On 28 October 2021, in collaboration with the Ministry of Defense of Argentina, UNLIREC held a virtual workshop on managing and controlling firearms and ammunition inventories for over 80 Argentinian officials from the defense sector, with responsibilities on stockpile management.
The workshop strengthened national capacities for an effective and safe stockpile management given the impact of the proliferation and diversion of firearms and ammunition on armed violence and illicit trafficking in the region.
UNLIREC presented best practices and international technical guidelines on stockpile and inventory management, with an emphasis on accounting, registers, stock checks, separation of powers and notification of losses and investigations.
During the workshop, UNLIREC highlighted the relevance of the implementation of inventory management measures as a fundamental component of stockpile management, which assists in detecting loss or theft of firearms and ammunition from stockpiles and facilitates the identification and disposal of surplus weapons.
Representatives of the Argentinean Army presented the inventory control measures implemented in the defense sector in areas such as the requirement of firearms and ammunition, trade, storage, distribution, and final disposal. Likewise, they presented an inventory management system that controls firearms and ammunition stocks, including the option to get stock reports in cases where weapons and ammunition are removed from stockpiles.
This virtual workshop forms part of UNLIREC’s “Combatting Illicit Firearms and Ammunition trafficking in Latin America and the Caribbean” project and was made possible thanks to the financial support of the Government of Germany. 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.