Javascript Menu by Deluxe-Menu.com

SKNBuzz Radio - Strictly Local Music Toon Center
My Account | Contact Us  

Our Partner For Official online store of the Phoenix Suns Jerseys

 Home  >  Headlines  >  NEWS
Posted: Tuesday 9 December, 2014 at 12:57 PM

Declaration of Havana on the occasion of the fifth CARICOM-Cuba Summit adopted in Havana, Cuba

Logon to vibesguyana.com... Guyana News 
By: CARICOM, Press Release

    (CARICOM Secretariat, Turkeyen, Greater Georgetown, Guyana)   --  We, the heads of state and government of the Caribbean Community and of the Republic of Cuba, meeting in Havana, Cuba, on 8 December 2014, on the occasion of the Fifth CARICOM-Cuba Summit and in commemoration of the Forty-Second anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations among the independent States of CARICOM and Cuba and the twelfth anniversary of Cuba-CARICOM Day. 

     

    Proud of our shared Caribbean identity and the strong and high level of bilateral and political relations, strengthened by the agreements we have signed and in the context of the international fora that has permitted us to advance our national development agenda on behalf of our peoples on the basis of solidarity and regional cooperation.
     
    Recalling the Declarations of Havana (2002), Bridgetown (2005), Santiago de Cuba (2008) and Port-of-Spain (2011), and recognizing their significant contribution towards the strengthening of the relations among our nations.
     
    Aware of the importance of working together for the sustainable development of our countries, that allows us to build more inclusive societies and to address our vulnerabilities as small developing States, in particular Small Island Developing States, especially in the environmental and economic spheres. 
     
    Reiterating the need to pool our efforts in order to improve the productivity, infrastructure, air and sea connectivity of our countries, as well as to broaden our economic and trade relations through the implementation of the revised Trade and Economic Cooperation Agreement between CARICOM and Cuba.
     
    Recalling the importance of the consolidation of the Community of Latin American and Caribbean States (CELAC) as a mechanism of political coordination and promotion of the unity and integration of our region, as well as the significance of its direct efforts in the eradication of poverty, hunger and inequality within and amongst its member states.
     
    Agree as follows:
     
    1. Reiterate that the unity and integration of our Caribbean region is based on respect for the Purposes and Principles enshrined in the Charter of the United Nations and in international law. Therefore, we commit our wholehearted support to sovereignty, self-determination, territorial integrity, noninterference in internal affairs of each country and the protection and promotion of all human rights for all. 
     
    2. Welcome the outcomes of the regular meetings of Ministers of Foreign Affairs of CARICOM and the Republic of Cuba to date, which continue to serve as a platform for political engagement. These meetings reinforce the commitment of our political leaders to strengthening the bonds among our countries.
     
    3. Reaffirm our will to strengthen South-South cooperation as an expression of solidarity among our countries, for the promotion of bilateral and regional programmes as well as triangular cooperation for development, taking into account the development priorities of our countries.
     
    4. Recognize the cooperation between Cuba and the countries of the Caribbean Community in areas such as health, the development of human resources, construction and sports, has effectively contributed to the growth of wellbeing of our peoples. In this regard, we express our sincere appreciation to the government of Cuba for its continued support and for the extension of this goodwill for the financing of the Caribbean Regional School of Arts in Jamaica, and the Centre for Treatment of Physical Disabilities to assist physically challenged children and youth, to be based in Guyana, during the upcoming triennial period. We express further appreciation for the increase in under-graduate scholarships as well as post-graduate scholarships for specialization in Medicine, the increase in patient intake from CARICOM States for free medical care, as well as training in disaster risk reduction and response to natural disasters.
     
    5. Reiterate our commitment to continue promoting social initiatives as well as the implementation of projects to improve the air and sea infrastructure and connectivity between our countries and broaden our economic and trade relations through the implementation of the revised Trade and Economic Cooperation Agreement between CARICOM and Cuba;
     
    6. Welcome the progress in the negotiations to expand market access and improve economic cooperation under our Trade and Economic Cooperation Agreement and encourage our officials to continue to work in the spirit of solidarity and goodwill that has characterized their efforts to date, in order to conclude the negotiations by the end of the second quarter of 2015.
     
    7. Emphasize that the updating of Cuban economic model, its Foreign Investment Law and the Special Mariel Development Economic Zone, provide additional opportunities, on a much broader scale, to accelerate and strengthen CARICOM-Cuba economic ties.
     
    8. Recognize the importance to the Caribbean countries to take advantage of the potential offered by the regional and sub-regional mechanisms such as CELAC, ACS, ALBA-TCP, PETROCARIBE, as well as international mechanisms such as BRICS.
     
    9. Reaffirm our solidarity with the Republic of Haiti and reiterate our strong commitment to the recovery efforts after the earthquake of 12 January 2010, in accordance with the priorities defined by its government and fully respecting for its sovereignty.
     
    10. Affirm the commitments made at the Third International Conference on Small Island Developing States that took place in Apia, Samoa, 1st- 4th September 2014, as well as the commitments outlined in the Outcome Document.
     
    11. Affirm also our readiness to work together on a Regional Strategic Agenda to address Disaster Risk Management in a comprehensive manner, taking into account disaster risk estimates and reduction, human assistance and reconstruction, in accordance with United Nations General Assembly Resolution 46/182, in order to address the serious consequences of climate change in our countries.
     
    12. Decide to strengthen our cooperation to address the negative effects of climate change. In this regard, we reiterate our call for a binding agreement that will stabilize the rise of world temperatures below the 2º C, taking into account the principle of common but differentiated responsibilities and to address the needs of our countries to the challenges of adapting to impacts of climate change, in accordance with the Framework Convention and the decisions of the Conferences of the Parties.
     
    13. Commit to strengthen cooperation for the protection of the environment and the sustainable use of our resources, in particular those in the Caribbean Sea. In this regard, we support the efforts made by the Association of Caribbean States (ACS) to declare the Caribbean Sea a Special Area in the Context of Sustainable Development within the UN Framework.
     
    14. Reaffirm that climate change is one of the greatest challenges of our time, and we express profound alarm that emissions of greenhouse gases continue to rise globally. We are deeply concerned that all countries, particularly developing countries, are vulnerable to the adverse impacts of climate change and are already experiencing an increase in such impacts, including persistent drought and extreme weather events, sea level rise, coastal erosion and ocean acidification, further threatening food security and efforts to eradicate poverty and achieve sustainable development. In this regard, we emphasize that adaptation to climate change represents an immediate and urgent global priority.
     
    15. Emphasize our commitment to combat trafficking in persons, illicit drugs trafficking and illicit trafficking of small arms, bearing in mind the characteristics, scope and magnitude of these problems in each individual state.
     
    16. Welcome the immediate unified actions of ALBA-TCP, Cuba and CARICOM, accompanied by the other member countries of CELAC to prevent the spread of the Ebola epidemic in our region and to deal with it if necessary. We commit ourselves to promoting and broadening said cooperation by adopting preventive measures, training of qualified personnel, creating institutions to carry out research on that disease. 
     
    17. Recognize the support and solidarity of the Republic of Cuba in sending doctors and medical personnel to the countries of West Africa affected by the epidemic, and in training qualified personnel in other African countries to prevent it from spreading and be prepared to confront it.
     
    18. Support efforts in preventing the entry, spread and facilitating the treatment of non-communicable diseases, HIV-AIDS and other diseases such as Dengue and Chikungunya in our countries. We also support projects aimed at assisting differently-abled persons in the region.
     
    19. Demand an immediate end to the economic, commercial and financial embargo imposed by the government of the United States of America against Cuba and, especially, to its extraterritorial nature and the financial persecution of Cuban transactions, whose severity increases daily; the inclusion of Cuba on the List of States Sponsoring Terrorism, prepared and published unilaterally by the U.S. State Department, and all undercover actions that the U.S. government is carrying out to subvert domestic law and order in the Republic of Cuba, including those that involve the illegal use of information and communications technologies, that constitute violations of Cuban sovereignty and its people’s right to self-determination. 
     
    20. Reaffirm the unequivocal position of the Caribbean Community in favour of Cuba attending the Seventh Summit of the 6 Americas in Panama, in April 2015, on an equal footing of sovereignty, and without any conditions, which coincides with the position of solidarity expressed in different fora throughout the region.
     
    21. Emphasize that the elaboration of the Post-2015 Development Agenda must be a universal process, open, transparent and inclusive, on the basis of unrestricted respect for the Purposes and Principles enshrined in the Charter of the United Nations and focused on the three pillars of sustainable development: economic, social and environmental. In this context, we stress
    that said Agenda must respond to the special needs of small developing States, particularly Small Island Developing States (SIDS), in accordance with their respective national laws and development priorities in respect to attaining sustainable development. The Agenda should also incorporate all elements conducive to Sustainable Development, in particular culture, which must be a cross-cutting issue of the Agenda and with respect to which specific goals in the relevant objectives must be included.
     
    22. Affirm that even though middle-income countries in the Caribbean region, have achieved significant advances in fulfilling the Millennium Development Goals, we still face enormous challenges in our path to development, including those derived from the nature of being small islands and those related with climate change. In this context, we reiterate our call to adopt indicators that suitably reflect the realities of middle-income countries and, in particular, the specific problems of the Caribbean States, considering that the current criteria referring to average incomes, especially the criteria of per capita income indicators, do not reflect the multidimensional effects of poverty, inequality and vulnerability.
     
    23. Celebrate with great pleasure the successful outcome of the Second CELAC Summit in Havana, held on the 28th and 29th of January of 2014, in particular the Declaration of Havana, the historical Proclamation of Latin America and the Caribbean as a Zone of Peace, signed by the Heads of State and Government and the Special Declarations regarding Small 7 Island Developing States, the matter of reparations for the slavery and native genocide and the establishing of the China- CELAC
    Forum.
     
    24. Reaffirm that the strengthening of CELAC as a forum for dialogue and international political actor is one of our priorities. In that context, we consider it to be fundamental to continue strengthening regional integration through political dialogue, cooperation and increased trade among the countries of the Caribbean and Latin America. In that regard, we reaffirm the importance of CARICOM’s active participation within CELAC and we emphasize the inclusion of the CARICOM Presidency within the CELAC Quartet.
     
    25. Note the importance placed by the Caribbean Community on the issue of reparation for native genocide and Caribbean slavery and their desire to engage with the European countries intimately involved in native genocide and slave-owning in a reparatory dialogue to address the legacy of this crime against humanity.
     
    26. Express gratitude to the Government and People of the Republic of Cuba for the warm welcome and hospitality afforded to us during the Fifth Summit of Heads of State and Government of the Caribbean Community and the Republic of Cuba.
     
    27. Decide to hold the Sixth CARICOM-Cuba Summit on 8 December of 2017, in Antigua and Barbuda and the Fifth Ministerial Meeting in Havana in the month of June of 2016; Adopted in Havana, Cuba, on the 8th day of the month of December of 2014.



     




    *************************
      DISCLAIMER

    This article was posted in its entirety as received by SKNVibes.com. This media house does not  correct any spelling or grammatical error within press releases and commentaries. The views expressed therein are not necessarily those of SKNVibes.com, its sponsors or advertisers               

     
Copyright © 2024 SKNVibes, Inc. All rights reserved.
Privacy Policy   Terms of Service