Disarmament in Review
Implementing Agency: Instituto de Ensenanza para el Desarrollo Sostenible
Project timeframe: 01/01/2016 – 31/03/2017
Target countries: Central America (Guatemala, Honduras, El Salvador, Nicaragua, Costa Rica, Panama) and Caribbean (Dominican Republic)
Goal: To conduct regional research on the destruction of surplus small arms in the 6 countries and provide guidelines to improve stockpile security while simultaneously encouraging Central American and Caribbean States to implement the UNPoA.
Activities:
- A regional seminar was held titled “Improving Stockpile Management and Weapons Destruction in Central America and the Dominican Republic” with the goal of validating the information gathered for the national reports and provide training for officials from across the region.
- Awareness and training activities included several events such as a side event at BMS6 aimed at officials from the Latin American region; training for Guatemalan Foreign Ministry staff on the ATT, the national Arms and Ammunition Law and the Implementation of UNPoA; and training on the ATT for officials of Guatemala’s Security and Justice System provided in conjunction with the Vice Ministry of Prevention of Violence and the National Commission for Prevention of Armed Violence. Each of these events contributed to the overall goal of the project and increases the knowledge base of attendees.
- Various meetings with public officials drew attention to the three research reports which were compiled on the themes of ‘Ratification and Implementation of ATT in Guatemala’; ‘Implementation of the PoA in the region’; and ‘Weapons Destruction and Stockpile Management’ in the 5 project countries involved.
- Overall, the project has generated enough information and training to be able to continue implementation efforts on the ATT, PoA, stockpile upgrades and weapons destruction with more than 70 officials trained in stockpile management and weapons destruction. The project has also contributed to the exchange of information between States, which supports regional implementation of international standards which has been supported by the general guidelines that the training produced for optimal controls on both issues.
