Latin America and the Caribbean have, in general terms, experienced a dramatic increase in armed violence in recent years, driven in large part by the illicit trafficking of firearms, its parts/components, and ammunition. Public policies against illicit arms trafficking in Latin America and the Caribbean have led to an increased use of X-ray technology for the screening of postal shipments. Thus, states have called on the United Nations Regional Centre for Peace, Disarmament and Development in Latin America and the Caribbean (UNLIREC) to provide specialized interdiction tools and X-ray screening training to help combat illicit arms trade by developing a Course for Interdicting Small Arms in Postal Shipments (ISA PS). The project’s main goal is to boost the capacity of Latin American and Caribbean states to reduce the distribution of illicit arms and their parts/components via postal shipments.
Crucial milestones of the project were the development of an Arms, Ammunition, Parts and Components Identification Guide in collaboration between UNLIREC and CASRA, and a pilot course and study in Costa Rica.
For more information related to this capacity building initiative, please see Newsletter Issue 16 of the Center for Adaptive Security Research and Applications (CASRA) at https://www.casra.ch/en/about-us/casra-newsletter.html
Source: CASRA: https://www.casra.ch/en/about-us/casra-news