Latin America leads the way in arms control

Although United Nations Review Conference on Small Arms held June 24th to July 7th did not reach a consensus on global measures to control the use and proliferation of small arms and light weapons, at least one region in the world has been gaining important new ground in that direction. Latin America is the region that most closely follows the United Nations PoA or Program of Action the recommendations, widely adopting arms control policies.

The statement was made by Daniel Luz, researcher and member of the board of directors of the International Action Network on Small Arms, or Iansa. "Latin America is a world leader when it comes to implementing arms control measures, both domestically and regionally."  

Latin America is also one of the regions most affected by armed violence in peace time, (not in a context of war). According to the 2005 Small Arms Survey (SAS) report, the region is responsible for over 40% of the homicides by firearms worldwide. The SAS belongs to the International Studies Institutes in Geneva, Switzerland, and conducts research on firearm use and control around the world.

According to Daniel Luz, who was a member of the Spanish delegation to the UN meeting held this past June in New York, United States of America, Latin America as a region has broken new ground. It was the first to adopt a definition of what is a firearm, and the first to sign regional arms control treaties such as the Interamerican Convention against the manufacture and illegal trade of firearms, or Cifta.

Other regional and sub-regional agreements have been signed by Latin American nations, such as the Inter American Convention against Drug Abuse - Cicad that includes model regulations for importing and exporting firearms and ammunition, as well as an agreement that stops arms sales from Brazil to Paraguay signed by both

The Latin American coalition for the Prevention of Armed Violence (Clave) created April of 2006, proposes the adoption of arms trade controls as a strategy for the prevention of armed violence. According to Denis Mizne, executive director of São Paulo’s Sou da Paz Institute, the governments of all Latin American nations stand by Clave’s position, having signed the Antigua Declaration.

The declaration resulted from the meeting held this May at Antigua, Guatemala, where government representatives from all Latin American nations consolidated a regional position in preparation of the UN conference. The Antigua Declaration states a common purpose of establishing national gun control laws, limited civilian gun privileges, ammunition control and tracking, and also calls attention to local effects of the proliferation of guns in the region, such as growing armed violence in urban areas.

Mercosur, the Parlatino, and a route to standardization

The Mercosur has also promoted agreements, such as a common registry for arms exporters and buyers created in 1998. However, according to Darío Kosovsky, coordinator of the Center of Studies of Crime Policies and Security of Argentina’s Inecip (Instituto de Estudos Comparados in Ciências Penais e Sociais), only Brazil and Argentina have completed the process of incorporating the Mercosur decisions that instituted the registry.

A memorandum for the exchange of information related to the manufacture and illegal trade of firearms was signed in the Mercosur. "The memorandum came as a response to the need to exchange information on groups responsible for illegal arms trade, the need for data on the weapons manufactured and sold in the domestic market as well as those sold to other Latin American nations," said Kosovky, adding that the memorandum has not been enforced yet "due to administrative issues."

An Arms Control bill has also been presented at the Parlatino, the Latin American parliament. The bill limits the quantities of ammunition sold to individuals and private enterprise, decrees the marking of ammunition for tracking purposes, and establishes a gun free zone banning gun and ammunition sales within a100 kilometers of national borders.

Domestic progress per country

Latin American nations are also world leaders in gun control. Brazil’s Disarmament Statute and Chile’s Gun Control Law limiting the access to guns in the civilian population are significant examples along with other nations adopting similar laws such as Argentina, Venezuela, the Dominican Republic, and others in Central America.

Brazil’s Disarmament Statute entered into force December of 2003 and restricted the civilian right to carry weapons, among other measures. Brazil’s national disarmament campaign removed approximately 500 thousand firearms from Brazil’s streets and homes.

According to a United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization - Unesco report issued September 2005 based on data from Brazil’s Ministry of Health, there was a drop in 5,563 deaths by firearms in 2004, the year of the disarmament campaign. It was the first recorded drop in the death rate in 13 years.

Firearm control measures were also adopted in Argentina, such as the institution of legitimate firearm users, stricter controls over the possession of firearms by civilians, periodic gun ownership registration and renewal campaigns. The Argentine congress is currently discussing a Firearms and Ammunition Control bill, and a National Disarmament Plan.

Firearm control measures were also adopted in Argentina, such as the institution of legitimate firearm users, stricter controls over the possession of firearms by civilians, periodic gun ownership registration and renewal campaigns. The Argentine congress is currently discussing a Firearms and Ammunition Control bill, and a National Disarmament Plan.

Paraguay has approved a new Firearms Control Law in 2002, setting down the norms and requirements for owning and carrying guns, and establishing rules for importing and exporting guns and ammunition.

Peru is now conducting a nationwide campaign for regulating gun ownership by civilians, Venezuela approved a Disarmament Law in 2002, and Guatemala created in 2005 a National Disarmament Commission. El Salvador created a campaign for public awareness and disarmament, and Ecuador created reforms to improve arms control in the hands of private security enterprise

One of the greatest challenges however, at this point, is to effectively enforce already existing legislation, since most of the nations in the region, with the exception of Bolivia have very strict laws for buying weapons.

According to Antônio Rangel Bandeira, from Viva Rio, the control of firearm and ammunition sales in Latin America means implementing laws that follow a model compatible with other countries in the region. "The illegal arms trade takes advantages of discrepancies in national laws," states Rangel. The next great step forward is to demand the effective enforcement of existing gun control legislation and to monitor the border areas.

Translated by Lis Horta Moriconi

 The full 'Lives Saved' report, in Portuguese ("Vidas poupadas") by Unesco

South American Arms Control Laws

The UN Program of Action to combat firearm (in full)