From February 29 to March 3rd, the United Nations Regional Centre for Peace, Disarmament and Development in Latin America and the Caribbean (UNLIREC), in collaboration with the government of Jamaica, held a training course on country-specific ballistic priorities in order to consolidate national capacity in those areas. This course is the second training held under the framework of UNLIREC’s Caribbean Operational Forensic Ballistics Assistance Package, which is made possible thanks to the support of the US Department of State and the Government of Canada.
The three-day training course on operational forensic ballistics enabled 18 participants, including firearms examiners and technicians to gain in-depth knowledge and practice on topics, such as health and safety, small arms ammunition examination, muzzle energy determination and range of fire. The course included developing health and safety messages, identifying ammunition and ammunition viability, calculating muzzle energy and a series of practical exercises on shot pattern determination. Participants also had the opportunity to exchange best practices and challenges faced in the field and to practice new methods and technology in order to build more substantial cases and solid evidence.
UNLIREC also handed over the first set of materials assigned to each country as part of the assistance package to officials from the Firearms Licensing Authority and of the Forensic Laboratory.
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.
For more information on UNLIREC visit (www.unlirec.org). Please direct all questions or inquiries to Amanda Cowl, Political Affairs Officer (cowl@unlirec.org).