Caribbean Community

The Caribbean Community is the regional bloc of fifteen Caribbean states, founded by the Treaty of Chaguaramas in 1973. CARICOM operates a common market — the CARICOM Single Market and Economy (CSME) — and coordinates foreign policy, education, health, and security across the region.

At a glance

• Founded: 1973 (Treaty of Chaguaramas signed 4 July 1973)
• Headquarters: Georgetown, Guyana
• Official languages: English, French, Dutch
• Website: caricom.org

Mission

CARICOM's objectives include economic integration through the CSME, coordinated foreign policy among member states, functional cooperation in areas like education and health, and disaster-response coordination across hurricane-vulnerable territories.

Structure

The Conference of Heads of Government, meeting twice a year, is the supreme organ. The Community Council of Ministers handles strategic planning. The CARICOM Secretariat in Georgetown is the principal administrative body. The Caribbean Court of Justice in Port of Spain is the highest court for member states that have accepted its appellate jurisdiction.

Member states

CARICOM has 14 member states. Membership current as of 2024-01.

• Antigua and Barbuda
• Bahamas
• Barbados
• Belize
• Dominica
• Grenada
• Guyana
• Haiti
• Jamaica
• Saint Kitts and Nevis
• Saint Lucia
• Saint Vincent and the Grenadines
• Suriname
• Trinidad and Tobago

Key facts

• Suriname (Dutch-speaking) and Haiti (French/Creole-speaking) are full members despite the bloc's English-speaking origins.
• Only four states have accepted the Caribbean Court of Justice as their final appellate court (Barbados, Belize, Dominica, Guyana); others retain the UK's Privy Council.
• The Bahamas is a member of CARICOM but not of the CARICOM Single Market and Economy (CSME).
• Montserrat — a British Overseas Territory — is a full CARICOM member, the only non-independent state with that status.
• CARICOM has acted with unusual unity on reparations: in 2013 it established a Reparations Commission to seek redress from European nations for slavery and indigenous genocide.

Historic milestones