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Arrest Warrant and Sharing of Assets Treaties for July confab
The ratification of the Arrest Warrant Treaty and the Sharing of Assets Treaty – two important instruments to tackle crime and security in the Caribbean – has been deferred until July of this year at the 38th CARICOM Heads of
CARICOM Secretary-General, Irwin LaRocque
Government Conference.
This was disclosed by CARICOM Secretary-General, Irwin LaRocque yesterday during a press conference following the end of the Twenty-Eighth Inter-Sessional Meeting of The Conference of Heads of Government of the Caribbean at the Guyana Marriott Hotel.
LaRocque, responding to a question on the status of the two Treaties attributed the delay to the fact that some organs of CARICOM have not been meeting in a timely manner to address these issues.
“On the Arrest Warrant Treaty, when Heads met here last July, it was agreed that the appropriate officials would have met and finalised that Treaty, as well as the Sharing of Assets Treaty, to be signed by Heads at this meeting and this is one category that is being referred to that we are lamenting, especially given the importance of security to us.”
He added that the Heads of Government have once again given their assurance to do what is necessary so that officials do in fact meet to address the particular issues surrounding the two Treaties.
“Those matters are still under some legal consultation. That’s why I mentioned to you that we have to address consultation at the national level and the regional level to speed up implementation of those decisions.”
It was anticipated that some significant headway would have been made at this inter-sessional meeting since Guyana’s cabinet would have approved a draft (Arrest Warrant) Treaty to be presented at the Heads of Government meeting.
In July 2016, regional leaders had agreed to have this Treaty put in place before the end of the year. It was agreed by the Conference that urgent steps would have been taken to complete a number of critical security agreements.
Then CARICOM Chairman, Prime Minister of Dominica Roosevelt Skerrit had said that the treaty would enhance law enforcement ability to address matters of cross-border crimes.
The Treaty was first opened for signature in 2008. So far, only Suriname and Trinidad and Tobago have signed the treaty. Political offences and matters under military law are not covered under the treaty.
According to the document, the Treaty came about to address the difficulties experienced with extradition. Member states recognized that the current extradition framework among member states is complex, costly and limited, thereby disallowing a system of surrender of persons between judicial authorities.
Meanwhile, during yesterday’s media briefing, Chairman of CARICOM, President David Granger had said that the unacceptable levels of crime in the region had engaged the attention of the Conference.
“We have resolved to do more to curb the scourge, including placing greater focus on the social determinants of crime, especially among the youth. Our Attorneys-General will take action to finalise Agreements which are essential to the implementation of the Regional Crime and Security Agenda.”
Granger said that CARICOM will be seeking to take full advantage of opportunities for capacity-building to address existing and emerging threats, including those related to Cyber security and Cybercrime, Crime Prevention and Drug Demand Reduction.
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