Front row center, from left to right: European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen of Germany (sky blue blazer); CARICOM Chair, Prime Minister of Barbados Mia Amor Mottley; United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres of Portugal, and Caribbean Community (CARICOM) Secretary-General Carla Barnett of Belize (Photo from Office of the Prime Minister, Trinidad and Tobago)
During the first-ever visit of a European Commission president to a Caribbean Community summit, according to PubAffairs Bruxelles, President Ursula von der Leyen sought to demonstrate her commitment to the region as a trade and investment partner because of its "unwavering values compass" and "in a world of change, we all need reliable partners".
In President von der Leyen's address, she unveiled several European Union-funded projects, including the conversion of the sargassum seaweed -- which smells like rotten eggs and plagues beaches-- into renewable energy, improving satellite internet connectivity and sovereignty, and developing local pharmaceutical production.
However, President von der Leyen was only one of many foreign representatives attending CARICOM's (Caribbean Community) regular meeting, which was held in Bridgetown, Barbados (February 19-21).
In her opening day address, CARICOM Secretary-General Carla Barnett emphasized the need for partnership in these uncertain times:
"The focus of this 48th regular meeting of this conference on Strength in Unity: Forging Caribbean Resilience, Inclusive Growth and Sustainable Development highlights the need for renewed and expanded partnerships and collaboration as we grapple with existing and emerging uncertainties.
"The simultaneous global crises of climate change, biodiversity loss and pollution, crime and violence, and trade wars and other global shocks pose real and present threats to CARICOM countries. It is times like these that CARICOM's continual call for international cooperation, multilateralism and respect for international law takes on special significance."
In his speech as outgoing CARICOM chair, Prime Minister of Grenada Dickon Mitchell recognized "specially invited guests" United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres, who has been "a friend and solid partner of CARICOM and small island developing states" and, sitting next to him, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, who Prime Minister Mitchell welcomed to "her first CARICOM engagement. If I were a betting man, I would say that it will not be her last".
Mitchell went on to welcome the outgoing Commonwealth Secretary-General, Baroness Patricia Scotland; Minister of International Development for Canada, Ahmed Hussen; Minister of State for Foreign Affairs and Climate Envoy of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, Adel bin Ahmed Al-Jubeir, and the President of African Import-Export Bank (Afreximbank), Benedict Okey Oramah, "his presence representing the deepening ties between the continent of Africa and its diaspora".
Territorial Integrity: Belize, Guyana, Palestine, Ukraine
The subjects at the conference opening were many and varied. They included freedom of movement among the 15 CARICOM member states and five associate states (Premier of Montserrat Reuben Meade); reforming governance mechanisms of CARICOM (Prime Minister of Barbados Mia Amor Mottley), and simplifying amendment to CARICOM's single market "to allow us to more effectively respond in a changing trade environment" (CARICOM Secretary-General Carla Barnett).
However, some topics, such as territorial integrity, rose to the fore again and again:
"Our collective stands for territorial integrity and the rule of law is demonstrated in respect to member states Guyana (Venezuela claims its oil- and mineral-rich Essequibo region) and Belize (Guatemala claims half of it), and the state of Palestine, which all of our independent member states now recognize," said CARICOM Secretary-General Barnett, of Belize.
European Commission President von der Leyen introduced Ukraine and its fight to protect its territory's sovereignty from invading Russian forces:
"When the first Russian tanks rolled into Ukraine, you were the first regional bloc to stand with Ukraine, with Europe and with international law. And you did it because of your unwavering values compass. Also because of a lawless world, where might makes right, is just more dangerous for everyone. You have constantly and consistently called for just peace, not only in Ukraine but also in the Middle East, in Gaza and Sudan and in Haiti."
Global Warming, Haiti, Reparations
Other recurring issues were global warming, continued support for gang-ruled Haiti and reparations for slavery. Prime Minister of Grenada Dickon Mitchell covered all three.
"On the issue of climate change, we are not asking for mercy. We are not asking for sympathy. We are asking for partnership. Make no mistake about it. We have one planet. I don't know about you, but I'm sure I'm not going to live on Mars," said the prime minister, who recognized CARICOM's rallying to the countries ravaged by Hurricane Beryl in July 2024 and those nations' resilience.
"We are aware that many in the international community may be suffering from what is called Haiti fatigue but, until and unless we accept that a large part of what has happened in Haiti is not the doing of the people of Haiti, we in the CARICOM will not accept or encourage or support Haiti fatigue.
"Our brothers and sisters in Haiti deserve the right to life, to liberty, to decent housing, health care, education and to the preservation of their culture. Because, make no mistake, Haiti symbolizes the revolution that changed this part of the world. Had it not been for Haiti, the idea that one human being could own another human being as chattel slavery and put him to work for their profit may very well still be persisting.
"And so we owe it to that island -- all of us who are free, the descendants of free men and women who fought for their freedom -- to ensure that we continue supporting and advocating for the partnership and the support to bring Haiti back from the brink.
"Your Excellency, Ursula von der Leyen, I don't mean to be impolite, but I will say to you, therefore, that the issue of reparations for the transatlantic slavery and the enslavement of African peoples and black bodies is an issue that we will take up with you. And we are doing so in the hands of partnership, and we are doing so in the cause of humanity.
"Because as long as we do not openly and explicitly reject the idea that one human being can own another human, we run the risk that that idea may somehow take root again and be allowed to flourish and happen again in the world. And so, as descendants of people who fought for their freedom from chattel slavery, we owe it to ourselves and to future generations of humanity to ensure that the transatlantic slave trade and the enslavement of Africans in the Caribbean, Latin, Central, South and North America is accepted as a crime against humanity and that the appropriate apology and compensation is paid and that the international community accepts that this should never happen again."
Later, in her address, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen responded to Prime Minister Mitchell:
"And yes, Honorable Dickon Mitchell, slavery is a crime against humanity. And the dignity and the universal rights of every human being are untouchable and must be defended by all means. You (the Caribbean) always stood unwaveringly on the side of human rights. Your voice is heard across the globe. You have shown your big heart and your great courage, and Europe will always be grateful for that."
United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres acknowledged CARICOM Chair, Prime Minister of Barbados Mia Mottley's "powerful message on the legacies of slavery and colonialism and reparatory justice" in Ethiopia just days before at the 38th African Union summit, whose theme was Justice for Africans and People of African Descent Through Reparations.
With regard to Haiti, U.N. Secretary-General Guterres said that he plans to present proposals soon to the Security Council. He hopes to establish a U.N. force, whose structural and logistical expenditures, salaries and other costs would be paid through an existing trust fund.
"If the Security Council will accept this proposal, we'll have the conditions to finally have an effective force to defeat the gangs in Haiti and create the conditions for democracy to thrive."
Guterres said that his proposals also would address the root causes of the crisis. Mottley stressed that since she came into public service 30 years ago, there has been an absence of a proper development plan for the nation, without which Haiti will continue to be a problem for another 10, 20 years.
Revelation of Cultural Identity
Interspersed with speeches of Caribbean heads of state, two geographical regional leaders and one international chief, most of them old and passionate, were performances of musicians, dancers and a spoken word poet, most of them young and spirited.
Together, they exemplified the theme of CARICOM's summit: Strength in Unity. Beyond borders as well as between generations, there was unity.
Midway through the opening ceremony, it was announced that there would be a commemoration of the 80th birthday of the legendary singer, guitarist and composer Robert (Bob) Nesta Marley (February 6, 1945 -- May 11, 1981) and of U.S. President Joe Biden's pardon last month of the black nationalist and Pan-Africanist Marcus Mosiah Garvey (1887 - 1949) for mail fraud. The Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. hailed Garvey as "the first man, on a mass scale and level to give millions of black people a sense of dignity and destiny".
Redemption Song, Bob Marley's composition, was sung slowly and deeply by Israel Allen and accompanied on keyboard by Darien Bailey. Marcus Garvey's words from a 1937 speech in Nova Scotia, Canada, echoed in the anthem of liberation:
Emancipate yourselves from mental slavery
None but ourselves can free our minds
During another musical interlude, the front row of dignitaries, including guests President von der Leyen and Secretary-General Guterres, jumped to their feet at the strike on steel pans by the high-energy Christ Church Foundation School Steel Orchestra, who put their entire bodies into playing a medley on the iconic instrument of Trinidad and Tobago.
Earlier, Prime Minister Mia Mottley had appealed to heads of state "to make bare our hearts and our minds to each other and find common ground, common purpose so as to ensure that when the world starts to fall -- in ways that none of us expected 20, 30 years ago or even 10 years ago -- that we can hold a center, recognizing that we will always always always be stronger together."
In truth, CARICOM hosts had made bare their souls to visitors from outside the region by displaying the cultural traditions, which shaped them and make them whole. This revelation of cultural identity enriched the conference's opening day and rendered it whole.
President von der Leyen said:
"In a world of change, we all need reliable partners. And that's what you are for us. Europe will always be ready to listen and to engage with you. You, our friends, are principled, like-minded and trusted friends. I hope that Europe represents the same for you. So, thank you very much for having invited me. Long live the Caribbean, and long live Europe."
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