Nov 28, 2018 | Uncategorized
The United Nations Regional Centre for Peace, Disarmament and Development in Latin America and the Caribbean (UNLIREC), continues to support State efforts to achieve effective implementa-tion of the Arms Trade Treaty (ATT). In that context, UNLIREC and Paraguay’s Ministry of For-eign Affairs organized an Executive Workshop. The two-day activity (28-29 November) held at the Diplomatic and Consular Academy, aimed at increasing technical knowledge on the obligations of the Arms Trade Treaty. The Workshop targeted officials from sectors in charge or linked to con-trolling conventional arms transfers and ATT implementation.
In addition, UNLIREC presented the regional and international context of conventional arms trans-fers, Treaty obligations regarding the establishment of a national control system, a national control list and the available mechanisms to present initial and annual reports before the ATT Secretariat.
Paraguay’s current situation was analyzed alongside the ATT obligations at the executive work-shop. The information gathered from this encounter served as the basis for future discussions and as a source of inputs to identify the next steps implementing the Treaty.
The discussions held during the Workshop will continue in February (2019), at a second Executive Workshop on good practices, in the areas of arms control and prevention of the diversion of weap-ons, ammunition, parts and components, aimed to officials with responsibilities related to the pre-vention of diversions.
Participants included the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Directorate of War Material, National Police, Ministry of Interior, Public Ministry, National Customs Directorate, National Anti-Drug Secretariat, National Defense Commission of the National Congress, the Money Laundering Prevention Secre-tariat and the National Secretariat for the Administration of Seized and Confiscated Assets.
All project-related activities were funded by the ATT Voluntary Trust Fund (VTF), of which Para-guay is a beneficiary and in which UNLIREC, at the request of the Paraguayan authorities, is an implementing partner.
Nov 27, 2018 | Uncategorized
From 27-28 November, UNLIREC carried out the third in a series of technical workshops on international stockpile management standards in Jamaica in order to strengthen the capacity of Private Security Company operational personnel and employees of other agencies responsible for firearms and ammunition stockpile management.
The mission forms part of UNLIREC´s German-funded Project to prevent and combat illicit arms and ammunition trafficking in Latin America and the Caribbean. This project, among other goals, aims at strengthening the oversight and build capacities for small arms control and non-proliferation in the private security sector in the region.
23 officials were trained on stockpile management and physical security measures for weapons and ammunition storage facilities in order to reduce diversion risks. Workshop content was based on the Modular Small Arms Control Implementation Compendium (MOSAIC) and the International Ammunition Technical Guidelines (IATGs). Participants included certified instructors from the Firearm Licensing Authority, Private Security Companies, Dealers and Shooting Range Operators.
On 29 November, UNLIREC also carried out an assessment of the weapon and ammunition storage practices and physical security measures of the Jamaica Rifle Association (JRA) in order to provide technical recommendations to avert possible risks of diversion.
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.
Nov 26, 2018 | Uncategorized
Within the framework of the technical assistance that the United Nations Regional Centre for Peace, Disarmament and Development in Latin America and the Caribbean (UNLIREC) provides to the Dominican Republic in the implementation of the Arms Trade Treaty (ATT), UNLIREC held a Technical Workshop on International Standards on Physical Security and Firearms and Ammunition Stockpile Management with the support of the Ministry of Interior and Police (MIP) of the Dominican Republic.
The workshop was held at the headquarters of the Ministry of Interior and Police in Santo Domingo on November 26 and 27 and was aimed at representatives of national institutions responsible for the physical security, management and control of state stockpile of firearms, ammunition and explosives. This workshop was attended by authorities and officials from the Ministry of the Interior and Police, Ministry of Defense, members of the National Police, Army, Navy and Air Force, General Directorate of Customs, members of the Ballistic and Biometric Laboratory of the National Weapons System (LABBS, in Spanish), the Attorney General’s Office and representatives of the Judicial Branch with competence in the safeguarding of firearms, ammunition and explosives.
During the course of the workshop, the technical aspects and classifications of Small Arms and Light Weapons, ammunition, explosives and hazardous materials were addressed, the International Standards for the Control of Small Arms (ISACS/MOSAIC), the International Ammunition Technical Guidelines (IATGs) were presented, and special mention was made of risk assessment in stockpiles, security plans and Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs).
Participants had the opportunity to be trained in the efficient management of firearms, ammunition and explosives stockpiles, in order to minimize the possibility of theft and loss of weapons, ammunition or explosives, and their diversion into illegality. The workshop also included a practical component aimed at applying the theoretical instruction received and reducing to the minimum acceptable level the security risks of storage facilities in terms of natural disasters, explosions and other incidents.
The Workshop fostered an in-depth exchange of ideas among the participants, favoring the identification of areas of vulnerability and challenges of inter-institutional work to strengthen physical security and stockpile management as arms control measures.
The technical assistance provided by UNLIREC included the Technical Workshop and subsequent visits to different state and judicial arms and ammunition depots at the national level.
Since 2015 UNLIREC has been supporting the efforts of the Dominican Republic to implement its obligations under the Arms Trade Treaty through various projects. This Workshop is part of the ATT Voluntary Trust Fund (VTF) project, of which UNLIREC is a technical implementing partner of the Dominican Republic in the ATT implementation.
Nov 23, 2018 | Uncategorized
The Regional Centre for Peace, Disarmament and Development in Latin America and the Caribbean (UNLIREC), with the support of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of El Salvador, developed the Workshop on the Evaluation of Conventional Arms Transfers, with special focus on the gender criterion outlined in the Arms Trade Treaty (ATT).
The Workshop took place at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, on 21 and 22 November, and it was aimed at representatives of the national institutions responsible for authorizing arms transfers, as well as those institutions or departments with jurisdiction and knowledge in matters concerning human rights, international humanitarian law, gender and childhood. Authorities and civil servants from the Chancellery of El Salvador, the Ministry of Defence, the Ministry of Justice and Public Security, the General Directorate of Customs, the National Council for Childhood and Adolescence and the Armed Violence Survivors Network also participated.
During the Workshop, the main obligations of the ATT were addressed, especially those related to export assessment, with particular attention being placed on art. 7.4 of the treaty and the layers of protection for gender and childhood which can be applied in an export control system.
Based on the theoretic instruction received and the evaluation of two fictitious cases focused on the gender criterion outlined in the Treaty, participants assessed the risk of conventional arms and other elements included in the Treaty being used to commit or facilitate serious acts of gender-based violence or serious acts of violence against women and children. Thanks to the wide variety of institutions participating and the ideas shared throughout the day, the Workshop made it possible to identify future challenges and areas for joint effort to strengthen export risk controls and assessments.
Since 2015 UNLIREC has been supporting El Salvadorian efforts to effectively implement the Arms Trade Treaty through various projects. This Workshop is part of the regional Project entitled Women, Disarmament, Non-Proliferation and Arms Control, through which UNLIREC contributes to the implementation of Resolution 65/69 of the United Nations General Assembly.
The implementation of this Project is possible thanks to financial support from the Government of Canada.
Oct 29, 2018 | Uncategorized
From 29 October – 1 November 2018, in Guyana and from 5 – 7 November in St Kitts and Nevis, the United Nations Regional Centre for Peace, Disarmament and Development in Latin America and the Caribbean (UNLIREC), in collaboration with the Governments of Guyana and St Kitts and Nevis, conducted an assessment on the physical ballistic samples available to create open case files (OCF) in both States. OCFs are a collection of ammunition components, fired bullets, cartridge cases, etc. that derive from an ‘outstanding’ or ‘unrecovered’ firearm. OCFs assist firearms examiners in linking seemingly unrelated crime scenes where firearms were used.
Phase 3 of UNLIREC’s project on Combatting Illicit Firearms and Ammunition Trafficking in the Caribbean Through Operational Forensic Ballistics, seeks to develop physical OCFs to improve the ability of both States to link gun crimes and reduce impunity. OCFs are an obvious step to take for Police or national laboratories to collate all crime scene bullets and cartridge cases where no gun has been recovered. An OCF provides an immediate intelligence product as to whether a gun has a history of use.
UNLIREC Technical advisers together with the firearm examiners and related staff of the Guyana Police Force, Guyana Forensic Science Laboratory and Royal St Kitts and Nevis Police Force participated in the review of storage practices, unsolved crime cases and associated firearms related evidence available to create an OCF.
During Phase 1 and 2 of the Operational Forensic Ballistic assistance package, Guyana and St Kitts and Nevis received support through training in forensic ballistic Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs), the development of an internal testing tool to prepare firearm examiners for proficiency testing and the procurement of a containerized test firing range (Guyana). Phase 3 in both countries focuses on the creation of an OCF and 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.
Oct 26, 2018 | Uncategorized
The United Nations Regional Centre for Peace, Disarmament and Development in Latin America and the Caribbean (UNLIREC) in collaboration with the National Police of Colombia, conducted the Firearms and Ammunition Evidence Management Course (EMC) at the “Simón Bolívar” Police Academy located in Tuluá, Valle del Cauca.
In this edition of the EMC, held for the first time in Colombia, over thirty civil servants from the National Police and the Prosecutor’s Office were trained. During the course they received theoretical and practical training in identifying firearms and ammunition, good practices for ensuring appropriate crime scene management, evidence processing and analysis, as well as the correct application of the chain-of-custody system, among other useful tools to improve investigation processes and intelligence related to cases involving firearms and ammunition.
The course boasted the participation of a varied group of civil servants. Included in the group were patrollers, first responders, experts, police personnel specialized in the areas of criminal and ballistic investigation, as well as regional prosecutors from Valle del Cauca.
As part of the development of EMC and the cross-cutting theme of this course, the importance of incorporating the gender perspective in criminal investigation processes was emphasized. Similarly, participants were urged to strengthen communication and cooperation among all stakeholders in the different stages of judicial investigation in order to optimize their collective and individual efforts in dealing with firearm-related offences. Special attention should be placed on cases of gender-based violence, in this way contributing to a reduction in levels of impunity and an increase in levels of citizen confidence in justice and security institutions.
To conclude, the Director of the “Simón Bolívar” Police Academy, expressed his gratitude to UNLIREC for organizing this course, highlighting the strategic importance this kind of specialized training holds for the National Police. Not only does it align with institutional priorities, but it also contributes to the capacity building of police personnel and other civil servants, allowing them to provide better service to the communities.
This activity was prepared as part of the “Building Momentum for the Regional Implementation of A/RES/65/69 on Women, Disarmament, Non-Proliferation and Arms Control” project, which is implemented thanks to the financial assistance of the Government of Canada.
