Apr 9, 2017 | Uncategorized
El día 4 de septiembre, UNLIREC llevó a cabo en Santo Domingo un taller que reunió a un grupo de funcionarios del sector aduanas. El objetivo de la actividad consistió en presentar la metodología elaborada por UNLIREC para la elaboración de una lista de control operativa relacionada a armas de destrucción masiva (ADM).
Adicionalmente, UNLIREC organizó un taller de dos días en el que representantes de instituciones gubernamentales con responsabilidades relacionadas a la no proliferación de ADMs trabajaron conjuntamente con UNLIREC en la elaboración de la primera versión de la lista operativa de la República Dominicana.
Partiendo del mapa de comercio estratégico del país, la lista operativa se constituye en una herramienta práctica dirigida a apoyar a los oficiales de primera línea encargados del resguardo fronterizo en la identificación de bienes estratégicos comúnmente comercializados y que pudieran ser relevantes a efectos de proliferación de armas de destrucción masiva. Con esta herramienta, se pretende además contribuir a la introducción de mejoras en los procedimientos de análisis de riesgo en los puntos de entrada y salida del país.
Estas jornadas permitieron asimismo trazar una hoja de ruta hacia la elaboración de la versión final de la Lista Operativa relacionada a ADM. Estas actividades forman parte del Paquete de Asistencia 1540 de UNLIREC, actualmente en ejecución gracias al apoyo financiero de Canadá.
Apr 8, 2017 | Uncategorized
El 4 de agosto UNLIREC y el Gobierno de Perú celebraron una sesión de capacitación con el objetivo de profundizar el conocimiento sobre el régimen internacional de no proliferación de armas de destrucción masiva, con especial énfasis en la Convención de Armas Biológicas y la resolución 1540 (2004). Este encuentro reunió a 48 representantes de 11 instituciones y agencias, incluyendo el Ministerio de Relaciones Exteriores, de Defensa, de Salud, de la Producción, la Policía Nacional, la Superintendencia Nacional de Administración Tributaria y el Instituto Peruano de Energía Nuclear, entre otras.
Durante el taller, los participantes recibieron información sobre el contenido de los principales tratados y convenciones en materia de no proliferación, además de la Resolución 1540, además de las medidas a adoptar para su implementación nacional. Los representantes de las distintas instituciones y sectores pudieron asimismo debatir e intercambiar información sobre el marco normativo e institucional nacional que da respuesta a esas exigencias, así como aspectos relativos a la modernización de la legislación, en particular en el ámbito biológico.
Con anterioridad a este taller, en marzo de 2017, UNLIREC tuvo la oportunidad de apoyar a las autoridades nacionales en la elaboración de la Hoja de Ruta para la implementación de la Resolución 1540, que fue formalmente presentado al Comité 1540 en julio de este año. Esta reunión forma parte del Paquete de Asistencia 1540 de UNLIREC con el apoyo financiero de Canadá.
Mar 30, 2017 | Uncategorized
The United Nations Centre for Peace, Disarmament and Development in Latin America and the Caribbean (UNLIREC) continues moving forward on the implementation of the project Strengthening the capacity for effective and transparent management of small arms and ammunition in the private security sector in Costa Rica, which began in September 2016, in partnership with the Geneva Centre for the Democratic Control of Armed Forces (DCAF). This assistance package is possible thanks to the financial support of the Government of the Federal Republic of Germany.
During the months of March and April of 2017, UNLIREC has been supporting the Costa Rican government in the implementation of different activities aimed at strengthening arms control in the private security sector in the country. With the aim of making the achievements visible, the Government of Costa Rica convened a public event on April 3, 2017, in San José, where weapons were marked and destroyed in the presence of different national authorities and sectors of society.
UNLIREC has been advancing in the secondary marking of firearms owned by private security companies. This type of marking, made with laser technology, contributes to improving the inventory management of the companies’ weapons. In addition, secondary marking – a follow up marking at the time of the manufacture of the weapon – allows tracking the weapons, along with reconstructing their trajectory in time and space from its manufacture to its last legal owner, thus facilitating the traceability and criminal investigation process in the case of deviation. Between March and April, more than 500 firearms have been marked belonging to 10 security companies. Markings are expected to continue in the coming months with this initiative. While marking the firearms, Costa Rica continues to move forward in the fulfillment of the international agreements signed on the combat to the illicit traffic in small arms.
Additionally, UNLIREC accompanied the first destruction of weapons belonging to private security companies. Since 2016 security companies in the country are determining the need to carry and use firearms, depending on the locations where their services are rendered. Following the trend in the reduction of weapons, some companies are delivering the weapons that are no longer required to the national authorities for their destruction. During the first week of April, UNLIREC verified the destruction of 454 weapons of 17 different companies and certified that the process was carried out in accordance with international standards and good practices recognized in the matter. The destruction of weapons is one of the most effective measures to prevent unwanted weapons from entering illegal cycles and end up causing damage.
Finally, UNLIREC and DCAF held meetings with legal advisors from the Ministry of Public Security in which progress was made in the incorporation of international norms and standards in the processes of reforms to the private security law currently being developed in the country.
Since 2016, UNLIREC and DCAF have supported the Government of Costa Rica and the private security guild in the country to promote standards, best practices and initiatives of international recognition such as the International Code of Conduct for Private Security Service Providers and The United Nations International Small Arms Control Standards (ISACS) and the International Ammunition Technical Guidelines (IATGs).
Through its assistance to the States of Latin America and the Caribbean, UNLIREC supports States in improving public security and in implementing the UN Programme of Action to Prevent, Combat and Eradicate the Illicit Trade in Small Arms and Light Weapons in All Its Aspects (UN 2001 PoA).
Mar 28, 2017 | Uncategorized
A set of activities aimed at strengthening the implementation of the United Nations Security Council Resolution 1540 (2004) was carried out in the Dominican Republic from 28 to 29 March 2017 as part of UNLIREC’s support to States in the region. These activities – made possible thanks to the financial contribution by the government of Canada – encompass the adoption of internal regulations in accordance with the provisions established in the Resolution, as reflected in the National Plan of Action that the Dominican Republic presented in November 2015 to the 1540 Committee.
Within this context, UNLIREC continued its technical and legal assistance related to the draft of ‘WMD Non-Proliferation Bill of Law’. UNLIREC’s technical expert was accompanied by a former member of the Group of Experts of the 1540 Committee who provided technical support in the matter. In attendance were 15 national stakeholders and legal drafters from relevant institutions (Ministry of Defense, Ministry of Energy and Mines, and Environmental Ministry) who engaged in a second lively round of discussions to identify specific issues to be covered through subsidiary regulations, as well as a roadmap for the development of these regulations. In addition, the control list to be annexed to the regulations and the definition of national authority roles and responsibilities were highlighted as priorities.
These activities represent a significant step forward in the country’s efforts to strengthen the implementation of UNSCR 1540 (2004) and will enable the Dominican Republic to establish concrete objectives towards preventing WMD proliferation.
Mar 27, 2017 | Uncategorized
From 27-30 March, the United Nations Regional Centre for Peace, Disarmament and Development in Latin America and the Caribbean (UNLIREC) carried out its forensic ballistics collaborative competency testing exercise in the Dominican Republic.
Five members of the Scientific Police (PC), the Ballistic and Biometric Lab of the National Firearms System (LABBS) and the National Institute of Forensic Sciences (INACIF) in the Dominican Republic participated during the 4-day exercise. These exercises are part of the third 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.
The collaborative exercises are a series of practical and paper-based assessments on the competencies of: forensic examination of small arms ammunition, forensic examination of firearms and their components and trigger pull and travel examination. The exercises – based on UNLIREC’s standard operating procedures – were developed as a preparatory step for a regional framework of competency testing. These exercises may also be used as an internal assessment tool for the forensic science institutes and laboratories of the region.
During this process, all examiners were assessed. These assessments also support the internal identification of existing gaps in skills, knowledge and procedures within Firearms Units in each State.
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.
Mar 20, 2017 | Uncategorized
Mindful of the problematic of illicit trafficking in small arms, ammunition and their parts and components by means of postal shipments, UNLIREC developed in 2016 a practical tool to improve the capacity of practitioners in relation to their interpretation of x-ray images and identification of possible concealment methods to prevent their diversion to the illicit traffic. In so doing, UNLIREC promotes the effective 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 PoA 2001) and the Arms Trade Treaty (ATT).
Resulting from these efforts stands the Course for Interdicting Small Arms in Postal Shipments (ISAPS), which pilot edition was celebrated in San Jose, Costa Rica, from March 20 to 24 with the invaluable collaboration of Costa Rica’s Post Office and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Likewise, the opening ceremony enjoyed the participation of the Embassy of Germany, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Costa Rica’s Post Office, the Universal Postal Union and the Postal Union of the Americas, Spain and Portugal, with a representative of the latter acting as an observer during the course.
UNLIREC, thanks to the support of the Center for Adaptive Security Research and Applications (CASRA), designed a methodology that included training based on an electronic platform, theoretical presentations and a session on identifying concealment methods by means of an x-ray scanner. The ISAPS counted with the participation of 40 officials placed in entry and exit points with control responsibilities from Costa Rica’s Post Office, the Directorate of Intelligence and Security, Judicial Investigation Agency, Air Surveillance Service, National Customs Service, Ministry of Public Security and Fiscal Control Police.
Among the material provided for participants to consult, it must be highlighted as a fundamental pedagogical tool, the Arms, Ammunition, Parts and Components Identification Guide in which the operation and interpretation of images obtained by means of x-ray technology is addressed, and the main physical and material characteristics of arms, their parts and ammunition is collected, as well as their visualization through x-rays. The logical structure of the guide allows the user to become familiar with the physical appearance of arms, ammunition, parts and components and the equivalence with the images generated by the scanner.
UNLIREC thanks the contribution of the Federal Republic of Germany, which made possible the development of the Arms, Ammunition, Parts and Components Identification Guide and the organization of the ISAPS.
