The United Nations Regional Centre for Peace, Disarmament and Development in Latin America and the Caribbean (UNLIREC) has expanded its technical assistance to the Peruvian provinces of Chiclayo and Arequipa through its “Strengthening Oversight and Building Capacities for Small Arms Control and Nonproliferation in the Private Security Sector” project, which was launched in Peru in June 2015. Through this project, UNLIREC supports the National Superintendence for the Control of Security Services, Arms, Ammunition and Explosives for Civil Use (SUCAMEC) as the government body that controls and supervises private security, as well as the companies that provide services in this sector.
The activities that have been carried out through this project include training in small arms and ammunition inventory management for private security companies, technical assessments of private security companies aimed at providing technical recommendations on stockpile management and physical security measures, and secondary marking of firearms with laser technology. The project`s activities to date have focused on the city of Lima.
In order to ensure that this project has a decentralized impact in the country, UNLIREC expanded its technical assistance to the cities of Chiclayo and Arequipa. Consequently, during the week of 11 April 2016, UNLIREC`s technical team assessed the level of compliance of four private security companies in these two cities with the United Nations International Small Arms Control Standards (ISACS) and the United Nations International Ammunition Technical Guidelines (IATG). These voluntary assessments include technical recommendations in order to strengthen the level of compliance with the standards, to improve the security and the small arms and ammunition inventory management of these companies. Achieving high levels of compliance with these international standards helps prevent theft and diversion of firearms and ammunition belonging to the private security sector to illegal actors.
This project is funded by the Federal Republic of Germany and is implemented in partnership with the Geneva Centre for the Democratic Control of the Armed Forces (DCAF). Its main goal is to promote internationally accepted standards, good practices and initiatives, such as the International Code of Conduct for Private Security Service Providers (ICoC) and United Nations small arms and ammunition control standards.
Through its assistance, UNLIREC supports Latin American and Caribbean States strengthen public security and the implementation of the UN Programme of Action on the Illicit Trade in Small Arms and Light Weapons in All its Aspects (UN 2001 PoA).
For more information about UNLIREC, visit (www.unlirec.org) or contact Amanda Cowl, Political Affairs Officer, (cowl@unlirec.org).