Minister of Home Affairs, Hon. Robeson Benn, M.P., attended the opening of the Course on Combating Trafficking in Arms and Ammunition (CTAM) – Guyana. The course is a collaboration with the United Nations Regional Centre for Peace, Disarmament, and Development in Latin America and the Caribbean (UNLIREC) and the Government of Guyana. It is being held at the Roraima Duke Lodge.

The CTAM course is designed to build the capacity of states to combat transnational crime, thereby supporting the implementation of international arms control commitments.

The objectives of CTAM are to provide an overview of illicit trafficking in firearms and ammunition in Latin America and the Caribbean, raise awareness of existing mechanisms for international cooperation and information exchange in cases of the illegal trafficking of firearms, strengthen the capacities of the authorities to control and regulate different types of international transfers of arms and ammunition, and also strengthen coordination, communication and cooperation between different sectors and actors with responsibilities on these issues to optimise their individual and collective efforts to tackle illicit trafficking.

The three-day course will see participation from officials of different public institutions with responsibilities in the control of weapons and ammunition in their various stages, including the control and regulation of legal trade as well as the combat and prevention of illicit trafficking in all its aspects.

Ms. Soledad Urruela, Director UNLIREC; Ms. Caroline Mireault, Political Counsellor Canadian High Commission; Mr. Jason Francis, Senior Policy Advisor UNLIREC and other special invitees and participants were in attendance.