Nov 13, 2014 | Uncategorized
On 13 November 2014 UNLIREC organized a roundtable on incorporating gender and youth approaches when implementing the United Nations Programme of Action on Small Arms (PoA) and the Arms Trade Treaty (ATT). The roundtable, which was organized at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Mexico, responded to requests by States in the region for UNLIREC support to their implementation of international conventional arms regulation and control and instruments.
With financial support from Australia, the roundtable assembled 23 representatives from governments, international organizations and academia, bringing together expertise on gender and conventional arms control. Experts gathered to review existing laws, policies and implementation mechanisms for controlling arms and preventing armed violence, particularly gender-based violence.
The roundtable highlighted good practices in incorporating gender and youth approaches in disarmament and arms control programmes, and evaluated practical ways to include gender in export assessments covered by the ATT.
The feedback received during this roundtable will help to enhance the gender-sensitive approaches mainstreamed in UNLIREC’s new ‘ATT Implementation Course’ and accompanying simulation exercises. This three-day course, which has been successfully piloted and is now available to requesting States, complements resources provided by the United Nations Office for Disarmament Affairs (UNODA).
The perspectives and best practices exchanged during the expert roundtable will also be used to make UNLIREC’s new ‘export assessment tool’ more effective in reducing the risk of weapons being used to commit acts of violence, particularly against women and youth.
States in Latin America and the Caribbean have made considerable progress in the implementation of the PoA, which was adopted by the United Nations in 2001 as an instrument to prevent and combat trafficking in small arms and light weapons. Those States have also been strong supporters of the ATT, which was adopted in 2013 and will enter into force on 24 December 2014.
To date, the following 15 States Latin America and the Caribbean have ratified the Treaty: Antigua and Barbuda, Argentina, Bahamas, Costa Rica, Dominican Republic, El Salvador, Grenada, Guyana, Jamaica, Mexico, Panama, St. Lucia, St. Vincent and the Grenadines, Trinidad and Tobago and Uruguay.
For more information on UNLIREC visit (www.unlirec.org.) Please direct all questions or inquiries to: Ms Amanda Cowl, Political Affairs Officer, at (cowl@unlirec.org).
Nov 11, 2014 | Uncategorized
The Government of Peru, in cooperation with the United Nations Office for Disarmament Affairs (UNODA) through its Regional Centre for Peace, Disarmament and Development in Latin America and the Caribbean (UNLIREC), hosted a regional workshop on the implementation of UN Security Council Resolution 1540 (2004) for South American States.
The workshop takes place on 11-13 November 2014 in Lima and is organized with funds provided by the European Union, the Republic of Korea, Norway and the United States of America.
The Security Council, acting under Chapter VII of the United Nations Charter, unanimously adopted resolution 1540 (2004) on 28 April 2004 obliging all States to enforce effective measures and establish domestic controls to prevent the proliferation of nuclear, chemical or biological weapons and their means of delivery to non-State actors.
To this end, States are required to develop and maintain appropriate effective measures to account for and secure such items in production, use, storage or transport and to develop and maintain appropriate effective physical protection measures.
The workshop in Lima is the first workshop for South American States on the implementation of resolution 1540 (2004) focusing on the issue of effective physical protection and accounting of related materials.
Representatives of eleven Member States as well as international and regional organizations will attend the workshop. Participating States will engage in information exchange and experience sharing, and discusse effective national practices for implementing resolution 1540 (2004) as well as cooperation with relevant international and regional partner organizations.
For more information on UNLIREC visit (www.unlirec.org.) Please direct all questions or inquiries to: Ms Amanda Cowl, Political Affairs Officer, at (cowl@unlirec.org).
Source: UNLIREC
Nov 6, 2014 | Uncategorized
UNLIREC officially launched its 1540 Programme with its first field activity in Grenada. This forms part of UNLIREC’s new 1540 assistance package for the Caribbean, which benefits from funding from US Department of State’s Bureau of International Security and Non-proliferation (ISN), aimed at assisting States in the region in their implementation of the resolution. On 10 June 2014, UNLIREC, together with an expert assisting the 1540 Committee and the CARICOM 1540 Coordinator, met with officials from the Office of the Attorney General of Grenada and the Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to present the programme and the main conclusions of its national study on the country’s legislation in non-proliferation matters. During the meeting, UNLIREC expressed its intention to build upon the work that both the 1540 Committee and CARICOM have been undertaking in Grenada, and further assist the country in addressing the main needs and challenges arising in the implementation of the resolution.
During the following two days, UNLIREC chaired a roundtable attended by close to 15 institutions and agencies from Grenada to share the findings and recommendations of its national study on the current legal framework in Grenada vis-à-vis the obligations contained in both UN Security Council resolution 1540(2004) and the main international conventions and instruments on nuclear, chemical and biological weapons, their means of delivery and related material.
Commending the progress made by Grenada since the adoption of the resolution in 2004, UNLIREC highlighted the need to enact specific legislation to address issues, such as transportation, transfer and transshipment of nuclear, chemical and biological materials, as well as adopt comprehensive control lists for certain items that are proliferation-sensitive.
Together with representatives of the various institutions present, a tentative work plan was drawn up with specific activities and training sessions, including the proposed visit by a South African delegation in July to address aspects of UNSCR 1540(2004) operative paragraph 3 (c) and (d) to assist Grenada in the elaboration of control lists and legal drafting on export controls, and the possibility of joining forces with the International Maritime Organisation, the US Department of Energy and INTERPOL to provide assistance and training in certain fields of law enforcement, port security and border controls and commodity identification.
The United Nations Regional Centre for Peace, Disarmament and Development in Latin America and the Caribbean (UNLIREC) forms part of the Regional Disarmament Branch (RDB), one of five branches of the UN Office for Disarmament Affairs (UNODA). UNLIREC is the only UN regional entity specialized in disarmament and non-proliferation in the Latin American and Caribbean region. Its main function is to translate the decisions, instruments and commitments of Member States in the field of disarmament and non-proliferation into action, at national, sub-regional and regional levels. In short, UNLIREC supports Latin American and Caribbean States in achieving and maintaining peace and security through disarmament.
For more information on UNLIREC visit (www.unlirec.org.) Please direct all questions or inquiries to: Ms Amanda Cowl, Political Affairs Officer, at (cowl@unlirec.org).
Nov 3, 2014 | Uncategorized
Representatives of the United States Department of Energy summoned various national authorities in Peru and a number of international experts from Argentina, Brazil, Chile, México, Panama and Peru to the UNLUREC headquarters in Lima from March 11-13, 2014, to discuss and present the basic components and content of an effective CIT training program.
Highlighting the importance of consolidating and implementing interinstitutional working groups, the purpose of the workshop was to identify best practice and lessons learned in countries that have already developed these courses and provide useful tools for strengthening existing programs or encouraging them in countries where they have not been developed.
As an example of best practice, UNLIREC presented the content and characteristics of its training courses and capacity building tools, referring mainly to its Inter-Institutional Course on Combating Illicit Firearms Trafficking (IITC).
UNLIREC´s participation in this workshop is part of its legal and technical assistance activities in the implementation of international instruments on non-proliferation of weapons of mass destruction.
For more information about UNLIREC, visit its web page [www.unlirec.com]. For any questions, contact Amanda Cowl, Political Affairs Officer, at [cowl@unlirec.org].
Oct 29, 2014 | Uncategorized
UNLIREC has been working with the Government of Grenada to provide legal and technical assistance under its 1540 Assistance Package since early 2014. During the 1540 national roundtable held in June 2014, UNLIREC and Government stakeholders identified a series of existing training needs and institutional challenges and priorities with respect to non-proliferation issues, including border control measures to enhance security at ports and effective ways to deal with small vessel security. Consequently, UNLIREC liaised with the International Maritime Organization (IMO) to organize a two-day table top exercise (29-30 October 2014) to identify good practice and strengthen maritime and port security measures.
The exercise brought together 24 government officials with responsibilities in maritime and port security, including the National Disaster Management Agency, the Port Authority and various departments in the Royal Grenadian Police Force including the Coast Guard, Port Security, Customs and Excise, Immigration and Fire Department. The Minister for Foreign Affairs and International Business, the Honourable Nickolas Skeete and the US Charge D´Affaires Mr. Louis Crishock were present at the opening ceremony, thus reflecting Grenada’s level of commitment to strengthening implementation of UNSC resolution 1540.
During the exercise, dialogue revolved around the current challenges facing the country in addressing port and maritime security while, crisis/incident management training and risk management, as well as the development of protocols and contingency plans were highlighted as priorities. A number of other issues and challenges were discussed, including the need for improved inter-agency coordination and utilization of resources, targeted exercises for senior level personnel (policy and managerial level), training for first responders, assistance to enhance the response of the Coast Guard, strengthening of related legislation and broad based education on existing legislation so that officials have a comprehensive understanding of the relevant laws and have a legal basis for intervention if necessary and continuous drills/similar table top exercises.
UNLIREC will continue to work together with the government to address these issues within the framework of the 1540 Assistance Package and the voluntary national action plan which the country is drafting.
UNLIREC continues to work with the Government of Grenada to strengthen the implementation of UNSC resolution 1540 and also looks forward to collaborating further with the International Maritime Organization and other agencies to strengthen border controls across the region.
For more information on UNLIREC, visit www.unlirec.org. Please direct all questions or inquires to Ms. Amanda Cowl, Political Affairs Officer at (cowl@unlirec.org).
Oct 13, 2014 | Uncategorized
On 13-14 October 2014, UNLIREC convened a national roundtable on strengthening the implementation of Security Council Resolution 1540 (2004) in Trinidad and Tobago. The roundtable was held in collaboration with the Government of Trinidad and Tobago, with the financial support of the US Department of State´s Bureau of International Security and Nonproliferation. The meeting formed part of UNLIREC’s 1540 Assistance Package for Caribbean States and was a follow up to the 1540 Committee´s Visit to Trinidad and Tobago in 2013.
The roundtable brought together over 25 representatives from various institutions and agencies in Trinidad and Tobago which have responsibilities in 1540 related matters, including the Ministries of Foreign Affairs, National Security, Health, Energy and Energy Affairs, Science and Technology, the Office of the Attorney General and representatives from the Office of the Prime Minister, among others. This meeting enabled UNLIREC to not only share the findings and recommendations of its national study on the country’s legislative framework on 1540 but also actively engage with different stakeholders, gather additional information on the implementation of the resolution in the country, and determine a series of priority areas for the delivery of further technical assistance in the coming months.
Representatives were forthcoming in presenting the specific challenges faced by their respective institutions, disclosing information related to the domestic legislative and regulatory framework as well as operational and enforcement challenges. Participants welcomed further support and a proactive engagement by UNLIREC to strengthen the implementation of the resolution.
UNLIREC looks forward to continued collaboration with the Government of Trinidad and Tobago to further strengthen the implementation of resolution 1540 (2004) in the country.
For more information on UNLIREC visit (www.unlirec.org). Please direct all questions or inquiries to Ms. Amanda Cowl, Political Affairs Officer at (cowl@unlirec.org)
