Outgoing Caribbean Community (CARICOM) Secretary general, Sir Edwin Carrington has described 2010 as a year of “great difficulty” for the regional integration movement.
Sir Edwin, addressing his final news conference as the region’s top public servant, said that the devastation caused by the earthquake in Haiti and the cholera outbreak in the French speaking CARICOM country also added to the woes of the region.
“The community was preoccupied with the situation in Haiti and perhaps it is good that it is preoccupied it demonstrates the true value of membership of the community that when one partner is damaged all turn to its aid…as we speak a small team from the Secretariat is in Haiti”.
Sir Edwin said that the region also had to deal with the death of Barbados prime minister David Thompson as well as the death and destruction caused by the passage of Hurricane Tomas in late October.
But Sir Edwin, 72, who demits office after 18 years in the job, said that despite the challenges the region was able to overcome and provide assistance to member states that were affected by natural disasters and other unrest.
“In a way you see some good coming out of this disaster, out of this devastation, it reminds us of the principle that out of adversity comes some good because the community has demonstrated its strength of unity by the response to the disaster of January and by the present epidemic.
“That January 12 earthquake cast a giant shadow over the Community in 2010.There was need for response to Haiti from that time. The situation was compounded by the cholera of the last six weeks or so,” the Secretary-General said.
“Our own Assistant Secretary-General Foreign and Community Relations Ambassador Colin Granderson has been integrally involved in the Haitian situation and over the last two months or so has been domiciled in Haiti as head of the Joint Electoral Observer Mission of the OAS and CARICOM. As you all are aware there are still issues to be resolved in respect of the polls of 28 November and as such Ambassador Granderson remains in Haiti,” Sir Edwin said, making reference also to the role played by the former Jamaica prime minister PJ Patterson as the Special Representative of the regional leaders on Haiti.
The outgoing Secretary General said that one of the positives for 2010 was the Special Summit on Youth held in Suriname in January, which he said demonstrated in no uncertain terms the commitment of young people to the integration process.
In addition, during 2010, Sir Edwin said CARICOM persuaded the United Nations to adopt a resolution calling for a Special Session of the General Assembly on chronic Non Communicable Diseases. He said there were significant advances made with regard to the establishment of the Caribbean Public Health Agency (CARPHA) which has gained support from a number of international aid donors.
Sir Edwin said that the endorsement of the Regional food and Nutrition Policy was also a significant milestone for the 15-member grouping.
Sir Edwin also urged the media to continue playing a positive role in pushing the integration process adding “you must better prepare for questioning of my successors to get to the very root and branch of what we have embarked on”.
He warned that without the media, all the Community’s efforts would be fruitless.
“One can never afford to forget the importance of the role of the media in what is happening in the community,” he said. (CMC)