Outgoing CARICOM Chair Says Leaders Placed Emphasis on Addressing Crime

Philip Davis

Outgoing CARICOM Chair, Bahamian Prime Minister Philip Davis said there have been remarkable strides made over the past fifty years that now puts CARICOM on steady footing to advance towards the next fifty years. He spoke of the focus that CARICOM leaders put on addressing crime and crime-related activity in the region. Combating the illegal trade of weapons is one of the main aspects that fall under that issue.

Philip Davis, Outgoing Chair, CARICOM

“It has been an eventful and fruitful six months. Over this period, you have made headway on a number of priority areas. Chief among them, the situation in Haiti, climate change, global financial architecture, food security, and the ongoing crime epidemics in our nations. A significant milestone of my term was the declaration of crime as a public health issue at the regional symposium to address crime and violence. I thank the Honorable Keith Rowley and the Government of Trinidad and Tobago for hosting the summit on this critical issue. Crime has become an epidemic in many of our nations, impeding our growth and hampering the happiness and well being of our people. In our declaration, we not only recognize the urgency and systemic nature of crime in our nations, but also lay the groundwork for the necessary frameworks to build cross border cooperation to enhance capacity and enact reforms to ensure the safety and security of our peoples. At this very meeting, we banded together to declare a war on guns. As a region, we proclaim our intention to combat the illegal trade of weapons, and particularly the call on the United States of America, the source of the overwhelming majority of illegal firearms in our region, to join us in urgent action to curb this epidemic.”