CAF Joins Alliance for Security, Justice, and Development to Combat Organised Crime in Latin America and the Caribbean

The alliance, an initiative of the IDB, was launched in Bridgetown, Barbados on Thursday 12 December 2024 during the two-day Regional Security and Justice Summit. Eighteen countries from the region signed the unprecedented "Barbados Declaration" formalising their participation in the Alliance. These countries include Argentina, Barbados, Belize, Brazil, Chile, Costa Rica, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, Guatemala, Guyana, Honduras, Jamaica, Panama, Paraguay, Peru, Suriname, The Bahamas, and Uruguay.

The Alliance for Security, Justice, and Development seeks to tackle the escalating challenges of organised crime through a comprehensive, multifaced approach. As criminal networks become increasingly transnational and sophisticated, the Alliance seeks to strengthen the region’s response through improved collaboration, enhancing the capacity of national and regional institutions, and implementation of evidence-based solutions.

"The impact of organised crime on our region is not just a security issue; it is a development crisis that undermines our region’s progress. It threatens the lives and wellbeing of our citizens, and it has huge social costs, absorbing significant resources for crime-fighting strategies, which could be used for other development priorities. By joining this Alliance, CAF is again demonstrating its commitment to creating a safer, more just, and prosperous region," said Dr. Stacy Richards-Kennedy, CAF’s Regional Manager for the Caribbean.

The Alliance aims to address the root causes and consequences of organised crime through three pillars: protecting vulnerable communities, strengthening security and justice institutions, and dismantling illicit markets by reducing financial flows that fuel these networks. It also brings together governments and government agencies, civil society and multilateral development institutions to address the issue.

As a member of the Alliance, CAF will leverage its expertise, financing and technical assistance to support projects, scale up interventions, and build institutional capacities across the region.

In addressing the summit, Dr. Lea Gimenez, Advisor to CAF’s Executive President, said “at CAF, security is understood as a comprehensive effort to establish, strengthen and protect democratic civil order, eliminating threats of violence and promoting an environment where rules and laws are applied fairly. This multidimensional approach not only encompasses the prevention of crime and violence, but also the strengthening of trustworthy and effective institutions.”

Eleven organisations are also participating in the alliance, including the Organisation of American States (OAS), the International Criminal Police Organisation (INTERPOL), the World Bank, the Caribbean Development Bank, Caricom IMPACS, the Global Initiative Against Transnational Organised Crime (GI-TOC), the Pan American Development Foundation (PADF), the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), Regional Security System (RSS), and the Italo-Latin American Institute (IILA). Additional countries and partner institutions are expected to join.