{
  "url": "https://openlegislation.uk/eu-decision-2018-2010/annex/division-1/division-1.1",
  "json_url": "https://openlegislation.uk/eu-decision-2018-2010/annex/division-1/division-1.1.json",
  "legislation": "eudn/2018/2010",
  "legislation_title": "Council Decision (CFSP) 2018/2010 of 17 December 2018 in support of countering illicit proliferation and trafficking of small arms, light weapons (SALW) and ammunition and their impact in Latin America and the Caribbean in the framework of the EU Strategy against Illicit Firearms, Small Arms & Light Weapons and their Ammunition ‘Securing Arms, Protecting Citizens’",
  "legislation_url": "https://openlegislation.uk/eu-decision-2018-2010",
  "path": "annex/division/1/division/1.1",
  "kind": "division",
  "number": "1.1",
  "heading": "Introduction",
  "text": "The proliferation of illicit small arms, light weapons and ammunition is one of the principal factors contributing to high levels of violence and instability in several countries in Latin America and the Caribbean. Almost half of all homicide victims are aged 15-29 and the use of firearms is particularly prevalent in the region, where two thirds (66 %) of homicides are committed with guns. Statistics compiled by Small Arms Survey for its publication Global Burden of Armed Violence, 2015 further reveal that the ten nations with the highest rates of SALW-related deaths between 2010 and 2015 were all American states, with each having a firearms-homicide rate of more than 20 per 100 000 of population.\nThe governments of Latin America and the Caribbean have rejected the illicit manufacturing and trafficking of arms through their support of several international instruments, including the Inter-American Convention against the Illicit Manufacturing of and Trafficking in Firearms, Ammunition, Explosives and Other Related Materials (CIFTA), the United Nations Program of Action for Small Arms and Light Weapons, and the International Tracing Instrument. However, military and other security forces retain large stockpiles of SALW and ammunition that are often poorly secured or have loose accountability. Each year, security forces in the region seize thousands of illegal SALW and tons of ammunition. Some of the seized material has been traced to military stocks both from within and outside the region, as well-funded criminal enterprises, including drug trafficking organisations, transnational gangs, and international arms traffickers have overwhelmed national interdiction capabilities.\nNot only the proliferation of small arms, but also the availability of firearms to the general population has been shown to augment the risk of gun violence. The Global Status Report on Violence, 2014, of the World Health Organization (WHO) reveals through cross-sectional studies across participating countries that gun availability is, in fact, a risk factor for homicide. The report also notes that firearms in general are highly prevalent in the Americas, and the predominant weapon used in violent encounters. Another of the report's findings is that ease of access to firearms and other weapons and excessive alcohol use are also strongly associated with multiple types of violence.\nAnother issue to consider is that gun availability affects men and women differently. The widespread availability of guns contributes to the number of threats using this type of weapon, as well as to the fatality rate of intimate partner violence (IPV) in the homes of battered women. According to the United Nations Department of Disarmament Affairs, a disproportionate percentage of the owners and users of small arms are men, both in conflict and non-conflict situations. Most incidents involving male-on-female reveal the use of guns as intimidation or deadly weapon. When a gun was used, IPV victims were less likely to have visible injuries. At the same time, they were more likely to be frightened. Guns are mostly used to threaten the partner (69,1 %), and when using this kind of weapon, offenders are less likely to punch or kick a victim, for example.\nThe use of any type of weapon is associated with a wide range of violent behaviour with outcomes for the victims that go beyond physical injuries. Threats and intimidation generate psychological effects and traumas and many of the victims avoid reporting this violence to the authorities because they fear retaliation. Professionals, such as health care providers, social workers and public security officers require training to be able to respond to violent situations involving the use of SALW.\nCommunity engagement and the creation of a community support network may better assist victims of gun related crimes and help preventing violent behaviours that may trigger especially to intentional homicides. An active community contributes to building up trust, transparency, communication and commitment in its efforts.\nSince 2009, the Department of Public Security (DPS) of the General Secretariat of the Organization of American States (OAS) (‘OAS-DPS’) has supported the efforts of OAS Member States to control the flow of illegal SALW and ammunition and to manage institutional stockpiles through the Program of Assistance for Control of Arms and Munitions (PACAM). PACAM has implemented projects in cooperation with most of the 34 active OAS Member States, under the provisions of CIFTA. These activities have resulted in the marking of over 290 000 firearms and the destruction of another 60 000 weapons and over 1 700 tons of munitions throughout the region.\nAlthough meaningful results have been attained in SALW marking, physical security and management of stockpiles, significant asymmetries in national capabilities persist, particularly among the countries of Central America and the Caribbean. Systematic implementation of stockpile management protocols remains incomplete in nearly all of the countries of the region, and demand for technical assistance, advice and cooperation has increased because of the successful execution of earlier PACAM activities and the increased confidence developed among national authorities in the role of the OAS in this field.\nDuring execution of previous PACAM projects, as well as during recent CIFTA meetings, several OAS Member States have requested technical assistance in the areas in which the proposed project is intended to focus. Countries requesting support for improving physical security and stockpile management capabilities include Belize, Guatemala, El Salvador, Honduras, Costa Rica, Jamaica, Dominican Republic, and Dominica. Belize, Guatemala, El Salvador, Honduras, Costa Rica and Panama have asked for support for the destruction of excess, obsolete or confiscated SALW and ammunition. Meanwhile, the demand of training and assistance with marking and tracing of SALW has been high, with Guatemala, El Salvador, Honduras, Costa Rica, Panama, Bahamas, Barbados, Jamaica, Dominican Republic, Trinidad and Tobago, Guyana, Suriname, Uruguay and Paraguay requesting help.\nThis project will also include a prevention component comprised of cross-sector and community-focused collaborative interventions aimed at reducing risk factors related to violence having the previously mentioned professionals and the community as direct beneficiaries and offenders and its victims as indirect targets.\nThe prevention component will be carried out within one selected community of the three selected countries. The interventions may need to be adapted in order to meet the needs of specific populations, methods of community engagement, and the distinct setting of challenges and opportunities for conducting collaborative gun violence prevention initiatives in diverse communities. While the countries of focus for these efforts have not been specifically identified, Guatemala, El Salvador, Honduras, and Jamaica are likely candidates for project support because of their very high levels of violent crime and associated firearms use.",
  "extent": "E+W+S+N.I.",
  "status": null,
  "version": "current",
  "annotations": [],
  "outstanding_effects": [],
  "provenance": {
    "source": "legislation.gov.uk",
    "source_url": "https://www.legislation.gov.uk/eudn/2018/2010/annex/division/1/division/1.1",
    "retrieved_at": "2026-11-01T15:12:54.173142+00:00"
  },
  "licence": "Open Government Licence v3.0",
  "licence_url": "https://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/doc/open-government-licence/version/3/",
  "attribution": "Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Source: legislation.gov.uk, The National Archives."
}