CARICOM has declared a war on guns.
This, as the CARICOM Heads emerged from the two-day Regional Symposium to Address Crime and Violence as a Public Health Issue.
The official declaration stated, “We declare a War on Guns to combat the illegal trade which provides the weapons that contribute significantly to crime and violence in our Region causing death, disabilities and compromising the safety of our citizens.”
“We call on the United States of America to join the Caribbean in our War on Guns and urgently adopt and take action to stop the illegal exportation of firearms and ammunition into the Caribbean”, it added.
As the regional leaders “lament the disproportionate share of our national budgets that we are compelled to allocate to measures to address crime violence and national security, as well as mental health and other health related challenges that directly result from the illegal exportation of guns to our region”, CARICOM underscored its continued commitment “to utilise all human, financial and other resources to rid our Region of the scourge of illicit weapons”.
“We reiterate that the Caribbean must be a Zone of Peace, which will allow us to achieve our goal of a secure, stable and prosperous Community for all our citizens”, the declaration added.
Action in this regard has kicked off with a decision to ban automatic rifles in the entire region.
“Caricom heads have agreed today to take a decision to ban the use and presence of assault weapons in the civilian population of our nations”, revealed Prime Minister of Trinidad and Tobago Dr Keith Rowley.
Dr Rowley explained further that the move is necessary at this time to ensure that the situation in the region does not continue to escalate.