Antigua and Barbuda High Commissoner to Canada Sir Ronald Sanders writes about CARICOM’s position on Palestine.
By SIR RONALD SAUNDERS
After 13 years, the 14 independent member states of the Caribbean Community (CARICOM) have finally aligned their individual positions on recognizing Palestine as a State.
As of May 7, 2024, all 14 CARICOM states now recognise Palestine as a State. The most recent countries to do so were Barbados on April 19, Jamaica on April 22, Trinidad and Tobago on May 2, and The Bahamas on May 7.
The 13-year delay in CARICOM countries reaching a common position on Palestine was largely influenced by the United States. Successive US administrations have opposed the United Nations’ recognition of Palestine as a State and have consistently pressured countries worldwide to follow suit.
Indeed, when six CARICOM countries chose to recognise Palestine in 2011, the US was notably displeased. Although the US has long advocated for a two-state solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, it insists that Palestinian statehood should emerge from a negotiated agreement with Israel. In 2011, as remains true today, the absence of ongoing dialogue and a viable agreement between Israel and the Palestinians led the US to withhold support for unilateral recognition of Palestine.
Partly in response to the US pressuring the Palestinian Authority to withdraw its 2011 UN membership application, six CARICOM member states chose to recognize Palestine as a state at that time. The US stance, threatening to veto any Palestinian application, was widely perceived as inequitable.
Motivated by empathy for the historical struggles and quest for self-determination of the Palestinians, Antigua and Barbuda, Belize, Dominica, Guyana, St. Vincent and the Grenadines, and Suriname decided to recognize Palestine as a State. Within the next four years, Grenada and Haiti joined them in 2013, followed by St Lucia in 2015, and St Kitts and Nevis in 2019.
To be clear, the decision of the 10 CARICOM countries to recognise Palestine was not antisemitic then, nor is it now. All 14 CARICOM countries have maintained continuous diplomatic relations with Israel. For instance, Haiti recognised the State of Israel in 1949 after supporting the UN’s 1947 partition plan that led to the creation of Israel.
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Source: The Tribune, May 13, 2024
Read the full column here.