Addressing the opening ceremony of the forty ninth Assembly of the Convention of Heads of Authorities of CARICOM on Sunday (July 6) on the Montego Bay Conference Centre, Prime Minister Dr. the Most Hon. Andrew Holness referred to as for CARICOM nations to take a powerful and coordinated stance in opposition to organized prison gangs, urging that gang violence be considered acts of terrorism.
Dr. Holness highlighted that gang networks have advanced far past conventional street-level crime, now posing a severe risk to the area’s safety. He pressured the necessity for urgency and cooperation just like world responses to terrorism.
“I’m on report as saying that we have to launch a struggle on gangs of an identical magnitude and nature to the struggle on terror,” the CARICOM Chairman said.
The Prime Minister pointed to a July 2024 United Nations report that recognized gang issues in Jamaica, St. Lucia, Guyana, and Trinidad and Tobago, linking the surge in drug manufacturing in South America and the widespread availability of firearms to rising murder charges.
He additionally cited the continued disaster in Haiti as a stark reminder of the pressing want for decisive motion.
“It’s the group of violence for revenue. It isn’t merely street-level, dispossessed, socially excluded kids. There’s a degree of intelligence, a degree of assets, a degree of group that has been dropped at crime and violence, which is getting used for revenue,” Dr. Holness defined.
“So, my very own view is that coverage and jurisprudence must evolve to deal with this matter,” he added.
Dr. Holness emphasised that the dimensions and complexity of the difficulty can’t be solved in a single day or by way of short-term measures, however would require vital funding and unified public assist throughout the Caribbean.
He pointed to the JCF Know-how Expo 2.0 showcased on the convention as an indication of shared dedication to constructing a safer, extra resilient area by exchanging concepts, improvements, and finest practices.
“There’s additionally a possibility so that you can see how the numerous investments made by the Authorities of Jamaica in nationwide safety over the previous 9 years are yielding leads to crime discount and public security,” he famous.
Turning once more to Haiti, Dr. Holness mentioned the assembly will present a important platform for continued dialogue on the continued disaster, reaffirming CARICOM’s dedication to options that promote peace, stability, and improvement for each Haiti and the broader Caribbean neighborhood.
The forty ninth Assembly of Heads of Authorities runs by way of July 8, with delegations from 48 nations in attendance. The agenda consists of important regional points resembling meals and vitamin safety, local weather change, the Haiti state of affairs, regional safety, digital resilience, and advancing the CARICOM Single Market and Financial system (CSME).
