The Greater Caribbean This Week

Watson R. Denis, PhD

The Caribbean Sea is a theme that one finds constantly in the agenda of the Association of Caribbean States (ACS). Moreover in the Convention establishing this Association, in 1994, the Caribbean Sea is presented as the founding element for cohesion. In effect, this sea is considered as the common heritage of the peoples of the Caribbean and the same text recalls “the role it has played in their history and the potential it has to operate as a unifying element in their development.”

This theme is constant in the declarations made by the Association’s Heads of States and/or Government at various summits. For example, in the Declaration of Santo Domingo, in 1999, at the 2nd Summit, they pronounced themselves to be in favour of the protection and conservation of the environment and of the natural resources of the region. In this sense, they have encouraged the efforts taken by CARICOM to have the Caribbean Sea declared a special zone in the context of sustainable development, considering that this sea constitutes an invaluable asset that is worth protecting and treasuring.

At the 3rd Summit, in 2001, in Margarita, Venezuela, they again took up the idea stated in the Agreement that the Caribbean Sea is the common heritage of the peoples of the Greater Caribbean. Similarly, in 2005, at the 4th Summit, in the Declaration of Panama, they maintained forcefully that: “The Caribbean Sea is a common patrimony of the region and we, as its custodians, reiterate our decision to continue taking the steps necessary to ensure its recognition as a special area in the context of sustainable development by the United Nations General Assembly.” On that occasion, they expressed their opposition, as in 1999, to the “ continued use of the Caribbean Sea for the shipment and transshipment of nuclear material and toxic waste, given the threat that any accidental or deliberately induced spill of these materials would represent to the life and ecosystem of the region.” As guardians of this sea, they urged the countries producing radioactive and toxic waste to take the measures necessary for establishing treatment sites that would end the need for transporting these waste materials from one place to another.

Also, the two permanent organs of the Association, the Ministerial Council and the Secretariat have spared no effort in realising the objectives defined by the Heads of State and/or Government. For example, the Ministerial Council has set up the Caribbean Sea Initiative. Following that, in 2003, it has set up the Technical Advisory Group (TAG) on the Caribbean Sea to study the problem and to make appropriate proposals to the Council. Finally, at the beginning of 2006, it founded the Follow-up Committee to the Caribbean Sea Initiative, giving it an intergovernmental and multidisciplinary character. This Commission of the Caribbean Sea has been recently set up.