OUR CHARTER | oursaintlucia

THE ONE SAINT LUCIA MOVEMENT CHARTER

Preamble

One Saint Lucia is a movement dedicated to developing Saint Lucia to its fullest potential, irrespective of political affiliation, economic class, social status or any other real, imagined or imposed divisions. It is a movement based on unity, cooperation, common purpose, shared vision and collective responsibilities. It is a movement built on the spirit of koudmen, which has long characterized our society, and which speaks to our commitment to work together to help each other, particularly the poorest, most vulnerable and disadvantaged among us.

The One Saint Lucia Movement holds firmly to the principles that:

Our Saint Lucia is a country where all citizens and residents are equal and should be free to participate in a full democracy.
Our Saint Lucia is a country where the rights and freedoms of our people are respected and protected, as articulated in the Constitution of Saint Lucia, the UN Declaration of Human Rights, the Convention of the Rights of the Child, the Convention of Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women, and the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities.
Our Saint Lucia is a country where our history, our heritage, our dynamic culture, our creativity, our sacred places, and our environment are promoted and protected.
Our Saint Lucia is a country where our citizens are encouraged and facilitated to own land and business.
Our Saint Lucia is a country where we work collectively within a unified vision to develop a better Saint Lucia for our children and the generations to come.

The One Saint Lucia Movement is committed to the following:

1.   Youth Development: Developing the full potential of our youth.
We believe that we must give our youth opportunities to contribute fully. We must include them in decision making at all levels and in all sectors. We must understand that the youth are the main asset in the process of sustainable development. We must establish a healthy nurturing environment to minimize adverse childhood experiences. We must establish a holistic system of education that maximizes critical thinking, creativity, innovation, teamwork, good decision making and promotes skills, vocational training and academic development such that every youth is fully engaged. We must promote ownership of land, business and involvement in determining the destiny of Saint Lucia by our young people.

2.   Good Governance: Establishing a people-centered democracy.
We must give true power to the people in the parliament by demanding that their parliamentarians work full-time on their behalf and consult with them on all relevant matters. We must establish functioning elected local government structures. We must ensure that the eight principles of good governance, namely (i) Rule of Law, (ii) Transparency, (iii) Responsiveness, (iv) Consensus Oriented, (v) Equity and Inclusiveness, (vi) Effectiveness and Efficiency, (vii) Accountability, and (viii) Participation are used as the guiding principles. We must reform the constitution and our electoral process to make them more relevant to our times and more conducive to a full democracy, including introducing (a) term limits for the Prime Minister, (b) a fixed date of elections, (c) the right of recall of representatives, (d) the separation of the executive and legislature, (e) the expansion of the senate to include youth senators, and (f) the streamlining of ministerial portfolios.

3.   Economic Development: Creating a balanced, resilient economy.
We must build our economic development on a foundation of sustainability and self-sufficiency. We must establish food security, energy security, water security, financial security and sustainable land use as priorities. We must promote community-based tourism and ensure that more of the tourism dollar is circulated in our economy. We must provide opportunities for agriculture and agri-business, creative industries, information technology and the knowledge economy, professional services, renewable energy, the green-blue economy, and light manufacturing to thrive. We must promote fair employment and entrepreneurship such that every household has sufficient income to provide adequate living conditions.

4.   Social Equity: Treating everybody fairly and equitably.
We must protect the dignity of our vulnerable citizens. We must create social safety nets that ensure appropriate support based on the relative vulnerabilities of people and households. We must develop supportive structures to break the cycles of intergenerational poverty. We must create equitable access to opportunity and capital for all citizens. We must ensure that everyone has rapid access to justice. We must address crime in a holistic manner, taking into account the root causes of crime, the investigation and prosecution of crime, and restorative justice. We must implement strategies to reduce incarceration, promote rehabilitation and facilitate reintegration of former convicts into society. We must provide universal access to quality health services. We must guarantee universal access to education from early childhood to tertiary education. We must treat our differently-abled citizens with respect and provide them with the opportunities and the support they need to live full lives, fully integrated into all elements of our economy and our society.

5. Environmental Stewardship: Protecting and nurturing our natural resources.
We must ensure that all critical marine areas and lands that have high environmental and cultural significance are preserved. We must safeguard our rich biodiversity and our critical ecosystems. We must implement a plan to rehabilitate and manage our watersheds and important forest areas to ensure the integrity of our water resources. We must take urgent steps to adapt to the impacts of climate change and protect the lives and livelihoods of our people from the effects of severe hurricanes, flooding, drought, extreme heat waves and sea level rise. We must ensure that every Saint Lucian has unrestricted access to every beach in Saint Lucia.