On 15 December 2021, the United Nations Regional Centre for Peace, Disarmament and Development in Latin America and the Caribbean (UNLIREC), in collaboration with the Ministry on Women’s Condition and Women’s Rights in Haiti and with the support of the United Nations Development Programme in Haiti, held a national virtual seminar on “Measures to Prevent Armed Violence against Women”.
The main objectives of the webinar were to present the issue of armed violence and violence against women, the links between the two and their impacts on society; sensitize about the importance of linking the legal framework on firearms and ammunition control with the prevention of violence against women, as well as promoting an inter-institutional and collaborative approach to address and prevent gender-based armed violence against women.
In her opening remarks, the Minister on Women’s Condition and Women’s Rights emphasized the fact that the issue of armed violence against women was a priority for the Government as girls and women were particularly affected by violence perpetrated by criminal groups.
The first presentation, given by UNLIREC, made visible the differentiated impact of firearms on men and women, at the global, regional and national levels. It also emphasized the incidence of firearms on the different types of gender-based violence, including femicides. The presentation pointed to the presence of a firearm as a risk factor not only because it can be lethal but also because it is an element that can be used to threaten and coerce victims, therefore increasing their vulnerability.
UNLIREC’s second and last presentation for this activity focused on the findings of the Legal Study on the Making the link between norms on violence against women and small arms control and regulation norms: analysis of Haiti which analyzes Haiti’s norms in both thematic areas. During the seminar, references were made to good practices that were found in different countries’ legal framework in the region. A special emphasis was made on the importance of including and defining the crime of femicide in the national legal framework, as well as several types of measures to prevent and protect women from being victims of violence committed with firearms. The presentation also referred to the possibility of conducting a risk analysis from the very moment a person requests to possess a firearm as a prevention measure.
The virtual event was open to government officials, civil society organizations, including women and youth organizations, academia and international and regional cooperation agencies and programs. 59 people, including a large majority of 40 women, attended the event. The audience included government officials and mostly civil society organizations and agencies and programs of the United Nations System in Haiti.
This initiative is part of a series of activities that UNLIREC carried out to strengthen national capacities to develop and implement gender-sensitive approaches to issues related to the reduction of armed violence. This initiative was possible thanks to the financial support of the Government of Canada.
On 8 December 2021, the United Nations Regional Centre for Peace, Disarmament and Development in Latin America and the Caribbean (UNLIREC) held the Symposium ‘Female Forces for Change’ to celebrate the 11th anniversary of the General Assembly Resolution 65/69 on Women, Disarmament, Non-Proliferation and Arms Control, which urges State Parties, regional and sub-regional organisations, the United Nations, its agencies and programmes, to promote the equal representation of women in all decision-making processes related to these issues.
The Symposium’s objective was to raise awareness and celebrate the contribution of women in the region. Eight women from different countries and diverse backgrounds in the field shared their experiences in line with the four pillars of the United Nation’s Secretary General’s Agenda for Disarmament “Securing our common future”.
Pillar 1, ‘Disarmament to save humanity’, which advocates to reduce and eliminate weapons of mass destruction, featured María Antonieta Jáquez (Mexico), Political Coordinator of the Permanent Mission of Mexico to the United Nations, and Soledad Urruela Arenales (Guatemala), Programme Manager and Regional Coordinator for the implementation of UN Security Council Resolution 1540.
Pillar 2 “Disarmament to save lives”, which calls for reducing and mitigating the impact of conventional weapons, was represented by two government officials with responsibilities in the control and regulation of small arms and light weapons. They are María del Pilar Noriega López (Peru), General Manager of the National Superintendence for the Control of Security Services, Arms, Ammunition and Explosives for Civilian Use (SUCAMEC) and Samantha Allen (Jamaica), Executive Director, Safety, Security and Small Arms Unit, Ministry of National Security.
Pillar 3 “Disarmament to save future generations”, which calls for vigilance regarding new and emerging weapons technologies, featured María Pía Devoto (Argentina), Coordinator of the Human Security Network of Latin America and the Caribbean (SEHLAC) and member of the Stop Killer Robots Campaign, and Hazel Villalobos (Costa Rica), Technical Manager and Researcher at the Foundation for Peace and Democracy (FUNDAPEM).
Finally, Pillar 4, “Strengthening Partnerships for Disarmament”, is a call to revitalise disarmament institutions and partner with governments, civil society, women and youth. It was represented by Carolina de Mattos Ricardo (Brazil), Executive Director of Sou da Paz and Delia Chatoor (Trinidad and Tobago), an expert in International Humanitarian Law, former diplomat and former Vice President of the Trinidad and Tobago Red Cross Society.
In addition to celebrating the contribution of these women, the event served as a platform to officially launch the audio visual material produced by UNLIREC to support the dissemination of the important progress achieved by women in the region in the four Pillars that make up the Disarmament Agenda. Eighty three persons from across the region attended the Symposium, with 80% of the audience being women.
The event was part of the Project “Advancing Regional Implementation of UN General Assembly Resolution 65/69 on Women, Disarmament, Non-Proliferation and Arms Control”, funded by the Government of Canada.
On 6 December 2021, the United Nations Regional Centre for Peace, Disarmament and Development in Latin America and the Caribbean (UNLIREC) held a technical meeting that brought together officials from different governmental sectors and countries of the region, with the purpose of analysing the progress and challenges related to the inclusion of gender considerations recommended in the United Nations Programme of Action to Prevent, Combat and Eradicate the Illicit Trade in Small Arms and Light Weapons in All Its Aspects (hereinafter PoA).
Thirty-seven officials participated in the meeting from Ministries of Foreign Affairs; PoA Coordination Mechanisms; Firearms Control and Regulation Agencies; Criminal Statistics Offices; and Bodies with a mandate in gender and women’s equality.
UNLIREC provided an introduction on the implications of the PoA, highlighting when gender considerations were included, namely at the Sixth and Seventh Biennial Meeting of States (BMS6, 2016 and BMS7, 2021) and at the Third Review Conference (RevCon3, 2018). Among the various commitments, the following highlights those that were addressed:
Consider the different effects of illicit small arms and light weapons (hereinafter SALW) on women, men, young girls and boys in policies and programmes aiming to combat illicit trafficking of these weapons, and encourage the collection of disaggregated data on gender and the illicit trade in SALW.
Ensure coordination between national authorities responsible for executing the PoA and the relevant ministries or other national authorities with a mandate on gender equality, as well as women’s CSOs.
Share national experiences, lessons learned and best practices on mainstreaming gender aspects in politics and programmes aimed at combatting illicit SALW trafficking, and to voluntarily provide information and communicate gender-relevant initiatives as part of the national PoA and ITI implementation reports; among others.
While States have made considerable progress in recognising the above-mentioned issues, an analysis of the National Reports reveals difficulties in the local implementation of these commitments. It is due to this that, to encourage debate and exchange national best practices, three countries with initiatives that contribute to the gender commitments of the PoA were called upon to participate.
These experiences included Guatemala’s National Commission for the Prevention of Armed Violence, which proposes an expanded approach to the Commission’s composition and allows for the inclusion of non-traditional sectors. On the other hand, regarding the collection of SALW data disaggregated by gender, the National Institute of Statistics and Geography (INEGI) of Mexico presented on the inclusion of the category “firearm” in the National Survey on the Dynamics of Household Relationships (ENDIREH). The National Registry of Femicides of Argentina also presented the findings of a recent study they are conducting in cooperation with the National Agency of Controlled Materials (ANMaC) regarding the highest possible disaggregation of firearms involved in femicides (authorised/unauthorised firearms; regulation firearms-FFSS). Likewise, ANMaC delivered a presentation onvarious initiatives with a gender perspective, among which the following stand out: gender training for security forces and shooting instructors; cooperation with the justice system to establish registration obstacles and disqualifications for persons accused of gender-based violence, among other initiatives.
We at UNLIREC hope that the meeting has contributed to the integration of gender considerations in the implementation of national policies and actions for firearms control, armed violence prevention and combating illicit trafficking of SALW.
This activity took place within the framework of UNLIREC’s Women, Disarmament, Non-Proliferation and Arms Control Programme, funded by the European Union and Canada, and was part of the International Campaign #16 Days of Activism Against Gender Violence (25 November – 10 December).
From 30 August to 10 September 2021, the United Nations Regional Centre for Peace, Disarmament and Development in Latin America and the Caribbean (UNLIREC), in cooperation with the National Institute of Women and the Secretariat of International Relations of Mexico, carried out the Specialised Course on Gender Perspective in the Investigation of Crimes involving Firearms (CEGAF).
Thanks to the collaboration of the Attorney General’s Office, it was possible to summon more than 40 prosecutors, prosecutors, criminal experts and investigative police from the Attorney General’s Offices of 28 States of Mexico (units specialized in femicide, gender-based crimes, criminalistics and expert services) to attend the meeting.
The CEGAF course, in addition to helping sensitize participants about the importance of gender perspective in crimes committed with firearms, also strengthens the technical knowledge applicable to the scientific method of criminal investigation, as well as interinstitutional cooperation in these areas.
The federal composition of the group’s members made it possible to exchange different realities and challenges they face. Emphasis was also placed on the need to strengthen the coordination and cooperation of the participating personnel in order to optimize their individual and collective efforts to deal with crimes related to violence against women (VAW) and firearms.
The course was developed virtually and distributed in six interactive meetings, in which the participants were able to contribute their experiences and speak with UNLIREC instructors. The theoretical and technical aspects of criminal investigations were addressed and the way in which the gender perspective – as a method of analysis – contributes to the formulation of stereotype-free conclusions, supported by objective technical or scientific studies based on the appropriate theory. Case studies were also used throughout the training to raise awareness of the absence of a gender perspective and the violation of rights that it causes in the victims and their families.
During the training, emphasis was placed on the use of firearms to commit different types of VAW, that is, not only when it is involved as a murder weapon, but also when it is used as an instrument to threaten, intimidate and coerce. The importance of the correct handling of the crime scene and of firearms and ammunition as physical evidence in the investigation with a gender perspective of crimes against women was highlighted. Finally, good practices were shared and participants were urged to strengthen the articulation and cooperation between all the actors involved in the different stages of the judicial investigation in order to optimize their individual and collective efforts to deal with crimes related to firearms with special attention to cases of gender-based violence, thus helping to reduce the levels of impunity and strengthen the capacities of the institutions of the justice and security sectors.
This activity forms part of the project entitled “Support for the integration of the gender perspective in policies, programs and actions in the fight against trafficking and misuse of small arms” funded by the European Union.
From 12-23 July 2021, the United Nations Regional Centre for Peace, Disarmament and Development in Latin America and the Caribbean (UNLIREC), in collaboration with the Guatemalan Ministry of Foreign Affairs, delivered a Specialised course on firearms investigations from a gender perspective (FIGP) to close to 30 officials.
Thanks to the cooperation of the Ministry of the Interior, the Public Prosecutor’s Office and the Judicial Studies School, an interinstitutional group was formed, consisting of officials from the women’s office and the office against femicide; judges from the femicide court, violence against women, and sexual violence; investigators from the National Police, specifically from the femicide department, Department for Crimes against Life, and the division specialising in criminal investigation.
The course, as well as helping to sensitize participants on the importance of incorporating a gender perspective into tackling crimes committed with firearms, strengthens the technical knowledge of the scientific method of criminal investigation and interinstitutional cooperation in these fields.
The diverse nature of the group emphasized one of FIGP’s objectives: strengthening staff coordination and cooperation to optimize individual and collective efforts to tackle crimes related to violence against women and firearms.
The course was carried out virtually and separated into six interactive conferences, in which participants could present their experiences and converse with UNLIREC instructors. Theoretical and technical aspects of criminal investigation were discussed in detail, as well as the way in which the gender perspective as a method of analysis helps us reach conclusions free from stereotypes, grounded in objective technical or scientific studies that are based on relevant theory. Case studies were conducted to highlight the absence of a gender perspective, which violates the rights of victims and their families.
During the training, emphasis was placed on the use of firearms to commit different types of violence against women, not only as a murder weapon, but also as a means to threaten, intimidate and coerce. The training stressed the importance of the correct management of a crime scene and of firearms and ammunition as physical evidence in investigations from a gender perspective. The course shared good practices with participants and urged them to strengthen interaction and cooperation across the different stages of judicial investigation, to optimize individual and collective efforts to tackle crimes related to firearms with special attention given to cases of gender-based violence. This helps to reduce levels of impunity and improves justice and security institutions.
This course forms part of the ‘Support for the integration of the gender perspective in policies, programmes and action in the fight against trafficking and the misuse of small arms’ project, funded by the European Union.
