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Last Updated: Feb 6, 2017 - 2:32:04 PM |
From left to right:
Hubert J. Charles, Ambassador, Permanent Representative of Dominica to the OAS;
Guillermo Cochez, Ambassador, Permanent Representative of Panama to the OAS;
Deborah Mae Lovell, Ambassador, Permanent Representative of Antigua and Barbuda to the OAS;
José Miguel Insulza, OAS Secretary General;
Carmen Lomellin, Ambassador, Permanent Representative of the United States to the OAS;
Raul Salazar, Minister, Interim Representative of Peru to the OAS; and
Albert R. Ramdin, OAS Assistant Secretary General
Date: February 06, 2012
Place: Washington, DC
Credit: Juan Manuel Herrera/OAS
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The
Organization of American States (OAS) will execute its program
"Promoting Firearms Marking in Latin America and the Caribbean" in
Antigua and Barbuda, Dominica, Panama and Peru according to a
Cooperation Agreement signed today, which establishes that the four
countries will receive the necessary equipment to identify weapons and
process registration information.
OAS Secretary General José
Miguel Insulza stated that with the signing of this agreement "the
countries will not only acquire the technical capacity to develop
specific actions to prevent and combat illegal arms trafficking but will
also show their willingness and commitment to address the challenges of
criminal activity for the security and welfare of citizens."
With
this agreement, he added, "the States of our region send an unequivocal
message of their will to reinforce our democratic capacity, enhance the
concept of citizenship and the rights of people," he said, because
"when security is at stake, as it is in our region, it affects the
integrity and the role of the State and the democratic institutions.
That is what we want to protect."
The head of the OAS thanked the
Government of the United States for its support for the program through
which today "20 countries of the Hemisphere have strengthened their
capacities to protect the lives of their citizens." The Secretary
General also stressed that the Organization will "unequivocally continue
to support the efforts to reduce, combat and thwart trafficking of
weapons, which makes it so difficult today in our region to combat
organized crime."
The Permanent Representative of Antigua and
Barbuda to the OAS, Ambassador Deborah-Mae Lovell, said the signing of
this agreement is "a significant step in the fight against crime, and we
are very pleased to join the global effects of marking of firearms. "
The
Permanent Representative of Panama, Ambassador Guillermo Cochez, said
the agreement signed today is a "positive step necessary to ensure the
safety of our citizens," because it allows countries to "strengthen
cooperation and promote information sharing among government authorities
responsible nationally, regionally and internationally."
The
Permanent Representative of Dominica, Ambassador Hubert J. Charles, said
his government "is pleased to be part of this important agreement,
which is one of the key mechanisms for the prevention and trafficking of
firearms," and expressed support for the program "extends to the
Caribbean."
The Alternate Representative of Peru, Raul Salazar,
for his part, highlighted the efficacy demonstrated by running programs
such as this and welcomed his country's entry into the project. "We
should not look at grandiose schemes for arms control that do not have
much impact on the reality of public safety in our region," he
concluded.
On behalf of the donor country, the United States
Permanent Representative to the OAS, Ambassador Carmen Lomellín,
expressed her government's commitment "to help all OAS Member States in
preventing and eradicating the illicit trafficking of arms in the
region."
The signing of these cooperation agreements is part of
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 capacities in terms
of marking firearms. The signing ceremony was held at OAS headquarters
in Washington, DC, and was attended, among others, by the Assistant
Secretary General of the OAS, Albert Ramdin, and the Secretary for
Multidimensional Security, Adam Blackwell.
A gallery of photos of the event is available here.
For more information, please visit the OAS Website at www.oas.org.
© Copyright 2012 by thebahamasweekly.com
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