From 23 to 25 September 2024, the Government of The Bahamas, in supported by the United Nations Regional Centre for Peace, Disarmament, and Development in Latin America and the Caribbean (UNLIREC) and the Caribbean Community’s Implementation Agency for Crime and Security (CARICOM IMPACS), held a three-day Inter-Institutional Roundtable Meeting in Nassau to advance on the development of their National Action Plan as part of the Caribbean Firearms Roadmap initiative.
This roundtable marks a key milestone for The Bahamas, aligning its national priorities with the overarching vision of the Caribbean Firearms Roadmap to create a safer region. By developing a National Action Plan, The Bahamas joins twelve other Caribbean nations in identifying priority actions and tracking progress in combating illicit firearms trafficking.
The event brought together 22 representatives, including nine women, from agencies such as Law Enforcement, Prosecution, Justice, Defense, Customs, Immigration, and Foreign Affairs. Discussions focused on monitoring, evaluation, and national firearms-related challenges, with participants adopting a comprehensive approach to addressing illicit firearms trafficking, and fostering a collaborative framework for future progress.
Presentations and discussions covered the legal framework for Goal 1 and best practices for Goals 2, 3, and 4. As a result, The Bahamas outlined national priorities and concrete actions they wish to take forward in their National Action Plan and completed a significant portion of its baseline assessment.
The meeting was aligned with the UN Programme of Action on Small Arms and the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, particular Goal 16, and was financially supported by the United States Government.
Kingston/Jamaica, 18 September 2024 – In an effort to take a stand against firearm violence in Jamaican schools, the United Nations Regional Centre for Peace, Disarmament, and Development in Latin America and the Caribbean (UNLIREC) and the Jamaican Ministry of Education and Youth (MOEY) have launched a competition entitled “Music and Visual Art for Change: Preventing Firearm Violence in Schools”. This initiative invites students ages 12 to 19 across Jamaica to use their artistic and musical talents to convey the powerful message of peace and firearm violence prevention.
The “Music and Visual Art for Change” competition seeks to harness the transformative power of music and art to address and prevent firearms possession and violence in schools. By encouraging Jamaican youth to create art and music that promote peace, this initiative aspires to shape a positive narrative that stands against the normalization of firearm violence.
The competition seeks to emphasize that firearms are not symbols of power or strength. True strength is found in standing firm in one’s values, prompting peace, unity, and positive change, including through creative self-expression. Respect is earned through kindness and establishing non-violent conflict resolution in communities, while cultivating positive influences. By embracing these principles, the initiative aims to support and inspire the younger generation to reject violence and build safe, non-violent, inclusive and effective learning environments for all.
How to Participate
Jamaican students, ages 12 to 19, can submit their artistic creations, including paintings, drawings, graphic designs, photographs or musical compositions at www.unlirec.org/music-art by 21 October 2024. Entries should reflect the core message of non-violence and peace, promoting the prevention of the possession of firearms and their use in schools.
The competition opens today, 18 September 2024, and will run until 21 October 2024. Entries will be reviewed between 21 October 2024 and 10 November 2024, and the public will have the chance to vote for their favorite submissions via social media. Finalists will be announced on 11 November 2024. The competition will culminate with an event held in Kingston, Jamaica, during the month of November, which will showcase the submissions of the finalists and will be followed by an award ceremony to announce the winners of the competition.
To learn more visit www.unlirec.org/music-art and follow UNLIREC´s and MOEY´s social media accounts for updates and announcements: @unlirec_official, @moeyjamaica, @unjamaica.
Help us spread the word about this important initiative by sharing this opportunity with your friends, family, and colleagues! Together, we can create a safer future, free from firearm violence, in Jamaica.
“Music and Visual Art for Change: Preventing Firearms Violence in Schools” is part of the activities carried out by the United Nations and Jamaican authorities under the Saving Lives Entity (SALIENT) fund initiative in Jamaica. This initiative seeks to tackle armed violence in Jamaica as part of a comprehensive approach to sustainable security and development.
This competition supports the implementation of the Youth, Peace, Security agenda; the United Nations General Assembly resolutions on Youth, disarmament and non-proliferation, as well as; the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.
The United Nations Regional Centre for Peace, Disarmament and Development in Latin America and the Caribbean (UNLIREC) plays a vital role in advancing arms control, fostering peace, and supporting sustainable development across the region.
On 23 July, 25 July, and 14 August 2024, the United Nations Regional Centre for Peace, Disarmament and Development in Latin America and the Caribbean (UNLIREC), in collaboration with the Caribbean Community Implementation Agency for Crime and Security (CARICOM IMPACS) delivered a series of webinars centred on the monitoring and evaluation (M&E) component of the Caribbean Firearms Roadmap (CFRM).
The three webinars were conducted as part of a broader initiative to support States in their monitoring and evaluation efforts, titled “Roadmap to Reporting: A Sensitization and Training Series for Monitoring and Evaluation under the Caribbean Firearms Roadmap” ahead of the reporting deadline of 25 September 2024.
The webinars addressed three key topics, beginning with an introduction to M&E for the CFRM, followed by the data collection for the CFRM, and the use of data to advance the CFRM.
Presentations were delivered by UNLIREC, CARICOM IMPACS, and the United Nations Development Programme, Southern Eastern and Eastern Europe Clearinghouse for the Control of Small Arms and Light Weapons (UNDP SEESAC). Additionally, States were invited to share their experiences with the M&E processes of the Caribbean Firearms Roadmap during these sessions.
A total of fifty-nine persons participated in at least one of the webinars, including twenty-two women, representing nine States: Bahamas, Barbados, Belize, Dominican Republic, Haiti, Guyana, Jamaica, Saint Lucia, and Trinidad and Tobago.
The series of webinars was carried out in line with Goal 1 of the Caribbean Firearms Roadmap, in particular, Action 1.3.3, as well as Sustainable Development Goal 16, “Peace, justice, and strong institutions” (Target 16.4), and were made possible with funding from Canada.
UNLIREC, as the regional centre for the United Nations Office for Disarmament Affairs seeks to advance the cause of practical disarmament in Latin America and the Caribbean. This effort is part of its commitment to support Member States in implementing international disarmament and non-proliferation instruments, in particular the 2001 United Nations Programme of Action on Small Arms (UN PoA).
From 3 to 6 June, the United Nations Regional Centre for Peace, Disarmament and Development in Latin America and the Caribbean (UNLIREC), in collaboration with the Government of Saint Lucia, carried out a Serial Number Restoration Course for participants from the Royal Saint Lucia Police Force and Saint Lucia Forensic Science Laboratory.
This course was developed to support States’ efforts to restore the characters and numbers that have been removed from firearms and to trace firearms.
The 4-day course consisted of recorded videos, live demonstrations, as well as hands-on use of Magnaflux and Chemical Etching to restore/recover serial numbers from firearms that have been obliterated and submitted for analysis.
Seven officials (including 3 women) including police officers and forensic scientists from the Royal Saint Lucia Police Force and Forensic Science Laboratory, participated in the training. In the Caribbean, several factors hinder the ability of States to trace the totality of recovered illicit firearms, including the age of the firearm, ineffective procedures, absence of serial numbers on firearms and the lack of capacity to unmask the origin of illicit firearms. Throughout the region, restoration techniques have been used to support criminal investigations and successfully trace weapons and even disband trafficking networks.
UNLIREC, as the regional arm of the UN Office of Disarmament Affairs, seeks to advance the cause of practical disarmament in Latin America and the Caribbean as part of its commitment to support Member States.
The Serial Number Restoration Course contributes towards the implementation of Goal 3 of the Caribbean Firearms Roadmap, “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.
This activity was made possible thanks to funding from the Government of Germany and contributes to the implementation of international disarmament and non-proliferation instruments, in particular, the 2001 UN Programme of Action on Small Arms.
From 27 to 30 May, the United Nations Regional Centre for Peace, Disarmament and Development in Latin America and the Caribbean (UNLIREC), in collaboration with the Government of Grenada, carried out an in situ Serial Number Restoration Course for participants from the Royal Grenada Police Force.
The 4-day course consisted of hands-on use of Magnaflux and Chemical Etching to restore/recover serial numbers from firearms that have been obliterated and submitted for analysis. Obliterating serial numbers on firearms to mask their origin is a common practice for criminals, facilitating both illegal use and illicit trafficking.
Seven police officers(including 1 woman) from the Royal Grenada Police Force, participated in the training. In the words of one course participant: “thanks to the in-person version of this course, the Royal Grenada Police Force now has additional capacity and equipment for the restoration of serial numbers which we will immediately put to use in restoring obliterated serial numbers not only from firearm cases”.
To support States’ efforts to trace firearms and restore the characters and numbers that have been removed from firearms in a variety of ways, UNLIREC provided virtual training to Grenada in serial number restoration in 2022. The implementation of this in-person practical training further complements previous instruction. Serial Number Restoration continues to be a key tool to conduct tracing and make use of the various regional and international tracing platforms.
UNLIREC, as the regional arm of the UN Office of Disarmament Affairs, seeks to advance the cause of practical disarmament in Latin America and the Caribbean as part of its commitment to support Member States.
The Serial Number Restoration Course contributes to the implementation of Goal 3 of the Caribbean Firearms Roadmap, “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.
This activity was made possible thanks to funding from the Government of the United States of America and contributes to the implementation of international disarmament and non-proliferation instruments, in particular, the 2001 UN Programme of Action on Small Arms.
On 27 May 2024, the United Nations Regional Centre for Peace, Disarmament and Development in Latin America and the Caribbean (UNLIREC), in collaboration with the Government of Barbados, began a Small Arms and Ammunition Destruction Exercise funded by the US Department of States Office for Weapons Removal and Abatement (WRA).
Improper and long-term storage of obsolete, seized and surplus firearms and ammunition can be a risk. Their destruction plays a crucial role in preventing diversion from the legal to the illicit sphere.
This UNLIREC-led project contributes to making the Caribbean region a safer one by supporting States in the effective implementation of the ‘Roadmap for Implementing the Caribbean Priority Actions on the Illicit Proliferation of Firearms and Ammunition across the Caribbean in a Sustainable Manner by 2030’ (Caribbean Firearms Roadmap).
During the 5-day exercise, the Barbados Police Service and the Barbados Defence Force destroyed a quantity of small arms and various calibers of ammunition. Additionally, during the period, four persons were trained in the destruction of weapons using hydraulic shears. Three independent government and civil society observers participated in the exercise. A Light Ammunition Burning Tank was also donated to the Government of Barbados by UNLIREC and will aid the future destruction of ammunition.
Since 2010, 23 Latin American and Caribbean States have destroyed more than 110,000 small arms and light weapons and more than 140 tonnes of ammunition with UNLIREC support. UNLIREC, as the regional office of the UN Office for Disarmament, seeks to advance the cause of practical disarmament in Latin America and the Caribbean as part of its commitment to support Member States in their implementation of international disarmament and non-proliferation instruments, in particular, the 2001 UN Programme of Action on Small Arms.
