Honorable Peter Phillips, Minister of National Security of Jamaica,
His Excellency Chan Santokhi, Minister of Justice and Police of the Republic of Suriname,
Mr. Chris Hernandez Roy, Director of the Department of Public Security,
Mr. Mario Andresol, Director-General of the Haitian National Police,
Distinguished Experts,
Distinguished Delegates,
Ladies and Gentlemen,


I thank the Department of Public Security for organizing this seminar and welcome the opportunity to be here with you as you address this very important issue of “Organized Crime: A Threat to the Caribbean”. The Organization of American States attaches great importance to the implemention the goals established in its Hemispheric Plan of Action against Transnational Organized Crime. In addition, this seminar expresses also the organization’s pledge to address the security concerns of the Caribbean.

Having just completed a brief mission to Haiti, I take this opportunity to publicly congratulate the Director-General of the Haitian National Police, Mr. Mario Andresol, with his leadership and efforts to improve the security environment in his country. The OAS is pleased with the efforts made so far, especially with the performance of the new recruits. Together with the efforts of MINUSTAH, it certainly has contributed to the improvement of security in Haiti over the past weeks.

From our perspective, the issue of state security exceeds the traditional concept of national security as simply a factor of unilateral territorial protection. The characteristics of non-traditional threats have expanded to the extent that they pose an even far greater risk and could therefore be more destabilizing to states. As a result the national security situation has become more than a complex law enforcement issue. Today we are faced with a new concept of security which requires a holistic approach to public security in order to protect individuals and communities from violence.

Therefore, no country acting alone, irrespective of strength and available resources is capable of fully combating this phenomenon. The requirements of public security and the imperative of success in this endeavor call for a coordinated, multilateral approach to the application of resources by and among states and international organizations. In is in the interest of ALL in the Western Hemisphere to participate actively in the development of new mechanisms, share information, coordinate actions and operations as much as possible, and support those countries which do not have the means to effectively counteract the threat posed by international organized crime in their territories. In the end it is in the interest of ALL in the Americas to limit or eliminate violence in all its forms, ALL stand to benefit from peaceful societies and stable economies.

It is recognized that organized crime acts as a catalyst for several other forms of violence and crime, it affects directly or indirectly all sectors of society and undermines the linkages between governments and their citizens. If unchecked, organized crime ruptures social cohesion, divides families and people, corrupts institutions, destabilizes, and eventually destroys societies and governments. From our perspective as an Organization in support of democracy, human rights and justice, organized crime has the potential of undermining the very social and economic fabric of our societies, as well as damaging the democratic functioning and constitutional arrangements.

Let there be no doubt, organized crime poses serious social as well as economic challenges, especially for smaller economies. The problem is more heightened in economies that depend heavily on tourism, and which lack the financial and material resources to address the related problems and violence. Organized crime can, and usually impact negatively the image and reputation of a country, creating an unsafe environment for citizens and visitors alike. It also makes the country less attractive to investors. This can either force domestic capital to flee or discourage international capital inflows; either way, this can create unemployment and economic volatility.

Such limitations become more evident in the face of policies to deport seasoned criminals who lack social safety nets and social networks in the countries where they are being sent, while the “receiving” countries themselves are often ill-prepared or unable to rehabilitate and reintegrate them. Internally, some of these countries face additional constraints in terms of their law enforcement capacity, specialization in the areas of law to tackle the creativity and financial resources of organized crimes; ineffective or lax enforcement of legislations; and weak judicial systems.

Clearly, organized crime has different sources, but, in my view, it is linked to the absence of social and economic development, poverty, and deliberate socio-economic exclusion. In smaller economies the impact of trade liberalization measures that have led to the phasing out of certain trade preferences, like for sugar and banana, have created levels of insecurity in already vulnerable societies. The Inter-American Development Bank estimates that the cost to the economies of Latin America and Caribbean generated by organized crime is about 15% of the GDP.

The Caribbean region is particularly vulnerable to organized crime due to its geographical location between South and North America. Also, porous borders and ease of travel and accustomed patterns of migration between interdependent Caribbean states have inadvertently facilitated greater mobility and flexibility, which aids expansion not only of legal enterprise but also of transnational organized criminal activities.

Organized crime has progressively become more mobile, powerful and universally threatening. This is primarily due to several factors:

§ organized crime results in high profits with the potential for ill-gotten gains to be laundered and injected into legitimate enterprise thereby expanding the reach and profitability;

§ the difficulties of fragile and/or economically-strapped governments to manage and safeguard their modern nation-states;

§ the political, economic and social inequalities that create large-scale migration flows encourage organized criminal elements to follow and to exploit these situations for their own purposes;

§ the increasing availability of conventional and more sophisticated weaponry in the hands of criminals.

§ the ability of international organized criminals to buy influence in domestic political systems or law enforcement ranks, to pervert the course of justice, to buy the loyalty and protection of elected politicians and high officials.

These phenomena of organized crime have manifested themselves through several different expressions such as drug trafficking, the illicit trafficking of weapons, trafficking in persons, and the proliferation of criminal gangs and criminal gang-related activities.

Trafficking in Persons

Trafficking in persons is the fastest growing transnational criminal activity in the world, and the Caribbean region is not an exception. A recent IOM study revealed that trans-border human trafficking exists in Barbados, the Bahamas, Guyana, Jamaica, St. Lucia, the Netherlands Antilles and Suriname. Many other Caribbean countries are also affected by human trafficking as source, transit or destination countries. Although mainly a source region, the Caribbean is also becoming an important transit point for trafficked women en route to Europe and North America.

This abhorrent crime that enslaves thousands of persons worldwide every year targets, for purpose of commercial sexual exploitation, the most vulnerable population throughout the Caribbean: impoverished youth and women. Moreover, recent reports state that a number of Caribbean countries, favored as tourism destinations, are at the center of a growing sex tourism industry.

The Caribbean is a region with a rich history of migration that makes the region susceptible to trafficking in persons, particularly women and children. Moreover, the freedom of movement that Caribbean nationals will enjoy as part of the Caribbean Community could result in an increase of human trafficking. Regional cooperation is therefore essential to end trafficking in persons in the Caribbean.

Illegal Drug trafficking

The Caribbean has the misfortune of being geographically positioned between both a major illegal drug supply source and a major theatre of drug demand. Most of the world's cocaine is produced in South America and a significant amount of its heroin and marijuana also comes from South and Central America. But not all the drugs trafficked through the Caribbean are destined for North America. Europe is also a demand region, and almost 50% of the drugs transshipped through the Caribbean find its way to Europe.

This multifaceted problem has increased in scope and gravity over the last decades. The direct nexus between illegal drugs and crimes of violence, sex crimes, domestic violence, child abuse, corruption, arms trafficking, and other evils, have a devastating impact on national security and governance in the Caribbean. CICAD in its Evaluation of Progress in Drug Control report of 2005 estimated that 90% of cocaine produced in South America is transported via the maritime sector. And the majority of illicit drugs shipped to North America and Europe from South America pass through a transit zone of six million square miles (15 million square kilometers) of ocean, including the Caribbean Sea.

Studies have shown that the seven Eastern Caribbean countries (Antigua and Barbuda, Barbados, Dominica, Grenada, St. Kitts and Nevis, St. Lucia, and St. Vincent and the Grenadines) form the eastern edge of the Caribbean transit zone for drugs. Illicit narcotics transit the Eastern Caribbean mostly by sea, in small go-fast vessels, larger fishing vessels, yachts and freight carriers. An OAS study on maritime trafficking in the Western Hemisphere indicated that cocaine trafficked to Europe is transported primarily in commercial containerized cargo; and that Jamaica is also a major transit point for cocaine en route to the United States. But the Caribbean is not only a transit point for drugs -- it is increasingly becoming a market for illegal drugs, targeted particularly at youth.

We should not underestimate the significance of the problems posed by illicit drugs on our societies. Drug abuse represents a significant risk factor for our communities, with consequences of joblessness, lost productivity, moral decay, family disintegration, increased crime and violence. Moreover drug abuse undermines the potential of our most vulnerable and most important asset of our countries: our young children. Therefore, confronting the drug problem in all its manifestation requires a comprehensive approach involving education, updated legislation, prevention, strengthening of law enforcement and heightened political attention.

Trafficking of Arms

Aside from the very visible impact of drug trafficking and abuse on our societies, there is the anathema of the illicit trafficking of small arms. The illicit trade of small arms has become a major global security threat. The unrelenting flow of illegal weapons contributes significantly to the escalation and perpetuation of violence, not only in conflict and post conflict countries, but also in stable democracies as well, such as these in the Caribbean.

Caribbean states were in the vanguard of fighting this crime by participating in the drafting and the adoption by the Organization of American States of the Inter-American Convention against the Illicit Manufacture of and Trafficking in Firearms, Ammunition, Explosives and Other Related Materials. This Convention is the first binding regional agreement that explicitly addressed small arms and light weapons, as well as explosives. The OAS has been on the forefront of the battle against the illegal traffic in small arms and light weapons with the adoption of the Convention which emphasizes the importance and urgency which our region attaches to this issue.

These efforts notwithstanding, studies on Latin America and the Caribbean show a regional homicide rate that is twice the world's average, with over 150,000 murders committed annually. In the Caribbean region, the most disturbing manifestation of the illicit arms trade is its linkage to drugs. International organized criminal elements which transport drugs through the Caribbean have often used firearms and weapons that stay in the Caribbean countries. This distinctive commerce has a north-south dynamic on weapons and a south-north dynamic on drugs. The spread of illegal arms and assault weapons is increasing throughout the region, affording criminal organizations, in many cases, superior firepower to law enforcement officials. Caribbean states faced with limited resources are finding it increasingly difficult to cope with the threat of illicit arms trafficking.

Gangs

Gang activity has evolved into a transnational trend that demands a coordinated, multi-national response to combat increasingly sophisticated criminal gang networks. Globalization, sophisticated communications technologies, and travel patterns have facilitated the expansion of gang activity removing the restrictions that once confined them to local neighborhoods.

Given that gang activities are increasingly complex, multi-layered, multi-faceted, and transnational in their reach and impact, it should clearly receive priority attention. Gang and youth violence problems require the kind of integrated and coordinated response that incorporates prevention, intervention, and law enforcement approaches in order to achieve sustainable results. Prevention and intervention initiatives coupled with law enforcement approaches are more effective than law enforcement or prevention and/or intervention alone. I reiterate that countries cannot act independently to implement effective, sustainable anti-gang strategies and programs.

Conclusion

Criminal gang activities, trafficking in persons, illegal trafficking of arms and drug trafficking, all facets of organized crime, pose a tremendous challenge to governance and the future stability of the Caribbean. Although each country may see the problems differently and might have individual country-specific strategies to address them, it is imperative to recognize also the wider impact of organized crime. We all agree that Governments have a shared responsibility to define security in the Caribbean in a manner that allows them to address it in a comprehensive way. The Bridgetown Declaration was an important first step in that direction and a clear demonstration of that common reality, characterized by:

· the multidimensional nature and scope of security threats;

· the limited financial, human and equipment resources to respond to these challenges;

· the inability of a single country to combat organized crime by itself, and the need for a multilateral approach.

As a consequence, Caribbean states need to make better and more efficient use of the limited resources available to them. It will also require:

1. more cooperation, coordination of efforts and information sharing; I am pleased to observe that in the past couple of months two important sub-regional conferences on illegal drug trafficking have been held in Suriname and in the Dominican Republic.

2. investment in education, civic partnership, and democratic citizenship;

3. improved and reliable scrutiny and vetting of law enforcement officers and officials;

4. update existing legislation and create new legislation to address in a more meaningful and coordinated manner the ever changing dynamics of organized crime;

5. training of law enforcement officers and the judiciary; training on human rights, international law;

6. support for parliamentarians and legislators;

7. sensitizing politicians to their affirmative responsibility to promote and protect the institutions of democracy and good governance; and

8. broaden, deepen and strengthen cooperation among states to fight organized crime, share best practices and expertise.

I firmly believe that the fight against organized crime in the Americas is a shared responsibility of all member states of the OAS. At the same time we have to recognize the budgetary and personnel constraints faced by the smaller and vulnerable countries of the Caribbean. I therefore urge the richer member states in the OAS to not only recognize these challenges, but also to increase their financial support and technical assistance to these countries, which become an easy target of the international crime organizations.

I take this opportunity to thank the Government of Canada for their support to the holding of this conference.

The Organization of American States and particularly the Department of Public Security, stands ready to work with you to facilitate dialogue, to provide technical support, and assist in enhancing cooperation among member states.

I look forward seeing the results of your deliberations and I wish you every success in this meeting.

Thank you.