Oct 31, 2019 | Uncategorized
On 30 September 2019, the United Nations Regional Centre for Peace, Disarmament and Development in Latin America and the Caribbean (UNLIREC) held a Seminar on “Arms and Ammunition Import Control of Private Security Companies and Armouries” in Santo Domingo. This Seminar follows the assistance that UNLIREC provides to the Dominican Republic in strengthening its effective and transparent management of small arms and ammunition in the private security sector.
In conjunction with the Superintendence of Surveillance and Private Security (SVSP), this Seminar was organised to share useful technical elements when analysing and authorising the import of arms and ammunition. It was particularly aimed at national institutions, such as private security companies and armouries. The seminar hosted representatives of SVSP, Customs, Ministry of Interior, the Police force, and specialised agencies of the Ministry of Defense.
Throughout the Seminar, participants discussed some of the main legal provisions and obligations contained in international instruments on arms and ammunition transfers control, with special emphasis on those contained in the Arms Trade Treaty.
The Seminar included practical simulation exercises in which participants were encouraged to apply UNLIREC´s risk assessment methodology of imports. This training also allowed for participants to identify future challenges, as well as to strengthen cooperation and coordination among national institutions with responsibilities in arms transfers control, regulation of private security companies and civilian arms control.
In addition to this Seminar, UNLIREC made a series of voluntary visits to some private security companies to assess their management of arms and ammunition, in accordance with international standards.
The implementation of this type of assistance is possible thanks to the financial support of the Government of the Federal Republic of Germany.
Oct 31, 2019 | Uncategorized
The United Nations Regional Centre for Peace, Disarmament and Development in Latin America and the Caribbean (UNLIREC) carried out its trademark ‘Firearms and Ammunition Evidence Management Course (EMC)’ in San José, Costa Rica from 16-18 October 2019 in coordination with the Judicial Investigation Organization (OIJ) of Costa Rica. 29 participants attended this three-day course, including officials from the National Police, Public Ministry, Municipal Police Service, Migration Police, Border Police, Air Vigilance Service, and representatives from the OIJ.
Costa Rica was the host country for the first EMC course in 2015. This second edition incorporated a gender perspective by stressing the gendered impacts of small arms and the link between armed violence and gender-based violence, specifically violence against women. The course provided law enforcement officials and legal operators with the tools and practical guidance to strengthen criminal investigations, specifically related to the proper handling of small arms and ammunition as evidence at investigative sites, as well as the correct application of the chain of custody to prosecute crimes, thus improving the effectiveness of the security sector and justice system.
The EMC course facilitated a space for dialogue and exchange among participants. As a result, both national authorities and representatives of the security and justice sector emphasized the need to foster higher levels of inter-institutional coordination to reduce impunity and to prosecute small arms-related offenses.
This activity forms part of the project entitled Building Momentum for the Regional implementation of A/RES/65/69 on Women, Disarmament, Non-Proliferation and Arms Control, which is implemented thanks to the financial assistance of the Canadian Government.
Oct 26, 2019 | Uncategorized
From 21-25 October 2019, the United Nations Regional Centre for Peace, Disarmament and Development in Latin America and the Caribbean (UNLIREC), in collaboration with the Government of Barbados, carried out its ninth edition of Interdicting Small Arms, Ammunition, Parts and Components (ISAAPC) Course in the region. This training course forms part of the ‘Combating Illicit Firearms and Ammunition Trafficking in the Caribbean through Operational Forensic Ballistics’ (OFB) project.
The aim of this five-day course is to support Latin American and Caribbean States efforts to mitigate and prevent the diversion and illicit trafficking of firearms, ammunition, parts and components through postal shipments, parcels and baggage by providing specialized x-ray identification training.
The course is aimed at X-ray screening operators and support personnel with responsibilities in control and inspection at points of entry, exit and transit as well as other security check points. Thirty-three (33) screening operators and officials from Barbados Prison Service, Barbados Postal Service, G4S Secure Solutions Barbados, Barbados Customs and Excise, Barbados Port Incorporated and Royal Barbados Police Force attended the course.
Through a theoretical and practical methodology, participants received specialized training on technical specifications of small arms, their parts, components, ammunition and explosives as well as on elements related to the interpretation of X-ray images that may suggest the presence of a threat. In addition, participants had access to a training platform developed by the Center for Adaptive Security Research and Applications (CASRA), which contains a repository of images developed by UNLIREC. The course also included a series of simulations of concealment methods and practical exercises aimed at boost operator’s capacities to identify and detect positive threats when performing their roles and duties.
Participants stressed the importance of having specialized and continuous training, as well as the added value of this course to improve their detection capacities and interdiction practices in support of the prevention and combat of illicit trafficking of small arms, ammunition, parts and components in the country.
The implementation of this course is possible thanks to the financial support of the Government of the United States of America.
Oct 19, 2019 | Uncategorized
From 16-18 October 2019, the United Nations Regional Centre for Peace, Disarmament and Development in Latin America and the Caribbean (UNLIREC), in collaboration with the Government of St Kitts and Nevis, led discussions on enhancing firearms-related investigations. This event forms part of the response to effectively addressing existing gaps in the overall management of the lifecycle of a firearm. This lifecycle ranges from the moment a firearm is confiscated or found at the crime scene to the moment it is presented in court as evidence and – ultimately – to its final destruction.
Caribbean States concur that other existing challenges exist throughout the region, such as inadequate communication between investigators and laboratory analysts; ballistic intelligence leads provided to investigative units that are not actioned; leads submitted many years after the original gun crime; and insufficient firearm examiners to analyse the firearms-related evidence. As such, the UNLIREC-led event was intended to enhance coordination, as well as to carry out deeper analysis among the key stakeholders to address any existing gaps and consequently reduce impunity in firearms-related cases.
15 participants – comprised of Crime Analysts, Executive Law Enforcement Officers, Armourers, Crime Scene Investigators, Intelligence Officers and a Customs Official – actively participated in the three-day roundtable. During the event, UNLIREC led discussions on reviewing current practices in St Kitts and Nevis regarding crime gun intelligence management, specifically ballistics intelligence, and presented ways in which ballistic intelligence can be more effectively utilized. The usefulness of ballistic intelligence for enhancing investigations and disrupting trafficking networks was also the focus of dialogue, as were process flows and data on the recovery, forensic processing, international tracing, investigation, and prosecution and trafficking of illicit firearms. The event concluded with the development of recommendations that can assist in combatting armed violence and firearms trafficking.
This Inter Institutional Roundtable in St Kitts and Nevis was made possible thanks to the support of the government of the United States of America.
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 instruments, in particular, the UN 2001 Programme of Action on Small Arms.
Oct 15, 2019 | Uncategorized
On 17 September, the United Nations Regional Centre for Peace, Disarmament and Development in Latin America and the Caribbean (UNLIREC), in collaboration with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of El Salvador, conducted a Seminar on Arms and Ammunition Import Control in San Salvador with particular focus on private entities (private security companies -PSCs and gun shops) as end-users. The Seminar boasted the participation of authorities and representatives from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Ministry of Justice and Public Security, National Civilian Police, Customs and Ministry of Defense as entities responsible for the authorization and control of arms transfers.
Throughout the seminar legal provisions found in international instruments and guidelines related to arms import control were addressed by emphasizing on those outlined in the national system of arms imports in El Salvador. Furthermore, UNLIREC presented its risk assessment methodology to assist States in evaluating arms and ammunition imports. Special focus was given to cases in which the private security sector is the arms importer and intended end-user. The seminar ended with two practical simulation exercises and small-group discussions, in which participants were encouraged to apply UNLIREC´s risk assessment methodology.
Participants stressed the importance of strengthening cooperation and coordination between national entities with responsibilities in international transfers control to prevent straw purchases, diversion and illicit arms transfers.
Since 2015 UNLIREC has been implementing assistance projects in El Salvador on small arms and ammunition control in the private security sector. The implementation of this Project is possible thanks to the financial support of the Government of the Federal Republic of Germany.
Oct 15, 2019 | Uncategorized
Within the German-funded project entitled ‘Combat of Illicit Arms and Ammunition Trafficking in Latin America and the Caribbean’, the United Nations Regional Centre for Peace, Disarmament and Development in Latin America and the Caribbean (UNLIREC) in coordination with the Colombian National Taxes and Customs Administration (DIAN) carried out its eighth edition of Interdicting Small Arms, Ammunition, Parts and Components (ISAAP) Course in the region from 12 to 16 August in Bogotá.
The aim of this five-day course is to support Latin American States efforts to mitigate and prevent the diversion and illicit trafficking of firearms, ammunition, parts and components through postal shipments, parcels and baggage by providing specialized x-ray identification training.
The course is aimed at X-ray screening operators and support personnel with responsibilities in control and inspection at points of entry, exit and transit as well as other security check points. Thirty-seven (37) screening operators and customs officials from different DIAN units such as the Postal Traffic Division, Cargo, Passenger Management, Imports, and the Special Administrative Unit attended the course. Also participating were officials from the Fiscal and Customs Police (POLFA).
Through a theoretical and practical methodology, participants received specialized training on technical specifications of small arms, their parts, components, ammunition and explosives as well as on elements related to the interpretation of X-ray images that may suggest the presence of a threat. In addition, participants had access to a training platform developed by the Center for Adaptive Security Research and Applications (CASRA), which contains a repository of images developed by UNLIREC. The course also included a series of simulations of concealment methods and practical exercises aimed at boost operator’s capacities to identify and detect positive threats when performing their roles and duties.
Participants stressed the importance of having specialized and continuous training, as well as the added value of this course to improve their detection capacities and interdiction practices in support of the prevention and combat of illicit trafficking of small arms, ammunition, parts and components in the country.
The implementation of this course is possible thanks to the financial support of the Government of the Federal Republic of Germany.
