On 28 June 2022 in Trinidad and Tobago; and from 30 June to 1 July 2022 in Grenada, the United Nations Regional Centre for Peace, Disarmament and Development in Latin America and the Caribbean (UNLIREC) hosted Monitoring and Evaluation Roundtable meetings for the advancement of Grenada and Trinidad and Tobago’s National Action Plans and baseline assessments for the implementation of the Caribbean Firearms Roadmap.
Twenty-one national representatives from the Ministry of National Security, Ministry for Foreign and CARICOM Affairs, Trinidad and Tobago Police Force, Trinidad and Tobago Forensic Science Centre, Customs and Excise, Trinidad and Tobago Defense Force, Strategic Services Agency, Ministry of Attorney General and Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Judiciary and Prisons participated in Trinidad and Tobago.
In Grenada, thirteen national representatives from the Royal Grenada Police Force, Customs and Excise Division, Her Majesty’s Prison and Grenada Airports Authority took part in the two-day event at the Coyaba Hotel.
During the sessions, the Monitoring and Evaluation Framework for the Caribbean Firearms Roadmap initiative was presented, including a review of the regional key performance indicators and national level indicators. A thorough baseline assessment was conducted under the four goals of the Caribbean Firearms Roadmap and clarity was provided on the reporting styles and timelines for submissions. Both Trinidad and Tobago and Grenada completed a significant proportion of their baseline assessments and will now finalise the assessment through a follow-up mechanism.
What is the Caribbean Firearms Roadmap?
The Caribbean Firearms Roadmap is a regional umbrella framework adopted by CARICOM States and the Dominican Republic in 2020, in which States commit themselves to implement actions against illicit firearms trafficking and make the Caribbean a safer region. To date, 16 countries in the region have formally adopted the Roadmap and begun the process of identifying their national priorities via a National Action Plan (NAP). There is commitment across the region to implement sustainable solutions to the prevention and combat of illicit proliferation of firearms and ammunition that are consistent with international norms and the Caribbean context.
This activity was made possible with funding from the Government of Canada and was carried out in line with the 2001 UN Programme of Action on Small Arms and with 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, in particular Goal 16 and target 16.4.
On 30 June 2022, sixty-six officials from eleven Caribbean States participated in the “Introduction to Shooting Incident Reconstruction Webinar” delivered by the United Nations Regional Centre for Peace, Disarmament and Development in Latin America and the Caribbean (UNLIREC). Officials from Ministries of National Security, Police Forces, Forensic Laboratories and Defence Forces participated.
The introductory webinar sought to familiarize the participants on several topics including the collection and analysis of crime scene evidence, bullet impact analysis, sequencing gunshots on glass and distance determination of gunshots.
The high rates of armed violence as well as the proliferation of illicit firearms are major problems in the Caribbean, hence specialists in the region continue to build their capacity to deal with both issues.
The webinar contributes to the implementation of Goal 2 of the Caribbean Firearms Roadmap, “to reduce the illicit flow of firearms and ammunition into, within and beyond the region” and Goal 3, Bolster law enforcement capacity to combat illicit firearms and ammunition trafficking and their illicit possession and misuse, and ammunition, and ultimately reducing firearms-related crimes and armed violence in the Caribbean.
What is crime scene reconstruction? The reconstruction of shooting crime scenes relies upon the careful examination and processing of a scene for all pertinent physical evidence including defects and damage caused by projectiles. The observations of impact sites can provide investigators with information about the projectile, firearm, intermediate objects in the path of the projectile, direction of projectile travel, order of shots and other information. Reconstructing shooting crime scenes assists states, and their crime scene investigators, to identify, reconstruct, and document projectile flight paths (trajectories), based on established impact marks.
This activity was funded by the Government of the United States of America and contributes to the implementation of international disarmament and non-proliferation instruments, in particular, the 2001 UN Programme of Action on Small Arms.
UNLIREC, as the regional centre of the UN Office of Disarmament Affairs, seeks to advance the cause of practical disarmament in Latin America and the Caribbean as part of its commitment to support Member States.
42 forensic professionals, officers from the police forces and judiciary members were trained in criminal investigation with a gender perspective.
From 27 June to 6 July 2022, the United Nations Regional Center for Peace, Disarmament and Development in Latin America and the Caribbean (UNLIREC), in collaboration with the Trinidad and Tobago Police Service, held virtually the Specialized Course on Firearms Investigation from a Gender Perspective (FIGP). Its objective was to strengthen the knowledge and technical skills of participants on criminal investigation by implementing a gender perspective.
Representatives from the Police Service, the Forensic Science Center, the Judiciary, the Countertrafficking Unit and the Customs Division of Trinidad and Tobago participated.
Particularly, this activity sought to promote the inclusion of gender perspectives in criminal investigations as a complementary method of analysis, to contribute to the formulation of conclusions free of gender stereotypes, to identify and process evidence of violence based on gender, and to guarantee human rights of female victims.
Given that the presence of firearms in circles of violence against women not only imply a potential murder weapon, but also an instrument of threat, intimidation and coercion, the course raised awareness of the importance to strengthen the cooperation of all actors involved in judicial investigations to optimize individual and collective efforts to deal with crimes involving firearms, with special attention to cases of gender-based violence and consequently to reduce impunity rates of those crimes.
With initiatives like this Course, the Government of Trinidad and Tobago, with the technical support of UNLIREC, demonstrates its commitment to prevent, analyse, and eradicate violence against women.
The tools were presented in a webinar organized by UNLIREC and fund by the European Union.
On 22 June 2022, the United Nations Regional Centre for Peace, Disarmament and Development in Latin America and the Caribbean (UNLIREC) hosted the webinar “The nexus between violence against women and small arms”, whose main objective was to highlight the necessity of firearms control in efforts which seek to prevent and eliminate violence against women. The activity brought together 56 participants from different sectors of various Caribbean Governments, civil society organisations and UN agencies as well as other international and regional organisations.
During the webinar, UNLIREC presented its “Normative study: making the link between norms on violence against women and small arms control and regulation norms: Analysis of CARICOM States”, as well as the recommendations therein on the prevention of violence against women through arms control in Latin America and the Caribbean, among them the importance of ensuring that the suitability of applicants for firearms licenses should not be based on criminal records only but also on a profile risk of the candidate, as well as the need to suspend and revoke firearms licenses in cases of gender-based violence.
The Centre of Excellence for Statistics on Crime and Criminal Justice in Asia and Pacific (CoE) of the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) presented on the UNODC/UN Women Conceptual Framework for Measuring Femicide and the CARICOM Secretariat presented on the Caribbean Experiences with Collecting Data on Violence Against Women and Girls prevalence surveys conducted in the region.
The webinar promoted the exchange of experiences and international dialogue, with presentations from the Trinidad and Tobago Police Service (TTPS) and the Royal Grenada Police Force (RGPF) which highlighted their responses to domestic violence and current measures which are in place to manage arms control policies in the context of violence against women.
Small arms control and violence against women
Firearms control is essential to prevent and eliminate violence against women. During the webinar, the challenges in the identification and measurement of femicides were emphasized, particularly in the Caribbean region, where a clear legal definition has not yet been integrated into the criminal code. The importance of measuring the collecting data on the use of firearms in cases of psychological, physical and sexual violence against women was also highlighted.
Twenty-six officials from the Prosecutors’ Office in six provinces of Costa Rica participated in the “Specialized Course for Prosecutors on Firearms Investigations from a Gender Perspective (CEFAF)” organized by UNLIREC.
On 7, 14, 21, 28 June and 5 July 2022, the United Nations Regional Centre for Peace, Disarmament and Development in Latin America and the Caribbean (UNLIREC), in coordination with the Judicial Branch of Costa Rica, conducted for the first time the ‘Specialized Course for Prosecutors on Firearms Investigations from a Gender Perspective (FIGP)’.
The course aimed to sensitize judicial authorities on the importance of incorporating a gender perspective into the design of legal strategies and the construction of case theories in the investigations of crimes committed against women, in which firearms are present.
The FIGP course was conducted virtually and included the participation of authorities from the Prosecutors’ Office, who shared their experiences and good practices, and took part in exercises in which they put the acquired knowledge into practice. During the course, participants highlighted the usefulness of the “check list” tool for the analysis of the factual, normative and evidentiary elements in the construction of case theory.
This course is in line with the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, particularly Goals 5 and 16, which aim to eliminate all forms of violence against all women and girls and reduce the illicit flow of arms.
Forty judicial authorities from nine provinces of Argentina participated in the “Specialized Course for Judges on Firearms Cases from a Gender Perspective (FIGPJ), ” organised by UNLIREC.
From 1 to 10 June June 2022, the United Nations Regional Centre for Peace, Disarmament and Development in Latin America and the Caribbean (UNLIREC), in coordination with the Women’s Office of the Supreme Court of Justice of Argentina, carried out the first Specialized Course for Judges on Firearms Cases from a Gender Perspective (FIGPJ)’.
The capacity-building activity aims at raising awareness among judicial authorities on the importance of applying gender perspectives in firearms-related criminal investigations and strengthen their technical knowledge to incorporate gender perspectives in cases of violence against women in which firearms are involved.
The FIGPJ course took place virtually and benefitted from the participation of different judicial authorities, who shared their previous experiences in cases of violence against women.
The training course took place during the ‘Global Week of Action against Gun Violence’, promoted by the International Action Network on Small Arms-IANSA. The global campaign seeks to raise awareness on the impacts of armed violence and urges authorities to take adequate measures to tackle it. Course participant’s were invited to join the campaign under the slogan ‘Let’s work together: strict gun controls are urgent’. The course is aligned with the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, mainly with Goals 5 and 16, which aim to eliminate all forms of violence against all women and girls, and reduce illicit arms flows.
This activity is part of the EU-funded project in support of gender mainstreamed policies, programmes and actions in the fight against small arms trafficking and misuse, in line with the Women, Peace and Security agenda.
