Address by Prime Minister of Grenada Hon. Dickon Mitchell on the occasion of the Regional Security System (RSS) Council of Ministers Meeting Grand Anse, St George, Grenada, 22 March 2023
It has been my genuine honour to hold the Chairmanship of the Regional Security System (RSS) Council of Ministers, in my capacity as the Prime Minister of Grenada, during its ruby celebrations.
It is also my distinct pleasure to be hosting the first face-to-face meeting of the RSS Council of Ministers since the 2019 meeting held in St Vincent and the Grenadines.
Over the past 40 years, the Regional Security System has undoubtedly proven that cooperation and collaboration between governments and security institutions, whether regionally or internationally, can result in tremendous benefits to the people of the region.
The RSS model, as a non-governmental, international organisation with nonbureaucratic operational efficiency, is admired by government officials and security practitioners globally.
As Prime Minister of Grenada, the Member State where the RSS Treaty was signed on 5 March 1996, replacing the 1982 Memorandum of Understanding, I am particularly delighted to welcome the Cooperative Republic of Guyana as the first country to join the Regional Security System in almost 30 years, since Grenada joined in 1985. This recent accession is tangible evidence that the RSS continues to provide significant value to regional security.
Steadfast Support
Reflecting on the work of the Regional Security System, I am immensely proud of the organisation’s record of accomplishment and its ability to pivot and adapt in response to converging threats. As Grenadians, we can never forget that very first RSS operation in 1983 that restored the safety of our people and secured our streets, nor the overwhelming assistance rendered by our RSS family in the aftermath of the devastation wrought by Hurricane Ivan 2 decades later.
As we emerge from 3 of the most challenging years in recent history, it would be remiss of me not to recognise and honour the efforts of staff at the RSS Headquarters in adopting and executing their functions effectively in very trying circumstances.
It is worth mentioning that the RSS Airwing was single-handedly responsible for transporting Covid-19 samples from countries throughout the region to the Caribbean Public Health Agency (CARPHA) laboratory in Trinidad and Tobago for testing.
The grave dangers associated with this exercise cannot be overstated, as any exposure to the virus at the time was sure to result in dire consequences not only for the individuals concerned, but also for their work colleagues, families, and friends.
During this period, the team also effectively managed the regional support needed following the volcanic eruption in St Vincent and the Grenadines.
The officers of the RSS Airwing must therefore be commended for their bravery and sterling dedication in serving the region throughout such dangerous circumstances. Even now, as we speak, the RSS has been deployed to our sister country of St Lucia to assist in restoring order and calm to a section of the country that has recently experienced a spike in gun-related criminal activity.
Moreover, Airwing continues to provide valuable service, as many of my colleagues here can attest, in moving our officials around the region due to the absence of adequate commercial airlift.
It is my hope that this challenge of inadequate airlift in the region will soon be addressed positively and that the Airwing will concentrate fully on one of its primary missions, drug interdiction.
Towards a stronger future
While the RSS mechanism includes only 8 countries within the Caribbean, the people of our region from The Bahamas to Guyana have benefitted from the excellent work of the organisation.
Cognisant of regional security dynamics and the evolving security challenges of the region, the RSS continues to develop a range of initiatives aimed at enhancing the capabilities of our law enforcement agencies and security personnel.
The RSS Training Institute in collaboration with the other directorates and the support of critical partners, facilitates the execution of training exercises that provide states and forces personnel the opportunity to develop requisite skills sets through practical real-life exercises, both strategic and tactical.
This training is an essential prerequisite for successful operations when troops are deployed to any Member State during an internal crisis or in the aftermath of a natural hazard.
Notwithstanding its operational work, the RSS is more than the mere sum of its tactical response capabilities. Strategically, the institution is tasked with protecting and securing our nations’ borders through the planning, preparation and training of law enforcement and military agencies, the mentoring and development of financial investigators, the recovery and extraction of digital evidence and the collection and analysis of crime data to support evidence-based policing.
Partnering for success
The RSS acknowledges that criminals and their associates adapt continually to the changing environment, and as such, the response mechanisms adopted to fight serious organised crime and transnational crime must align with the developing threat environment.
Consistent with this understanding, the RSS continues to build out its capacity and that of Member States in responding to transnational crime beyond a traditional approach of incarceration and fines. The vision is to bankrupt the criminals by removing their “heartbeat” — the money, profit, or assets involved in engineering, or resulting from, these criminal activities.
To this end, the RSS through its Asset Recovery Unit (ARU), in collaboration with the Caribbean Financial Action Task Force (CFATF), is working to implement the FATF 40 Recommendations and 11 Immediate Outcomes across the Member States.
Further, the ARU cooperates with other agencies such as Caricom IMPACS to develop capacity in asset recovery and financial investigations in the wider Caribbean region.
Our citizenry can rest assured that the response mechanism of the RSS, along with its international diplomatic relations and partnerships, will function effectively to counter current and emerging threats to our societies.
Our region is at present battling the scourge of firearms and ammunition importation into our countries from sources outside of our shores, where these menacing tools are manufactured. The easy access to firearms in our countries is one of the greatest threats that we currently face, and the various criminal activities spawned from the use of illegal firearms have far-reaching negative impacts on our people and societies.
It is widely accepted that economic and social development are difficult to achieve where turmoil and security instability exists. We must therefore continue to make every effort to ensure that the security environment in our countries is such that it encourages investment and supports the several critical economic activities that drive our development.
We recognise and appreciate the efforts of our international partners, including INTERPOL, US Customs and Border Protection and other US Institutions in lending their assistance to stem the flow of these dangerous weapons. Caricom has also recently established the Gun Crime Intelligence Unit to assist in this effort.
We also recognise the part that we in the region must play in strengthening our border protection mechanisms and reducing the demand for illegal firearms among our people.
Building institutional strength for continued regional safety
One of the major considerations that our Council is tasked with is the approval of the annual budget for the work that the RSS Headquarters is expected to coordinate and execute.
It is no secret that the economies of the region are constrained and carry heavy social responsibilities, which restrict the amount of capital that can be allocated to the RSS and other institutions. We therefore have a tremendous appreciation for the contributions that our International Partners continue to make to support the efforts of the RSS, in particular Canada, the European Union, the United Kingdom, and the United States of America.
The Caribbean Development Bank also stands out as a regional institution and strategic partner as they have provided tremendous support towards improving institutional capacity, refining cyber security policies, as well as the development and implementation of regional and national Maritime Strategies. This partnership is one of the many paths the RSS is taking to ensure continued regional safety.
Conclusion
In conclusion, the challenges we face are complex and evolving, and we must continue to be proactive and nimble in our responses. This will require a sustained effort and investment in the resources necessary to ensure the success of the RSS.
As we continue to work towards the promotion of regional security, I call on all members of the RSS to remain committed to our shared vision and to work together, in the spirit of cooperation and collaboration, towards a safer and more secure future for our region.