In light of the Global Firearms Programme (GFP) Project which was launched in March 2021 under the theme, “Support to the implementation of the crime prevention and criminal justice component of the Caribbean Roadmap to counter illicit firearms trafficking and misuse across the Caribbean in a sustainable manner by 2030”, the Government of Guyana has welcomed a United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC).
The aim of the project is to prevent and counter illicit circulation and misuse of firearms and their links to serious crimes. In this regard, Home Affairs Minister Robeson Benn has said the project is a timely one.
The project, which is funded by Germany, is in cooperation with the Caribbean Community (Caricom) Implementation Agency for Crime and Security (IMPACS), and the United Nations Regional Centre for Peace, Disarmament and Development in Latin America and the Caribbean (UNLIREC).
However, the collaboration aims to produce a more comprehensive assessment of criminal justice response capacities, and to contribute to the understanding of national priorities in countering firearm-trafficking-related crimes.
Further, the delegation has intentions of collaborating with the Home Affairs, Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation, and Legal Affairs Ministries, as well as the Department of Public Prosecution, the Guyana Police Force, and the Guyana Revenue Authority.
Just last month, a new unit was established by Minister Benn to clamp down on the trafficking of firearms and ammunition through a National Action Plan for the Firearms Roadmap.
The unit referred to as a national team is said to have collectively agreed that the Firearms Act along with the relevant norms and regulation should be updated.
Additionally, the National Action Plan for the firearms roadmap saw top priorities being given to the developing and the enhancement of training in surveillance firearms’ detection at the port and border crossings, creating and enhancing domestic software and e-platforms to facilitate intelligence gathering, information exchange among national and regional law enforcement entities and crime mapping, and to create/update national weapons inventories.
