Jul 27, 2023 | Conventional Arms Programme
Barbados moves forward with implementation of the Caribbean Firearms Roadmap
From 27-28 July, as part of the Caribbean Firearms Roadmap initiative, Barbados participated in a Roundtable Meeting on the Caribbean Firearms Roadmap and technical assessments of state armouries, carried out by the United Nations Regional Centre for Peace, Disarmament and Development in Latin America and the Caribbean (UNLIREC).
During the roundtable, government representatives from Barbados met with UNLIREC to follow up on the drafting of the National Action Plan (NAP) for the advancement of the Caribbean Firearms Roadmap and discussed the substantive progress made in the development of Barbados’ NAP.
As part of the assistance, UNLIREC´s Team also reviewed the weapons and ammunition management practices implemented at the state facilities in Barbados. This activity aims to strengthen the physical security and stockpile management practices in Barbados, to ultimately prevent diversion of weapons and ammunition from government arsenals to the illicit market. The assessment was conducted in accordance with international guidelines including the United Nations Modular Small-arms-control Implementation Compendium (MOSAIC) and the International Ammunition Technical Guidelines (IATG).
UNLIREC, as the UN Office for Disarmament Affairs’ regional centre, 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. This assistance was made possible with the generous financial support of the governments of the United States of America and Canada.
Jul 18, 2023 | Conventional Arms Programme
From 18 to 21 July 2023, officials from the Firearm Licensing Authority, the Department of Correctional Services, the Institute of Forensic Science and Legal Medicine, the Jamaica Constabulary Force, the Jamaica Defence Force, the Ministry of National Security, and the Jamaica Customs Agency participated in the virtual Physical Security and Stockpile Management (PSSM) Training Workshop. This workshop sought to strengthen State capacities to reinforce national mechanisms to reduce and prevent the diversion of conventional weapons and ammunition and improve law enforcement capacity to secure stockpile facilities.
As a result of this workshop, 23 national officers are now more knowledgeable on international standards and best practices in physical security and stockpile management, marking and recordkeeping. The presentations addressed the relevance of national mechanisms and measures to reduce and prevent the diversion of firearms and ammunition from national stockpiles.
The PSSM Training Workshop forms part of the technical assistance provided by the United Nations Regional Centre for Peace, Disarmament and Development in Latin America and the Caribbean (UNLIREC) in the framework of the “Preventing Diversion of Conventional Arms and Ammunition in the Caribbean” project, funded by the United States of America.
This course also contributes to Goal 4 of the Caribbean Firearms Roadmap which sets out to “Systematically decrease the risk of diversion of firearms and ammunition from government- and non-government-owned arsenals”, and supports regional efforts to prevent illicit trafficking in firearms and ammunition and armed violence in the Caribbean.
Jul 10, 2023 | Conventional Arms Programme
July 2023. The CARICOM Implementation Agency for Crime and Security (IMPACS) and The United Nations Regional Centre for Peace, Disarmament and Development in Latin America and the Caribbean (UNLIREC), continue to coordinate organizational efforts under the Caribbean Firearms Roadmap to Prevent the Illicit Trafficking and Proliferation of Arms and Ammunition.
Regular meetings are held amongst partner agencies to align efforts, develop coordinated strategies and share lessons learned in relation to the implementation of the Caribbean Firearms Roadmap. Roadmap Partner agencies include the Organization of American States (OAS), the World Customs Organization (WCO), the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC), INTERPOL and the Small Arms Survey.
At the most recent partner meeting held on 10 July, CARICOM IMPACS formally launched a partner coordination platform which was developed using in-house expertise. This platform was developed to address the need for an established repository of information and allows various partner agencies to input activities as well as outline intended outcomes. This will ensure a complementary strategy in achieving the targets set out as priorities by Caribbean countries.
The Caribbean Firearms Roadmap was adopted in July 2020 by 15 Caribbean States and the Dominican Republic with a view to making the region safer by addressing the illicit proliferation of firearms and ammunition. International partners have since supported Caribbean States through the provision of expertise and best practices towards the adoption of sustainable solutions, consistent with international norms and the Caribbean context, to control, eradicate, prevent, and prosecute the illicit possession, proliferation and misuse of firearms and ammunition.
These meetings and the newly launched platform are both mechanisms that support progress towards achieving the goals of the Caribbean Firearms Roadmap. This process has shown itself to be essential in the integrated regional strategy for a safer Caribbean by preventing and combatting armed violence and the illicit proliferation of weapons.
Apr 25, 2023 | Conventional Arms Programme
On 24 April 2023, the United Nations Regional Centre for Peace, Disarmament and Development in Latin America and the Caribbean (UNLIREC), together with the Canadian High Commission, handed over to the Government of Trinidad and Tobago a Containerized Evidence Storage Solution with fabricated secured cages and shelves, for the storage of ballistic evidence at the Forensic Science Centre to address firearms related crimes.
The handover ceremony was attended by the Hon. Fitzgerald Hinds, Minister of National Security, Mr. Derrick Sankar, Director of the Forensic Science Centre, Mr. Arif Keshani, representative of the High Commissioner of Canada to Trinidad and Tobago and Ms. Soledad Urruela, Director of UNLIREC. After the ceremony, the Director of UNLIREC met with the Trinidad and Tobago authorities to discuss future technical assistance in Trinidad and Tobago.
The container, as a new storage space solution, will be used to keep evidence – mainly arms and ammunition – under custody ,providing improved physical security, access control and storage management and registration.
As part of the donation, UNLIREC provided expert guidance on the customization of the container with materials such as steel shelves, metallic doors, high security padlocks, and a laptop computer, among others. Thanks to this donation Trinidad and Tobago is now in compliance with high-security international standards and good practices to ensure proper management of arms depots, thus contributing to reduce the diversion of firearms.
This donation was made in the framework of the technical assistance that UNLIREC provides to Trinidad and Tobago through the project “SUPPORT IN THE IMPLEMENTATION OF THE CARIBBEAN FIREARMS ROADMAP ” with funding from the Government of Canada.
Apr 19, 2023 | Conventional Arms Programme
From 17 to 19 April, as part of the Caribbean Firearms Roadmap initiative, the United Nations Regional Centre for Peace, Disarmament and Development in Latin America and the Caribbean (UNLIREC), carried out technical assessments of state armouries in St. Kitts and Nevis.
During the assessment the UNLIREC’s Technical advisor reviewed the weapons and ammunition management practices implemented at the facilities. This assistance aims to strengthen the physical security and stockpile management practices in St. Kitts and Nevis, to prevent diversion of weapons and ammunition from governmental arsenals into illicit markets. The assessment was conducted in accordance with international guidelines including the United Nations Modular Small-arms-control Implementation Compendium (MOSAIC) and the International Ammunition Technical Guidelines (IATG).
In addition, on 19th April, UNLIREC also met with government representatives to present preliminary findings from the visit and to coordinate future activities in line with the Caribbean Firearms Roadmap and St. Kitts and Nevis’ National Action Plan to combat illicit firearms trafficking.
UNLIREC, as the regional office of the UN Office for Disarmament Affairs (UNODA), 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 to Prevent, Combat and Eradicate the Illicit Trade in Small Arms and Light Weapons. This assistance was made possible with the generous financial support of the government of United States of America.
