Durrant Pate/Contributor

The Government of Jamaica has strengthened national capacity to disrupt the illegal supply of guns while addressing the roots of violence in schools and communities through the UN Reducing Small Arms & Light Weapons programme in Jamaica, dubbed SALIENT.

Jamaica is the firsst of eight countries to implement the SALIENT programme developed by SALIENT jointly implemented by United Nations Development Programme (UNDP); the UN Regional Centre for Peace, Disarmament and Development in Latin America and the Caribbean (UNLIREC); the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC); and the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO).

This joint programme is being implemented over three years in collaboration with the ministries of national security and education, representing an integrated partnership model to address the proliferation of guns in the country. It was recently boosted with an injection of US$750,000 from the UN.

At last week’s project closeout ceremony in Kingston, the chief technical director at the Transformation Policy Division in the Ministry of National Security, Delroy Simpson, credited SALIENT for contributing to a more thorough approach to small arms control in Jamaica.

He noted that since implementation, the ministry has made “significant strides”, including enhancing the capacity of law enforcement and border security officials in the detection and interdiction of firearms and ammunition at Jamaica’s port of entry. 

National firearms control strategy 

Simpson reported success in the development of a national firearms control strategy and a National Schools Firearm Firearms Management and Response Protocol; legislative reviews related to firearms, their parts and ammunition, gunpowder and explosives; and Jamaica’s first violence audits in the communities of Denham Town, Norwood, Savanna-la-Mar and Fairfield.

According to him, “This programme is not to be seen as just another activity. It is a commitment to our children, our families and our future – a commitment to strengthening our capacity to combat the proliferation of illegal firearms while addressing the root causes of armed violence that have plagued our society for far too long.”  

UNDP is the lead UN implementation agency for SALIENT Jamaica. In further underscoring the impact, resident representative Dr Kishan Khoday highlights that the partnerships being engendered by SALIENT, “have not only strengthened the regulatory framework governing weapon supplies but built expert capacities of 60 law enforcement officials to disrupt the illegal importation of weapons at transit points; built the capacities of 50 law enforcement officials in advanced targeting and criminal analysis.”

This is in addition to the generation of important data and recommendations for dismantling community violence, and fostered promising signs of behavioural change among students in select schools. 

Dr Khoday explains, “By linking education reform, youth empowerment, violence prevention, and policy engagement, the SALIENT partnership has addressed both the symptoms and root causes of gun violence. The SALIENT joint programme reflects a strategic approach to leveraging partnerships in advancing evidence-based policies and strategies. Furthermore, it represents a perfect alignment of the strategic philosophies of the UN team and the Government of Jamaica, rooted in an integrated approach to citizen security.” 

He cited that one of SALIENT’s most important legacies is how it brought together diverse actors around a common table—government ministries, UN agencies, civil society organisations, schools, parents, and youth.

UN resident coordinator Dennis Zulu commented that SALIENT wasn’t just a national effort but is also a vital piece of the UN’s global peace and security agenda, reflecting the UN’s strategic shift toward prevention, peacebuilding, and people-centred approaches.