The United Nations Regional Centre for Peace, Disarmament and Development in Latin America and the Caribbean (UNLIREC) provided technical assistance and support to the countries of the Andean Community of Nations (CAN), during the Andean Regional Seminar on the Marking of Small Arms and Ammunition held in Lima on the 10th and 11th of December. Participants in this seminar included representatives from the military industries, the national entities responsible for weapons control and the Foreign Ministries of the four Andean States.
During the seminar, UNLIREC presented its Technical Guide for the Marking of Small Arms and Ammunition, a tool to enable the standardization of the marking of arms and ammunition in the Latin American and Caribbean region. This technical guide is based on the guidelines of the United Nations International Small Arms Control Standards (ISACS) and the best practices of States in the region. The marking of arms and ammunition aims to facilitate the processes of tracing and information exchange, improve the control of arms and the management of arsenals, and strengthen regional and international cooperation in the area of controlling the legal market and combating the illicit trade in small arms and ammunition.
Using the UNLIREC Technical Guide as a basis, the Andean States took their first steps towards the adoption of a legally binding technical regulation to standardize the marking of arms and ammunition in the sub-region. The seminar was also the first time worldwide that a sub-region held discussions on the possibility of adopting a legally binding framework on the marking of arms and ammunition, thus demonstrating the leadership of the four Andean States, which have always stood out for their commitment to arms control and disarmament.
In moving towards this goal, the States of the Andean Region position themselves in line with the ISACS at the global forefront of best practices relating to marking, a step consistent with their implementation of their marking obligations under international instruments.
For more information on UNLIREC, please visit: www.unlirec.org.
Please direct all inquiries to: Ms. Carina Van Vliet, Political Affairs Officer (vanvliet@unlirec.org).