BASSETERRE, St. Kitts – REPORTS coming out of Guyana state that members in attendance at the recently held 38th CARICOM Heads of Guyana Conference had decided that ratification of the Arrest Warrant Treaty and the Sharing of Assets Treaty was deferred until July this year.
These Treaties have been noted as two important instruments to tackle crime and security in the Caribbean Region.
According to Guyana’s leading newspaper, Kaieteur News, this disclosure was made yesterday (Feb. 17) by CARICVOM Secretary-General Irwin LaRocque during a press conference following the end of the 28th Inter-Sessional Meeting of the Conference of Heads of Government of the Caribbean at the Guyana Marriott Hotel in Georgetown.
Responding to a question on the status of the two Treaties, LaRocque reportedly told media operatives that the delay was attributed to the fact that some organs of CARICOM have not been meeting in a timely manner to address the issues.
“On the Arrest Warrant Treaty, when Heads met here last July, it was agreed that the appropriate officials would have met and finalised that Treaty, as well as the Sharing of Assets Treaty, to be signed by Heads at this meeting and this is one category that is being referred to that we are lamenting, especially given the importance of security to us.”
He however declared that that the Heads of Government had once again given their assurance to do what is necessary so that officials do in fact meet to address the particular issues surrounding the two Treaties.
“Those matters are still under some legal consultation. That’s why I mentioned to you that we have to address consultation at the national level and the regional level to speed up implementation of those decisions.”
According to Kaieteur News, it was anticipated that some significant headway might have been made at the Inter-Sessional Meeting since Guyana’s cabinet would have approved a draft (Arrest Warrant) Treaty to be presented at the Heads of Government meeting.
In July, last, the regional leaders had agreed to put the Arrest Warrant Treaty in place before the end of the year, and it was also unanimously agreed at the Conference that urgent steps would have been taken to complete a number of critical security agreements.
Reportedly, the then CARICOM Chairman, Dominica’s Prime Minister, the Hon. Roosevelt Skerrit, had said that the Treaty would enhance law enforcement ability to address matters of cross-border crimes.
The Treaty was first opened for signature in 2008 but, so far, the only signatories within the 15-member CARICOM group are Suriname and Trinidad and Tobago.
It is said that political offences and matters under military law are not covered under the Treaty.
According to the document, the Treaty came about to address the difficulties experienced with extradition, and CARICOM member states have recognized that the current extradition framework among this group is complex, costly and limited, thereby disallowing a system of surrender of persons between judicial authorities.
Kaieteur News also reported that during the press conference, CARICOM ‘s Chairman, His Excellency President David Granger said that the unacceptable levels of crime in the region had engaged the attention of the Conference.
“We have resolved to do more to curb the scourge, including placing greater focus on the social determinants of crime, especially among the youth. Our Attorneys-General will take action to finalise Agreements which are essential to the implementation of the Regional Crime and Security Agenda.”
Granger also said that CARICOM would be seeking to take full advantage of opportunities for capacity-building to address existing and emerging threats, including those related to Cyber security and Cybercrime, Crime Prevention and Drug Demand Reduction.
