Secretary-General António Guterres says the United Nations (UN) will do all it can to support Jamaica’s call for the United States to help solve the issue of illegal guns in the Caribbean.

While speaking at the inaugural Regional Security Conference in Trinidad and Tobago last month, Holness urged CARICOM member states to consolidate efforts to lobby the US to assist the region with their gun problem.

The matter was again brought up at a joint press briefing at the Office of the Prime Minister today (May 15) when journalists questioned if the UN would support Jamaica’s call.

“All forms of traffic are interlinked and they enhance each other. The traffic of drugs from South to North and the traffic of guns from the North to South are two faces of the same problem and they need to be addressed simultaneously. We will do everything possible to mobilise the countries themselves or the international community to fight it in an effective way,” said Guterres.

Currently, Mexico has an appeal in a civil lawsuit against US gun manufacturers, seeking to hold them responsible for facilitating the trafficking of deadly weapons across the border.

The appeal was filed after a US judge dismissed the case in September last year, citing a US law that protects arms manufacturers from being held liable for crimes committed with their products.

Jamaica is among a few Caribbean countries backing Mexico’s appeal. Other Caribbean nations include Antigua and Barbuda, Belize, The Bahamas and Trinidad and Tobago. Additionally, 16 US states are in support of the appeal.