UNLIREC, in collaboration with UNESCO, conducts webinar ‘Violence in schools: challenges and responses’
On 25 May 2022, the United Nations Regional Centre for Peace, Disarmament and Development in Latin America and the Caribbean (UNLIREC), in collaboration with UNESCO Cluster Office for the Caribbean, carried out a webinar on ‘Violence in Schools: Challenges and Responses’ for Jamaican audience. Twenty-four participants, including 18 women, from Ministry of Education and Youth, University of West Indies, Jamaican Constabulary Force, Ministry of National Security, Civil Society Organizations, UNESCO, UNICEF, and Major Organized Crime and Anti-Corruption Agency of Jamaica actively participated in the webinar.
Over the past few decades, media reports of incidents involving firearms in schools have been increasingly recurring in many countries of the region. These incidents which include both the presence and use of firearms inside schools have led to injuries and fatalities as a result of intentional and accidental gunshots. This phenomenon poses enormous challenges in ensuring safe learning spaces for children and adolescents in the region.
Against this backdrop, the webinar included a presentation from UNESCO on the impacts of violence in the region and highlighted responses that can be adopted to combat violence in schools. Meanwhile, UNLIREC presented its study on ‘Firearms in Latin America and Caribbean Schools- Approaches, Challenges and Responses’. With a focus on the Caribbean, UNLIREC presented a regional overview of armed violence in schools and shared different responses being implemented in the region to tackle the presence and use of firearms in schools.
The webinar also included an engaging panel discussion on prevalent forms of violence in schools in Jamaica and school-based intervention programmes being implemented to combat such violence. The panelists included a representative from the Ministry of Education and Youth, a professor from University of West Indies and a youth leader from Bully Proof Kids (NGO). Through this webinar, UNLIREC facilitated a national dialogue by providing an opportunity for the participants to ask questions and share experiences on violence in schools in Jamaica.
This webinar forms part of the Salient Fund project aimed at reducing violence and proliferation of illicit firearms in Jamaica.
Twenty-three forensic experts and law enforcement officers from Jamaica received training on how to conduct gender-sensitive firearms investigations.
From 24 to 31 May 2022, the United Nations Regional Centre for Peace, Disarmament and Development in Latin America and the Caribbean (UNLIREC), in coordination with the Ministry of National Security of Jamaica, carried out the Specialised Course on Firearms Investigations from a Gender Perspective (FIGP), aimed at strengthening participants’ technical knowledge on gender-sensitive firearms-related criminal investigations.
Participants came from the following institutions: Institute of Forensic Science and Legal Medicine; Jamaica Defence Force; Major Organised Crime & Anti-Corruption Agency (MOCA);Jamaica Constabulary Force, and the Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions.
The course was aimed at applying gender perspectives to criminal firearms investigations as a complementary method of analysis, thereby contributing to hypothesis free from stereotypes, as well as to identifying evidence of gender-based violence, and ensuring the respect of victims’ human rights. The presence of firearms in cases of violence against women does not only cause fatal outcomes. Firearms are also used as tools to threaten, intimidate and coerce women. Course participants agreed on the importance of strengthening interinstitutional cooperation among the different agencies involved in cases of violence against women, thus optimising their individual and collective efforts to reduce the levels of impunity. Through the support of these training activities, the Government of Jamaica showcases its commitment to prevent and eradicate violence against women.
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.
Chilean authorities participate in the first edition of the “Course on Combating Trafficking in Arms and Ammunition (CTAM)
Chile, 16 May 2022.- From May 16 to 20, the United Nations Regional Centre for Peace, Disarmament and Development in Latin America and the Caribbean (UNLIREC) held the Course on Combating Arms Trafficking and Ammunition (CTAM) in order to prevent and combat this problem by implementing legal and practical control measures during international transfers.
One hundred and three officials from Chilean institutions in charge and other national agencies involved in combating illicit firearms trafficking participated.
The course was delivered in a hybrid mode, in other words, it had virtual and face-to-face sessions, in which UNLIREC presented the methods used for the illicit manufacture and trafficking in firearms and mechanisms for international cooperation against this crime.
Moreover, UNLIREC presented the main aspects regarding national control systems and documentation for international transfers of firearms and ammunition, as well as legal and practical measures to prevent illicit brokering which were reviewed theoretically and through a practical simulation exercise.
During the course, UNLIREC highlighted the importance of implementing the UN Programme of Action on small arms and its and its International Tracing Instrument and the submission of biennial reports under the instruments.
This course forms part of UNLIREC’s “Combatting Illicit Firearms and Ammunition trafficking in Latin America and the Caribbean” project and was carried out in collaboration with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Chile. It was made possible with the financial support of Germany.
For more information on UNLIREC, visit www.unlirec.org. Please direct all questions or inquiries to secretary@unlirec.org.
On 15 February 2022, Haiti became the 12th State to commence concrete actions under the Caribbean Firearms Roadmap and initiated the process to establish a National Action Plan (NAP) for its implementation. Haiti adopted the ‘Roadmap for Implementing the Caribbean Priority Actions on the Illicit Proliferation of Firearms and Ammunition across the Caribbean in a Sustainable Manner by 2030’ (Caribbean Firearms Roadmap) in 2019.
From 11 to 17 May 2022, the United Nations Regional Centre for Peace, Disarmament and Development in Latin America and the Caribbean (UNLIREC) conducted a five-day in-country mission to Port-au-Prince to advance the elaboration of the NAP. UNLIREC joined the authorities in Haiti to facilitate discussions on the steps needed to map out Haiti’s priorities, plans, and timelines for the NAP during the first segment of the mission. The mission built on UNLIREC’s technical assistance and a series of virtual interinstitutional preliminary sessions.
During the mission, representatives of the Ministries of Justice, Interior, Foreign Affairs, Youth, Sports and Social action, the National Commission for Disarmament, Dismantlement and Reinsertion (also representing the Ministry of Defense), the Police, Customs, and the Port Authority began mapping out past and current arms control initiatives in the country as well as assistance needs to combat the illicit proliferation of firearms and ammunition. A second mission planned for July 2022, is expected to conclude the work on the Action Plan.
Additionally, UNLIREC provided legal assistance to Haitian authorities during the May visit, in continuity of updating Haiti´s firearms law which began in 2020. UNLIREC´s legal experts discussed specific findings and recommendations related to the draft decree which authorities are currently reviewing, as well as how to regulate weapons and ammunition in possession of private security companies in the Latin American and Caribbean region.
The mission was funded by the Government of Germany and carried out in collaboration with the Government of Haiti and the United Nations Integrated Office in Haiti (BINUH), the UN Department of Peace Operations as well as the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime.
UNLIREC, as the regional centre under the umbrella of the UN Office for Disarmament, seeks to advance the cause of practical disarmament in Latin America and the Caribbean and supports Member States in their implementation of international disarmament, arms control and non-proliferation instruments.
From 9 to 19 May 2022, the United Nations Regions 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 Specialised Course on Firearms Investigations from a Gender Perspective (FIGP).
This course, in addition to sensitising participants on the importance of applying gender perspectives in firearms-related criminal investigations, aims at strengthening their technical knowledge applicable to the scientific method of criminal investigation, as well as inter-institutional cooperation in these areas.
Forty (40) forensic professionals and officials from the Public Prosecutor’s Offices from different jurisdictions such as Buenos Aires, Salta, Santa Fe and Tucumán, completed this capacity-building activity
The training course took place virtually and comprised both synchronous and asynchronous sessions. The FIGP addressed theoretical and technical aspects of criminal investigations and the way in which applying gender perspectives, contributes to conclusions free from stereotypes. Case studies were carried out to shed light on the absence of gender approaches and how it negatively affects the rights of victims and their families.
During the training, attention was drawn to the use of firearms to commit different types of violence against women, such as threats, intimidations and coercion, among others. The importance of properly managing the crime scene and the collection of firearms and ammunition as evidence for the purpose of gender-sensitive criminal investigations was emphasised. Lastly, recommendations on gender-responsive procedures were shared and participants were urged to strengthen communication and cooperation among all actors involved in the different stages of the investigations, thus contributing to reduce the high level of impunity of violence against women.
UNLIREC organized a webinar on the use of firearms in acts of violence against women with the participation of different government sectors and civil society in Trinidad and Tobago.
On 5 May 2022, the United Nations Regional Centre for Peace, Disarmament and Development in Latin America and the Caribbean (UNLIREC), in collaboration with the Ministry of National Security, hosted the webinar “Measures to prevent armed violence against women” in Trinidad and Tobago, in which the police presented initiatives aiming to prevent domestic violence, highlighting that they must be gender and age specific. The webinar aimed to raise awareness of the necessity of firearms control for efforts seeking to prevent and eliminate violence against women.
During the webinar, challenges in identifying and measuring femicides were emphasized, especially in countries such as Trinidad and Tobago where a definition of this crime has not yet been integrated into the criminal code. The importance of collecting data on the use of firearms in cases of psychological, physical and sexual violence against women was also highlighted.
The webinar gathered more than 100 participants from different sectors of the Government, civil society organizations and the general public, who actively participated and were particularly interested in the police response to prevent and respond to domestic violence cases, involving the use of firearms.
It should be noted that the Latin American and Caribbean region presents alarming figures of gender-based intentional homicides of women and girls, also known as femicides. Likewise, according to the Observatory on Gender Equality in Latin America and the Caribbean of the Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC), Trinidad and Tobago has a rate of 3,1 femicides per 100,000 inhabitants which is one of the highest rates in the Caribbean region. Thus, UNLIREC carries out activities that aim to counteract this trend.
