On 11 June 2021, the United Nations Regional Centre for Peace, Disarmament and Development in Latin America and the Caribbean (UNLIREC) and the Caribbean Community’s Implementation Agency for Crime and Security (CARICOM IMPACS), in collaboration with the Government of Saint Lucia, and the Government of Germany, hosted a virtual Executive Seminar for the Advancement of Saint Lucia’s National Action Plan for the implementation of the Caribbean Firearms Roadmap.
On 22 January 2021, CARICOM’s Council of National Security and Law Enforcement (CONSOLE) officially adopted the ‘Roadmap for Implementing The Caribbean Priority Actions on the Illicit Proliferation of Firearms and Ammunition across the Caribbean in a Sustainable Manner by 2030’ (Caribbean Firearms Roadmap), which consolidates and builds upon the 2019 actions adopted by Caribbean Heads of Governments on addressing the illicit trafficking of firearms in the region.
Saint Lucia adopted the Caribbean Firearms Roadmap in May 2021 and has already initiated concrete actions contemplated in the Roadmap by taking steps to create its National Action Plan (NAP). A total of 14 representatives of the Department of Home Affairs and National Security, the Royal Saint Lucia Police Force, Forensic Science Laboratory, Bordelais Correctional Facility and the Director of Public Prosecutions Office, along with members of the German Embassy, UNLIREC and CARICOM IMPACS participated in the NAP Executive Seminar. Participants discussed the steps needed to map out Saint Lucia’s priorities, plans, and timelines for implementing the Roadmap. The successful implementation of which will require both the concerted efforts of national authorities, as well as the timely, targeted and coordinated support of regional and international partners and donors. The Roadmap has pre-defined goals, targets and actions as well as recommended performance indicators, serving as a base document for Saint Lucia in the elaboration of its National Action Plan (NAP).
UNLIREC and CARICOM IMPACS, as the main implementing partners, will lend technical assistance in the elaboration of the NAPs and in their successive implementation. The governments of Canada, Germany, United States of America, and the United Kingdom have pledged support to the implementation of the Caribbean Firearms Roadmap.
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.