On 6 December 2021, the United Nations Regional Centre for Peace, Disarmament and Development in Latin America and the Caribbean (UNLIREC) held a technical meeting that brought together officials from different governmental sectors and countries of the region, with the purpose of analysing the progress and challenges related to the inclusion of gender considerations recommended in the United Nations Programme of Action to Prevent, Combat and Eradicate the Illicit Trade in Small Arms and Light Weapons in All Its Aspects (hereinafter PoA).
Thirty-seven officials participated in the meeting from Ministries of Foreign Affairs; PoA Coordination Mechanisms; Firearms Control and Regulation Agencies; Criminal Statistics Offices; and Bodies with a mandate in gender and women’s equality.
UNLIREC provided an introduction on the implications of the PoA, highlighting when gender considerations were included, namely at the Sixth and Seventh Biennial Meeting of States (BMS6, 2016 and BMS7, 2021) and at the Third Review Conference (RevCon3, 2018). Among the various commitments, the following highlights those that were addressed:
Consider the different effects of illicit small arms and light weapons (hereinafter SALW) on women, men, young girls and boys in policies and programmes aiming to combat illicit trafficking of these weapons, and encourage the collection of disaggregated data on gender and the illicit trade in SALW.
Ensure coordination between national authorities responsible for executing the PoA and the relevant ministries or other national authorities with a mandate on gender equality, as well as women’s CSOs.
Share national experiences, lessons learned and best practices on mainstreaming gender aspects in politics and programmes aimed at combatting illicit SALW trafficking, and to voluntarily provide information and communicate gender-relevant initiatives as part of the national PoA and ITI implementation reports; among others.
While States have made considerable progress in recognising the above-mentioned issues, an analysis of the National Reports reveals difficulties in the local implementation of these commitments. It is due to this that, to encourage debate and exchange national best practices, three countries with initiatives that contribute to the gender commitments of the PoA were called upon to participate.
These experiences included Guatemala’s National Commission for the Prevention of Armed Violence, which proposes an expanded approach to the Commission’s composition and allows for the inclusion of non-traditional sectors. On the other hand, regarding the collection of SALW data disaggregated by gender, the National Institute of Statistics and Geography (INEGI) of Mexico presented on the inclusion of the category “firearm” in the National Survey on the Dynamics of Household Relationships (ENDIREH). The National Registry of Femicides of Argentina also presented the findings of a recent study they are conducting in cooperation with the National Agency of Controlled Materials (ANMaC) regarding the highest possible disaggregation of firearms involved in femicides (authorised/unauthorised firearms; regulation firearms-FFSS). Likewise, ANMaC delivered a presentation onvarious initiatives with a gender perspective, among which the following stand out: gender training for security forces and shooting instructors; cooperation with the justice system to establish registration obstacles and disqualifications for persons accused of gender-based violence, among other initiatives.
We at UNLIREC hope that the meeting has contributed to the integration of gender considerations in the implementation of national policies and actions for firearms control, armed violence prevention and combating illicit trafficking of SALW.
This activity took place within the framework of UNLIREC’s Women, Disarmament, Non-Proliferation and Arms Control Programme, funded by the European Union and Canada, and was part of the International Campaign #16 Days of Activism Against Gender Violence (25 November – 10 December).
On 3 December 2021, the United Nations Regional Centre for Peace, Disarmament and Development in Latin America and the Caribbean (UNLIREC), in collaboration with the Governments of Germany and Trinidad and Tobago, hosted a National Firearms Licensing System Roundtable Meeting.
Trinidad and Tobago has embarked on an initiative to develop an integrated data management information technology system to improve stockpile management and reduce loopholes for diversion. The project seeks to streamline and digitise the Firearms Licensing Management System in Trinidad and Tobago, reduce loopholes for diversion and ensure compliance with the Arms Trade Treaty reporting Standards.
UNLIREC supported Trinidad and Tobago by hosting a roundtable meeting on national firearms licensing systems, with technical experts from the Royal Canadian Mounted Police’s Canadian Firearms Program, United Kingdom’s National Firearms Licencing System, Home Office and National Crime Agency and the Dominican Republic’s Laboratorio Balístico y Biométrico del Sistema Nacional de Armas (LABBS), all sharing national experience and best practices on computerising licensing processes.
Close to 50 representatives (27 women) of the Ministry of National Security, Strategic Services Agency, Office of Law Enforcement Policy, Forensic Science Centre, Firearms Appeal Board, Customs and Excise Department, and Trinidad and Tobago Police Service took part in the roundtable. Participants included the Minister of National Security, heads of the Police Service, Intelligence Agency, Customs Department and Forensic Laboratory as well as their subordinates responsible for the licencing firearm applicants.
This roundtable complements recent initiatives undertaken by Trinidad and Tobago including its adoption of the Caribbean Firearms Roadmap, and discussions to create its National Action Plan. The activities were made possible thanks to the generous support of the government of Germany and included experts from the United Kingdom, Canada and the Dominican Republic. The Roundtable on National Firearms Licensing Management Systems contributes towards the implementation of Goal 1 of the Caribbean Firearms Roadmap, Reinforce Regulatory Frameworks Governing Firearms and Ammunition and ultimately reducing firearms-related crimes and armed violence in the Caribbean.
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 UN 2001 Programme of Action on Small Arms.
On 30 November 2021, the United Nations Regional Centre for Peace, Disarmament and Development in Latin America and the Caribbean (UNLIREC), within the framework of the project “Combating illicit trafficking in arms and ammunition in Latin America and theCaribbean”, held the Regional Webinar “Optimizing measures to combat illicit trafficking in firearms and ammunition: Presentation of exploratory papers on Ammunition Tracking and Monitoringof the SDG indicator on illicit arms flows”, aimed to officials and facilitators with responsibilities in the control, regulation and management of firearms and ammunition in countries of Latin America and the Caribbean.
During the webinar, UNLIREC presented exploratory papers on ammunition tracing practices in Latin America and the Caribbean, as well as national mechanisms for the monitoring and evaluation of indicator 16.4.2 of the 2030 Agenda, with the purpose of promoting regional dialogue in optimizing measures to combat illicit trafficking in firearms and ammunition.
The study of Ammunition Tracing Practices in Latin America and the Caribbean, elaborated during 2020-2021, documents current practices, gaps and challenges related to ammunition tracing, and identifies practical recommendations and measures to achieve an effective ammunition tracing system. In the webinar, UNLIREC highlighted the importance of marking, recording, and tracing ammunition to contribute to criminal investigations and to prevent and combat their diversion, illicit trafficking, and misuse.
The study Monitoring and Evaluation of Indicator 16.4.2 in Latin America and the Caribbean identifies regulatory gaps and institutional challenges in measurement said indicator and determines a set of regional good practices to comply with target 16.4 of the SDG related to the reduction of illicit arms flows. During the webinar, the relevance of this indicator for the region was spotlighted.
In this event participated officials and practitioners from Argentina, Brazil, Colombia, Chile, Costa Rica, Guatemala, Jamaica, Mexico, Peru and Trinidad and Tobago, some of whom participated and facilitated the conduct of the research.
The United Nations Centre for Peace, Disarmament and Development in Latin America and the Caribbean (UNLIREC), in coordination with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Paraguay, held the second version, and first online version, of the Course on Interception of Arms, Ammunition, Parts and Components (ISAAPC) from the 29th November to the 3rd December.
CIAMP aims to contribute to the States of the region in their efforts to reduce and prevent the diversion and illicit trafficking of firearms, ammunition, parts, components and explosives through postal consignments, parcels, packages and luggage, by providing specific training for their identification using X-ray technology.
The course is aimed at X-ray scanner operators and support personnel with control and inspection responsibilities at entry, exit and transit points. This edition was attended by 18 officials from the National Directorate of Civil Aeronautics, the Directorate of War Materiel, the National Customs Directorate and the Ministry of the Interior.
During one week, through a theoretical and practical methodology, the participants received specialised training in the identification of weapons, their parts, components, ammunition and explosives. They also trained on the platform developed by the Center for Adaptive Security Research and Applications (CASRA), which has a library of threat images developed by UNLIREC.
This specialised course, developed in line with the UN Programme of Action on Small Arms, the Arms Trade Treaty and Sustainable Development Goal 16.4, contributes to regional efforts to prevent illicit trafficking in firearms and ammunition, and thus reduce firearms-related crime and armed violence in the Caribbean.
The implementation of this project is made possible thanks to the financial support of the Government of Germany.
On 26 November, UNLIREC participated virtually in the Forum “Getting to know experiences in the creation of a national interdisciplinary body for the control of the proliferation and illicit trafficking of arms”, organised by the Foundation of Studies for the Application of Law (FESPAD) in the framework of the “Humanium Metal” Initiative in El Salvador.
The aim of this Forum was to promote discussion based on the exchange of experiences from countries in the region on the creation of national mechanisms for arms control, as well as to address the need and importance of disarmament.
In order to provide context on the importance of establishing this type of mechanism, also known as National Commissions, UNLIREC made a presentation highlighting the main characteristics, functions and composition of this type of Commission in accordance with the international framework on arms control.
The United Nations Plan of Action to Prevent, Combat and Eradicate the Illicit Trafficking of Small and Light Arms in all its Aspects (PoA, 2001) calls on States to implement a number of measures to address this scourge. At the national level, it recommends, among other measures, to “establish or appoint, as appropriate, national coordinating agencies or bodies and institutional infrastructure responsible for policy guidance, research and monitoring of efforts to prevent, combat and eradicate the illicit trade in SALW in all its aspects”.
As part of the agenda, presenters from the Educational Institute for Sustainable Development (IEPADES) and the Arias Foundation, shared experiences related to the creation and implementation of these types of inter-institutional commissions in Guatemala and Costa Rica. Similarly, FESPAD presented on the problem of firearms in El Salvador and the importance of advancing in the creation of this type of organisation to strengthen policies to counteract the scourges of the proliferation and illicit trafficking of firearms.
This forum was attended by representatives of national institutions from the security and justice sectors, civil society organisations, community leaders and the general public.
The United Nations Regional Centre for Peace, Disarmament and Development in Latin America and the Caribbean (UNLIREC), in coordination with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the National Customs Authority of Panama, held the second virtual version of the Course on Interception of Arms, Ammunition, Parts and Components (ISAAPC) from the 22 to 26 November.
CIAMP aims to contribute to the States of the region in their efforts to reduce and prevent the diversion and illicit trafficking of firearms, ammunition, parts, components and explosives through postal consignments, parcels, packages and luggage, by providing specific training for their identification using X-ray technology.
The course is aimed at X-ray scanner operators and support staff with control and inspection responsibilities at entry, exit and transit points. This edition was attended by 29 officials belonging to the National Customs Authority.
During a week, through theoretical and practical methodology, participants received
During one week, through a theoretical and practical methodology, the participants received specialised training in the identification of weapons, their parts, components, ammunition and explosives. They have also trained on the platform developed by the Center for Adaptive Security Research and Applications (CASRA), which has a library of threat images developed by UNLIREC.
This specialised course, developed in line with the UN Programme of Action on Small Arms, the Arms Trade Treaty and Sustainable Development Goal 16.4, contributes to regional efforts to prevent the illicit trafficking of firearms and ammunition, thereby reducing firearms-related crime and armed violence in the Caribbean.
The implementation of this project is possible thanks to the financial support of the German Government.
