Repairing nations dignity
Fighting Crime
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Amsterdam, 15 May 2024 — Several dignitaries and heads of State of Caribbean Community (Caricom) countries have signed the first-ever international treaty to regulate the trade of conventional weapons and promote peace by preventing the illicit trafficking of small arms and light weapons in the region.
Crime and criminal activities on almost all levels of society are rampant in some of these countries and very destructive for nation building. Former heads of State are on the run as are former Governors of Central Banks.
The Caribbean Community (CARICOM) is a grouping of twenty countries: fifteen Member States and five Associate Members. It is home to approximately sixteen million citizens, 60% of whom are under the age of 30, and from the main ethnic groups of Indigenous Peoples, Africans, Indians, Europeans, Chinese, Portuguese and Javanese.
The Community is multi-lingual; with English as the major language complemented by French and Dutch and variations of these, as well as African and Asian expressions.
Stretching from The Bahamas in the north to Suriname and Guyana in South America, CARICOM comprises states that are considered developing countries, and except for Belize, in Central America and Guyana and Suriname in South America, all Members and Associate Members are island states.
While these states are all relatively small, both in terms of population and size, there is also great diversity with regards to geography and population as well as the levels of economic and social development.
Caricom’s Implementation Agency for Crime and Security (CARICOM IMPACS) convened at its headquarters in Port-of-Spain, Trinidad and Tobago, to discuss the matter at length. Attending the event were representations from Antigua and Barbuda, Bahamas, Belize, Grenada, Guyana, Jamaica, St. Lucia, St. Vincent and the Grenadines, Suriname, and Trinidad and Tobago.
During the event, Caricom police commissioners and authorities explored ways to improve cooperation with the Caricom Crime Gun Intelligence Unit (CGIU) to tackle the wave of firearms-related crimes and successfully prosecute all those involved in the illicit firearms trade which fuels other criminal activities.eyesonproject