UNITED NATIONS — St Vincent and the Grenadines and Jamaica have ratified the new Arms Trade Treaty as the Caribbean seeks to play an historic role in helping end the irresponsible, lethal global US$85 billion trade in small arms and light weapons and ammunition. The delegations from the two Caribbean Community (CARICOM) countries Tuesday attended a special ratification ceremony at the United Nations' Headquarters to mark the event. "It is really positive that two... (GunPolicy.org)

A gun in the hands of an untrained person is like a weapon of mass destruction, Commissioner of Police Michael Charles said last week, adding that the completion of the Coastguard base in Canouan can help to stem the flow of illegal guns into this country. Guns were used in eight of the nine murders recorded here this year, and police have also taken 15 illegal guns off the street. One was handed in to the police and the others were seized during stop and searches and... (GunPolicy.org)

NEW YORK, USA – St Lucia, St Vincent and the Grenadines, and Grenada will benefit from a United Nation's (UN) assistance package aimed at strengthening their capacity to combat the illicit trafficking in small arms and light weapons nationally, as well as in the Caribbean region. The United Nations Office for Disarmament Affairs, through its Regional Centre for Peace, Disarmament and Development in Latin America and the Caribbean (UNLIREC), has provided the island... (GunPolicy.org)

BASSETERRE, St. Kitts — One of the region's top law enforcement officers said there is a direct link between the rise in violent crime in the Caribbean and gun trafficking. Chairman of the Association of Caribbean Commissioners of Police, Mr. Darwin Dottin said a study has shown that there could be as many as 1.6 million illegal guns in the region. Speaking at the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with a United States law enforcement agency which will... (GunPolicy.org)

BRIDGETOWN, Barbados — Nine Caribbean islands on Tuesday signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with a United States law enforcement agency which will greatly enhance their ability to track and fight firearms trafficking and illegal possession in the region. In a morning ceremony at the home of United States Charge d'Affaires to Barbados and the Eastern Caribbean Brent Hardt, police Commissioners and senior officers from Anguilla, Antigua and Barbuda, Aruba,... (GunPolicy.org)