CARICOM finalised and adopted a regional Counter-Terrorism Strategy during the 29th Inter-Sessional Meeting of the CARICOM Heads of Government in Port-au-Prince, Haiti yesterday (Tuesday 27 February, 2018.)
Dr Rowley currently leads the Council for National Security and Law Enforcement (CONSLE) which mandated the Implementation Agency for Crime and Security (IMPACS) to develop a Counter-Terrorism Strategy for the region. The process of developing the Counter-Terrorism Strategy began in 2016 and included meetings and consultations with Commissioners of Police and Chief Immigration Officers throughout the region.
The conference of CARICOM Heads also agreed that Member States, would table legislation in their respective Parliaments by July 4, 2018 in order to support the strategy and that an effective monitoring and evaluation process should be put in place to determine the region’s success in addressing this critical matter.
Additionally, IMPACS, in consultation with its stakeholders and regional and international partners, will review the document biennially to consider updating it to respond to the evolving terrorism landscape.
All Member States are expected to (if they haven’t already) enact legislation related to the Advance Cargo Information System (ACIS) and Advanced Passenger Information System (APIS) to assist counter-terrorism efforts, among other security matters, and to share information on crime and violence among Member States in a more consistent manner.
The rise in crime and violence was also addressed and it was agreed that IMPACS will create an intra-regional task force comprising experts, to examine and suggest innovative regional solutions to combat the issue regionally.
Also under the umbrella of regional security, the CARICOM Secretariat has been mandated to develop a Road Map/ Action Plan for the advancement of Crime and Criminal Justice Statistics.
Discussions continued into the wee hours of this morning after which a media conference was held by the President of the Republic of Haiti, His Excellency Jovenel Moïse. Prime Minister Dr the Honourable Keith Rowley participated in the press conference and fielded questions from the media.
The next CARICOM Heads of Government Meeting will be held in Montego Bay, Jamaica from 4-6 July, 2018.
Prime Minister Rowley will host a press conference on his return, where he will discuss matters decided and discussed in Haiti. It will begin at 8.00 pm, Wednesday 28th February 2018 at the VIP Lounge, Piarco International Airport.