Welcome to the Virtual Education Wiki ~ Open Education Wiki
Organisation of Eastern Caribbean States
(The following material is taken from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Organisation_of_Eastern_Caribbean_States)
The Organisation of Eastern Caribbean States (OECS) is an inter-governmental organisation dedicated to economic harmonisation and integration, protection of human and legal rights, and the encouragement of good governance between countries and dependencies in the Eastern Caribbean. It also performs the role of spreading responsibility and liability in the event of natural disaster, such as a hurricane.
It was created in 1981.
The main organ of the OECS, the Secretariat, is based in the capital city of Castries, Saint Lucia.
The OECS web site is at http://www.oecs.org
History
OECS was created on 18 June 1981, with the Treaty of Basseterre, which was named after the city of the same name, the capital city of Saint Kitts and Nevis. The OECS is the successor of the Leewards Islands' political organisation known as the West Indies Associated States (WISA).
One prominent aspect of the modern day OECS economic bloc has been the accelerated pace of trans-national integration among its member states.
All of the member states of the OECS are either Full or Associate members of the Caribbean Community and were among the second batch of countries that joined the CARICOM Single Market and Economy (CSME).
Members
The OECS currently has seven full members and two associate members, spread across the Eastern Caribbean. Together, they form a near-continuous archipelago across the Leeward Islands and Windward Islands.
The full members are:
- Antigua and Barbuda
- Dominica
- Grenada
- Montserrat
- Saint Kitts and Nevis
- Saint Lucia
- Saint Vincent and the Grenadines
The two associate members are Anguilla and the British Virgin Islands. (They are the most geographically isolated members.) As a result, diplomatic missions of the OECS do not represent these two states. For the purposes of further discussing the membership, they are treated as equals of the full members.
Six of the members were formerly colonies of the United Kingdom. The other three, Anguilla, the British Virgin Islands, and Montserrat remain overseas territories of the UK.
Eight of the nine members consider Queen Elizabeth II to be sovereign (Dominica is a republic). There is no requirement for the members to have been British colonies, however the close historical, cultural and economic relationship fostered by them having all been British colonies is as much a factor in the membership of the OECS as their geographical proximity. As well, the Queen's likeness appears on the East Caribbean dollar's coins and banknotes.
All seven full members are also the founding members of the OECS, having been a part of the organisation since its founding on 18 June 1981. The British Virgin Islands was the first associate member, joining on 22 November 1984 and Anguilla is the latest associate member, having joined in 1995.
More details
See http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Organisation_of_Eastern_Caribbean_States