— several foreign experts invited to address sessions
HOME AFFAIRS Minister Clement Rohee yesterday opened the specialized workshop on “The prevention and fight against Terrorism and its financing”, which is sponsored by the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) and the Organisation of American States (OAS), in collaboration with the Government of Guyana. This workshop is being held at the Grand Coastal Hotel at Le Ressouvenir, East Coast Demerara.
Rohee said in the feature address that Government welcomes the partnership with the UNODC/Terrorism Prevention Branch and OAS/CICTE, which has been developed to build the overall capacity of Guyana to fight Terrorism in all its forms.
He said, “This is not the first time that the UNODC has mounted a mission in Guyana to address this issue. Two other visits were done in 2009 and 2010.”
The minister added that terrorism is a global problem that could affect the lives of all citizens of the world, and the economies of countries could be negatively affected by acts of terrorism, thus reducing the quality of the lives of citizens.
Rohee said the events of September 11, 2001 have admittedly brought about a number of changes internationally, where the presence of robust security systems at all airports, seaports and other critical infrastructure has become more evident.
He noted that Guyana had been directly affected by international terrorism before September 11, 2001. Rohee said, “We can recall the Cubana Disaster in the 1970s, when Guyanese nationals who were on their way to study in Cuba were killed while travelling in an aircraft. This is an example where innocent citizens could be caught in the web of terrorism.”
The minister said that Guyana has long recognized that there must be regional, hemispheric, and international cooperation to fight acts of terrorism and their financing.
He explained that, with that focus in mind, Guyana signed on to at least 12 of the 16 anti-terrorism instruments that have been agreed to by the United Nations; and additionally, Guyana is a party to anti-terrorism instruments that have been sponsored by the OAS.
Rohee pointed out that Guyana’s plan to address domestic terrorism is based on legislative intervention and capacity building of the law enforcement and regulatory institutions.
The Home Affairs Minister added that as part of this country’s legislative agenda to fight terrorism, the following steps have been taken: In 2002, the (Criminal Law) Offences Act, Chapter 8:01 was amended by Act No.7 of 2002 to criminalize terrorist acts; the Anti Money Laundering and Countering the Financing of Terrorism Act No.13 of 2009 was approved by Parliament, and is aimed at addressing issues of money laundering, including the financing of terrorism.
Rohee said that Guyana did not complete the legislative process, in that government is considering proposals that would eventually lead to the submission of an Anti-Terrorism Bill in Parliament; and this initiative could be considered to be a work in progress at the moment.
He stated that in recognition of the reality that there must be in place adequately trained officials to prevent, investigate, and prosecute persons who may want to engage in terrorism, Guyana has been making efforts to ensure that adequate training is made available to the staff of the relevant agencies.
Rohee said, “This Workshop represents one of the activities that are aimed at strengthening our capacity to fight terrorism. The Government of Guyana, over the years has, within its limited resource base, been directing significant sums of money to acquire the requisite equipment to support the respective law enforcement agencies, to enable them to carry out their terrorism prevention and detection activities. We will continue to inject the requisite funds into those agencies; and Guyana, as part of the world community, will continue to work with our partners to fight the scourge of terrorism.”
He stated that Guyana’s work will be made easier if all countries cooperate to combat the threat of terrorism, and the eagerness that has been demonstrated by the UNODC Terrorism Prevention Branch to mount this Workshop is commendable, and signals the intention of the United Nations to play a leading role in the fight against terrorism.
In brief remarks, Dr. Lystra Fletcher-Paul, FAO Representative and UN Resident Coordinator, said that since the tragedy of September 11, 2001, the world has witnessed several acts of terrorism, and as such, the workshop has been so designed to fight domestic terrorism.
She noted that terrorism is a high priority on the international agenda, which requires intelligence and action but needs to be done in full compliance with the international law’s framework and principles.
Dr. Fletcher-Paul noted that terrorism does not only fuel crimes, but trans-national crimes as well, which are punishable by international law. She stressed the efforts made on the international level, in which the international laws on terrorism codified 18 instruments over a 40-year period.
She pointed out that it is in the Caribbean’s interest to strengthen efforts to fight terrorism, and Guyana is one of the countries chosen in this respect. She lauded the local efforts made by Government, in which 12 of 16 instruments were adopted to fight terrorism and its financing locally.
However, OAS Country Representative Mr. Denis Moses said that model partnership in this hemisphere depicts the strong relations of cooperation of the countries in which a workshop can take place.
He said that information-sharing is part of the workshop, the fight against terrorism deserves cooperation at all levels, and OAS has a fundamental interest in member countries’ fight against terrorism and its financing.
Moses noted that the workshop will lay the groundwork, Guyana’s legislation will also be shared, and the information-sharing will strengthen the local capacity. He urged the participants to take full advantage of the opportunity to learn presented over the next four days, because several overseas experts were invited to lecture on terrorism.