On 13 August 2012, The United Nations Office for Disarmament Affairs, through its Regional Centre for Peace, Disarmament and Development in Latin America and the Caribbean (UNLIREC) signed an agreement with the Ministry of Security of the Republic of Argentina to provide technical assistance in the area of small arms, light weapons and ammunition stockpile management. This agreement is signed within the broader framework of the joint Ministry of Security/United Nations Development Programme project for Capacity Building for the Planning of Citizen Security Policies.
Efforts to build government officials’ stockpile management capacities and improve infrastructure of facilities where weapons, ammunition and explosives are stored are essential measures for preventing theft, loss and diversion as well as preventing accidents. UNLIREC assistance will entail undertaking collaborative stockpile management baseline assessments with officials from the Ministry of Security and federal security forces and developing action plans to ensure facilities and practices are in line with the draft UN International Small Arms Control Standards (ISACS) and the UN International Ammunition Technical Guidelines (IATG). The cooperation between UNLIREC and the Ministry of Security began with an introductory workshop for national authorities in Buenos Aires on 13 August.
Since 2004, UNLIREC has provided stockpile management and destruction assistance to fourteen Latin American and Caribbean member states through assessment, capacity building and the provision of equipment resulting in the destruction of more than 475,000 surplus, obsolete and confiscated weapons and 600,000 rounds of ammunition. The implementation of stockpile management and destruction measures are key commitments taken on by states within the framework of the United Nations Programme of Action to Prevent, Combat and Eradicate the Illicit Trade in Small Arms and Light Weapons in All Its Aspects.
For more information on UNLIREC visit [www.unlirec.org]. Please direct all questions or inquiries to Ms Amanda Cowl, Political Affairs Officer, at [cowl@unlirec.org].