The time has come to review all of the Caribbean’s Community’s (CARICOM) institutions and organs, and those found to be no longer relevant “should be amputated now”.
That is the recommendation of the Premier of Montserrat Reuben Meade, who lamented that many years after CARICOM heads made decisions on enhanced regional integration and improved freedom of movement, these key actions were still not fully in effect.
He made the call for CARICOM renewal last evening when the 48th Regular Meeting of the Conference of CARICOM Heads of Government opened at the Lloyd Erskine Sandiford Centre.
Meade, who is the newest CARICOM head, but previously served as Montserrat’s Chief Minister and Premier, said that while there was a need to make decisions and implement them within the agreed timelines, “in order for us to be in a position to do so, it is time for us to examine and review the institutions and organs of CARICOM in order for us to make meaningful change.
“We need to review the CARICOM institutions, and we can do that using local resources in order for CARICOM to become an agent of change for the peoples of our region, and be efficient in doing so,” he urged.
“We need to assess the functionality and relevance of some of the institutions and organs of CARICOM. We have the capacity to do those reviews with regional resources, without external donor funding. Keep it simple. I say, the time for making such decisions is now.”
Meade said that in the current economic landscape, “annual contributions to CARICOM are becoming increasingly difficult to satisfy many of us, and we are forced to question the value received”.
“I urge us all to revisit the mandate and institutions and organs of CARICOM and assess whether they are meeting their original objectives. If they are not, now is the time to rethink those organisations to make them more meaningful. The ones that are no longer relevant should be amputated now,” he added.
50 years
“I trust that my statement is taken in the spirit in which it was made. But truly, our people in the community should not be questioning the purpose and value of an organisation such as CARICOM, definitely not after 50 years.”
Speaking immediately before Meade, Grenada’s Prime Minister Dickon Mitchell, the outgoing CARICOM chairman, asserted that amidst major international challenges and changes, now was not the time for the region to retreat and not stand up and advocate for what is right.
“This is not a time for slow, incremental, tiptoeing around the many issues that confront us in CARICOM, in the region and in the international community.
This is not a time to allow for “might is right” and for the powerful and the wealthy to see that they can take what they want, when they want, wherever they want or how they want,” he said.
“So, as small as our populations may be, as small as our land masses may be, the international order that recognises the right of each individual and the sovereignty of each country, regardless of its size, to be able to take part in a rules-based international order based on universally accepted human rights must be defended, supported, advocated for at all times.”
Mitchell said this was important in the context of CARICOM member states’ quest for more support, and partnerships, as they battled the climate crisis.
It was also vital, he noted, in relation to fighting for Haiti’s right to life, liberty, decent health care, housing, education and the preservation of their culture.
He also told the audience, which included President of the European Commission Ursula von der Leyen, that “the issue of reparations for the transatlantic slavery and the enslavement of African peoples and black bodies . . . is an issue that we will take up with you”.
He recalled the acceptance that slavery was a crime against humanity, “that the appropriate apology and compensation is paid, and that the international community accepts that this should never happen again”.
CARICOM Secretary General Dr Carla Barnett called for “renewed and expanded partnerships and collaboration as we grapple with existing and emerging uncertainties”.
These included “the simultaneous global crises of climate change, biodiversity loss and population and pollution, crime and violence, ongoing military and trade wars, and other global shocks”.
Regional integration was key to this, she noted, adding in this regard that “internally, we are seeking to make our single market work more efficiently by simplifying the process of amendment of the Communities Rules of Origin to allow us to more effectively respond in a changing trade environment”. (SC)
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