opinion

The 13th meeting of the ACS Ministerial Council
by Watson Denis

The Ministerial Council of the Association of Caribbean States (ACS) will host its Thirteenth Ordinary Meeting from 23rd to 25th January in Panama City, Republic of Panama, as scheduled. The Ministerial Council, the principal organ of policy-making and direction of the association, will discuss a very extensive agenda.

First, the council will take steps to guide the activities of the secretariat with respect to the working themes of the ACS, namely trade, sustainable tourism, transport and natural disasters. More particularly, with regards to natural disasters, following the ACS High-Level Conference on Disaster Reduction held in Haiti last November, it is expected that the council will analyze the Saint-Marc Plan of Action and a related resolution, which, if approved, will serve as a framework for planning activities of the ACS in this very important area.

Next, the question of the Caribbean Sea will be discussed extensively. Following the adoption of the rules and procedures of the Caribbean Sea Commission, as well as a work plan set out over several years. The council will consider these initiatives and will define the policy to be followed in this regard.

Similarly, the signature and ratification of ACS legal instruments will be a major topic of discussion at this ministerial meeting. During the course of 2007, which was decreed the Year for the Entry into Force of ACS Legal Instruments by the council, some instruments were signed or ratified by Member States. In order to continue the process, there is no doubt that the council will take additional steps to encourage other member states to sign these instruments which will enable their effective entry into force and unequivocally position the ACS to embark on the phase of institutionalizing functional co-operation.

Another topic on the agenda for the Ministerial Council is the financial situation and administrative structure of the ACS. In fact, after 13 years of existence and consistent work, the ACS undertook financial and administrative reforms in order to strengthen the association and be better able to respond to the objectives which gave birth to it. Last year, the Ministerial Council began dialogue on this issue, which in fact was quite fruitful, and consequently established a working group responsible for presenting concrete recommendations on this reform. The Council will analyze the situation during this meeting as well as the proposals made by this group.

The highlight of the meeting will be the election of the fourth Secretary General of the ACS. After the Group of Three, CARICOM and the Group of Non-Aligned States, which were successively represented by a secretary general at the helm of the association, it is now the turn of the Central American region, in keeping with the principle of rotation adopted by the ACS, to fill this post.

Similarly, mention should be made of the fact that the Ministerial Council will also embark on selecting the directors at the Secretariat. If the Secretary General is a representative of the Central American group, the directors must represent the three other groups within the ACS. All this has been put in place in order to respect the principle of political equity and institutional dynamism within the association.

Furthermore, if a representative from the Central American group will lead the work of the Association over the next four years, it falls to one of the states of the CARICOM group to be elected to chair the Ministerial Council for the year 2008, following the principle of rotation which is in force.

Based on the pace at which things are moving, it can be said, in broad terms, that the ACS is experiencing a favorable time. The association is at a point of growth and political visibility, both at the regional and international levels. One must hope that it could triumph over the difficulties, which in fact are inherent to initiatives of this kind, and to maintain this good momentum in order to pursue the development of the functional co-operation in the Greater Caribbean.

In concluding, let us point out that some books on the ACS and by the ACS Secretariat will be presented during this ministerial meeting. Among them is the book entitled The Greater Caribbean: One Sea and Twelve Nobel Prizes. This book was published by the Secretariat thanks to the support of some institutions and financial enterprises in the Greater Caribbean. Among other objectives, this book seeks to showcase the pride of the peoples of the Greater Caribbean as well as the strength and scope of Caribbean thought at an international level. In fact, the public may not be aware that the Greater Caribbean has already produced twelve Nobel laureates in various fields ranging from literature to economics. The book gives a face to these laureates from the Caribbean and reproduces the speeches made by each of them upon accepting the award. All in all, beyond these reminders, it is about showing that the Greater Caribbean exists as a geographic, political and cultural space etc. and as a result, like other regions in the world, it is making a significant contribution to the freedom, fortune and development of mankind.

This publication goes directly with the ideals established by the founding fathers of the association who saw the Caribbean Sea (both literally and figuratively) as the common heritage of the peoples of the region. In that sense, any initiative which seeks to strengthen that ambitious ideal must be encouraged and reinforced. The publication of this work will broaden our vision of the Greater Caribbean and will make stronger, to some degree, the position of the ACS on the international landscape.

Dr. Watson Denis is the political advisor of the Secretariat of the Association of Caribbean States. The opinions expressed are not necessarily the official views of the ACS. Comments and reactions can be sent to mail@acs-aec.org