[Public Papers of the Presidents of the United States: William J. Clinton (1997, Book I)]
[May 10, 1997]
[Pages 594-596]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office www.gpo.gov]



Caribbean/United States Summit: Bridgetown Declaration of Principles
May 10, 1997

    We, the Heads of State and Government of the Caribbean nations of 
Antigua and Barbuda, the Commonwealth of the Bahamas, Barbados, Belize, 
the Commonwealth of Dominica, the Dominican Republic, Grenada, the Co-
operative Republic of Guyana, the Republic of Haiti, Jamaica, the 
Federation of St. Christopher and Nevis, Saint Lucia, St. Vincent and 
the Grenadines, the Republic of Suriname and the Republic of Trinidad 
and Tobago and of the United States of America, meeting in Bridgetown, 
Barbados on May 10, 1997, pledge to strengthen our cooperation in 
responding to the challenges of the coming millennium, in a spirit of 
partnership and mutual respect.
    2. We affirm our unswerving commitment to the norms of international 
law and the principles enshrined in the Charter of the United Nations 
and in the Charter of the Organization of American States and our 
respect for the sovereignty of states, multilateral approaches, 
democratic traditions, human rights, good governance, human dignity and 
the rule of law.
    3. We recognise the heterogeneity and diversity yet shared identity 
of our family of nations and people bonded by historic and ethnic 
origins, cultural ties and affinity and close social and economic links. 
We remain appreciative of the significant contribution of our respective 
nationals as immigrant communities to the development of each other's 
societies.
    4. We also recognise the inextricable link between trade, economic 
development, security and prosperity in our societies. We therefore 
declare our intention to act in concert to improve the economic well-
being and security of all our citizens, to defend and strengthen our 
democratic institutions and to provide for social justice and stability.
    5. As we enter a new century marked by rapid expansion and 
globalisation of finance and investment, production and commerce, driven 
by revolutionary developments in technology, we acknowledge the need for 
a new era in our

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partnership. In this context, we re-affirm our support for the 
Declaration of Principles and Plan of Action adopted by the 1994 Summit 
of the Americas of Miami. We recall that this process undertook to 
consider the special needs of small economies, with a view to enhancing 
their level of development and preparing them to meet the challenges 
posed by the inexorable trends of globalisation and liberalisation of 
the world economy, and the creation of the Free Trade Area of the 
Americas. We note the increasing role of the human, technological and 
communication capacities required for operating in this new competitive 
international environment and the current reality in most Caribbean 
States and accept the need for systematic, cooperative initiatives to 
strengthen the quality of their human resources and technological 
capacity.
    6. Firm in our conviction that stable and prosperous economies, 
buttressed by the rule of law, are bulwarks against the forces of 
transnational crime, we are concerned by the growing strength and 
capabilities of transnational criminal organisations and drug cartels, 
their attempts to distort and weaken our free economies and democratic 
systems, and the effects which their activities and presence have on 
levels of violence and basic public order. We declare our resolve to 
collaborate in combatting both organised transnational crime and the 
threat posed to our peoples and the foundations of our nations by 
illegal firearms and ammunition trafficking. We are acutely concerned by 
the increasing incidence of alien smuggling and commit ourselves to 
search for creative and innovative ways to improve our justice systems 
and the cooperation between them, in order to provide our societies with 
that sense of security and stability so necessary to freely pursue 
sustainable social and economic development.
    7. We recognise that despite the substantial progress in dealing 
with debt problems, high foreign debt burdens still hinder the 
development of some of our countries. We therefore affirm the importance 
of appropriate debt management measures including those in the 
programmes of the International Financial Institutions.
    8. We affirm our strong commitment to internationally recognised 
labour standards and worker rights, especially freedom of association 
and collective bargaining. We underscore the importance of the 
empowerment of women to permit their full participation in the political 
and economic spheres, through fair access to education, health care and 
credit and recognise that addressing and preventing violence against 
women is an important step toward our goal of strengthening democracy. 
Vibrant, sustainable and equitable development requires the contribution 
of all members of society.
    9. To achieve these objectives and maintain our process of 
consultation, we agree that all Ministers/Secretaries of State of the 
nations of the Caribbean responsible for Foreign Affairs and the 
Secretary of State of the United States of America will meet to oversee 
and report to us on an annual basis on the implementation of the Plan of 
Action appended hereto. In addition, we hereby establish Joint 
Committees on Justice and Security and on Trade, Development, Finance 
and Environmental Issues, the latter to work in close collaboration with 
the CARICOM/U.S. Trade and Investment Council, to facilitate an 
increasing and effective level of communication, coordination and 
follow-up among our Governments.
    10. Towards these ends, we adopt and issue this Bridgetown 
Declaration of Principles, detailing our beliefs and uniting our efforts 
to strengthen the ability of our States to pursue sustainable 
development and to preserve our democracy, peace, economic and social 
progress and to which we hereby affix our signatures.

Note: This joint statement was embargoed for release until the 
conclusion of the President's 145th news conference. An original was not 
available for verification of the content of this joint statement. The 
Caribbean/United States Summit Plan of Action was attached to the 
release.

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