DYB2011-Part-II-web

Regional disarmament
that summarized the degree of compliance with the provisions of the CIFTA in
Belize, Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Nicaragua and Panama.
Between October 2009 and December 2011, the CIFTA Technical
Secretariat implemented four projects, financed by the United States, Spain
and Italy, to strengthen national capacities in Belize, Costa Rica, El Salvador,
Guatemala, Nicaragua and Panama in terms of proper arsenal management,
modernization of armories, and the destruction of obsolete and unused
weapons and ammunition.
The Organization of American States (OAS) organized a seminar in
Guatemala to provide a framework for discussing experiences and identifying
effective means of ensuring appropriate management of national arsenals and
the effective destruction of obsolete or unused weapons and ammunition.
Additionally, a subregional technical seminar to improve the capacity of
authorities responsible for the management of explosive materials from Costa
Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Nicaragua, Panama and Belize was held in
Madrid, with support from the Governments of Spain and the United States.
All the participants received a level-three explosive ordnance destruction
certificate, which qualifies them to conduct or supervise destruction of
explosive ordnance.
OAS assisted Guatemalan authorities in destroying almost 635 tons of
white phosphorus grenades, white phosphorus projectiles of up to 120 mm,
aircraft bombs of up to 250 kg and artillery of various types of obsolete
ammunition.
Since September 2009, the CIFTA Technical Secretariat has been
implementing a project to strengthen national capacity in the marking of
imported, exported and confiscated firearms, in accordance with the legal
requirements of article VI of CIFTA. With the financial backing of the United
States, 31 beneficiary countries will receive through this activity electric
dot-peen or micropercussion marking equipment, the necessary training for its
effective use and computers to facilitate the storage of marking data. Twenty
countries that had signed cooperation agreements with the OAS General
Secretariat joined the initiative. Of those countries, 16 already received the
equipment and over 120 people were trained to use the machinery and became
part of the Hemisphere’s network of marking practitioners.
Asia and the Pacific
The unprecedented Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant disaster of
11 March added a new and pressing sense of urgency to the discussions about
nuclear safety and security. Many States around the globe were fundamentally
reconsidering the future use of nuclear energy technology.
139