United Nations Regional Centre for Peace, Disarmament and Development in Latin America and the Caribbean Office for Disarmament Affairs (ODA) / Regional Disarmament Branch (RDB) Armed violence reduction, small arms control and disarmament William Godnick, Ph.D. UNLIREC Public Security Programme Coordinator Crime Stoppers International Conference Bridgetown, Barbados 1 October 2013

UN Office for Disarmament Affairs Office of the High Representative for Disarmament Affairs Conference on Disarmament Secretariat and (Geneva) Weapons of Mass Destruction Branch Conventional Arms (including Practical Disarmament Measures) Branch Information and Outreach Branch Regional Disarmament Branch Regional Centres UNLIREC Lima UNLIREC Lima UNREC Lome UNRCPD Kathmandu Office of the Director and Deputy to the High Representative

UNLIREC  Regional Organ of the UN Office for Disarmament Affairs’ Regional Disarmament Branch of the UN Secretariat  Focal Point of UN Coordination Mechanism for Small Arms in Latin America and the Caribbean.  Seeks to reduce arms proliferation and armed violence and strengthen the capacity of the security sector and national authorities to guarantee public security, governance and development.

Homicides Homicides with Firearms Suicides with FirearmsLatam/Carib Africa Eastern Europe North America Middle East Southeast Asia Asian Pacific Western Europe Global Global Homicide Rates (GBAV 2008) Global Homicide Rates (GBAV 2008) 526,000 armed homicides annually (394,500 in peace time)

Estimated global holdings of small arms/firearms (2009) (Fuente: SAS 2009) 74,6 % in private hands 74,6 % in private hands, including private security companies ,6% Civilians ,7% Armed Forces ,2% Police ,5% Criminals, Insurgents. + 1,000 companies in 98 countries 8M arms & M ammo. per year Total:

Illegal arms trafficking vs other illegal activities (in millions of USD) (in millions of USD) USD 250 billion USD 350 billion Source: UNODC ‘Circulation’ 2012

Global and Regional Responses Ongoing – CARICOM RIBIN, e-Trace, IBIN/INTERPOL Arms Trade Treaty (ATT) International Tracing Instrument 2001 – UN Programme of Action on Small Arms (PoA) 2001 – UN Firearms Protocol (to Convention against TOC) 1997 – Inter-American Convention (CIFTA)

Small Arms Control Measures (at national level) Small Arms Control Measures (at national level) Legal TradeIllicit TraffickingStocksUnlawful Use and Possession -Better enforcement of existing laws. -Harmonizing laws with neighboring countries. -Marking of firearms and ammunition. - Transparency in manufacture and transfers (e.g. end-user certificates). -Improving intelligence and information sharing. -Building capacity in institutions and their personnel to combat trafficking. - Supplying specialized equipment and technology. -Identifying national stocks and surplus. -Improving stockpile management. -Voluntary weapons surrender programs. -Destruction of weapons. -Adopting a clear legal basis for possession and use of FAME. -Suppressing the visibility of FAME in society. -Controlling the marketing of FAME.

Coercive Voluntary Education/awareness raising InformalCompliance Forcible seizures Consent to search Checkpoints/roadblocks Urban/village courts and tribunals (AVOID) Formal Community policing Alcohol prohibition Amnesties Gun-free areas/zones Weapons collection & destruction Local mediation Media/civil society awareness programmes Public/private health interventions Vigilante groups (AVOID) Neighborhood watch Toll free telephone lines Private security companies (Supervise and Regulate) Parental notification Armed Violence Reduction Measures (at local level) Armed Violence Reduction Measures (at local level)

UNLIREC Technical Cooperation  Stockpile Management and Destruction More than 40,000 weapons and 57 tonnes of ammunition destroyed since 2012 in Greater Caribbean. More than 300 stockpiles secured in Greater Caribbean.  Law enforcement/judicial training to combat illicti firearms 180 Caribbean law enforcement officials trained in techniques to combat illicit firearms trafficking. 22 Belizean officials trained in operatioanl forensic ballistics.  Legal assistance National firearms act reviewed in all Caricom Member States, reccomendations made. Course for judges and prosecutors – Belize and TT 2014.

EXAMPLES of anonymous reporting of illicit weapons Latin America and the Caribbean

Argentina Denuncias

Belize HUNDREDS OF GUNS RECOVERED THROUGH ANONYMOUS TIPS.

Chile

Jamaica HUNDREDS OF GUNS RECOVERED THROUGH ANONYMOUS TIPS

Mexico

Venezuela

Final thoughts  Firearms/small arms and their ammunition are the real weapons of mass destrution.  Most weapons began as items legally manufactured and sold.  First line of responsibility is to prevent Responsible weapons transfers and sales Thorough stockpile management of public and private holdings.  Disarmament and arms control must be accompanied by international cooperation and public security reform at the national and local levels, including public-private partnerships.  Crime Stoppers (and similar government tip lines) appear to be making contributions to taking weapons off streets, question of building on existing frameworks and scaling up and out.