Greater collaborations necessary to counter drug-trafficking across the region

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–DPP implores stakeholders during international seminar in Martinique DIRECTOR of Public Prosecutions (DPP), Shalimar Ali-Hack, SC, has emphasised the need for greater stakeholder collaboration in order to curb the drug-trafficking issues which the region faces. She implored leaders to examine more partnerships, during a recent international seminar on the Fight against Drug Trafficking and Treating Addictions in the Caribbean and Guiana Shield in Martinique. The DPP spoke extensively on Guyana’s co-operation with its regional and international counterparts in the fight against the illicit trade.

Guyana’s DPP agreed that there is a need for regional networking and collaboration with the security forces. The idea, she related, is for the respective agencies in all the countries to co-operate in the fight. “We have to build on the co-operation already existing in the region. There were presentations on the effects that drugs are having on the economies and the people.

Participants at the international seminar on the fight against drug trafficking “There are persons suffering from addiction and this poses a problem for our human resources and ultimately affects our economies. Drug-treatment courts are seen as one of the means of tackling this scourge which is plaguing our societies. Guyana has joined other jurisdictions and now has a Drug-Treatment Court,” she said.

The main focus of the three-day event was to discuss regional co-operation amongst the territories in the Guiana Shield. Emphasis was placed on threat assessment, the conventional network and new perspectives of co-operation. Drug addiction and treatment were also addressed, including the role of the Drug Treatment Court.

Held under the theme, “Never has Drugs Been Produced so much in the world, Never has it been so Distributed,” the meeting recognised that the Caribbean Basin and Guiana Shield have been faced with an increased drug-trafficking scourge destined for markets in the USA and Europe. Prosecutor General at the Court of Appeal of Cayenne, French Guiana, Mr Joel Sollier, said: “It is becoming essential for an effective fight and to protect our overseas territories, to strengthen judicial co-operation, not only at the level of the islands of the region, but also with the United States and nearby American states, such as Venezuela and Colombia and those particularly affected and carrying security challenges such as Ecuador and Brazil.”

He further noted that the drugs phenomenon is often accompanied by an increase in violent and related crimes, and has a strong societal impact on various populations, health wise. “Drugs kill and Addiction can be a never-ending struggle for users.”

The United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) in 2021 specified that 39.5 million people worldwide suffered from illicit substance abuse disorders, an increase of 45 per cent in 10 years. Presentations and roundtable discussions were made by respective judicial delegations looking at the threat and the necessary co-operation and action required to address it.

Other CARICOM States, St. Lucia, St, Kitts and Nevis, Jamaica and Suriname also attended the seminar organised by the Ministry of Justice of Martinique. mhe Meeting also included non-CARICOM countries, France, Quebec Canada, Ecuador, Brazil, The Dominican Republic, the United States of America, Saint Maarten and Panama.

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