CARICOM, BACCHANAL AND THE CCJ

July, a period of Más and bacchanal across several CARICOM nations also coincides with CARICOM Day, for the date the Treaty of Chaguaramas was signed on July 4, 1973. Since the initial creation of this organization, which unites the former British colonies of the Caribbean region, much has been achieved in forging regional integration, albeit not with the speed most CARICOM citizens may have liked.

CARICOM (The Caribbean Community) has seen a slow but steady march forward. A Secretariat was housed in a building constructed for that purpose in the Cooperative Republic of Guyana which, along with Trinidad and Tobago, Barbados and Jamaica were the initial signatories to the Treaty of Chaguaramas, for the place in the two-island republic where it was signed. July 4 has been designated CARICOM Day but, apart from the annual summit of regional Heads of Government who meet on that day annually, it goes largely unnoticed and ignored by most persons. It does not help that it competes with the anniversary of the US Independence date.

Here in St Vincent and the Grenadines, CARICOM Day coincides with our annual VincyMas and interestingly, prime ministers have come in for criticism for not being around at home for the celebration of the annual festivities. Truth be told, attendance at VincyMas by the Prime Minister would likely take preference over his presence at the CARICOM forum- if you ask many.

Today however, we focus our attention on the ongoing bacchanal occasioned by Trinidad and Tobago’s Prime Minister Kamla Persad Bissessar’s refusal to accept the reappointment of CARICOM Secretary General, Dr Carla Barnett. The decision to renew the contract of Dr Barnett was agreed upon at a retreat in Nevis at the 50th Regular Meeting of CARICOM Heads of Government in Basseterre, St. Kitts Nevis from February 24 to 27, 2026.

However Prime Minister Persad-Bissessar, who had left the conclave early, leaving behind her Foreign Minister Sean Sobers, let it be known that she objected to the manner in which the contract renewal deliberations had been arrived at. We learnt that her Foreign Minister had not attended the Nevis retreat claiming not to have been invited. This was disputed by Prime Minister Dr. Terrance Drew and this set off a spat with PM Persad-Bissessar which threatened the unity of the organization.

At this July’s sitting, where the chairmanship was being passed to St Lucia’s Prime Minister Phillip J. Pierre, initial photos from the Castries summit transmitted images which suggested much apparent coziness and all smiles between the leaders. We even saw a photo of PM Persad- Bissessar together with Secretary General Dr Barnett whose reappointment was being challenged by the former. But an image cannot tell a complete story. Given the negative attitudes displayed by the Trinidad and Tobago Prime Minister in the lead up to the St Kitts Nevis summit, particularly the strident manner in which she supported the actions of the United States of America while it carried out the extrajudicial killings of CARICOM fishermen in Caribbean waters since late 2025, it was anyone’s guess which behaviour one could expect of the Trinidad leader. Until then, she had displayed an attitude which fell short of signalling an impending break with the important regional body.

There was much relief therefore when word came that the summit had decided to turn to the Caribbean Court of Justice (CCJ), based in Port of Spain, for an decision on the reappointment of the Secretary General. The irony of this is that while the CCJ is housed in Port of Spain, the government of that country does not recognize the body as its final court of arbitration. But while this is so, the Revised Treaty of Chaguaramas under Articles 211 and 217 designates the CCJ as the final and exclusive court for disputes in CARICOM. While we don’t have details of the debates which may have led to Trinidad and Tobago’s acceptance of proceeding along this path toward resolution of the issue, the speed with which this came suggests that Persad-Bisessar’s attitude to the issue may have been more grandstanding than principle.

So we await the decision of the CCJ and hope that all would be well, and CARICOM can get back to focusing on more serious issues which these times demand.