WASHINGTON (CMC) — Trinidad and Tobago’s Attorney General Reginald Armour will be among a panel of experts discussing the surge in gang violence across the Americas when the Permanent Council of the Organization of American States (OAS) holds a special meeting on Wednesday.

The OAS said many countries in the Americas are currently in the grip of a troubling surge in gang violence and deadly criminal activities.

It said these developments have triggered societal breakdowns and are severely challenging law enforcement agencies and humanitarian groups.

“Security conditions have deteriorated to an unprecedented level in a cluster of historically troubled countries, pushing this issue to the forefront of their priorities,” the OAS added.

Antigua and Barbuda Permanent Representative to the OAS Sir Ronald Sanders, who chairs the Permanent Council, will introduce an expert discussion “designed to unravel the complexities of gang formation; delve into the role of organised crime; and emphasise the critical need for a united, multilateral response from law enforcement agencies across the OAS member states”.

The OAS said that the other panellists are María Eugenia Mata Chavarría, director general of armaments, Ministry of Public Security of Costa Rica; Romain Le Cour Grandmaison, senior expert, Global Initiative against Transnational Organized Crime; Ivan Marques, secretary for multidimensional security, OAS General Secretariat; and Caio Pellim, law enforcement specialist, Department against Transnational Organized Crime, OAS General Secretariat.