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Committees

Caribbean Development and Cooperation Committee

Regional Coordinating Mechanism for Sustainable Development

 

Caribbean Development and Cooperation Committee (CDCC)

 

Pursuant to resolution 358(XVI) of 1975, the Caribbean Development and Cooperation Committee (CDCC) was created as a permanent subsidiary body of the Economic Commission of Latin America and the Caribbean to promote development cooperation among Caribbean countries.

CDCC objectives

The objectives of CDCC are:

  • To promote and strengthen economic and social cooperation and integration among the countries of the Caribbean and with Latin America
  • To promote the sharing of information and experiences among its membership
  • To promote common positions and strategies on economic and social issues among Caribbean nations, and on their relations with third countries, and to present those positions to international forums and agencies

CDCC members

The member countries of CDCC are: Antigua and Barbuda, Bahamas, Barbados, Belize, Cuba, Dominica, Dominican Republic, Grenada, Guyana, Haiti, Jamaica, Saint Kitts and Nevis, Saint Lucia, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Suriname, and Trinidad and Tobago.

The associate members of CDCC are: Anguilla, Aruba, Bermuda, British Virgin Islands, Cayman Islands, Curaçao, Guadeloupe, Martinique, Montserrat, Puerto Rico, Sint Maarten, Turks and Caicos Islands, and United States Virgin Islands.

CDCC structure

CDCC comprises the following elements:

  • The session of ministers
  • The Monitoring Committee
  • Such other subsidiary organs as may be established by the Session of Ministers.

Regular sessions of Ministers are held every two years and are currently preceded by meetings of the Caribbean Development Roundtable at the same venue. The sessions are convened on dates that facilitate the transmission of relevant reports and decisions to the biennial sessions of ECLAC. The regular meetings of the Monitoring Committee are also held biennially, during the year in which there is no session of Ministers.

CDCC cooperates with other intergovernmental bodies in the Caribbean, including the Caribbean Development Bank (CDB), the Caribbean Community (CARICOM), the Organisation of Eastern Caribbean States (OECS) and the Association of Caribbean States (ACS).

Resources

CDCC reports

Resolution 358(XVI) of 1975 establishing the Caribbean Development and Cooperation Committee (CDCC)

CDCC constituent declaration, functions and rules of procedure

CDCC Website

 

Regional Coordinating Mechanism for Sustainable Development (RCM)

 

Pursuant to resolution 65(XXI), adopted by CDCC at its twenty-first session in 2006, the member countries set up a regional coordinating mechanism for sustainable development activities in the Caribbean.

The mechanism is formally known as the Regional Coordinating Mechanism for the Implementation of the Mauritius Strategy for the Further Implementation of the Programme of Action for the Sustainable Development of Small Island Developing States, but is referred to as RCM for short.

Purpose of the RCM

As part of its remit to promote sustainable development in the Caribbean member states, the RCM has the following objectives:

  • To ensure the effective coordination of sustainable development initiatives in the Caribbean subregion with a view to enhancing the coherence, complementarity and consistency of activities.
  • To facilitate the implementation of Agenda 21, the Johannesburg Plan of Implementation, the Barbados Programme of Action and the Mauritius Strategy for the Further Implementation of the Programme of Action for the Sustainable Development of Small Island Developing States through the coordination and rationalization of technical and other inputs towards these ends.
  • To optimize the benefits from the use of available human, financial and other resources for the achievement of sustainable development goals in the Caribbean.
  • To assist in the mobilization of new and additional resources, including through South-South cooperation, for the achievement of sustainable development.
  • To promote awareness at all levels of sustainable development issues and activities.

Functions of the RCM

Supporting and strengthening sustainable development initiatives at the national and regional levels:

  • Assisting in the development, monitoring and coordination of a subregional work programme and evaluating its satisfactory delivery to member countries.
  • Facilitating the exchange of best practices, information and experiences, and the transfer of knowledge-based technology and techniques among Caribbean small island developing States (SIDS) and countries of the Greater Caribbean.
  • Liaising with SIDS in other regions to promote joint positions in international forums.
  • Assisting in capacity-building and efforts to strengthen the human resource base through training and education.
  • Identifying potential partners and sources of funding for development activities.
  • Providing technical and policy advisory services to member countries in support of their sustainable development efforts.
  • Providing technical assistance to member countries.
  • Building and maintaining institutional memory on sustainable development activities in the Caribbean subregion.
  • Establishing a regional database on sustainable development activities.
  • Promoting, strengthening and establishing cooperative arrangements and partnerships among relevant government agencies, community-based organizations and NGOs, the private sector, and other stakeholders.
  • Supporting and strengthening sustainable development initiatives at the local, national and regional levels.

Structure of the RCM

The RCM was structured so that no new institutions or bodies would be created and the smallest possible deployment of additional resources would be needed to carry out its functions. The RCM is therefore composed of:

  • The RCM secretariat, which is housed in the Sustainable Development and Disaster Assessment Unit at ECLAC subregional headquarters for the Caribbean. Secretarial support is provided by CARICOM using existing resources.
  • The Intergovernmental Council (IGC) is composed of CDCC members and provides oversight at the ministerial level. The IGC is the highest decision-making body of the RCM.
  • The Technical Advisory Committee (TAC) oversees the coordination and monitoring of the implementation of the Mauritius Strategy in the Caribbean. It is multidisciplinary and multisectoral in its approach and comprises 15 representatives of governments, regional organizations, civil society and development partners. The rotation of members coincides with the thematic issues under consideration and expertise required. The TAC advises the IGC on roles, responsibilities and functions; reviews the development of work programmes; identifies gaps in sustainable development policies; and coordinates public education and awareness activities.
  • The National Focal Point Mechanism (NFPM) is the point of contact between the IGC and the TAC. It takes advantage of existing national institutional arrangements to avoid the need for additional resources. The coordination that this mechanism provides is critical to ensuring the effectiveness of the RCM, which is dependent on activities at the national level.

Meeting reports