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Plans> Caricom Charter of Civil Society |
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CARICOM CHARTER OF CIVIL SOCIETY Table of Contents
PREAMBLE We the People of the Caribbean Community, acting through the assembled representatives of our Governments; RECALLING that the Conference of Heads of Government of the Caribbean Community at their Special Meeting in Port-of-Spain, Trinidad and Tobago, in October 1992 adopted the recommendation of the West Indian Commission that a Charter of Civil Society for the Caribbean Community be subscribed to by Member States of the Community; CONSCIOUS that the common historical, cultural and social bonds of the people of the Caribbean Community underpin the commitment of the Governments and peoples of Member States of the Community to this Charter; DETERMINED:
DECLARE our resolve to pay due regard to the following principles by which our Governments commit themselves to respect and strengthen the fundamental elements of a civil society: In this Charter, unless the context otherwise requires the following expressions shall have the following meanings:
ARTICLE II - Respect for Fundamental Human Rights and Freedoms 1. The States shall respect the fundamental human rights and freedoms of the individual without distinction as to age, colour, creed, disability, ethnicity, gender, language, place of birth or origin, political opinion, race, religion or social class but subject to respect for the rights and freedoms of others and for the public interest. 2. Those fundamental human rights and freedoms include.-
subject to such exceptions and qualifications as may be authorised by national law and which are reasonably justifiable in a free and democratic society. 3. The States shall promote and encourage the effective exercise of civil and political rights and, within the limits of their resources, economic, social and cultural rights all of which derive from the inherent dignity of the human person and which are essential for the free and full development of the person. 4. The States shall keep the general public informed of the provisions of this Charter and of international and regional agreements and declarations in the field of human rights to which they subscribe. The States shall, in the discharge of their legislative, executive, administrative and judicial functions ensure respect for and protection of the human dignity of every person. ARTICLE IV - Right to Life, Liberty and Security of the Person 1. Every person shall have the right to life. No person shall be deprived of his or her life intentionally save in accordance with national law. 2. No person shall be deprived of his or her personal liberty or the security of his or her person except by due process of law. ARTICLE V - Equality before the Law 1. All persons shall be equal before the law, be entitled to the equal protection of the law and to a fair and impartial hearing within a reasonable time. 2. The States shall use their best endeavours to have legal assistance extended in any case where the interest of justice so requires. 3. No person shall be favoured or discriminated against by reason of age, colour, creed, disability, ethnicity, gender, language, place of birth or origin, political opinion, race, religion or social class. 4. A law shall be deemed not to be contrary to paragraph 3 if such law provides for special measures for the sole purpose of furthering the development and advancement of hitherto advantaged communities or sections of the population to enable them to develop and realise their potential to the fullest. 1. The States shall ensure the existence of a fair and open democratic system through the holding of free elections at reasonable intervals, by secret ballot, underpinned by an electoral system in which all can have confidence and which will ensure the free expression of the will of the people in the choice of their representatives. 2. The States shall take all appropriate measures to promote and maintain an effectively functioning representational system, including the holding of regular public sessions of representatives of the people. 3. Every person shall have the right to.-
4. The provisions of this Article shall not preclude the States from taking measures authorised by their Constitutions to regulate persons employed in the service of the State with respect to their participation in the activities of a political party or Organisation. ARTICLE VII - Meetings, Demonstrations and Petitions Every person shall have the right to assemble, to demonstrate peacefully and to draw up and present petitions, subject to such restrictions as may be imposed by national law in the public interest and which are reasonably justifiable in a free and democratic society. ARTICLE VIII - Freedom of Expression and Access to Information 1. Every person shall have the right to the enjoyment of freedom of expression including the right to: (a) hold opinions and to receive and communicate ideas and information without interference and freely to send or receive communications by correspondence or other means; (b) seek, distribute or disseminate to other persons and the public information, opinions, and ideas in any form whatever. 2. The right conferred by paragraph 1 of this Article shall also be enjoyed by the media. 3. The exercise of the right conferred by this Article carries with it special duties and responsibilities and may be exercisable subject to such reasonable restrictions in the public interest, as may be imposed by law and are justifiable in a democratic society: (a) for the protection of the reputations, rights and freedoms of other persons; or (b) in the interest of defence, public safety, public order, public morality or public health. 4. The States shall respect, encourage and promote the existence of a diversity of sources of information as a means of ensuring greater public access to information. 5. This Article shall not be construed as preventing the State from requiring the licensing of broadcasting, transmission or other means of communication, public exhibition or public entertainment. ARTICLE IX - Religious Diversity The States shall recognise and respect the freedom of conscience of the individual to profess and practise alone or in community with others, in private or in public, his or her religion, belief or persuasion in accordance with the dictates of his or her own conscience, subject to such restrictions as may be imposed by national law in the interest of defence, public order or public safety or for the protection of public health or public morals or for the protection of the rights and freedoms of others provided that such restrictions are reasonably justifiable in a free and democratic society. ARTICLE X - Cultural Diversity The States recognise that:
ARTICLE XI - Rights of the Indigenous Peopies The States recognise the contribution of the indigenous peoples to the development process and undertake to continue to protect their historical rights and respect the culture and way of life of these peoples. For the promotion of policies and measures aimed at strengthening gender equality, all women have equal rights with men in the political, civil, economic, social and cultural spheres. Such rights shall include the right:
ARTICLE XIII - Children's Rights Every child has, in particular, the right.-
2. For the purposes of this Article and ArticleXV, "child" means every person below the age of eighteen years unless, under national law, majority is attained at an earlier or later age. ARTICLE XIV - Rights of Disabled Persons 1. Every disabled person has, in particular, the right -
ARTICLE XV - Access to Education and Training 1. The States shall ensure that every child has the right to, and is provided with, quality primary education. 2. The States shall ensure equal access to secondary and post secondary education and reasonable access to continuing adult education and training. 3. Every child, irrespective of colour, creed, disability, ethnicity, gender, language, place of birth or origin, political opinion, race, religion or social class shall have the right to equal access to State or State-assisted educational institutions. 4. Every child with a disability shall have the right to special education in accordance with his or her needs funded wholly or partially by the State up to an age determined by national law. 5. Every State shall put into place measures to ensure that parents enable their children to make full use of the educational opportunities provided by the State. ARTICLE XVI - Rights of the Family The States, recognising the family as the fundamental unit of society, shall endeavour to ensure: (a) the fulfilment of the necessary conditions for the promotion of family life and effective parenting skills, bearing in mind the importance of the role of each parent; (b) the full development and protection of the family, including the extended family. ARTICLE XVII - Good Governance 1. The States shall adopt and implement all appropriate measures to ensure good governance which is just, open and accountable. 2. The States recognise and affirm that the rule of law, the effective administration of justice and the maintenance of the independence and impartiality of the judiciary are essential to good governance. 3. The States, recognising that integral to the concept of good governance are the complementary roles of government, the social partners and the citizenry, shall ensure that the rights and responsibilities of all are clearly established and that the appropriate environment for their exercise and discharge, as the case may be, is fostered. 4. The States, in order to ensure morality in public affairs, agree that holders of public office and all those who exercise power the exercise of which affects or may affect the public interest, shall so order their affairs in accordance with national law that such ordering gives no cause for conflict to arise or to appear to arise between their private interests and their duties to the public, or to otherwise compromise their integrity. To this end, the States agree to establish a Code governing the conduct of the holders of public office and all those who exercise power, the exercise of which affects or may affect the public interest. 5. The States shall undertake: (a) to foster continuously greater cost-effectiveness in their operations while being facilitative and supportive of the development process; (b) to ensure that all persons are treated fairly, humanely and equally by public authorities and holders of public office and all those who exercise power so as to affect the quality of life of our people; (c) to ensure responsiveness to the needs of the people as consumers in the delivery of goods and services. 6. The States undertake to preserve and respect the existence of an independent public service with attractive career opportunities open to all on the basis of merit and which is effective, efficient, responsive, adaptive and innovative in its conduct of public administration. 7. The States in order to further the participation of the people in the democratic process shall establish effective systems of ongoing consultations between the Government and the people. 8. The States shall undertake to ensure that in the process of governance, there is no victimisation of any person. ARTICLE XVIII - Participation in the Economy 1. The States shall facilitate access by their peoples to resources in such a manner as to promote economic growth, sustainable development and full employment, especially of the young people, and to enhance the opportunities for the achievement by every person of a reasonable and secure standard of living. 2. Every person shall have the right freely and on the basis of full equality to engage in economic activities, including the right to participate in, establish and manage his or her own enterprise in the commercial, industrial, agricultural, service or other sectors. 3. The States undertake to collaborate with the social partners for the provision of creative employment for young people and the disabled and for fostering strategies for their employment. 1. Every worker has the right: (a) to form or belong to and participate in the activities of trade unions or other associations for the promotion and protection of his or her interest or the right not to belong to and participate in the activities of any such trade union or association; (b) to negotiate or bargain collectively; (c) not to be subjected to unfair labour practices, including intimidation and victimisation; (d) to work under safe, hygienic and healthy conditions; (e) to reasonable hours of work, rest, periodic holidays with pay and remuneration for public holidays; (f) to receive reasonable remuneration for his or her labour and to withhold his or her labour subject to such reasonable restrictions as may be imposed by national law in the public interest. 2. The provisions of this Article shall not preclude the States from taking measures imposing on persons in the service of the State, restrictions which are reasonably justifiable in a free and democratic society. 3. The States undertake: (a) to safeguard the right of workers to earn their living in freely chosen lawful occupations; (b) to recognise the desirability of workers earning a level of remuneration which would afford them and their families the enjoyment of a decent standard of living; (c) in recognition of the right of workers to collective bargaining, the responsibility to provide adequate machinery for the recognition and certification of trade unions enjoying the support of a majority of the workers based on the free choice of the workers concerned; (d) to foster and promote a harmonious and productive working environment by sensitising workers, trade unions and employers as to their respective and mutual obligations; (e) to provide protection for workers against arbitrary dismissal; (f) to provide adequate machinery for the speedy resolution of industrial disputes and the restoration of normalcy in the event of strikes, lock-outs and other forms of industrial action; (g) to provide an adequate period of leave with pay, or with adequate social security benefits for women before and after childbirth and to make it unlawful for an employer to terminate a woman's employment or take any other action that would unfavourably affect her status or promotion by reason of her pregnancy; (h) to establish standards to be observed by employers in providing workers with a safe and healthy working environment; (i) to provide workers with adequate social security benefits; (j) to ensure that every person who has attained the age of retirement and does not have adequate means of subsistence is provided with social and medical assistance. The States shall use their best endeavours to provide a health care system that is:
ARTICLE XXI - Basic Necessities The States shall endeavour to;
ARTICLE XXII - Social Partners The States undertake to establish within their respective States a framework for genuine consultations among the social partners in order to reach common understandings on and support for the objectives, contents and implementation of national economic and social programmes and their respective roles and responsibilities in good governance. ARTICLE XXIII - Environmental Rights 1. Every person has a right to an environment which is adequate for his or her health and well-being and a corresponding duty to protect, conserve and improve the environment. 2. The States shall take steps to establish environmental standards and to monitor compliance with such standards. 3. The States, considering the shared universal responsibility for human survival, shall put in place measures to ensure the protection and improvement of the environment and the conservation and management of its natural resourcesfor the benefit of present and future generations. ARTICLE XXIV - Awareness and Responsibilities of the People The States hereby declare that the people have an important role to play in the pursuit and maintenance of good governance. Accordingly, the States shall build awareness, engender support and establish programmes to foster sound values and positive attitudes and shall enhance individual and institutional capacities to secure objectives, including:
1. The States undertake to submit periodically to the Secretary-General of the Caribbean Community (hereinafter referred to as the "Secretary-General ") for transmission to the Conference of Heads of Government of the Caribbean Community, reports on measures adopted and progress achieved in compliance with the provisions of this Charter. 2. Reports, other than special reports which may be requested by the Conference at any time, shall be submitted every three years on a rotating basis to be determined by the Conference, indicating the factors and difficulties, if any, that affect the implementation of this Charter. 3. In the preparation of their Reports, States shall, in accordance with the provisions of Article XXII, undertake consultation with the social partners, having regard to their crucial role in the attainment of the objectives of this Charter. 4. (1) States shall each establish a National Committee or designate a body to monitor and ensure the implementation of this Charter and that National Committee or body shall comprise;
5. (1) The Secretary-General shall submit annually for consideration by the Conference, in accordance with criteria established by the Conference, reports received from the National Committees or bodies pursuant to the provisions of paragraph 4(3) of this Article.
6. Allegations of violations or non-compliance shall not impose any obligations on a State to refrain from carrying out any decision of its Courts or other authorities pending consideration under this Article. The States declare their resolve to pay due regard to the provisions of this Charter. Nothing in this Charter shall be interpreted as impairing the provisions of any regional or international agreement to which States are parties. The Conference of Heads of Government of the Caribbean Community at their Eighth Inter-Sessional Meeting: Reaffirming their confidence in the Caribbean Community as an association of States and Territories bonded by a common heritage and cooperating in the interests of their own peoples; Being committed to the fundamental principles of human rights and freedoms and conscious that this Charter should enhance the integration process; Determined to pursue the principles declared in the Charter in response to the challenges of the Twenty-First Century; Now therefore resolve to adopt this Charter and agree to pay due regard to its principles and to ensure that this Charter receives the widest possible circulation within their respective States and Territories. Agreed this ...................................... day of .......................... at........................................
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