1. CARIBBEAN COMMUNITY (CARICOM)
The Caribbean Community (CARICOM) was formally established on 4 July 1973, by the Treaty establishing the Caribbean Community, popularly known as the Treaty of Chaguaramas from the place of which it was signed in Trinidad and Tobago.

2. CARIBBEAN COMMUNITY (CARICOM)
The original signatories to the Treaty are Prime Ministers of:
Barbados
Errol Barrow
Guyana
Forbes Burnham
Jamaica
Michael Manley
Trinidad and Tobago Eric Williams.

3. CARIBBEAN COMMUNITY (CARICOM)
The 15 Member States are entitled to:
Membership of all Organs and Institutions of the Caribbean Community;
Rights of participation in the deliberations of all bodies in order to promote the interests of the member in all programmes and measures, including the right to propose programmes and measures or the modification of programmes and measures as well as to share in the benefits of all CARICOM programmes and members.

4. CARIBBEAN COMMUNITY (CARICOM)
The 5 Associate Members are entitled to:
Attendance as observers at Meetings of the Conference of Heads of Government;
Rights of participation in the deliberations of certain specified bodies in order to promote the interests of the associate member in specific programmes and measures, including the right to propose programmes and measures or the modification of programmes and measures as well as to share in the benefits of all relevant CARICOM regional programmes and measures.

5. CARIBBEAN COMMUNITY (CARICOM)
OBSERVERS
Observers participate in the deliberations of specified institutions but not allowed to vote.

6. CARIBBEAN COMMUNITY (CARICOM)
The Treaty of Chaguaramas has been revised to make it more relevant to the new objectives and existing realities facing the Community. It was signed on July 5, 2001 by Heads of Government at their Twenty-second Meeting of the Conference in Nassau, The Bahamas.
Objectives:
Economic integration through a CARICOM Single Market and Economy;
Co-ordination of Foreign Policy of independent Member States;
Functional co-operation in areas such as health; education; culture; youth and sports; science and technology; communications and industrial relations.

7. CARIBBEAN COMMUNITY (CARICOM)
MISSION AND FUNCTION
MISSSION
“To provide dynamic leadership and service, in partnership with Community institutions and groups, towards the attainment of a viable, internationally competitive and sustainable Community, with improved quality of life for all.”
“Building that Caribbean structure requires much more than the bricks supplied by the political, legal, and economic masons. It requires the people of the Region to be the mortar which holds the bricks together and makes the structure sturdy.”
SECRETARY-GENERAL
H.E. Edwin W. Carrington,
(Trinidad and Tobago, to present)

8. CARIBBEAN COMMUNITY (CARICOM)
MISSION AND FUNCTION (CONT’D)
FORMER
SECRETARIES-GENERAL
“…The quest for integration is something in the nature of an epic struggle: a struggle for congruence between what we proclaim and what we are able to do; a struggle to negotiate, design, and erect structures of cooperation and integration where national interest and regional purpose are brought into harmony, and national sacrifice is balanced by national advantage; a struggle to streamline and hone the institutional machinery that serves the mission of integration and cooperation.”
Roderick Rainford
Mr. Roderick Rainford (Jamaica, )
Dr. Kurleigh King
(Barbados, )
Sir Alister McIntyre
(Grenada, )
Mr. William Demas
(Trinidad and Tobago, )
Mr. Fred Cozier
(under CARIFTA) (Barbados, )

9. CARIBBEAN COMMUNITY (CARICOM)
OBJECTIVES OF THE COMMUNITY
Improved standards of living and work;
Full Employment of labour and other factors of production;
Accelerated co-ordinated and sustained economic development and convergence;
Expansion of trade and economic relations with Third States;
Enhanced levels of international competitiveness;
Organisation for increased production and productivity;
The achievement of a greater measure of economic leverage and effectiveness of Member States in dealing with Third States, groups of States and entities of any description;

10. CARIBBEAN COMMUNITY (CARICOM)
OBJECTIVES OF THE COMMUNITY (CONT’D)
Enhanced co-ordination of Member States’ foreign economic policies; and
Enhanced functional co-operation, including:
More efficient operation of common services and activities for the benefit of its peoples;
Accelerated promotion of greater understanding among its peoples and the advancement of their social, cultural and technological development;
Intensified activities in areas such as health, education, transportation and telecommunications.

11. CARIBBEAN COMMUNITY (CARICOM)
PRINICIPAL ORGANS OF THE COMMUNITY
The Conference of Heads of Government called The Conference
The Community Council of Ministers called The Council

12. CARIBBEAN COMMUNITY (CARICOM)
PRINICIPAL ORGANS OF THE COMMUNITY (CONT’D)
THE CONFERENCE
The Conference of Heads of Government (The Conference) consists of the Prime Ministers of all Member States of the Caribbean Community, except in the case of Guyana and Suriname whose Executive Presidents represent their respective countries. In the case of Montserrat, the Chief Minister is the representative. The primary responsibility of The Conference is to determine and provide the policy direction for the Community. It is the final authority for the conclusion of treaties on behalf of the Community and for entering into relationships between the Community and International Organisations and States. The Conference is also responsible for making the financial arrangements to meet the expenses of the Community. Decisions of The Conference are generally taken unanimously.

13. CARIBBEAN COMMUNITY (CARICOM)
PRINICIPAL ORGANS OF THE COMMUNITY (CONT’D)
THE COUNCIL
The Community Council of Ministers (The Council) is the second highest Organ.
The Council consists of Ministers responsible for Community Affairs and any other Minister designated by Member States in their absolute discretion. The Council is responsible for the development of Community strategic planning and co-ordination in the areas of economic integration, functional co-operation and external relations.

14. CARIBBEAN COMMUNITY (CARICOM)
PRINICIPAL ORGANS OF THE COMMUNITY (CONT’D)
OTHER COMMUNITY ORGANS
The principal organs of the Community are assisted in the performance of their functions by four Ministerial Councils:
The Council for Trade and Economic Development (COTED) - promotes trade and economic development of the Community and oversees the operations of the CARICOM Single Market and Economy (CSME).
The Council for Foreign and Community Relations (COFCOR) - determines relations between the Community and international organisations and Third States.
The Council for Human and Social Development (COHSOD) - promotes human and social development.
The Council for Finance and Planning (COFAP) - co-ordinates economic policy and financial and monetary integration of Member States.

15. CARIBBEAN COMMUNITY (CARICOM)
PRINICIPAL ORGANS OF THE COMMUNITY (CONT’D)
COMMUNITY BODIES
Legal Affairs Committee
Budget Committee
Committee of Central Bank Governors

16. CARIBBEAN COMMUNITY (CARICOM)
PRINICIPAL ORGANS OF THE COMMUNITY (CONT’D)
INSTITUTIONS
Caribbean Disaster Emergency Response Agency (CDERA)
Caribbean Meteorological Institute (CMI)
Caribbean Meteorological Organisation (CMO)
Caribbean Food Corporation (CFC)
Caribbean Environmental Health Institute (CEHI)
Caribbean Agricultural Research and Development Institute (CARDI)
Association of Caribbean Community Parliamentarians (ACCP)
Caribbean Centre for Development Administration (CARICAD)
Caribbean Food and Nutrition Institute (CFNI)
Caribbean Association for Standards and Quality (CROSQ)

17. CARIBBEAN COMMUNITY (CARICOM)
PRINICIPAL ORGANS OF THE COMMUNITY (CONT’D)
ASSOCIATE INSTITUTIONS
Caribbean Development Bank (CDB)
Organisation of Eastern Caribbean States Secretariat (OECS)
Eastern Caribban Central Bank (ECCB)
Caribbean Examination Council (CXC)
Caribbean Law Institute/Caribbean Law Institutional Centre (CLI/CLIC)
Caribbean Regional Negotiating Machinery (CRNM)
University of Guyana (UG)
University of the West Indies (UWI)

18. CARIBBEAN COMMUNITY (CARICOM)
The Standard of the Caribbean Community features a blue background - the upper part being of a light blue representing the sky and the lower part of a dark blue representing the Caribbean Sea. The yellow circle in the centre of the Standard represents the sun on which is printed in black, the logo of the Caribbean Community - two interlocking Cs. The two Cs are in the form of broken links in a chain, symbolising both unity and the break with our colonial past. The narrow ring of green around the sun represents the vegetation of the Region.
CARICOM STANDARD
The Conference of Heads of Government Meeting in Port of Spain, Trinidad in November 1983, approved the design of the CARICOM flag. The original design was done by the firm of WINART Studies in Georgetown, Guyana but this was substantially modified at the Meeting of the Conference of Heads of Government in July 1983.

19. CARIBBEAN COMMUNITY (CARICOM)
CHARTER OF CIVIL SOCIETY
The Conference of Heads of Government of the Caribbean Community at their Special Meeting in Port-of-Spain, Trinidad and Tobago, in October 1992 adopted the recommendation of the West Indian Commission (WIC) that a Charter of Civil Society for the Caribbean Community be subscribed to by Member States of the Community;
Conscious that the common historical, cultural and social bonds of the people of the Caribbean Community underpin the commitment of the Governments and peoples of the Community to the Charter, and in order to achieve the objectives prescribed by the WIC, the leaders addressed a broad spectrum of human endeavours and behaviour, including:

20. CARIBBEAN COMMUNITY (CARICOM)
CHARTER OF CIVIL SOCIETY (cont’d)
Respect for Fundamental Human Rights and Freedoms
Human Dignity
Right to Life, Liberty and Security of the Person
Equality before the Law
Political Rights, Meetings, Demonstrations and Petitions
Freedom of Expression and Access to Information
Religious and Cultural Diversity
Rights of the Indigenous Peoples
Women’s Rights
Children’s Rights
Rights of Disabled Persons
Access to Education and Training
Rights of the Family
Good Governance
Participation in the Economy

21. CARIBBEAN COMMUNITY (CARICOM)
CHARTER OF CIVIL SOCIETY (cont’d)
Workers’ Rights
Health
Basic Necessities
Social Partners
Environmental Rights and Awareness
Responsibilities of the People
“We attach much importance to this proposal for a Charter of Civil Society. CARICOM needs normative moorings; we have found widespread yearning for giving the Community a qualitative character – values beyond the routine of integration arrangements; indeed, standards by which these arrangements themselves can be judged, and to which they can be made to conform. The Charter can become the soul of the Community, which needs a soul if it is to command the loyalty of the people of CARICOM.”
The West Indian Commission Report, “Time for Action”, 1992

22. CARIBBEAN COMMUNITY (CARICOM)
CHARTER OF CIVIL SOCIETY (CONT’D)
CHARTER OF CIVIL SOCIETY RESOLUTION, 1997
The Conference of Heads of Government of the Caribbean Community at their Eighth Inter-Sessional Meeting:
Reaffirming their confidence in the Caribbean Community as an association of States and Territories bonded by a common heritage and cooperating in the interests of their own peoples;
Being committed to the fundamental principles of human rights and freedoms and conscious that this Charter should enhance the integration process;
Determined to pursue the principles declared in the Charter in response to the challenges of the Twenty-First Century;
Now therefore resolve to adopt this Charter and agree to pay due regard to its principles and to ensure that this Charter receives the widest possible circulation within their respective States and Territories.
Agreed this Nineteenth day of February 1997 at Antigua and Barbuda.
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23. CARIBBEAN COMMUNITY (CARICOM)
Some community milestones
2005
Caribbean Court of Justice (CCJ):
The Court is Inaugurated.
Mission:
“The Caribbean Court of Justice shall perform to the highest standards as the supreme judicial organ in the Caribbean Community.  In its original jurisdiction it ensures uniform interpretation and application of the Revised Treaty of Chaguaramas, thereby underpinning and advancing the CARICOM Single Market and Economy.  As the final court of appeal for member states of the Caribbean Community it fosters the development of an indigenous Caribbean jurisprudence.”
Vision:
“To provide for the Caribbean Community an accessible, fair, efficient, innovative and impartial justice system built on a jurisprudence reflective of our history, values and traditions while maintaining an inspirational, independent institution worthy of emulation by the courts of the region and the trust and confidence of its people.”

24. CARIBBEAN COMMUNITY (CARICOM)
Some community milestones
2005
Caribbean Court of Justice (CCJ) (cont’d):
CCJ works to ensure its integrity and your confidence in its judgments;
CCJ works to reinforce and protect your rights to freely travel, work, trade and establish business under the CARICOM Single Market and Economy;
CCJ works as a last court of Appeal for Criminal and Civil cases.
For further details visit the website at:

25. CARIBBEAN COMMUNITY (CARICOM)
Some community milestones
CARICOM Passport issued in the following Member States:
Suriname
St. Vincent and the Grenadines
St. Kitts and Nevis
The CARICOM passport is a National passport which is being issued in accordance with an agreed format for intra-regional and extra-regional travel. On the cover, it bears the logo of CARICOM and the words "Caribbean Community," in addition to the Coat of Arms and the name of the issuing Member State.
2005

26. CARIBBEAN COMMUNITY (CARICOM)
Some community milestones
Formal launch of the CARICOM Single Market 30 January 2006 in Kingston, Jamaica.
The following countries became the first to enter into the Single Market:
1. Barbados 2. Belize 3. Guyana
Jamaica 5. Suriname 6. Trinidad and Tobago
Twenty-Seventh Meeting of The Conference of Heads of Government of the Caribbean Community (CARICOM), 6 July 2006, Bird Rock, St Kitts and Nevis, the Conference welcomed the participation of the six OECS countries:
Antigua and Barbuda 2. Dominica 3. Grenada
4. St Kitts and Nevis 5. Saint Lucia 6. St Vincent and the Grenadines
2006

27. CARIBBEAN COMMUNITY (CARICOM)
Some community milestones
The CARICOM Single Market (cont’d):
The Bahamas is not yet part of the Single Market;
Montserrat, a British Dependency awaits the necessary instrument of entrustment from the United Kingdom Government;
Haiti has not completed accession to the Revised Treaty.
Presently, Free Movement of skilled persons are from the following category: University graduates, artists, media workers, sports persons, and musicians.
Heads of Government agreed that the categories of CARICOM nationals entitled to move freely within the community be expanded to include nurses and teachers except in Antigua and Barbuda. They deferred decision on artisans, domestics and hospitality workers pending elaboration of procedures for certification and accreditation.
2006

28. CARIBBEAN COMMUNITY (CARICOM)
Some community milestones
The CARICOM Single Market & Economy:
Member States will be required to remove any impediments in order to facilitate:
Free Movement of Services
Free Movement of Goods
Free Movement of People
Free Movement of Capital
Competitiveness
THE CSME AND INVESTMENT INCENTIVES:
Creating a level playing field;
Creating incentives for investment by removing barriers, spreading growth.
2006

29. CARIBBEAN COMMUNITY (CARICOM)
Some community milestones
The CARICOM Single Market & Economy (CSME) and Labour:
Right to equal treatment with respect to working conditions;
Social Security;
Creating a harmonised industrial climate:
2006

30. CARIBBEAN COMMUNITY (CARICOM)
Some community milestones
The Caribbean Court of Justice and The CARICOM Single Market and Economy (CSME):
PROTECTING RIGHTS!
SECURING THE FUTURE!
The CCJ will provide a solid judicial foundation for the success of the CSME as it will protect and enforce a range of rights:
Protecting the right to travel freely within Member States;
Protecting the right to move capital with the Community;
Protecting the right to provide services with the Community;
Protecting the right to be self-employed within any Member State;
Interpreting the Treaty and maintaining the balance;
Settling questions of a constitutional nature, hearing appeals and giving judgments;
Providing solid judicial foundation for the success of the CSME.
2006

31. CARIBBEAN COMMUNITY (CARICOM)
Headquarters building
The Caribbean Community (CARICOM) Secretariat building is located in Georgetown, Guyana. This new building was officially commissioned on 19th February Funds for the construction of the building was provided by the Governments of Guyana and Japan, while the Government of India provided resources for the computerisation of the building.

32. CARIBBEAN COMMUNITY (CARICOM)
Headquarters building
POSTAL ADDRESS:
P.O. Box 10827
Turkeyen
Greater Georgetown
Guyana, South America
Tel: (592) to
Fax: ; or
Website: