From:TheBahamasWeekly.com
Bahamas elected to vice-chair Inter-American Committee Against Terrorism working group
By Khyle Quincy Parker, Embassy of The Bahamas
Nov 3, 2009 - 3:16:14 PM
Second Secretary Charisse Rolle, CICTE Point of Concact Peter Deveaux Isaacs, Ambassador Cornelius A Smith, and Shevaun Culmer, who will be The Bahamas' representative at the CICTE Secretariat.
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The Bahamas has proposed that
governments in the region work with the private sector to leverage the
economic and innovative power of the private sector for counterterrorism
efforts in the Western Hemisphere.
The Bahamas, which serves as
Vice Chair of the Inter-American Committee Against Terrorism (CICTE),
was on Monday elected to chair the Working Group responsible for the
preparation of the Tenth Regular Session of the antiterrorism group.
The Bahamas proposed as the
theme for the upcoming CICTE meeting “public-private partnerships
in the fight against terrorism,” a theme the country’s spokesman
said would “engender lively and productive discussion and further
the dialogue on this potentially critical tool in our hemispheric counter
terrorism arsenal.”
The election occurred at the
first of three scheduled preparatory meetings designed to smooth the
path to the CICTE meeting scheduled for March 17 – 19, 2010. The Bahamas
will serve as Vice Chair of the CICTE until March 2010, and then take
over chairmanship of the committee.
The working group now chaired
by The Bahamas is responsible for drafting of the documents that will
be presented and approved at the CICTE meeting next March.
Undersecretary in the Ministry
of National Security Peter Deveaux Isaacs, who is The Bahamas’ point
of contact for the CICTE, proposed the topic of “Public-Private Partnerships
in The Fight Against Terrorism” for the upcoming committee session.
Mr. Isaacs said that terrorism
was among the greatest threats to civilisation, destroying life, fostering
conflict, weakening economies and undermining progress.
“However it is defined, there
is global consensus that acts of terrorism should not be accepted under
any circumstances,” he said, citing the Organisation of American States
counterterrorism
regime, which is “to promote and develop cooperation among member
states to prevent, combat and eliminate terrorism.”
Mr. Isaacs noted that the traditional
model of combating terrorism is based fundamentally, and almost exclusively
on the policies and actions of states. He said this was understandable
since security is fundamentally the responsibility of the state.
Peter Deveaux Isaacs - Undersecretary in the Ministry of National Security. Mr. Deveaux Isaacs is The Bahamas Point of Contact for the Inter-American Committee Against Terrorism. He proposed the theme for the upcoming CICTE meeting on behalf of The Bahamas delegation.
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“However, recent terrorist
events, including the bombing of commercial centres, tourism facilities,
and critical transportation and utilities infrastructures, have made
it clear that in order to reduce both the threat of terrorism and our
vulnerability to it, joint efforts between governments, businesses and
civil society should be advanced,” he urged.
He added that “the cost of
combating terrorism and the substantial resources that must be mobilised
to wage an effective counterterrorism strategy place a tremendous burden
on states, particularly during the present global economic crisis. This
is especially true for the small developing states in the hemisphere,
as it is for larger states.”
“Further, there is recognition
that the traditional model mentioned above, in the main, excludes the
vital information, intelligence, and creative and innovative capacities
of the private sector and civil society, which could be brought to bear
to combat terrorism,” he said.
Mr. Isaacs told the group that
a deliberate effort to involve the business community and civil actors
in the formulation of policy is underway in several countries around
the globe including countries in the Western Hemisphere. HE explained
that the idea is to encourage the private sector and civil society to
assume, in partnership with the government, ownership of the fight against
terrorism.
“Through mutual and effective
sharing of information, knowledge and experience and through joint coordinated
actions, governments and businesses can develop, improve and implement
measures to prevent and counter terrorism,” he said. “Such voluntary
partnerships, made in a spirit of cooperation and based on the respectives
roles, responsibilities and interests of the partners, can be of great
value in a broad range of sectors.”
Mr. Isaacs said the theme,
while consistent with the CICTE’s mission and considered by the United
Nations and the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe
for example, is relatively new to the OAS.
In response to questions, Mr.
Isaacs stressed that the theme recognizes that sole responsibility for
preventing and countering terrorism, as well as for managing the consequences
of terrorist acts, rests with states.
“Nonetheless,” he said,
“we believe that we must now allow that given the nature and scale
of today's constantly evolving terrorist threat, and just as governments
and businesses cooperate to build prosperity, so too they should consider
collaborating their efforts to counter terrorism.”
“Our hope is that the forum
of CICTE X will permit us an opportunity to consider the possibilities
and the parameters of cooperation between the public and private sectors
in combating terrorism.”
In addition to proposing the
theme for CICTE X, the Working Group also proposed a draft agenda and
draft calendar for the meeting, as well as a list of potential invitees
and a draft workplan for 2010.
The Inter-American Committee
Against Terrorism (CICTE) serves as the major OAS institution tasked
with coordination of efforts to protect the citizens of the member nations
from the scourges of terrorism. Functioning through the exchange of
information amongst the preeminent leaders, subject matter experts and
decision-makers work together to strengthen hemispheric solidarity and
security.
CICTE is composed of all Member
States of the OAS and holds one regular session each year as a forum
for discussion and decision-making on counterterrorism issues, measures,
and cooperation. Member States designate a competent national authority,
a principal representative, alternate representatives, and advisors.
Member States also appoint
one or more National Points of Contact with competence in the field
of prevention and elimination of terrorism to serve as the principal
liaison among governments of the Member States and with the CICTE Secretariat
for developing cooperation programs between them and the CICTE Secretariat.
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