CARICOM `speeding’ to goals
By Rickey Singh
Guyana Chronicle
July 6, 2003
MONTEGO BAY - IN A mood to hasten towards major goals, Caribbean Community leaders last evening decided to have two special summit meetings within four months this year on three vital areas.
*Effective governance of the now 30-year-old Community; specific arrangements to operationalise the Caribbean Single Market and Economy (CSME); and the inauguration of the Caribbean Court of Justice (CCJ).
While seeking to downplay evident divisions among them on the controversial issue of bi-lateral agreements with the USA on exemptions from jurisdiction of the International Criminal Court (ICC) for American nationals, the Sunday Chronicle was informed that:
*Barbados is to be the venue for the first of the two special summit meetings in August. It will be hosted by Prime Minister Owen Arthur to deal specifically with what was described as "CSME-readiness" over a two-year period.
Arthur, who has lead responsibility for CSME arrangements among CARICOM Heads of Government, made the proposal for the special summit in August when updating his colleagues on progress made since they last met in Port-of-Spain in February this year.
*Port-of-Spain is now to be the venue in November for the second special summit for both the historic ceremonial inauguration of the CCJ as well as an update on plans to have an effective mechanism in place to enhance governance of the 15-member Community.
The CCJ, for which the Caribbean Development Bank (CDB) has reported "significant progress" in its mandate to raise some US$100 million for its operations, is to be headquartered in Pot-of-Spain.
Some "new initiatives" are to be pursued by CARICOM, through the Community Secretariat, to clarify the position of former Prime Minister and current Opposition Leader on his party's position on legislative support for the CCJ as a final appellate court in place of access to the Privy Council in London, the Sunday Chronicle was told.
*Creation of a high-level CARICOM Commission to enhance governance of the Community has been accepted in principle and is expected to be a core issue when CARICOM leaders meet in Port-of-Spain at the time of the launch of the CCJ.
The Commission will have authority, hitherto unavailable to the Georgetown-based Community Secretariat, to engage governments and institutions in implementation of decisions on a systematic basis in accordance with the new approaches in the conduct of the business of CARICOM.
Prime Minister P. J Patterson, who hosted the 24th CARICOM Summit in Montego Bay was due to conduct a media briefing last night to report on the progress made over the four days of conferencing that coincided with activities to mark the 30th anniversary of CARICOM.
The Community Secretariat is to be issued a detailed communique as well as a `Montego Bay Declaration’, the latter capturing the philosophical basis of the 24th summit that started with a two-day retreat of heads of government on June 30 in Ocho Rios.