BRIDGETOWN, Barbados, Jun 9, CMC -More than a decade after it warned that the Caribbean had some of the highest homicide rates in the world, particularly in countries as Jamaica, Trinidad and Tobago and Belize, the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) has released a new report highlighting a disconnect between security policies and the structural causes of violence.
The UNDP, Monday launched its report ”Democracies Under Pressure: Reimagining the Futures of Democracy and Development in Latin America and the Caribbean” in the Dominican Republic in which it also noted that violence against women is a critical concern throughout the region.
The 323 page report notes that the Caribbean faces an epidemic of crime and violence, driven by organized crime and drug trafficking. In 2022, 12 of the 20 countries with the highest homicide rates globally were Caribbean States.
The report notes that in that same year, the homicide rate in the Turks and Caicos Islands reached 77.6 per 100,000 inhabitants, doubling the previous year’s figure, while St. Lucia recorded 42.3, surpassing its previous record, and Trinidad and Tobago reached 39.4, representing an increase of more than 22 per cent compared to the previous year.
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CMC/2026