Secretary-General Cites Growing Threat of Organized Transnational Crime,

 

Small Arms Proliferation in Message to Caribbean Community Summit

 

Following is UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon’s message to the thirty-second meeting of the Conference of Heads of Government of the Caribbean Community (CARICOM) in Frigate Bay, Saint Kitts and Nevis, today, 30 June:

It is a pleasure to convey my greetings to the leaders of CARICOM.

Allow me to join you in honouring Sir Edwin Carrington for his 18-year stewardship of your organization, during which the partnership with the United Nations was strengthened.  I applaud your decision to confer on him the Order of the Caribbean Community in recognition of his contribution to the region and his global political stature.

The Caribbean region is vital to the United Nations.  It is strongly committed to multilateralism and regional integration, and remains at the forefront in tackling global challenges — from climate change to strengthening democracy to rebuilding after natural disasters.  Most recently, the Caribbean region participated actively in the General Assembly High-level Meeting on AIDS, and is bringing similar dynamism to preparations for the September High-level Meeting on Non-communicable Diseases, which I am certain will be a landmark event.

When I attended your Summit last year, we devoted much of our discussions to Haiti, a priority for both CARICOM and the United Nations.  We agreed that the 2010 elections would be fundamental to ensuring Haiti’s democratic future.  The elections were challenging but ultimately successful in bringing about a historic handover from a democratically elected President to another democratically elected President from the political opposition.  CARICOM’s leadership was once again essential, especially the role played by the CARICOM/OAS [Organization of American States] Joint Electoral Observation Mission.  We all must continue working with the newly elected authorities to support recovery and reconstruction.  I remain grateful for CARICOM’s unflinching commitment in support of its newest Member State.

The financial and economic crisis continues to take a heavy toll on many Caribbean countries.  Against this background, however, you have made commendable progress towards the Millennium Development Goals.  I want to thank you for sharing your invaluable experiences during the 2010 MDG Summit.  Our work for the Millennium Development Goals continues to be made all the more challenging because of the increase in fuel and food prices.  The questions of debt relief for middle-income countries and fair access to the global trading system merit greater attention.  For my part, I continue to raise these issues in the formal and informal platforms in which I participate, including the G-8 and G-20.

Climate change is yet another urgent and growing threat to development, economic growth, public health and our very security.  You have been pioneers in calling attention to the vulnerability of small island developing States.  I commend CARICOM countries for the leadership shown in the lead-up to last year’s talks in Cancún, and will count on your strong voice as we prepare for the Seventeenth Conference of the Parties later this year in Durban.

Another challenge for Caribbean countries is the growing threat posed by organized transnational crime and the proliferation of small arms and light weapons.  We must consider this challenge in a regional context, as well as through the prisms of development, human rights, rule of law and security reform.  The United Nations system stands ready to work with you on these issues.

More broadly, the UN system is conducting an evaluation of its presence in the region.  Next month’s General Meeting between the United Nations system and CARICOM in Georgetown will provide an opportunity to discuss how we can strengthen our partnership.

In closing, I would like to reiterate my deep gratitude for the support I received from the Member States of CARICOM as the General Assembly decided to elect me for a second term as Secretary-General.  I am humbled by your trust and enlarged by our sense of common purpose.  Please rest assured that you can count on me to continue the promotion of our common objectives for development, security and human rights for all.

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For information media • not an official record