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Over thirty (30) senior representatives of
the Caribbean regional governments, national regulators, operators and
civil society have agreed, at the Second Consultation Workshop for
HIPCAR Working Groups 2 & 3 held 12 – 15 April 2010, on draft model
regulations addressing critical issues in the information and
communications sector. The regulations – which cover universal
access/service, interconnection and licensing – are intended to give
effect to proposed harmonized ICTpolicy guidelines on these issues,
which were agreed at the First Consultation Workshop held in Trinidad
and Tobago in December 2009.
This region-wide project has been made
possible through a collaboration between CARICOM Secretariat, the
Caribbean Telecommunications Union (CTU) and the International
Telecommunication Union (ITU) and facilitated by funds provided through
the European Union and ITU under
the Project “Enhancing
Competitiveness in the Caribbean Through the Harmonization of ICT
Policies, Legislation and Regulatory Procedures” (HIPCAR)
embracing CARICOM countries and the Dominican Republic.
Pursuant to Article (67) of the Revised
Treaty of Chaguaramas and the regional and national commitments to the
World Trade Organization (WTO) General Agreement on Trade in Services
(GATS) and to the European Union Economic Partnership Agreement (EU-EPA),
CARICOM/CARIFORUM States have committed to harmonize ICT Policies,
Legislation and Regulatory Procedures so as to meet specific objectives.
In addition to the just completed draft
model regulations, the HIPCAR project is designed to harmonize regional
policies and legislation addressing related Information Society Issues
such as e-Commerce (Transactions and Evidence), Privacy and Data
Protection, Interception of Communications, Cybercrime, and Access to
Public Information. Drafting of the proposed model legislation
addressing these important areas is scheduled to be completed in Q4 /
2010.
The CARICOM Secretariat has undertaken to
appraise the Fourth Meeting of CARICOM ICT Ministers in May 2010 of the
progress being made under this project. The deliverables – including
proposed policy guidelines and draft model regulations – have been
developed after a careful assessment of regional realities and
international best practices, and address key issues which have been
specifically identified by regional stakeholders as critical to the
various national administrations and regulatory regimes in the region.
The members of the working group are
committed to implementing the outcomes relating to ICT harmonization
under the HIPCAR project in their respective jurisdictions because of
the obvious benefits that can be derived from the creation of a seamless
information and communications space in the region and thus facilitating
investment flows to develop the sector nationally and regionally.
As soon as these drafts are accepted in
principle at the policy level, national governments will have the
opportunity to fast-track implementation through access to assistance
provided by the HIPCAR project.
The HIPCAR project, which is part of a wider
global initiative by the EU and ITU, is programmed for three years with
completion scheduled for the end of 2011. |
