Securing CARICOM citizens’ human rights and ensuring social justice is the highest priority- CARICOM Chair

Nov 27, 2024 News

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Kaieteur News- Securing the safety and rights of every CARICOM citizen is the highest priority for CARICOM leaders, CARICOM Chair and Prime Minister of Grenada, Hon. Dickon Mitchell said, in his opening remarks at the Second Regional Symposium: Violence as a Public Health Issue—The Crime Challenge held in Georgetown, Guyana, on Friday, 22 November.
The Chair thanked Prime Minister of Barbados, Mia Amor Mottley for convening the Second Regional Symposium and commended the original vision of Prime Minister of Trinidad and Tobago and Lead Head for Security, Dr. the Hon. Keith Rowley, who convened the first iteration of the Symposium in 2023.

“This vision in bringing the issues related to the high levels of violence and crime experienced in our countries into the realm of a public health approach has signalled a strong intent by us as leaders to decisively and collectively treat with this challenge that threatens the development of our Community’s citizens. Indeed, it is the aspiration of the Community that every citizen is secure and has the opportunity to realise his or her potential with guaranteed human rights and social justice; and contributes to, and shares in, its economic, social and cultural prosperity,” stated the Chair.

He also noted that since the inaugural symposium, the CARICOM Secretariat has been actively collaborating with the relevant CARICOM Institutions, Member States and Developmental Partners to implement the declarations issued by CARICOM Heads of Government in 2023 through several successful inter-sectoral partnerships.

CARICOM Arrest Warrant Bill

Dr. the Hon. Keith Rowley, in his remarks, applauded the recent approval by CARICOM Attorneys General of the CARICOM Arrest Warrant Bill and the Advance Passenger Information (API)/Passenger Name Record (PNR) Bill, both of which provide a foundation for efficient cross-border cooperation.

“I am pleased to report…that the legislation to facilitate the harmonisation of laws across the Community has notably facilitated the completion of the template legislation for the CARICOM Arrest Warrant Bill. I am particularly pleased to hear that we are there… [Criminals] must now know that in every CARICOM territory the law applies to them equally,” asserted Dr. Rowley.

Dr. Rowley also reflected on the significant outcomes of the inaugural symposium and the subsequent benefits to the Region. “Our efforts to build safe, crime-free homes, communities and societies received a much-needed boost through the first symposium on crime and violence.
Following these discussions, CARICOM Heads of Government issued two pivotal Declarations: one on Crime and Violence as a Public Health Issue and one entitled War on Guns. The Declaration on Crime and Violence as a Public Health Issue was subsequently distilled into a Consolidated Framework that charts short, medium, and long-term priorities to be operationalised at the Community, national, and regional levels,” stated Dr. Rowley.

Since the inaugural symposium, the firearms tracing capability of the Region has been enhanced through the expansion of the Regional Integrated Ballistic Information Network (RIBIN). Crucial model legislation has been developed to facilitate the harmonisation of laws across the Community, among other critical interventions to curb crime in the Region.
Dr. Rowley also underscored that these achievements were evidence of CARICOM leaders’ commitment to securing a zone of peace. “These actions, alongside consultations and awareness initiatives, underscore our commitment to a safer Caribbean, free of the menace of rampant violence: one where our people feel protected, supported, and empowered,” emphasised Dr Rowley.

The Economic Burden of Crime

Meanwhile, Dr. Mohamed Irfaan Ali, President of Guyana and Host of the Symposium, underscored the need to address crime from a whole-of-society and a whole-of-government approach. “We cannot address [crime] without having public health and education as part of the solution. Because if we are to solve it from a systemic perspective, we must start at the level of the primary schools.”

Dr. Ali shared examples of the economic burden of crime and the scale of the challenge faced by the Region. “In 2017, the IMF found that crime, particularly violent crime, is pervasive in the Caribbean and imposed a serious economic and social burden on countries in the Region. We know that the first sector that is affected by economic and social burdens is the healthcare sector because if we can’t take care of the social needs of our citizens – or we have to divert resources for social needs and other needs -then it will affect their health and affect investment in health.”

 

Other CARICOM Heads of Government who were present and participated in the discussions included Prime Minister of Antigua and Barbuda, Hon. Gaston Browne; and Prime Minister of Saint Lucia, Hon. Philip J. Pierre. Policymakers, technocrats, specialists and stakeholders working in crime prevention, the criminal justice system and public health also participated.

In a statement to the media, CARICOM Secretariat said that the Second Regional Symposium focused on identifying actionable solutions to crime for implementation at the national level.
To this end, Prime Minister of Barbados, the Hon. Mia Amor Mottley, led a working session on reforming the criminal justice sector, examining in detail the Needham’s Point Declaration. Some other important features of the one-day session were presentations by the Caribbean Public Health Agency (CARPHA) on Crime and Violence as a Public Health Issue; “Transnational Nature of Gangs in the Caribbean” presented by the Caribbean Community (CARICOM) Implementation Agency for Crime and Security (CARICOM IMPACS); “Cultural Influences of Crime” by The UWI Senior Lecturer, Dr. Sonya Stanley Niaah and a presentation by Attorney General and Minister of Legal Affairs of Trinidad and Tobago, Hon. Reginald Armour, SC, on Gender Based Violence as a Criminal Justice Issue’.

Knowledge sharing on successful preventative interventions for crime and violence in the Caribbean was a critical element of the Symposium. One such intervention was a discussion on the “Need for effective Offender Management programmes”, presented by the Guyana Prison Service.

(Securing CARICOM citizens’ human rights and ensuring social justice is the highest priority- CARICOM Chair)

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• CARICOM citizen, Hon. Dickon Mitchell, Prime Minister of Grenada, Securing the safety

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