BRIDGETOWN, Barbados, CMC – The third annual United Kingdom- Caribbean Heads of Defence Staff Conference has heard a call for Small Island Developing States (SIDS) to develop effective strategies effectively with transnational crime and criminal organizations.
The conference is being hosted jointly by the Barbados Defence Force (BDF) and the United Kingdom (UK) Armed Forces.
Chief of Staff Commodore Errington Shurland and the UK’s Chief of Defence Staff, Admiral Sir Tony Radakin, are attending the conference that provides a platform for multilateral discourse on current and emerging threats to the region.
The organizers said that the conference would also allow for an analysis of the issues impacting regional security, including humanitarian assistance disaster response cooperation, and an understanding of the United Kingdom’s perspective on assisting in the areas above.
Barbados Home Affairs and Information Minister Wilfred Abrahams said. At the same time, globalization strengthened the interconnectivity of the Caribbean. It 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 told the two-day conference, which ends later on Wednesday.
“This phenomenon has created avenues for criminal networks to collaborate and become more difficult to counter, unfettered by borders or national bureaucracy. Criminal networks and alliances can exploit the inconsistencies in our regional security mechanisms and capabilities.”
Abrahams said these threats had worsened due to several factors, such as the climate change crisis and the coronavirus (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 organizations, cybercriminals, violent extremist organizations, and other threat actors to gain a stronger foothold in the region.
“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,” Abrahams said, noting that constant vigilance, cooperation, and the development of effective security strategies were required.
He said the Caribbean’s normally peaceable existence had 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 to traffic illegal firearms, drugs and, most recently, increasingly persons.”
Abrahams said that with the scarcity of maritime assets, coastal surveillance systems, and trained personnel, it has become problematic to patrol the region’s sea passages adequately.
He also said that illegal migration had become a concern due to other natural and artificial hazards. He added that easy access to drugs, illicit firearms, and illegal immigrants is often linked to escalating violent crimes.
“The existence of fragile and failed nation states within our hemisphere often means that hundreds of refugees fleeing conflict and persecution will seek refuge when crossing maritime and land borders into neighboring states.”
Abrahams said that for the last ten years, managing these threats have been complex for the entire region.
“The impacts of these natural hazards are felt for decades afterward and are not limited to immediate loss of life but extend to economic fallout, which undermines and retards sustainable growth and development. In many cases, the billions of dollars in damage caused by these events cannot easily be recouped without intervention with global financial institutions.”
In his address, the Home Affairs Minister urged delegates to conceptualize systems and regional mechanisms that will improve resilience to natural hazards and enhance the efficacy and speed of the response after that.
“Regional governments must work collaboratively to combat an assortment of natural and artificial risks and threats to the region. This conference must be the catalyst for developing effective strategies to prevent, disrupt and dismantle criminal organizations and to assist our governments with building resilience against natural hazards.
“Regional integration in its pure sense is essential to achieve this conference’s lofty mandate and objectives. 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.
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