Trinidad and Tobago’s exclusion from what is often described as a regional “zone of peace” was underscored by the Attorney General during the Second PACE Attorneys General Roundtable.
The conference was held in Barbados.
Attorney General John Jeremie led a delegation comprising technocrats, along with members of the judiciary, and was hosted by the UNDP in partnership with the EU and the Office of the Attorney General of Barbados.
The roundtable focused on the theme “Advancing Judicial Reform, Regional Collaboration, and Backlog Reduction.”
The Attorney General outlined Trinidad and Tobago’s prolonged struggle with gang-related violent crime, noting that such activity has persisted for more than a decade.
In that context, he stated that Trinidad and Tobago was not part of a zone of peace, emphasizing that peace should be understood not simply as the absence of war, but as a state of harmony and well-being.
He further indicated that the government is determined to confront the issue through legislative reform, alongside targeted social initiatives and focused law enforcement interventions in communities most affected by gang-related violence and homicides.