Last Updated on May 15, 2026, 6:06 AM AST by Anthony Morris
The Prime Minister of St Kitts and Nevis, Dr Terrance Drew is meeting with the officials of the United Nations. and regional leaders. During the meeting, the attendants will discuss a diagnostic and action plan that is being developed to address crime as a systemic regional challenge.
Deputy United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) Resident Representative for Barbados and Eastern Caribbean, Stephanie Ziebell has shared the announcement regarding the meeting. She said that the regional leaders and the UN will meet in Basseterre shortly to advance discussions on the plan.
The Prime Minister of the country will be hosting the leaders from across the Caribbean and officials from the United Nations. The discussions will highlight the next steps which need to be taken and name the priorities of the region for the future.
The UNDP representative said that the initiative is part of a broader collaboration between CARICOM and the UNDP. They have been working together to address crime through a public health lens.
“Building on high-level discussions in 2025, a CARICOM-UNDP diagnostic and CARICOM UN Action Plan are currently under development, aiming to fill a much-needed gap as the first regionwide evidence based assessment that looks at crime and violence in the Caribbean as a shared systemic challenge,” Ziebell said as she launched the UN Eastern Caribbean 2025 Annual Results Report.
She also added that the initiative is aimed at identifying root causes, weaknesses in systems and priority reforms. The authorities have shared that they will be taking this further and work on a coordinated regional framework with practical priorities, shared standards, and agreed roles for CARICOM institutions, member states, and UN partners.
According to the UNDP representative, the broader UN approach to peace, safety and justice is focused on strengthening institutions and communities.
The focus of the organisation is to build stronger institutions and safer communities based on careful analysis, partnership. Stephanie Ziebell reiterated the authority’s commitment to conflict-sensitive, gender-responsive approaches.
The UN is also supporting efforts to strengthen responses to gender-based violence and improve human rights protections.
Anthony Morris covers stories related to politics and regional developments. His in-depth reporting about governance and reforms makes him stand out in regional journalism, with a deep analysis of political trends and their impact on Caribbean communities.
