News Releases

UWI Diplomatic Academy Nominees Receive Training in Non-Proliferation and Nuclear Disarmament

For Release Upon Receipt - July 20, 2021

St. Augustine


ST. AUGUSTINE, Trinidad and Tobago. Tuesday 20 July 2021 – Two officials from St. Vincent and the Grenadines, fielded by The UWI St. Augustine’s Diplomatic Academy of the Caribbean (DAOC), successfully completed the seventh edition of the Summer School on Non-proliferation and Nuclear Disarmament for Diplomats from Latin America and the Caribbean held in a virtual format on 28 June - 9 July 2021. They were among 37 diplomats and officials from 17 countries enrolled in the course, organized by the Government of Mexico through the Matías Romero Institute in coordination with the James Martin Center for Non-proliferation Studies of the Middlebury Institute of International Studies at Monterrey and the Agency for the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons in Latin America and the Caribbean (OPANAL).

The course comprised 14 modules, spanning a wide range of salient themes that include proliferation challenges and non-proliferation opportunities, as well as nuclear non-proliferation and disarmament, verification and international law, and more. Experts and representatives from academia, international organizations and NGOs taught the respective modules. Studies and training in non-proliferation and nuclear disarmament aim to understand the strategies behind the prevention of the spread of nuclear weapons, to further the goals of nuclear disarmament and general and complete disarmament, and to promote cooperation in the peaceful uses of nuclear energy.

“The Diplomatic Academy is committed to leveraging its growing network of international institutional partnerships to foster and facilitate expanded capacity building opportunities geared towards a cadre of young diplomats and officials from Caribbean Community Member States’ foreign ministries, which are its core constituency,” said DAOC Manager, Dr. Nand C. Bardouille. He underscored that: “We are grateful that the DAOC was allocated two seats in this outstanding summer school, which will help deepen institutional cooperation with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the United Mexican States. This training is especially pertinent to St. Vincent and the Grenadines’ foreign policy apparatus, considering that this country currently holds a seat as a non-permanent member of the 15-member United Nations Security Council for a two-year term, ending on 31 December 2021.”    

At the invitation of the Embassy of the United Mexican States to the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago, the DAOC nominated two representatives to take part in the training opportunity. Following a consultative process with regional and national stakeholders, the DAOC collaborated with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Foreign Trade of St. Vincent and the Grenadines to secure the participation of two officers. The two participants included Ms. Deah James, Attaché at the Embassy of St. Vincent and the Grenadines to the United States of America/Permanent Mission of St. Vincent and the Grenadines to the Organization of American States/High Commission of St. Vincent and the Grenadines to Canada; and Ms. Aliaka Jones, Foreign Service Officer at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Foreign Trade.

Reflecting on her training experience, Ms. James said, “The summer school course on non-proliferation and nuclear disarmament was informative and quite interesting.” “Having no prior knowledge in the area, the course allowed me to gain knowledge in the basics from competent presenters and breakout sessions that helped to cement the knowledge gained,” she added.

Ms. Jones also agreed that the summer school course provided a wealth of information and practical learning regarding non-proliferation and nuclear disarmament from erudite experts. “I had the opportunity to learn firsthand from negotiators and leading experts, including those from the IAEA and the UN 1540 Committee, who imparted foundational knowledge for a deeper understanding and interpretation of pertinent information,” she noted. Ms. Jones further noted, “the course highlighted critical areas of focus particularly for a nuclear weapons free-zone such as ours.”

Mr. Mozart Carr, Director of Foreign Policy and Research in the Department of Foreign Policy and Research of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Foreign Trade conveyed that his Ministry is honoured to have collaborated with the DAOC in respect of the Summer School. He said that the ongoing training partnership between his Ministry and the Diplomatic Academy has been especially beneficial to young Foreign Service officers. “Despite the region of Latin America and the Caribbean being recognized as a nuclear free-zone through the Treaty of Tlatelolco, there exist regions across the world where the lack of similar binding agreement creates gaps which could be exploited by State or non-state actors thereby undermining the peace and security of the world and humanity,” Mr. Carr added.        

The Director of UWI St. Augustine’s Institute of International Relations (IIR), Professor Jessica Byron, noted the longstanding and excellent collaborative relationship that links the Mexican Embassy in Port of Spain, the Matías Romero Institute and the IIR, and the numerous valuable training opportunities that have been extended to officials from CARICOM countries via this medium. She expressed her appreciation to the Embassy, the Matías Romero Institute and their partners, and underlined that this is one of the many ways in which the IIR and the DAOC continue to fulfil their human resource development mission in the Caribbean.       

The DAOC also fielded two representatives to take part in the sixth edition of the Summer School, held last year. The course takes place annually, with the inaugural iteration held in 2014. 

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About the Diplomatic Academy of the Caribbean (DAOC)

The DAOC is the Caribbean's premier professional development-oriented diplomatic studies centre. An integral part of The University of the West Indies' (UWI) Institute of International Relations (IIR), it was established in 2014. The DAOC has a primary teaching mandate in the area of diplomatic studies, offering short, highly specialized training modules in the broad field of diplomatic studies. For Caribbean professionals seeking to expand their capabilities to advance an international career, the DAOC is a trusted educational partner. Combining a world-class suite of curricular offerings, which align with topical policy and learning trends, with a programme of advocacy and partnerships regarding the relationship between diplomacy and the Caribbean, the Diplomatic Academy provides a unique setting for stakeholders to deepen diplomatic skills/knowledge and enhance policy expertise.

The DAOC has yielded substantial and complementary benefit to the IIR, which was established in 1966 by agreement between the Government of Trinidad and Tobago and the Government of Switzerland.

Integral to the DAOC's mission is its commitment to help close human resources capacity gaps in international affairs and diplomacy in the Caribbean, by providing capacity-building and skills development training in diplomacy to up and coming diplomats and to aspiring diplomats from the Caribbean Region. This diplomatic learning and training facility also strengthens the University's capacities for research/analysis, knowledge‐sharing, advocacy, and partnerships and dialogue on the relationship between diplomacy and the Caribbean broadly conceived, with the goal of helping to facilitate policy-relevant awareness-raising on international affairs issues of import (and that are topical) to the Region.

The Diplomatic Academy derives its character from its global outlook, real-world impact and Caribbean mindedness which, in sum, constitute The DAOC Advantage™. For more information, please visit:  https://sta.uwi.edu/daoc.

About The UWI

For over 70 years The University of the West Indies (The UWI) has provided service and leadership to the Caribbean region and wider world. The UWI has evolved from a university college of London in Jamaica with 33 medical students in 1948 to an internationally respected, regional university with near 50,000 students and five campuses: Mona in Jamaica, St. Augustine in Trinidad and Tobago, Cave Hill in Barbados, Five Islands in Antigua and Barbuda and an Open Campus. As part of its robust globalization agenda, The UWI has established partnering centres with universities in North America, Latin America, Asia, Africa and Europe including the State University of New York (SUNY)-UWI Center for Leadership and Sustainable Development; the Canada-Caribbean Institute with Brock University; the Strategic Alliance for Hemispheric Development with Universidad de los Andes (UNIANDES); The UWI-China Institute of Information Technology, the University of Lagos (UNILAG)-UWI Institute of African and Diaspora Studies; the Institute for Global African Affairs with the University of Johannesburg (UJ); The UWI-University of Havana Centre for Sustainable Development; The UWI-Coventry Institute for Industry-Academic Partnership with the University of Coventry and the Glasgow-Caribbean Centre for Development Research with the University of Glasgow.

The UWI offers over 800 certificate, diploma, undergraduate and postgraduate degree options in Food & Agriculture, Engineering, Humanities & Education, Law, Medical Sciences, Science & Technology, Social Sciences and Sport. 

As the region’s premier research academy, The UWI’s foremost objective is driving the growth and development of the regional economy. The world’s most reputable ranking agency, Times Higher Education, has ranked The UWI among the top 600 universities in the world for 2019 and 2020, and the 40 best universities in Latin America and the Caribbean in 2018 and 2019, then top 20 in 2020. The UWI has been the only Caribbean-based university to make the prestigious lists. 

For more, visit www.uwi.edu.

 (Please note that the proper name of the university is The University of the West Indies, inclusive of the “The”, hence The UWI.)

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