In what was released yesterday as the community's first "Statement on the War in Iraq" by heads of government, following their initial pre-war statement of February 15 in Port-of-Spain, the CARICOM leaders declared:

"The Caribbean Community, as a grouping of small states and an integral part of the international community, must continue to rely heavily on the United Nations, the primacy of international law, and adherence to international obligations for the protection of its sovereignty, territorial integrity and the furtherance of its interests".

Consistent with this perspective, the community leaders stressed in their collective statement released by the CARICOM Secretariat, that the UN "must play a central role in the provision of humanitarian assistance..."

Also in "the rehabilitation and reconstruction of that country's political, institutional and physical structures. The interests and will of the Iraqi people must be paramount in this process".

The CARICOM position on a "central role" for the UN coincides with that of the majority of member states represented on the UN Security Council, other than the USA which places emphasis more on either a "vital" or "major" role.

It also reflects pre-war stance articulated in their February 15 statement on war against Iraq when they spoke against military conflict without the endorsement of the UN Security Council.

Yesterday's statement emphasised that "the need for the United Nations and the authority of the Security Council has never been greater than it is today.

"In an increasingly inter-dependent world, all nations now must co-operate and collaborate in a wide diversity of areas. Global governance will only succeed if it is based on multilateralism".

The leaders also expressed the community's "grave concern" over the loss of life on all sides and the consequences of the conflict in Iraq on the region's economy.

These include the tourism industry, the "parlous financial situation" of regional airlines, and "volatility of energy prices" that has injected "unpredictability into economic planning".