CARICOM heads call on the US to join “war on guns”
In an unprecedented move, leaders of the Caribbean Community (CARICOM) made a declaration against the trade of illegal guns at the recent symposium held in Trinidad & Tobago, and has called for the United States to join the fight against exporting such firearms.
“We declare a War on Guns to combat the illegal trade which provides the weapons that contribute significantly to crime and violence in our Region causing death, disabilities and compromising the safety of our citizens,” the CARICOM official statement said.
“We call on the United States of America to join the Caribbean in our War on Guns and urgently adopt and take action to stop the illegal exportation of firearms and ammunition into the Caribbean,” the statement continued.
The declaration followed the CARICOM’s Regional Symposium last April 17 and 18 that intended to address crime and violence as a public health issue.
“We reiterate that the Caribbean must be a Zone of Peace, which will allow us to achieve our goal of a secure, stable and prosperous Community for all our citizens,” it conluded.
Caricom Leaders speak up against crime and violence
Caribbean leaders shared their respective thoughts on curbing crime and violence in the region.
Jamaica’s prime minister, Andrew Holmes, called for reform on the justice system that wasn’t designed to address criminal threats facing the region.
“We must reform our legislation to match the growing sophistication, scale, and nature of the threat. Our jurisprudence must incorporate measures which will support enhanced security operations, which will support the use of emergency powers, and which will support preventative action to disrupt and control the space in which criminals operate before they commit the act of violence,” Holmes said.
Roosevelt Skerrit, Dominica’s prime minister, believed that a review in the education sector in the Caribbean is necessary to address the root of crime.
“We boast of the percentage of passes at CXC but we fail to pay attention to the 20 or 30 per cent of those who did not make it to the matriculation level,” Skerrit said. “We are focused on those who do well academically but we fail to pay attention to the mental and emotional state of our children.”
Skerrit’s priority in Dominica is the modernization of the educational facilities in the country. A number of schools are being funded by the nation’s Citizenship by Investment (CBI) Programme, with the construction work overseen by MMC Development Ltd., the developing arm of Dubai-based firm Montreal Management Consultants Est (MMCE).