GREATER GEORGETOWN, Guyana – Plans are underway for the development of a Caribbean Community (CARICOM) multi-sectoral Crime Prevention Strategy and accompanying Plan of Action to combat drugs and crime in the Region.
The development of this strategy is in direct response to a mandate of the 12th Special Meeting of the Council for Human and Social Development (COHSOD) on children, held in Georgetown, Guyana in March 2008, which requires the Secretariat to “collaborate with International Organisations and Third States in developing a Regional Crime Prevention Initiative to complement the national and bilateral efforts against drugs and crime.”
To this end, the CARICOM Secretariat had hosted a two-week Expert Mission from the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC), an organisation mandated to assist Member States in the struggle against illicit drugs, crime and terrorism. The Team, comprising Team leader, Dr. Sandra Valle, Senior Inter-Regional Adviser; Ms. Estela-Maris Deon, Expert of the Justice and Integrity Unit and Mr. Mark Shaw, Inter-regional Adviser, will assist with the drafting of the Strategy and Plan of Action and provide technical assistance in the preparation of project proposals and budgets.
The Mission which arrived on 22 September held a series of fruitful consultations with high level teams from the CARICOM Secretariat including the Deputy-Secretary General, Her Excellency Ambassador Lolita Applewhaite; and the CARICOM Implementation Agency for Crime and Security (IMPACS), as well as Guyana based International organizations and donor agencies; senior officials from several Embassies and High Commissions and representatives of the Guyana Government and Regional Law Enforcement Officials. The consultations spawned a successful exchange of views, strategic thinking and potential operational partnership between UNODC and CARICOM in the prevention of crime in the Region.
Subsequent to the consultations and the review of a draft outline, the CARICOM Secretariat, in collaboration with UNODC, is expected to finalise the draft Crime Prevention Strategy by the end of October in order for it to be presented to the 17th Meeting of the COHSOD in November.
In the interim, further stakeholder consultations are to be held to create awareness and understanding of the strategy as well as to achieve ‘buy-in’ from key stakeholders, for its effective implementation.
