CARICOM must speak out on infringements of universally-held principles
-St Vincent Foreign Minister
Stabroek News
May 13, 2003
Vincentian Foreign Minister Louis Straker says CARICOM ought to speak out on infringements of the universally-held principles of respect for human rights, sovereignty and territorial integrity, and the rule of international law. Straker, Minister of Foreign Affairs, Commerce and Trade, and the current Chairman of the Council for Foreign and Community Relations (COFCOR) was addressing the Sixth Meeting of the Council in Kingston, St Vincent and the Grenadines last Thursday, a press release from the CARICOM Secretariat in Georgetown said.
Noting that CARICOM has always subscribed to these principles, he declared: “We will be failing in our duty if we do not speak out about any infringement of these principles, particularly in our region.”
Specifically, Foreign Minister Straker referred to the situation in Cuba and in Haiti, which he said “with their various nuances” must give cause for serious concern. “And we must say so as family and friends,” he told his colleague foreign ministers, CARICOM Secretary-General Edwin Carrington, delegates and special invitees.
Following the meeting, CARICOM issued a statement on the Cuba situation calling for clemency for those persons recently imprisoned in Cuba under controversial circumstances and calling for greater transparency in the island’s criminal justice system. In what was one of the largest crackdowns against dissidents in recent times, Cuba imprisoned more than 75 persons for up to 28 years while three hijackers of a ferry were executed. Caricom Heads in considering the situation in Cuba referred to the Declaration of Havana adopted by CARICOM and Cuba on December 8 last year where the CARICOM Heads had acknowledged “the importance of transparent and accountable governance and the protection of human, social, political and economic rights”.
On the situation in Haiti, the communiqué issued after the meeting stressed the need for all parties concerned to honour their obligations under Resolution 822 which CARICOM said remains “a valid and relevant instrument for a successful process of normalization in Haiti”.
Straker also noted that the region’s small open economies stand to suffer greatly from international discord, whether of a military or economic kind. In that regard, he said, “it is in our collective self-interest to seek out partnerships for peace and security. We must however stand firm on principle and speak out against evils, wherever they exist. Future generations will thank us for it.”
He said too that the region’s approach to the multilateral trade negotiations within the hemisphere seems to lack conviction.
Further, he observed, the slow march towards implementation of the CARICOM Single Market and Economy (CSME), the free movement of persons within our region, and the establishment of the Caribbean Court of Justice (CCJ) has been cause for concern.
Straker suggested that the region’s limitation in capacity and human and financial resources has helped to thwart its efforts and dampen enthusiasm.
And looking at the level of the EU-ACP (European Union-African, Caribbean and Pacific countries) and the negotiation of economic partnership agreements (EPAs), he contended there was a “general state of unreadiness to confront by 2005, a new era of trade liberalisation without preferential treatment.” He attributed this condition to what he called obvious problems of capacity and resources, compounded by an insufficiency of focus and collaboration.
“Our survival will depend on how well we are able to face the rest of the world with one common front, one common purpose. If not, we risk being picked off one by one in accordance with the designs and agenda of those more adept and experienced in the machinations of international relations and diplomacy of an economic and other kind.”
“We must as sovereign states continue to resist any attempt to shape the Caribbean agenda for us despite the pressures and constraints,” Straker said.
He also maintained that the region’s strength lies in its commitment to the promotion of regional prosperity and to reflecting that same commitment in national development priorities and programmes.
As a community of 15 member states along with the Associated member states acting in concert with one another, the region can be formidable. However, the strategies they employ to ensure their integration into the global economy and to make their mark in the international community must take cognizance of this fact, Straker said.
