The United Nation Regional Centre for Peace, Disarmament and Development in Latin America and the Caribbean (UNLIREC), in cooperation with the Institute of Education for the Sustainable Development (IEPADES), carried out a training workshop on best practices and international standards in stockpile management from 18-19 February 2015 in Guatemala City.
With the aim of improving technical skills in the operative personnel from various national institutions, UNLIREC trained 28 officials on the implementation of the United Nations International Small Arms Control Standards (ISACS) and the International Ammunition Technical Guidelines (IATG) on stockpile management and weapons and ammunition storage.
The content of the workshop included topics such as definitions and classifications of firearms, ammunition and explosives; firearms proliferation and armed violence; stockpile management of arms and ammunition, as well as risk management and security plans. Also, the participants were able to combine theory with dynamic and practical exercises.
Stockpile management is a crucial element in the control of firearms as it helps to reduce the possibility of theft and loss of arms and ammunition, and its deviation into illegal channels. Likewise, the proper management and a handling of these stocks reduce the risks of explosion and others incidents caused by humans or natural disasters. It is expected that the workshop will contribute to the standardization of norms of States’ stockpiles and minimize the possibility of theft of arms and ammunition.
The workshop forms part of UNLIREC’s regional project ‘Preventing Armed Violence in Central America through the Combat of Illicit Trafficking in Firearms’, which is funded by the Government of the Federal Republic of Germany. Through its assistance to Latin American and Caribbean States, UNLIREC supports States in their efforts to boost public security and implement the United Nations Programme on Small Arms and Light Weapons (UN 2001 PoA).
For more information on UNLIREC, please visit its website at www.unlirec.org, or contact Amanda Cowl, Political Affairs Officer, at cowl@unlirec.org.