From 6 to 8 December 2022, officials from the Royal St. Christopher and Nevis Police Force of St. Kitts and Nevis and the Saint Kitts and Nevis Defence Force participated in the virtual Physical Security and Stockpile Management (PSSM) training workshop.
Through presentations and practical exercises, participants were introduced to international standards and best practices in stockpile management, physical security and stockpile management, marking and recordkeeping as well as firearms and ammunition destruction procedures.
The PSSM training workshop forms part of the technical assistance provided by UNLIREC under the ‘Preventing Diversion of Conventional Arms and Ammunition in the Caribbean’ project, funded by the United States of America. This specialized workshop aims at strengthening States’ capacities, on this occasion in St. Kitts and Nevis, to reinforce national mechanisms to reduce and prevent the diversion of conventional weapons and ammunition and improve security sector forces’ capacities in securing stockpile facilities.
It should be noted that this workshop contributes to Goal 4 of the Caribbean Firearms Roadmap, entitled ‘Systematically decrease the risk of diversion of firearms and ammunition from government- and non-government-owned arsenals’, thus aiding regional efforts to prevent illicit trafficking in firearms and ammunition and armed violence in the Caribbean.