From 18 to 22 July 2022, 47 representatives from various areas and sectors involved in arms control and combatting small arms trafficking in the Dominican Republic participated in the Course on Combating Trafficking in Arms and Ammunition (CTAM), organised by the United Nations Regional Centre for Peace, Disarmament and Development in Latin America and the Caribbean (UNLIREC) in a hybrid format.
The course provided national authorities with theoretical knowledge and technical tools to implement strategies seeking to prevent and combat the illicit trafficking of firearms and their ammunitions in line with international arms control instruments.
Representatives from the Interior and Police, Defence, Intelligence, Customs, the Attorney’s Office, the Ministry of International Affairs, Specialised Land Border Security Corps (CESFRONT), Body specialising in Airport Security and Civil Aviation (CESAC), the Dominican Postal Institute, among other institutions, participated and shared their experiences and challenges in addressing this problem.
The course included presentations by the Directorate General of Customs and CESFRONT, the Global Programme against Maritime Crime of the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC), and the Directorate for Democratic Security of the Central American Integration System (SICA).
For the Dominican Republic, as well as for other countries in the region, the illicit trafficking of firearms and ammunition poses a major threat to national and regional security. As a result, UNLIREC has developed the CTAM course for States in the region. It has been designed to strengthen State´s capacities in the fight against this transnational crime and also provides a space for interinstitutional exchanges, including on best practices, as well as for the development of international cooperation, which is essential in the fight against this crime.
UNLIREC supports the implementation of international commitments acquired by the Dominican Republic in the field of arms control.
The course CTAM was delivered in cooperation with the General Directorate of Customs of the Dominican Republic and was funded by the Government of Canada and the Federal Republic of Germany.
Haiti concluded the preparation of its National Action Plan (NAP) and a baseline assessment for 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), following a series of preliminary virtual sessions and four in-person roundtables organized by the United Nations Regional Centre for Peace, Disarmament and Development in Latin America and the Caribbean (UNLIREC) over the past months.
Work on those milestone achievements culminated during the latest in-person visit by UNLIREC to Port-au-Prince, Haiti, from 12 to 14 July 2022. During the visit, UNLIREC support authorities to complete the assessment of standards and practices linked to Goal 4 of the Caribbean Firearms Roadmap, which seeks to systematically decrease the risk of diversion of firearms and ammunition from government- and non-government-owned arsenals. This includes work on the physical security and stockpile management of small arms.
Representatives of the Ministries of Justice, Interior, Foreign Affairs, Youth, Sports and Social action, the National Commission for Disarmament, Dismantlement and Reinsertion (also representing the Ministry of Defense), the Police, Customs, and the Port Authority showed great interest in the technical presentations delivered in this context and were given the opportunity to provide feedback on the national priorities identified during the overall NAP drafting process.
Work on the NAP had started earlier in 2022 and had garnered significant momentum during UNLIREC´s previous mission to Haiti in May. The final draft of the NAP is now being submitted for formal approval to the Prime Minister, after which the implementation phase of the Roadmap can begin, possibly as early as this year.
Haiti is the 12th country to complete the drafting process of a NAP which confirms States´ commitments to and priorities under the Caribbean Firearms Roadmap adopted in 2020 as a regional umbrella framework by all CARICOM States and the Dominican Republic. The Roadmap includes commitments to implement a series of Goals and actions to tackle illicit firearms trafficking and make the Caribbean a safer region.
UNLIREC´s support to Haiti is funded by the Governments of the United States and Germany and is carried out in close collaboration with the United Nations Integrated Office in Haiti (BINUH). In July 2022, the United Nations Security Council adopted resolution 2645 (2022) welcomed the Roadmap and requested relevant UN agencies, such as UNLIREC, to support Haitian national authorities in combating the illicit trafficking and diversion of arms and related materiel.
On 14 July, the United Nations Regional Centre for Peace, Disarmament and Development in Latin America and the Caribbean (UNLIREC) organized a virtual regional forum for Latin American countries which focused on measuring violence against women and the involvement and impact of firearms. During the forum, countries presented different initiatives and policies which assist with measuring the frequency and effects of firearms involved in violence against women.
The Women’s Office of the Supreme Court Justice of Argentina presented its methodology for documenting and analysing femicides which have been committed with firearms, while the General Directorate of Statistics and Censuses (DIGESTYC) of El Salvador highlighted the Gender Statistics Observatory. The Intersecta Organisation for Equality shared findings from a recent study on gender-based violence and firearms in Mexico, emphasizing the importance of complementary information sources alongside administrative reports, to better understand the actual magnitude of armed violence against women.
Similarly, the Centre of Excellence for Government Statistical Information, Public Security, Victimisation and Justice (UNODC-INEGI) presented a statistical framework for the measurability of femicides, while the Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC) focused its intervention on advances and challenges in measuring femicide rates in Latin America.
The event showcased the negative impacts of firearms when involved in different acts of violence against women and existing challenges on determining and counting femicides. Comprehensive data collection is vital for building an evidence base which should inform policy making in order to prevent and eliminate such violence.
Participants at the event included representatives working in arms control, security, the prevention of violence against women, gender, justice, statistics, and other public sectors and drew participation from Argentina, Columbia, Costa Rica, the Dominican Republic, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Mexico, and Panama as well as representatives from the United Nations, regional organisations, and civil society.
On 28 June 2022 in Trinidad and Tobago; and from 30 June to 1 July 2022 in Grenada, the United Nations Regional Centre for Peace, Disarmament and Development in Latin America and the Caribbean (UNLIREC) hosted Monitoring and Evaluation Roundtable meetings for the advancement of Grenada and Trinidad and Tobago’s National Action Plans and baseline assessments for the implementation of the Caribbean Firearms Roadmap.
Twenty-one national representatives from the Ministry of National Security, Ministry for Foreign and CARICOM Affairs, Trinidad and Tobago Police Force, Trinidad and Tobago Forensic Science Centre, Customs and Excise, Trinidad and Tobago Defense Force, Strategic Services Agency, Ministry of Attorney General and Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Judiciary and Prisons participated in Trinidad and Tobago.
In Grenada, thirteen national representatives from the Royal Grenada Police Force, Customs and Excise Division, Her Majesty’s Prison and Grenada Airports Authority took part in the two-day event at the Coyaba Hotel.
During the sessions, the Monitoring and Evaluation Framework for the Caribbean Firearms Roadmap initiative was presented, including a review of the regional key performance indicators and national level indicators. A thorough baseline assessment was conducted under the four goals of the Caribbean Firearms Roadmap and clarity was provided on the reporting styles and timelines for submissions. Both Trinidad and Tobago and Grenada completed a significant proportion of their baseline assessments and will now finalise the assessment through a follow-up mechanism.
What is the Caribbean Firearms Roadmap?
The Caribbean Firearms Roadmap is a regional umbrella framework adopted by CARICOM States and the Dominican Republic in 2020, in which States commit themselves to implement actions against illicit firearms trafficking and make the Caribbean a safer region. To date, 16 countries in the region have formally adopted the Roadmap and begun the process of identifying their national priorities via a National Action Plan (NAP). There is commitment across the region to implement sustainable solutions to the prevention and combat of illicit proliferation of firearms and ammunition that are consistent with international norms and the Caribbean context.
This activity was made possible with funding from the Government of Canada and was carried out in line with the 2001 UN Programme of Action on Small Arms and with 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, in particular Goal 16 and target 16.4.
On 30 June 2022, sixty-six officials from eleven Caribbean States participated in the “Introduction to Shooting Incident Reconstruction Webinar” delivered by the United Nations Regional Centre for Peace, Disarmament and Development in Latin America and the Caribbean (UNLIREC). Officials from Ministries of National Security, Police Forces, Forensic Laboratories and Defence Forces participated.
The introductory webinar sought to familiarize the participants on several topics including the collection and analysis of crime scene evidence, bullet impact analysis, sequencing gunshots on glass and distance determination of gunshots.
The high rates of armed violence as well as the proliferation of illicit firearms are major problems in the Caribbean, hence specialists in the region continue to build their capacity to deal with both issues.
The webinar contributes to the implementation of Goal 2 of the Caribbean Firearms Roadmap, “to reduce the illicit flow of firearms and ammunition into, within and beyond the region” 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.
What is crime scene reconstruction? The reconstruction of shooting crime scenes relies upon the careful examination and processing of a scene for all pertinent physical evidence including defects and damage caused by projectiles. The observations of impact sites can provide investigators with information about the projectile, firearm, intermediate objects in the path of the projectile, direction of projectile travel, order of shots and other information. Reconstructing shooting crime scenes assists states, and their crime scene investigators, to identify, reconstruct, and document projectile flight paths (trajectories), based on established impact marks.
This activity was funded by 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.
UNLIREC, as the regional centre 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.
42 forensic professionals, officers from the police forces and judiciary members were trained in criminal investigation with a gender perspective.
From 27 June to 6 July 2022, the United Nations Regional Center for Peace, Disarmament and Development in Latin America and the Caribbean (UNLIREC), in collaboration with the Trinidad and Tobago Police Service, held virtually the Specialized Course on Firearms Investigation from a Gender Perspective (FIGP). Its objective was to strengthen the knowledge and technical skills of participants on criminal investigation by implementing a gender perspective.
Representatives from the Police Service, the Forensic Science Center, the Judiciary, the Countertrafficking Unit and the Customs Division of Trinidad and Tobago participated.
Particularly, this activity sought to promote the inclusion of gender perspectives in criminal investigations as a complementary method of analysis, to contribute to the formulation of conclusions free of gender stereotypes, to identify and process evidence of violence based on gender, and to guarantee human rights of female victims.
Given that the presence of firearms in circles of violence against women not only imply a potential murder weapon, but also an instrument of threat, intimidation and coercion, the course raised awareness of the importance to strengthen the cooperation of all actors involved in judicial investigations to optimize individual and collective efforts to deal with crimes involving firearms, with special attention to cases of gender-based violence and consequently to reduce impunity rates of those crimes.
With initiatives like this Course, the Government of Trinidad and Tobago, with the technical support of UNLIREC, demonstrates its commitment to prevent, analyse, and eradicate violence against women.
