…Regional leaders warned at intersessional meeting

CARIBBEAN Community (CARICOM) leaders began a two-day inter-sessional summit here Monday amid concerns that the regional integration movement was being fractured by some countries not adhering to decisions taken “behind closed doors”.

Grenada’s Prime Minister Dr. Keith Mitchell, who is facing a March 13 general election, told the ceremony that regional leaders needed to adhere to decisions taken during the summit in order to deepen the 45-year-old grouping.

“We cannot continue to agree on positions behind closed doors only to publicly push a different agenda,” Mitchell said, adding that he is able to “speak like this” because he has been around for many years and possibly ‘would receive another five years,” a reference to the upcoming general election in his country. But he said while discussing the issue of unity within the grouping “we must highlight, rightfully, the disappointment of our failure as a body to commit to a unified position while abiding by the principles of non-interference on the political challenges of our friend and neighbour country, Venezuela.

“The time has come for us as a region to have a blue print in my opinion on how we address certain issues within the Community and with our allies. “It is imperative that we stand strong and united in the international community, especially on matters of fundamental principles. Our credibility and strength as CARICOM must not be shaken even when attempts are made to divide us.”

While he made mention of no particular country, in recent weeks the United States has stepped up its efforts to ostracise the Nicolas Maduro government in Caracas and has sought the assistance of CARICOM in that regard. Earlier this month, US Secretary of State, Rex Tillerson visited Jamaica and the two countries later appealed to Venezuela to uphold human rights and allow for free and fair elections in the South American country. “As to any future steps the US might take regarding sanctioning oil or products to put more pressure on the Maduro regime, we are going to take in the full consideration the impacts on regional countries as well,” Tillerson said, adding that he had “a good exchange” with Holness regarding that issue.

He said the meeting had provided an opportunity of getting not only Jamaica’s position “but the Prime Minister’s perspective on other countries on how they might be affected. “We will be looking at what other actions the US might take to mitigate the negative impact of that,” he said, telling reporters he did not want to elaborate on that issue. “Having said that I think there is great unanimity in the region and certainly in the hemisphere that we all want to see some progress on this situation in Venezuela which only gets worse day by day,” the US Secretary of State said.

At the last summit in Grenada in July, CARICOM leaders had issued a statement reaffirming their guiding principles of adherence to the rule of law, respect for human rights and democracy, as well as for the fundamental principles of non-intervention and non-interference in the internal affairs of states. But they noted that they were concerned about the “difficult political, economic and social situation in Venezuela, in particular, the increase in violence and polarization between the Government and the Opposition, and its effect on the people of Venezuela”.

As a result, the regional leaders “called for all parties to commit to engage in renewed dialogue and negotiation, leading to a comprehensive political agreement, with established time tables, concrete actions and guarantees to ensure its implementation for the well-being of the nation”.

Mitchell told the opening ceremony that Caribbean countries run the possibility of rendering “ourselves irrelevant if we do not urgently reconsider processes and commitment to each other in this important body. “We have spent 45 years building this important community. Over the 45 years we have had our ups and downs, we have shown we are resilient enough to withstand the stones and arrows and ensure that we stay on course. It is that well of resilience from which we may have to draw as we seek to recover and rebuild after one of the most eventful years that the CARICOM community has ever experienced”.
Challenges

Mitchell said he has no doubt that “collectively…we can surmount those challenges” adding “let us therefore continue to work together and ensure that we build a resilient Caribbean community for the benefit of our children and grandchildren”.
In his address to the conference, host and CARICOM chairman, President Jovenel Moise called for a concerted effort to deal with the “crucial issues’ facing the 15-member regional integration movement.

Moise said problems such as crime and security as well as the implementation of measures within the CARICOM Single Market and Economy (CSME) that allows for the free movement of goods, skills, labour and services across the region needed to be addressed. “Organised transnational crime is a major concern,” he said, adding “to fight against this, a concerted policy is necessary.

“We all know the consequences on our societies, especially our youth. In fact, we must not only reinforce our cooperation, but also put in place security for the protection of our economic system and the prevention of political and social disturbances. “Security is and remains the key …for the regional tourism sector which is the engine of the economy of the great majority of our members,” Moise said, adding that he was looking for closer collaboration between Haiti and the Trinidad-based Implementation Agency for Crime and Security (IMPACS).

“IMPACS in my opinion is the ideal framework to coordinate our efforts and in particular I wish to see the reinforcement of cooperation between this agency and the Republic of Haiti. In his address, Moise said that five years after CARICOM had agreed to adopt French as one of the official languages of the grouping, nothing much had been accomplished.

“I think the time has come to put this resolution in application to accompany Haiti’s integration into this wonderful family for better communication…and to destroy this inviable psychological barrier that tends to set us apart. “We are absolutely in agreement that our diversity is part of our cultural wealth,” said Moise, adding “I hope after this we will find the costs linked to the interpretation and translation of our working documents in the languages practiced by all the populations of the Community”.

Moise said that Haiti’s chairmanship of CARICOM provides an opportunity to cement the relationship it has with its fellow member states. The Guyana-based CARICOM Secretariat said that the two-day meeting will place much emphasis on building a more climate-resilient region following the devastating 2017 hurricane season that left more than 30 people dead and millions of dollars in damages.

It said that Hurricanes Irma and Maria, two Category Five hurricanes, swept across the Caribbean in September, cutting a swathe of destruction and rolling back years of economic development in several member states. The leaders are also expected to discuss the high incidence of crime and violence across the region and at their last summit in Grenada, discussed key initiatives directed towards combatting transnational organised crime. The meeting here will also discuss the development of a CARICOM Counter Terrorism Strategy which is being finalised for adoption.

The summit will seek to advance plans to further strengthen key elements of the CSME and the Secretariat said the leaders will “also focus on key transportation issues including regional air services, and on advancing regional initiatives in tourism aimed at stimulating further sustainable growth in the sector”. The decision by the international community, particularly Europe to blacklist a number of Caribbean countries as tax havens and the ongoing concern about the de-risking strategies by global banks will also be agenda items. (CMC)