A Time for Action -
The Charter of Civil Society - 1

"We attach much importance to . a Charter of Civil Society. CARICOM needs normative moorings. 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." - Report of the West India Commission, "Time for Action".

The importance of Civil Society to CARICOM Governments is enshrined in what is called, "The Charter of Civil Society" which was signed by the Heads of Government on Wednesday February 19, 1997 in St. John's, Antigua. This came as a result of one of the strongest recommendations of the West India Commission as contained in its report entitled "Time for Action".

What is most interesting is the following statement contained in the report, "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 Charter can be said to create obligations and responsibilities on governments to act as a catalyst in the creation of a stable and people centered political, social and economic mode of governance. It also reaffirms certain political and human rights enshrined in our constitution, placing them at the bedrock of a truly democratic process that would be typical of the spirit of the Caribbean people.

One of the criticisms of CARICOM is that many of the protocols do not reflect the rights which were established by the treaties signed by the Heads. For example, freedom of movement, by virtue of the protocols should be renamed "Freedom of Movement of Capital and Special People". But why is this?

There is a lag between agreement and implementation stemming from political uncertainties regarding the logistics and operation of these high ideals. We are treading on a new frontier and to quote the Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Finance on the FTAA and the WTO, "no agreement is better than a bad agreement."

This also applies to the CSME. This underscores the importance of the people of the Caribbean , not just as citizens and electors but as decision makers. Governments may very well be driven out of office for making ill-informed decisions. Indeed Manley in Jamaica and his run-in with the referendum on Caribbean integration and later with the IMF dubbed by Jamaicans. "I's Manley Fault".

It is from this position that we can better understand the importance of governments consulting with the citizens of each member state of CARICOM before committing to agreements reached at the highest level of political decision making.

Indeed, protocols can be described as cautiously treading the path to make sure that every movement forward is on firm footing. The question is therefore, do we have the cart before the horse?

Despite the need for consultations, governments are still trying to push ahead without getting its Civil Society structure in place. This also despite the strong recommendations of the West India Commission that places the implementation of the Charter of Civil Society as virtually the highest priority on the political agenda of CARICOM governments.

Whether government perceives this to be so is another question, but there can be no doubt as to the political value of helping Civil Society to structure and institutionalise itself in such a manner as to be consultative on and responsive to national issues. This in turn will feed the regional process.

The Charter of Civil Society is therefore an important instrument as it seeks to create a social, political and economic culture which is peculiarly Caribbean. While the rights, obligations and duties expressed in the Charter are not new rights, what the Charter does is seek to establish these rights within CARICOM as a Community and set the stage for good governance.

Now that all this is in place? So what? Is it happening?" If the Charter is so good why is government not implementing it? Can we use it to hold government to the commitments it has signed? Whose responsibility is it to institutionalise the Civil Society movement and make it part of the governance system/structure?

NGOs are trying to fight crime, frustration among the youth, redress the effects of the high school drop-out rate, lawlessness, homelessness, HIV/AIDS and the general decay of law and morals in the society. These are everyday problems which need attention now and not tomorrow or day after. These are problems that do not start at 8 a.m. and finish at 4 p.m. or hold over the weekend.

CBOs and NGOs are so deeply involved in damage control created by the economic and social systems under which we live (being a safety net and trying to reverse the cycle of poverty) that most NGO leaders really have no time to be distracted by a regional ideal, but will embrace steps and work towards addressing real problems in a practical way.

So, to the governments of CARICOM, in the words of the West India Commission, it's "Time For Action".

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