SOCIAL SECTOR INVESTMENT PROGRAMME
20
SUSTAINING GROWTH, SECURING PROSPERITY
Ministry of Food Production, Trinidad and
Tobago; in addition to the Trinidad and Tobago
Agri-Business
Association
(TTABA).
The
targeted Caribbean countries were Barbados,
Belize, St Kitts/Nevis and Trinidad and Tobago.
• Climate Change
The findings on climate change in the Caribbean
were launched at the ECLAC sub-regional
headquarters for the Caribbean, Chancery Lane,
Port of Spain onApril 17, 2013.The economic and
social impacts of climate change on agriculture,
coastal and marine resources, energy, health,
tourism and water sectors were examined
through a series of six regional reports on
climate change, which were implemented by the
Economic Commission for Latin America and
the Caribbean (ECLAC). Among the important
findings of these reports was the prediction that
the estimated cost of climate change by 2050
wouldbeUS$4.2billion foragriculture,US$798.7
billion for coastal andmarine resources, US$739
billion for energy, US$1.9 billion for health and
US$8 million for tourism. ECLAC also unveiled
an Integrated Climate Impact Assessment
Model for the Caribbean.
6. C
RIME
AND
S
ECURITY
• UNLIREC- United Nations Regional Centre
for Peach, Disarmament and Development
in Latin America and the Caribbean
In 2013, the United Nations Regional Centre
for Peach, Disarmament and Development in
Latin America and the Caribbean (UNLIREC)
increased its implementation of weapons
and ammunition destruction and stockpile
management activities in the Caribbean, within
the context of its Stockpile Management and
Firearms Destruction Assistance Package for
Caribbean States. The issue of arms control in
a maritime context was emphasized in 2013
and UNLIREC is currently working with donors
and partners to boost the maritime aspects
of its training to address the specific needs of
Caribbean States
13
.
The first quarter of 2013 saw UNLIREC very
active in providing support to states such as
Antigua and Barbuda, Belize, the Dominican
Republic, Jamaica and Trinidad and Tobago
to facilitate the destruction of small arms and
ammunition. In continuing its delivery of Inter-
Institutional Training Courses on Combating
the Illicit Trafficking in Firearms, Ammunition
and Explosives (IITC) for Caribbean law
enforcement, UNLIREC held a national course
in Belize in the first quarter of 2013. The Centre
also continues to work on the development
of specialised forensic ballistics training and
technical assistance tools. As such, an exercise
was conducted from June 3–7, 2013 with the
Centre, the Ministry of National Security (MNS),
Trinidad and Tobago and the Jamaica Defence
Force (JDF), which involved the destruction
of 6.8 tonnes of surplus and obsolete small
arms and light weapons ammunition. Eighteen
Jamaican officials were trained on the safe
operation of the UNLIREC-designed small arms
ammunition burning tank (SAABT).Additionally,
six JDF officials were trained in light weapons
ammunition destruction operations according
to the UN International Ammunition Technical
Guidelines.
FromMay 27–31, 2013, the UNLIREC supported
the destruction of close to 400 seized and
obsolete weapons and 0.67 tonnes of small
arms ammunition and time-expired CS gas
14
in Basseterre, St. Kitts and Nevis. All weapons
and ammunition destroyed were documented
in accordance with international standards and
UNLIREC’s standard operating procedures.
The Centre also provided training on firearms
and ammunition destruction techniques to 13
officials from the Police and Defence forces
13 CS or 2-chlorobenzalmalononitrile (chemical formula:
C10H5ClN2) is a substance that is used as a riot control
agent and is usually claimed to be non-lethal by the forces
who use it
14
CHAPTER 2: THE CARIBBEAN SOCIAL SITUATION
