Association of Caribbean States

By Dana Springer, Aakif Isaac, Daniella

Downer, Clayton Knott, Sharaya Ramsundar,
Mark Abraham
 History of the ACS
The Association of Caribbean States is a product of the desire of the 35 Contracting
States, Countries and Territories of the Greater Caribbean to enhance cooperation
within the region.
The initial idea for the creation of the Association of Caribbean States was to strengthen
cooperation between Caribbean States, Countries and Territories to contribute to the cultural,
economic and social development of its members.
The Convention Establishing the Association of Caribbean States (ACS) was signed on 24 July
1994 in Cartagena de Indias, Colombia, with the aim of promoting consultation, cooperation and
concerted action among all the countries of the Caribbean, comprising 25 Member States and
three Associate Members. Eight other non-independent Caribbean countries are eligible for
associate membership.
Responding to a proposal by then U.S. Pres. Bill Clinton for a Free Trade Area of the Americas
(FTAA), existing Caribbean-area trading blocs joined forces in 1995 to strengthen their economic
position and ease future integration into the FTAA.
 History of the ACS cont'd
The ACS has addressed issues including unifying responses to natural disasters, ending
the U.S. embargo of Cuba, and ending shipments of nuclear materials through the
Panama Canal. Twenty years later, we meet in Mexico to celebrate our renewed bond.
We have agreed on an agenda that includes issues of vital importance, such as tourism,
transportation, trade, and management of natural disasters.
The ACS has held summits involving heads of state and/or government the first being:
◦ I ACS Summit, at Port of Spain, Trinidad and Tobago, August 17–18, 1995.
And more recently:
◦ V ACS Summit, at Pétion-Ville, Haiti, April 23–26, 2013.
◦ VI ACS Summit, at Mérida, México, April 28–30, 2014.
◦ VII ACS Summit, at La Habana, Cuba, June 4, 2016
The last/most recent and eighth being held at:
◦ VIII ACS Summit, at Managua, Nicaragua, March 29, 2019.
 Facts on the ACS
◦ The main organs of the Association are the Ministerial Council, which is the principal
organ for policy making and direction of the Association, and the Secretariat.
Present Secretary General: Her Excellency Ambassador Dr. June Soomer
Chairman of the ACS Ministerial Council 2019: Minister of Foreign Affairs of Barbados
◦ The ACS has four distinct areas of interest: Trade, Transport, Sustainable Tourism, and
Natural Disasters. Each is pursued by a Special Committee which meets at least twice
yearly in order to discuss current regional issues and draft treaties.
◦ Associated members shall have the right to intervene in discussions and vote at
meetings of the Ministerial Council and Special Committees on matters which affect
them directly, falling within their constitutional competence.
 Facts on the ACS cont'd
◦ Observers may be admitted to the Association on terms and conditions as may be
determined by the Ministerial Council, in accordance with Article V of the Convention
Establishing the Association of Caribbean States.

Headquarters of the Secretariat of The Association of Caribbean States

 Purposes of the ACS
The Association of Caribbean States is intended to promote regionalism amongst the
member states. The main goals of the association are to confirm the new concept of
the Caribbean Basin by:
(A) accentuating those interests the Caribbean nations hold in common and
(B) working to eliminate barriers left over from its colonial past.
As stated in the Convention Establishing the ACS, its primary purpose is to be an
organization for “consultation, cooperation and concerted action” for its member
countries.
They are committed to initiating a new era characterised by the strengthening of
cooperation and of the cultural, economic, political, scientific, social and technological
relations among themselves.
 Purposes of the ACS cont'd
The organization seeks to use geographic proximity and regional cooperation
(regionalism) for political and economic advantage with respect to the global economy
and trade blocs such as the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA), European
Union, Arab League, and the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation.
According to the ACS themselves: "The objectives of the ACS are enshrined in the Convention
and are based on the following: the strengthening of the regional co-operation and integration
process, with a view to creating an enhanced economic space in the region; preserving the
environmental integrity of the Caribbean Sea which is regarded as the common patrimony of the
peoples of the region; and promoting the sustainable development of the Greater Caribbean."
 Achievements of the ACS
•ACS managed to bring together 25 Caribbean member states’ heads of state, foreign
ministers and their highest-ranking government officials to Havana in order to celebrate
the 7th Summit of the ACS
•ACS had addressed issues including unifying responses to natural disasters and has
sought to form a coalition among member states to devise a United Nations General
Assembly resolution to ban the transshipment of nuclear materials through the
Caribbean Sea and the Panama Canal.
•Concluded its 8th Heads of Government Summit in Managua, Nicaragua on the 29th
of March 2019, with the adoption of the historic “Declaration of Managua” and the
confirmation of a visionary three year “Plan of Action”.
 Achievements of the ACS cont'd
◦ The Special Committee on Transport works to promote an Air Transport Agreement
amongst the countries which have ratified the agreement.
◦ The Special Committee on Sustainable Tourism aims to promote tourism which is
environmentally friendly. The committee promotes the use of sustainable tourism
which is healthy for the environment, and at the same time economically beneficial to
the Caribbean as a region.
◦ Through various annual forums the ACS attempts to create economic cooperation in
an attempt to benefit and expand the region's economy
 Challenges of the ACS
Those who suggest the ACS is unsuccessful note how by the end of the 1990s,
unlike CARICOM, the ACS had failed to establish a track record which was worthy
enough to allow for the evaluation of the ACS as a developmental coalition.
Furthermore, some scholars suggest that the ACS is unlikely to become a true player on
the international level. Skeptics often point to other failed attempts at economic coalition
building like the Central American Common Market (CACM) as an example of the
instability of the region.
Some challenges include Free Trade Treaties signed between Central America and the
Dominican Republic and the United States which are of the utmost importance in
bringing this sub-region closer to the North and yet, pull it further away from the Greater
Caribbean.
 Challenges of the ACS cont'd
The influence of NAFTA on the Caribbean outlines the future struggle of the ACS.
The future of the ACS in relation to the western hemisphere is uncertain.
"Despite governmental statements of commitment to liberalisation, it will be difficult
for Caribbean countries to succeed in putting their economies on a firmer footing
that would enable them to compete effectively." Denis Benn. "Global and Regional Trends:
Impact on Caribbean Development."
The association has suffered a loss of political strength apparent in the waning interest
of the governments as evidenced by the low attendance by ministers and chancellors to
the ACS meetings.
 Solutions of Aforementioned Challenges
In its initial stages, the ACS had three main objectives:
a) maximising regional trade;
b) optimising relations between regions and;
c) encouraging various forms of cooperation.
However some obstacles to this mechanism have caused the priorities of this mechanism
to be shifted towards functional cooperation.
Functional Cooperation be defined as a cross-cutting element and a driver of regional integration for
development. It is essential to the Caribbean integration process and as an essential pillar of work in the
Caribbean Community
 Solutions of Aforementioned Challenges cont'd
They encourage the education on trade between Caribbean countries. For example in
their article "Importance Of South-south Cooperation: Strengthening Trade Capacity Of
MSMES In The Greater Caribbean" they detail the definition of South- South
Cooperation (collaboration among two or more developing countries of the South in the
political, economic, social, cultural, environmental and technical domains) and its
benefits Ex. increasing and improving communications among developing countries.
They also promote sustainability to many SIDS (small island developing states) and
encourage external aid from the international community to increase their development.