BRIDGETOWN, Barbados – The Caribbean Nations Security Conference (CANSEC) got underway here on Wednesday, with Barbados Prime Minister Mia Mottley urging closer collaboration in dealing with new areas of conflict such as climate change and the use of technology as a major contributor to cyber-related criminal activities.
Barbados Prime Minister Mia MottleyIn addition, Mottley has reiterated the need for the Caribbean to remain as a zone of peace and for meaningful reform of the 77-year-old United Nations, particularly the Security Council, which she said should reflect the changing global environment.
BRIDGETOWN, Barbados – The Caribbean Nations Security Conference (CANSEC) got underway here on Wednesday, with Barbados Prime Minister Mia Mottley urging closer collaboration in dealing with new areas of conflict such as climate change and the use of technology as a major contributor to cyber-related criminal activities.
In addition, Mottley has reiterated the need for the Caribbean to remain as a zone of peace and for meaningful reform of the 77-year-old United Nations, particularly the Security Council, which she said should reflect the changing global environment.
“We already know through our commitment to democracy that we cannot have first class and second class citizens and if we know that as a commitment to democracy then our commitment to international policy and stability equally means that we cannot have first class and second class nations.
“This issue of the reform of the United Nations as well as the reform of the Bretton Woods institutions is absolutely critical today if we are going to go forward with credibility and stability in this world and I trust and pray that these conversations would take place across the world and across every sector”.
Daniel Erikson, Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for the Western Hemisphere (CMC Photo)
Mottley said that the cooperation as exhibited over the years through CANSEC “has removed a lot of the doubts and difficulties that might otherwise be influencing relationships.
“To that extent this is best seen of course in humanitarian assistance and disaster relief….because in the Eastern and Southern Caribbean, apart from the other wars that are traditional, we fight now daily, weekly, monthly, the wars against the climate crisis,” she said, noting that apart from the hurricanes, some countries have drought occurring on a daily basis.
She said it was also important for there to be closer collaboration in dealing with the impact of technology “because…technology as we know is a tool and a tool can be used for good or it can be used for evil.
“It is up to us to ensure that it is used for good,” Mottley said, saying that Caribbean people “know only too well what it is to be a theatre of war.
“For the majority of our modern existence we were a theatre of war for people playing out their want to vanquish, to conquer and to literally control other regions and other people,” she said, noting that in the post-independence region, Caribbean countries had determined that this not what was required for their existence.
“It is against the backdrop therefore that we come together to work as one within the Caribbean Community and the wider Caribbean region to ensure that in so doing we can remove those clear and patent threats, whether those threats are related to the climate crisis, whether they relate to counter narcotics or illegal weapons, whether they relate to our ability to be able to (ward) the consequences of fake news and social unrest, whether they relate to the consequences of war elsewhere in a globally interdependent world, that effectively lead to price and commodity changes,” Mottley said.
The U.S. Southern Command (SOUTHCOM) and the Barbados Defense Force (BDF) are co-hosting the two-day CANSEC that is being held under the theme “Multinational Cooperation in a Changing Operational Environment”.
According to statement issued by the organizers, the aim of CANSEC is to promote regional and hemispheric security cooperation through expanding networks and to build enduring partnerships among military, industry and government officials.
It said emphasis will also be placed on counter terrorism initiatives, counter illicit flows operations, coordination for humanitarian assistance/disaster relief and protecting the Blue Economy with a view to countering transnational threats and enhancing regional security.
In his address to the opening ceremony, Daniel Erikson, Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for the Western Hemisphere at United States Department of Defense, said Washington regarded the Caribbean “as friends” in maintaining the security of the region..
“We are just not partners but friends. We share a bond that is based on the believe in democracy, rule of law and the responsibility of government institutions to serve the people,” he said, adding while the meeting was taking place in a zone of peace in the Caribbean, “we also meet against the backdrop of war.
“I would like to commend our Caribbean partners for condemning the Russian aggression in Ukraine. We must stand together against war and for peace,” Erikson said, adding that the prosperity and security of the United States are linked to the growth, prosperity and security of the Caribbean region.
“CANSEC is a clear demonstration of the Department of Defense's commitment to strengthen these bonds and partnerships,” he said, adding that it also demonstrates Washington’s commitment to strengthening these relationships and to address shared interest and threats.
“We seek to remain the trusted defense and security partner of Caribbean nations. Our focus include such areas as climate change, response to the COVID-19 pandemic…disaster resilience, humanitarian assistance and disaster relief and counter narcotic trafficking to name just a few issues,” Erikson added.
