Joint Statement Second Caribbean-United States Security Cooperation Dialogue

Caribbean Basin Security Initiative
Joint Statement
Second Caribbean-United States (U.S.) Security Cooperation Dialogue

10 November 2011
Nassau, The Bahamas

We, the Governments of Antigua and Barbuda; The Bahamas; Barbados; Belize; the Commonwealth of Dominica; the Dominican Republic; Grenada; the Co-operative Republic of Guyana; the Republic of Haiti; Jamaica; St. Kitts and Nevis; Saint Lucia; St. Vincent and the Grenadines; the Republic of Suriname; the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago; and the United States of America,

REAFFIRMING our commitment to the Caribbean Basin Security Initiative (CBSI) Partnership launched on 27 May, 2010, at the Inaugural Caribbean-U.S. Security Cooperation Dialogue in Washington, DC;

REAFFIRMING also our keen interest in advancing our commitments stated in the Caribbean-United States Declaration of Principles; the Caribbean-United States Plan of Action on Security Cooperation; and the Joint Caribbean-United States Framework for Security Cooperation Engagement;

RECALLING the 2010 Commitment of Bridgetown and the 2011 Joint Press Release on the U.S.-Caribbean Ministerial Meeting, which celebrated the strong spirit of cooperation underlying the CBSI Partnership;

RECOGNIZING the key security priorities identified over this past year by the CBSI Technical Working Groups and outlined in the Joint Implementation Report;

UNDERSCORING the value of international partner support and the need to maximize the effectiveness and sustainability of that support in order to reduce duplication of efforts and generate a more effective impact in advancing common security objectives in the Caribbean; and

ACKNOWLEDGING the importance of greater regional coordination and sustainability of our efforts over the long-term to effectively address crime and violence in the Caribbean to advance the safety and security of our citizens and countries;

JOINTLY PLEDGE to work together in a spirit of partnership and mutual respect to –

• Strengthen the Caribbean Community (CARICOM) security structure and institutions, such as the CARICOM Implementation Agency for Crime and Security (IMPACS), and improve ties between CARICOM and the Dominican Republic, in order to more effectively promote regional and international coordination, the sharing of best practices, and the implementation of the CBSI to address the security challenges facing the Caribbean.

• Develop and implement sustainable programmes to address the security challenges in the Caribbean region.

• Adopt policy and legislative reforms, as appropriate, in accordance with national laws to implement information sharing mechanisms on a region-wide basis, including the sharing of –
  • radar and sensor data for the purpose of detecting, monitoring, and interdicting illicit activities in the Caribbean; and
  • law enforcement information such as fingerprint and ballistics data in order to strengthen the fight against crime.
• Develop a common strategy, as well as standard operating procedures or other measures including, as appropriate, those provided in the Caribbean Regional Maritime Agreement^[1] and the CARICOM Maritime and Airspace Security Cooperation Agreement, that allow for the coordination of maritime interdiction efforts between and among Caribbean countries, to include regional security institutions such as the Regional Security System (RSS).

• Adopt a sustained approach to citizen safety in the Caribbean by strengthening budgetary measures to meet recurring security costs.

• Develop a sustainable regional defence, maritime and security training capacity in the Caribbean that utilizes existing national and regional training facilities and expertise to establish and maintain standards for regional training.

• Enact, as necessary, and harmonise legislation in the Caribbean that allows for the seizure of assets used in illicit activity and, in turn, makes these assets available to support law enforcement and crime prevention initiatives as a means to strengthen national and regional security capabilities.

• Adopt a coordinated approach for engaging development partners in the implementation of social development and crime prevention initiatives;

• Establish a regional repository of best practices in the areas of crime prevention and social justice to facilitate networking, policy development, and programming.

• Develop a regional juvenile justice policy and harmonised legislation promoting community intervention and alternatives to sentencing and incarceration.

• Create a mechanism for dissemination of information on CBSI and national efforts to address crime and violence in the Caribbean.

^[1] Agreement concerning cooperation in suppressing illicit Maritime and Air Trafficking in Narcotics and Psychotropic Substances in the Caribbean Area (“Caribbean Regional Maritime Agreement”), opened for signature at San Jose, 10 April 2003, and entered into force on 18 September 2001.