Organization of Eastern Caribbean States (OECS)

Abstract

Abstract The Organization of Eastern Caribbean States (‘OECS’) is made up of nine full and associate members spread across the windward and leeward → islands of the eastern Caribbean: Anguilla, Antigua and Barbuda, British Virgin Islands, Dominica, → Grenada, Montserrat, St Kitts and Nevis, St Lucia, and St Vincent and the Grenadines. Anguilla, and the British Virgin Islands, which remain British overseas territories, have associate member status which means that they are not represented by the overseas missions of the OECS (→ Overseas Territories, Australia, France, Netherlands, New Zealand, United Kingdom, United States of America). These nine countries are not only among the smallest countries in the world, they are also the smallest countries within the → Commonwealth Caribbean. Their small size makes them inherently vulnerable to external pressures both from within the region and from the wider international system due to their limited human resource base and low economic capacity. An acute awareness of their vulnerability has provided these countries with a strong incentive to join together at the sub-regional level to increase their visibility and to strengthen their bargaining power vis-à-vis their more prosperous neighbours in the region and the wider → international community.