On 18-20 August 2021, the United Nations Regional Centre for Peace, Disarmament and Development in Latin America and the Caribbean (UNLIREC), with the financial support of the Arms Trade Treaty Voluntary Trust Fund (VFT), held a virtual workshop for Chilean customs officers to strengthen their capacities to prevent and combat illicit firearms trafficking.
During this three-day workshop, UNLIREC presented the context, characteristics, and trends of illicit trafficking of firearms in Latin America and the Caribbean and identified the methods commonly used for illicit manufacturing of and trafficking in firearms, highlighting the fact that the use of new technologies poses a challenge for national authorities and are increasing the risk of firearms proliferation.
The World Customs Organization (WCO) likewise delivered presentations on intelligence tools available for States; documents associated with international transfers, such as end-user certificates and shipment documentation; document cross-examination techniques and procedures as means to prevent diversion and to identify illicit transfers. Authorities of the National Customs Service also presented relevant cases of illicit firearms trafficking detected by customs officials.
This workshop, in which over 90 customs officers from different parts of the country participated, highlighted the important role played by customs in the prevention and combat of illicit firearms trafficking.
The United Nations Regional Center for Peace, Disarmament and Development in Latin America and the Caribbean (UNLIREC), in coordination with the government of Panama, conducted the virtual version of the Interception Course of Arms, Ammunition, Parts and Components (ISAAPC) from August 2 to 6.
The objective of CIAMP is to work with the States of the region in their efforts to reduce and prevent the diversion and illicit trafficking of firearms, ammunition, parts, components and explosives that occur through postal shipments, parcels, packages and luggage, providing specific training for its identification using X-ray technology.
The course is aimed at X-ray scanner operators and support personnel with control and inspection responsibilities at points of entry, exit and transit. This edition had the participation of close to 30 officials belonging to the National Customs Authority, Ministry of the Presidency, National Police, National Border Service and National Aeronaval Service of Panama.
For five days, through a theoretical and practical methodology, the participants received specialized training on the identification of weapons, their parts, components, ammunition and explosives and had access to the training platform developed by the Center for Adaptive Security Research and Applications (CASRA) which has a library of threat images prepared by UNLIREC.
This specialized course, developed in line with the United Nations Program 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 reduces crime related to firearms and armed violence in the Caribbean.
The implementation of this project is possible thanks to the financial support of the Government of Germany.
From 12-23 July 2021, the United Nations Regional Centre for Peace, Disarmament and Development in Latin America and the Caribbean (UNLIREC), in collaboration with the Guatemalan Ministry of Foreign Affairs, delivered a Specialised course on firearms investigations from a gender perspective (FIGP) to close to 30 officials.
Thanks to the cooperation of the Ministry of the Interior, the Public Prosecutor’s Office and the Judicial Studies School, an interinstitutional group was formed, consisting of officials from the women’s office and the office against femicide; judges from the femicide court, violence against women, and sexual violence; investigators from the National Police, specifically from the femicide department, Department for Crimes against Life, and the division specialising in criminal investigation.
The course, as well as helping to sensitize participants on the importance of incorporating a gender perspective into tackling crimes committed with firearms, strengthens the technical knowledge of the scientific method of criminal investigation and interinstitutional cooperation in these fields.
The diverse nature of the group emphasized one of FIGP’s objectives: strengthening staff coordination and cooperation to optimize individual and collective efforts to tackle crimes related to violence against women and firearms.
The course was carried out virtually and separated into six interactive conferences, in which participants could present their experiences and converse with UNLIREC instructors. Theoretical and technical aspects of criminal investigation were discussed in detail, as well as the way in which the gender perspective as a method of analysis helps us reach conclusions free from stereotypes, grounded in objective technical or scientific studies that are based on relevant theory. Case studies were conducted to highlight the absence of a gender perspective, which violates the rights of victims and their families.
During the training, emphasis was placed on the use of firearms to commit different types of violence against women, not only as a murder weapon, but also as a means to threaten, intimidate and coerce. The training stressed the importance of the correct management of a crime scene and of firearms and ammunition as physical evidence in investigations from a gender perspective. The course shared good practices with participants and urged them to strengthen interaction and cooperation across the different stages of judicial investigation, to optimize individual and collective efforts to tackle crimes related to firearms with special attention given to cases of gender-based violence. This helps to reduce levels of impunity and improves justice and security institutions.
This course forms part of the ‘Support for the integration of the gender perspective in policies, programmes and action in the fight against trafficking and the misuse of small arms’ project, funded by the European Union.
Between 28 June and 9 July, the United Nations Regional Centre for Peace, Disarmament and Development in Latin America and the Caribbean (UNLIREC), in collaboration with the Honduran Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation, delivered a specialised course on firearms investigations from a gender perspective (CEGAF) in Honduras.
The course aims to sensitise participants on the importance of considering gender perspectives in tackling crimes committed with firearms, to strengthen their technical knowledge of the scientific methods behind criminal investigation, and to encourage interinstitutional cooperation in these fields.
The course was delivered to close to 40 officials (27 women) belonging to the Honduran police force, the public prosecutor’s office, and the presidential programme ‘Women’s City’ through six virtual sessions, with audiovisual resources and extra reading on each topic. It included a regional overview of the proliferation of firearms, as well as armed violence and its impacts, paying special attention to femicides and other forms of violence against women. The course covered the scientific, judicial and technical grounds for using the gender perspective in criminal and forensic investigations, and also discussed the importance of correctly processing the crime scene and managing firearms and ammunition as evidence of crimes against women.
The final session, which consisted of a practical group exercise, invited participants to analyse different investigation scenarios and think about recurrent features in firearms investigations, such as the preservation of the crime scene or the prioritisation of evidence a gender perspective.
The present course is the seventh that UNLIREC has delivered in the region since the beginning of the year and forms part of a series of initiatives to empower countries to investigate crimes committed with firearms from a gender perspective.
The course has been devised in light of the region’s worrying femicide rates. 14 of the 25 countries with the highest femicide rates worldwide are in Latin America and the Caribbean, with a particularly high rate of 6.2 per 100,000 women in Honduras.
This initiative was made possible thanks to funding from the Canadian government.
From 15-25 June, the United Nations Regional Centre for Peace, Disarmament and Development in Latin America and the Caribbean (UNLIREC), in collaboration with the Colombian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, delivered a specialised course on firearms investigations from a gender perspective (FIGP) in Colombia.
The course aims to sensitise participants on the importance of the gender perspective in tackling crimes with firearms, to strengthen their technical knowledge of the scientific method behind criminal investigations, and to encourage interinstitutional cooperation in these fields.
26 officials (8 women), belonging to the National Police of Colombia, the National Insitute of Legal Medicine and Forensic Science, and the Office of the Attorney General of Colombia, formed part of the group who virtually attended the course, which was carried out in six virtual sessions, each with audiovisual resources and extra reading on each topic. It included a regional overview of the proliferation of firearms, as well as armed violence and its impacts, paying special attention to femicides and other forms of violence against women. The course covered the scientific, judicial and technical grounds for using the gender perspective in criminal and forensic investigations, and also discussed the importance of correctly processing the crime scene and managing firearms and ammunition as evidence of crimes against women.
The group also had the opportunity to put into practice the theoretical aspects of the course during a practical group exercise, whereby participants were encouraged to analyse different investigative scenarios and consider recurrent activities in firearms investigations, such as the preservation of the crime scene or the prioritisation of evidence, but from a gender perspective.
The course is a reminder that 14 of the 25 countries with the highest femicide rates worldwide are in Latin America and the Carribean, with a rate of 0.6 per 100,000 women in Colombia. 53% of homicides against women are committed with a weapon in Colombia. Poor management of the crime scene or evidence found there, poor treatment of victims, and preconceived ideas about women, have increased levels of impunity in acts of violence against women.
This initiative forms part of a series of initiatibves that UNLIREC is delivering to empower countries to investigate crimes committed with firearms from a gender perspective.
This initiative was possible thanks to funding from the Canadian government.
On 11 June 2021, the United Nations Regional Centre for Peace, Disarmament and Development in Latin America and the Caribbean (UNLIREC) and the Caribbean Community’s Implementation Agency for Crime and Security (CARICOM IMPACS), in collaboration with the Government of Saint Lucia, and the Government of Germany, hosted a virtual Executive Seminar for the Advancement of Saint Lucia’s National Action Plan for the implementation of the Caribbean Firearms Roadmap.
On 22 January 2021, CARICOM’s Council of National Security and Law Enforcement (CONSOLE) officially 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), which consolidates and builds upon the 2019 actions adopted by Caribbean Heads of Governments on addressing the illicit trafficking of firearms in the region.
Saint Lucia adopted the Caribbean Firearms Roadmap in May 2021 and has already initiated concrete actions contemplated in the Roadmap by taking steps to create its National Action Plan (NAP). A total of 14 representatives of the Department of Home Affairs and National Security, the Royal Saint Lucia Police Force, Forensic Science Laboratory, Bordelais Correctional Facility and the Director of Public Prosecutions Office, along with members of the German Embassy, UNLIREC and CARICOM IMPACS participated in the NAP Executive Seminar. Participants discussed the steps needed to map out Saint Lucia’s priorities, plans, and timelines for implementing the Roadmap. The successful implementation of which will require both the concerted efforts of national authorities, as well as the timely, targeted and coordinated support of regional and international partners and donors. The Roadmap has pre-defined goals, targets and actions as well as recommended performance indicators, serving as a base document for Saint Lucia in the elaboration of its National Action Plan (NAP).
UNLIREC and CARICOM IMPACS, as the main implementing partners, will lend technical assistance in the elaboration of the NAPs and in their successive implementation. The governments of Canada, Germany, United States of America, and the United Kingdom have pledged support to the implementation of the Caribbean Firearms Roadmap.
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.
