Jamaica’s Deputy Prime Minister Horace Chang has cited firearms trafficking as “maybe the greatest threat to the Caribbean countries”.
A release yesterday from the CARICOM Secretariat said that he was speaking at the conclusion of the CARICOM Minister-ial Council for National Security and Law Enforcement (CONSLE) meeting in Trelawny, Jamaica, on October 6th. Chair-ing the meeting, he adverted to the wider use of firearms in homicides.
The release said that CONSLE Chair had noted earlier that “none of our countries manufacture firearms and yet the ill effects of their proliferation and the contribution to gang violence and transnational criminal activities permeates our respective territories and are responsible for more than 70% of homicides in CARICOM”.
Attendees at the meeting were updated on the CARICOM Crime Gun Intelligence Unit which will be operational within one month with the support of the Caribbean Interpol Liaison Office.
The CONSLE Chair said that regional cooperation is vital to establishment of the infrastructure needed to deal with firearms trafficking and the associated criminality such as drug trafficking and expanding cybercrime activity.
“The fact that we were able to focus especially on the firearms trafficking at this meeting was of significant value and we can say we have entered a new era of cooperation in seeking to deal with a common threat to the Caribbean,” Dr. Chang added.
The series of meetings during the week included discussions on Maritime Security with the United National Office on Drugs and Crime, the release stated.
Plans for a High Level CARICOM Summit to address Crime and Violence as a Public Health Issue also engaged the attention of a committee set up for the event.
In their discussions, the release said that Ministers, Commissioners of Police and other security officials emphasized the urgency of addressing the threat of transatlantic organised crime, the trans-shipment of firearms and narcotics, maritime security, and cybercrimes.
Also discussed were matters that were critical to ensuring the viability and sustainability of the CARICOM Implementation Agency for Crime and Security (CARICOM IMPACS) – the nerve centre of the Region’s multilateral Crime and Security management architecture.
