CARICOM (CARRIBEAN COMMUNITY)

• CARICOM, or Caribbean Community, is the oldest integration movement in the developing world, established in 1973 through the Treaty of Chaguaramas.

• Its main purposes include promoting economic integration and cooperation among member states, ensuring equitable sharing of integration benefits, and coordinating foreign policy.

• CARICOM has 15 full members: Antigua and Barbuda, The Bahamas, Barbados, Belize, Dominica, Grenada, Guyana, Haiti, Jamaica, Montserrat, Saint Kitts and Nevis, Saint Lucia, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Suriname, and Trinidad and Tobago.

• Additionally, Anguilla, Bermuda, the British Virgin Islands, the Cayman Islands, and the Turks and Caicos Islands hold associate member status, while Aruba, Colombia, the Dominican Republic, Mexico, Puerto Rico, and Venezuela have observer status.

• The Chairmanship of CARICOM rotates every six months among member countries’ Heads.

• The CARICOM Secretariat in Georgetown, Guyana, is the principal administrative organ, headed by a Secretary General, serving as the Chief Executive Officer.

• In 2007, the Caribbean Court of Justice (CCJ) was inaugurated, acting as the final court of appeal for CARICOM members and handling regional trade disputes.