Forty four Belizeans participants from various law enforcement departments and agencies in Belize have received certificates after completing a two-weeks training course in Combating Illicit Trafficking in Firearms, Ammunition and Explosives, sponsored by the United Nations Regional Center for Peace, Disarmament & Development in Latin America & the Caribbean (UNLIREC).
The course, which ran from February 25 to March 8, 2013, covered a wide range of topics including the basics on firearms, legal framework, stock-pile management and disarmament.
In her remarks at the Graduation ceremony, UNRILEC Director Melanie Regimbal stated, “Our goal over the last two weeks was not only to impart knowledge on the various firearm activities and how to conduct investigations, or how to look at classification of weapons, or crime scene management, or weapon destruction and practical disarmament measures. These are all issues that are fundamental and are the reason behind the course. But I hope that what you will have gotten out of the last ten days is really an insight as to what your other colleagues are doing to combat illicit firearms trafficking.”
Delivering the Keynote address, CEO in the Ministry of National Security, George Lovell remarked, “Let me sincerely congratulate you for your achievement, for successfully completing this course, and for the work that I anticipate you will all do as you go back to your various units. I believe that you are now a team; and I say this because while your participating over the past ten days has reached this culminating point, you have completed this training on combating the illicit trading in firearms, ammunitions and explosives, and in doing so, if nothing else, you have established among yourselves and our local players the level of contact that is needed to form this team that I speak of. So I believe that ten days has caused us to form that team.
The graduation ceremony took place last Friday March 8, 2013 at the Police Training Academy in Belmopan, which is also where the entire training course was conducted.
