The Caribbean Community (abbreviated as CARICOM or CC) is an intergovernmental organisation that is a political and economic union of 15 member states (14 nation-states and one dependency) and eight associated members throughout the Americas, the Caribbean and Atlantic Ocean. It has the primary objective to promote economic integration and cooperation among its members, ensure that the benefits of integration are equitably shared, and coordinate foreign policy. The organisation was established in 1973, by its four founding members signing the Treaty of Chaguaramas.
The secretariat headquarters is in Georgetown, Guyana. CARICOM has been granted the official United Nations General Assembly observer status.
History CARICOM, originally The Caribbean Community and Common Market, was established by the Treaty of Chaguaramas which took effect on 1 August 1973. Founding states were Barbados, Jamaica, Guyana and Trinidad and Tobago.
The Caribbean Community superseded the 1965–1972 Caribbean Free Trade Association organised to provide a continued economic linkage between the English-speaking countries of the Caribbean after the dissolution of the West Indies Federation, which lasted from 3 January 1958 to 31 May 1962.
A revised Treaty of Chaguaramas established The Caribbean Community including the CARICOM Single Market and Economy, security, foreign exchange and was signed by the CARICOM Heads of Government of the Caribbean Community on 5 July 2001 at their Twenty-Second Meeting of the Conference in Nassau, The Bahamas. The revised treaty cleared the way to transform the idea of a common market CARICOM into the Caribbean (CARICOM) Single Market and Economy.
Haiti's membership in CARICOM remained effectively suspended from 29 February 2004 through early June 2006 following the 2004 Haitian coup d'état and the removal of Jean-Bertrand Aristide from the presidency. CARICOM announced that no democratically elected government in CARICOM should have its leader deposed. The fourteen other heads of government sought to have Aristide fly from Africa to Jamaica and share his account of events with them, which infuriated the interim Haitian prime minister, Gérard Latortue, who announced he would take steps to take Haiti out of CARICOM. CARICOM thus voted on suspending the participation of Haitian officials from the councils of CARICOM. Following the presidential election of René Préval, Haitian officials were readmitted and Préval himself gave the opening address at the CARICOM Council of Ministers meeting in July.
Since 2013 the CARICOM-bloc and with the Dominican Republic have been tied to the European Union via an Economic Partnership Agreements signed in 2008 known as CARIFORUM. The treaty grants all members of the European Union and CARIFORUM equal rights in terms of trade and investment. Under Article 234 of the agreement, the European Court of Justice handles dispute resolution between CARIFORUM and European Union states.
On 1 October 2025, four Caricom members—Barbados, Belize, Dominica, and St. Vincent and the Grenadines—implemented full freedom of movement, going beyond the freedom of movement only for skilled workers that other Caricom members have implemented.
Agenda and goals CARICOM was established by the English-speaking countries of the Caribbean and currently includes all the independent Anglophone island countries plus Belize, Guyana, Montserrat and Suriname, as well as all other British Caribbean territories and Bermuda as associate members. English was its sole working language into the 1990s. The organisation became multilingual with the addition of Dutch and Sranan Tongo-speaking Suriname in 1995 and the French and Haitian Creole-speaking Haiti in 2002. Furthermore, it added Spanish as the fourth official language in 2003. In July 2012, CARICOM announced they considered making French and Dutch official languages."Communiqué Issued at the Conclusion of the Thirty-Third Regular Meeting of the Conference of Heads of Government of the Caribbean Community, 4–6 July 2012, Gros Islet, Saint Lucia" , "Heads of Government recognized that, although English was the official language of the Community, the facility to communicate in their languages could enhance the participation of Haiti and Suriname in the integration process. They therefore requested the conduct of a study to examine the possibilities and implications, including costs, of introducing French and Dutch." In 2001, the Conference of Heads of Governments signed a revised Treaty of Chaguaramas that cleared the way to transform the idea of a common market CARICOM into the CARICOM Single Market and Economy. Part of the revised treaty establishes and implements the Caribbean Court of Justice. Its primary activities involve: Coordinating economic policies and development planning. Devising and instituting special projects for the less-developed countries within its jurisdiction. Operating as a regional single market for many of its members (Caricom Single Market). Handling regional trade disputes.
Organisational structure The following is the overall structure of Caribbean Community (CARICOM).
Administration and staff InstitutionAbbreviationLocationCountrySecretariat of the Caribbean CommunityCCSGeorgetownGuyanaCaricom heads of governmentPCCvariableConference of Heads of GovernmentsHGCvariableAssembly of Caribbean Community ParliamentariansACCPvariableCaribbean Community Administrative TribunalCCATPort of SpainTrinidad and Tobago
Chairmanship The post of Chairman (Head of CARICOM) is held in rotation by the regional Heads of Government of CARICOM's 15 member states. These include Antigua and Barbuda, Belize, Dominica, Grenada, Haiti, Montserrat, St. Kitts and Nevis, St. Lucia, St. Vincent and the Grenadines, The Bahamas, Barbados, Guyana, Jamaica, Suriname, Trinidad and Tobago.
Heads of government CARICOM contains a quasi-Cabinet of the individual Heads of Government. These heads are given specialised portfolios of responsibility for regional development and integration.
Secretariat The Secretariat of the Caribbean Community is the Chief Administrative Organ for CARICOM. The Secretary-General of the Caribbean Community is the chief executive and handles foreign and community relations. Five years is the term of office of the Secretary-General, which may be renewed. The Deputy Secretary-General of the Caribbean Community handles human and Social Development. The General Counsel of the Caribbean Community handles trade and economic integration.
The goal statement of the CARICOM Secretariat is: "To contribute, in support of Member States, to the improvement of the quality of life of the People of the Community and the development of an innovative and productive society in partnership with institutions and groups working towards attaining a people-centred, sustainable and internationally competitive Community."
Organs and bodies +Principal organsOrganDescriptionCARICOM Heads of GovernmentConsisting of the various heads of Government from each member stateStanding Committee of MinistersMinisterial responsibilities for specific areas, for example the Standing Committee of Ministers responsible for Health will consist of Ministers of Health from each member state
Community Council The Community Council comprises ministers responsible for community affairs and any other Minister designated by the member states at their discretion. It is one of the community's principal organs; the other is the Conference of the Heads of Government. Five other organs and four bodies support it.
+Secondary organsSecondary organAbbreviationCouncil for Finance and PlanningCOFAPCouncil for Foreign and Community RelationsCOFCORCouncil for Human and Social DevelopmentCOHSODCouncil for National Security and Law EnforcementCONSLECouncil for Trade and Economic DevelopmentCOTED
+BodiesBodyDescriptionLegal Affairs CommitteeCaricom Law: Website and online database of the CARICOM Legislative Drafting Facility (CLDF)provides legal adviceBudget Committeeexamines the draft budget and work programme of the Secretariat and submits recommendations to the Community Council.Committee of the Central Bank Governorsprovides recommendations to the COFAP on monetary and financial matters.Committee of Ambassadorsfacilitates implementation of the Community's Strategic Plan and reports to the Community Council.
Institutions The following institutions are founded by or affiliated to the Caricom:Caricom, Institutions
Caricom Institutions InstitutionAbbreviationLocationCountryCaribbean Centre for Renewable Energy and Energy EfficiencyCCREEEBridgetownBarbadosCaricom Development FundCDFBridgetownBarbadosCaribbean Telecommunications UnionCTUPort of SpainTrinidad and TobagoCaribbean Community Climate Change CentreCCCCCBelmopanBelizeCaricom Regional Organisation for Standards and QualityCARICOM Regional Organisation for Standards and Quality (CROSQ)CROSQBridgetownBarbadosCaribbean Meteorological OrganisationCMOPort of SpainTrinidad and TobagoCaribbean Regional Fisheries MechanismCRFMBelize CityBelizeCaricom Implementation Agency for Crime and SecurityIMPACSPort of SpainTrinidad and TobagoCaribbean Institute for Meteorology and HydrologyCIMHBridgetownBarbadosCaribbean Examinations CouncilCXCBridgetownBarbadosCaribbean Court of JusticeCCtJ/CCJPort of SpainTrinidad and TobagoCaricom Competition CommissionCCCParamariboSurinameCaribbean Disaster Emergency Management AgencyCDEMASaint MichaelBarbadosCaribbean Agricultural Health and Food Safety AgencyCAHFSAParamariboSurinameCaribbean Aviation Safety and Security Oversight SystemCASSOSKingstonJamaicaCaribbean Public Health AgencyCARPHAPort of SpainTrinidad and TobagoCaribbean Centre for Development AdministrationCARICADSaint MichaelBarbadosCaribbean Agriculture Research and Development InstituteCARDISaint AugustineTrinidad and TobagoCaribbean Organisation of Tax AdministratorsCOTAGeorgetownGuyana
Functional cooperation InstitutionAbbreviationLocationCountry Caribbean Tourism OrganizationCTOSaint MichaelBarbadosCaribbean Council of Legal EducationCLEseveralCaribbean Export Development AgencyCaribbean ExportSaint MichaelBarbadosCaribbean Regional Information and Translation InstituteCRITIParamariboSuriname
Associate InstitutionAbbreviationLocationCountryCaribbean Congress of LabourCCLSaint MichaelBarbadosCaricom Private Sector OrganizationCPSOSaint MichaelBarbadosUniversity of the West IndiesUWIseveralUniversity of GuyanaUGGeorgetownGuyana Caribbean Law InstituteCLISaint MichaelBarbadosCaribbean Development BankCDBSaint MichaelBarbados
Cancelled The following institutions have been cancelled or merged into other ones: InstitutionAbbreviationLocationCountryRegional Educational Programme for Animal Health AssistantsREPAHANew AmsterdamGuyanaCaribbean Food CorporationCFCSaint AugustineTrinidad and TobagoCaribbean Environmental Health InstituteCEHICastriesSaint LuciaThe Caribbean Epidemiology CentreCARECPort of SpainTrinidad and TobagoCaribbean Food and Nutrition InstituteCFNIKingstonJamaicaCaribbean Health Research CouncilCHRCSaint AugustineTrinidad and TobagoCaribbean Regional Drug Testing LaboratoryCRDTLGeorgetownGuyana
Relationship to other organisations
African Union