minister of Education, Hon. Idabelle Meade, said that the Caribbean Examinations Council has served the Caribbean well over the past thirty years.
In the message broadcast on 7, April which was celebrated as National CXC Day, she noted that Montserrat was indeed proud to be one of the participating territories which signed the Agreement establishing the Caribbean Council in 1972.
The Council had created a process for its examinations which was now being emulated by international examination bodies and this was indeed an outstanding achievement, said Mrs Meade.
The CXC certification had also gained international recognition and could be used to gain access to almost any tertiary institution in any part of the world - a great achievement.
According to the Education Minister, CXC was one entity that had been successful in bringing the Caribbean together. This unity had lasted 30 years and she wished CXC continued success as it continued to provide examinations to the region.
Mrs Meade also mentioned that many of the island’s teachers had benefited from CXC workshops, involvement in marking examination scripts and being members of subject panels.
The Department of Education, she explained, continued to play a prominent role in CXC activities through the membership of education officials on the Council and the Schools Examination Committee.
Fifty students from the Montserrat Secondary School wrote the first examination in four of five subjects offered in 1979. Since then, a total of one thousand nine hundred and twenty one (1,921) students from the MSS had written the Caribbean Secondary Certificate Examination (CSEC), the largest group being one hundred and seventy three (173) in 1991; and the smallest eleven in 1998. The average pass rate for this period was 67 %, using Grade 1 and 2 as passing grades prior to 1998 and Grades 1, 2 and 3 after that date, noted the Education Minister.
Twenty subjects, the largest number offered for the examination by students from the MSS, occurred in 1995. During the current academic year eighteen subjects were on offer. In addition, private candidates started writing CXC's CSEC examinations in 1983 and over three hundred individuals had written them since then.
Other examination centers were established during the 1980’s and 1990’s including the Montserrat Technical College and the Seventh Day Adventist Community School.
The Caribbean Examination Council offered its first examinations in 1979, offering subjects in three proficiencies, General, Technical and Basic. Another important innovation of the CSEC examination was the introduction of a school based component, which encouraged continuous assessment and gave teachers the opportunity to guide and monitor students’ progress and to assess the finished product according to a criteria set by CXC. The SBA was usually worth 20% of the candidates’ total mark.
Other activities for CXC Week included a church service, a cocktail party for teachers and educational officials and radio broadcasts.
The Government of Montserrat and the British Geological Survey (BGS) have agreed on a five year contract related to the monitoring of the Soufriere Hills Volcano. The agreement was reached following a meeting in March of the Board of Management of the Montserrat Volcano Observatory.
The new contract will continue the long term involvement of BGS staff in the monitoring of volcanic activities on island. Head of BGS's International & Corporate Development, Mr David Ovadia said " The basic principal of the new contract is that in year one the existing compliment of BGS Scientists will continue and by the end of five years we will make ourselves redundant, having passed on a strong basis of first rate science that will continue into the future".
Over the next five years BGS will be replaced with local and regional scientists. In the first year the four main posts will be held by BGS scientists, in year two, it is hoped that one of the BGS staff will be replaced by someone from either Montserrat or the region, by year three, two persons will be replaced, by year four, three and by year five BGS expects to have withdrawn all its staff.
BGS has also been talking to the Head of the Seismic Research Unit (SRU) Dr John Shepherd about a greater role for the regional institution in the monitoring of activities associated with the volcano here in Montserrat. This would mean working together to identify and recruit suitably qualified & experienced local or regional scientists.
The new contract between the Government of Montserrat and the BGS is expected to be signed in the near future.
David Ovadia (BGS) and Horatio Tuitt (Director ED) sign MOU on new 5-year MVO Monitoring Agreement. Members of the MVO Board look on.
The Risk Assessment Panel which, over the years has been carrying out the assessments of the Soufriere Hills Volcano, has now been disbanded. Under new guidelines set out by Britain's Office of Science and Technology, there is now a formalized way in which Ministers of Government in Britain and Montserrat will receive scientific advice.
The advice will be given by a Scientific Advisory Committee (SAC) whose ultimate responsibility falls under the Foreign & Commonwealth Office. The SAC will meet for the first time in Montserrat during the week commencing Monday 5, May when it will examine the current risks associated with the Soufriere Hills Volcano.
The following eminent scientists are likely to be members of the first SAC; Steve Sparks, Willy Aspinall, Geoff Wadge, Keith Rowley, Robert Tilling, Jurgen Neuberg, Jean - Christophe Komorowski and the current Director of the MVO, Dr Peter Dunkley. However, it is expected that the make up of the team will change from time to time.
The Volcano Risk Assessment Panel published two addenda to their last full Scientific Assessment of September 2002:
To see the latest Risk Map Click Here.
For a full listing of all press releases, including those related to Entry into the Evacuation Zone, please go to the Press Releases Page.
There is an updated list of links relevant to Montserrat on this website. To check out the new information click 'Links' at the top of this page or Here
