From 18 to 21 October 2022 Belizean authorities participated in the National Ballistics Intelligence Management Course and a Monitoring and Evaluation Roundtable Meeting with a view to reducing the effects of armed violence and gun crimes in Belize through strengthen capacities of national officials to respond to those phenomena.
The United Nations Regional Centre for Peace, Disarmament and Development in Latin America and the Caribbean (UNLIREC) delivered the activities in collaboration with the Government of Belize.
The National Ballistics Intelligence Management Course was opened by Assistant Commissioner of Police Mr. Bartholomew Jones and Canadian Honoury Consul Ms. Marissa Longsworth, who welcomed the progress Belize is making in its commitment to the implementation of the Caribbean Firearms Roadmap and reiterated Canada’s support to both Belize and the wider region.
The three-day training course covered topics such as firearms and ammunition identification and classification, chain of custody, which includes all procedures to protect and ensure the authenticity of evidence at crime scenes, as well as the analysis and management of ballistic information and intelligence, which could reduce impunity and prevent armed violence.
Twenty-nine officials participated in the course, including nine women, representing the Ministry of Home Affairs and New Growth Industries, Belize Police Department, Belize Customs Department and Belize Forensic Science Service Laboratory involved in the investigation and prosecution of firearms crimes.
On October 21, following the course, the roundtable on Monitoring and Evaluation (M&E) was held to advance Belize’s National Action Plan on Firearms (NAP). Belize’s NAP is part of the implementation of the Caribbean Firearms Roadmap, supported by UNLIREC, CARICOM IMPACS s well as other donors and partners, to carry out concrete actions against illicit firearms trafficking and make the Caribbean a safer region.
National representatives from the Belize Customs Department and Belize Forensic Science Service Laboratory took part in the roundtable. During this activity UNLIREC presented the Monitoring and Evaluation Framework for the Caribbean Firearms Roadmap, which will allow States to track progress on their NAPs and allow monitoring of the implementation of the Roadmap across the region. The roundtable allowed UNLIREC to conduct the baseline assessment with Belize, gathering detailed responses to a matrix of questions. This process allows States to have a robust foundation from which to measure their progress over the course of the Roadmap initiative under the M&E framework.
The National Ballistics Intelligence Management Course and M&E roundtable contribute to the implementation of Goal 1, “Reinforce regulatory frameworks governing firearms and ammunition” and Goal 3, “Bolster law enforcement capacity to combat illicit firearms and ammunition trafficking and their illicit possession and misuse, and ammunition, and ultimately reducing firearms-related crimes and armed violence in the Caribbean” of the Caribbean Firearms Roadmap.
This activity was funded by Canada and supports the implementation of international arms control instruments, in particular the UN Programme of Action on small arms.
