The Charter of Civil Society -
Establishing New Rights & Responsibilities

The charge has been made that the Heads of CARICOM Governments have put their signatures to regional and international agreements, treaties and protocols, establishing rights on behalf of Caribbean citizens, of which the people are not aware.

At the outset, what can be said is that CARICOM Governments should move swiftly to implement the Charter of Civil Society. While it may not be a perfect document, it certainly sets the framework for minimum standards.

Hence, the only criticism is that it did not go far enough, but in mitigation of this criticism, one would have to say that it was not possible to go any further without the input of the Civil Society stakeholders. Good judgment therefore demands that governments bring the Charter to the people for implementation.

Let us take a look at some of the new rights and responsibilities which were established under the Charter of Civil Society.

ARTICLE I - Use of Terms

In this Charter, unless the context otherwise requires the following expressions shall have the following meanings: (a) "Social partners" shall mean the Government of a State, Associations of Employers, Workers Organisations and such Non-Governmental Organisations as the State may recognise; (b) "State" shall mean a Member State of the Caribbean Community and shall include Associate Members of the Caribbean Community.

The first issue here is, "who are the Social Partners"? Government, Employers, Labour and NGOs. Except that a qualification is placed upon the NGOs; "and such Non-Governmental Organisations as the State may recognise". What does this mean?

Does it mean that the state will handpick (at its pleasure) NGOs to recognise or does it mean that government should have a process of recognition consistent with the Rule of Law and Equality before the Law; such as a process of Registration which provides a list of NGOs which government has recognised by virtue of a legal requirement to comply with the terms of registration?

It is necessary to discuss this within the spirit of the Charter. In law there are certain presumptions which the interpreter can make. First, it can be presumed that the Charter was not written to perpetrate dictatorship, anarchy or bad governance. Neither should it go against the very principles which it espouses, for example, democracy, equality before the law; respect for human dignity, fundamental human rights and freedoms.

Good Governance

So what is the answer? The Charter is clear at Article XVII - Good Governance : " 7. The States in order to further the participation of the people in the democratic process shall establish effective systems of ongoing consultations between the Government and the people. 8. The States shall undertake to ensure that in the process of governance, there is no victimisation of any person ."

It seems logical to deduce from the above that the focus is on the democratic process. Hence, whatever systems are established should incorporate existing forms of democracy; as practiced by Civil Society Organisations (CSOs).

They are formed voluntary from among the people. They elect their leaders by secret ballot and full authority is vested in the general body of any organisation. CSOs are therefore led by a democratic process created by the people and come from the people, for the people.

Therefore, when CSO leaders get together and form an organisation to represent their national interests, that organisation represents the institutionalisation of the democratic process from a civil society viewpoint. Working through such an organisation can be described as " further(ing) the participation of the people in the democratic process" .

ARTICLE XXII - Social Partners

The States undertake to establish within their respective States a framework for genuine consultations among the social partners in order to reach common understandings on and support for the objectives, contents and implementation of national economic and social programmes and their respective roles and responsibilities in good governance.

What are the " roles and responsibilities in good governance "? It is for government to act in good faith, encourage democracy, respect equality before the law and the fundamental human rights and freedoms. Hence the practice of unilaterally choosing one or two CSOs to participate is to bypass the democratic process

It is for the rest of the Social Partners to establish and maintain a system of democracy for choosing representatives that is capable of addressing issues affecting them and a system of dialogue that would bring consensus across the sectors of Civil Society.

Government is justified to support the establishment and maintenance of systems of consultation which may be described as promoting economic growth and sustainable development, as provided in Article XVIII - Participation in the Economy, as follows:

1. The States shall facilitate access by their peoples to resources in such a manner as to promote economic growth, sustainable development and full employment, especially of the young people, and to enhance the opportunities for the achievement by every person of a reasonable and secure standard of living.

2. Every person shall have the right freely and on the basis of full equality to engage in economic activities, including the right to participate in, establish and manage his or her own enterprise in the commercial, industrial, agricultural, service or other sectors.

3. The States undertake to collaborate with the social partners for the provision of creative employment for young people and the disabled and for fostering strategies for their employment.

ARTICLE XXIV - Awareness and Responsibilities of the People

 The States hereby declare that the people have an important role to play in the pursuit and maintenance of good governance. Accordingly, the States shall build awareness, engender support and establish programmes to foster sound values and positive attitudes and shall enhance individual and institutional capacities to secure objectives, including:

(k) the promotion, establishment and maintenance of community-based organisations.

PART 2

Charter of Civil Society - Implementation

The rules and procedures prescribing the method of implementation of the Charter are set in Article XXV, 4(1), 4(2) and 4(3) below. It would therefore be natural for Civil Society to call for the establishment of the National Committee as prescribed.

In reading the following extracts, what should be remembered is that our government has committed to the following process for the implementation of the Charter:

ARTICLE XXV - Reports

 1. The States undertake to submit periodically to the Secretary-General of the Caribbean Community (hereinafter referred to as the "Secretary-General") for transmission to the Conference of Heads of Government of the Caribbean Community, reports on measures adopted and progress achieved in compliance with the provisions of this Charter.

2. Reports, other than special reports which may be requested by the Conference at any time, shall be submitted every three years on a rotating basis to be determined by the Conference, indicating the factors and difficulties, if any, that affect the implementation of this Charter.

3. In the preparation of their Reports, States shall, in accordance with the provisions of Article XXII, undertake consultation with the social partners, having regard to their crucial role in the attainment of the objectives of this Charter.

4.(1) States shall each establish a National Committee or designate a body to monitor and ensure the implementation of this Charter and that National Committee or body shall comprise: (a) representatives of the State; (b) representatives of the other social partners; and (c) such other persons of high moral character and recognised competence in their respective fields of endeavour.

4.(2) The National Committee or body, as the case may be, shall review the implementation of this Charter, analysing any problems and difficulties experienced, and receive reports of allegations of breaches of, or non-compliance with, the provisions of this Charter attributed to the State or to one or more social partners. No allegation of breaches or non-compliance may be brought by any individual or entity in relation to a matter which has been adjudicated upon by an international body, the decision of which is binding upon the State.

4.(3) The National Committee or body shall notify the State or social partner, as the case may be, of the receipt of any allegation and request their comments thereon and the National Committee or body shall report to the Secretary-General on allegations received, together with their comments thereon, including their own views on the matter.

5.(1) The Secretary-General shall submit annually for consideration by the Conference, in accordance with criteria established by the Conference, reports received from the National Committees or bodies pursuant to the provisions of paragraph 4(3) of this Article.

5.(2) The Secretary-General shall inform the States and their National Committees or bodies of the results of the deliberations of the Conference on reports submitted pursuant to this Article, together with any recommendation emanating from their consideration of reported violations, non-compliance, difficulties or problems experienced in the implementation of this Charter.

6. Allegations of violations or non-compliance shall not impose any obligations on a State to refrain from carrying out any decision of its Courts or other authorities pending consideration under this Article.

ARTICLE XXVI - Implementation

The States declare their resolve to pay due regard to the provisions of this Charter.

ARTICLE XXVII - Saving

Nothing in this Charter shall be interpreted as impairing the provisions of any regional or international agreement to which States are parties.

RESOLUTION

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 19th day of February, 1997 at St. Johns, Antigua and Barbuda

READ FULL TEXT of the Charter of Civil Society