Arms Control

Over 102 thousand firearms have already been taken out of circulation by Argentina's national voluntary hand in plan, now the Ministry of Justice would like it to continue into 2009.

Maria Pía Devoto shares her impressions of the beginning of the 63rd period of sessions United Nations General Assembly which for her meant a chance for the progress in subjects like disarmament in the First Commission, specially for the support and interest generated for an Arms Trade Treaty (ATT), in the general and thematic debate on conventional weapons.

Gustavo Colás analyzes the unanimous adoption of a draft framework law on Firearms, Ammunition and Related Materials in the Committee of Public Safety, Combating and the Prevention of Drug Trafficking, Terrorism and Organized Crime of the Latin American (Parliament), at the meeting held last October 23rd in the Federal District of Mexico.

The calm atmosphere of the First Committee of the UN General Assembly can seem a very long way from the slums of Brazil or the refugee camps in East Africa. This is misleading – since guns cross borders easily, global coordinated action is an essential part of the solution.

Recently, Interior Security Committee of the Latin American Parliament (Parlatino) approved a prototype of legislation, the "draft framework law" regarding  arms control  which involved sectors of civil society and parliamentarians that work in the fight against since the gun violence for at least two years.

Former combatants learn how to work the land and raise livestock, literacy, numeracy, information on sexual health and social skills. In the Salala District, Disarmament and Demobilization, with an emphasis on Reintegration. By Landmine Action's Rob Deere and Richard Moyes.

The first multisectorial forum called “Towards a new national law on weapons” took place in the premises of the Uruguayan Parliament. 

The Geneva Declaration on Armed Violence and Development received a major boost on 12 September when high-level representatives from 85 of the 94 of the endorsing states met in Geneva for a Review Summit. Along with the foreign and development ministers and other governmental officials were representatives from 16 international organizations and 35 NGOs from around the world.

This issue shows, as in August of every year, a statistical data report that refers to exports and imports of small arms and light weapons in Latin American and the Caribbean. Far from trying to do an exhausting analysis of national policy of arms trade, this study provides a number of statistical data for a much unexplored reality in the region.

Between the 14th and 18th of July, Pablo Dreyfus participated as a member of the International Action Network of Small Arms (Iansa) in New York in the Third Biennial Meeting to review the execution of the Program of Action. His role in such meeting was to advice Iansa members on issues related to management and elimination of small arms and light weapons surpluses.