Editing Caribbean Community (section)

== Agenda and goals ==
CARICOM was established by the English-speaking countries of the Caribbean and currently includes all the independent [[Anglophone]] island countries plus [[Belize]], [[Guyana]], [[Montserrat]] and [[Suriname]], as well as all other British Caribbean territories and [[Bermuda]] as associate members. English was its sole working language into the 1990s. The organisation became multilingual with the addition of [[Dutch language|Dutch]] and [[Sranan Tongo]]-speaking Suriname in 1995 and the [[French language|French]] and [[Haitian Creole|Haitian Creole-speaking Haiti]] in 2002. Furthermore, it added [[Spanish language|Spanish]] as the fourth official language in 2003. In July 2012, CARICOM announced they considered making French and Dutch official languages.<ref>[http://www.caricom.org/jsp/pressreleases/press_releases_2012/pres185_12.jsp "Communiqué Issued at the Conclusion of the Thirty-Third Regular Meeting of the Conference of Heads of Government of the Caribbean Community, 4–6 July 2012, Gros Islet, Saint Lucia"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130116170406/http://caricom.org/jsp/pressreleases/press_releases_2012/pres185_12.jsp|date=16 January 2013}}, "Heads of Government recognized that, although English was the official language of the Community, the facility to communicate in their languages could enhance the participation of Haiti and Suriname in the integration process. They therefore requested the conduct of a study to examine the possibilities and implications, including costs, of introducing French and Dutch."</ref> In 2001, the Conference of Heads of Governments signed a revised [[Treaty of Chaguaramas]] that cleared the way to transform the idea of a [[common market]] CARICOM into the [[CARICOM Single Market and Economy]].<ref>{{cite web |title=CARICOM (Revised Treaty) |url=http://www.worldtradelaw.net/fta/agreements/caricomrevisedfta.pdf}}&nbsp;{{small|(573&nbsp;KB)}}</ref> Part of the revised treaty establishes and implements the [[Caribbean Court of Justice]]. Its primary activities involve:
* Coordinating economic policies and development planning.
* Devising and instituting [[Projects of the Caribbean Community|special projects]] for the less-developed countries within its jurisdiction.
* Operating as a regional single market for many of its members (Caricom Single Market).
* Handling regional trade disputes.