Jan 23, 2014 | Uncategorized
On 23 January 2014, UNLIREC officially handed over a set of hydraulic shears to the Government of Guyana for the destruction of small arms and a Small Arms Ammunition Burning Tank (SAABT) for the destruction of small arms ammunition and explosives. Both of these pieces of equipment were provided to Guyana with a view to ensuring permanent indigenous capacity for regular destruction of weapons and ammunition.
The handover ceremony, held at Eve Leary Police Barracks in Georgetown, included attendance by Minister of Home Affairs Clement Rohee; Guyana Defence Force (GDF) Chief of Staff, Brigadier Mark Phillips; United States Ambassador to Guyana, Mr Brent Hardt; Police Commissioner Leroy Brumell.
Prior to the official handover of equipment, 25 persons from the Guyana Police Force (GPF) and the Guyana Defence Force (GDF) were trained in the maintenance and operation of the hydraulic shears resulting in the destruction of 700 surplus and obsolete firearms.
These specialized destruction tools complement the delivery of 40 padlocks and hasps also provided by UNLIREC to national authorities for enhancing the security of strategic stockpile facilities, thus contributing to preventing theft, loss and diversion of firearms and ammunition to illicit actors. Both sets of equipment will bolster Guyana’s ability to combat illicit trafficking in firearms and reduce and prevent armed violence.
UNLIREC will be returning to Guyana in early February 2014 to conduct training sessions on the use of the SAABT and to support further destruction of surplus, obsolete and seized weapons, ammunition and explosives.
The donation of this equipment and technical assistance forms part of a wider UNLIREC programme for firearms 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 firearms, 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, 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 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].
Dec 17, 2013 | Uncategorized
(Peru, Dec. 17) – UNLIREC supported the National Regulatory Entity for Security Services, Firearms, Ammunition and Explosives for Civil Use (SUCAMEC) in the destruction of over 3,000 firearms via smelting at the Funvesa foundry in the Andean country’s capital of Lima. The destruction event was attended by numerous high-level officials, including the Peruvian Minister of Interior, Walter Alban; Director General of Peru’s National Police, General Jorge Flores; the Superintendent of SUCAMEC, Derik Latorre; and the Director of UNLIREC, Melanie Régimbal.
During her speech, Ms. Régimbal highlighted the fact that “[…] the destruction of weapons is considered one of the most effective disarmament and arms control measures, which allows States to definitively do away with obsolete and seized weapons, and those handed over by civilians, ensuring that they will no longer be used to commit future acts of crime.”
UNLIREC served as an independent observer both prior to and during the destruction process. In this role, the Regional Centre monitored and conducted on site verification of the serial numbers of over 800 weapons, which is equivalent to roughly 30% of all weapons destroyed. The act of monitoring and verification aims to demonstrate transparency throughout the process and certify that it was conducted in accordance with internationally-accepted standards for weapons destruction.
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 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].
Dec 12, 2013 | Uncategorized
(Peru, 12 Dec. 2013) – For the first time, UNLIREC and the Peruvian Ministry of Defence joined forces to expand the capacity of the defence sector (joint command, army, armed forces and police) on a wide gamut of issues related to disarmament and non-proliferation. This intense one-day seminar dealt with themes ranging from the disarmament-related clauses found in the UN Charter to prominent UN figures dedicated to advancing the international security agenda and from the international normative framework surrounding the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction to the new Arms Trade Treaty aimed at regulating the conventional arms trade.
This disarmament advocacy initiative forms part of a wider UNLIREC Programme designed to increase the capacity of States to implement international disarmament agreements with a view to strengthening the implementation and reporting on these instruments. With this purpose in mind, great emphasis is placed on promoting the submission of UN transparency reports, including the UN Report on Military expenditures (http://www.un.org/disarmament/convarms/Milex/) and the UN Register of Conventional Arms (http://www.un.org/disarmament/convarms/Register/). Both reports – available on-line – serve the indispensable objective of building confidence among States and helping to avoid conflict and an unnecessary rise in tensions.
UNLIREC’s Disarmament and Non-proliferation Seminar is also available to the wider diplomatic community from all 33 Latin American and Caribbean States. Those governmental institutions interested in benefitting from this programme are invited to write to [information@unlirec.org].
UNLIREC, as the regional organ of the UN Office for Disarmament Affairs, 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 UN 2001 Programme of Action 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].
Nov 19, 2013 | Uncategorized
19 November 2013, the Government of Guatemala and UNLIREC organized a one-day legal seminar on small arms control in Guatemala City. The seminar was chaired by the Vice-ministry of Violence and Crime Prevention, and counted on the participation of a broad group of institutional stakeholders including the Ministry of Defense, National Civilian Police, Judiciary, Office of the Prosecutor, ministries of Health and Education and the NGO IEPADES.
The seminar was organized to present and disseminate UNLIREC´s legal analysis and recommendations on two bills of law proposed by the Government to address the accumulation of firearms evidence in the judicial system through the advanced destruction of apprehended firearms following ballistic testing, as well as the creation of a legal and policy framework for an eventual voluntary firearms amnesty campaign in the country.
UNLIREC´s expert advice on the bill of law on advanced evidence disposal drew on international instruments related to weapons destruction while the bill for a weapons amnesty drew heavily on ISACS 05.40 ‘Collection of illicit and unwanted small arms.’ UNLIREC´s legal unit was able to undertake this work thanks to the generous contribution of the Governments of Germany and Spain.
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].
Nov 17, 2013 | Uncategorized
UNLIREC and the Ministry of Justice and Public Security co-organized a seminar on 17 November to advance the standardization of small arms and ammunition marking practices in El Salvador. The marking of small arms and their ammunition provides basic information for uniquely identifying small arms; allows for their effective tracing to its last legal owners; facilitates criminal investigations; and improves stockpile management systems among other benefits.
This seminar gathered policy makers and technicians from various institutions, including Defense, Justice and Public Security, Foreign Affairs, Public Ministry, the National Police, and international experts from the OAS and UNLIREC. During the seminar, UNLIREC presented its Technical Guide for the Marking of Small Arms and their Ammunition, aiming to complement, from a technical standpoint, the progress achieved on the issue of marking through relevant international instruments by proposing standard markings, using alphanumeric codes, to be applied at various stages in the life cycle of small arms and their ammunition.
The Ministry of Justice and Public Security, as Coordinator of the inter-institutional firearms working group, recommended to the Ministry of Defense the adoption of standard markings based on the recommendations made by UNLIREC´s Technical Guide. UNLIREC will continue providing assistance to El Salvador with the aim of incorporating marking standards into national legal frameworks and administrative procedures. This initiative was made possible through financial support from the Federal Republic of Germany.
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 Weapons.
For more information on UNLIREC visit [www.unlirec.com]. For any questions contact Amanda Cowl, Political Affairs Officer, at [cowl@unlirec.org].
Nov 3, 2013 | Uncategorized
On 11 and 12 March, the United Nations Regional Centre for Peace, Disarmament and Development in Latin America and the Caribbean (UNLIREC) assisted the Government of Grenada (GoG) in the destruction of over 76,000 rounds of obsolete small arms ammunition and 120 confiscated small arms. On 13 March, UNLIREC also convened a national seminar to review the national firearms act and other relevant policy measures.
Weapons were destroyed in accordance with UNLIREC’s Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs), which incorporate the UN International Small Arms Control Standards (ISACS), using a set of hydraulic shears donated to the government of Grenada by UNLIREC in 2012. Ammunition was also destroyed using a field expedient method in keeping with UNLIREC’s SOPs derived from the UN International Ammunition Technical Guidelines (IATG). UNLIREC provided training to two Royal Grenada Police Force officers and independently monitored both destruction activities. Since 2012, UNLIREC and the Government of Grenada have destroyed almost 400 weapons and over 3.1 tonnes of ammunition.
Following destruction activities, UNLIREC and the government of Grenada convened a national seminar to review the national firearms and explosives act in light of the relevant international agreements, such as the UN 2001 Programme of Action on Small Arms. UNLIREC recommended that the government consider ‘adopting legislation regulating firearms marking, firearms and ammunition destruction and brokering on the one hand and strengthening import, export and transit licensing system and existing criminal provisions on the other.’ Participants from various sectors of the Government were present, including the Royal Grenada Police Force, the Ministry of Legal Affairs, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Customs.
Grenada currently experiences one of the lowest rates of armed violence in the Caribbean sub-region and is in the fortunate position of being able to focus on prevention both from legal and policy standpoints. UNLIREC destruction assistance, along with its legal study entitled Norms and Legal Instruments on Firearms, Ammunition and Explosives, contribute to preventing and combating illicit firearms trafficking throughout the island state.
UNLIREC’s assistance to Grenada forms part of a broader assistance package to Member States of the Caribbean thanks to the financial support of the U.S. Department of State´s Office for Weapons Removal and Abatement and Bureau for International Security and Nonproliferation.
The Office for Disarmament Affairs’ Regional Disarmament Centres, which includes UNLIREC, serves over 135 countries worldwide and assists them in the implementation of arms control and disarmament programmes, such as the implementation of the UN 2001 Programme of Action on Small Arms.
For further information on UNLIREC visit [www.unlirec.org]. For inquiries please contact: Amanda Cowl, Political Affairs Officer [cowl@unlirec.org].
