THE CARIBBEAN, INTERNATIONAL SECURITYAND INTERNATIONAL LAW

Apr 23, 2019 News

By Dr Bertrand Ramcharan,
Former UN Under-Secretary-General
and Chancellor of the University of Guyana

This is a time of dramatic global change and Caribbean foreign policy must evolve rapidly if we are to protect our security.
We will need bold new initiatives at the United Nations and elsewhere.
Historically, the Caribbean has contributed in manifold ways to the reinforcement of international security and international law.
Through their participation in organs such as the Security Council, the General Assembly and ECOSOC, Caribbean States have helped shape and reinforce the international security order on issues such as self determination, the security of small states, democracy and governance, protection of the environment, and combatting of international crimes, including drug trafficking.
Caribbean States have helped shape key foundations of international security such as the definition of aggression and the centrality of human rights in foreign policy.
Caribbean States have contributed to the codification and progressive development of international law in many areas, to the peaceful settlement of disputes, helping to create institutions such as the International Seabed Authority and the Law of the Sea Tribunal, and to international adjudication.
Caribbean nationals have served with distinction on the UN International law Commission, the International Court of Justice, and the International Criminal Court.
A Caribbean national exercised the functions of UN High Commissioner for Human Rights. The Caribbean Court of Justice has set an example for the region and for the wider world. Caribbean nationals have made exemplary contributions to international human rights treaty organs.
Going forward, it is a central thesis of this chapter that Caribbean security is intricately bound up with international security, whether it be on issues such as climate change, the rising oceans, international criminality, internal violence, and the need for stability through meeting the basic needs of Caribbean peoples.
Many of the security challenges of the Caribbean are internationally generated and require international solutions.
Caribbean States must lead and take bold new initiatives on international security cooperation in the future and, leaving aside for the moment the issue of enlargement of Security Council membership, will need to advocate for stronger executive functions of the UN Security Council.
At the end of the day, if need be, issues of the protection of endangered peoples as the world heats up and the oceans rise will require the discharge of executive functions, as well as protection functions.
Only the Security Council has the competence to do this.
On the future of international law, Caribbean States must also lead and take bold initiatives on the future role of the International Court of Justice.
The international community must recognize the primacy of the World Court in pronouncing on the content of international law.
As global and regional threats worsen, the competence of the Court to issue orders for interim measures of protection must also be developed. These are indeed bold proposals. But, as a recent book, Falter, asked, Has the Human Game Begun to Play Itself Out?
Extraordinary times require bold new approaches to international security and international law. The Caribbean must help lead the way.
Some years ago, we put together a pioneering book, Caribbean Perspectives on International Law and Organizations.
Leading Caribbean authors like Lloyd Searwar and Ralph Carnegie provided an assessment of Caribbean leadership on issues of international and regional security and law. CARICOM would do well to sponsor a future-oriented volume on The Caribbean, International Security, and International Law.

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