Four Countries join the
Firearms Marking Program

Signing of Cooperation Agreement at the OAS for Firearms Marking Project

JOSÉ MIGUEL INSULZA, THE SECRETARY GENERAL of the OAS, welcomed Antigua and Barbuda, Dominica, Panama, and Peru, on February 6th, to the group of countries which signed a treaty of cooperation allowing them to receive both the necessary equipment to mark firearms as well as the storage of related data.  Within the terms of the Agreement, the countries have agreed to mark a predetermined number of weapons over the course of a year.

Since September 2009, the Secretary General of the Organization of American States has been a vocal supporter of the project, “Promoting Firearms Marking in Latin America and the Caribbean”, which allows for the authorities of OAS member States - twenty of whom have already joined the effort, to identify decommissioned weapons and determine their origin. 

This effort stems from the fact that the traffic of illicit firearms is one of the main criminal enterprises associated with organized crime. Furthermore, violence stemming from illegal weapons has been responsible for the majority of homicides accredited to the region.