Disarmament in Review
(El Salvador, Nov. 2013) – On 25 November, coinciding with the celebrations of the UN International Day on the Elimination of Violence against Women, UNLIREC organized a National Inter-Institutional Course on Combating Illicit Firearms Trafficking targeted at women working in the area of small arms control in El Salvador . This ten-day course – conducted in San Salvador, El Salvador from 25 November to 6 December – brought together 40 female officers from law enforcement institutions, judiciary and the public prosecutor’s office. Access to technical training for women is vital for the continued and effective implementation of the 2001 UN Programme of Action on Illicit Small Arms and Light Weapons.
This training initiative is a concret action of by UNLIREC to promote gender perspectives in its programming and the implementation of the General Assembly resolution 65/69 on “Women, Disarmament, Arms Control, and non-Proliferation”. The training aims to increase the opportunities for women officials to have access to specialized training, such as this, emphasizing the crucial role played by women in promoting peace and disarmament and the need to strengthen women’s capacities to contribute to small arms control. The initiative is also part of UNLIREC’s assistance to countries in the region including El Salvador, in their efforts to breaking the cycles of violence and addressing the rise in femicides, which are further exacerbated by Illicit arms.
The training course provides practical and up-to-date information on a variety of subjects, including identification of firearms; investigative techniques and intelligence; stockpile management; weapons destruction; chain of custody; and human security, among others, with gender perspectives incorporated throughout. The aim of the course is not only to increase the knowledge of participants on these and other subjects, but also to improve multi-sectoral cooperation for a more effective implementation of international instruments in this field.
This initiative – made possible through financial support from the Federal Republic of Germany –forms part of a wider UNLIREC Central American Firearms Assistance Package, which has trained more than 700 officials in the combat of illicit trafficking and destroyed more than 32,000 weapons and 30 tonnes of ammunition.
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.org.) Please direct all questions or inquiries to Ms Amanda Cowl, Political Affairs Officer, at cowl[at]unlirec.org
Source: UNLIREC
