Mar 13, 2014 | Uncategorized
UNLIREC, as part of its efforts to support the Central American Security Strategy, is in the process of developing a training guide to help Central American governments better integrate firearms and ammunition evidence management into criminal investigative processes. For this purpose, UNLIREC convened an expert consultation in collaboration with the Judicial Police of Costa Rica. The regional consultation brought together 20 experts (13 men and 7 women) from Central American States and neighboring countries in San Jose, Costa Rica, from 13-14 February 2014.
Regional experts shared national practices, weaknesses, and jointly identified areas where technical assistance is needed in order to incorporate firearm issues into national evidence management procedures. Additionally, this expert consultation constituted a practical scenario to promote regional cooperation among participating countries. To conclude this regional consultation, a visit was made to the National Forensic Institute where participants had the opportunity to interact with firearms examiners and ballistic experts on the different procedures and testing methodologies conducted on firearms, ammunition and explosives during criminal investigations.
As part of the next phase, UNLIREC will work with Central American governments to pilot the training guide within existing national curricula.
This workshop – made possible thanks to the financial contribution of the Government of Germany – forms part of a larger UNLIREC assistance package aimed at preventing armed violence in Central America through the combat of illicit trafficking in firearms, which supports the efforts made by States to improve public security and enhance their implementation of the UN 2001 PoA on Small Arms.
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].
Source: UNLIREC
Mar 3, 2014 | Uncategorized
The United Nations Regional Centre for Peace, Disarmament and Development in Latin America and the Caribbean (UNLIREC) organized in cooperation with the Government of Belize a specialized national course for legal practitioners on techniques for combating impunity in firearms related offenses in Belmopan on 3-6 March 2014.
With the goal of strengthening the operational capabilities of judges, magistrates, prosecutors, criminal investigators and representatives from the National Forensic Science Service, UNLIREC trained 20 legal practitioners on how to combat illicit firearms trafficking through the reduction of impunity and strengthen the coordination, communication and cooperation of all relevant legal operators working in this area.
The course was conducted by international instructors and national experts on firearms and ammunition classification; firearms proliferation and armed violence; international firearms instruments and national regulatory frameworks; inter-institutional and international cooperation; crime scene management and forensic ballistics. With the goal of applying the knowledge acquired, participants concluded the training course with a practical exercise consisting of conducting a preliminary court hearing of illicit firearms trafficking and possession. The practical exercise highlighted how the proper handling of the crime scene, respect for the chain of custody, inter-institutional and international cooperation tools and resources, and a suitable criminal legal framework constitute essential elements to combating impunity in the fight against illicit firearms trafficking.
This training course forms part of an overall sub-regional assistance package UNLIREC offers to Caribbean States since 2010. The assistance package contains activities aimed at improving stockpile management and weapons and ammunition destruction; providing legal assistance; and training security sector officials. This assistance was made possible with the financial support from the United States Government.
As the Regional Centre of the United Nations Office for Disarmament Affairs, UNLIREC serves 33 States in the region in assisting them in the development of disarmament policies and the implementation of international disarmament instruments, most notably the UN 2001 Programme of Action on Small Arms and Light Weapons.
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].
Mar 2, 2014 | Uncategorized
Following the donation of a set of hydraulic shears, for the destruction of small arms and a Small Arms Ammunition Burning Tank (SAABT) to the Government of Guyana by the United Nations Regional Centre for Peace, Disarmament and Development in Latin America and the Caribbean (UNLIREC) in January 2014, UNLIREC experts assisted the Government from 3-14 February in destroying over 4,000 surplus and obsolete weapons and almost 3 tonnes of small arms ammunition.
UNLIREC’s technical assistance included hands-on training of officials from the Guyana Police Force and the Guyana Defence Force responsible for leading the destruction efforts. The trainings included the use and maintenance of destruction equipment, as well as technical know-how on managing stockpiles and destroying weapons according to internationally-accepted best practices and guidelines. This combined assistance ensures that permanent indigenous capacity is installed for future and regular destruction of weapons and ammunition. The periodic destruction of weapons and ammunition constitutes one of the most effective means of preventing diversion and ensuring that these weapons do not find their way into illicit activities and criminal networks.
The donation of this equipment and the support for destruction forms part of a wider UNLIREC programme for weapons destruction and stockpile management support to Caribbean States aimed at combating illicit trafficking by reducing the risk of theft and diversion from government holdings of small arms and light weapons, ammunition and explosives. The activities carried out were made possible thanks to the financial support of the Government of the United States of America.
UNLIREC will continue to support the Government of Guyana in a variety of areas, including stockpile management, training and capacity-building and legal and policy review.
UNLIREC serves 33 countries in the region in assisting them in the development of disarmament policies and the implementation of international disarmament instruments, most notably the UN 2001 Programme of Action on Small Arms and Light Weapons.
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].
Feb 27, 2014 | Uncategorized
On 27 February 2014, UNLIREC and the Government of Mexico convened a meeting of national stakeholders at the Secretariat of Foreign Affairs to discuss various initiatives to promote implementation of the Arms Trade Treaty. The meeting was presided by the Director General for Multilateral Affairs and Human Rights Juan Sandoval and UNLIREC Political Affairs Officer Amanda Cowl. The meeting brought together representatives from Foreign Affairs, Interior, National Defense, the Navy, Economy, the Office of the Attorney General, Customs and Federal Police to discuss UNLIREC proposals for an ATT implementation training course and a model end user certificate for legal arms transfers in the Latin America and Caribbean region.
UNLIREC presented its draft course manual for training Latin American and Caribbean government officials on methodologies to support implementation of the Arms Trade Treaty once ratified. The proposed course, which is being developed with the financial support of Germany, includes modules on technical aspects of conventional arms and their trade, legal requirements of treaty implementation and arms transfer risk assessments aimed at national operators responsible for import/export controls. Mexican authorities made recommendations on course design and offered their experts from a number of relevant fields to serve as expert instructors in other Latin American and Caribbean countries. Additionally, UNLIREC staff and experts presented a proposed model end-user certificate – drawing on best practices compiled from Latin America, Europe and North America – that will be offered to Member States as a starting point for the development of arms transfer controls by conventional arms importing states.
On 2 April 2013, the General Assembly adopted the landmark Arms Trade Treaty (ATT), regulating the international trade in conventional arms, from small arms to battle tanks, combat aircraft and warships. The treaty will foster peace and security by inter alia curbing the diversion of small arms and light weapons to the region, which wreaks havoc on citizen security. As well, the Treaty aims at preventing human rights abusers and violators of the law of war from being supplied with arms and will help keep warlords, pirates, and gangs from acquiring these deadly tools. Since the beginning of the ATT process almost ten years ago, Latin American and Caribbean States have been at the vanguard in wholeheartedly supporting the Treaty and its implementation. As of February 2014, 27 Latin American and Caribbean countries have signed the ATT with the following countries having ratified: Antigua and Barbuda, Costa Rica, Grenada, Guyana, Mexico, Panama and Trinidad and Tobago.
UNLIREC, as the regional office of the UN Office for Disarmament Affairs, seeks to advance the cause of practical disarmament in Latin America and the Caribbean and to support Member States in the region in their implementation of international disarmament and non-proliferation instruments, including the UN 2001 Programme of Action on Illicit Small Arms and Light Weaponsand the Arms Trade Treaty.
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].
Feb 12, 2014 | Uncategorized
The Coordinator of UNLIREC´s Public Security Programme, Dr. William Godnick, participated in the launch of a study on seized arms in Peru – 2013 Report. The report, developed by the National Superintendence for the Control of the Security Services, Arms, Ammunition and Explosives for Civilian Use (SUCAMEC), is the first of its kind in the country that attempts to address the complex issue of arms used in criminal acts.
The launch took place in the amphitheatre Monseñor José Dammert Bellido of the Pontifica Universidad Católica del Perú (PUCP) to discuss the link between citizen security and arms control in light of the results of the study. The study’s main conclusions found that 1 out of 3 arms seized by the National Police of Peru have a legal origin in the national market and are duly registered with SUCAMEC, whilst 2 out of 3 arms come from smuggling, unknown sources, or have altered markings.
The roundtable was moderated by Carlos Alza Barco, Director of PUCP’s School of Governance and Public Policy, with commentaries led by Dr. Godnick of UNLIREC and Sofia Viscarra, researcher of PUCP’s Laboratory of Social Criminology of the School of Governance and Public Policy.
The experts agreed with the approach of SUCAMEC to design public policies on arms control and citizen security on the basis of concrete evidence. Furthermore, they emphasized that the report encourages additional research on the causes, routes, and dynamics of arms transfers from the licit to the illicit market.
For more information on UNLIREC visit [www.unlirec.org]. Please direct all questions or inquiries to: Ms. Amanda Cowl, Political Affairs Officer, [cowl@unlirec.org].
Feb 12, 2014 | Uncategorized
Del 2-5 de diciembre de 2014, UNLIREC, en colaboración con el Gobierno de Jamaica, realizó una serie de sesiones técnicas legislativas de trabajo y una mesa redonda nacional sobre el fortalecimiento de la aplicación de la Resolución 1540 (2004) del Consejo de Seguridad, en Kingston, Jamaica.
Las sesiones técnicas de trabajo realizadas del 2 al 3 de diciembre reunieron a funcionarios de diversas instituciones y organismos que tienen responsabilidades en temas relacionados a la Resolución 1540, incluyendo el Ministerio de Asuntos Exteriores y Comercio Exterior, el Ministerio de Seguridad Nacional, el Ministerio de Ciencia, Tecnología, Energía y Minas, el Ministerio de Salud, la Oficina del Consejo Parlamentario Principal, la Oficina de Normas y el Centro Internacional de Ciencias ambientales y Nucleares. Durante esta sesión de trabajo de dos días UNLIREC, junto con un Comité de Expertos de 1540 y la Investigación de Verificación, el Centro de Formación e Información (VERTIC), mantuvieron conversaciones con representantes de los gobiernos sobre el proyecto de legislación propuesto sobre las cuestiones biológicas y nucleares.
Durante las sesiones de trabajo, UNLIREC pudo presentar sus recomendaciones sobre el proyecto de ley propuesto y sobre el marco jurídico nacional existente. Junto con VERTIC y el Comité de Expertos de 1540, se realizaron también discusiones sobre los posibles enfoques para la promulgación de 1540, la legislación conexa y la importancia de la resolución. Durante la reunión los representantes del Gobierno indicaron su aceptación sobre las recomendaciones brindadas por UNLIREC y destacaron la importancia de la promulgación de una legislación eficaz para prevenir la proliferación de armas de destrucción masiva y sus vectores.
El 5 de diciembre, se llevó a cabo una mesa redonda nacional con un grupo más amplio de expertos, con oficiales representando las Fuerzas del orden, así como, representantes de los Ministerios. Los funcionarios expresaron desafíos específicos que enfrenta actualmente el país, en lo que respecta a los controles fronterizos y la formación de los funcionarios de inmigración.
Jamaica tiene como objetivo continuar su labor en la redacción de la legislación en asuntos químicos, biológicos y nucleares, haciendo un esfuerzo para fortalecer la aplicación de la Resolución 1540. UNLIREC está dispuesto a seguir colaborando con el gobierno de Jamaica en un futuro cercano.
Estas reuniones se llevaron a cabo gracias al apoyo financiero del Departamento de Estado de los Estados Unidos – Oficina de Seguridad Internacional y No Proliferación y forman parte del Paquete de 1540 Asistencia de UNLIREC de Estados del Caribe.
Fuente: UNLIREC
