By Brittany Brewster
Heads of Small Island Developing States (SIDS) are being urged to develop effective strategies to crack down on criminal organisations.
Minister of Home Affairs and Information Wilfred Abrahams made the call as he addressed the opening of the third annual UK Caribbean Heads of Defence Staff Conference on Tuesday at Hilton Barbados Resort.
As he addressed the increase in crime locally and across the region, he said while globalisation had strengthened the interconnectivity of the Caribbean, it had also created avenues for criminal networks in the region to thrive.
“What has created several opportunities for economic diversification and advancement has also had a negative, unintended consequence of increasing the complex and multifaceted nature of current and emerging threats,” Abrahams said.
“This phenomenon has created avenues for criminal networks to collaborate and, consequently, become more difficult to counter, unfettered by borders or national bureaucracy. Criminal networks and alliances are able to exploit the inconsistencies in our regional security mechanisms and capabilities.”
Abrahams noted that these threats worsened due to factors such as the climate crisis and the COVID-19 pandemic.
“Regrettably, the trials of the pandemic engaged and diverted the attention of world governments and law enforcement agencies, thus providing the perfect opportunity for transnational criminal organisations, cybercriminals, violent extremist organisations and other threat actors to gain a stronger foothold in the region,” he lamented.
“Global statistics have indicated that separate and apart from intermittent periods of lockdown, crime and violence increased drastically to the detriment of law-abiding citizens.”
The Home Affairs Minister said constant vigilance, mutual cooperation and the development of effective security strategies were required.
He said the region’s normally peaceable existence has been marred by the proliferation of trafficking in illegal firearms, illegal drugs and human trafficking, which all enable violent crime.
“Illicit trafficking continues to be the most lucrative economic driver for transnational criminal networks within our region, and the use of the maritime space continues to be a thorn in our collective sides.
“Our resource constraints make it difficult to sustain comprehensive maritime domain awareness and this vulnerability is exploited as a means to traffic illegal firearms, drugs and, most recently, increasingly persons,” said Abrahams.
Furthermore, with the scarcity of maritime assets, coastal surveillance systems and trained personnel, the minister added that it has become problematic to adequately patrol the region’s sea passages.
Abrahams further explained that due to other natural and man-made hazards, illegal migration has also become a concern. He added that easy access to drugs, illegal firearms and illegal immigrants is often linked to the escalation of violent crimes.
“The existence of fragile and failed nation states within our hemisphere often means that hundreds of refugees fleeing from conflict and persecution will seek refuge when crossing maritime and land borders into neighbouring states,” he pointed out.
As he touched briefly on the impact of both natural hazards and disasters on the Caribbean, Abrahams stated that for the last ten years, managing these threats have been difficult not only for Barbados but for the entire region.
“The impacts of these natural hazards are felt for decades afterwards and are not limited to immediate loss of life but extend to economic fallout, which undermines and retards sustainable growth and development. The billions of dollars in damage caused by these events cannot easily be recouped without intervention in many cases with global financial institutions,” the Home Affairs Minister noted.
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 the efforts of Prime Minister Mia Mottley for her advocacy at the recent World Leaders Summit held during the Climate Change Conference (COP 27) in Egypt where she insisted that developing countries must have access to concessional funding in the aftermath of climatic events.
He threw out a challenge for participants at the conference to conceptualise systems and regional mechanisms that will improve resilience to natural hazards and enhance the efficacy and speed of the response thereafter.
“Regional governments are obligated to work collaboratively to combat a multiplicity of natural and man-made risks and threats to the region. This conference must be the catalyst for developing effective strategies to interdict, disrupt and dismantle criminal organisations and to assist our governments with building resilience against natural hazards,” Abrahams said.
“Regional integration in its pure sense is essential to achieve the lofty mandate and objectives of this conference. The evidence increasingly indicates that the sustainable solutions to our shared challenges must be deeply rooted in regional cooperation with the state for support of our international partners.”
Abrahams said that during the two-day conference, the Barbados Government will be most interested in hearing the recommendations of military heads and other stakeholders.
brittanybrewster@barbadostoday.bb
