“The work begins now”— CARICOM Advisor Issues Call to Action on Crime and Violence

With these words, Ms Beverly Harry-Emmanuel, Advisor for Social Development at the CARICOM Secretariat, closed a two-day session which featured the launch of two landmark regional instruments, the CARICOM–UNDP Diagnostic Document and the Proposed CARICOM–UN Framework for Action, held in Basseterre on 21–22 May 2026.

The event brought together government representatives, regional institutions, the UN system, civil society, academics, and international development partners. Both instruments were developed through sustained regional consultation and represent a multi-sector commitment to prevention-oriented security governance in CARICOM.

The Advisor emphasised that crime and violence in the Region are not isolated issues but deeply rooted in broader social, economic, and institutional challenges. She urged stakeholders to move beyond dialogue and embrace deliberate implementation, stressing that prevention must become a central pillar of regional development.

The Advisor also outlined clear priorities for action: strengthen data and evidence to guide decision-making, coordinate across sectors to ensure systemic responses, invest in people and institutions to build resilience and secure long-term financing beyond political cycles.

She reminded participants that the launch is not an outcome but a starting point: “We must now move from dialogue to delivery. The question is no longer whether we understand the problem—the question is whether we will act, at scale, in real systems, and with sustained impact.”

Please read her complete remarks below:

Salutations.

As we close this engagement, we do so with a clear sense of urgency and direction.

Our discussions have reinforced a fundamental truth: crime and violence in our Region are not isolated issues. They are rooted in broader social, economic, and institutional challenges, and they require integrated, systemic responses.

The Diagnostic Document and the CARICOM–UN Action Framework signal an important shift from fragmented efforts to coordinated action, from reaction to prevention, and from policy discussion to practical implementation.

Ladies and gentlemen, colleagues, let us be clear: a launch is not an outcome. It is a starting point. We must now move from dialogue to delivery. The question is no longer whether we understand the problem; there have been meetings, consultations, symposia, conferences, and more. The question is whether we will act at scale in real systems with sustained impact.

Success will depend on building the right foundations: stronger use of data and evidence, coordinated action across sectors, investment in people and institutions, and consistent, long-term financing. Just as important, these efforts must endure beyond political cycles if they are to deliver meaningful change.

Therefore, this is a call to action.

At the national level, Member States are encouraged to translate this framework into concrete measures across security, justice, health, education, and social systems, reorienting how we manage risk and build resilience.

At the regional level, we must strengthen coordination, deepen collaboration, and establish mechanisms to track progress, share learning, and scale what works.

In partnership with development agencies, investments must support long-term systems, not short-term projects, recognising prevention as an essential pillar of development.

Above all, we must remain focused on people. Across the Region, justice systems face strain, and too many of our citizens, especially the most vulnerable, are affected by delays, inequities, and limited access to opportunity. Our response must expand fair and effective alternatives, strengthen community-based approaches, and create conditions in which our people, particularly our youth, can thrive with confidence and hope.

This discussion is not only about reducing violence. It is about advancing dignity, equality, and opportunity.

Colleagues, we have the evidence, the alignment, and the framework. What remains is disciplined and collective implementation. Deliberate and intentional action.

Our success will be measured not by what we have said or launched, but by what we deliver: safer communities, stronger institutions, and a future where our people can live in security and with hope.

Let us leave here committed to action—turning plans into systems and intent into impact.

The work begins now.

Thank you.

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