The Organization of American States (OAS) will train Suriname police on Tuesday and Wednesday to combat arms trafficking through marking weapons, according to reports reaching here from Paramaribo on Monday.

The two-day workshop will take place at police headquarters in Paramaribo where Suriname policemen will be trained in using firearms marking machine donated by OAS.

Firearms marking is a process that permanently marks the weapon with unique and identifiable information such as serial number, name of the manufacturer or importer, model, caliber or gauge.

The firearms marking equipment in Suriname was donated by OAS on May 2, when Albert Ramdin, the Assistant Secretary General of the organization indicated OAS's commitment to help the Suriname government in the fight against crime and violence.

"Suriname represents an important bridge between the regions, being part of both Latin American and Caribbean groupings. The OAS is committed to supporting the efforts of the government of Suriname to fight crime," said Ramdin.

The training is part of OAS's program of "Promoting Firearms Marking in Latin America and the Caribbean," which aims to strengthen the national capacities of 31 countries in the region with regard to firearms marking in preventing and combating arms trafficking.

Twenty-five countries in the region have signed a cooperation agreement with the OAS to participate in the program, within the framework of the Inter-American Convention against the Illicit Trafficking in Firearms, Ammunition, Explosives and Other Related Materials (CIFTA).

Over 250,000 firearms have been marked and over 200 national experts have been trained under the program, according to OAS.