[Congressional Bills 110th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H. Res. 865 Introduced in House (IH)]
110th CONGRESS
1st Session
H. RES. 865
Expressing the sense of the House of Representatives that the March
2007 report of the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime and the
International Bank for Reconstruction and Development makes an
important contribution to the understanding of the high levels of crime
and violence in the Caribbean, and that the United States should work
with Caribbean countries to address crime and violence in the region.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
December 11, 2007
Ms. Clarke (for herself, Mr. Engel, Mr. Burton of Indiana, Ms. Jackson-
Lee of Texas, Mr. Rangel, Ms. Waters, Mr. Fortuno, Mr. Meeks of New
York, Mr. Payne, Mr. Faleomavaega, Mr. Hare, Ms. McCollum of Minnesota,
Mr. Hastings of Florida, Mr. Doggett, Mr. McNulty, Mr. Sires, Mr. Davis
of Illinois, Mr. Al Green of Texas, Mr. Rush, Mr. Fattah, Mrs.
Christensen, Mr. Arcuri, Ms. Eddie Bernice Johnson of Texas, Ms. Lee,
Mr. Towns, Mrs. Maloney of New York, Mr. Ackerman, Ms. Watson, Ms.
Linda T. Sanchez of California, Mr. Scott of Georgia, Mr. Johnson of
Georgia, Mr. Crowley, and Mr. Klein of Florida) submitted the following
resolution; which was referred to the Committee on Foreign Affairs
_______________________________________________________________________
RESOLUTION
Expressing the sense of the House of Representatives that the March
2007 report of the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime and the
International Bank for Reconstruction and Development makes an
important contribution to the understanding of the high levels of crime
and violence in the Caribbean, and that the United States should work
with Caribbean countries to address crime and violence in the region.
Whereas, in his 2006 New Year's address, then Prime Minister of Jamaica, P.J.
Patterson, said, ``Without a doubt, the high level of violent crime
remains our most troubling and pressing problem.'';
Whereas, in opening the Parliament of Trinidad and Tobago in September 2005,
President George Maxwell Richards said his country was in crisis due to
the escalating crime rate;
Whereas, in March 2007, the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) and
the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development (World Bank)
issued a report entitled, ``Crime, Violence, and Development: Trends,
Costs, and Policy Options in the Caribbean'';
Whereas the UNODC and World Bank report presents detailed analyses of crime and
violence in the Caribbean region and offers possible policy responses;
Whereas the UNODC and World Bank report draws on input from governments, civil
society organizations, and Caribbean experts;
Whereas the UNODC and World Bank offer the following facts about crime in the
Caribbean:
(1) the Caribbean region has the highest murder and assault rates in
the world, with murder rates at 4 times the level of the United States; and
(2) Trinidad and Tobago doubled its kidnapping rate between 1999 and
2005;
Whereas the UNODC and World Bank report that high crime levels have long term
developmental effects on the Caribbean:
(1) crime cost the Jamaican economy $12,400,000,000 in Jamaican
dollars, 3.7 percent of its gross domestic product, in 2001; and
(2) reducing the region-wide homicide rate by \1/3\ could over double
the rate of economic growth per capita; and
Whereas the UNODC and World Bank report reached the following conclusions:
(1) Caribbean countries are transit points and not producers of
cocaine. Interdiction needs to be complemented by other strategies outside
the region: principally demand reduction in consumer countries and
eradication and/or alternative development in producer countries;
(2) expansion of gun ownership and illegal gun trafficking is a
dangerous outgrowth of the drug trade. Although reducing gun ownership is
difficult, better gun registries, marking, and tracking can help, as can
improved gun interdiction in ports. Policies should also focus on limiting
the availability of firearms and on providing meaningful alternatives to
youth;
(3) deaths and injuries from youth violence constitute a major threat
to public health and social and economic progress across the Caribbean.
Youth are disproportionately represented in the ranks of both victims and
perpetrators of crime and violence;
(4) although the average deportee from the United States to the
Caribbean is not involved in criminal activity, a minority of deportees may
be causing serious problems, both by direct involvement in crime and by
providing a perverse role model for youth. The report recommends that more
services be offered to reintegrate deportees, with deporting countries
contributing to the cost of these programs;
(5) in general, there is an over-reliance on the criminal justice
system to reduce crime in the region, but some types of crime, such as
organized crime, and drug and firearms trafficking, are generally
impervious to prevention initiatives; their control requires an efficient
criminal justice system. Urgent priorities for improving the criminal
justice system in the region include: the development of management
information systems, tracking of justice system performance, monitoring of
reform programs, and increased accountability to citizens;
(6) several Caribbean countries are increasingly investing in crime
prevention--using approaches such as integrated citizen security programs,
crime prevention through environmental design, and a public health approach
that focuses on risk factors for violent behaviors;
(7) youth violence is a particularly serious problem in the region, and
youth homicide rates in several countries of the region are significantly
above the world average. To address issues of youth violence, Caribbean
policymakers should invest in programs that have been shown to be
successful in careful evaluations such as: (i) early childhood development
and mentoring programs; (ii) interventions to keep high risk youth in
secondary schools; and (iii) opening schools after hours and on weekends to
offer additional activities and training; and
(8) many of the issues facing the Caribbean transcend national
boundaries and require a coordinated regional and international response.
Demand for drugs emanates from Europe and the United States; deportees are
sent back to the region from the United States, the United Kingdom, and
Canada; and many weapons that are trafficked are brought from the United
States: Now, therefore, be it
Resolved, That the House of Representatives--
(1) welcomes the recommendations contained in the March
2007 UNODC and World Bank report, ``Crime, Violence, and
Development: Trends, Costs, and Policy Options in the
Caribbean'';
(2) urges the United States Government to consider fully
and carefully the recommendations in the UNODC and World Bank
Report and to take the recommendations into account when
developing United States policy toward the region;
(3) urges the governments of United States and other drug-
consuming countries to increase counter-narcotics assistance to
the Caribbean region;
(4) urges the United States Government to increase
coordination on policy development and implementation with
Caribbean governments to help combat crime and violence in the
region;
(5) urges the Department of State and the Department of
Homeland Security to work with Caribbean governments to
mitigate the negative effects of United States deportation
policy; and
(6) urges governments of Caribbean countries to consider
fully and carefully the recommendations in the UNODC and World
Bank Report, and to take the recommendations into account,
especially regarding improvements in their criminal justice
systems.
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