Small Island Developing States (SIDS) leaders should create effective criminal organization crackdown methods.
On Tuesday at Hilton Barbados Resort, Minister of Home Affairs and Information Wilfred Abrahams made the call.
As he addressed the rise in crime locally and across the region, he said globalization had strengthened Caribbean interconnection but also allowed criminal networks to develop.
Abrahams noted that economic diversification and advancement have increased the complexity and multifaceted nature of existing and emerging dangers.
This has allowed criminal networks to interact and become harder to fight without borders or bureaucracy. Criminal networks and alliances can exploit regional security gaps.”
The climate crisis and COVID-19 epidemic compounded these threats, Abrahams said.
“Global statistics show that apart from sporadic lockdowns, crime and violence surged substantially to the disadvantage of law-abiding citizens.”
The Home Affairs Minister advised vigilance, cooperation, and security strategy development.
He added illegal firearm, drug, and people trafficking, which enable violent crime, have disrupted the region’s peace.
“Illicit trafficking remains the most lucrative economic driver for transnational criminal networks in our region, and the usage of the marine space continues to irritate us.
Abrahams added, “Our resource restrictions make it impossible to sustain broad marine domain awareness and this vulnerability is exploited to smuggle illegal firearms, drugs, and, most lately, persons.”
The minister stated that patrolling the region’s marine passageways is difficult due to a lack of maritime equipment, coastal monitoring systems, and trained personnel.
Illegal migration is also a worry, Abrahams said. He noted that easy access to drugs, illegal weaponry, and illegal immigrants often escalates violent acts.
“The existence of unstable and failed nation states within our hemisphere typically means that hundreds of migrants escaping conflict and persecution will seek sanctuary while crossing maritime and land borders into neighboring states,” he said.
As he touched briefly on the impact of both natural hazards and disasters on the Caribbean, Abrahams remarked that for the last 10 years, handling these challenges had been difficult not only for Barbados but for the entire region.
“The effects of these natural disasters last decades and include economic consequences, which hinders sustainable growth and development. The Home Affairs Minister said that global financial institutions must be involved to recover the billions of dollars in harm caused by these incidents.
While noting that the sharp increases in severe hydrological events, volcanic eruptions, earthquakes, flooding, and drugs have worsened the region’s economic and food security, he lauded Prime Minister Mia Mottley’s advocacy at the recent World Leaders Summit during the Climate Change Conference (COP 27) in Egypt, where she insisted that developing countries must have access to concessional funding after climatic events.
He challenged conference attendees to design systems and regional processes to improve resilience to natural catastrophes and response efficacy and timeliness.
Regional governments must cooperate to address a variety of natural and man-made hazards. …”
Regional integration in its purest form is necessary to realize this conference’s lofty goals. The evidence suggests that regional cooperation with the state for international partner support is essential for sustainable solutions to our common challenges.”
Abrahams stated the Barbados Government will prioritize military leaders’ and other stakeholders’ proposals during the two-day summit.
