Lima- As part of UNLIREC’s strategy to support countries in the region, the first Specialized Training Course for Legal Practitioners and Judicial Officials on Combating Impunity in the Illicit Trafficking of Firearms, Ammunition and Explosives, developed by UNLIREC’s in-house legal team, was carried out between 5 and 7 December. This course was supported by the Government of Peru, through the National Commission against the Illicit Manufacturing of and Trafficking in Firearms, Ammunition, Explosives and Other Related Materials (CONATIAF) and the School of the Public Prosecution Office.
The main purpose of the course is to provide knowledge, tools and technical and practical instruments to legal operators in their daily fight against illicit trafficking in firearms and ammunition and explosives. The course also seeks to support the fight against the impunity in these types of cases and to strengthen the coordination and cooperation of legal practitioners working in the field of arms control. One of its strategic objectives is to ensure that public academies incorporate the course content into their curricula with a view to promoting institutionalization and sustainability over time; this has been successfully achieved in Peru, since the School of the Public Prosecution Office announced that the modules of the course will now form part of its academic training programme.
The course brought together 28 members of the Public Prosecution Office, the judiciary, the Peruvian National Police, the General Directorate of Security Services Control, Arms Control, Ammunition and Explosives for Civil Use (DICSCAMEC), the CONATIAF as well as members of Military Court. It should be noted that over 20% of participants were women, showing the increasing role of women in the fight against illicit firearms trafficking. The course culminated in a practical exercise, which simulated a real-life scenario in which the participants had the opportunity to put into practice everything they had learned during the theoretical part of the course.
National and international instructors and representatives from the School of the Public Prosecution office, the DICSCAMEC and the National Institute of Legal Medicine of Colombia, as well as UNLIREC’s team of experts participated in this activity, which was made possible thanks to the support from the Government of Canada.