Inter-American Convention Against The

inter-american convention againstOEA/Ser.L/XXII.2.11

the illicit manufacturing of and traffickingCIFTA/CC-XI/doc.11/10

in firearms, ammunition, explosiVes19 April 2010

and other related materials (CIFTA)Original: Spanish

Eleventh Regular Meeting of the Consultative Committee

April 23, 2010

Washington, D.C.

REPORT OF THE SECRETARIAT PRO TEMPORE OF THE CIFTA CONSULTATIVE COMMITTEE ON THE ACTIVITIES CARRIED OUT IN 2009-2010

The Secretariat pro tempore of the CIFTA Consultative Committee has the honor to present this report on the activities carried out in 2009-2010. The report is presented in accordance with the provisions of Article 6(c) of the Rules of Procedure of the Consultative Committee, and the 2009-2010 Work Program adopted by the States parties to the Convention at the Eleventh Regular Meeting of the Consultative Committee on April 24, 2009 was used as a frame of reference and a guide for its preparation.

Status of signatures and ratifications of the CIFTA Convention

To date, 30 states have ratified or adhered to the Inter-American Convention against the Illicit Manufacturing of and Trafficking in Firearms, Ammunition, Explosives, and Other Related Materials (CIFTA).

In a letter sent to Ambassadors and Permanent Representatives to the OAS, the Secretariat pro tempore urged signatory states that have not yet ratified the Convention—Canada, United States, Jamaica, and Saint Vincent and the Grenadines—to do so as promptly as possible, and to adopt measures consistent with the objectives of CIFTA.

Resolution AG/RES. 2460 (XXXIX-O/09) of the OAS General Assembly

At the 39th regular session of the General Assembly held in Honduras in June 2009, the Secretariat pro tempore presented a draft resolution providing for the continued implementation of the commitments assumed during the first and second conferences of the states parties, which had the strong support of all the delegations of the CIFTA States Parties, and was approved by the General Assembly as Resolution AG/RES. 2460 (XXXIX-O/09).

Model legislation

On April 23, 2009, the Fourth Meeting of the OAS Group of Experts to Prepare Model Legislation in the Areas Referred to in CIFTA took place at the OAS headquarters, in compliance with Resolution AG/RES. 2381 (XXXVIII-O/08), “Inter-American Convention against the Illicit Manufacturing of and Trafficking in Firearms, Ammunition, Explosives, and Other Related Materials.” The Group of Experts met to consider proposed model legislation on confiscation or forfeiture, in accordance with Article VII of the Convention.

Since a number of delegations had reservations on the document, it was agreed that delegations would be asked to present their comments or proposed changes in writing, so that the proposed model legislation and comments could be discussed at the next meeting of the Group of Experts.

In the course of the year, comments were received from two delegations, Canada and Mexico. These comments were duly incorporated into the document, which was circulated recently to member states for their consideration and approval at this 11th Meeting of the Consultative Committee.

The meetings of the Group of Experts already convened in Resolution AG/RES. 2460 (XXXIX-O/09) could not be held for reasons beyond its control. However, it is expected that it will be possible shortly to resume the schedule of meetings set to discuss the proposed model legislation on record-keeping, confidentiality, and exchange of information, in accordance with Articles XI, XII, and XIII of the Convention, as well as the meetings on security measures (Article VIII) and controlled delivery (Article XVIII).

Cooperation and coordination

As part of its effort to strengthen cooperation with other organizations, the CIFTA Technical Secretariat participated in various regional, subregional, and international seminars during 2009-2010, including the following ones:

June 2-5, 2009, the Technical Secretariat participated in the “Regional Seminar to Promote Implementation of the United Nations Protocol to Combat the Illicit Manufacturing of and Trafficking in Firearms, Their Parts and Components, and Ammunition,” organized by the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) in Bridgetown, Barbados. The purpose of the workshop was to raise the awareness of the English-speaking Caribbean countries with regard to the problem of trafficking in firearms, and the regional and international instruments in force in this area. The Technical Secretariat was invited to make a presentation on CIFTA and its model legislation, and a session was devoted to model legislation to strengthen controls on intermediaries or brokers.

The Technical Secretariat also participated in a seminar organized by the United States Government to combat illicit trafficking in firearms in Central America. This event, held July 12-15, 2009 in the City of Belize, brought together government representatives, especially those responsible for law enforcement, with a view to strengthening cooperation and consolidating the joint work carried out by the participating countries to reduce illicit trafficking in firearms. The Technical Secretariat participated in a panel, together with the representatives of UNODC, UN-LiREC, and SICA-CASAC, to provide information on the support that international and regional organizations could offer in this area.

The Technical Secretariat worked with the Regional Center of the United Nations for Peace, Disarmament and Development in Latin America and the Caribbean (UN-LiREC) to prepare the second version of its “Inter-institutional course for strengthening law enforcement agencies in control of the legal trade and prevention of illegal trafficking in firearms, ammunition, and explosives,” in an effort to strengthen the capacity of the region’s countries in this area. A representative of the CIFTA Technical Secretariat participated in preparing and developing the manual for this course, through the “Workshop for Consultation on Best Practices in Training Law Enforcement Agencies to Combat the Illicit Trafficking of Firearms” held August 19-21, 2009 in Lima, Peru. The CIFTA Technical Secretariat also participated as an instructor in the first course held November 16-25, 2009 in Lima.

January 19-22, 2010, the Technical Secretariat participated in a seminar-workshop organized by CARICOM-IMPACS and the Ploughshares Project of Canada for the English-speaking Caribbean countries, to review the status of implementation of the United Nations Action Program on Firearms, as well as other multilateral instruments, including CIFTA. Another objective of the event was to explore and recommend options to strengthen and harmonize regional and national standards to comply with obligations already assumed by countries under these agreements. The Technical Secretariat gave a presentation on CIFTA and its model legislation, and also headed a working group to generate recommendations for cooperation and action in matters related to exports and imports of firearms.

Following a meeting held in November 2008 in Geneva, a broad-based consultation on drafting international norms to control small arms, which was organized by the UN’s Coordinating Action on Small Arms Mechanism (CASA), the Technical Secretariat offered its technical support in 2009 in formulating these norms. Once drafted and finalized, these norms are expected to enable the United Nations to take a more coherent and comprehensive approach to policies and practices involving control of small arms, and to create a series of reference points to measure the scope of implementation of global agreements on small arms.

On the other hand, to promote a continuous dialogue among member states on the subject of marking and tracing firearms, the United States Government, through its Department of Justice, organized a visit to the NationalTracingCenter of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives (ATF), headquartered in Martinsburg, West Virginia. Virtually all 35 representatives of this Consultative Committee and the Technical Secretariat participated in this meeting, which took place on April 22, and benefited from a general presentation on the mission and functions of the Tracing Center, a real-time presentation of the electronic tracing program, the importance of efforts by governments to trace arms recovered at crime scenes, and a tour of the facilities. The Secretariat pro tempore thanked the United States Government for organizing this visit and the Technical Secretariat for provided the transportation to it.

Also during this time period, the Technical Secretariat updated and distributed directories of the single contact points of CIFTA and national authorities for mutual legal assistance, as well as a directory of national authorities responsible for tracing.

In addition, with the financial support of the US Government, the Technical Secretariat coordinated the reprinting of the CIFTA publication, so that member states would have easy access to the complete text of the Convention in the four languages.

Stockpile management and destruction

The Technical Secretariat, through the Department of Public Security, launched a project in October 2009 to strengthen the national capacity of Central American countries for appropriate management of their stockpiles and destruction of arms and ammunition. This project, financed by the U.S. Government, will provide specialized training to national officials in Belize, Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Nicaragua, and Panama, through a subregional seminar for the exchange of information and practices on stockpile management, and a technical seminar for government experts on destruction of arms and ammunition. Both events will take place in the second half of 2010.

The project is also designed to assist two countries in the subregion in their efforts to destroy obsolete arms and ammunition and/or ones in poor condition, in order to prevent large-scale accidents in urban areas where the storage facilities are located and/or to prevent this type of ammunition from being used for another purpose. Since February 1, when operations began in Guatemala, until April 15, the project contributed to the destruction of 32,260 units of ammunition of different calibers, for a total of 65.56 tons from the “Mariscal Zavala” National Stockpile. The total included 6,308 white phosphorus grenades, 5,300 of which, the remnants of an accident in the warehouse in 2005, required a delicate remedial operation. The presence of this ammunition posed a major risk of a large-scale accident, not only because of its characteristics, but also due to its location in the vicinity of residential neighborhoods in the capital.

The destruction of this ammunition was executed by a group of 34 members of the Guatemalan Defense Ministry, using open detonation methods and incineration (the latter for low-caliber ammunition). Since February 1, there have been 107 demolitions and 3 incinerations in two locations: the PolytechnicSchool and the “Mariscal Zavala” National Stockpile. The OAS has been responsible for training, quality control, and quality assurance, through the ongoing supervision and certification of the destroyed ammunition.

Once the white phosphorus operation is concluded, there are plans to continue the work with ammunition from the headquarters of the Guatemalan Air Force, to include 500 250-kilogram bombs. The ammunition involved poses a great risk of involuntary explosion and threatens public security, especially due to its location next to a landing strip of the Guatemalan national airport.

Moreover, from April to June 2010, OAS experts will be destroying 2,000 tons of obsolete ammunition in national facilities in Nicaragua. Four locations in various parts of the country have been identified as containing ammunition of different sizes and calibers, ranging from 14.5 to 152 millimeters. These destruction operations will be carried out by OAS experts, and by national representatives exclusively trained for this type of activity.

The project is also expected to provide legislative support to each of the Central American Countries to ensure that their national laws are consistent with CIFTA and other intentional instruments related to illicit trafficking of firearms. A study will be conducted together with UN-LiREC, to show the status of compliance of beneficiary countries with various CIFTA provisions. The study will include information on the status of ratification, laws and legislation in force in each country, national action plans, and other relevant activities. Based on the results of this study, talks will be pursued with national authorities and organizations on the possibility of creating and/or modifying laws and regulations on the subject.

We should also mention that at the end of 2009, the Technical Secretariat received a request from the Costa Rican Government to destroy 700,000 units of ammunition in that country, as well as a request from the Belize Government for technical assistance in managing arms in custody. The Technical Secretariat is currently studying various ways to meet these two requests.

Marking of arms

The Technical Secretariat has also initiated a project to strengthen the national capacity for marking imported, exported, or confiscated firearms, in accordance with the legal requirements of CIFTA in its Article VI. The marking of firearms--a process for permanently marking firearms with identifiable information, such as the serial number, name, and place of manufacture or import, model, and caliber--is an important step in the fight against illicit arms trafficking, since marked arms are easier to trace and can be more effectively linked to the crimes in which they were used, thereby enhancing the capacity of law enforcement.

Initiated in October 2009, with the financial backing of the United States, this activity will provide each of the 30 beneficiary countries in the Hemisphere with at least one unit of marking equipment, along with the training required for its effective use. In addition, a regional workshop on marking practices and management of stockpiles is anticipated; it will be open to the participation of all the countries in the Hemisphere, regardless of their level of participation in the project. A comprehensive study is also planned to identify the needs of states in the area of marking.

To date, ten member states have expressed an interest in this project. The Secretariat pro tempore is encouraging other countries to join in this initiative as soon as possible, in order to strengthen the regional commitment to combat illicit trafficking of firearms and thus comply with the obligations assumed upon signing and/or ratifying CIFTA.

Homage to Michael Sullivan

The Secretariat pro tempore would like to take this opportunity to remember and pay tribute to a person with close ties to this Consultative Committee and the Convention itself. As many already know, we regret to inform member states of the loss of our dear colleague Michael Sullivan in June 2009.

Michael Sullivan was appreciated and widely respected in the field of arms trafficking control. A legal advisor in the OAS General Secretariat for many years, he is perhaps most remembered for his contributions to the Inter-American Drug Abuse Control Commission (CICAD), where he drafted the first OAS-CICAD model legislation on trafficking in firearms and control of intermediaries. He went on to prepare drafts of all the other model laws that have been approved to date, and he was also to a great extent responsible for drafting the text of the CIFTA Convention. Although he had retired from the OAS a short time prior to this death, he continued to be committed to participated in and providing assistance for activities in this area carried out by the General Secretariat.

Michael was in short the institutional memory of the General Secretariat in the area of trafficking in firearms and his loss is significant. His impact on the OAS and on many other international, regional, and civil society organizations was profound—not only for his considerable professional contributions, but also because of his dynamic personality and keen interest in the problem. Michael was a true gentleman and a great friend of this Committee, and he will be sorely missed. The CIFTA Consultative Committee, together with the international community, recognizes, respects, and honors Michael Sullivan for his great commitment and contribution to the struggle against trafficking of firearms.

Final considerations

Armed violence continues to be one of the principal threats to public security and the lives of the region’s citizens. Easy access to and the indiscriminate sale of firearms endanger the lives and well-being of persons over long periods of time. It is illicit trafficking in firearms that facilitates their uncontrolled movement and increases to alarming levels the risk of their misuse. This situation is aggravated by transnational organized crime and other groups operating outside the law, that use it to their advantage. Together with other types of crimes, it has been ravaging the Americas and the Caribbean in increasingly complex ways.

It is important to view the problem of illicit trafficking as the result of multiple factors, and not just the consequence of past armed conflicts. Organized crime and common crimes feed the proliferation and illicit trafficking of firearms. For these reasons, it is critical for our governments to have the capacity to generate concrete, effective, and timely changes, in order to control the manufacture, movement, and sale of firearms, ammunition, and explosives. It is essential to reaffirm the commitment to CIFTA, to continue our regional cooperation and dialogue, and to strengthen ongoing initiatives that have so far produced positive results, in order to effectively protect the population and ensure it a full violence-free life.

On behalf of the Guatemalan Government, it has been a privilege to perform the functions of the CIFTA Secretariat pro tempore for two consecutive terms. I would like to reiterate my appreciation for the constant support received by this Secretariat pro tempore from the states parties to the Convention and the signatory states, and the valuable assistance offered by the Technical Secretariat, whose persistent efforts have enabled us to achieve the current level of cooperation in this shared struggle to limit the indiscriminate availability of arms and their misuse.

Jorge Skinner-Klee

Ambassador, Permanent Representative of Guatemala to the OAS

Secretary pro tempore of the Consultative Committee