Efforts to integrate the English speaking Caribbean date back to the short
lived ten-member British West Indies Federation of 1958. Despite plans
for establishment of a customs union, the federation placed little emphasis
on economic aspects and consequently no fundamental changes were effected
to the economic relationships among the member states.
Following the demise of the Federation in 1962 co-operation was continued
through the Common Services Conference and other joint projects such as
the Caribbean Meteorological Service established in 1963. Of even greater
significance was the proposal by Trinidad and Tobago for establishment
of a Caribbean Community to comprise the members of the Federation, plus
the Guianas and all the islands of the Caribbean. In order to discuss
this concept, Barbados, British Guiana, Jamaica and Trinidad and Tobago
convened the first Heads of Government Conference in 1963.
The integration movement developed rapid momentum thereafter. Between
July and December 1965 three Caribbean countries discussed and established
the Caribbean Free Trade Association (CARIFTA), although they delayed its
actual operation to allow several other countries to come aboard. The CARIFTA
Agreement came into effect in May 1968 with four states and by May 1971
no less than twelve states had signed on to the CARIFTA Agreement whose
stated objectives were:
-
to promote the expansion and diversification of trade in the area of the
Association;
-
to secure that trade between Member territories takes place in conditions
of fair competition;
-
to encourage the progressive development of the economies of the area;
-
to foster the harmonious development of Caribbean trade and its liberalization
by the removal of barriers to it.
The Agreement made provision for such economic/trade matters as export
duties, quantitative restrictions, rules of origin, restrictive business
practices and trade deflection, as well as for particular arrangements
for certain members confronted by special developmental challenges.
The vision of Caribbean leaders at the time went far beyond a Free Trade
Association. The Heads of Government agreed that CARIFTA would be the
Region’s first step towards the establishment of the Caribbean Common Market,
the means by which a viable economic community would be realized. Consequently,
before the end of 1972, Caribbean leaders had made the decision to establish
the Caribbean Community and transform CARIFTA into a Common Market, an
integral and pivotal part of the Community.
Birth of the Caribbean Community (CARICOM)
The Treaty of Chaguaramas established the Caribbean Community (CARICOM)
and the Caribbean Common Market, on 1 August 1973. Initially only Barbados,
Guyana, Jamaica and Trinidad and Tobago signed the Treaty but subsequently,
eight other Caribbean countries joined CARICOM. The Bahamas, which became
the thirteenth member of the Community in 1983, opted not to join the Common
Market. In 1991 CARICOM welcomed its first Associate Members, the British
Virgin Islands and the Turks and Caicos Islands, followed by Anguilla in
1999, the Cayman Islands in 2002 and Bermuda in 2003. In 1995 Suriname
became the first non-Commonwealth country to join the Community, with Haiti
later entering in 2002.1
The first objective enunciated in the Treaty of Chaguaramas is the economic
integration of Member States through the establishment of the Common Market,
with the following aims:
-
the strengthening, coordination and regulation of the economic and trade
relations among Member States in order to promote their accelerated, harmonious
and balanced development;
-
the sustained expansion and continuing integration of economic activities,
the benefits of which shall be equitably shared taking into account the
need to provide special opportunities for the Less Developed Countries;
-
the achievement of a greater measure of economic independence and effectiveness
of its Member States in dealing with states, groups of states and entities
of whatever description.
Economic viability was no longer the sole intent of integration. Indeed
the Treaty also contained provisions for functional cooperation, to include
the efficient operation of certain common services and activities for the
benefit of the Community’s peoples; the promotion of greater understanding
among its peoples and the advancement of their social, cultural and technological
development; as well as activities in areas such as Health, Education and
Training, Culture, the Position of Women in Caribbean Society, Labour Administration
and Industrial Relations and Social Security.
Thus the aspirations and welfare of the Peoples of the Region had, for
the first time in the integration thrust, become a factor sufficiently
significant to warrant consideration per se and not merely as a spin-off
of economic development. Consonant with this new focus was the establishment
of Institutions of the Community, as provided for in the Treaty, including
a Conference of Ministers responsible for Health and Standing Committees
of Ministers responsible for Education and Labour.
In July 1989 the Heads of Government concluded their Meeting with the Grande
Anse Declaration, which articulated several goals that the Region should
realize in preparing its peoples for the 21st Century including establishment,
in the shortest possible time, of a single market and economy for the Caribbean
Community. At Grande Anse, the Heads recognized that the Region’s future
depended on more than economic development and they located the people
centrally in the development process.
The leaders established an Independent West Indian Commission comprising
eminent West Indians to carry out a process of public consultation with
leaders, teachers, writers, intellectuals, creative artistes, businessmen,
sportsmen, trade unionists, churches and other community organizations,
as the Community prepared to face the challenges of the 21st century.
The report of that Commission entitled Time for Action has proved a seminal
work in the advancement of the Community’s goals.
New Governance Structures
In the Grande Anse Declaration Heads of Government also agreed to form
the Assembly of Caribbean Community Parliamentarians. The brainchild of
former Barbadian Prime Minster Erskine Sandiford, the Assembly was conceptualized
as a Regional Parliament that would make the wishes of the broad masses
of the people known. Under the 1994 Agreement Establishing the Assembly,
Member States of the Community may elect or appoint up to four representatives
of their Parliaments to the ACCP and each Associate Member may elect or
appoint up to two representatives.
Pursuant to the Agreement, the Assembly of Caribbean Community Parliamentarians
will:
-
involve the people of the Community in the process of consolidating and
strengthening the Community;
-
provide opportunities for involvement in the issues of the integration
process by Member States and Associate Members of CARICOM;
-
provide a forum for people of the Community to make their views known through
their Parliamentary representatives;
-
provide a more frequent mechanism to monitor policies of the Community;
-
provide enhanced opportunities for the coordination of foreign policies
of Member States;
-
promote greater understanding among Member States and Associate Members
for the purpose of realizing and safe-guarding the ideals and principles
of democratic government in the Community and facilitating the economic
and social advancement of their peoples;
-
encourage the adoption by the governments of Member States of a community
policy on economic, social, cultural, scientific and legal matters deliberated
upon by the Assembly.
The Assembly of Caribbean Community Parliamentarians may discuss any matter
emanating from the Conference of Heads of Government, the Community Council
or any Institution or Associate Institution of the Community. The Assembly
may also make recommendations to various institutions of the Community
and adopt resolutions on any issue or matter arising under the Treaty.
The ACCP may not, however, adopt resolutions on matters which fall within
the jurisdiction of a Member State.
The inaugural sitting of the Assembly took place in Barbados in May 1996.
Since that time the ACCP has had two other sittings, in October 1999 and
November 2000 in Grenada and Belize respectively.
As adopted, the ACCP fell short of the recommendation made by the Commission
in its report. The Commissioners had envisaged the establishment of a
CARICOM Assembly in which Parliaments would be required to elect to this
‘Assembly of the People of CARICOM’ parliamentarians and non-parliamentarians
alike. In this way, people would be drawn fully into the decision-making
process.
Changes to the ACCP are being contemplated at present. In this regard,
a Technical Sub Group on the ACCP was established in 2003. The Group’s
mandate is to examine the functioning of the ACCP with a view to recommending
possible changes that would enhance the effectiveness of the regional parliamentary
process, thereby contributing to the furtherance of democracy and good
governance in the context of maturing regionalism.
The ACCP was not the only new governance structure to emerge as a result
of Grande Anse. Another crucial development was the elaboration and institutionalization
of the relationship between governments and civil society in the Region
by means of the adoption of a Charter of Civil Society in February 1997.
The West Indian Commission, concerned about the apparent disaffection
with governance in the Region, had recommended very strongly that CARICOM
subscribe to such a Charter and, in so doing, elevate to the level of guiding
principles several matters that did not turn on the state of economic development,
but rather, could be made a part of the national ethos. The Commissioners
contended that CARICOM needed “normative moorings’ and that they had found
“a yearning for giving the Community a qualitative character – values beyond
the routine of integration arrangements; indeed standards by which these
arrangements themselves can be judged and to which they can be made to
conform.” In their view “the Charter [could] become the soul of the Community,
which needs a soul if it is to command the loyalty of the people of CARICOM.”
The Charter addresses a broad spectrum of issues relevant to relationships
among ‘social partners’, defined as ‘the Government of a State, Associations
of Employers, Workers Unions and such non-governmental Organisations as
the state may recognise’. Pursuant to their obligations in the Charter,
some governments in the region have established mechanisms for consultation.
The Community’s NGOs have also made remarkable strides in organizing themselves
to be full participants in the decision-making process. In the course
of the past ten years in particular, the Community has witnessed the development
of collaborative relationships between Governments and the Caribbean Association
of Industry and Commerce (CAIC), the Caribbean Congress of Labour (CCL)
and the Caribbean Policy Development Centre (CPDC). The intention of such
collaboration is to ensure that the interests of these organisations are
taken into account in the elaboration and implementation of regional policies.
A landmark Encounter, called Forward Together took place in July 2002
between some 150 representatives of civil society, 11 Heads of Government
and representatives of regional institutions from finance, academia, labour
and policy development. The Liliendaal Statement, issued at the conclusion
of the Encounter, consolidated further the relationships among the Community’s
various actors. The Statement reflected agreement that:
-
civil society has a vital role to play in the development of regional and
social policies, the development of those programmes and frameworks currently
in existence, their modification, where necessary, and the creation of
new areas as required; and
-
the establishment of mechanisms for continuous dialogue between the Conference
of Heads of Government of the Caribbean Community and Civil Society is
an essential way to complement relevant programmes to ensure social reconstruction,
cohesiveness, peace, poverty reduction, and equity that would enhance regional
integration and make the Community more economically viable.
Parliament and the People in a Maturing Community
The CARICOM Single Market and Economy (CSME), established under the Revised
Treaty of Chaguaramas, symbolizes the commitment of the Region to even
deeper economic integration. The Community’s primary response to the challenges
posed by changes taking place in the international economy, the Single
Market is characterised by the removal of barriers to the movement of persons
and goods; the facilitation of access by nationals to the collective resources
of the Region on a non-discriminatory basis; the promotion of international
competitiveness, industrial and agricultural development and the provision
of special support mechanisms for disadvantaged Countries, Regions and
Sectors.
CARICOM Member States have set December 2005 as the effective date for
the Single Market and Economy to become operational.
In the face of the exigencies of contemporary global economic realities,
the Revised Treaty modifies and expands the economic objectives outlined
in the Treaty of Chaguaramas. Concurrently and of equal significance the
Revised Treaty also gives prominence to the enhancement of functional cooperation
through the acceleration and intensification of the activities set out
in the original Treaty.
Evidently, in realizing the economic objectives set out in the Treaty,
Member States intend to build on the Community’s achievements in its relations
with non-governmental actors and its improved governance structures. Member
States articulate in the Preamble to the Revised Treaty, their determination
to enhance the effectiveness of the decision-making and implementation
processes of the Community as well as to restructure the Organs and institutions
of the Community and Common Market and redefine their functional relationships
so as to enhance the participation of the people and in particular the
social partners in the integration movement.
The CARICOM Single Market and Economy will evolve into a single social
space but the full implications of the ensuing relationships among individuals,
businesses, cultures, policies, perceptions and interests cannot now be
determined. What is immediately apparent, however, is that the pressures
that will be brought to bear on social and political systems and institutions
will make it imperative that the Community’s people become an integral
part of the national and regional policy formulation and implementation
processes that have conventionally lain within the domain of governments
and that, by the same token, governments become intimately knowledgeable
about the interests and perspectives that underpin the actions of the Community’s
people.
Unlike the European Community, CARICOM does not have a regional Parliament
with supranational powers. Consequently, Treaty provisions, as well as
Decisions made by the Conference of Heads of Government, must be given
legal effect under the domestic law of individual Member States. In each
CARICOM Member State therefore, Parliaments, as the highest legislative
bodies, have played a most critical role in the integration process through
the enactment of legislation to give effect to the Treaty. Without this
legislation, the Single Market could never become operational.
This exercise has proved a tremendous challenge for Member States due,
primarily, to the paucity of the requisite human resources. Cognizant
of the dearth of legislative draftspersons in the Region and in order to
ensure the enactment of domestic legislation that would give effect to
the Revised Treaty and to Decisions of Heads of Government, CARICOM established
a Legislative Drafting Facility. This Facility researches areas requiring
new or amended legislation and prepares model bills that are first submitted
for the consideration of a committee of Chief Parliamentary Counsel which
deliberates on and modifies the drafts as appropriate and forwards them
to the Legal Affairs Committee (LAC). Once the LAC approves the draft
bills they are then sent to individual Member States for any further modification
States deem necessary, followed by the standard procedure for enactment
into domestic law.
The Legal Affairs Committee is one of two Bodies of the Community established
by virtue of Article 18 of the Revised Treaty and comprises Ministers of
Legal Affairs and/or Attorneys General of Member States. It is responsible
for providing the Community’s Organs and Bodies, either on request or on
its own initiative, with advice on treaties, international legal issues,
the harmonisation of laws of the Community and other legal matters.
The Revised Treaty will necessitate amendments to numerous pieces of existing
legislation, as well as the production of new primary and secondary legislation
relating to the free movement of goods and persons, rights of establishment,
competition, intellectual property and other trade and trade-related areas.
In addition laws are also needed to give effect to such institutions as
the Caribbean Court of Justice, the Regional Competition Commission and
the Regional Accreditation Authority. If, following the review process
now underway, the Charter of Civil Society is elevated to the status of
a legally binding instrument, it will also necessitate the enactment of
relevant legislation.
The Parliaments of Member States also perform a critical budgetary function
in the regional process. In CARICOM, Member States are required make financial
contributions, based on an agreed contributions formula, to defray the
operational costs of the Community. The Conference of Heads of Government
is the final authority on questions relating to the financial affairs of
the Community, while the Community Council, comprising Ministers responsible
Community Affairs or any other designated Minister, examines and approves
the Community’s budget. The Member States’ contributions are allocated
in national budgets and are therefore a matter for deliberation and approval
by national Parliaments when they debate the annual budget.
As relationships between states and among states, interest groups and individuals
become more complex Parliaments must demonstrate the kind of flexibility
necessary for quality engagement among the social partners and for the
sharing of leadership.
The Commonwealth Foundation report “Maximizing Civil Society Contribution
to Democracy and Development: Report from the Caribbean Consultation” (Saint
Lucia, 18-19 June 2003) indicates that CARICOM’s Non Government Organisations
consider popular participation in the decision-making process a right and
not a privilege. On the Governments’ side, at least one Prime Minister
perceives that a new partnership can emerge from the implementation of
the provisions of the Sectoral Development Policies Chapter (Chapter Four)
of the Revised Treaty.
Regional integration inevitably entails conceding a part of the national
identity as the Community takes shape. This is one of the major challenges
for all Member States and has been reflected in the heated debates surrounding
such aspects as the free movement of persons. In so far as Parliament
facilitates broad based consultation and, in so doing, ensures the dissemination
of information that is both adequate and appropriate in the national context,
initial resistance to change ought not to be insuperable.
Traditionally, countries are represented in international fora by their
governments. The same is essentially true of representation in the various
bodies that constitute the Community. If countries are to derive maximum
benefit from the regional integration process, and if the Community is
to receive from Member States their optimal contribution to the formulation
and implementation of Community policy and regionally agreed legislative
instruments, then primacy should be given to transforming intra-Parliamentary
relationships.
In those Parliaments based on a bi- or multi-party system, the conventional
approach to decision-making is fraught with the kind of conflict that is
rooted in the notion that bi- or multi-polarity is an inevitable consequence
of the system. Consequently, divisiveness is the parliamentary norm and
debates are frequently underpinned by the pursuit of the party’s interest
and not necessarily that of the country. Opposition parties are generally
not considered an integral part of the decision-making process and their
views – hence the views of their constituents - are not taken into account
when contemplating national positions and strategies. Indeed, prioritizing
and strategizing usually occur within the cloister of the Cabinet, not
the Parliament, and Opposition parties become aware of decisions taken
by the Government of the day through the media, or when relevant Bills
are put before the Parliament. ‘National’ debate is relegated to adversarial,
sometimes blatantly hostile pronouncements on draft Bills when they are
tabled.
At the regional level the value of the Opposition’s contribution has already
been acknowledged. The CARICOM Heads of Government, in the Consensus of
Chaguaramas, agreed that in the same spirit of free and wide ranging interchange
of ideas that motivated the Forward Together Conference, the political
Opposition should be brought in as partners into the framework of the consultation
in the regional integration process. More recently, one Prime Minister
underscored the importance of Opposition participation in the integration
process and the need for the Region to make this a reality. The challenge
for CARICOM now is to determine the most effective method for ensuring
this participation.
The formation of the Community’s Quasi-Cabinet early in 2000 in the wake
of the Consensus of Chaguaramas presents Opposition parties an opportunity
to deploy more effectively the resources available to them as they insert
themselves into the leadership process. In the Quasi-Cabinet each Head
of Government has been given responsibility for a certain ‘portfolio’ –
external negotiations, single market and economy, services, justice and
governance, etc. - and is required to monitor national, regional and international
developments in that area, spearhead the development of appropriate regional
policies and strategies and submit regular reports to the Community on
relevant matters within or related to the portfolio. While they may not
be able to remain au fait with all aspects of regional issues, Opposition
parties now have the possibility to become intimately knowledgeable about
and shadow their Government’s contribution in at least one major area.
The criticism leveled at Governments does not absolve the Opposition parties
of their responsibility to inform and educate themselves on contemporary
issues that are of national and regional interest, or to utilize with greatest
effect their financial and human capabilities as participants. Opposition
parties must have a demonstrated interest in these matters, must be proactive
in developing strategies and alternatives and must visibly jostle for room
at the microphone to disseminate information and promote the popular participation
for which they clamour. They must view their role as an integral part
of the leadership of their countries and rise above the opportunistic articulation
of pronouncements designed to bring Governments into disrepute.
It bears emphasis that Governments remain the final arbiter as regards
what is expedient for the country at a particular time. However, the mentality
that results in the exclusion of Opposition parties from consultation and
debate prior to the adoption of policy positions and strategizing, the
magpie approach to information dissemination and the rejection of Opposition
interventions in Parliamentary debate must be eliminated. Many Governments
are accused of failing to adhere to the principles of transparency and
accountability in their management of the country. Citizens lack trust
in their Governments and question their integrity. A Government posture
that excludes the participation of the Opposition, individual citizens
and non-governmental entities, will not only stoke the fires of mistrust,
but will also severely hamper the development of truly national positions
and perpetuate the adoption of myopic, ill-suited and irrelevant policies
and laws.
It is vital that convergence and confluence be facilitated to supplant
the antediluvian polarity of our Parliaments and give life to true and
effective representation of the Caribbean Community’s Peoples.
Notes
1. At present the Members of CARICOM are: Antigua and Barbuda, The Bahamas,
Barbados, Belize, Dominica, Grenada, Guyana, Haiti, Jamaica, Montserrat,
Saint Kitts and Nevis, Saint Lucia, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Suriname,
Trinidad and Tobago. Associate Members include Anguilla, Bermuda, the
British Virgin Islands, the Cayman Islands and the Turks and Caicos. Participation
in the activities of the Community is not, however, limited to its Member
States and Associated Members only. Countries of the wider Caribbean region
and Latin America, including Cuba, Curacao, the Netherlands Antilles and
Puerto Rico have participated as observers in the meetings of certain of
the Community’s Organs and Institutions, such as the Standing Committee
on Agriculture and the Council on Human and Social Development.
RSS Feed
