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The Association of Caribbean States (ACS; es, Asociación de Estados del Caribe; french: Association des États de la Caraïbe) is an advisory association of nations centered on the
Caribbean Basin In Geography, the Caribbean Basin is generally defined as the area running from Florida westward along the Gulf coast, then south along the Mexican coast through Central America and then eastward across the northern coast of South America. Thi ...
. It was formed with the aim of promoting consultation, cooperation, and concerted action among all the countries of the
Caribbean The Caribbean (, ) ( es, El Caribe; french: la Caraïbe; ht, Karayib; nl, De Caraïben) is a region of the Americas that consists of the Caribbean Sea, its islands (some surrounded by the Caribbean Sea and some bordering both the Caribbean S ...
coastal area. The primary purpose of the ACS is to promote greater trade between the nations, enhance transportation, develop
sustainable tourism Sustainable tourism is a concept that covers the complete tourism experience, including concern for economic, social and environmental issues as well as attention to improving tourists' experiences and addressing the needs of host communities. Su ...
, and facilitate greater and more effective responses to local natural disasters. It comprises twenty-five member states and seven associate members. The convention establishing the ACS was signed on July 24, 1994, in Cartagena, Colombia.


ACS objectives and goals

The Association of Caribbean States is intended to promote regionalism among the member states. The success and functionality of the ACS is greatly debated among scholars. The main goals of the association are "to confirm the new concept of the
Caribbean Basin In Geography, the Caribbean Basin is generally defined as the area running from Florida westward along the Gulf coast, then south along the Mexican coast through Central America and then eastward across the northern coast of South America. Thi ...
by (A) accentuating those interests the Caribbean nations hold in common and (B) working to eliminate barriers left over from its colonial past."Serbin, Andres. "Towards an Association of Caribbean States: Raising Some Awkward Questions." Journal of Interamerican Studies and World Affairs (2004): 1-19 The organization seeks to use geographic proximity and regional cooperation ( regionalism) for political and economic advantage with respect to the global economy and trade blocs such as the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA), European Union,
Arab League The Arab League ( ar, الجامعة العربية, ' ), formally the League of Arab States ( ar, جامعة الدول العربية, '), is a regional organization in the Arab world, which is located in Northern Africa, Western Africa, E ...
, and the
South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation The South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC) is the regional intergovernmental organization and geopolitical union of states in South Asia. Its member states are Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Maldives, Nepal, Pakistan, ...
. The ACS has four distinct areas of interest: Trade, Transport, Sustainable Tourism, and Natural Disasters. Each is pursued by a Special Committee which meets at least twice yearly in order to discuss current regional issues and draft treaties. * The Special Committee on Trade Development and External Economic Relations works in an effort to create larger economic actions in the Caribbean by uniting its member states through integration and cooperation. Through various annual forums the ACS attempts to create economic cooperation in an attempt to benefit and expand the region's economy. * The Special Committee on Transport works to promote an Air Transport Agreement amongst the countries which have ratified the agreement. Security of travelers and the policing of airborne crime like drug trafficking also falls under the auspices of the Special Committee on Transport. * The Special Committee on Sustainable Tourism aims to promote tourism which is environmentally friendly. The committee promotes the use of sustainable tourism which is healthy for the environment, and at the same time economically beneficial to the Caribbean as a region. * The Special Committee on Disaster Risk Reduction which aims to coordinate the prevention and response to natural disasters in the Caribbean. The main focus of this committee is to maintain organisation and attempt to maintain a high level of ability to cope with disasters.


Caribbean Sea agenda

One agenda adopted by the ACS has been an attempt to secure the designation of the
Caribbean Sea The Caribbean Sea ( es, Mar Caribe; french: Mer des Caraïbes; ht, Lanmè Karayib; jam, Kiaribiyan Sii; nl, Caraïbische Zee; pap, Laman Karibe) is a sea of the Atlantic Ocean in the tropics of the Western Hemisphere. It is bounded by Mexico ...
as a special zone in the context of sustainable development, it is pushing for the UN to consider the Caribbean sea as an invaluable asset that is worth protecting and treasuring. The organisation has sought to form a coalition among member states to devise a United Nations General Assembly resolution to ban the transshipment of
nuclear material Nuclear material refers to the metals uranium, plutonium, and thorium, in any form, according to the IAEA. This is differentiated further into "source material", consisting of natural and depleted uranium, and "special fissionable material", ...
s through the Caribbean Sea and the Panama Canal.


VERB programme

VERB (Value, Empowerment, Resources, Betterment) programme aimed by ACS for empowering Caribbean peoples in all sectors (agriculture, education, fishery, etc.) with better resources and betterment of infrastructures in Caribbean by prioritising ecological and community welfare values and using renewable natural resources.


Performance evaluation

The success of the ACS is debated by many scholars on both sides. Those who suggest the ACS is successful would point to the many initiatives the developmental coalition has undertaken, as well as its large membership and relations with other international organisations like the European Union. Those who suggest it is unsuccessful note how by the end of the 1990s, unlike CARICOM, the ACS had failed to establish a track record which was worthy enough to allow for the evaluation of the ACS as a developmental coalition.Hillman, Richard S., and Thomas J. D'agostino, eds. Understanding the Contemporary Caribbean. London: Lynne Rienner, 2003. pp. 169 Furthermore, some scholars suggest that the ACS is unlikely to become a true player on the international level. Skeptics often point to other failed attempts at economic coalition building like the
Central American Common Market The Central American Integration System ( es, Sistema de la Integración Centroamericana, or SICA) has been the economic and political organization of Central American states since 1 February 1993. On 13 December 1991, the ODECA countries (Sp ...
(CACM) as an example of the instability of the region. The influence of NAFTA on the Caribbean outlines the future struggle of the ACS. The future of the ACS in relation to the
western hemisphere The Western Hemisphere is the half of the planet Earth that lies west of the prime meridian (which crosses Greenwich, London, United Kingdom) and east of the antimeridian. The other half is called the Eastern Hemisphere. Politically, the term W ...
is uncertain. "Despite governmental statements of commitment to liberalisation, it will be difficult for Caribbean countries to succeed in putting their economies on a firmer footing that would enable them to compete effectively."


Summits

The ACS has held five summits involving heads of state and/or government: * I ACS Summit, at Port of Spain, Trinidad and Tobago, August 17–18, 1995. * II ACS Summit, at Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic, April 16–17, 1999. * III ACS Summit, at Isla Margarita, Venezuela, December 12, 2001. * IV ACS Summit, at Panama City, Panama, July 29, 2005. * V ACS Summit, at
Pétion-Ville Pétion-Ville ( ht, Petyonvil) is a commune and a suburb of Port-au-Prince, Haiti, in the hills east and separate from the city itself on the northern hills of the Massif de la Selle. Founded in 1831 by president Jean-Pierre Boyer, it was named a ...
, Haiti, April 23–26, 2013. * VI ACS Summit, at Mérida,
México Mexico ( Spanish: México), officially the United Mexican States, is a country in the southern portion of North America. It is bordered to the north by the United States; to the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; to the southeast by Guatem ...
, April 28–30, 2014. * VII ACS Summit, at Havana, Cuba, June 4, 2016. * VIII ACS Summit, at Managua, Nicaragua, March 29, 2019.


Membership


Member states

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *


Associate member states

* * * * on behalf of: ** ** * * * * on behalf of: ** ** ** *


Observer states

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *


Observer organisations

* The Bolivarian Alliance for the Peoples of Our America - People's Trade Treaty *
Central American Bank for Economic Integration The Central American Bank for Economic Integration - CABEI ( BCIE in Spanish) was founded in 1960. It is an international multilateral development financial institution. Its resources are invested in projects that foster development to reduce pov ...
* European Union * Group of 77 *
International Organization for Migration The International Organization for Migration (IOM) is a United Nations agency that provides services and advice concerning migration to governments and migrants, including internally displaced persons, refugees, and migrant workers. The IOM wa ...
*
Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD; french: Organisation de coopération et de développement économiques, ''OCDE'') is an intergovernmental organisation with 38 member countries, founded in 1961 to stimulate e ...
*
United Nations The United Nations (UN) is an intergovernmental organization whose stated purposes are to maintain international peace and security, develop friendly relations among nations, achieve international cooperation, and be a centre for harmonizi ...


Relationship with other supranational organisations


Observer organisations

*
Caribbean Community The Caribbean Community (CARICOM or CC) is an intergovernmental organization that is a political and economic union of 15 member states (14 nation-states and one dependency) throughout the Caribbean. They have primary objectives to promote eco ...
(CARICOM) Secretariat *
Caribbean Tourism Organization The Caribbean Tourism Organizations main objective is the development of sustainable tourism for the economic and social benefit of Caribbean people. Operations The CTO, with headquarters in Barbados, is the Caribbean’s tourism development age ...
(CTO) *
Central American Integration System The Central American Integration System ( es, Sistema de la Integración Centroamericana, or SICA) has been the economic and political organization of Central American states since 1 February 1993. On 13 December 1991, the ODECA countries (Spa ...
(SICA) * General Agreement on Central American Economic Integration (SIECA) Permanent Secretariat *
Community of Latin American and Caribbean States A community is a social unit (a group of living things) with commonality such as place, norms, religion, values, customs, or identity. Communities may share a sense of place situated in a given geographical area (e.g. a country, village, to ...
* European Union *
Latin American Economic System The Latin American and the Caribbean Economic System, officially known as Sistema Económico Latinoamericano y del Caribe (SELA), is an organization founded in 1975 to promote economic cooperation and social development between Latin American and th ...
(SELA) * MERCOSUR * United Nations Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC) * Organization of American States (OAS)


See also

* Economy of Latin America /
the Caribbean The Caribbean (, ) ( es, El Caribe; french: la Caraïbe; ht, Karayib; nl, De Caraïben) is a region of the Americas that consists of the Caribbean Sea, its islands (some surrounded by the Caribbean Sea and some bordering both the Caribbean Se ...
*
List of regional organizations by population The following is a list of regional organizations by population Population typically refers to the number of people in a single area, whether it be a city or town, region, country, continent, or the world. Governments typically quantify t ...
* List of countries by credit rating * List of countries by public debt * List of countries by tax revenue as percentage of GDP *
List of countries by future gross government debt This is a list of countries by estimated future gross central government debt based on data released in October 2020 by the International Monetary Fund, with figures in percentage of national GDP. Projected debt estimates See also * List of ...
* List of countries by leading trade partners *
List of Latin American and Caribbean countries by GDP growth This is a list of estimates of the real gross domestic product growth rate (not rebased GDP) in Latin American and the Caribbean nations for the latest years recorded in the CIA World Factbook. Nations are not included if their latest growth es ...
*
List of Latin American and Caribbean countries by GDP (nominal) This is a list of Latin American and Caribbean countries by gross domestic product (nominal) in USD according to the International Monetary Fund's estimates in the October 2018 World Economic Outlook database. Cuba is not included in the list due ...
*
List of Latin American and Caribbean countries by GDP (PPP) This is a list of Latin American and the Caribbean countries by gross domestic product at purchasing power parity in international dollars according to the International Monetary Fund's estimates in the April 2022 World Economic Outlook database. ...
*
East Caribbean dollar The Eastern Caribbean dollar ( symbol: EC$; code: XCD) is the currency of all seven full members and one associate member of the Organisation of Eastern Caribbean States (OECS). The successor to the British West Indies dollar, it has existed si ...
*
Sucre (currency) Sucre () is the capital of Bolivia, the capital of the Chuquisaca Department and the 6th most populated city in Bolivia. Located in the south-central part of the country, Sucre lies at an elevation of . This relatively high altitude gives the c ...
* International status and usage of the euro * Internationalization of the renminbi * International use of the U.S. dollar *
Central banks and currencies of the Caribbean This is a list of the central banks and currencies of the Caribbean. There are a number of currencies serving multiple territories; the most widespread are the East Caribbean dollar (8 countries and territories), the United States dollar (5) and ...


References


Further reading

* Gowricharn, Ruben. ''Caribbean Transnationalism: Migration, Pluralization and Social Cohesion''. Lanham: Lexington Books, 2006. * Henke, Holger, and Fred Reno, eds. ''Modern Political Culture in the Caribbean''. Kingston: University of West Indies P, 2003. * Heuman, Gad. ''The Caribbean: Brief Histories''. London: A Hodder Arnold Publication, 2006. * Hillman, Richard S. and Thomas J. D'agostino (editors). ''Understanding the Contemporary Caribbean''. London: Lynne Rienner, 2003. * Knight, Franklin W. ''The Modern Caribbean''. na: The University of North Carolina Press, 1989. * Langley, Lester D. ''The United States and the Caribbean in the Twentieth Century''. London: University of Georgia P, 1989. * Maingot, Anthony P. ''The United States and the Caribbean: Challenges of an Asymmetrical Relationship''. San Francisco: Westview P, 1994. * Serbin, Andres. "Towards an Association of Caribbean States: Raising Some Awkward Questions". ''Journal of Interamerican Studies and World Affairs'' (2004): 1-19. (This scholar has many articles referencing the politics of the Caribbean.) * Byron, Jessica Lewis, Patsy. ''Responses to the sovereignty/vulnerability/development dilemmas : small territories and regional organization in the Caribbean'' 201
video from Manioc.org


External links

*
Association of Caribbean States—ACS members
{{authority control International organizations based in the Caribbean International diplomatic organizations Intergovernmental organizations established by treaty Organisations based in the Caribbean Politics of the Caribbean Organizations established in 1994 1990s establishments in the Caribbean 1994 establishments in North America 1994 establishments in South America United Nations General Assembly observers