PORT-OF-SPAIN, Trinidad: With less than two weeks remaining for Cricket World Cup (CWC) 2007, governments of the Caribbean Community are already looking beyond the tournament with regard to security arrangements for the region.

Guyana Home Affairs Minister, Clement Rohee

To date Caribbean governments have agreed to retain the Joint Regional Communication Centre (JRCC) and the regional intelligence mechanism. The former is used to screen passengers traveling into and within the Single Domestic Space, which comprises the nine host venues for the Cricket World Cup 2007 and Dominica, while the latter gathers and analyses intelligence which is then shared with national security officials.

However, at least one country is going further by announcing its intention to retain several pieces of legislation that were enacted for the security platform for CWC 2007.

Guyana’s Minister of National Security, Clement Rohee has announced that his country will retain certain pieces of legislation which enabled Guyana and other Caribbean countries to host the Cricket World Cup. He identified these as the Visiting Forces Act, Status of Visiting Police Officers Act, Security Assistance (CARICOM Member States) Act and Immigration Amendment Act.

The legal team at the Office of the General Counsel at the CARICOM Secretariat explained that the first three Acts gave effect to arrangements for the movement of military, police and other security personnel in the countries hosting Cricket World Cup. To this end, the regional troops were joined by security specialists and military and police officers from Brazil, South Africa, India and Colombia to provide wide-ranging security for the tournament.

This particular legislative package also gives effect to the Treaty on Security Assistance among CARICOM Member States, which was concluded at the 27th Conference of Heads of Government of the Caribbean Community, held in July 2006 in St Kitts and Nevis.

This Treaty provides the regional legal framework for security cooperation among CARICOM Members, including allowing for security personnel of one Member State to carry out certain activities in another Member State in times of crisis.

The CARICOM legal team further explained that the Immigration Amendment Act implemented the API system, which is managed by the JRCC located in Barbados and which will be retained post Cricket World Cup.

The CARICOM Special Visa legislation, which is sunset in nature, will cease to exist in its present form in June. It enabled the operation of a CARICOM Special Visa, which allowed entry into the Single Domestic Space with a single visa. Governments have established a Task Force to examine and recommend in what form a CARICOM Visa, along with the Single Domestic Space could be retained post CWC.

Since the regional security platform for hosting CWC came into being Caribbean countries have reaped rewards from the multi layered system. Through the CARICOM Special Visa and API, countries have successfully kept close monitoring of the movement of people and filtered out undesirables.

Earlier this week Chairperson of the CARICOM Subcommittee for CWC 2007 security, Mia Mottley, Deputy Prime Minister of Barbados disclosed that potential human traffickers was one category of undesirables that were caught as a result of the wide ranging security mechanisms. These were among 1000 persons whose applications for the CARICOM Special Visa were denied.

She added that governments had invested heavily in security and that the CARICOM Special Visa has so far proved to be a success in ensuring that that nationals and visitors alike would enjoy the tournament in a safe and secure environment.