WASHINGTON, DC – The Organization of American States (OAS) today donated a firearms marking machine to the Government of Antigua and Barbuda to be used by the Ministry of National Security with the objective of fighting the illicit trafficking of firearms. This initiative, implemented in 23 countries of the region, is part of the efforts outlined by the OAS Secretary General, José Miguel Insulza, and serves to exemplify the organization as a strategic actor in the fight against crime.
The equipment was delivered during a ceremony held at the Police Training School, in Longford, Antigua and Barbuda, and was attended by the Minister of National Security, Errol Cort, and the OAS Representative in Antigua and Barbuda, Jean Ricot Dormeus.
The donation—funded by the Government of the United States—is part of the program “Promoting Firearms Marking in Latin America and the Caribbean,” following the Inter-American Convention against Illicit Manufacturing of and Trafficking in Firearms, Ammunition, Explosives, and Other Related Materials (CIFTA), and seeks to strengthen national capabilities on matters of firearms marking.
Through this and other initiatives, the OAS seeks to promote efforts to strengthen the capacities of Member States to respond quickly and efficiently to rising levels of crime and violence generated by trafficking in firearms.
The donated equipment is used to develop a process that marks the weapons permanently with identifiable information such as serial number, caliber, model and manufacturing site. This is an essential step to help authorities identify the guns recovered at crime scenes, determine their origins and identify trafficking routes and traffickers.
To date, the following countries have signed a cooperation agreement with the OAS to participate in this program: Antigua and Barbuda, Argentina, Barbados, Bahamas, Belize, Costa Rica, Dominica, Ecuador, El Salvador, Grenada, Guatemala, Guyana, Honduras, Jamaica, Uruguay, Panama, Paraguay, Peru, Dominican Republic, Saint Lucia, Saint Kitts and Nevis, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines and Trinidad and Tobago.
