Director General/Executive Director
Excellencies,
ladies and gentlemen,
Thank you for joining us here today for the launch of UNODC's Regional Programme in support of the CARICOM Crime and Security Strategy.
This new Programme, developed at the request of CARICOM, aims to address urgent challenges facing the region and to promote governance, justice and security.
The region, located between major drug-producing countries in the south and major consumer markets in the north, remains extremely vulnerable to the threats posed by illicit trafficking and organized crime.
Limited law enforcement capacity to monitor vast coastlines is being exploited by traffickers. Drug trafficking through the Caribbean has surged in recent years, with routes leading to the north as well as to the east, across the Atlantic Ocean to European markets.
The nexus between transnational organized criminal activities such as cocaine trafficking and illegal guns; gangs; cyber-crime; financial crime and corruption has been identified in the CARICOM Crime and Security Strategy as an immediate and significant threat.
Young people under 30, who represent the majority of the region's citizens, are most often the victims and perpetrators of crime and violence.
High levels of crime and violence undermine stability, and negatively impact growth and business, in particular tourism, which remains one of the main economic drivers in the Caribbean.
Cocaine use in the region is estimated to be above the global average. The risk of HIV infection among at-risk youth, people in prisons and people who use drugs is also a major concern, with the rate of adult infection estimated at around 1 per cent, higher than in any other region outside sub-Saharan Africa.
These interconnected problems pose the greatest threat to the potential of young people and the sustainable development of the region.
The Regional Programme therefore aims to support regional institutions and Caribbean Member States to strengthen their capacities to meet these multifarious challenges.
We developed the Programme in close collaboration with the CARICOM Secretariat and the CARICOM Implementation Agency for Crime and Security, and with contributions from the Caribbean Aviation Safety and Security Oversight System and the Regional Security System.
The Regional Programme was presented to the CARICOM Council of Ministers for Security and Law Enforcement last November, as well as to the Caribbean Community Council in January.
Moreover, on the basis of the Regional Programme, UNODC and the CARICOM Implementation Agency for Crime and Security have developed a joint action plan highlighting future areas of cooperation.
The CARICOM Crime and Security Strategy served as an authoritative reference, and specific attention was paid to ensuring complementarity and avoiding duplication with existing initiatives.
The Regional Programme thus comprises five sub-programmes, which not only reflect areas under UNODC's mandate, but which also directly target the priority goals of the CARICOM Strategy. These include:
Furthermore, the Regional Programme identifies other key interventions. These include the creation of a prosecutors' network to facilitate the investigation and prosecution of transnational organized crime cases, as well as the development of capacity-building programmes for law enforcement and prosecutors to address human trafficking and migrant smuggling.
The Regional Programme also aims to support CARICOM Member States in going after the proceeds of drug trafficking and other crimes, which is absolutely essential if we want to dismantle criminal networks.
Our results-oriented approach emphasizes cost-effectiveness and right-sized projects. The indicative budget of the Regional Programme, for its 3-year timeframe, stands at just some US$ 11.7 million.
We will also achieve synergies with existing UNODC initiatives, including through the planned expansion of the global container programme and AIRCOP in the Caribbean.
Re-establishing a UNODC presence on the ground has been high on the agenda for CARICOM Member States, and the Government of Barbados has indicated its kind willingness to host.
Meeting this request and the needs of the region remain a key priority for UNODC, if sufficient support and resources can be found.
Ladies and gentlemen,
UNODC has been actively engaged with the countries of the Caribbean to stem the growing tide of drug trafficking and organized crime. But clearly much more needs to be done.
Urgent action is needed. With your pledges, UNODC's new Regional Programme will provide a strategic, targeted framework to support regional efforts and address these challenges.
I hope we can count on your support.
Thank you.