The webinar is being held to mark International Youth Day, which was observed on 12 August under the theme ‘Local Youth Actions for the SDGs and Beyond’.

“This distinguished gathering no doubt is used to dealing with the complexities of transnational organised crime, and as we move forward, the Secretariat pledges support to you in enhancing multi-disciplinary and intersectoral cooperation with all relevant stakeholders for a strengthened approach to deal with crime, insecurities and violence.”

Assistant Secretary-General for Foreign and Community Relations at the CARICOM Secretariat, Elizabeth Solomon, says the Secretariat is committed to supporting the Region in multi-disciplinary and intersectoral cooperation for a strengthened approach to deal with crime, insecurities and violence.

The ASG shared this with law enforcement stakeholders, including CARICOM Ministers responsible for crime and security, at the 28th Council for National Security and Law Enforcement (CONSLE) held in Frigate Bay, Saint Kitts and Nevis on 28-29 November.

The meeting was held one week after the Second Regional Symposium: Violence as a Public Health Issue—The Crime Challenge.  During the meeting, stakeholders deliberated and provided guidance on operational, administrative and legislative requirements for improving security and citizen security within the Community, including managing the Caribbean Community Implementation Agency for Crime and Security (CARICOM IMPACS).

The discussions focused on border security, cyber security, trafficking associated with transnational organised crime activities, gangs and security-related legal instruments.

CONSLE coordinates the multi-dimensional nature of security to ensure a safe and stable Community.

Please read the ASG’s speech below.

REMARKS FROM

ASSISTANT SECRETARY-GENERAL FOREIGN AND COMMUNITY RELATIONS

  TWENTY-EIGHTH MEETING OF THE CONSLE

SAINT KITTS AND NEVIS | 28-29 NOVEMBER 2024

Ladies and gentlemen

Good Morning.

First, please allow me to bring greetings and best wishes for a successful meeting from Assistant Secretary-General Alison Drayton, who is unable to be with us today.

Honourable Prime Ministers, Ministers and Heads of Delegation, I thank you all for being here despite your relentless schedules. I am very pleased to have this opportunity to address you this morning and to participate in the 28^th Council for National Security and Law Enforcement (CONSLE) in my dual capacity as Assistant Secretary General of Foreign and Community Relations and Officer in Charge of the Directorate of Human and Social Development. These proceedings, particularly so close on the heels of the Second Regional Symposium: Violence as a Public Health Issue—The Crime Challenge that was held in Georgetown last week, set the pace for the work that needs to be done on the issues before us. 

Over the next two days, this meeting of the Council is expected to deliberate and provide guidance on Operational, Administrative, and Legislative requirements for improving security and citizen security within the Community, including the management of CARICOM IMPACS. The focus will be on Border Security, Cyber Security, Trafficking associated with Trans-National Organized Crime activities, Gangs and Security-related Legal Instruments. Additionally, it is worth noting that the Second Regional Symposium a series of action points with specific deadlines. The George-Bridge Declaration provides guidance on implementing the justice reform priorities set out in the Needhams Point Declaration of 2023 and other strategies for a holistic approach across the education, youth, and culture sectors.  This is meant to address a range of issues associated with delinquency and risk-taking behaviour gaps in victims and survivor needs and the link between mental health and crime.

This distinguished gathering no doubt is used to dealing with the complexities of transnational organized crime and as we move forward the Secretariat pledges support to you in enhancing multi-disciplinary and intersectoral cooperation with all relevant stakeholders for a strengthened approach to deal with crime, insecurities and violence.

I look forward to the opportunities we will have over this brief engagement to create stronger networks as we continue to both support and learn from each other in the exchange of ideas leading to deliverables that underpin the Community’s core interest, namely, to secure a viable, sustainable, and prosperous Community for all.

The Secretariat will continue to service Community needs by facilitating cross fertillisation of the strategies discussed here today and coordinating with the other related sector councils, namely COFCOR, COTED, and COHSOD, Member States and with Community stakeholders in alignment with the Region’s many international commitments.

In closing I must indicate my gratitude for this face-to-face opportunity to strengthen our cooperation and shared responsibility to preserve our Caribbean region as a Zone of Peace. I reiterate that the Secretariat remains resolute to support the outcomes of this CONSLE, and I look forward to the growth over the next two days.

Thank you.

“Human resource development and economic development can be likened to conjoined or Siamese twins….  to separate one from the other would be certain death for both”, he said.

Dr. Slater called attention to the dire impact of drug use on adolescents and the youth population which he described as  the “reality” of the Region.

“The current global competitive environment demands the development and honing of certain skills in our adolescents, namely: critical thinking, problem solving, social skills…  these are all negatively impacted by drug use”, he said.

According to 201o statistics, youth represent more than 60 per cent of CARICOM’s population. In referring to a number of studies, Dr. Slater cited the findings of the 2016 school drug survey conducted by the Executive Secretariat of the Inter-American Drug Abuse Control Commission (CICAD). That report stated “drug use is known to be causally related to a variety of physical and mental health problems: crime, poor school performance, family disruption.

The ASG expressed particular concern that the findings also indicated an increase in drug use to an earlier the 2010 survey and   a decline in the age of first and the perception of harm associated with drug use. 

Given these and similar findings, the ASG reiterated that interventions such as the Regional Training Workshops was required for our youth, and by extension the Region; noting that the development of our human resource was necessary to advance our economic development.

 “The focus on adolescent and youth and on building capabilities among those who interface and work with them on a daily basis is in keeping with the Social Resilience Pillar of the Community’s Strategic Plan.  It is also in keeping with the Human Resource Development Strategy (2030) which seeks to enhance factors and capabilities for improving education and life-long learning. 

The workshops are facilitated with the support of the European Union/ CARIFORUM Crime and Security Programme, under the Tenth EDF. The Crime and Security Programme has three components: drug demand and supply reduction; crime and violence prevention and social development; and capacity building of law enforcement and security agencies and enhanced cooperation with Third States.

The Drug Demand Reduction component of this programme provides the opportunity to build capacity of service providers, strengthen institutional systems and networks to effectively reduce the demand for illicit drug and alcohol.

CICAD-OAS are collaborating with the CARICOM Secretariat and the Ministry of National Security National Drug Council in conducting the workshops.

To this end, more than 45 persons working with adolescents and youth across the CARIFORUM Region will be empowered to further understand and appropriately respond to those who are misusing substances.

These workshops are in response to gaps identified under the Ninth EDF, which indicated that treatment and rehabilitation programmes and services, particularly for adolescents and youth were needed.

The workshops run from 4-9 February 2019. Regional Master Trainers will instruct participants from modules developed by CICAD/OAS in the areas of Adolescent Development; Screening and Assessment; Trauma and Trauma informed Care; Adolescents in Conflict with the Law; Adolescent Drug Treatment and Family Interventions.

Making the case for evidence-based, data-driven policies and practices, and international cooperation to address the illegal drug situation, feature speaker, Guyana Minister for Public Security, Hon. Khemraj Ramjattan  told the gathering of Caribbean Community (CARICOM) practitioners, policy-makers and researchers in the field – 

 “If there is one thing that I would like to see coming out of this seminar is your emphasis on evidence-based, data-driven policies and practices ….It is … going to reduce the damning situation in drugs and all related crimes and illegalities”. 

This is the fourth country earmarked for the pilot intervention on youth gangs and gang violence – the other three being Belize, Guyana and St Kitts and Nevis.

The project is aimed at strengthening the capacity of youth and community members to design and implement programmes to address gang formation and gang violence among and against youths. In addition, the project aims to increase livelihood opportunities and employability for economically and socially marginalized youth.

The project is an offshoot of the CARICOM Social Development and Crime Prevention Action Plan which was developed by the CARICOM Secretariat in collaboration with the United Nations Office of Drugs and Crime (UNODC) to “prevent and reduce levels of violence and crime in Member States, through a cross-sectoral and multi-disciplinary approach…” The plan is grounded on five pillars – reduce violence; foster social inclusion; promote integration; empower victims; and protect the environment and economic resources – which are linked to the regional development agenda.

Approximately sixty stakeholders primarily drawn from the community in which the pilot will be implemented will participate in the consultation which will be held at the Ministry of National Security.

Funded by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), the consultation seeks to realize the following objectives:

Present the gang prevention and youth and community development project to be piloted in the selected Member States;

Identify a mechanism for the implementation of Phase II of the project in the communities;

Identify a team to undertake a mapping of the selected communities;

Identify immediate training needs in the areas of gang formation and violence prevention

To date, the CARICOM Secretariat has conducted a sub-regional consultation in Guyana and national consultations in Belize and St Kitts and Nevis as a preparatory step to implementing the project.

The CARICOM Social Development and Crime Prevention Plan is a direct response to a mandate from the 12th Special Meeting of the Council for Human and Social Development (COHSOD) in March 2008 which required the CARICOM Secretariat to collaborate with international organisations and Third States in developing a regional crime prevention initiative to complement the national efforts already in train. The mandate was endorsed by the CARICOM Heads of Government at their Twentieth Inter-Sessional Meeting, March 2009.

At its 20th meeting held in Guyana in 2010, the COHSOD endorsed the Action Plan and gave full support to the national consultations, especially with key players in the education sector.

Dr Johnson who also majored in psychology was delivering opening remarks to the national consultation on youth gangs and gang violence organized by the CARICOM Secretariat with support from the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) in St Kitts and Nevis on Monday, 14 November.

She added that while globalization and new media technologies had created several opportunities for young people, it had also exposed them to unprecedented levels of risk and vulnerability.

Dr Johnson pointed out that young people who were both the victims and perpetrators of violence were committing more vicious and senseless crimes each day. She stressed that an effective response to this problem was needed urgently.

She was convinced that the CARICOM Social Development and Crime Prevention Action Plan was one such response that could help to address this unfortunate phenomenon and that the pilot project targeting vulnerable youth was a giant step in the right direction.

Gangs and gang violence among CARICOM youth is one of the priority issues to be addressed in the CARICOM Crime Prevention and Social Development Action Plan (CCPSD), which is being implemented on a phased basis. The plan was jointly developed by the CARICOM Secretariat in collaboration with the United Nations Office for Drugs and Crime (UNODC) to address the development challenges posed by the high levels of crime and violence in the Region. The youth gang violence component of the action plan is designed to provide intensive support services and programmes to reduce involvement in gang life and to equip ‘gang leavers’ with life skills to help them reintegrate into their societies. The programmes and services, to be developed in consultation with stakeholders, will be implemented through pilot projects at the community level.

Ms Sharon Rattan, Permanent Secretary (acting) Ministry of Social Development Culture and Gender Affairs, St Kitts and Nevis endorsement the remarks by Dr Johnson and asserted that the consultation was in response to the Government’s ongoing search for solutions for tackling crime as opposed to law enforcement side of it.

She told the wide cross section of stakeholders who attended the consultation that it was important to keep the children’s future at the centre of the consultation because the more a child was at risk the more likely he would be influenced to join gangs.

St Kitts and Nevis is one of the four countries selected to pilot the project which is designed to mitigate gangs and gang violence through social interventions. The others are Belize, Guyana, and Trinidad and Tobago.

The next consultation will take place in Trinidad and Tobago within the next two weeks.