U.S. and CARICOM Co-Operate to Stop Arms Trade

On December 3, the U.S. and Caribbean Community (CARICOM) countries pledged to enhance regional cooperation to prevent, combat, and eradicate the illicit trafficking in small arms and light weapons in the region.^[1] The U.S. State Department asserts that Illicit trafficking in small arms and light weapons poses a serious threat to the security of the Western Hemisphere because this thriving black market provides weapons to terrorist groups, drug traffickers, gangs, and other criminal organizations.^[2]

The initiative responds to the agreement between the CARICOM Foreign Ministers and Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice on March 22, 2006 calling for a partnership against the illicit trafficking in small arms and light weapons and reaffirmed during the U.S.-CARICOM Summit.^[3] The United States and CARICOM member states issued a regional initiative outlining concrete and practical measures they will undertake to address the illicit trafficking in small arms and light weapons throughout the region.^[4]

The CARICOM-U.S. Initiative states that the Caribbean Community and the United States of America resolve:

1. to combat illicit arms trafficking relentlessly. They welcome the active and vigorous cooperation between CARICOM Member States and the U.S. to eradicate this problem and support enhanced efforts in this area; and
2. to support each others efforts as well as those of other states to combat this threat and where possible, to provide technical and other assistance to this end. They also pledge to exchange information and experiences so that they can benefit from each other's expertise in addressing this pressing security challenge. CARICOM Member States and the U.S. recognize that enhanced multilateral cooperation is essential because the arms trafficking threat transcends borders and affects all nations.

The Member States of the Caribbean Community reiterate their firm support of international treaties and instruments aimed at combating the illicit trade in small arms, light weapons, and ammunition. In this regard they view the implementation of the 2001 United Nations “Programme of Action to Prevent, Combat, and Eradicate the Illicit Trade of Small Arms and Light Weapons in All Its Aspects” as an important first step towards efforts to combat this deadly trade.^[5]

Drawing on their mutual vision of Inter-American security, and their joint objectives as democracies, CARICOM Member States and the U.S. agree to:

1. enhance import and export controls consistent with common international practices and standards;
2. improve information sharing on entities and individuals involved in illicit trafficking, and the routes they use to traffic arms;
3. promote the tracing of firearms recovered in connection with illicit activities in order to provide investigative leads;
4. deepen law enforcement and customs cooperation;
5. enhance national stockpile control, management, and security practices;
6. encourage destruction of at risk, obsolete, or excess national stockpiles;
7. promote implementation of the OAS Guidelines on the control and security of MANPADS;
8. provide technical and other assistance, as appropriate, to affected states to support their efforts to combat this threat; and
9. promote programs aimed at reducing the availability and use of illicit firearms.^[6]

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^[1] Office of the Spokesman, CARICOM-U.S. Initiative to Combat Illicit Trafficking in Small Arms and Light Weapons, U.S. Department of State, December 3, 2007, available at http://www.state.gov/r/pa/prs/ps/2007/dec/96146.htm (last visited December 30, 2007).
^[2] Id.
^[3] Id.
^[4] Id.
^[5] Id.
^[6] Id.