For the Caribbean and Americas Region Launched
Seminar Will Address Issues of Transborder Crime and Migration
The Website for the International Civil Aviation Organization Regional Seminar to be held on St. Maarten from the ninth until eleventh of July. The website link is http://www.icao.int/Meetings/mrtd-SintMaarten2013 and offers stakeholders important information on the important Civil Aviation Seminar to be held on St. Maarten. 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 in early March. 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 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.
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.