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CARICOM CONFERENCE
The recent 39th Heads of Government Conference of CARICOM was held at the Montego Bay Convention Centre in Jamaica under the chairmanship of Prime Minister Andrew Holness. Before addressing some of the issues plaguing the region, CARICOM Secretary General, Irwin La Rocque, welcomed the Heads of State and congratulated the first female Prime Minister of Barbados, Mia Mottley.
He welcomed back Prime Ministers Dr. Keith Mitchell of Grenada and Mr. Gaston Browne of Antigua and Barbuda who were reelected to office 
following general elections held in their respective countries in March.
The Secretary General has asked the heads of states to champion the cause of gender equality, social justice, the decriminalization of marijuana, and the free movement of persons with skills across the region.
The decriminalization of marijuana remains a hot topic in the Caribbean. In 2015, Jamaica decriminalized the use of small amounts of marijuana. With 94,000 marijuana cases pending in the magistrates’ court throughout the region, President David Granger has signalized his intention to end custodial sentences for the possession of small amounts of marijuana, but would not decriminalize it.
Mr. La Rocque told the Heads of State and about 200 hundred delegates that the Caribbean is facing a series of problems such as economic stagnation, underdevelopment, indebtedness, rampant corruption, the negative impacts of climate change, increased violence and crime, inequalities and low production, all of which threaten the collective security and purpose of the region as a whole.
Not to mention domestic violence and sexual assaults against women and children. This has increased significantly in almost all of the CARICOM states.
It is true that in theory, the operations of CARICOM were supposed to be smooth but in practice, they are not. Since its establishment in 1973, CARICOM has been plagued with a number of problems. This is due in part to the failure of some Heads of State to implement policies toward the successful integration of the region.
For example, integration of the region’s economy and the coordination of its foreign policy proved far more difficult than anticipated. Most of the countries in the region continue to trade more with the United States and Canada than with each other because of the need of foreign currency.
The three-day conference which ended on July 6 saw the Heads of State deliberating on measures to improve the CARICOM Single Market and Economy (CSME), reduce crime, violence and the trading of illegal narcotics, Security in the Region and the emerging geo-political developments in the United States which could have a negative impact on the region’s economy and its growth prospects.
The titles, handshakes and smiles at the conference cannot disguise the failures of CARICOM over the years. The dream of a vibrant CARICOM single economy remains distant as economic hardship continues to envelope the peoples of the region.
Further, the Caribbean Court of Justice (CCJ) which was established in 2005 as the final appellate court for the region has only a few CARICOM members. The majority continue to pledge their allegiance to the Privy Council.
And even though the leaders of CARICOM seem to be the purveyors of hope and success for the region, they do not have a road map to guide CARICOM towards that success. The focusing on different issues by each Head of State has led to the absence of initiatives and lack of enthusiasm to strengthen CARICOM and thus make it a viable organization in and beyond the region.
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