SUVA (Pacnews) — Recent security threats in the Pacific region underscore the laxity in adopting measures aimed at halting transnational crimes recently swept through Pacific island countries.
The secretary-general of the Pacific Islands Forum Secretariat, Noel Levi, said only five Pacific island countries have so far adopted part or most portions of the Honiara Declaration.
The declaration was adopted by regional leaders 10 years ago to assist individual nations formulate laws to address security threats in the Pacific.
However, transnational crimes recently sweeping through the Oceania region, such as people smuggling, money laundering and drug trafficking, only serve to highlight the lack of progress in adopting a regional approach in tackling security issues.
He said security threats in the Pacific have graduated from internal destabilizing factors, such as ethnic tensions, land disputes, economic disparities and lack of confidence in governments, to transnational crimes.
Levi is hoping that the sense of urgency with which security issues will be discussed at the Forum Regional Security Meeting, currently underway in Nadi, will prompt Pacific island countries to fast track the establishment of national and regional mechanisms that will combat transnational crimes.
