Apr 12, 2019 | Uncategorized
From 1 – 11 April 2019, the United Nations Regional Centre for Peace, Disarmament and Development in Latin America and the Caribbean (UNLIREC), in collaboration with the Government of St. Kitts and Nevis, created a physical open case file (OCF) of ballistic samples from unsolved firearm crimes.
Phase 3 of the UNLIREC’s Combatting Illicit Firearms and Ammunition Trafficking in the Caribbean through Operational Forensic Ballistics, sought to develop a physical OCF to improve St. Kitts and Nevis´ ability to link gun crimes and reduce impunity in cases of armed violence. An OCF can provide an immediate intelligence product as to whether or not a gun has a history of use and is therefore a significant investigative tool. By collating all crime scene bullets and cartridges, the police or national laboratories can potentially link cases using firearms and ammunition evidence recovered at different crime scenes as well as firearms recovered independent of a crime scene.
A Firearm Examiner, Scientific and Crime Scene staff from the Royal St Christopher and Nevis Police Force participated in the two week exercise to create an OCF. This included test firing recovered weapons, reviewing test fire procedures, documenting reproducible firearm marks found on spent casings and bullets, conducting microscopic examination of casings and bullets, and documenting, uploading and searching data recovered from spent casings and bullets in an OCF database.
Data from ammunition recovered from three gun crimes that occurred over seven days were entered in the newly created OCF database along with test fires of two crime guns recovered independently of a crime scene. A search of the database revealed presumptive ‘hits’ between five cartridge cases from one of the scenes and the two firearms. This preliminary information linking previously unknown gun crimes highlights the importance and relevance of having a searchable, physical open case file to combat impunity in cases of armed violence. Following these observations, firearm examiners will analyse the ballistic evidence to confirm the linkages.
The creation of an OCF in St Kitts and Nevis is made possible thanks to the support of the government of the United States of America.
UNLIREC, as the regional organ 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.
Mar 30, 2019 | Uncategorized
From 18-29 March, the United Nations Regional Centre for Peace, Disarmament and Development in Latin America and the Caribbean (UNLIREC), in collaboration with the Royal Bahamas Police Force, commenced the second phase of firearm examiner training, which focuses on in-situ field visits, training on comparison microscopy for the examination of firearm and ammunition evidence, including bullets and cartridge cases.
UNLIREC’s current project on Combatting Illicit Firearms and Ammunition Trafficking in the Caribbean Through Operational Forensic Ballistics, seeks to provide States with more in-depth forensic ballistic training. In 2018, the Royal Bahamas Police Force (RBPF) identified a human resource requirement to enhance the capacity of the current firearms technicians so that they may eventually become competent reporting officers, capable of signing off on forensic reports. Six technicians from the Royal Bahamas Police Force participated in this training. Topics covered included examination of fired ammunition components and comparative toolmark examinations.
During Phase 1 and 2 of the Operational Forensic Ballistic assistance package, Bahamas received support through, inter alia, training in forensic ballistic Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs), the development of an internal testing tool to prepare firearm examiners for proficiency testing, and firearms and ammunition evidence management. This current assistance is made possible thanks to the support of the government of the United States of America.
UNLIREC, as the regional organ 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.
Mar 28, 2019 | Uncategorized
Within the framework of the Combating the Illicit Trafficking in Arms and Ammunition in Latin America and the Caribbean project, the United Nations Regional Centre for Peace, Disarmament and Development in Latin America (UNLIREC), in collaboration with the Ministry of Public Security of Costa Rica conducted a seminar on marking small arms and ammunition on 27 March.
The seminar boasted the participation of authorities and representatives from the Ministry of Public Security, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Forensic Sciences Laboratory and the Judicial Investigation Department.
Since 2017 UNLIREC has been working with Costa Rica on the standardization of arms marking protocols. During the seminar the obligations, standards and good international practices on marking as an arms control measure were addressed. The seminar provided a space for exchange among the different participating entities geared towards advancing the implementation of international commitments signed by Costa Rica regarding the implementation of arms marking and their incorporation in national law.
During the seminar there were also presentations on good practices for marking ammunition as well as different technical proposals in line with international guidelines. The activity ended with a practical component in which the participants could witness the marking of arms and ammunition with laser technology.
The implementation of this project is possible thanks to financial assistance from the Government of the Federal Republic of Germany.
Mar 27, 2019 | Uncategorized
On 26 March, the United Nations Regional Centre for Peace, Disarmament and Development in Latin America and the Caribbean (UNLIREC), in collaboration with the Costa Rican Ministry of Public Security, conducted the Seminar on the Control of Firearm and Ammunition Imports Control in San José, with particular focus on private security companies and trading houses as end-users. In addition to members of civil society, the Seminar boasted the participation of authorities and representatives from the Office for Private Security Services, the General Directorate of Armament, the General Directorate of Customs, the Judicial Investigation Department, the Intelligence and National Security Department, the Department of Arms and Explosives Control, the Fiscal Control Police and officials from the Special Intervention Unit as entities responsible for the authorization and control of arms transfers and the regulation of private security services.
During the day, stakeholders shared the main findings on the private security and firearms situation in Latin America and the Caribbean. Legal provisions and obligations concerning the control of arms and ammunition transfers included in international instruments were addressed, placing special emphasis on those outlined in the Arms Trade Treaty. For their part, authorities from the Ministry of Public Security and the General Directorate of Customs shared the progress being made in the national system of arms imports in Costa Rica.
The activity ended with two practical simulation exercises. Participants were given the opportunity to apply the import evaluation methodology created by UNLIREC on the basis of criteria and elements outlined in international instruments. The seminar placed particular emphasis on transfers intended for private security and arms trading companies.
The workshop allowed stakeholders to visualize future challenges and promote cooperation and coordination among the national entities responsible for controlling transfers and civilian-held firearms as well as regulating private security services.
Since 2015 the United Nations Centre for Peace, Disarmament and Development in Latin America and the Caribbean (UNLIREC) has been implementing assistance projects in Costa Rica on small arms and ammunition control in the private security sector.
The implementation of this Project is made possible thanks to financial support from the Government of the Federal Republic of Germany.
Mar 22, 2019 | Uncategorized
As part of the Canada-funded project “Building Momentum for the Regional implementation of A/RES/65/69 on Women, Disarmament, Non-Proliferation and Arms Control”, the UN Regional Centre for Peace, Disarmament and Development in Latin America and the Caribbean (UNLIREC) carried out a sub-regional seminar entitled “Fostering Violence Prevention against Women through Arms Control. Every Woman Counts.” Dates were from 20 to 21 March 2019 in San Salvador, El Salvador.
The sub-regional seminar brought together government representatives from Colombia, Costa Rica, the Dominican Republic, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, México, Nicaragua and Panamá who have responsibility for addressing arms control, gender-based violence and violence against women and girls, as well as leading non-governmental organizations (NGOs) specialized in arms control and part of the International Action Network on Small Arms. Also participating were officials and experts from UNDP, UNODC, UN Women, the Organization of American States, the Central American Integration System, and the Center of Excellence for Statistical Information on Government, Crime, Victimization and Justice.
Nancy Robinson, UNLIREC Director, offered opening remarks stressing that the high participation achieved in the Seminar “is a testimony to the growing momentum for action against armed violence in this region.” She noted examples of how the UN and its Member States increasingly highlight and respond to the gendered nature of weapons. She encouraged participants “to stand united and work together to stop femicide and ensure that adequate controls are in place to regulate arms.”
Participants explored the differentiated impacts of armed violence on women and the link between violence against women (VAW) and small arms control through nine thematic sessions including mainstreaming gender into small arms control measures, legal responses, criminal investigation and effective policing, statistics and information management, as well as prevention, education and advocacy campaigns. After hearing the seminar sessions, participants stressed the importance of considering arms control as a main aspect in preventing violence against women and expressed their commitment to include arms control in their ongoing projects and activities, as well as when assessing current and prospective legal frameworks.
The sub-regional seminar ended with a practical exercise and small-group discussions based on a specific scenario and a case study. The active engagement of the participants generated constructive dialogues and encouraged assistants to ensure the collection of disaggregated data on femicide perpetrators, arms involved, risk factors, and reporting on all forms of gender-based violence in order to achieve the sustainable development goals (SDGs), in particular the SDG5 (gender equality) and SDG16 (peace, justice and strong institutions).
The sub-regional seminar is part of a regional project funded by the Government of Canada and it was held in cooperation with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of El Salvador.
Mar 16, 2019 | Uncategorized
In recent decades, with its nuances and variations, in Latin America and the Caribbean exponential growth has been recorded in private security services and in parallel, a greater legal demand for firearms to fuel the functioning and operations of these companies. This situation has presented a number of challenges for the States as well as the sector. The latter has become a potential target for criminal networks which seek to arm themselves. Lax legal frameworks, poor weapons management and the lack of training for personnel have been documented as factors which lead to a series of risks including losses, robberies and theft of arms and ammunition which represent a potential source of deviation to illegality.
In this context, at the request of the Dominican Republic, the United Nations Regional Centre for Peace, Disarmament and Development in Latin America and the Caribbean (UNLIREC), carried out on 13 March 2019 in Santo Domingo, the official launch of the technical assistance packet for strengthening national capacities for the effective and transparent management of small arms and ammunition in the private sector.
The aforementioned launch was carried out within the context of an executive seminar on good practices and international standards in the private security sector, which boasted the participation of representatives from the Ministry of Defence, the Superintendence of Surveillance and Private Security, the Public Ministry and other institutions, as well as representatives and managers from different private security companies and associations in the sector.
In this Seminar, the main initiatives and international standards available and applicable to private security as well as arms and ammunition control in the sector were presented, in order to start an open dialogue with the authorities, security companies and representatives in the sector on the opportunities for developing mechanisms for good governance.
As part of the first set of activities in this assistance packet, a technical workshop on international standards and good practices for stockpile management was also carried out on 14 and 15 March in Santo Domingo. In this Workshop, which was directed at supervisory personnel from the regulatory entity and personnel from private security companies, around 40 persons were trained. They received training in standards and procedures for strengthening physical security and stockpile procedures in order to mitigate and reduce the risks of illegal deviation.
The implementation of this assistance is made possible thanks to the financial support of the Government of the Federal Republic of Germany.
