Caribbean/United States Summit: Bridgetown Declaration of Principles

We, the Heads of State and Government of the Caribbean nations of Antigua and Barbuda, the Commonwealth of the Bahamas, Barbados, Belize, the Commonwealth of Dominica, the Dominican Republic, Grenada, the Co-operative Republic of Guyana, the Republic of Haiti, Jamaica, the Federation of St. Christopher and Nevis, Saint Lucia, St. Vincent and the Grenadines, the Republic of Suriname and the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago and of the United States of America, meeting in Bridgetown, Barbados on May 10, 1997, pledge to strengthen our cooperation in responding to the challenges of the coming millennium, in a spirit of partnership and mutual respect.

2. We affirm our unswerving commitment to the norms of international law and the principles enshrined in the Charter of the United Nations and in the Charter of the Organization of American States and our respect for the sovereignty of states, multilateral approaches, democratic traditions, human rights, good governance, human dignity and the rule of law.

3. We recognise the heterogeneity and diversity yet shared identity of our family of nations and people bonded by historic and ethnic origins, cultural ties and affinity and close social and economic links. We remain appreciative of the significant contribution of our respective nationals as immigrant communities to the development of each other's societies.

4. We also recognise the inextricable link between trade, economic development, security and prosperity in our societies. We therefore declare our intention to act in concert to improve the economic well-being and security of all our citizens, to defend and strengthen our democratic institutions and to provide for social justice and stability.

5. As we enter a new century marked by rapid expansion and globalisation of finance and investment, production and commerce, driven by revolutionary developments in technology, we acknowledge the need for a new era in our partnership. In this context, we re-affirm our support for the Declaration of Principles and Plan of Action adopted by the 1994 Summit of the Americas of Miami. We recall that this process undertook to consider the special needs of small economies, with a view to enhancing their level of development and preparing them to meet the challenges posed by the inexorable trends of globalisation and liberalisation of the world economy, and the creation of the Free Trade Area of the Americas. We note the increasing role of the human, technological and communication capacities required for operating in this new competitive international environment and the current reality in most Caribbean States and accept the need for systematic, cooperative initiatives to strengthen the quality of their human resources and technological capacity.

6. Firm in our conviction that stable and prosperous economies, buttressed by the rule of law, are bulwarks against the forces of transnational crime, we are concerned by the growing strength and capabilities of transnational criminal organisations and drug cartels, their attempts to distort and weaken our free economies and democratic systems, and the effects which their activities and presence have on levels of violence and basic public order. We declare our resolve to collaborate in combatting both organised transnational crime and the threat posed to our peoples and the foundations of our nations by illegal firearms and ammunition trafficking. We are acutely concerned by the increasing incidence of alien smuggling and commit ourselves to search for creative and innovative ways to improve our justice systems and the cooperation between them, in order to provide our societies with that sense of security and stability so necessary to freely pursue sustainable social and economic development.

7. We recognise that despite the substantial progress in dealing with debt problems, high foreign debt burdens still hinder the development of some of our countries. We therefore affirm the importance of appropriate debt management measures including those in the programmes of the International Financial Institutions.

8. We affirm our strong commitment to internationally recognised labour standards and worker rights, especially freedom of association and collective bargaining. We underscore the importance of the empowerment of women to permit their full participation in the political and economic spheres, through fair access to education, health care and credit and recognise that addressing and preventing violence against women is an important step toward our goal of strengthening democracy. Vibrant, sustainable and equitable development requires the contribution of all members of society.

9. To achieve these objectives and maintain our process of consultation, we agree that all Ministers/Secretaries of State of the nations of the Caribbean responsible for Foreign Affairs and the Secretary of State of the United States of America will meet to oversee and report to us on an annual basis on the implementation of the Plan of Action appended hereto. In addition, we hereby establish Joint Committees on Justice and Security and on Trade, Development, Finance and Environmental Issues, the latter to work in close collaboration with the CARICOM/U.S. Trade and Investment Council, to facilitate an increasing and effective level of communication, coordination and follow-up among our Governments.

10. Towards these ends, we adopt and issue this Bridgetown Declaration of Principles, detailing our beliefs and uniting our efforts to strengthen the ability of our States to pursue sustainable development and to preserve our democracy, peace, economic and social progress and to which we hereby affix our signatures.