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From:TheBahamasWeekly.com Bahamas Information Services Updates
NASSAU, The Bahamas – The Government of The Bahamas added another important tool in its multi-faceted approach to combating the illegal firearms trade Wednesday, July 6, after taking receipt of a Firearms Marking Machine from the Organisation of American States (OAS).
The Hand-Over
took place at the Paul Farquharson Conference Centre and followed months
of negotiations that resulted in a Joint Agreement signed with the OAS
under their “Promoting Firearms Marking in Latin America and the Caribbean”
Project in January, 2011.
The Bahamas
was one of the first regional countries to sign onto the Joint Agreement,
joining Costa Rica, Paraguay and Uruguay. The pact follows the framework
of the Inter-American Convention against the Illicit Manufacturing and
Trafficking in Firearms, Ammunition, Explosives and Related Materials
(CIFTA).
The Joint Agreement
also provides Bahamian law enforcement and national security officials
with access to training and equipment for tracking marked firearms.
Minister of National Security, the Hon. O.A. “Tommy” Turnquest took
receipt of the machine on behalf of the government.
“The marking
of firearms will help us to identify the weapons that have been used
in criminal activity and therefore help to combat crime in our country
and in the region,” Mr. Turnquest said.
“This programme
is very important for The Bahamas because we have become a transit point
for drugs and small arms. The marking of firearms helps to combat illicit
firearms trafficking as it allows authorities to identify the seized
weapons to determine their origin,” Mr. Turnquest added.
The Joint Agreement
called for the OAS to provide a Firearm Marking Machine and its accessories
to the Ministry of National Security for the execution of the project.
It also calls for the OAS to provide training on the use of the equipment.
OAS Training
Facilitator, Ms. Florencia Raskovan, was in attendance at Wednesday’s
hand-over. She will conduct training sessions for local law enforcement
and national security officials over the next two days.
In return, The Bahamas is obligated to provide the OAS with information on the country’s capacities and needs with respect to firearms marking, recording and tracing. The country also agreed to cooperate with the OAS on “follow-up missions” and to mark an average of 100 firearms per month over the course of the next 12 months.
Mr. Turnquest
said the Joint Agreement with the OAS, and receipt of the machine, further
shows the Government’s commitment to getting rid of illegal guns which
statistics show have been responsible for 72 per cent of the murders
committed in The Bahamas as of July 5, 2011.
He said the
establishment of Magistrate’s Court No. 9 (also known as the Gun Court)
was another major aspect of that war on guns. The court, he said, has
paid immediate dividends.
National Security
and law enforcement officials say the illegal trafficking in firearms
is tied directly into other transnational criminal activities such as
drugs and human smuggling.
“The Government
of The Bahamas is determined to maximise our resources in thwarting
all efforts to smuggle illegal firearms into our country,” Mr. Turnquest
said.
“A major
effort in this regard has been the strategic approach to move all illegal
firearm cases to a single Magistrates' Court and we have been very impressed
with the results to date.
“While reducing
the trade in illegal weapons is a challenging undertaking, we are satisfied
that improved gun registries, and the marking and tracing of weapons,
along with improved interdiction of firearms at our ports, can help,”
Mr. Turnquest added.
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