TORONTO, Canada – Director of CARICOM’s Implementation Agency for Crime and Security (IMPACS), Francis Forbes, has said that the region would be implementing a number of security measures for next year’s ICC Cricket World Cup, including the creation of a watch list of potential wrongdoers and terrorists, which will be shared with international bodies such as Interpol.
He said that legislation was also being put in place, which would allow countries to access advanced passenger lists, in order to run security checks on travelers before they arrived in the Caribbean.
Mr. Forbes, who is the former Commissioner of Police, was updating the Caribbean consular corps in Toronto on security arrangements for the tournament, recently at the Jamaican Consulate General in Toronto.
Turning to visa requirements, he explained that the 10 host venues, including Dominica, would be designated as one single domestic state and as such, a common visa regime would be implemented for the period January 15 to May 15.
International visitors would therefore not need to get individual visas for each of the host countries, as once they are processed in a particular island, they will be treated as domestic travelers, and they can go to any of the 10 host countries without having to once again pass through immigration.
Mr. Forbes told the Consuls General that although citizens of Canada, the United States and the United Kingdom did not require visas to enter Caribbean countries, there were persons in these countries, who came from some 46 countries, whose citizens would require visas. These include Afghanistan, Egypt, Jordan, Pakistan and Turkey.
Meanwhile, O’Neil Hamilton, special advisor to National Security Minister, Dr. Peter Phillips, in his role as Chairman of the CARICOM Ministerial Subcommittee on Resource Mobilization for Crime and Security, said it was important for CARICOM nationals to understand the importance of the CWC 2007 being successfully staged in the Caribbean and he asked the consular representatives to reach out to their constituents.
The Consuls General in attendance included Anne-Marie Bonner, Jamaica; Madeline Blackman, Antigua and Barbuda; Wendy Straker, Barbados; Michael Lashley, Trinidad and Tobago; Conrad Gibbs, Grenada; John Allen, St. Kitts and Nevis; and Winall Joshua, St. Lucia.
Mr. Forbes and Mr. Hamilton were part of a delegation that had earlier met with Canadian officials in Ottawa for discussions on ways that Canada can assist with security for the games.
The meetings, described as successful, involved representatives from the Department of Foreign Affairs and Foreign Trade (DFAIT), Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP), Department of Defence, Legal Affairs Department, Disaster Preparedness and border security officials.
CWC 2007, which comprises 51 matches throughout the region, starts on March 11 with opening ceremonies in Jamaica and concludes on April 28 in Barbados.
This is the first time that the West Indies will be hosting cricket’s largest spectacle.
