Jun 20, 2019 | Uncategorized
Within the framework of the Combating the Illicit Trafficking in Arms and Ammunition in Latin America and the Caribbean project, the United Nations Regional Centre for Peace, Disarmament and Development in Latin America (UNLIREC), in collaboration with the Ministry of Public Security of Costa Rica, conducted a national seminar on ammunition control practices from 18-19 June.
The seminar was aimed at national authorities with responsibilities in the different phases of ammunition control, such as the General Directorate of Armament, Judicial Investigation Department, Public Force, Aerial Surveillance, Border Police, among others.
The controls on the production and sale of arms are much stricter that those on ammunition. Latin America and the Caribbean suffer from alarming levels of armed violence, which is disproportionate when compared to other regions. The high rates of firearms-related homicides is directly linked to the supply and constant availability of ammunition, which oftentimes lacks sufficient control.
Ammunition control measures are usually less stringent than those for firearms. Even though arms and ammunitions need one other for their operation, ammunition tend to be marked, registered, monitored and regulated less frequently than firearms, which facilitates their diversion and misuse. In addition, by their very nature, ammunition is more difficult to track. Stopping the adverse effects of the proliferation of munitions on human security and economic and social development is only possible if States include ammunition in their arms control policies, keeping in mind the differential treatment required by each.
During the two-day seminar, UNLIREC experts presented international guidelines and good practices vis-à-vis ammunition, which paved the way for debates on the challenges and opportunities for their control and regulation at the national level. In addition, participating institutions discussed needs and priorities in relation to the responsible management of ammunition.
The implementation of this project is possible thanks to the financial assistance received by the Government of the Federal Republic of Germany.
Jun 7, 2019 | Uncategorized
From 3-7 June 2019, UNLIREC held the Course on the Interdiction of Arms, Ammunition, Parts and Components (ISAAP) in San Jose, Costa Rica as part of the assistance offered to Latin American and Caribbean States. The objective of this specialized course is to aid in strengthening the capacity of States in their efforts to prevent and combat illicit firearm trafficking through the specialized training of X-ray machine operators, working in surveillance and inspection at points of entry, exit as well as land, air and sea border crossing.
In recent decades, the postal system as well as parcel and luggage shipments via airports have been identified as some of the methods used by criminal networks to traffic firearms and ammunition through countries in the region.
Within this context, around 40 X-ray operators were trained during the course. They came from different public institutions such as the Air Vigilance Service, Drug Control Police, Border Police, Penitentiary Police, Customs and the Ministry of Agriculture and Livestock, along with personnel from private security companies providing surveillance services at airports.
Using a theory-practice methodology, the participants received training on fundamental aspects related to the interpretation of X-ray images, technical specifications of small arms, their parts, components, ammunition and explosives; while paying special attention to the different factors which influence their visualization through X-ray technology. This course included training sessions using an online platform developed by the Center for Adaptive Security Research and Applications (CASRA), as well as a series of practical exercises on concealment methods.
This is the second edition of the ISAAP course that has been held in Costa Rica. This edition was organized in conjunction with the Ministry of Public Security and the National Postal Service, with financial support from the Federal Republic of Germany.
UNLIREC has designed this course to help Latin American and Caribbean States in their efforts to combat the illicit trafficking of arms in accordance with the international instruments on the subject. The objective is to reduce the undesirable effects of small arms proliferation and armed violence affecting the region.
Jun 1, 2019 | Uncategorized
The United Nations Regional Centre for Peace, Disarmament and Development in Latin America and the Caribbean (UNLIREC) continues to assist States of the region with the objective of supporting their efforts to implement the Arms Trade Treaty (ATT). UNLIREC, with the collaboration of the International Organizations Directorate of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Paraguay, held an Arms Trade Treaty Implementation Course (ATT-IC), which took place in Asunción, in May 28-31.
Along four days, 23 participants, representing 9 institutions, analyzed the arms trade context in Latin America and the Caribbean, classified weapons and elements under the scope of the Treaty, expanded their knowledge on applicable regulatory provisions and became familiar with various topics such as end-use and end-user documentation, national control lists or export assessments, among other topics to which the ATT makes reference. The theoretical sessions were complemented, during the last day sessions, with two practical exercises, in which participants simulated the assessment of two transfer applications, one export and one transit, in line with the provisions of the ATT and from the perspective of the national control authority.
Participants included the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Directorate of War Material, National Police, Ministry of Interior, Public Ministry, National Anti-Drug Secretariat, National Defense Commission of the National Congress, Ministry of Industry and Trade and the National Directorate of Civil Aviation.
ATT-IC aims to provide States with sufficient tools to ensure the effective implementation of the Treaty, so that adequate control mechanisms are established for international transfers of conventional weapons, their ammunition and their parts and components, with the ultimate goal of reducing the undesired consequences of legal trade of these items as well as their diversion.
All project-related activities were funded by the ATT Voluntary Trust Fund (VTF), of which Paraguay is a beneficiary and in which UNLIREC, at the request of the Paraguayan authorities, is an implementing partner.
May 30, 2019 | Uncategorized
From 28 – 29 May 2019, the United Nations Regional Centre for Peace, Disarmament and Development in Latin America and the Caribbean (UNLIREC), in collaboration with the Government of Trinidad and Tobago, conducted an Inter-institutional Roundtable Meeting to Enhance Firearms-related Investigations.
Phase 3 of the UNLIREC’s Combatting Illicit Firearms and Ammunition Trafficking in the Caribbean through Operational Forensic Ballistics, sought to identify and discuss existing gaps in the management of the lifecycle of a firearm, from the moment it is confiscated or obtained at the crime scene to court and ultimately its destruction. During the implementation of previous technical assistance in the Caribbean, distinct issues were brought to light, for instance, in some jurisdictions the communication between first responders and laboratory analysts and examiners needed to be strengthened; in other jurisdictions, it was found that ballistic intelligence leads provided to investigative units by ballistics experts are not actioned, or leads are submitted many years after the original gun crime. In one case it was found that weapons are confiscated and stored by Custom authorities were not sent for examination to ballistic experts, hence possibly allowing potential links to be missed. As such, the Roundtables were 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.
Twenty participants comprising Ballistic Experts, Crime Analysts, Homicide Investigators, Executive Law Enforcement Officers, Armourers, Crime Scene Investigators, Intelligence Officers, Customs Officials, Defence Force Officials and Policy Personnel from multiple National Security agencies participated in the roundtable meeting. UNLIREC officials and participants: reviewed current practices in Trinidad and Tobago re: crime gun intelligence management – specifically ballistics intelligence; presented ways in which ballistic intelligence can be more effectively utilized; discussed the usefulness of ballistic intelligence for enhancing investigations and disrupting trafficking networks. Participants ended by developing recommendations that would assist with combatting armed violence and firearms trafficking. During the Roundtable Meeting, process flows and data on the recovery, forensic processing, international tracing, investigation, prosecution and trafficking of illicit firearms were discussed.
This Inter Institutional Roundtable Meeting in Trinidad and Tobago 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 and non-proliferation instruments, in particular, the 2001 UN Programme of Action on Small Arms.
May 23, 2019 | Uncategorized
From 6 – 17 May 2019, the United Nations Regional Centre for Peace, Disarmament and Development in Latin America and the Caribbean (UNLIREC), in collaboration with the Government of Guyana, created a physical open case file (OCF) of ballistic samples from unsolved firearm crimes. This initiative improved Guyana´s ability to link gun crimes and reduce impunity in cases of armed violence. An OCF can provide an immediate intelligence product as to whether or not a gun has a history of use and is therefore a significant investigative tool. By collating all crime scene bullets and cartridges, the police or national laboratories can potentially link cases using firearms and ammunition evidence recovered at different crime scenes, as well as firearms recovered independently from a crime scene.
Two firearm examiners and two assistant firearm examiners from the Guyana Police Force, as well as two Scientific Officers from the Guyana Forensic Science Laboratory participated in the two-week exercise to create an OCF. This included test firing recovered weapons, reviewing test fire procedures, documenting reproducible firearm marks found on spent casings and bullets, conducting microscopic examination of casings and bullets, and documenting, uploading and searching data recovered from spent casings and bullets in an OCF database.
Data from ammunition recovered from 19 gun crimes that occurred between 2012 and 2019, many of which were never examined, were entered into the newly created OCF database along with test fires from one crime gun recovered independently of a crime scene. The OCF revealed that there were several shooting incidents where as many as three rifles were used. This preliminary information, if the OCF continues to be populated, would inevitably identify links between repeatedly used crime guns; this underscores the importance of having a searchable, physical open case file to combat impunity in cases of armed violence.
The creation of an OCF in Guyana is 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 and non-proliferation instruments, in particular, the 2001 UN Programme of Action on Small Arms.
May 10, 2019 | Uncategorized
To support state efforts to implement UN Security Council resolution 1540 (2004), the United Nations Regional Centre for Peace, Disarmament and Development in Latin America and the Caribbean (UNLIREC), partnered with the International Maritime Organization (IMO) and the Ministry of Defense of Suriname, from 7-8 May 2019 to conduct a table top exercise on maritime and port security. This event was made possible thanks to the financial support of the Government of Canada.
The exercise engaged 36 government officials (including the navy, coast guard, maritime police, maritime and port authority) in dynamic discussions around a series of potential threat scenarios and cases presented by IMO and UNLIREC experts, such as illicit trafficking of WMD materials, maritime safety inspections, physical protection of ports and management of hazardous materials.
Participants also addressed issues relating to inter-institutional coordination, adoption of preventive and reactive measures to possible threats, revision of existing operational procedures at ports, existing legal framework and mechanisms for establishing roles and responsibilities of relevant institutions.
This tabletop exercise was the result of an official request for assistance from Suriname in alignment with the country’s 1540 Voluntary National Action Plan, which was presented by the country to the 1540 Committee and Group of Experts earlier this year.
UNLIREC has reaffirmed its commitment to continued collaboration with the Government of Suriname to further strengthen the implementation of resolution 1540 (2004) in the country and looks forward to continuing its fruitful collaboration with the IMO and other partner agencies to strengthen maritime and port security across the region.
