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).
Apr 26, 2017 | Uncategorized
The United Nations Common House in Lima, Peru, is the site of a Regional Encounter to discuss preventing and combating the spread of weapons of mass destruction (WMD) from a Latin American and Caribbean perspective from 25-26 April 2017. 22 States from the region and six partner organizations joined in this open debate organized by the UN Regional Centre for Peace, Disarmament and Development in Latin America and the Caribbean (UNLIREC) and the Organization of American States (OAS) through the Inter-American Committee Against Terrorism (CICTE).
The main theme guiding this two-day event is the effective implementation of UN Security Council resolution 1540 (2004) on preventing and combating the proliferation of WMDs by non-State actors. Resolution 1540 calls on States to refrain from providing any form of support to non-State actors that attempt to develop, acquire, manufacture, posses, transport, transfer or use nuclear, chemical or biological weapons and their means of delivery.
While State representatives are provided with a platform to share successful experiences and exchange essential information on 1540 implementation, dialogue delved into practical – yet crucial – elements outlined in UNSCR 1540, such as the need to enhance border and export controls and bolster normative frameworks to better protect States against proliferation offences. By enforcing these practical measures to establish domestic controls to prevent WMD proliferation and their means of delivery, States will come into closer compliance with key provisions of the resolution and thus boost 1540 implementation from both a national and regional perspective.
Making the most of the ‘regional’ scope of this event, UNLIREC and OAS/CICTE led exploratory dialogue on establishing common ‘regional’ positions on, for instance, Strategic Trade Legislation (STL) to control the export of sensitive technology and materials in order to combat terrorism, nuclear proliferation, and the spread of WMDs. As well, this regional platform was used to launch a much-awaited UNLIREC-developed Control List. This List encompasses all of the items from the main strategic trade control regimes, while – at the same time – is capable of being modified to meet the specific needs or interests of any implementing State. For example, a State may wish to tailor the List to reflect their own domestic industries or particular trade patterns and thus have applications across the entire region.
This collaborative event is financed in its entirety by the Government of Canada and forms part of a wider UNLIREC Programme aimed at supporting State implementation of UNSCR 1540 (2004) and an OAS/CICTE 1540 Programme. UNLIREC and OAS/CICTE are long-standing partners committed to supporting States and providing them with the tools and capacity they need to address pressing peace- and security-related challenges facing the citizens of Latin America and the Caribbean.
Apr 12, 2017 | Uncategorized
On 12 April 2017, UNLIREC representatives returned to Paramaribo to host a national roundtable event in conjunction with the Surinamese Ministry of Defense. The purpose of the roundtable – made possible with funding from the Government of Canada – was to present Suriname with its UNSCR 1540 National Legal Study and highlight to national authorities its key findings and recommendations. The event was attended by 30 participants representing a broad-range of government stakeholder organisations, as well as a representative of CARICOM and a 1540 Committee Expert.
The National Legal Study analysed Suriname’s existing legislative framework against the operative paragraphs of UNSCR 1540 to provide a detailed overview of the Suriname’s current state of 1540 legislative implementation. The Study is intended to provide a solid basis that may be of assistance to Suriname in formulating its National Action Plan and identifying what needs, challenges and areas exist for strengthening the implementation of the resolution within the Surinamese context.
UNLIREC plans to return to Paramaribo in the coming months to provide support in Suriname’s elaboration of its 1540 National Action Plan.
Apr 10, 2017 | Uncategorized
On 4 October 2017, UNLIREC travelled to Georgetown, Guyana to co-host a National Action Plan (NAP) workshop with Guyana’s Ministry of Public Security as part of UNLIREC’s Programme for Strengthening the Capacities of States in Latin America and the Caribbean to Implement UNSCR 1540 (2004).
The NAP workshop was a follow-on event from the recently held National Legal Study roundtable and it provided a forum for national authority representatives to come together, with UNLIREC’s assistance, to develop a draft NAP document that sets out Guyana’s plan for implementing resolution 1540.
Participating agencies included the Ministries of Foreign Affairs; Public Health: Public Affairs; Agriculture; Finance; Guyana Revenue Authority; Guyana Police Force and Guyana Defence Force. The roundtable workshop was also attended and supported by Dr Richard Cupitt, Senior Associate Stimson Centre as well as a member of the 1540 Group of Experts.
The workshop proved to be extremely productive, with a draft NAP produced before the day concluded.
UNLIREC looks forwards to having the opportunity to provide Guyana with continued assistance both in the further elaboration of its draft NAP for UNSCR 1540 implementation and more broadly, through UNLIREC’s other disarmament programmes.
