Chairman of the Inter- Governmental Task Force, Secretary General Edwin Carrington, has said the Forum’s work would have far reaching implications for the Caribbean Community and the way it conducts its affairs, and stressed the need for a re-examination of the Revised Treaty of Chaguaramas to make it more relevant, responsive and adaptable.
The Task Force’s first meeting took place at the Caricom Secretariat, Liliendaal yesterday.
“We set out today therefore to begin the work of this important body and I suggest we do so by re-examining our constituent instrument, which is the revised Treaty of Chaguaramas, and to do so with a view to making it more relevant to the community’s needs, more responsive to the demands of the stakeholders, and more adaptable to the evolution of our regional integration process,” he said.
He said he believes it was important to place in historical context the work of the inter-Governmental Task Force.
The first Task Force was convened in 1993 to revise the original Treaty of Chaguaramas which had been signed in 1973. The Revised Treaty was signed in 2001 following a process which saw the Task Force produce a series of nine protocols which were then incorporated into the Treaty.
He said the Task Force in its new form may wish to take a glance to see whether “we did in fact get it right in the current context of the Revised Treaty, vis-a-vis the recommendations in the West Indian Commission Report.”
He said the Task Force must bear in mind that circumstances now are much different to those of 2001 when the Revised Treaty was signed, and noted that there are a number of subject areas and tasks that readily present themselves ripe for consideration by the reconstituted Task Force.
“Thus, for example, there is need for inclusion within the Revised Treaty provisions on security and on the Regional Security Architecture already agreed on by the conference of Heads of Government. Further, significant work has been done in this area and a protocol to give effect to the decisions of the Heads of Government to make security cooperation the fourth pillar of the community, has been signed by 12 member states and ratified by one,” he said.
Carrington said by ratification by the other 11 territories, the protocol will enter into force and formally become part of the Revised Treaty. “Further, additional insertions into the Revised Treaty as well as amendments to the existing provisions would be required if we are to ensure the incorporation of security as that fourth pillar,” he said.
He said there are other areas that could be considered as lacunae in the Revised Treaty. “These include the need for providing for a coherent community social policy which is a key component in the creation of a viable community for all,” he said.
Another such lacuna is the implication of the psychology of integration and development, which is particularly relevant in a situation where member states are in all but two cases separated by sea space, according to Carrington.
He said the Task Force will also have to consider the proposals for Treaty revision submitted by the senior officials of the Legal Affairs Committee. He said that in addition to this, the Task Force will have to seek guidance from the Council and from members of the various organs and bodies of the Community.
Carrington said the Inter-Governmental Task Force needs to be clear in its manner of proceeding. “One of our early assignments is to elaborate a calendar, an agenda and work programme. We will need to determine the various statutory requirements that develop from our work, such as reporting obligations and the need for our work to be constantly reviewed by the organs and bodies of the community. Further, given the scope of the task ahead, and the need to buttress deliberations with in depth and well informed research, much of which will take place in between meetings in the Task Force, [there should be consideration] of the establishment of a working group to comprise participants from the secretariat with support from the regional institutions,” he said.
“We therefore have before us a massive task to undertake in a relatively short time. Heads are hoping that early in the new year much progress would have been made and that they would be in a position to adopt certain aspects, maybe in the form of protocol, for some of our work,” he said.
Carrington thanked the European Union and the Commonwealth Secretariat for providing the resources to make the Task Force’s meetings possible.