Above: the Jamaican delegation at the OAS (OAS Photo/Maria Patricia Leiva)

By the Caribbean Journal staff

Jamaica received two firearms marking machines from the Organization of American States Tuesday, a few days after a similar donation to the government of Haiti.

The machines will be used by Jamaica’s Ministry of National Security to combat the illegal trade in firearms.

The donation, which was funded by the United States government, is part of a programme aimed at promoting firearms marking in the region. To date, 23 countries have implemented it.

It was presented to Jamaica’s government in a ceremony at the forensic laboratory of the Jamaica Constabulary Force in Kingston.

The OAS submitted two special computers to the Jamaican government to facilitate the process of record-keeping on firearms once they are marked.

The OAS also met this week in Washington with a Jamaican delegation to discuss labour and social protection initiatives. The delegation from Jamaica’s Ministry of Labour and Social Security is on a one-week visit to the United States as an example of “horizontal collaboration,” according to OAS Executive Secretary for Integral Development Jorge Saggiante.

Denzil Thorpe, director of social security in Jamaica’s Ministry of Labour and Social Security, said his group strongly believed “that the best way for us to benefit is through dialogue, collaboration and consensus.”