Free movement plan

Legal issues to be hammered out by March 2024 Caribbean Community (CARICOM) leaders have agreed to have free movement of citizens to live and work in nations of the 15-member grouping. And as they move freely, they will be afforded a minimum set of rights, including the right to basic education, healthcare and security. “We have taken a decision to have the free movement of all categories of people to live and work,” CARICOM chairman and Dominica’s Prime Minister Roosevelt Skerrit told a news conference at the end of the 45th Regular Meeting of CARICOM Heads of Government in Trinidad on Wednesday, adding that there were some legal issues that had to be hammered out by early 2024. “Obviously, there are some legal issues that we have to examine. And we have given our legal people some months to examine those legal issues and to ensure that they can come to us by 30th of March to take a definitive position on this. “Of course, we have the sort of security agreements in place already that people can benefit from, but we believe this is the fundamental part of the integration architecture and at 50 [years], we could not leave Trinidad and Tobago and not speak about the core of the integration movement and that is people’s ability to move freely within the Caribbean Community,” Skerrit added. “So this is great news. . . . I believe the founding fathers are smiling from heaven.” Previously, under the CARICOM Single Market and Economy (CSME) that allows for the free movement of goods, persons, skills and labour across the region, regional governments allowed for the free movement of media workers, artists, musicians, sportspersons, nurses, teachers, artisans with a Caribbean Vocational Qualification, and holders of Associate Degrees or comparable qualification. Prime Minister Mia Mottley, who has lead responsibility for the CSME within the quasi-CARICOM Cabinet, said people who seek to move across the region to live and work will not have to belong to certain categories of skilled personnel to do so. “So it’s all [people]; there’s no services anymore,” she said. “This now gives full expression to what every Caribbean person has wanted since we had control of our destinies.” However, there will be some exceptions, Mottley said. Haiti has been granted a derogation from the free movement agreement given the situation in that country. To make free movement a reality, Mottley said the leaders had agreed to amend the Revised Treaty of Chaguaramas to harmonise the expectations of Caribbean people when they move through the region. “We recognise, as well, that there may have to be an approach that does not put countries or make countries liable to any form of suit with respect to some of the rights. “So there has to be a minimum set of rights guaranteed for the movement of citizens. That will be discussed and agreed upon, that will be captured in the amendments to the Treaty, that will also have to be financed and we’re looking at the CARICOM Development Fund as being able to put in place the mechanism to guarantee that each country can bring its minimum level of services up to the same acceptable level,” Mottley said. “We are already covered with Social Security rights with the agreement that exists in CARICOM. So what we’re doing is to ensure that the desire of Heads is met by the reality of implementation, and we give ourselves this period of time to be able to make the amendments to the Treaty so that countries can do so without fear of any further recriminations,” she added. Prime Minister Skerrit also announced that the leaders will hold a two-day retreat in Dominica, starting August 18, to review a number of reports including regional governance and strengthen functional cooperation ahead of their next mid-term summit scheduled for Guyana. The regional leaders also discussed the issue of air transportation in light of the problems associated with the movement of people since regional airline LIAT was placed into administration a few years ago. The CARICOM chairman noted that some airlines, including the Trinidad-based Caribbean Airlines (CAL), have been doing a fantastic job so far in helping fill the void. He said a report from the Barbados-based Caribbean Development Bank (CDB) which had been mandated to engage in a study examining the air transport situation in the Caribbean and to present recommendations for addressing the issue, will be presented to regional governments in a couple of weeks. (BT)]]>