Central American Integration System

Regional · SICA

Every member of the Central American Integration System is a party to the Tegucigalpa Protocol of 13 December 1991. Six states signed it at a meeting of presidents in Tegucigalpa. Belize acceded as a full member in 2000 and the Dominican Republic from 2013. The system began work on 1 February 1993, and the statute of its own court is ratified by four of them.

Questions about SICA

Which countries are members of the Central American Integration System?

Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Nicaragua and Panama created the system by signing the Tegucigalpa Protocol on 13 December 1991. Belize acceded as a full member in 2000 and the Dominican Republic from 2013. The system also keeps a register of observer states and organisations, which are not members and are not counted on this page.

Is the Dominican Republic part of Central America?

Not in the geography this catalogue applies, which files it under the Caribbean, and not in the system's own wording either: the English description of its purpose names Central America and the Dominican Republic separately. It has been a full member of the system from 2013 all the same, which is why the membership and the region are two different lists.

Do all the members accept the Central American Court of Justice?

No. The statute of the court was signed in Panama in December 1992 by the presidents of Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Nicaragua and Panama with the presidents of their supreme courts, and the system's own account states that it has since been ratified by El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras and Nicaragua. The court has sat at Managua since 12 October 1994, with two titular magistrates for each state that signed the statute, and the incorporation of the Guatemalan magistrates is recorded as outstanding.

Where is the system's headquarters?

The General Secretariat occupies a building called the Casa de Centroamérica at Antiguo Cuscatlán in El Salvador, inaugurated in July 2011 on a site granted on loan by the Salvadoran government and financed by the government of the Republic of China (Taiwan). The other bodies sit apart from it: the parliament in Guatemala City, the court in Managua, and the Secretariat for Central American Economic Integration in Guatemala.

Does the system have standing at the United Nations?

Yes, as an observer. The General Assembly decided to invite it to participate in the Assembly's sessions and work in that capacity by resolution 50/2, adopted without a vote at the thirtieth plenary meeting on 12 October 1995. Observer status carries participation in the proceedings rather than a vote.

Sources

Estados miembros del SICA · Secretaría General del SICA. The six founding states, the accession of Belize in 2000 and of the Dominican Republic from 2013.
El SICA en breve · Secretaría General del SICA. The Tegucigalpa Protocol as a reform of the ODECA Charter signed in Panama on 12 December 1962, formal operation from 1 February 1993, and the five pillars named in 2010.
Reseña histórica del SICA · Secretaría General del SICA. The Charter of San Salvador of 14 October 1951 and the eleventh meeting of Central American presidents at Tegucigalpa.
Marco jurídico del SICA · Secretaría General del SICA. The Guatemala Protocol of 29 October 1993, the Alliance for Sustainable Development of 12 October 1994, the social integration treaty of 30 March 1995 and the Framework Treaty on Democratic Security of 15 December 1995.
Estructura institucional del SICA · Secretaría General del SICA. The organs established by article 12 of the Tegucigalpa Protocol and the bodies placed alongside them.
La Corte Centroamericana de Justicia · Secretaría General del SICA. The statute signed in Panama in December 1992, the four states that have ratified it, the seat installed at Managua on 12 October 1994, and the outstanding Guatemalan magistrates.
El Parlamento Centroamericano · Secretaría General del SICA. The constitutive treaty of 1987, its origin in the Esquipulas accords, the seat in Guatemala City and the first plenary of 28 October 1991.
Estados y organismos observadores del SICA · Secretaría General del SICA. The register of observer states and organisations, which are not members.
Edificio Sede del SICA · Secretaría General del SICA. The Casa de Centroamérica at Antiguo Cuscatlán, the site granted on loan, the financing and the inauguration in July 2011.
Observer status for the Central American Integration System in the General Assembly (A/RES/50/2) · United Nations Digital Library. Adopted without a vote at the thirtieth plenary meeting on 12 October 1995.
Integration at a Glance · Secretaría General del SICA. The English statement of purpose, which names Central America and the Dominican Republic separately.