Council Decision 2006/1000/CFSP of 11 December 2006 concerning the implementation of Joint Action 2002/589/CFSP with a view to a European Union contribution to combating the destabilising accumulation and spread of small arms and light weapons in Latin America and the Caribbean
Date: 2006-12-11
Institutions: Council of the European Union
Subjects: Caribbean Islands, EU aid, Latin America, arms control, common foreign and security policy, financial aid, firearms and munitions

22.12.2006

EN

Official Journal of the European Union

L 367/77

(Acts adopted under Title V of the Treaty on European Union)

COUNCIL DECISION 2006/1000/CFSP

of 11 December 2006

concerning the implementation of Joint Action 2002/589/CFSP with a view to a European Union
contribution to combating the destabilising accumulation and spread of small arms and light
weapons in Latin America and the Caribbean

THE COUNCIL OF THE EUROPEAN UNION,

HAS DECIDED AS FOLLOWS:

Having regard to Joint Action 2002/589/CFSP (1) of 12 July
2002 on the European Union's contribution to combating the
destabilising accumulation and spread of small arms and light
weapons, and in particular Articles 6 and 7 thereof,
in
conjunction with the second indent of Article 23(2) of the
Treaty on European Union,

Whereas:

(1)

(2)

Decisions

2001/200/CFSP (2)

and
Council
2003/543/CFSP (3) contributed to combating the uncon-
trolled accumulation and spread of small arms and light
weapons, which posed a threat to peace and security and
reduced the prospects for sustainable development, inter
alia in Latin America and the Caribbean, through the
United Nations Regional Centre for Peace, Disarmament
and Development in Latin America and the Caribbean
(UN-LiREC)
the United
in Lima, acting on behalf of
Nations Department for Disarmament Affairs (DDA).

authorities

law enforcement

Since 2001, the financial contribution of the European
Union has been effective in ensuring training courses for
the
and Members of
Parliament in the region and their advisors on firearms-
related legislation, development of databases as well as
stockpile management
and
weapons
activities.
to complete these activities, UN-
LiREC and DDA have appealed for further and final
assistance from the European Union.

destruction
In order

(3)

The European Union therefore intends to complete its
financial assistance to the activities of UN-LiREC. This
should be the last contribution of the European Union
to these activities,

(1) OJ L 191, 19.7.2002, p. 1.
(2) OJ L 72, 14.3.2001, p. 1.
(3) OJ L 185, 24.7.2003, p. 59.

Article 1

The European Union shall complete its contribution to
1.
UN-LiREC for combating the destabilising accumulation and
spread of small arms and light weapons in Latin America and
the Caribbean.

For the purposes of paragraph 1, the European Union

2.
shall assist UN-LiREC in:

(a) supporting national ownership of activities relating to the
2001 United Nations Programme of Action to Prevent,
Combat and Erradicate the Illicit Trade in Small Arms and
Light Weapons in All its Aspects;

(b) linking these activities to similar initiatives undertaken by

the Member States; and

(c) developing best practices training kits for other regions of

the world, such as Africa and South Eastern Europe.

A detailed description of activities is set out in the Annex.

Adequate visibility of the contribution of the European
3.
Union to the activities mentioned in the Annex, including by
appropriate measures taken by UN-LiREC shall be ensured in
accordance with the modalities laid down by this Decision.

Article 2

The financial reference amount for the purposes referred

1.
to in Article 1 shall be EUR 700 000.

2.
For the purposes of this Decision, the Commission shall
conclude a financing agreement with DDA, on behalf of which
UN-LiREC is acting, on the conditions for use of the European
Union contribution, which will take the form of a grant. The
financing agreement shall provide for UN-LiREC/DDA to deliver
appropriate reporting and to ensure visibility of the financial
contribution of the European Union to the project, appropriate
to its size.

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The Commission shall supervise the proper implemen-
3.
tation of the contribution of the European Union. To this end
the Commission shall be entrusted with the task of controlling
and evaluating the financial aspects of the implementation of
this Decision.

The Commission shall submit

reports to the
2.
relevant Council bodies in accordance with Article 2(2). This
information will be based in particular on regular reports to be
provided by UN-LiREC/DDA under its contractual relationship
with the Commission referred to in Article 2(2).

regular

applying

the European Union provided for

The management of the expenditure financed from the
4.
general budget of
in
paragraph 1 shall be subject to the procedures and rules of
to budget matters, with the
the Community
remain the
exception that
property of
shall be
conducted in accordance with the provisions of the Financial
and Administrative
between the
European Community and the United Nations of 29 April
2003.

the Community. This management

Framework Agreement

any pre-financing

shall not

Article 3

1.
The Presidency, assisted by the Secretatry-General of the
Council/High Representative for the CFSP, shall be responsible
for the implementation of this Decision and shall report to the
Council thereon. The Commission shall be fully associated in
these tasks and shall, in particular, provide information on the
implementation of their financial aspects.

Article 4

This Decision shall take effect on the day of its adoption. It shall
expire 12 months after the financing agreement referred to in
Article 2(2) has been concluded.

Article 5

This Decision shall be published in the Official Journal of the
European Union.

Done at Brussels, 11 December 2006.

For the Council
The President

E. TUOMIOJA

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ANNEX

Training the trainers and database project, third phase

The third and final phase of the UN-LiREC project consists of two main sets of activities. The first entails the continuation
of the activities underway, while the second set of activities consists of the application of the work developed by the UN-
LiREC to related activities undertaken in Europe in support of EU Policy in South-Eastern Europe and other regions of the
world such as Africa.

First set of Activities

1.

Training the trainers

1.1. Support to national training courses on investigating techniques through the law enforcement officials previously

trained by UN-LiREC;

1.2. Support to the development of the Regional Public Security Training Centre created by Brazil which aims to

coordinate future regional training course activities; and

1.3. Carrying out of advanced training courses on intelligence and international cooperation.

2.

Firearms-related Databases

2.1. Further development of the Small Arms and Light Weapons Administration System (SALSA) databases; and

2.2. Integration of SALSA into other databases of the law enforcement authorities of the region.

3.

Parliamentary Exchange Initiative

3.1. Continuation of training courses for Members of Parliament in the region; and

3.2. Technical support to firearms legislation reform.

4. Weapons Destruction and Stockpile Management

4.1. Continuation of the work to support weapons destruction and stockpile management; and

4.2. Support to national destruction programmes.

Second set of activities

Linkage of Latin American and Caribbean activities to European-related activities and transfer of knowledge and lessons
learnt to ensure synergies between Latin America and Caribbean and other regions of the world:

1. Assessment of the European firearms legislation and promotion of the EU Code of Conduct on Control of Arms
Exports to identify lessons learnt for improvements of Latin American and Caribbean legislation: proposed cooperation
with the European Parliament.

2. Expansion and adaptation of the SALSA database system to include information exchange with Member States so as to
facilitate coordination and cooperation between the two regions: proposed cooperation with other entities that work
on the issue of illicit firearms trafficking, such as national law enforcement entities and EUROPOL.

3. Adaptation of the training course materials developed by the UN-LiREC to the needs and opportunities of countries in

other regions of the world so as to enhance lessons learnt.

4. Assessment of the status of implementation and the identification of opportunities for synergies in the recommen-
dations made by the Heads of State and Governments from Latin America and the Caribbean and Europe concerning
the firearms issue at the Rio de Janeiro, Madrid and Mexico Summit Meetings, notably identifying Summit Declarations
related to activities referred to above.

Activities will culminate with the implementation of a Combined Command Post (CCP) — a region-wide centre of
operations of the Regional Public Security Training Centre in Brasilia, Brazil — to coordinate firearms-related training and
other activities with the work of some 3 000 officials in 33 countries. By the end of 2007, the entire training course
package will be transferred from UN-LiREC to the CCP and to individual countries to facilitate national ownership. The
CCP will also serve as a hub to link this network of law enforcement entities with other regions.