WASHINGTON, DC – The Organization of American States (OAS) today donated a firearms marking machine to the Government of Guyana to be used by its Ministry of Home Affairs with the objective of combating the illicit trafficking of firearms. This initiative, which is currently being implemented in various countries of the region, forms part of the efforts outlined by the Secretary General of the OAS, Jose Miguel Insulza, and serves to exemplify the Organization as a strategic actor in the fight against crime.
The machine was presented during a ceremony at the Liliendaal International Conference Center, in Georgetown, Guyana, during the auspices of the Second Commission Meeting of the Caribbean Basin Security Initiative (CBSI). The event was attended by the Minister for Home Affairs of Guyana, Clement Rohee; OAS Representative in Guyana, Dennis Moses, and other high authorities.
The firearms marking machine was donated by the United States Government, as part of their greater contribution to the OAS project “Promoting Firearms Marking in Latin America and the Caribbean”. This project supports the Inter-American Convention against the Illicit Manufacturing of and Trafficking in Firearms, Ammunition, Explosives, and Other Related Materials (CIFTA), and seeks to strengthen national capabilities in matters of firearms marking.
Together with the marking machine, the Government of Guyana also received a computer to facilitate the process of maintaining marked firearms data. In addition, the Public Security Department of the OAS is scheduled to conduct a training workshop with ten police officials, focusing on the use of firearms marking equipment.
As its primary goal, the OAS seeks the strengthening of the national capacities of its Member States to respond, in an effective and efficient manner, to the increasing levels of crime and violence caused by illicit trafficking in firearms. In this regard, the OAS will cooperate with the countries of the region so that all its Member States may as quickly as possible establish policies and legislation to mark firearms at the time of manufacture and/or import.
