May 29, 2017 | Uncategorized
From 29 May – 1 June, the United Nations Regional Centre for Peace, Disarmament and Development in Latin America and the Caribbean (UNLIREC), together with ARQUEBUS Solutions Ltd delivered its first Double Cast training in the Caribbean, in Trinidad and Tobago
Five participants, among them firearm examiners, IBIS Technicians and Armourers of the Trinidad and Tobago Forensic Science Centre (TTFSC) and Trinidad and Tobago Police Service (TTPS) participated in the 4-day Training, based on INTERPOL’s Double Casting methodology.
Double casting increases the ability of national authorities to make connections between crime and crime scenes, nationally, regionally and internationally. The training sought to build capacity in the region to create microscopic replicas of projectiles and cartridge cases that can be peer reviewed and uploaded to a Ballistics Information Network or shared across jurisdictions for comparison without disturbing the chain of custody of the original evidence.
Double Casting is a two step-process that requires a silicone mould to be made of the fired bullet or cartridge case and then making a resin cast using the mould created. Ballistic projectiles are mounted in a secured cup or mould box before pouring the silicone to make the mould. The moulds are then placed in a pressure pot to remove air bubbles, taken out of the pot, and cured for 15–24 hours. The cured mould is then removed from the cup or box and the specimen extracted. Next, the silicone mould is filled with casting resin, pressurized in a pressure pot, removed and the cured resin cast demoulded. The resin bullet and cartridge castings are then ready for ballistics imagining or microscope examination and comparison.
Equipment used in the training as well as consumables to conduct further, practical double casting of projectiles were handed over to the Government of Trinidad and Tobago.
Double Cast Training are part of the fourth round of implementation under the framework of the UNLIREC’s Caribbean Operational Forensic Ballistics Assistance Package, which is made possible thanks to the support of the US Department of State and the Government of Canada.
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 17, 2017 | Uncategorized
The United Nations Regional Centre for Peace, Disarmament and Development in Latin America and the Caribbean (UNLIREC), in partnership with the Geneva Centre for the Democratic Control of Armed Forces (DCAF) organized a regional seminar entitled “The Use of the Force in Private Security Companies” on May 17, 2017 in Lima. This activity was carried out within the framework of the project entitled ‘Strengthening capacities for the effective and transparent management of small arms and ammunition in the private security sector’, which is funded by the Government of the Federal Republic of Germany.
The seminar was attended by representatives from various sectors in Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala and Peru, such as governmental entities in charge of regulating private security, entrepreneurs within the sector, civil society and academia. The objective of this meeting was to present concepts and tools to enrich the debate and provide inputs to establish norms and policies in the field of the use of force in the provision of private security services. UNLIREC and DCAF held this event with a view to discussing this issue given the recurring news on the use of force and, in particular, the use of firearms by private security agents during and after working hours in the countries of the region, which pose challenges to citizen security.
Throughout the various working sessions, several aspects were discussed such as the international normative framework for the use of force and its flaws vis-à-vis private security, the limitations that private security companies are mandated to have on the use of force, the challenges and opportunities posed by the use of alternative devices such as the least lethal weapons used by security agents while on duty, as well as the various roles and responsibilities of governments and the private sector in regulating the use of force in this field.
During the seminar, the participants exchanged views and detailed their national experiences. There was consensus that aspects such as incident investigation, the continuous selection and evaluation of staff, training (theoretical and practical), working conditions, operational planning, equipment, supervision and monitoring during operations were some of the fundamental elements that must be taken into account to prevent the excess use of force by private security agents.
Since 2015, UNLIREC and DCAF have provided technical assistance to national authorities and security companies in these four countries of the region in order to support both the regulation of private security and the control of weapons in this sector by promoting standards, good practices and globally recognised initiatives such as the International Code of Conduct for Private Security Service Providers (ICoC), the International Small Arms Control Standards (ISACS) and the International Ammunition Technical Guidelines (IATGs).
UNLIREC supports States in strengthening public security and in implementing the United Nations Programme of Action to Prevent, Combat and Eradicate the Illicit Trade in Small Arms and Light Weapons in All Its Aspects (UN PoA 2001).
May 12, 2017 | Uncategorized
From 5-7 December, the United Nations Regional Centre for Peace, Disarmament and Development in Latin America and the Caribbean (UNLIREC), together with the government of the Dominican Republic, delivered its third inter-institutional Firearms and Ammunition Evidence Management Course (EMC).
Harmonized efforts are fundamental in developing a sound national strategy to investigate and prosecute firearms-related cases and illicit trafficking in firearms and ammunition. Consequently, UNLIREC convened this initiative to strengthen coordination among security sector officials, share knowledge on key aspects of the chain of custody process, provide practical training on best practices to manage a scene under investigation, and increase the knowledge base of the relevant legal framework.
The EMC was led by international subject matter experts and contained training modules on ‘Firearms and Ammunition Identification’, ‘Legal Considerations in Criminal Investigations’, ‘Evidence Management at the Crime Scene’, ‘Evidence Examination and Analysis in the Laboratory’, ‘Intelligence and Investigation Tools’, as well as practical exercises. Participants also benefitted from presentations by INTERPOL on addressing firearms trafficking, firearms tracing and investigative tools available and by a Public Prosecutor from Santiago de los Caballeros on the national legislative context.
30 national justice and law enforcement participants, including firearms examiners, forensic laboratory personnel, scenes of crimes and intelligence police officers, and public prosecutors, were trained during this course. Participants represented each of the 15 districts that make the north of the Dominican Republic. Training on best practices for collecting, packaging, and transferring firearms and ammunition found at a scene under investigation increases the capacity of security sector officials to manage potential evidence in a way that is deemed admissible in a court of law, and ultimately allows for a reduction in impunity in firearms-related cases.
The EMC is part of UNLIREC’s Caribbean Operational Forensic Ballistics Assistance Package, which is made possible thanks to the support of the governments of Canada, Germany, and 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 8, 2017 | Uncategorized
The United Nations Regional Centre for Peace, Disarmament and Development in Latin America and the Caribbean (UNLIREC) and the United Nations Volunteers (UNV) Programme have been developing a regional project aimed at young volunteers in Peru, Colombia, Honduras and Trinidad and Tobago. The objective of this project is to support the States – through the empowerment of young people – in advancing the implementation of the 2030 Agenda. Throughout the project, young volunteer leaders will enhance their skills pertaining to the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), specifically SDG 16 Peace, Justice and Strong Institutions, and participatory indicators will be developed. Multiple training sessions have been structured within that framework, focusing on issues of youth, peace, security, disarmament and volunteerism in the city of Trujillo, Peru. On this occasion, about 70 young volunteers were trained on Saturday 5th and Sunday 6th August 2017.
Theoretical and practical tools were provided during these training sessions for the future development of participatory indicators which will complement the SDG 16 indicators. The purpose of these indicators will be to highlight a local projection of the young people of Trujillo as to how to measure the level of human security and armed violence in their region. Young people were educated, through three workshops, on the theme, with emphasis being placed on the steps to be taken in creating indicators. After this initial overview, the methodology developed for the project is expected to be applied in future workshops, and the group of volunteers will remain to outline the valid indicators and the proxies.
On the other hand, during the work sessions, the first audiovisual product of the project was presented in Peru in recognition of International Youth Day, 12th August. This year, special emphasis was placed on young people’s ability to participate in the “configuration of true peace and to contribute to conflict prevention and transformation, inclusion, social justice, reconciliation and sustainable peace.” As part of the celebration, the young volunteers prepared a video which depicted each participant’s view of peace. The video was posted on social media using the main hashtag #SayUrPeace.
Source: UNLIREC
May 6, 2017 | Uncategorized
From 5 – 9 June, the United Nations Regional Centre for Peace, Disarmament and Development in Latin America and the Caribbean (UNLIREC), together with ARQUEBUS Solutions Ltd, delivered its second Double Cast training and consequent donation of equipment in the Bahamas.
Five participants, among them assistant firearms examiners and IBIS Technicians of the Royal Bahamas Police Force (RBPF) Scientific Support Services (SSS), participated in the training. Participants were trained on INTERPOL’s Double Casting methodology.
Double casting increases the ability of national authorities to make connections between crime and crime scenes, nationally, regionally and internationally. The training seeks to build capacity in the region to create microscopic replicas of projectiles and cartridge cases that can be peer reviewed and uploaded to a Ballistics Information Network and/or shared to judicial proceedings and across jurisdictions for comparison without upsetting the chain of custody or jeopardizing the original evidence.
Double Casting is a two step-process that requires a silicone mould to be made of the fired bullet or cartridge case and then making a resin cast using the mould created. Ballistic projectiles are mounted in a secured cup or mould box before pouring the silicone to make the mould. The moulds are then placed in a vacuum degassing chamber to remove air bubbles, taken out of the chamber, and cured for 15 hours. The cured mould is then removed from the cup or box and the specimen extracted. Next, the silicone mould is filled with casting resin, pressurized in a pressure pot, removed and the cured resin cast demoulded. The resin bullet and cartridge castings are then ready for ballistics imaging or microscope examination and comparison.
Equipment used in the training, as well as consumables to conduct further double casting of cartridge cases or projectiles, were handed over to the Government the Bahamas.
Double Cast Training is part of UNLIREC’s Caribbean Operational Forensic Ballistics Assistance Package, which is made possible thanks to the support of the US Department of State and the Government of Canada.
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 4, 2017 | Uncategorized
The United Nations Regional Centre for Peace, Disarmament and Development in Latin America and the Caribbean (UNLIREC) presented the findings of its study entitled “Less Lethal Weapons in Latin America and the Caribbean – Challenges and Opportunities” in the facilities of the Colombian National Police in Bogota on 5 April. This initiative was carried out at the request of the Colombian government to support the work performed by the National Coordination Committee for the Prevention, Combat and Eradication of Illicit Trafficking in Small Arms and Light Weapons (Comité TIA).
Less lethal weapons are devices designed to generate a specific and intermediary effect that will temporality neutralize or incapacitate the recipient of the impact without causing death. These types of weapons are used in numerous countries in Latin American and Caribbean by diverse actors with an institutional mandate to maintain and monitor public order in a variety of circumstances. Through this study, UNLIREC sheds light on the issue of less lethal weapons in the region and their role in citizen security, identifying the main actors, risks, challenges, and good practices, as well as the possibility of States to incorporate less lethal weapons into the equipment of security forces and regulate their use by citizens and security companies, all the while respecting international standards of human rights and the use of force. The objective of the research is to contribute to the debate on the legality, feasibility and suitability of using these types of weapons.
Officials from the National Police, The Superintendence of Surveillance and Private Security, the Judicial Police, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Arms Trade Control Department, the Military Industry (INDUMIL) and other members of the Colombian defense sector attended the presentation of the study. The event concluded with an interesting debate between the participants on the different aspects to consider to achieve better regulation of less lethal weapons in Colombia. UNLIREC recommends that a classification for these types of elements be determined, which would facilitate the incorporation of the control and regulation of these types of weapons into the national legal framework.
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs, as the president of the Comité TIA, will analyze the results of the presentation of the study, with the aim of continuing to support the process that will propose a normative framework for less lethal weapons, in line with its efforts to prevent, combat and eradicate illicit trafficking in small arms and light weapons in all its aspects.
The development of this study has been possible thanks to the financial support of the Government of the Federal Republic of Germany. Through its assistance, UNLIREC supports the Latin American and Caribbean States in the implementation of the United Nations Program of Action to Prevent, Combat and Eradicate the Illicit Trade in Small Arms and Light Weapons in All Its Aspects (UN 2001 PoA).
