U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder recently met with attorneys general from the Eastern Caribbean countries to talk about security matters.
Ministers and vice-ministers from the 34 member states of the OAS, responsible for national security matters attended the meeting in Barbados.
The meeting, part of preparatory events for the sixth Summit of the Americas next April in Colombia, focused on police management as a key factor for progress in achieving better security for the citizens of the Americas.
The high-level authorities are seeking to build on three major areas:
•Modernizing police institutions within a democratic framework;
•Supporting police professionalism and training; and
•Strengthening co-operation on police information systems and enhanced use of technology.
The ministerial meeting concluded with recommendations on the issue of police management and the adoption of the Document of Port of Spain.
Holder also took part in the Organization of the Americas (OAS) Conference’s third Meeting of Ministers Responsible for Public Security in the Americas (MISPA 111), held in Port of Spain.
OAS Secretary General, Jose Miguel Insulza, said MISPA meetings “have been placing increasing emphasis on aspects related to the co-ordination of criminal justice, in full awareness that we add capacity for prevention and interdiction if we work together.”
MIPSA 1 was held in Mexico City in October 2008 and MISPA11 took place in Santo Domingo in November 2009.
Holder, who was sworn in as the 82nd Attorney General of the United States on Feb. 3, 2009 by Vice President Joe Biden, also traveled to Barbados where he met with that country’s Prime Minister Freundel Stuart and Attorney General Adriel Braithwaite.
