[12] CARICOM, originally The Caribbean Community and Common Market, was established by the Treaty of Chaguaramas which took effect on 1 August 1973.

Haiti's membership in CARICOM remained effectively suspended from 29 February 2004 through early June 2006 following the 2004 Haitian coup d'état and the removal of Jean-Bertrand Aristide from the presidency.

[22] The treaty grants all members of the European Union and CARIFORUM equal rights in terms of trade and investment.

These include Antigua and Barbuda, Belize, Dominica, Grenada, Haiti, Montserrat, St. Kitts and Nevis, St. Lucia, St. Vincent and the Grenadines, The Bahamas, Barbados, Guyana, Jamaica, Suriname, Trinidad and Tobago.

The original idea for the Association came from a recommendation of the West Indian Commission, established in 1989 by the CARICOM heads of state and government.

The Commission advocated both deepening the integration process (through the CARICOM Single Market and Economy) and complementing it through a separate regional organisation encompassing all states in the Caribbean.

[23] In May 2016, Caricom's court of original jurisdiction, the CCJ, signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with the ACP Legal Association based in Guadeloupe recognising and supporting the goals of implementing a harmonised business law framework in the Caribbean through ACP Legal Association's OHADAC Project.

The OHADAC Project takes inspiration from a similar organisation in Africa and aims to enhance economic integration across the entire Caribbean and facilitate increased trade and international investment through unified laws and alternative dispute resolution methods.

[52] In December 2022, President of Cuba Miguel Díaz-Canel met in Bridgetown, Barbados with the Heads of State and Government of CARICOM.

Cuba also accepted CARICOM's offer to deepen bilateral cooperation and to join robust discussions in the bloc's regional 'Joint Ministerial Taskforce on Food production and Security'.

A number of global partners have established diplomatic representation to the Caribbean Community (CARICOM) Secretariat located in Georgetown, Guyana.

Nations with non-resident representatives to CARICOM in italics:[53][54] The flag of the Caribbean Community was chosen and approved in November 1983 at the Conference of Heads of Government Meeting in Port of Spain, Trinidad.

The original design by the firm of WINART Studies in Georgetown, Guyana was substantially modified at the July 1983 Meeting of the Conference of Heads of Government.

The yellow circle in the centre represents the sun on which is printed in black the logo of the Caribbean Community, two interlocking Cs.

A regional panel of judges comprising independent experts in music was nominated by member states and the CARICOM Secretariat.

Three rounds of competition condensed 63 entries to a final three, from which judges chose Celebrating CARICOM by Michele Henderson of Dominica[70] in March 2014.

[72] The other songs from the top-ten finalists (in no particular order) were: The first official performance of Celebrating CARICOM by Henderson took place on Tuesday 1 July 2014 at the opening ceremony for the Thirty-Fifth Regional Meeting of the Conference of Heads of Government in Antigua and Barbuda.

CARICOM Day is recognised as an official public holiday in Guyana where the secretariat is based, and is observed on the first Monday of July.

The day features activities that are organised by government entities such as parades, pageants, and campaigns to educate people about CARICOM.

It was started to provide a venue to "depict the life of the people of the Region, their heroes, morals, myths, traditions, beliefs, creativity and ways of expression"[73] by fostering a sense of Caribbean unity, and motivating artists by showing the best of their home country.