Caribbean countries sign firearms agreement

Three Caribbean countries have signed a cooperation agreement for the implementation of the project promoting firearms marking in Latin America and the Caribbean.

The agreement is to be implemented with funding provided by the United States.

The accord was signed by Secretary General of the Organisation of American States (OAS), José Miguel Insulza and the foreign ministers of Barbados and Grenada and St. Lucia’s ambassador to the hemispheric body during the 41st regular session of the OAS General Assembly.

The OAS Secretary General said they welcome the commitment of the governments of Barbados, Grenada and St. Lucia to strengthening controls and building up the capacity needed to combat arms trafficking more effectively.

Barbados Foreign Affairs and Foreign Trade Maxine McClean underscored the importance of this agreement for the region and thanked the OAS and its member states for “watching over the security of the region’s citizens.”

The Grenada Foreign Minister Karl Hood stressed the significance of the accord, given that “the security of the hemisphere is immensely important and, therefore, we are extremely pleased to be party to this agreement.”

The St. Lucia ambassador Michael Louis said that the signing of the document was “a step forward in monitoring illegal arms,” and that his government was interested in “continuing to work with the OAS in this and other areas to maintain security in our countries”.