MISSING PIECES - Inter-Parliamentary Union

THEME 5
the new legislation will be enforced. As an incentive, there is usually a ‘no
questions asked’ policy and participants are offered financial compensation
for their guns.
After I purchased the gun it seemed pointless having it and I needed
somewhere to get rid of it. That’s why a gun amnesty would have been
good for me.
—Asher D of rap group So Solid Crew, previously convicted for gun possession 18
It is difficult to draw any conclusions on the direct impact that amnesty
programmes have had on gun violence, whether criminal, self-directed or
between intimate partners. This is primarily because it is hard to isolate the
impact of one measure from other variables affecting gun violence (for
example, youth employment schemes, city planning schemes, or restrictions
on alcohol sales). The incidence of firearm-related deaths in countries
like Australia and the UK is also low relative to that of many other
countries, and even a small change can have a strong impact on statistics.
The trends in data so far are not uniform. However, the Australian example
does indicate that the introduction of stricter gun laws, combined with
the removal of a portion of civilian-held weapons from circulation, have
led to a significant decrease in firearm-related deaths. 19
The Brazilian process also suggests that tighter gun controls combined
with a reduction in weapons availability can help reduce rates of firearmrelated
deaths and injuries. Following the adoption of the Disarmament
BOX 16 NO MONETARY INCENTIVES TO SURRENDER GUNS IN ARGENTINA
In December 2006 the Argentinean Senate decided to pass into law a proposal
to disarm civilians. The programme declares a “national emergency”
in terms of possession, manufacturing and trade in firearms, munitions
and explosives. It provides for a gun collection programme, a ban on the
import, manufacture and sale of replica guns, a national inventory of all
guns (including those held by state agencies), a requirement that the military
and police report to the parliament all lost or stolen guns, and the
creation of both a national commission on small arms and a firearms policy
consultative council, which will include experts from civil society.
The amnesty and collection programme will last for an initial period of
six months and, unlike the buy-back schemes in Australia and Brazil, will not
allow monetary incentives for the surrender of weapons. The results of this
model of weapons collection are yet to be assessed, but it is hoped they
will contribute to the growing body of evidence with regard to the effects
of amnesty programmes and legal reform.
105