8 APRIL 2024 – CONVENTIONAL ARMS PROGRAMME
From 8 to 11 April, twenty-five military and police officers reinforced their knowledge on physical security and stockpile management (PSSM) through a virtual training organized by the United Nations Regional Centre for Peace, Disarmament and Development in Latin America and the Caribbean (UNLIREC).
Effectively managing weapons and ammunition stockpiles not only mitigates the risk of loss and theft but also prevents accidents, helps to identify obsolete or surplus weapons, and, in turn, contributes to overall peace and security. As such, the main goal of the training was to enhance national capabilities in managing and securing stockpiles of weapons, ammunition, and explosives in accordance with international norms and standards, through theoretical lectures, practical exercises, and group discussions covering crucial aspects of PSSM.
Key topics included International Standards and Best Practices in Stockpile Management, including the Modular Small-Arms-Control Implementation Compendium (MOSAIC) and International Ammunition Technical Guidelines (IATGs). The sessions also delved into standard operating procedures and security plans, marking and recordkeeping, inventory management, and firearms and ammunition destruction procedures.
This workshop is linked to the Caribbean Firearm Roadmap, which foresees in its Goal 4 to systematically decrease the risk of diversion of firearms and ammunition from stockpiles. Moreover, adequate PSSM practices contribute to the implementation of international instruments, as well as the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, which provide the umbrella framework for violence prevention, arms control and peace and security.
This activity is part of the technical assistance provided by UNLIREC in the framework of its project “Preventing Diversion of Conventional Arms and Ammunition in the Caribbean”, funded by the United States State Department, through its Weapons Removal and Abatement Bureau.