Remarks by the Sen. the Hon. Dr. Winston Garraway, Minister of State Grenada and Chair of the Caricom Council for National Security and Law Enforcement (CONSLE) at the Organisation of American States (OAS) Special Meeting of the Committee on Hemispheric Security (CHS), convened to address the Special Security Concerns of the Small Island and Low-Lying Coastal Developing States of the Caribbean on Thursday, 25 April 2019, at OAS Headquarters, Washington DC.
“Managing the effects of the illicit trafficking in small arms and light weapons on peace and security in small islands and low-lying coastal developing states of the Caribbean”
Mr Chairman, Excellencies, Distinguished Delegates,
On behalf of the Prime Minister, Dr the Right Hon. Keith Mitchell, and the Government of Grenada, the Chair of the Council on Security and Law Enforcement of Caricom, I take this opportunity to thank the Organisation of American States for the invitation to this Special Meeting of the Committee on Hemispheric Security (CHS), convened to address the Special Security Concerns of the Small Island and Low-Lying Coastal Developing States of the Caribbean.
I wish to congratulate the Secretariat of the OAS for the hosting of this important meeting that speaks to the issue of the illicit trafficking in Small Arms and Light Weapons (SALW) and its impact on peace and security in our region.
The risks and challenges posed by the illicit use of small arms and light weapons highlight the vulnerability of our region that is characterised by porous borders.
The challenge of resource constraints further inhibits our ability to confront the vexing issue of crime and security individually. We therefore believe that a regional response at the level of Caricom is critical to combat crime and the illicit trade in small weapons and firearms.
While Small States in the region are the leading voice on the issue of Climate Change, Small States do not have the same voice on the security agenda on the international platform. A voice that would advocate the strategic interest of our states, at a time when the technical assistance is dwindling, while the crime rate increases.
Mr Chairman, Excellences, Distinguished Delegates.
We are cognisant of the fact that armed violence has an inherent human cost, a cost which reduces the available resources for social and economic development in our countries.
And for the citizens of the Caribbean region, Small Arms and Light Weapons remain the primary enablers of armed violence on a daily basis. Notwithstanding the fact that the Caribbean region does not manufacture guns or ammunition, significant quantities are imported illegally.
The rise of gun-related crimes in the Caribbean region is troubling. If one examines the statistics, firearms were the main weapons used in less than one-third of all homicides in 2000, while in 2007 gun-related crimes accounted for over 70% of homicides.
It is disheartening that minimal improvement has been recorded in spite of the efforts of national law enforcement officials and regional institutions. This is in stark contrast to Asia and Europe, where only 22% and 24% of homicides are carried out with firearms, respectively.
Caricom has recorded the seizure of over 25,000 illegal firearms over the last 10 years by law enforcement officials. By simple extrapolation, the proportion of illegal firearms recovered can be threefold with immense impact on the economies of the region.
Further, the significant increase in the number, and use of illegal High-Powered Weapons and ammunition in the Region, inter alia, AK-47, Galil 5.56, UZI, and AR15 should concern us all as a region and hemisphere. Because this can impact the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals.
Armed violence erodes human and social capital, impedes investment, undermines public institutions and facilitates corruption. Armed violence contributes to and is sustained by transnational crime, including the trafficking of persons, drugs, and arms.
Armed violence has the capacity to weaken investor/consumer confidence. Armed violence leaves lasting psychological and physical scars on survivors. Armed violence is not only a cause of underdevelopment, but also a consequence of it.
The Inter-American Development Bank in its publication entitled, “Restoring Paradise in the Caribbean: Combatting Violence with Numbers,” (2017) provided an estimate of the cost of crime in the Caribbean as 3% of GDP. The Publication further sates that public spending on citizen security in the Caribbean is estimated to be between 1.5 to 2.1% of GDP and includes administration of justice, police services, and prison administration. This Mr Chairman is a wakeup call for us all.
Mr Chairman, Excellences, Distinguished Delegates,
Only two weeks ago, at the Caricom Meeting of Ministers of the Council for National Security and Law Enforcement (CONSLE), which was held in Grenada, the Governments of the region reaffirmed their commitment to address the illicit trafficking of Small Arms and Light Weapons, and acknowledged the need to continue to enhance the arms control agenda, norms and best practices for implementation.
Mr Chairman, Excellences, Distinguished Delegates.
This forum today is important and timely for the continued effort to reduce gun violence.
The Government of Grenada and the members states of Caricom reiterate our commitment to the control of the flow of small arms in the region, and to assure this auguste body of the importance that Caricom Member States give to the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and the great contribution arms control can make to its realisation.
Caricom welcomes the United Nations Secretary General Disarmament Agenda and affirms that combatting the illicit trade in small arms and light weapons is necessary for the achievement of many of the Sustainable Development Goals, including those relating to peace, justice and strong institutions, poverty reduction, economic growth, health, gender equality, and safe cities and communities.
Caricom continues to demonstrate its readiness to share the responsibility for hemispheric security and reaffirms its commitment to constructing a safe and secure region in which citizens may achieve their development goals.
Mr Chairman, Excellences, Distinguished Delegates.
The Implementation Agency for Crime and Security (IMPACS), with primary responsibility for the implementation of the regional crime and security agenda has facilitated the advancement of unprecedented common action frameworks, which have brought greater focus, functional cooperation and increasing integration of the community’s crime and security agenda. IMPACS also acts internationally as an important interlocutor for its Member States and continues to mobilise support for the Region.
Mr Chairman, Excellences, Distinguished Delegates…
The tools, services and processes that IMPACS has developed for firearms investigations in the Region serve to facilitate regional and international cooperation in curbing the trafficking of firearms; increasing the results in detecting and investigating firearms trafficking; and reducing criminal misuse of firearms; as well as strengthening prosecution and conviction. I wish to highlight just a few.
Most notably, the establishment of a Regional Integrated Ballistic Information Network (RIBIN), which was mandated by the Council for National Security and Law Enforcement (CONSLE) is a key instrument to advance firearms control, in particular, assist with improving detection rate of arms related crimes. RIBIN allows the sharing of ballistic information across jurisdictional boundaries, enabling national and regional law enforcement agencies to overcome the obstacle and delays associated with logistics of physical evidence exchange and to discover links between crimes, guns and suspects.
Another globally recognised tool is the Advance Passenger Information System (APIS), the world’s only multilateral tool, which is a Risk-Based Management Tool that gives security officials the ability to pre-screen passengers from air and sea carriers against regional and international watchlists. In 2018, over 63,000,000 passengers were screened, and since 2013, a total of over 260,000,000 passengers were screened, with over 25,000 hits, including firearms related hits.
Complementing the APIS, to further strengthen border intelligence and information sharing and to detect and counter illicit trafficking, is a project under development, the Advanced Cargo Information System (ACIS). Generously funded by the European Union, ACIS will also be the first multi-lateral system that allows for the screening of all cargo manifests and standardised data requirements for cargo reporting within the Region.
Caricom Member States are participating states of the Electronic Tracing System (eTrace) that allows the participating law enforcement agencies to submit firearm trace requests to the United States’ federal government, Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF). eTrace provides for the electronic exchange of traced firearm data in a secure internet-based environment.
I would like to take this opportunity to thank the Government of the United States of America on behalf of our region for its ongoing support and anticipates further strengthening of our relationship as it relates to Small Arms and Light Weapons.
We are very proud to indicate that the Region will see the establishment of the INTERPOL Caribbean Regional Liaison Office. This will ensure greater cooperation and collaboration of the national central bureaus in the Caribbean Basin and ensure that there is a coordinated approach to capacity-building to address the threats which continue to confront us. This office will be co-located with the Caricom IMPACS sub-Agency, the Joint Regional Communications Centre (JRCC) in Barbados.
I am very pleased and confident that these tools have contributed to greater security of all, and as the Chair of CONSLE, I will work with Member States during my tenure to ensure the optimal use of those tools.
We do recognise that despite the unique challenges faced by small states of the region, we can exert influence over the outcomes of global security. The historical records confirm that small states have invariably played an important role in global security policy; positively influencing rule-making in the international system. In 1989 the Government of Trinidad and Tobago, individually refocused the world’s attention on the long-suspended endeavour of the International Criminal Court (ICC), which is now fully operational, and has tried and convicted some of the worst human rights violators around the world. Ironically, another small state, Malta, became the 60th state to ratify the ICC treaty making the court official. From 2003 – 2004, St Lucia assumed the presidency of the United Nations and served with great distinction, and more recently, Antigua and Barbuda.
Most notably, is the fact that Caricom impacted the negotiations and final outcome of the Arms Trade Treaty (ATT) and lobbied steadfastly to ensure that SALW were included in the list of conventional arms to be regulated. Since the enforcement of the ATT in 2014, significant progress has been made in Caricom towards advancing our obligations under the Treaty. Caricom IMPACS has also piloted the “Caricom Arms Trade Treaty: Model Law” as a tool to assist Caricom Member States in identifying and translating ATT commitments into national legislation in a manner consistent with the ATT.
There is much more work to be done on the issues of armed violence. In this context, it is important that we double our efforts to address the threats faced by the region through the illicit trafficking of firearms in our community.
Regional organisations have an important role in the implementation of SALW instruments, including the coordination of assistance. And so, collaboration is also urgent and necessary among all stakeholders to tackle the illicit trade, and in support of global partnership initiatives to combat the proliferation of SALWs.
In closing, it will be remiss of me in addressing the issue of Small Arms and Light Weapons, to omit the issue of cyber security. The Cyber domain remains complex, but is a facilitator of crimes. In this regard, this important hemispheric forum should consider Multilateral Agreements related to cyber security and cybercrime.
Mr Chairman, Excellences, Distinguished Delegates.
Caricom reiterates its commitment to supporting and advancing arms control and as Chair of the CONSLE, Caricom IMPACS stands committed to work with the Organisation of American States to address the issues highlighted in this presentation.
