On 29 March 2021, the United Nations Regional Centre for Peace, Disarmament and Development in Latin America and the Caribbean (UNLIREC), in collaboration with the Governments of the United Kingdom and Trinidad and Tobago, hosted an Inter-Institutional Round Table Meeting to advance the development of Trinidad and Tobago’s National Action Plan (NAOP).
Trinidad and Tobago has made consistent advances in reviewing the actions in the Caribbean Firearms Roadmap and identifying national priorities for its NAP since adopting the Roadmap. After its initial Executive Seminar, national authorities on their own, and with UNLIREC, have hosted several drafting sessions to identify national priorities under each of the Goals in the Roadmap and complete its NAP template.
Goal 4, of the Caribbean Firearms Roadmap is systematically decrease the risk of diversion of firearms and ammunition from government and non-government owned arsenals. On this occasion, UNLIREC supported Trinidad and Tobago by hosting a thematic Inter-Institutional Roundtable to discuss Goal 4 and stockpile management. The meeting brought together the national drafting team that included 19 representatives from Trinidad and Tobago Police Service, Forensic Science Centre, Strategic Services Agency and Ministry of National Security. UNLIREC’s technical experts participated and delivered technical presentations on best practices and international standards for stockpile management to help the NAP development.
The Inter-Institutional Round Table Meeting complemented recent initiatives undertaken by Trinidad and Tobago following its adoption of the Caribbean Firearms Roadmap, and which were made possible thanks to support of the government of the United Kingdom.
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.