Greater regional cooperation to mitigate transnational crime in the hemisphere is needed, said Prime Minister Perry Christie, as he addressed the seventh Summit of the Americas.
According to the prime minister, addressing violent crime is central to domestic peace and survival of the countries of the hemisphere, and the proliferation of gang activity, illicit drugs, and small arms and ammunition trafficking are of particular concern for The Bahamas.
Christie told the leaders of countries in the Americas who attended the recent Summit in Panama that The Bahamas endorses the United Nations Trade Treaty as a potential valuable tool mitigate transnational crime in the hemisphere.
“We do not manufacture weapons nor do we form the demand for the drugs that find their way to our shores, yet, again, we are bound by geography, to confront these challenges,” he said.
He noted that too often as policy makers, regional leaders do not really grapple with the root causes of the problems their country face.
“The challenge of chronic high youth unemployment across the hemisphere, particularly for our young males and other vulnerable groups, alongside the challenges these groups face for equitable educational attainment, creates the context for juvenile delinquency and eventually lives of criminality.”
However, he explained that The Bahamas believes that social intervention can be a pre-emptive strike to prevent juvenile delinquency, particularly when the focus is on employment and education.
“We have therefore implemented programmes, such as the Urban Renewal Initiative, which seek to engage and reinvigorate our urban communities,” Christie told regional leaders.
“The Ministry of Education has embarked upon a policy programme that focuses on raising the educational attainment amongst the bottom 50 per cent of those in our public school systems.”
He further explained that The Bahamas has established the Bahamas Agriculture and Marine Science Institute (BAMSI) in an effort to both diversify its domestic economy and facilitate greater integration of young people into the economy.
BAMSI is expected to enhance the country’s self sufficiency and concretize agricultural production as a pillar of the Bahamian economy.
