Guyana dotting all Is’, crossing all Ts’ to fully implement arms treaty

Arms, ammunition and other items which were confiscated in December 2019 following a robbery

Key public, security, and diplomatic representatives, as well as various stakeholders, gathered on Wednesday to examine the International Best Practice Models which this country may need to adapt as it seeks to fully implement the United Nations Arms Trade Treaty.

Guyana does not manufacture or export firearms but the country has a large number of weapons which find its way into the hands of nationals and none nationals who are not licensed to carry the same.

Most of these weapons according to past police statistics make their way into Guyana through our pours borders, with a large percentage of the weapons suspected to be trafficked into the country from neighboring Brazil.

The workshop which opened yesterday at the Arthur Chung Conference Center is being facilitated by an expert team through the European Union will conclude later today, Thursday.

Guyana Signed onto the treaty in 2013 and its signature was ratified in 2014.

“The Arms Trade Treaty (ATT) is the only global, legally-binding treaty governing arms transfers. It regulates the transfer (import, export, transit, trans-shipment and brokering) of most conventional arms, the ammunition/munitions they fire, their parts and components and prevents their diversion to the unauthorized end user.” Public Security Minister Khemraj Ramjattan told the gathering on Wednesday.

The event is expected to see derived, the creation of conditions for exchanges of experiences on the inter-relations of the legal framework of the Arms Trade Treaty, Caricom Model, the International firearms act and the Customs Acts, Federico Suarez of the EU noted. The European Union Council Working Group on Conventional Arms Export is spearheading the two-day workshop which ends tomorrow February 13.