Suriname has lowest murder rate in Caricom

PARAMARIBO – One third of all murders in the world occur in Latin America and the Caribbeans - the home of eight percent of the world’s population. A quarter of all murders in the world happen in just four Latin American countries: Brazil, Colombia, Mexico and Venezuela. This shocking data were compiled by the Igarape Institute, a Brazil-based thinktank focused on security and development issues. The institute’s Citizen Security in Latin America report that was released on Thursday also says that crime- and homiciderates have been growing across the region, despite a decade of economic growth. According to the Igarape Institute, Suriname has the lowest murder rate in the Caribbean Community (Caricom). But Suriname takes 2nd place with regards to femicide, the killing of a woman by a man. 46% of all murders that were committed in Suriname in 2017 can be labeled as femicide. Haiti takes first place and Grenada third. “Latin America has suffered more than 2.5 million murders since the start of this century and is facing an acute public security crisis that demands urgent and innovative solutions. The sheer dimensions of homicidal violence are breathtaking”, says the report by the Igarapé Institute. The publication, released on Thursday, paints a bleak portrait of what it calls the world’s most homicidal continent. Latin America suffers 33% of the world’s homicides despite having only eight percent of its population. One-quarter of all global homicides are concentrated in the four Latin countries all of which are gearing up for presidential elections in which security is a dominant theme. “The overall trend right now in Latin America is one of increasing homicides and deteriorating security”, said Robert Muggah, one of the report’s authors. There were reportedly 35 homicide cases in Suriname in 2017. Sixtheen of them were femicide cases.