Kingston, 8 July 2022 – UNODC’s Firearms Trafficking Section organised a workshop to strengthen the capacities of Jamaican authorities to collect and analysis firearms-related data for the purposes of monitoring illicit arm flows and contribute to both measuring the achievement of Target 16.4 of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) and promoting an evidence-based action against firearms trafficking.
The workshop brought together a number of experts from Jamaica’s Institute of Forensic Science and Legal Medicine, Jamaica Defence Force, Major Organised Crime and Anti-Corruption Agency, Interpol and the Ministry of National Security.
Statistics specialist Giada Greco, from UNODC-INEGI Centre of Excellence delivered a presentation on the international efforts to monitor illicit arms flows and its relevance for an evidence-based approach in policy making that contributes to justice, rule of law and development. After that, the workshop focused on UNODC’s tool to collect and analyse firearms-related data, the Illicit Arms Flows Questionnaire (UN-IAFQ), which is distributed on an annual basis among all the States around the world to generate data on seized, found and surrendered firearms and ammunition, the criminal context of the seizures and other relevant issues. The IAFQ promotes a standardisation of data collection efforts at global level, and also facilitates the identification of trafficking routes, trends and linkages with other crimes, which eventually contributes to building an evidence basis that helps to design more effective policy and operational responses at local, national and international levels.
Following these presentations, participants conducted a practical exercise that helped to increase their knowledge on the topic, and it opened an interactive debate where they could share their experiences in relation to data collection and analysis of firearms related information, statistics at national level and how to improve interinstitutional cooperation among the relevant agencies.
This workshop is part of the joint project ‘Reducing Small Arms and Light Weapons Joint Programme’, also known as SALIENT Jamaica, which aims to dismantle the factors that make it possible for the illicit trafficking of firearms and ammunitions into the country as well as address the root causes of violence. This includes interventions in several interconnected areas, namely, legislation, public policy, capacity building, data collection, and violence reduction through policy reform and behaviour training in schools.
