48th Regular Meeting of the Conference of Heads of Government of CARICOM
Statement
By
Dr the Most Honourable Andrew Holness ON, PC, MP
Prime Minister of Jamaica
At the
48th Regular Meeting of the Conference of
Heads of Government of CARICOM
On
February 19, 2025
_______________________________________
First, let me say thanks to your government and the people of Barbados for the excellent arrangements and hospitality. My own view, Mayor, is that the meeting went very well. And I join with my brother Irfaan in filing a claim to your Labour Department for having us work till one o’clock in the morning but it was all good for the people of the region and I believe the people of CARICOM can feel confident in the leadership.
The issues that were addressed were relevant issues, issues for the development of the region and we grappled with them in real ways to seek solutions. One area of grave concern would be the declared change in US trade policy. Many businesses have reached out, the private sector is indeed concerned. I believe that the posture of CARICOM is that we must be prepared. We can’t approach this with any panic, and we should also accept that with these changes, the concern shouldn’t only be that there would be disruption in the normal routine of trade, but that there could also be great opportunities for the region.
The region has a well-established office for trade negotiations and it has worked very well for us and we are using the incredible resources in that office to study the challenges that could come and to provide us guidance, all the governments in the region guidance as to how we should structure our trade policy to both mitigate any fallout, but take advantage of the opportunities. We will, therefore, be conducting a very detailed review of our trade situation with the United States and we hope that in another three or four months, we will have a document which will give us a policy direction and give advice and support to the governments of the region as to how to treat with any potential change that may happen in US foreign policy.
We also discussed issues of security, and I know that Prime Minister Rowley will deal with the security issues but while I have the microphone, it is of critical importance that the region treats with the issues of gangs and Jamaica has taken a very strong position on treating with gangs. We see gangs as an existential threat. Obviously, the ultimate case would be with the situation in Haiti but we also see gangs acting in ways and committing acts that can only be described as acts of terror and therefore I have called in Jamaica, and I’m making the call now at this CARICOM platform that there needs to be a global war on gangs in the same way that there is a global war on terror.
If the gangs are allowed free reign, they will challenge the effectiveness and undermine states, which we are seeing happening not just in the region in CARICOM but in the wider central and South American region. We discussed the issue, I believe there is general consensus that in addition to treating with the security issue from a public health perspective and treating with the root causes of social disenfranchisement and economic marginalization, that there needs to be a firm hand in treating with the gangs, particularly as it relates to the transnational element of the gangs which means that the countries in the region would have to have greater cooperation and sharing of intelligence and resources in tackling this very grave threat.
Just to point out that we’re dealing with right now speculations as to what the tariffs could be. There have been no announcements relative to the region, the CARICOM region, specific to tariffs. What we are being is proactive and preparing. The citizens of CARICOM should know that significant resources are invested in a trade negotiation mechanism, which is a standing well-established mechanism that deals with trade issues, not just with the United States, but with all of our trading partners and what we’re doing is to look at what the potential fallout could be if there is an adverse use of tariff relative to the region.
Now, we also should be very much aware that as there may be changes in the future, the changes may not all be negative. They may not all be disruptive. The changes may very well present opportunities and so equally we’re looking at what the situation could be from the positive side as well. What we don’t want to happen in the region is panic and so we are taking a very proactive approach in preparing for whatever changes may come. The region is resilient. The region is strong. We have strong leadership and we are prepared to negotiate. We are prepared to discuss and I believe we have a strong basis on which to do this. So, I would not want the region to take a panic approach to this issue.
I think the region should begin to consider carefully that the level of criminal enterprise that exists is at some times over and beyond the capacity of regular law enforcement and regular legislative tools that are available to treat with ordinary criminality. The use of violence in a criminal pursuit and then the spread of fear, sometimes deliberate that comes from that to weaken states, to undermine institutions, to corrupt public officials, to make the state incapable of addressing the issue, should not be treated as ordinary criminality. I only need to point to the situation that exists in Haiti.
And then to just turn slightly from that to what we see emerging in other CARICOM countries with gangs that are arming themselves deliberately, stockpiling weapons, seeking, as I’ve said before, to capture communities and corrupt public officials; that should not be considered as ordinary criminality. That is a threat to the state, and Caribbean nations must face that squarely and call it what it is. These are acts of terror, and they are oftentimes transnational. The criminals in Trinidad may have links to criminals in Jamaica. Certainly, the criminals in Haiti are transporting guns to Jamaica and possibly likewise. Certainly, criminals in Miami who some of them are our nationals, are illegally trafficking weapons to Kingston and therefore, the government of Jamaica alone trying to treat with the issue would not be as effective as if we had a global approach, a regional approach, and certainly a CARICOM approach to treating with this issue of criminal enterprise.
We call them gangs, but I maintain that that is a euphemism. They are not just socially marginalized youngsters who have been deprived of social and economic opportunities. Many of them have gone into this as an enterprise, as a business, looking to weaken governments and we must take a very strong approach to it from a legislative perspective to create the laws that will enable us to have surveillance, to detain them, of course, within the accepted rules of human rights and the treatment of citizens but certainly, there needs to be what we call in Jamaica enhanced measures to treat with this new and emerging threat to our democracy.
The support for Haiti regionally remains strong and our commitment to Haiti is unchanged. The impact of CARICOM and the support of CARICOM for Haiti is not just manifest by boots on the ground. We should recognize that the good office support provided by the Eminent Persons Group was instrumental in helping and supporting our Haitian brothers and sisters in coming to the position where they are now, which is a far better position than they were a year ago in terms of the Transitional Presidential Council and so we shouldn’t devalue or dismiss or ignore that part of CARICOM’s effort.
The commitment for troops and other personnel remains. Jamaica sent a command group to Haiti to assist in the development of logistics and planning. That group is due for rotation. They’ve been there for almost six months. Upon rotation, a larger group will be sent, possibly double the size and then shortly thereafter, the full complement that we committed of 200 will be on the ground. We should also bear in mind that the establishment and preparation for a deployment is not a straightforward one and we have to ensure that when we deploy, issues such as the availability of medivac, the availability of facilities to properly and appropriately house the personnel, that those are in existence and that may not have always been the case so we have to build out and deploy troops according to the facilities that are available.
I am confident and I am satisfied that all the facilities will be available for full deployment and for a full rollout of all the commitments that we have made. I’m heartened by what I heard from the Secretary-General. I won’t go into details as to what was discussed. That will, I’m certain, be discussed publicly and the approach that will have to be made again at the Security Council. We’re not satisfied, obviously, with where we are in Haiti but I think we should also look at the progress that we have made with of the deployment of troops certainly from Kenya and other countries in the region and what Jamaica has done and other Caribbean countries have provided. And what I am also very heartened by is that the Haitian people themselves are making the effort to take charge of their own situation.
Prime Minister Rowley has more time to spend in the pavilion as a spectator. We, his colleagues who remain on the field, wish him well. And for me personally, coming in as Prime Minister in 2016 and meeting Prime Minister Rowley at a time when relations between Jamaica and Trinidad were possibly at an all-time low where there were threats of boycott and threats of blocking citizens movements and then we met and struck up a friendship. And I said, listen, Prime Minister, come to Jamaica, come and visit me, man. Let us talk this thing over. And Prime Minister Rowley graciously accepted the visit to Jamaica. You were my first international guest and we had a very good talk about the issues. We developed a very strong relationship and we were able to resolve the issues. And I think today, trade is better, the movement of citizens between the two countries is better. I think the region is better and I want to publicly say how pleased I am and how privileged I feel to have served with you as a colleague in this fraternity and that you are truly the epitome of a Caribbean man. Definitely, you will be missed on the scene, but I’m sure your voice will be heard.
Walk good, my friend.