Caribbean Community


The Caribbean Community is an organisation of fifteen nations and dependencies throughout the Caribbean having primary objectives to promote economic integration and cooperation among its members, to ensure that the benefits of integration are equitably shared, and to coordinate foreign policy. The organisation was established in 1973. Its major activities involve coordinating economic policies and development planning; devising and instituting special projects for the less-developed countries within its jurisdiction; operating as a regional single market for many of its members ; and handling regional trade disputes. The secretariat headquarters is in Georgetown, Guyana. CARICOM is an official United Nations Observer.
CARICOM was established by the English-speaking parts of the Caribbean, and currently includes all the independent anglophone island countries plus Belize, Guyana and Montserrat, as well as all other British Caribbean territories and Bermuda as associate members. English was its sole working language into the 1990s. The organization has become multilingual with the addition of Dutch-speaking Suriname in 1995 and the French-speaking Haiti in 2002. Furthermore, it has been suggested that Spanish could also become a working language. In July 2012, CARICOM announced that they were considering making French and Dutch official languages. In 2001, the heads of government signed a revised Treaty of Chaguaramas that cleared the way to transform the idea of a common market CARICOM into a Caribbean Single Market and Economy. Part of the revised treaty establishes and implements the Caribbean Court of Justice.

Membership

Currently CARICOM has 15 full members, 5 associate members and 8 observers. All of the associate members are British overseas territories, and it is currently not established what the role of the associate members will be. The observers are states which engage in at least one of CARICOM's technical committees. Although the group has close ties with Cuba, that nation was excluded due to lack of full democratic internal political arrangement. In 2017 the Republic of Cuba and the Caribbean Community bloc signed the "CARICOM-Cuba Trade and Economic Cooperation Agreement" to facilitate closer ties.
StatusNameJoin dateNotes
Full member4 July 1974
Full member4 July 1983Not part of customs union
Full member1 August 1973One of the four founding members
Full member1 May 1974
Full member1 May 1974
Full member1 May 1974
Full member1 August 1973One of the four founding members
Full member2 July 2002Provisional membership on 4 July 1998
Full member1 August 1973One of the four founding members
Full member1 May 1974British overseas territory
Full member26 July 1974Joined as Saint Christopher-Nevis-Anguilla
Full member1 May 1974
Full member1 May 1974
Full member4 July 1995
Full member1 August 1973One of the four founding members
AssociateJuly 1999British overseas territory
Associate2 July 2003British overseas territory
AssociateJuly 1991British overseas territory
Associate16 May 2002British overseas territory
AssociateJuly 1991British overseas territory
ObserverConstituent country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands
Observer
ObserverConstituent country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands
Observer
Observer
ObserverUnincorporated territory of the United States
ObserverConstituent country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands
Observer

Organisational structure

Structures comprised by the overall Caribbean Community.
Under Article 4 CARICOM breaks its 15 member states into two groups: Less Developed Countries and More Developed Countries.
The countries of CARICOM which are designated as Less Developed Countries are:
The countries of CARICOM which are designated as More Developed Countries are:
The post of Chairman is held in rotation by the regional Heads of State and Heads of Government of CARICOM's 15 member states. These include: Antigua and Barbuda, Belize, Dominica, Grenada, Haiti, Montserrat, St. Kitts and Nevis, St. Lucia, St. Vincent and the Grenadines, Bahamas, Barbados, Guyana, Jamaica, Suriname, Trinidad and Tobago.

Heads of government

CARICOM contains a quasi-Cabinet of the individual Heads of Government. These heads are given specific specialised portfolios of responsibility for overall regional development and integration.

Secretariat

The goal statement of the CARICOM Secretariat is:

Organs and bodies

Community Council

The Community Council consists of ministers responsible for community affairs and any other Minister designated by the member states in their absolute discretion. It is one of the community's principal organs; the other is the Conference of the Heads of Government. It is supported by four other organs and three bodies.
Secondary organAbbreviation
Council for Finance and PlanningCOFAP
Council for Foreign and Community RelationsCOFCOR
Council for Human and Social DevelopmentCOHSOD
Council for Trade and Economic DevelopmentCOTED

BodyDescription
Legal Affairs Committeeprovides legal advice
Budget Committeeexamines the draft budget and work programme of the Secretariat and submits recommendations to the Community Council.
Committee of the Central Bank Governorsprovides recommendations to the COFAP on monetary and financial matters.

Institutions

The 25 designated institutions of CARICOM are as follows:
InstitutionAbbreviation
Caribbean Disaster Emergency Management AgencyCDEMA
Caribbean Meteorological InstituteCMI
Caribbean Meteorological OrganisationCMO
Caribbean Food CorporationCFC
Caribbean Environment Health InstituteCEHI
Caribbean Agriculture Research and Development InstituteCARDI
Caribbean Regional Centre for the Education and training of Animal Health and Veterinary Public Health AssistantsREPAHA
Assembly of Caribbean Community ParliamentariansACCP
Caribbean Centre for Development AdministrationCARICAD
Caribbean Food and Nutrition InstituteCFNI
Caribbean Agricultural Health and Food Safety AgencyCAHFSA
CARICOM Implementation Agency for Crime and SecurityIMPACS
Caribbean Examinations CouncilCXC
CARICOM Single Market and EconomyCSME
Caribbean Court of JusticeCCJ
Caribbean Community Administrative TribunalCCAT
CARICOM Competition CommissionCCC
Caribbean Regional Fisheries MechanismCRFM
Caribbean Regional Organisation for Standards and QualityCROSQ
Caribbean Telecommunications UnionCTU
Caribbean Community Climate Change CentreCCCCC
Caribbean Organisation of Tax AdministratorsCOTA
Council of Legal EducationCLE
Caribbean Aviation Safety and Securing Oversight SystemCASSOS
Caribbean Regional Information and Translation InstituteCRITI

The Caribbean Court of Justice is based in Port of Spain, Trinidad and Tobago and was chiefly developed to act as a settlement unit for disputes on the functioning of the Caribbean Single Market and Economy . In addition, some of the region's Commonwealth Caribbean member states of CARICOM have opted to supplement original jurisdiction with "appellate jurisdiction" which by practice replaces the Privy Council with the CCJ.
As of 2018, the majority of member states continue to utilize the Privy Council as their final appellate court and three member states do not use the CCJ for either its original jurisdiction or its appellate jurisdiction because they have either not signed the Revised Treaty of Chaguaramas or are a current United Kingdom Overseas Territory. A handful of various public propositions have been held in several countries of CARICOM polling on public support for transitioning of appellate jurisdiction to the CCJ, and to date the majority of these measures held have failed.

Associate institutions

The six designated associate institutions of CARICOM are as follows:
Associate institutionAbbreviation
Caribbean Development BankCDB
University of GuyanaUG
University of the West IndiesUWI
Caribbean Law Institute / Caribbean Law Institute CentreCLI / CLIC
Organisation of Eastern Caribbean StatesOECS
West Indies Cricket BoardWICB

Symbols

Standard

The flag of the Caribbean Community was chosen and approved in November 1983 at the Conference of Heads of Government Meeting in Port of Spain, Trinidad. The original design by the firm of WINART Studies in Georgetown, Guyana was substantially modified at the July 1983 Meeting of the Conference of Heads of Government. The flag was first flown on 4 July 1984 in Nassau, Bahamas at the fifth Meeting of the Conference of Heads of Government.
The flag features a blue background, but the upper part is a light blue representing sky and the lower, a darker blue representing the Caribbean Sea. The yellow circle in the centre represents the sun on which is printed in black the logo of the Caribbean Community, two interlocking Cs. The two Cs are in the form of broken links in a chain, symbolising both unity and a break with the colonial past. The narrow ring of green around the sun represents the vegetation of the region.

Song

For CARICOM's 40th anniversary, a competition to compose an official song or anthem for CARICOM was launched in April 2013 to promote choosing a song that promoted unity and inspired CARICOM identity and pride. A regional panel of judges comprising independent experts in music was nominated by member states and the CARICOM Secretariat. Three rounds of competition condensed 63 entries to a final three, from which judges chose Celebrating CARICOM by Michele Henderson of Dominica in March 2014. Henderson won a US$10,000 prize. Her song was produced by her husband, Roland Delsol Jr., and arranged by Earlson Matthew. It also featured Michael Ferrol on drums and choral input from the St. Alphonsus Choir. It was re-produced for CARICOM by Carl Beaver Henderson of Trinidad and Tobago.
A second-place entry titled My CARICOM came from Jamaican Adiel Thomas who won US$5,000, and a third-place song titled One CARICOM by Carmella Lawrence of St. Kitts and Nevis, won US$2,500. The other songs from the top-ten finalists were:
The first official performance of Celebrating CARICOM by Henderson took place on Tuesday 1 July 2014 at the opening ceremony for the Thirty-Fifth Regional Meeting of the Conference of Heads of Government in Antigua and Barbuda.

Celebration

CARICOM DAY

The celebration of CARICOM Day is the selected day some Caribbean Community countries officially recognise the commemorative date of signing of the Treaty of Chaguaramas, the agreement that established CARICOM on July 4, 1973. The Treaty was signed in Chaguaramas, Trinidad & Tobago by then leaders of: Barbados, Guyana, Jamaica, and Trinidad and Tobago. CARICOM Day is recognised as an official public holiday in Guyana where the secretariat is based, and is observed on the first Monday of July. The government of Antigua and Barbuda has also implemented CARICOM Day as a holiday.
The day features activities that are organised by government entities such as parades, pageants, and campaigns to educate people about CARICOM.

CARICOM-Cuba Day

The Republic of Cuba commemorates with the bloc the initial date of official political relations between CARICOM and CUBA as the second week of December.

History

CARICOM, originally the Caribbean Community and Common Market, was established by the Treaty of Chaguaramas which took effect on 1 August 1973. The first four signatories were Barbados, Jamaica, Guyana and Trinidad and Tobago.
CARICOM superseded the 1965–1972 Caribbean Free Trade Association organised to provide a continued economic linkage between the English-speaking countries of the Caribbean after the dissolution of the West Indies Federation, which lasted from 3 January 1958 to 31 May 1962.
A revised Treaty of Chaguaramas established the Caribbean Community including the CARICOM Single Market and Economy and was signed by the CARICOM Heads of Government of the Caribbean Community on 5 July 2001 at their Twenty-Second Meeting of the Conference in Nassau, The Bahamas. The revised treaty cleared the way to transform the idea of a common market CARICOM into the Caribbean Single Market and Economy.
Haiti's membership in CARICOM remained effectively suspended from 29 February 2004 through early June 2006 following the 2004 Haitian coup d'état and the removal of Jean-Bertrand Aristide from the presidency. CARICOM announced that no democratically elected government in CARICOM should have its leader deposed. The fourteen other heads of government sought to have Aristide fly from Africa to Jamaica and share his account of events with them, which infuriated the interim Haitian prime minister, Gérard Latortue, who announced he would take steps to take Haiti out of CARICOM. CARICOM thus voted on suspending the participation of Haitian officials from the councils of CARICOM. Following the presidential election of René Préval, Haitian officials were readmitted and Préval himself gave the opening address at the CARICOM Council of Ministers meeting in July.
Since 2013 the CARICOM-bloc and with the Dominican Republic have been tied to the European Union via an Economic Partnership Agreements signed in 2008 known as CARIFORUM. The treaty grants all members of the European Union and CARIFORUM equal rights in terms of trade and investment. Under Article 234 of the agreement, the European Court of Justice handles dispute resolution between CARIFORUM and European Union states.

Statistics

MemberMembershipLand area Population GDP Millions USD GDP Per Capita USD Human Development Index
associate9115,174175.412,200-
full member442.6104,0842,39026,3000.776
full member10,010385,3409,33925,1000.805
full member430287,0104,91917,5000.813
full member22,806398,0503,2308,3000.720
associate5463,7795,19885,700-
associate15132,20650042,300-
associate26464,4202,50743,800-
full member75174,67985112,0000.724
full member344108,8251,59014,7000.763
full member214,970786,5086,3678,3000.670
full member27,56011,242,85619,8801,8000.503
full member10,8312,728,86426,2009,2000.726
full member1025,22043.88,500-
full member26156,3451,52826,8000.777
full member606180,4542,38413,5000.745
full member389109,8031,28111,6000.728
full member156,000573,0857,92813,9000.724
full member5,1281,359,19342,78031,2000.799
associate94837,91063229,100-
Full membersmembers only432,51018,400,316130,71115,2470.730

Thousands of Caricom nationals live within other member states of the Community.
An estimated 30,000 Jamaicans legally reside in other CARICOM member states, mainly in the Bahamas, Antigua & Barbuda. Also, an estimated 150 Jamaicans live and work in Montserrat. A November 21, 2013 estimated put 16,958 Jamaicans residing illegally in Trinidad & Tobago, as according to the records of the Office of the Chief Immigration Officer, their entry certificates would have since expired. By October 2014, the estimated Jamaicans residing illegally in Trinidad and Tobago was 19,000 along with an estimated 7,169 Barbadians and 25,884 Guyanese residing illegally. An estimated 8,000 Trinidadians and Tobagonians live in Jamaica.
of the member states of the CARICOM. Considering them, the total area reaches the 2 300 297 km².
Barbados hosts a large diaspora population of Guyanese, of whom 5,032 lived there permanently as citizens, permanent residents, immigrants and Caricom skilled nationals; 3,200 were residing in Barbados temporarily under work permits, as students, or with "reside and work" status. A further 2,000-3,000 Guyanese were estimated to be living illegally in Barbados at the time. Migration between Barbados and Guyana has deep roots, going back over 150 years, with the most intense period of Barbadian migration to then-British Guiana occurring between 1863 and 1886, although as late as the 1920s and 1930s Barbadians were still leaving Barbados for British Guiana.
Migration between Guyana and Suriname also goes back a number of years. An estimated 50,000 Guyanese had migrated to Suriname by 1986 In 1987 an estimated 30-40,000 Guyanese were in Suriname. Many Guyanese left Suriname in the 1970s and 1980s, either voluntarily by expulsion. Over 5,000 were expelled in January 1985 alone. in the instability Suriname experienced following independence, both coups and civil war. In 2013 an estimated 11,530 Guyanese had emigrated to Suriname and 4,662 Surinamese to Guyana.

Relationship to other supranational Caribbean organisations

Association of Caribbean States

CARICOM was instrumental in the formation of the Association of Caribbean States on 24 July 1994. The original idea for the Association came from a recommendation of the West Indian Commission, established in 1989 by the CARICOM heads of state and government. The Commission advocated both deepening the integration process and widening it through a separate regional organisation encompassing all states in the Caribbean.
CARICOM accepted the commission's recommendations and opened dialogue with other Caribbean states, the Central American states and the Latin American nations of Colombia, Venezuela and Mexico which border the Caribbean, for consultation on the proposals of the West Indian Commission.
At an October 1993 summit, the heads of state and government of CARICOM and the presidents of the then-Group of Three formally decided to create an association grouping all states of the Caribbean basin. A work schedule for its formation was adopted. The aim was to create the association in less than a year, an objective which was achieved with the formal creation of the ACS.

Community of Latin American and Caribbean States

CARICOM was also involved in the formation of the Community of Latin American and Caribbean States on 3 December 2010. The idea for CELAC originated at the Rio Group–Caribbean Community Unity Summit on 23 February 2010 in Mexico.

European Union: Economic Partnership Agreements

Since 2013, the CARICOM-bloc and the Dominican Republic have been tied to the European Union via an Economic Partnership Agreements known as CARIFORUM signed in 2008. The treaty grants all members of the European Union and CARIFORUM equal rights in terms of trade and investment. Within the agreement under Article 234, the European Court of Justice also carries dispute resolution mechanisms between CARIFORUM and the European Union states.

OHADAC Project

In May 2016, Caricom's court of original jurisdiction, the CCJ, signed a memorandum of understanding with the ACP Legal Association based in Guadeloupe recognising and supporting the goals of implementing a harmonised business law framework in the Caribbean through ACP Legal Association's OHADAC Project.
OHADAC is the acronym for the French "Organisation pour l'Harmonisation du Droit des Affaires en les Caraïbes", which translates into English as "Organisation for the Harmonisation of Business Law in the Caribbean". The OHADAC Project takes inspiration from a similar organisation in Africa and aims to enhance economic integration across the entire Caribbean and facilitate increased trade and international investment through unified laws and alternative dispute resolution methods.