(CARICOM Secretariat, Turkeyen, Greater Georgetown, Guyana) “The CARICOM Single Market and Economy (CSME) must evolve rapidly into more than just an economic community; it must be designed and implemented as a social, environmental and cultural Community.”

This was the thrust of a presentation by Professor Norman Girvan, of the Institute of International Relations of the University of the West Indies, Thursday 29 June, to Caribbean Connect, a three day symposium on the CSME at the Sherbourne Conference Centre in Barbados. Caribbean Connect is a High-Level event, attended by CARICOM government Ministers and Officials, policy-makers, business, the labour movement, donor community officials, regional financial and development institutions, academia and other stakeholders.

In his presentation “Towards a Single Economy and a Single Development Vision,” Prof. Girvan said, “The challenge is to engineer a Single Market and Economy that enables us, collectively, to achieve certain things that we cannot achieve separately; that enhances our sense of collective security, collective identity and collective self-confidence in our ability to deal with the world on equal terms and to realise a vision for the future.”

Among a list of needs and actions he identified, Professor Girvan urged the granting of legal status for the CARICOM Charter of Civil Society. It embodies principles by which CARICOM Governments commit themselves to respect and strengthen the fundamental elements of a civil society. These include Human, civil, political, religious and cultural rights, rights of indigenous peoples, women, children, workers, the family and people with disabilities, rights to good governance, right to participation in the economy, health, education and basic necessities,  and environmental rights.