The British government has committed £10 million towards support for law enforcement and border security for UK overseas territories.
It follows discussions in London this month around concerns of irregular migration and the challenges it brings for small island states, for example, the Cayman Islands – with the influx of Cubans recently – and the unstable situation in Haiti.
The issue was raised at the recently concluded Joint Ministerial Council meetings held in London between the United Kingdom and its OTs.
The UK and OT leaders, which also included Premier Wayne Panton, said in their JMC joint communique that they “acknowledge the irregular-migration challenges that some Overseas Territories are facing, including as a result of the current situation in Haiti, and note that these challenges vary across the Territories”.
The communique stated, “We recognise the importance of taking a holistic approach to crime prevention and border security, which is why in 2023 to 2024 the UK government is committing over £10 million to support OT law enforcement and border security capability and capacity building.”
It added that “the UK commits to exploring options to increase support for impacted Territories and to continue to work together on these issues of shared importance”.
It noted that the UK and overseas territories have the shared responsibility for ensuring the protection of citizens through the work of multiple agencies within and across jurisdictions.
Overseas territories, it said, “welcome the ongoing work by the UK government through the UK Integrated Security Fund (formerly Conflict, Stability and Security Fund), Justice and Border Security programmes to help strengthen and modernise law enforcement and border control capabilities”.
Both the UK and overseas territories, the communique said, recognise that security challenges are “often complex”.
However, it reaffirmed the joint commitment to build upon multi-agency models (such as through the Multi-Agency Gold Incident Command and Joint Emergency Services Interoperability Programme) to enhance cooperation and increase effectiveness within the territories.
Earlier this year, Cayman, with greater frequency, began repatriating Cubans who had illegally landed here, following law changes to speed up the asylum process.
The most recent repatriation was last month when six male Cubans were returned to their home country.
Customs and Border Control Director Charles Clifford, in a statement on that 18 April exercise, said, “This sends another clear message that our repatriation operations will continue until all migrants that have been denied asylum are returned to their country of nationality. I sincerely thank our CBC officers for executing another successful operation.”
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