Media Center

Press and Communications Department

Contact us at:

Background


What is the Meeting of Ministers Responsible for Public Security in the Americas (MISPA)?

  October 30, 2019

  • It is the highest hemispheric political forum for addressing public security issues.
  • It is held every two years.
  • At the MISPA, Ministers:
    • Address the main challenges and developments related to security in the Americas;
    • Identify emerging threats;
    • Strengthen bilateral and regional cooperation;
    • Encourage knowledge and experience sharing.

The key issues addressed by the MISPA on Public Security are:

  • Strengthening of police institutions
  • Prevention and reduction of violence and crime, including homicide reduction
  • Prison reform and prison management that prioritizes inmates’ rehabilitation and reintegration
  • Strategic and coordinated fight against transnational organized crime
  • Sound, reliable, and comparable information as a fundamental input for decision-making in public security policies

Which have been the main achievements of the MISPA process?

Why is MISPA VII important?

The two-day event will be divided into panel discussions where the authorities will present perspectives and comments on:

  • Public policies and regional strategies to prevent and combat transnational crime that undermines public security;
  • Police cooperation and strengthening criminal intelligence in the fight against transnational organized crime; and
  • Regional experiences and principal discussions around measuring public security indicators on transnational organized crime.
  • It is expected that recommendations for the development of concrete actions on public security will be adopted, and that the creation of the Hemispheric Strategy to prevent and combat transnational organized crime in the framework of the Hemispheric Plan of Action against Transnational Organized Crime will be approved.

Background

  • The First Meeting of Ministers Responsible for Public Security in the Americas (2008) was held in Mexico City and adopted the Commitment to Public Security in the Americas
  • MISPA II, which took place in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic (2009), adopted the Consensus of Santo Domingo on Public Security, which institutionalized the MISPA process with a Meeting of Ministers Responsible for Public Security in the Americas every two years.
  • In 2011, in Trinidad and Tobago, MISPA III took as reference one of the pillars of the Commitment to Public Security in the Americas and adopted the document Port-of-Spain Recommendations for Police Management
  • MISPA IV, held in Medellín, Colombia, in 2013, emphasized on International Cooperation in Public Security, highlighting the strengthening of cooperation, coordination and mutual technical assistance actions among the institutions responsible for public security in the member states of the OAS and judicial cooperation that allows states to give an effective legal response to the commission, execution, planning, preparation or financing of criminal acts that threaten public security.
  • MISPA V, held in Lima, Peru in 2015, concluded with the adoption of the Lima Recommendations for the Prevention of Crime, Violence and Insecurity; and presented the Program of the Inter-American Network for Police Development and Professionalization with the objective of contributing to the consolidation of the professional development of police institutions in the member states by associating public policy with a tangible program with concrete results for police forces.
  • In 2017, in San Pedro Sula, Honduras, MISPA VI was held. The Subsidiary Technical Group for the Prevention of Crime, Violence and Insecurity met for the first time and created two working groups to articulate mechanisms and tools for cooperation of emergency services and for the creation of an action plan for the prevention of lethal violence in the Americas.

 Follow the conversation about MISPA in Twitter with the hashtag #MISPAVII

Reference: S-021/19