On August 17, the Inter-American Defense Board, in alliance with the Secretariat for Multidimensional Security of the Organization of American States (OAS), held, at the Casa del Soldado facilities, in Washington (USA), in person and virtually, the Seminar “Prevention and Combating the Proliferation, Manufacturing and Illicit Trafficking of Firearms and Ammunition in the Americas”.
The event's objective was to share, in a wide and varied forum, visions, experiences and challenges around this relevant topic, with the aim of promoting a space for the dissemination and transmission of knowledge, making the problem visible and strengthening the capacities of hemispheric cooperation. in this area, under a multidimensional security approach.
The seminar was inaugurated by Ambassador Luz Elena Baños Rivas, Permanent Representative of Mexico to the OAS and representative of the Pro Tempore Secretariat of the Inter-American Convention against the Illicit Manufacturing of and Trafficking in Firearms, Ammunition, Explosives and Other Related Materials ( CIFTA); Dr. Ivan Marques, Secretary of Multidimensional Security of the Organization of American States; and Brigadier Flávio Luiz de Oliveira Pinto, Director General of the IADB Secretariat, who in his opening remarks thanked the opportunity of the event and highlighted the importance of promoting and encouraging cooperation and the exchange of information and experiences between the States of the hemisphere - at the bilateral, regional and international levels - in order to prevent, combat and eradicate the illicit manufacturing and trafficking of firearms, ammunition, explosives and other related materials.
The panels developed throughout the event addressed the following topics:
– Reflections on the tasks and responsibilities of the Armed Forces in preventing and combating the proliferation, manufacturing and illicit transnational trafficking of firearms and ammunition – by the Advisor on Arms Management of the Inter-American Defense Board, Colonel Tito Nelson González Cepeda.
– OAS initiatives to strengthen the understanding of arms trafficking and promote effective combat and prevention policies, taking into account the CIFTA framework – Carried out by the Manager of the Assistance Program for the Control of Arms and Ammunition (PACAM) of the OAS Department of Public Security, Pier Angelli DeLuca.
– Best Practices to Promote Gender Equality in Conventional Arms Control – Conducted by the Head of the Gender and Disarmament Program of the United Nations Institute for Disarmament Research (UNIDIR), Dr. Renata H. Dalaqua.
– Caribbean Arms Study: Key findings on trends and impacts of arms trafficking, conducted by senior researchers Matt Schroeder and Anne-Séverine Fabre.
– Electronic Tool to monitor incidents and trends related to the transit of weapons in Latin America and the Caribbean – carried out by the Director of the Regional Coordination of Economic and Social Research (CRIES), Andre Serbin Pont, and by the Research Coordinator of Jack D. Gordon, Florida International University Public Policy Institute, Alexander Gocso.
– Academic reflection on the models, flows and behavior of the supply and demand of illicit trafficking in firearms and ammunition in the Hemisphere – carried out by Dr. Mirlis Reyes Salarichs, from the Department of Studies of the Inter-American Defense College.
The closing remarks were given by Brigadier General Marco Antonio Álvarez Reyes, President of the Council of Delegates of the IADB, and the Director of the OAS Department of Public Security, Steven Griner.
With a total of 2,950 subscribers, the Seminar was attended by members from 30 countries: Germany, Angola, Argentina, Barbados, Bolivia, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, Dominica, El Salvador, Ecuador, Spain, United States, Guatemala, Honduras, Hungary, Italy, Jamaica, Mexico, Panama, Paraguay, Peru, Portugal, Dominican Republic, American Samoa, Saint Lucia, Trinidad and Tobago, Uruguay and Venezuela.
The complete recording of the Seminar can be found on the IADB YouTube page: http://www.youtube.com/@inter-americandefenseboard2201/streams
#JID #PACAM #PreventionIllicitWeapons
