Will Address Issues of Transborder Crime and Migration
Philipsburg:--- The Prime Minister of St. Maarten the Honourable Sarah Wescot-Williams held a first planning session with the Ad-Hoc Committee established to organize the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) regional seminar to be held on St. Maarten from the ninth to the eleventh of July. The Ad Hoc committee includes representatives from the Department of General Affairs, the Justice Ministry, the Cabinet of the Prime Minister, the Ministry of Economic Affairs, Tourism and Transportation and from PJIAE. The main goal of the seminar will be to assist States in the region with challenges related to cross border immigration within the Caribbean Region.
The Americas and Caribbean have a long history of cross-border migration and, in many instances, weaknesses in border control and identity management. For the past decade population mobility and effective border controls have become a matter of even greater concern for governments in the Caribbean and Central America, due largely to the rise of irregular migration and trans-border crime. In addition, the linkages between national (and regional) security and border controls have prompted governments to factor international organized crime and terrorism threats into their efforts to strengthen their migration and identity management capabilities. Indeed, the need for enhanced comprehensive border and identity capacity-building strategies has emerged as a priority for both individual governments and regional bodies.
The Government of St. Maarten and the ICAO will host the Regional Seminar in conjunction with the United Nations Counter-Terrorism Committee Executive Directorate (UN CTED), the INTERPOL to build on, and contribute to, the ongoing efforts and to emphasize the importance of promoting travel document security, particularly in regard to insuring the integrity of the systems through which these documents are issued and the inspection, verification and examination of such documents. Different aspects of travel document security will be covered as outlined below, with the objective of identifying existing gaps, outlining the use of tools such as biometrics, best practices using national programs to exemplify, and when identifying vulnerabilities, taking measures to effect improvements.
Border controls and identification management are central to the current global security agenda. While effective border and identification controls cannot eliminate related trans-border crime and terrorism per se, they can reduce the risks dramatically and offer a powerful tool to mitigate and counter such threats. The use of false identities and fraudulent travel documents remains an important modus operandi that tends to be exploited by trans-border criminal networks. The 9/11 and Bali terrorist attacks and the failed terror plot of 25th December 2009, among others, are stark reminders of the importance of travel document security, identity management and intelligence-led passenger processing for preventing and combating such crime.
A particular challenge that will be addressed during the meeting is related to the Caribbean region containing a considerable number of Dutch, British and French overseas territories. While not part of major regional cooperation frameworks (e.g., the Caricom), those islands are nevertheless part of the overall illegal migration and trans-border crime dynamics in the Caribbean and face common security challenges along with other Caribbean States. The proposed ICAO MRTD Regional Seminar in Sint Maarten presents a step forward in addressing those challenges in a coordinated regional manner in the spirit of inclusion and cooperation.
From the Cabinet of the Prime Minister
