Above: SG Irwin LaRocque (Photo: CARICOM)

By the Caribbean Journal staff

Eradicating youth violence is one of the Caribbean’s greatest challenges, according to Myrna Bernard, office in charge of the Human and Social Directorate of CARICOM.

Bernard said CARICOM’s Social Development and Crime Prevention Action Plan is among the region’s most important initiatives, aimed at reducing levels of crime and violence in member states.

The programme, which was developed in tandem with the United Nations Office of Drugs and Crime, was the subject of the CARICOM sub-regional meeting on youth gangs and violence at the Grand Coastal Inn in Guyana Tuesday.

“It is therefore imperative that we grasp the opportunity which this Action Plan represents to reduce violence among our youth by instituting at all levels, in an integrated manner, the five pillars of this plan,” Bernard said.

According to the officer, the five pillars are a reduction of violence, fostering social inclusion, promoting integration, empowering victims and protecting the environment and economic resources.