Member countries of the Regional Security System (RSS) have agreed to sign a protocol that would see Guyana’s accession, according to the Office of the President.
President Irfaan Ali is in Belize for the 33rd inter-sessional meeting of CARICOM heads where RSS member states, who were present signed the protocol. Guyana will be able to join the RSS following the signature of the remaining Heads of member states to the protocol.
RSS member states are Antigua & Barbuda, Dominica, St. Lucia, St. Vincent and the Grenadines, St Kitts and Nevis, Grenada and Barbados. The RSS is currently headquartered in Barbados.
“The RSS is an international agreement for the defence and security of the eastern Caribbean region with future expansion planned with South America. It sets out to preserve the peace and stability of the region by delivering world-class, professional, effective and efficient services through cooperative engagement with partner nations, the security sector and the peoples of the region,” the Office of the President said.
Meanwhile, Barbadian Prime Minister Mia Mottley also made the announcement on her Facebook page.
She said “Member countries of the Regional Security System (RSS) have agreed to sign a protocol to the treaty that established the RSS for the accession of the Cooperative Republic of Guyana. While at the Inter-sessional in Belize, all of the Heads of Government of member states who were present signed the protocol. Once the Heads of the remaining members sign the protocol, Guyana will be able to join the RSS. This is another example of regional cooperation and integration in action.”
According to its website, the RSS was created out of a need for a collective response to security threats, which were impacting the stability of the region in the early 1970s and 1980s. In October 1982 Antigua & Barbuda, Dominica, St Lucia and St Vincent and the Grenadines signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with Barbados to provide for “mutual assistance on request”.
St. Kitts and Nevis joined after gaining independence in September 1983 and Grenada in January 1985.
In September 2020, a five-member team of investigators from the RSS came to Guyana to assist the Guyana Police Force with investigations into the murder of Joel Henry, Isiah Henry and Haresh Singh. The team was led by an Assistant Commissioner of Police comprised of officials from countries within the Regional Investigative Management Systems (RIMS). Their visit was a result of a Memorandum of Understanding between the Government of Guyana and the Caribbean Community Implementation Agency for Crime and Security (CARICOM IMPACS) consequent upon a decision by President Irfaan Ali to seek Regional assistance with the investigations.
The team had recommended additional work be done in the probe.
