Andean Community / Decision 552: Andean Plan to Prevent, Combat and Eradicate Illicit Trade in Small Arms and Light Weapons in all its Aspects

DECISION 552
Andean Plan to Prevent, Combat and Eradicate Illicit Trade in Small Arms and Light Weapons in all its Aspects

THE ANDEAN COUNCIL OF FOREIGN MINISTERS,

HAVING SEEN: Articles 1 and 16 of the text of the Cartagena Agreement, codified through Decision 406; the Chapter on Foreign Affairs incorporated into the Cartagena Agreement through Article 4 of the Sucre Protocol; and Decision 458, which approves the Common Foreign Policy Guidelines;

TAKING INTO ACCOUNT: That the Ministers of Foreign Affairs and Defense of the Andean Community Member Countries, meeting in Lima on June 17, 2002, signed the “Lima Commitment: Andean Charter for Peace and Security and the Limitation and Control of the Expenditure on Foreign Defense,” through which they agreed to adopt, inter alia, urgent measures to combat illicit trade in weapons, ammunition, explosives and other related materials, due to their connection with the worldwide drug problem, terrorism, transnational organized crime, mercenary activities and other criminal behavior;

That based on the Ministerial mandates, the Andean Community High-Level Group on Security and Confidence-Building, created by the above-cited Lima Commitment, agreed at its first meeting, held in Bogotá on February 28, 2003, to expedite the designing and implementation of an Andean Plan to Prevent, Combat and Eradicate Illicit Trade in Small Arms and Light Weapons in all its aspects, a decision that was subsequently endorsed by the Andean Council of Foreign Ministers on March 11, 2003;

That illicit trade in small arms and light weapons in all its aspects constitutes a serious threat to the peace, security, governance, stability and democratic and institutional order of Andean Community Member Countries and conspires against the aspiration of our societies to attain higher levels of political, economic, social and cultural development that are sustainable in the long term;

That illicit trade in small arms and light weapons in all its aspects is a global problem closely tied in with terrorism and other forms of political violence, the worldwide drug problem, transnational organized crime, mercenary activities and other criminal behavior, all of them scourges that the Andean Community Member Countries are determined to fight;

That the Member Countries are committed to observe international law and the principles enshrined in the Charter of the United Nations, particularly respect for national sovereignty, non-intervention in the internal affairs of the Member States, the legitimate right to individual and collective defense established in Article 51 of that Charter, the right of all nations to self-determination and the right of Member States to develop their own defense systems to guarantee their national security;

That the Andean Community Member Countries agreed to implement the United Nations Programme of Action to Prevent, Combat and Eradicate the Illicit Trade in Small Arms and Light Weapons in All its aspects, adopted in New York in July 2001;

That the Andean Community Member Countries have ratified the Inter-American Convention against the Illicit Manufacturing of and Trafficking in Firearms, Ammunition, Explosives and Other Related Materials, signed in Washington, D.C. in November 1997;

That the Andean Community Member Countries backed the recommendations of the Regional Seminar for Latin America and the Caribbean to evaluate and follow-up on the United Nations Conference on the illicit trade in small arms and light weapons in all its aspects, held in Santiago in November 2001;

That the Andean Community Member Countries approved the Model Regulations of the Inter-American Drug Abuse Control Commission (CICAD), in order to establish a series of harmonized measures and procedures to supervise and control international trade in firearms, their parts and ammunition, with a view to avoiding illicit trade in those items and their diversion for illegal uses and purposes;

That the problem of proliferation of illicit arms may only be resolved extensively, broadly and in an integrated manner by reinforcing the capacity to regulate and comply with all aspects that govern the lawful manufacture, import, export, transfer, sale, brokerage, transport, possession, concealment, usurpation, carrying and use of arms of this kind, as well as establishing cooperative Community mechanisms for this purpose; and,

That the General Secretariat has put forward Proposal 102/Rev. 1 on the Andean Plan to Prevent, Combat and Eradicate Illicit Trade in Small Arms and Light Weapons in all its aspects;

DECIDES:

Sole Article.- To establish the Andean Plan to Prevent, Combat and Eradicate Illicit Trade in Small Arms and Light Weapons in all its aspects, set out in the document annexed to this Decision.

Signed in the Quirama Recinto, Department of Antioquia of the Republic of Colombia, on the twenty-fifth of June of two thousand three.

ANNEX I

THE ANDEAN PLAN TO PREVENT, COMBAT AND ERADICATE ILLICIT TRADE IN SMALL ARMS AND LIGHT WEAPONS IN ALL ITS ASPECTS

DEFINITIONS

For purposes of the implementation of this Plan, the following definitions shall apply:

a) Private actors: private enterprises and/or institutions, as well as natural persons, that manufacture, import, export, transfer, sell, broker, transport, hold, conceal, usurp, carry or require the use of small arms and light weapons for their normal activities.

b) Public actors: public institutions involved in designing or implementing the policies, strategies or action connected with this Plan, including, inter alia, the armed forces, police, national security agencies, ministries of foreign affairs, defense, the interior or government, and justice, the judiciary, and customs and immigration officials.

c) Small arms and light weapons: small arms are those that are intended for personal use, while light weapons are used by several people organized as a crew. The small arms category includes: revolvers and automatic and semi-automatic pistols, shotguns, rifles and carbines, submachine guns, assault rifles, and light machine-guns, as well as informally manufactured arms of the same kind. The light weapons category includes: heavy machine-guns, hand-driven and mounted rifle-driven grenade launchers, hand-held antiaircraft guns, hand-held antitank guns, recoilless guns, hand-held antitank rocket and missile launcher systems, hand-held antiaircraft missile launcher systems and mortars with a caliber of less than 100 millimeters, as well as informally manufactured weapons of the same kind. Ammunition and explosives are part of the small arms and light weapons that are used in fighting and include: cartridges (bullets) for small arms, projectiles and missiles for light weapons, hand-driven antipersonnel and antitank grenades, land mines, explosives and movable containers holding antiaircraft and antitank missiles or projectiles for a single action.

d) Institutions responsible for ensuring compliance with and full implementation of the laws: national agencies competent in the control, surveillance and application of Andean Community and domestic legislation associated with this Plan, including, inter alia, the ministries of foreign affairs, defense, the interior or government and justice, the public ministry, the judiciary, and the armed forces and police, and customs and immigration officials, according to their spheres of competence.

e) National Coordinating Committee - National Focal Point-: the mechanism that is responsible for boosting the implementation of this Plan in each Member Country. It may have a Chair and a Technical Secretariat to facilitate the accomplishment of its aims and may be made up of representatives of the following bodies, inter alia: the ministries of foreign affairs, defense, the interior or government, and justice, the judiciary, the armed forces, the police, customs and immigration officials and civil society.

f) Security: from the Andean perspective, security is understood to be the situation in which the state and society are protected against threats or risks that are capable of affecting the overall development and well-being of their citizens, as well as the full exercise of their rights and freedoms within an unhampered democratic environment. In this sense, security is multidimensional and comprehensive in nature, encompassing across-the-board political, economic, social and cultural matters, and is reflected in the policies that are implemented in spheres as diverse as, inter alia, the bolstering of democratic institutions and the state of law, defense, health, the environment, the economy, economic development and the prevention of natural disasters.

g) Civil society: the collective social entity within which citizens interrelate among themselves and with the state. From this perspective, it comprises a large array of organizations, including, inter alia, social movements, professional or voluntary associations, grass-roots organizations, non-governmental organizations, trade unions, cooperatives, academic and philanthropic institutions, local communities, gender-based and youth organizations, as well as religious organizations. In some cases, independent communications media and the informal sector are also considered a part of civil society. Among the roles assigned to civil society are participating in the Andean Community decision-making process and expediting the rendering of accounts by state bodies, in an effort to achieve effective governance. For purposes of this instrument, civil society includes a broad range of organizations that have a mandate to contribute to training, theoretical and applied research, the facilitating of public policy, social and development assistance, and the monitoring and evaluation of security issues.

OBJETIVES:

1. To draw up, implement and support a comprehensive strategy to prevent, combat and eradicate illicit trade in small arms and light weapons in all its aspects, which should take into account the links between the illicit trade in and proliferation of those arms and weapons and security, terrorism, corruption and the worldwide drug problem, as well as the long-term objective of achieving peace, development and stability in the Subregion;

2. To strengthen the capacity of Member Countries to implement measures against the illicit manufacture, import, export, transfer, sale, brokerage, transport, possession, concealment, usurpation, carrying and use of small arms and light weapons and to identify, confiscate and, when appropriate, destroy these types of weapons and arms;

3. To promote a culture of peace by carrying out education and public awareness programs on the problems of the proliferation and movement of and illicit trade in small arms and light weapons, involving all sectors of society;

4. To institutionalize national and subregional programs, as well as the corresponding mechanisms for action, in order to prevent, control and eradicate illicit trade in small arms and light weapons in all its aspects; and,

5. To implement this Plan in a context of full respect for human rights and international humanitarian law.

PRINCIPLES:

In order to accomplish the objectives of this Plan, the following principles shall be borne in mind:

1. Comprehensiveness: The Plan is comprehensive because it encompasses all aspects relating to the problem of the proliferation of and illicit trade in small arms and light weapons.

2. Shared Responsibility: The Plan rests on the shared responsibility of all actors connected with this problem and the joint search for solutions in the subregional, regional, hemispheric and world spheres.

3. Respect for international law: The Plan fully respects the principles and rules of international law.

4. Respect for the domestic jurisdiction of the States: The Plan fully respects territorial sovereignty and integrity, as well as the principle of non-intervention in domestic affairs.

5. Solidarity: The Plan is implemented through the cooperation and solidarity of the nations.

6. Complementariness: The Plan contributes to the execution of domestic policies on the subject and the Common Foreign Policy, in order to deepen the process of Andean integration.

MECHANISMS:

1. The Andean Council of Foreign Ministers is responsible for defining, coordinating and following up on the Andean Community Security Policy and, within this context, the Andean Plan to Prevent, Combat and Eradicate Illicit Trade in Small Arms and Light Weapons in all its Aspects. The Andean Council of Foreign Ministers shall, accordingly, meet for this purpose with its counterparts from the ministries of defense, whenever it considers this advisable.

2. As established in the “Lima Commitment,” the High-Level Group on Security and Confidence-Building shall be the executor of Andean Community Security Policy and, in that context, of this Plan.

3. An Operating Committee shall be created to coordinate, harmonize and carry out efforts to prevent, combat and eradicate illicit trade in small arms and light weapons in all its aspects. Member Countries shall appoint three representatives to that Committee.

The Committee shall set up the specialized working groups it considers advisable. These working groups shall be comprised of competent authorities on the subject from two or more Member Countries. Countries that are not participants may request their incorporation at any time.

4. The General Secretariat of the Andean Community, particularly the responsible unit, shall act as the Technical Secretariat for this Plan.

MODES OF ACTION:

1. To address comprehensively the problem of the illicit proliferation of small arms and light weapons in all its aspects.

2. To exchange information and cooperate on all matters relating to illicit small arms and light weapons in all their aspects.

3. To promote the investigation, preparation and collection of information and statistics in the subregion, as well as dialogue and cooperation between the governments and civil society.

4. To expedite the development of a concrete and integrated Coordinated Agenda of Action on security in the Andean subregion.

5. To exchange experiences and organize courses to enhance the capabilities of officials in the Andean Community Member Countries.

6. To advance public awareness campaigns on the dangers and negative effects of the indiscriminate use of and illicit trade in small arms and light weapons.

GUIDELINES FOR ACTION:

A. In the domestic sphere:

Pursuant to the Coordinated Agenda of Action and its Operational Plan, attached, at the domestic level, the Member Countries shall, based on their national legislation and on administrative and operational provisions, regulations and procedures, control the illegal manufacture, import, export, transfer, sale, brokering, transport, possession, concealment, usurpation, carrying and use of small arms and light weapons and shall take the following measures, inter alia, that are within their possibilities:

1. Strengthen or establish mechanisms for national coordination with the corresponding institutional infrastructure that will be responsible for guiding policy, research and monitoring all aspects of the proliferation, control of and illicit trade in small arms and light weapons.

2. Enhance the capacity of the institutions and officials who are responsible for preventing, combating and eradicating the illicit proliferation of small arms and light weapons and improve their equipment and resources in order to obtain concrete results in the medium and long terms.

3. Recommend the adoption, as promptly as possible and whenever appropriate, of the legislative and other measures that are needed to classify as a criminal offense under national law the illicit manufacture, import, export, transfer, sale, brokerage, transport, possession, concealment, usurpation, carrying and use of small arms and light weapons.

4. Prepare and implement, as appropriate, domestic programs for:

a) The responsible handling of legal small arms and light weapons;

b) The voluntary surrender of illicit small arms and light weapons;

c) The identification and destruction by competent national officials of illicit small arms and light weapons and of the surplus inventory of arms and weapons that are obsolete or have been confiscated and are being held by the State, unless they have another officially authorized use, provided that these arms and/or weapons have been duly marked and registered;

d) The creation of citizen consciousness of the proliferation of and illicit trade in small arms and light weapons;

e) The adoption of appropriate national rules or regulations for improving and reinforcing laws that regulate the legal possession by civilians of firearms, ammunition, explosives and other related materials;

f) The transparent control of transfers of small arms and light weapons by producers, sellers, brokers and other agents, together with their embarkation and transit;

g) The active involvement of civil society in formulating and implementing a national program of action to address the problem in a comprehensive and sustainable way; and

h) The consciousness-raising, education and training of public and private actors connected with the implementation of the necessary measures to prevent, combat and eradicate illicit trade in small arms and light weapons in all its aspects.

5. Promote the signing and entry into effect of binding bilateral or multilateral agreements with neighboring or third countries or accession to such agreements, in order to establish a common system of effective control, including the registration and confiscation of illicit small arms and light weapons in border regions.

6. Design and implement proactive policies and measures to create the necessary political, economic, social and cultural conditions for reducing the demand for and illicit use of small arms and light weapons by individuals, groups of individuals or communities.

B. In the subregional Andean sphere:

1. Create an Operating Committee that will be responsible for coordinating and harmonizing efforts to prevent, combat and eradicate illicit trade in small arms and light weapons in all its aspects.

2. Set up an information exchange mechanism to harmonize the current training standards and domestic legislation on the subject of competent authorities in the Member Countries. International organizations specialized in the subject could provide technical assistance for that mechanism.

3. Promote the coding and harmonizing of legislations that regulate illicit manufacture, import, export, transfer, sale, brokerage, transport, possession, carrying and use of small arms and light weapons, in keeping with each Member Country’s national Constitution. The common minimum standards defined by the Member Countries should include, but not be limited to, the application of markings on arms and weapons manufactured in the subregion, their registration and the control of imports, exports and legal trade of those items.

4. Enhance subregional and hemispheric cooperation among competent national authorities who are responsible for ensuring compliance with and the full implementation of all laws connected with small arms and light weapons in all their aspects. Those efforts should include, but not be limited to, training and the exchange of information to support common and coordinated efforts to control and reduce illicit cross-border trade in small arms and light weapons, and the signing of agreements for those purposes.

5. Make certain that illegal manufacturers, sellers, brokers of and traffickers in small arms and light weapons, as well as those who transfer these types of armaments to individuals or groups operating outside the law in violation of domestic, subregional or hemispheric regulations on the matter, are duly sanctioned.

6. Commit themselves to an ongoing dialogue with civil society in the Andean Community Member Countries encompassing the most diverse actors and agents, both public and private, that would result in cooperative efforts to help prevent, combat and eradicate illicit trade in small arms and light weapons in all its aspects.

7. Seek to ensure that all programs to prevent, combat and eradicate illicit trade in small arms and light weapons be complemented by wide-ranging development programs so as to reduce local demand for these arms and weapons.

C. In the international sphere:

1. To coordinate, within the context of Andean Common Foreign Policy, joint positions for the various international forums concerned with the subject and boost strategies to universalize cooperation mechanisms on the matter; and,

2. Present and disseminate this Andean Plan, together with its accomplishments and advances, at the Biennial Meetings of States on the Implementation of the United Nations Programme of Action to Prevent, Combat and Eradicate the Illicit Trade in Small Arms and Light Weapons in All its aspects.

IMPLEMENTATION:

For purposes of the execution of this Plan, the Member Countries agree also to implement the Coordinated Agenda of Action and the Operational Plan that are attached hereto.

ANNEX II

COORDINATED AGENDA OF ACTION

In order to promote the comprehensive treatment of the problem created by illicit trade in small arms and light weapons in all its aspects and to define and implement a Coordinated Agenda of Action for the subregion that will contribute to the security of the Andean Community and its citizens and ensure that all Member Countries have in place the administrative provisions, regulations and procedures needed to exercise effective control over illicit trade in small arms and light weapons in all its aspects;

We agree:

1. Institutional context

1.1. To promote the joint search for sustainable solutions to the problem created by illicit trade in small arms and light weapons in all its aspects, through the sustained implementation of concerted and coordinated action in the medium and long terms.

1.2. To set up and put into operation in each Member Country a National Coordinating Committee -National Focal Point- that will be responsible for designing and taking the necessary measures to confront that problem and ensure the full implementation of this Coordinated Agenda of Action at the national level.

1.3. To instruct the responsible unit of the General Secretariat of the Andean Community, in accordance with the mandates established in the Lima Commitment, to coordinate the Coordinated Agenda of Action at the subregional level.

2. Subregional Cooperation and Coordination

2.1. To ensure the sustainability, in the medium and long terms, of their commitment to attain the objectives set out in the Andean Plan to Prevent, Combat and Eradicate Illicit Trade in Small Arms and Light Weapons in all its aspects, through the responsible unit of the General Secretariat.

2.2. To prepare, implement and support a comprehensive strategy to combat the illicit proliferation of and trafficking in small arms and light weapons, which should take into account the links between the illicit trade in and proliferation of those arms and weapons and security, terrorism, corruption and the worldwide drug problem, as well as the medium and long-term objective of attaining peace, stability and development in the subregion.

2.3. To promote cooperation and the exchange of information among the National Coordinating Committees -National Focal Points- , the institutions responsible for ensuring compliance with and the full implementation of the law and of this Plan, and pertinent international organizations concerned with the issue, in order to coordinately address the problem of the illicit proliferation of small arms and light weapons in all its aspects.

2.4. To cooperate with interested experts and representatives of civil society in preventing, combating and eradicating the problem of the illicit proliferation of and trafficking in small arms and light weapons in all its aspects.

2.5. To promote the joint search for international support to implement the Coordinated Agenda of Action.

3. Legislative Measures

3.1. To recommend the incorporation into domestic legislation, when necessary and as a priority, of regulatory provisions on the following matters:

3.1.1. Possession, concealment, usurpation, carrying and use of small arms and light weapons.

3.1.2. Manufacture, import, export, transfer, sale, brokerage, transport, marking, registration and control of small arms and light weapons.

3.1.3. Effective control of manufacturers, sellers, brokers, financiers and transporters of small arms and light weapons.

3.1.4. Seizure and confiscation by the State of all small arms and light weapons that are manufactured, transported or in transit without or in violation of the corresponding licenses, permits or written authorizations, as well as the application of the sanctions provided for in domestic law.

3.1.5. Asset laundering connected with illicit trade in small arms and light weapons in all its aspects.

3.2. To establish as criminal offenses under their domestic law, the illicit manufacture, import, export, transfer, sale, brokerage, transport, possession, concealment, usurpation, carrying and use of small arms and light weapons, including ones that are homemade.

3.3. To promote the harmonizing of legislation and establishment of minimum standards to regulate the illicit manufacture, import, export, transfer, sale, brokerage, transport, possession, concealment, usurpation, carrying and use of small arms and light weapons.

3.4. To expedite the adoption of legislative or other measures needed to combat crimes relating to terrorism, the worldwide drug problem and corruption that are linked to illicit trade in small arms and light weapons in all its aspects.

4. Operational and Institutional Strengthening Measures

4.1. To recommend the design and implementation of a National Plan on the subject by each National Coordinating Committee -National Focal Point-.

4.2. To set up or develop national databases and communications systems, including specialized equipment, to monitor and control the illicit manufacture, import, export, transfer, sale, brokerage, transport, possession, concealment, usurpation, carrying and use of small arms and light weapons in the national territory and across borders, in keeping with the Operational Plan for Implementing this Agenda.

4.3. To carry out or improve national training programs to build up the institutions that are responsible for ensuring compliance with and the full implementation of this Coordinated Agenda for Action.

4.4. If deemed necessary, to form specialized working groups made up of national authorities responsible for ensuring compliance with and the full implementation of this Coordinated Agenda of Action.

4.5. To reinforce the capacity of the General Secretariat of the Andean Community to coordinate the implementation of the Coordinated Agenda of Action, through its responsible unit.

4.6. To support and promote training and exchange programs between the General Secretariat, the National Coordinating Committees -National Focal Points- and community leaders or representatives of civil society to enhance their capacity and ensure the existence of a constructive dialogue that will lead to concrete action.

4.7. To contribute to the effective utilization of the accumulated knowledge and experience, including those of civil society, to tackle the problem of illicit trade in small arms and light weapons in all its aspects.

4.8. To encourage subregional cooperation among national institutions responsible for compliance with and the full implementation of this Coordinated Agenda of Action, as well as with other pertinent international agencies and institutions, in order to combat transnational crime, increase security and promote mutual understanding among communities living in national border regions. Such cooperation could include, among others, reinforcing confidence-building measures in the Andean subregion.

4.9. To foster the development of a subregional research capacity to back up the National Coordinating Committees -National Focal Points- by launching medium and long-term research programs on the subject.

5. Control, Confiscation, Sanctioning, Distribution, Collection and Destruction

5.1. To strengthen the capacity of competent national institutions to control and report the quantity of arms and weapons in the hands of the State, by, among other things, verifying and updating their registries and/or inventories of small arms and light weapons.

5.2. To ensure the strict rendering of accounts by the competent national agency and the effective follow-up of all distributed arms and weapons that belong to the State.

5.3. To guarantee the safe storage of arms in the possession of the State.

5.4. To establish an effective mechanism for stockpiling illicit small arms and light weapons that have been confiscated or recovered by the State, while awaiting the result of investigations that will release them to be destroyed or, if deemed pertinent, to be transferred to the State.

5.5. To identify and destroy surplus or obsolete inventories of small arms and light weapons in the possession of the State.

5.6. To guarantee and keep up to date the registry of importers, sellers, brokers and manufacturers of small arms and light weapons that will make it possible to oversee those agents and their commercial operations in the Subregion, as well as private security, mining and other companies that need small arms and light weapons for their normal operations, and private individuals.

5.7. To guarantee the strict rendering of accounts to the competent national agency and the effective control of all arms and weapons owned, carried and held by manufacturers, importers, sellers, brokers, and users, including private security, mining and other companies that need small arms and light weapons for their normal operations, and private individuals.

5.8. To encourage a joint effort between institutions that are responsible for ensuring compliance with and the full implementation of this Coordinated Agenda of Action and local communities to identify and eradicate illegal stockpiles of arms and weapons.

5.9. To promote programs for the voluntary surrender and collection of arms and weapons.

5.10. To ensure the destruction of illicit arms and weapons that have been collected or seized or, if deemed pertinent, their transfer to the State.

5.11. To promote programs to legalize small arms and light weapons, with a view to increasing and updating domestic databases.

6. Exchange, Filing and Updating of Information

6.1. To disseminate the policies, regulations and legislation dealing with small arms and light weapons in all their aspects.

6.2. To promote the exchange of information between the National Coordinating Committees -National Focal Points- and the responsible unit in the General Secretariat as well as the uniformity of national databases.

6.3. If deemed necessary, to foster the exchange of information between the National Coordinating Committees -National Focal Points- and national institutions responsible for ensuring compliance with and the full implementation of the laws on, inter alia, individuals, criminal organizations and their members, types of small arms and light weapons, sources, distribution routes, destinations, means of transport, and the financial support of those organizations or individuals. The exchange of information could also focus on criminal activities like terrorism and drug trafficking related with the cited arms and weapons.

7. Public Awareness

7.1. To encourage the development of a culture of peace.

7.2. To design and implement citizen education and public awareness programs encompassing all sectors of society that deal with the problem of illicit small arms and light weapons in all its aspects.

7.3. To design and implement citizen education and public awareness programs about the responsible handling, storage and use of firearms.

7.4. To foster the inclusion of, as well as cooperation with, all sectors of society, including the business sector, to prevent and eradicate the problem of illicit small arms and light weapons in all its aspects.