CASAC: a multidiciplinary regional approach

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*Eva Sacasa

Antecedents

The Central American Small Arms and Light Weapons Control Programme (CASAC) is an initiative that emerged in Central America for the prevention and reduction of  armed violence, to reduce crime levels. On December 19th ,  2003, during the 26th  Chiefs of State Summit of Central America Government, these executive representatives decided to accept this challenge, in accordance with the principles and disposals of the Democratic Security Framework Treaty, that foresees the regional involvement in favor of a safer Central America,   which could be able to develop itself in peace, freedom and democracy.

According to the Geneva Declaration on Armed Violence and Development, and guiding itself in the thesis that the proliferation of light arms and small weapons undermine the capacity of a country to guarantee human security, the intention of this Program is to promote sustainable development by means of incidence reduction and potentiality of armed violence. The general strategy also reaffirms the importance of speeding up human development and  human security as a way to reach the Millennium Development Goals (MDG).

What are we doing?

Our guidelines have four components:

a) Legislative - to create the necessary conditions to strengthen and harmonize  small arms and light weapons (SALW) legislation n the region;

b) Reinforcement of capacities - to fortify the capacity of the organizations, governmental and non-governmental, destined to carry out a more satisfactory weapons control by means of regional level interventions and mechanisms;

c) Collection and destruction - to support the development, the implementation and the evaluation of national initiatives of voluntary collection;

d) Awareness and prevention - to implement institutionalized programs and activities, at national level, destined to prevent the small weapons proliferation and its consequences,  which contribute to a culture of  peace.

In the first year of CASAC’s existence (2007-2008), there were advances in enhancing a coordination system between the national and regional entities, by means of the PFC/PCN/CNM and the OC-PNUD.   This coordination system can be observed in two levels: Nationally, internally stimulated in each country, between the PFC/POCN and the OC/PNUD, and, in an ample sense, the Multidisciplinary National Commissions, that incorporate a cross sector representation (chancelleries, specialized sectors of the government, Policy, Army, Ministries of Education and Health, Attorney General’s Office, public prosecution service, Customs, Parliament, the civil society). This structure allows a balanced reply from supply to demand, with the possibility to carry through actions in an integrated vision.

In the regional scope, a straight coordination with existing regional instances is fortifying itself, as the Central American Security Commission; Vice-Ministers of Foreign Affairs; Central American Policy Heads Commission, amongst others, have a determinative role in taking regional decisions. They have presented the subject of the SALW as a priority in the regional security agenda, showing a high level of awareness related to weapons problematic.

In another dimension, it is necessary to argue on the  SALW Issue and on the best practices to be shared with other sub-regions, from the development of alliances with specialized organizations involved in the armed violence issue, in collective security and human rights, as those developed by UNICEF, the Small Arms Survey, amongst others agencies.

Advances can be perceived in the communication system at  global, regional and national level, with the superior authorities of the Regional Office for Latin America and the Caribbean, in the headquarters as well as in all regions, with the General Secretary of SICA, with the Vice-Ministers of Foreign Affairs and the pro tempore President of the Central American Integration. The net of support is informed on CASAC management, its progress and the possibilities of contribution, as for example, with the Un-Lirec, the Pan-American Health Organization (PAHO), the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (ONUDD), the United Nations Office for Disarmament Affairs (UNODA), CLAVE (Latin American Coalition for the Prevention of Armed Violence) and REDECEPAZ, that consolidates the structure of the agencies related with SALW.

Another starting point is the asymmetry that exists between the national laws, presenting the challenge to open paths towards common politics of norms and regulations that take us beyond weapons control. CASAC is offering technical assistance destined to incorporate the international instruments and other norms linked to it, relative to public security, family protection or human rights, in order to provide an integrated reply. Experiences in this direction have already been accomplished, involving Costa Rica, Guatemala and more recently Panama. Considering the transcendence of the prevention measures to advance towards a culture of peace, Nicaragua received support in a destruction process of 12.996 weapons, as well as Costa Rica, in the awareness campaign “No Weapons, Thanks”.

Construction of a strategy

In the field of light arms and small weapons, the countries of the Central American region show similarities, constituted in only one geographic zone, characterized by the sequels of an after-conflict situation  that presents high rates of violence, with demand for weapons by the organized crime and internal consumption, as much in the legal commerce as in the illegal one. However, it is not a homogeneous region; therefore each country presents its particularities.

From this diversity occurs the importance to count on basic orientation, with the definition of short, medium and long term strategy. The elaboration of a regional diagnosis is in progress, which will allow for evaluating the magnitude of the problem and its concrete manifestations, and for determining in sequence the actions of a general or particular range that must be stimulated.

Observations put into practice after evaluation show that, due to the fact that this region has a “privileged” geographic position that subdivides the isthmus and shares the process of regional integration, it is possible to identify similar strategies, homogenize norms, common controls and procedures, progressing towards common politics. Respecting the particularities, is necessary to insist on the formulation of public politics and national strategies, with its correspondence at an international scope. 

Currently we can count on a SWOT evaluation (“Strength, Weakness, Opportunity and Threats) carried out by the representatives of governments, parliaments and civil society during the First Regional Workshop of National Commissions in Honduras on November 13th and 14th 2008. The workshop provided a series of elements that allowed for identifying priorities. In this direction, CASAC Executor Regional Unit has as its biggest challenge to obtain the reduction of the armed violence levels in the region through an active and proactive preventive politics contributing to make Central America an important example for other regions of the world.