Dear Lord Ahmad,
The elected Heads of Government from the British Overseas Territories of Anguilla, Bermuda, British Virgin Islands, Cayman Islands, Montserrat, and Turks and Caicos Islands held a positive and constructive meeting in Miami on 28 October 2017. We engaged in meaningful discussions on disaster response, recovery, resilience building and mitigation in respect of the unprecedented 2017 hurricane season.
Gratitude was expressed for the humanitarian, law enforcement and military assistance provided by Her Majesty’s Government in the immediate aftermath of Hurricanes Irma and Maria. Visits to Anguilla and the British Virgin Islands by the Foreign Secretary and Secretary of State for International Development and your visit to the Turks and Caicos Islands were welcomed. We also welcomed the public statement made by the Prime Minister that confirmed the United Kingdom’s commitment to fulfill its obligation to support the recovery and redevelopment of the British Overseas Territories in the Caribbean that were devastated by some of the worst storms on record.
We recognise the importance of the Territories supporting each other through continued regional cooperation. The efforts of Bermuda, the Cayman Islands, Gibraltar and Montserrat to provide humanitarian and law enforcement assistance to sister Overseas Territories demonstrate the strong bond between our people; a bond that we share with the United Kingdom.
We are encouraged that the requisite redevelopment needs of the British Overseas Territories will, in this case and otherwise, be met by the United Kingdom in accordance with Article 73 of the United Nations Charter.
We acknowledge that, as in any natural disaster, there are lessons to be learned. We are outlining a plan for regional disaster management cooperation and assistance, which builds upon our experiences during this and previous hurricane seasons and the growing effects of climate change.
We have also committed to sharing information, expertise and best practices as it relates to mitigation strategies, including looking at physical planning, communications, building codes and enforcement. We seek your support as we continue to build capacity within our disaster management functions.
It is globally recognised and accepted that the small island states of the Caribbean are most vulnerable to the adverse effects of climate change; a phenomenon not of our making. With the persistent increase in sea surface temperature, hurricanes in the region have intensified and are more frequent with catastrophic results for Territories with limited capacity or resources to respond or recover.
In keeping with the United Kingdom’s commitment as recently stated by the Prime Minister to support its Overseas Territories in circumstances such as these, we look forward to determining at the forthcoming Joint Ministerial Council how the United Kingdom will assist the Overseas Territories in respect of the following:
• Recovery;
• Re-construction and re-development;
• Resilience Building; and
• Preparedness and Mitigation (inter alia)
We note that the UK has already made financial commitments to various independent Caribbean countries for losses from the same extreme weather conditions. We look forward to determining the magnitude and nature of the financial assistance from the United Kingdom which is necessary to rebuild the affected Territories.
We believe that it is in the long term interest of both the United Kingdom and the Overseas Territories in question to address this with urgency in order to prevent long term damage to the economies of the Territories. Economic failure of the Territories risks protracted reliance upon aid funded by UK tax payers; as is the case with Montserrat which still receives over 60% of its recurrent budget some 22 years after their volcanic eruption due to the lack of critical infrastructure and development.
We are concerned that the time devoted in the proposed agenda for the forthcoming Joint Ministerial Council falls short of what our current needs require. The threat to the economic survival of these territories is real. There is no greater issue than the recovery of our region, as such we propose an amended agenda for the joint Ministerial Council.
We suggest that the morning of Tuesday 28th November not consist of three separate bilaterals but commence with the Plenary session at lOam. The morning session’s discussions should focus on recovery, reconstruction, resilience, preparedness and mitigation. It is our position that bilateral meetings for each Overseas Territory be arranged in the usual format by each Overseas Territory.
We thank you and look forward to working wi th you in the best interest of all concerned.
Yours Sincerely,
