OAS has critical role to play, says Sir Hilary

THE Organisation of American States (OAS) has a role to play in creating an environment or a forum where matters of reparatory justice for the Caribbean could be discussed.

This view was shared by Vice-Chancellor of The University of the West Indies, Professor Sir Hilary Beckles. He was responding to the question from Secretary General of the OAS, Luis Almagro, about what the OAS can do to be closer to Caribbean people and how it can bring, in a more structural way, ideas or arguments related to reparatory justice.

Addressing Wednesday’s virtual discussion titled, ‘A Chat with the OAS’ held on Pan American Day, Sir Hilary explained, “The issue of reparatory justice is about completing the process of Independence in the Caribbean. Completing the process of decolonisation. It is also about working through a global development agenda for this region.”

He further explained that the Caribbean “has been the most exploited economic zone that the world has ever seen. It was 500 years of that. Now, the consequences of that 500 years of extraction has left the region in a pretty dismal circumstance. We have been cleaning up the colonial mess”.

He questioned, “What if those countries that had created this mess for us, if they were to come back and work with us to do this together, so we can have economic development, we can have social justice?” He indicated the OAS could assist in this regard.

“I believe the OAS has a role to play in creating an environment, a forum where within which these matters can be discussed. Within which strategies can be created, so that the Caribbean can be seen for what it is – a group of small islands that have long been at the centre of globalization. That has been created by globalization over three, four hundred years and are still suffering the consequences of colonisation. How we can bring that together into a development conversation to help to frame the argument that this zone, this region – through no fault of its own – has been devastated and is in need of a special carve out to bring them back to a level of competitiveness, to bring them back to a level of dignity within the global community. And this is what we believe; I think the OAS has a critical role to play.” (MG)