Promoting Small Arms Control in the Private Security Sector

This project seeks to promote good governance of the armed private security sector operating throughout Latin America and the Caribbean. States are encouraged to adopt internationally-accepted standards, norms, and good practices (MOSAIC, HCoC, Montreux Document) for small arms control and private security legislation and regulation, while the private security companies and industry associations targeted in this project benefit from the delivery of tools and specialized capacity-building, and advisory and technical support.

This project combines policy research and tool development at the regional level with practical advisory, technical and capacity-building support with the aim of:

• preventing small arms and ammunition belonging to private security companies (PSC) from being stolen, trafficked and/or used in crimes.
• supporting governments in their efforts to develop mechanisms for good governance over the Private Security Services (PSS).
• disseminating good practices by governments in overseeing PSCs and mechanisms of self-regulation in the same sector.
• promoting implementation of international standards through physical security and stockpile management of arms and ammunition by PSCs and through the secondary marking of PSC-held small arms.
• accompanying and verifying the destruction of small arms no longer needed by PSCs.