DISARMING VIOLENCE. Ten Years Preventing Armed Violence in El Salvador

Transcription

1

2

3 DISARMING VIOLENCE Ten Years Preventing Armed Violence in El Salvador

4 Credits Published by United Nations Development Programme. San Salvador. El Salvador Author Armando Carballido Gómez Technical Team Marcela Smutt Daniel Carsana Xenia Díaz Editorial coordination: Miguel Huezo Mixco / Proofreading: Tania Góchez / Layout: Paola Lorenzana y Celina Hernández / Printed by: Impresos Múltiples/Translation from Spanish: Cristina Costa

5 3 Index Presentation 5 Acknowledgements 7 List of Abbreviations 9 Executive Summary 11 Introduction 15 Section 1. Human Development and Citizen Security: A Framework for Action 17 Section 2. The Roots 19 A. Firearms and Violence in El Salvador 19 B. Prioritized Intervention Actions 20 Section 3. The Foundations: Knowledge and Information in Public Decision-Making 23 A. Firearms and Violence : A Quality Research with International Impact 23 B. Building Knowledge on Armed Violence 25 Section 4. The Structure: More and Better Control of Firearms 27 A. The Municipal Regulations 28 B. Improving the Arms Registration and Data System 29 Section 5. Accessorial Support: Civil Society Support and Awareness to Change Culture 33 A. The Evolution of the Campaigns for Disarmament: Weapons, neither Real ones nor Toys 33 B. Spaces for Public Policy Impact 35 C. The National Commission for Citizen Security and Social Peace 36 D. The Arms and Explosives Legislation Reform 37 E. Communication for Change 38 F. Culture and Places for Social Cohesion 39 Section 6. Up to Now: Some Advances for Hope 41 A. San Martín: High Impact of a Promising Experience 41 B. Significant Changes in Legislation: Reaching the Prohibition of Carrying of Arms 43 C. A Growing Awareness and Citizen and Political Opposition to Firearms 43 D. Everything counts: More Actions, more Actors, more Incidences 44 E. Better and more Coordinated Control and Registration of Firearms 44 Tentative Conclusions 47 Bibliographical References 49 Web Sites 50

6 Photograph by: Jorge Alberto López Pérez.

7 5 Presentation It is likely that some people may know just one figure of the work carried out by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) El Salvador on firearms prevention: the reduction by 49% of the homicides committed in the municipality of San Martín, during the implementation of the Arms- Free Municipalities Project. However, the scope of the armed violence prevention strategy goes far beyond this relevant achievement. It started almost a decade ago with the renowned study Firearms and Violence. Then came projects such as Arms-Free Municipalities and Strengthening of Institutional Capacities for Armed Violence Prevention, this one was the first initiative in Central America to achieve the articulation of the three institutions responsible for the strengthening and improvement of the systems for arms register and control: General Attorney of the Republic, Ministry of National Defence, and National Civilian Police. High social impact campaigns followed, at the local and national levels, such as Arms, Not Even as Toys! or More Arms, Less Life, both aiming at the awareness of the population on the risks entailed by firearms. And that helped increase the number of people who progressively joined this new approach. The Salvadoran society has experienced a social, cultural, and political development that allows approach insecurity, particularly the armed violence, as a State problem. Gradually, the Salvadoran population has come to say no to firearms, and more than 80% state to be against the carrying of arms in public spaces. But the political class in the country also seems to be against firearms to a greater extent. This is shown by some changes in the legislation concerning weapons; also by the agreement reached in June 2009 by the 14 mayors who make up the Board of Mayors of the Metropolitan Area of San Salvador (COAMSS) to apply a wide ban on weapons in their localities. For our part, it would be pretentious to say that these and other achievements have been possible thanks to UNDP. The truth is that none of these attainments would have been possible without the support of public institutions, the private sector, the media, civil society organizations, universities or the international cooperation, and either without the participation of several people, specially, the members of the Society without Violence Citizen Group, who contributed with their effort to reach a country with fewer arms.

8 6 Without the support of these organizations, institutions, and individuals it would have been impossible for UNDP to implement with the collaboration of the Bureau for Crisis Prevention and Recovery (BCPR) the projects and initiatives that have been performed in the last decade and systematised in this document. These actions went along with the United Nations Programme for Action to Prevent, Combat and Eradicate the Illicit Trade in Small Arms and Light Weapons, agreed upon at the United Nations conference in 2001, and in the Geneva Declaration on Armed Violence and Development, June Nevertheless, there is still much work to do. Improving citizen security means, at the end of the day, getting more and better standards of quality of life, of social cohesion and of human development, which constitutes the ultimate purpose of UNDP. Transforming social and cultural habits is a very hard task which requires long-term efforts. Therefore, our support and commitment to a more secure El Salvador, arms-free, is more valid than ever. Jessica Faieta Resident Representative & Resident Coordinator of the UN System in El Salvador

9 7 Acknowledgements Carried out within the framework of the Security Programme of the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) El Salvador office, the work strategy developed in armed violence prevention since 2001 and to date has involved a large number of people and institutions. That is why we would like to acknowledge the invaluable contributions provided by the following institutions: the National Board for Public Security (CNSP); the local governments of the municipalities of San Martín, Ilopango and Santa Ana; the National Civilian Police through the Arms and Explosives Division, the Youth and Family Services Division, the Public Security Sub-direction, the Technical and Scientific Division, the Security Private Services Registry and Control Division, the Statistics Department, the Computing and Communications Division, the Central Records Unit, the Delegations and the General Inspectorate; INTERPOL; the Ministry of Justice and Public Security (MJSP); the Ministry of National Defence (MDN) via the Logistics Direction, with its Registration and Confiscation of Arms Department and the Computing Unit; and the General Attorney of the Republic, through the Life Unit. We would also acknowledge the support provided by the members of the Society without Violence Group, including Jacqueline Laffite Bloch, Elizabeth Trabanino, José Jorge Simán, José Mauricio Loucel, Ignacio Paniagua, Emperatriz Crespín, José Miguel Cruz, Jaime Martínez, Rabino Daniel Zang, Salvador Samayoa, Héctor Dada and Father Mauricio Gaborit. The latter three were also members of the UNDP Programme Towards a Society without Violence Leading Team at that moment. Also, the collaboration of the following media and advertising groups was crucial all over these years: Molina Bianchi Ogilvy (advertising), Campos Art Group, La Prensa Gráfica (newspaper), Diario El Mundo (newspaper), El Faro (newspaper), Canal 33 (TV channel), Canal 12 (TV channel), Canal 10 (Educational and Cultural TV channel), UPA Radio for Kids, Radio Stereo Corporation, FM Corporation, SAMIX Group, Salvadoran Association of Broadcasters

10 8 (ASDER), Association of Participative Programs and Radio Stations of El Salvador (ARPAS). Likewise, we acknowledge the participation of Governmental bodies, offices and institutions: the Legislative Assembly, the Supreme Court of Justice (CSJ), the Ministry of Public Health and Social Assistance (MSPAS), the Ministry of Education (MINED), the National Academy of Public Security (ANSP), the Institute of Legal Medicine (IML), the Salvadoran Institute for the Development of Childhood and Youth (ISNA), the Salvadoran Institute for the Development of Women (ISDEMU), the General Direction of Customs Offices, and the Direction of Public Events, Radio and Television of the Ministry of Government. We are also grateful to the National Commission for Citizen Security and Social Peace, the Network for Childhood and Youth, and the Committee for Childhood and Youth, as well as to the principals and teachers of different educational institutions, children and communities who enthusiastically participated in the programme. Other organizations that played a key role were: Association Bienestar Yek Ineme, Scout Association of El Salvador, Cultural Centre of Spain, Latin American School of Social Science (FLACSO/El Salvador Programme), Foundation for Studies on the Application of Law (FESPAD), TNT Theatre Group, University Public Opinion Institute (IUDOP) of the Central American University, Salvadorian Physicians for Social Responsibility (MESARES), Tin-Marín Museum for Children, Francisco Gavidia University, José Simeón Cañas Central American University (UCA), and Technological University of El Salvador (UTEC). It is also unavoidable to highlight the coordination held with the Central American Programme for the Control of Small Arms (CASCAC) of the General Secretariat of the Central American Integration System (SG-SICA). We are especially grateful for the technical and financial support provided by the Bureau for Crisis Prevention and Recovery (BCPR) and the Regional Service Centre for Latin America and the Caribbean, both of PNUD.

11 9 List of Abbreviations AECID: ANEP: ARENA: BCPR: CAM: CD: ECLAC: COAMSS: CNSP: CIFTA: DAE: DRCSPS: EU: FESPAD: FGR: FIIAPP: FLACSO: FMLN: FUSADES: ILO: IML: IUDOP: LPG: MDG: MDN: MESARES: MPCD: MRE: MSPAS: Spanish International Cooperation Agency for Development National Association of Private Sector Nationalist Republican Alliance Bureau for Crisis Prevention and Recovery-UNDP Corps of Metropolitan Agents Democratic Change Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean Board of Mayors of the Metropolitan Area of San Salvador National Board for Public Security Inter-American Convention against the Illicit Manufacturing of and Trafficking in Firearms, Munitions, Explosives, and Other Related Materials Arms and Explosives Division Private Security Services Records and Control Division European Union Foundation of Studies for the Application of Law General Attorney of the Republic International and Latin American Foundation for Public Policy and Administration Latin American Faculty of Social Science Farabundo Martí National Liberation Front Salvadoran Foundation for Social and Economical Development International Labour Organisation Institute of Legal Medicine University Institute for Public Opinion La Prensa Gráfica (newspaper) Millennium Development Goals Ministry of National Defence Salvadoran Physicians for Social Responsibility Patriotic Movement against Crime Ministry of Foreign Affairs Ministry of Public Health and Social Assistance

12 10 MJSP: ONUSAL: PAHO: PCN: PDC: PIDB: PNC: SEGIB: SILEX: UCA: UN: UNDP: UNICEF: UNFPA: USAM: UTEC: Ministry of Justice and Public Security United Nations Observer Mission in El Salvador Pan American Health Organisation Party for National Conciliation Christian Democratic Party Don Bosco Industrial Area National Civilian Police Ibero-American General Secretariat Information System on Injuries from External Causes José Simeón Cañas Central American University United Nations United Nations Development Programme United Nations Children s Fund United Nations Population Fund Alberto Masferrer Salvadoran University Technological University of El Salvador

13 11 Executive Summary Two key factors for violence, delinquency and insecurity prevention are the promotion of circulation of firearms control and the reduction of firearms used by civil population. Given the high rate of armed violence in El Salvador, these maxims become even more pertinent. That is why the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) El Salvador has insisted on the fact that an inevitable step to reducing violence, delinquency and insecurity is to prohibit civilians the carrying of arms in public spaces. Streets, plazas and parks should be meeting, fun and free places where people can walk about safely, but without arms. public institutions, the private sector, media, civil society organisations, universities, and a large number of people and organisations that have contributed with their efforts to reduce the number of arms in the country. A summary of the work developed during the last decade is presented below. 1. The Strategy Citizen insecurity constitutes one of the main impediments to reach higher levels of democratic governance in El Salvador, but also to accomplish the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) or, in other words, a better human development. Therefore and with the support of the UNDP Bureau for Crisis Prevention and Recovery, several projects and initiatives have been performed in the last decade. These actions went along with the United Nations Programme for Action to Prevent, Combat and Eradicate the Illicit Trade in Small Arms and Light Weapons, agreed upon at the United Nations conference in 2001 and in the Geneva Declaration on Armed Violence and Development, June This has been a difficult task that would not have been possible without the participation of Guidelines for intervention and future actions were agreed within the conceptual framework defined by the human development-citizen security-social cohesion triangle to reduce armed violence rates. So the UNDP Citizen Security Programme has four main goals: a. Strengthening firearms control and registration mechanisms of the Government. b. Political advocacy, mainly in the promotion of a more restrictive firearms law. c. Managing and spreading information and knowledge. d. Stimulating higher levels of civil society participation and awareness.

14 12 2. The Foundations: Knowledge and Information in Public Decision-Making It is important to have quality and precise information, as well as good assessments and baselines when projects and public actions concerning firearms control and prevention are developed. Therefore, the study Firearms and Violence (2003) constitutes a very valuable precedent. Its results were the basis for later work on firearms control and prevention as well as for the definition of public policy proposals. The research helped determine the impact of firearms in violence and explore the attitudes, opinions, and norms of Salvadorans regarding the use of firearms as an instrument for security. It also helped establish to what extent the current regulatory framework contributes to citizens arming themselves, and to draw up recommendations on firearms control and prevention policy. This information was resumed in subsequent projects such as Arms-Free Municipalities ( ) and Strengthening of Institutional Capacities for Armed Violence Prevention ( ). 3. The Structure: More and Better Control of Firearms The research Firearms and Violence was the first step towards institutional strengthening. Then, the National Civilian Police (PNC) registry of novelties was systematized with the participation of the PNC and the collaboration of a team formed by 70 researchers and 35 supervisors. At the same time, a database was created allowing the police to operate on 125 variables, compared to the previous 15 variables (sex, age, type of weapon, caliber, etc.). Later on and within the Project Strengthening of Institutional Capacities for Armed Violence Prevention, the information systems concerning firearms, of the General Attorney of the Republic (FGR), the Ministry of National Defense (MDN) and the PNC were strengthened. This project boosted a process of interinstitutional reflection culminating in the definition and implementation of a model for institutions to consult the various registries. It also provided tools for the design of joint intervention strategies, facilitating the crime investigation tasks. Thus, the objective of improving the control over firearms traffic in the country and the strengthening of the research and processing of firearm-related crime were all met. In the Central American region, this is the first initiative of this nature that was inter-institutionally articulated to strengthen the weapons and munitions registration and control systems. 4. The Complement: Social Support and Awareness of the Civil Society for Cultural Change Transforming social and cultural habits is a very hard task; a long-term process that requires a permanent effort, in his case, to raise social awareness on the risks of the carrying of arms and discourage their use. This task must run parallel to other actions of political advocacy.

15 13 Being aware of that, initiatives undertaken over these years have tried to reach people through impact messages and campaigns such as Firearms, not Even as Toys! or More arms, less life. These campaigns have been spread through different media, such as the programme s website, or mass media which, as in the case of La Prensa Gráfica, have developed different awareness and advocacy actions. Knowledge management was also an important aspect since forums and international conferences or different publications have contributed to discussion and knowledge generation. Support to advocacy spaces, such as the Citizen Group for a Society without Violence, or the monitoring of the National Commission for Public Security and Social Peace are some of the initiatives undertaken along this strategic line. These actions have been complemented at the local level, in the field, working by means of culture and entertainment in public spaces, meeting and coexistence places par excellence. 5. The Achievements: Encouraging Advances After more than ten years of interventions aimed at the prevention and improvement of firearms control and registration in the country, it is evident that some improvements have been achieved. These improvements should be an example to foster new efforts and to continue improving the citizen security and, in particular, the control of firearms. a. San Martín: A Promising and High-Impact Experience The Arms-Free Municipalities Project proved that it is possible to reduce violence or, at least, to reduce the rates of some of its indicators. In San Martin, lethal violence was reduced by 49% and the number of crimes committed with firearms lessened by 24%. The project achieved the proposal and passing of two pioneering regulations on firearms in free-standing structures as well as increasing the number of firearms seizures (between 69% and 102%) by the PNC. Furthermore, this initiative contributed to the national debate on the prohibition on firearms, at least in public places, and encouraged other municipalities to undertake similar experiences. However, the most relevant effect of this project was the new approach when facing citizen insecurity in the country at the political and technical levels. b. Significant Changes in Legislation: Closer to Reaching the Prohibition of Carrying of Firearms The Law on the Control and Regulation on Firearms, Munitions, Explosives and Similar Items has applied different successive reforms that have reduced the number of places where firearms can be carried. However, taking into account the expectations generated during this time, some could consider the advances in legislation to be unsatisfactory. Legislation still allows, among other things, the carrying of arms in public places, even knowing the risk this entails. Maybe now that society is becoming more aware of the risks of firearms, the moment has come to move closer towards a definite prohibition of carrying firearms. c. A Growing Awareness and Citizen and Political Opposition to Firearms Different campaigns and other actions such as messages supporting disarmament and a

16 14 violence-free society through the media (La Prensa Gráfica), as well as projects and initiatives by some municipalities, have generated a growing opposition to the carrying of firearms, at least in public places. Let the data speak for themselves. In five years, the percentage of people against firearms has risen 30%. Nowadays, more than 80% of the Salvadoran population declares itself against the carrying of weapons in public places and more than 60% are against the possession of arms. In addition to the civil population, the political environment in the country also seems to be against firearms to a greater extent. This evolution was visible, in June 2009, with the agreement reached by the 14 mayors who make up the Board of Mayors of the Metropolitan Area of San Salvador (COAMSS) in the proposal to the Ministry of Justice and Public Security (MJSP) for a wide ban on weapons. It was doubtlessly an innovative advance in reducing violence in the country. d. Everything Counts: More Actions, More Actors, More Advocacy Actions carried out in the area of arms control and prevention in El Salvador have proved the importance of alliances. Involving stakeholders such as local governments, educational institutions, the police and the media has contributed to widening the diffusion and impact of messages and actions and, at the same time, expanded the critical mass surrounding firearms. These dynamics progressively involved a growing number of people and leaked out other spheres and institutions, in particular local governments. Today many municipalities in El Salvador have hopped on the bandwagon of firearms control and prevention. e. Better and More Coordinated Control and Registration of Firearms Six years have been necessary to crystallize the recommendation to improve the data system on firearms control and registration. Today, thanks to the Strengthening of Institutional Capacities for Armed Violence Prevention Project, all three institutions competent in this field PNC, MDG and FGR work in coordination, are better interconnected and share a technological platform to track and obtain information about most of the lifetime of a firearm. At the same time, the sectors where arm registration is required have been broadened and better and more control on the arms from private security companies has been facilitated. This is the first initiative in Central America to achieve inter-institutional coordination to strengthen the systems of firearms control and registration. 6. Tentative Conclusion Progress has been significant. Not only have firearms control registration mechanisms improved, but the Law on the Control and Regulation on Firearms, Munitions, Explosives and Similar Items has also been modified to become more restrictive, and there are more people who believe that weapons do not protect society. Besides, a broader political awareness seems to exist regarding the fact that insecurity and, more specifically, armed violence, has to be tackled as a national issue. UNDP Citizen Security Programme has tried to contribute to this approach, and to each and every one of these steps forward. There is still much to do, yet many small, though relevant, advances have been accomplished.

17 15 Introduction Two key factors for violence, delinquency and insecurity prevention are to promote the control of circulation of firearms and the reduction of firearms used by civil population. Given the high rate of armed violence in El Salvador, these maxims become even more pertinent. In a country where eight out of 10 homicides are committed using firearms, working to reduce their presence in public spaces and strengthen mechanisms of legal and institutional control becomes crucial. This idea was understood by the people who back in 1998 designed the Programme towards the Building of a Society without Violence. And thus they continued understanding it during the last decade because, although violence is a complex problem where different factors cause impact, there is no doubt that firearms play a decisive role. That is why this systematisation of the strategy for armed violence prevention of the United Nations Development Programme (PNUD) El Salvador office arises from a conceptual framework based on three pillars: citizen security, social cohesion and human development. The document presents an overview of the historical context, as well as the roots and the situation of violence and delinquency in the country that culminated in the design and implementation of the current Citizen Security Programme. It offers then a summary of the processes developed to reduce the rates of armed violence in the period from 1998 until the systematization was carried out. These initiatives have followed four strategy lines: (a) strengthening of the mechanisms for registration and control of firearms by governmental institutions; (b) political advocacy, especially in the promotion of a more restrictive law of firearms; (c) information and knowledge management and sharing; and (d) incentives to increase participation and awareness among civil society. The publication concludes with an overview of the most significant achievements accumulated along these years. The impact of the Arms- Free Municipalities Project is highlighted, since it accomplished a noticeable reduction of armed violence in one of the municipalities where it intervened. Significant changes concerning the legislation that regulates firearms are also mentioned for they bring the hope for a

18 16 prohibition of the carrying of firearms in the near future, at least in public spaces. Finally, it is worth pointing out three other achievements: an increasing awareness and citizen and political opposition towards firearms, the creations of alliances, and the improvements in inter-institutional coordination, as well as in the firearms register and control data system in the country. All this work carried out over the years in order to reduce violence, delinquency and insecurity in El Salvador was implemented following a definite thread: armed violence prevention. More arms, less life campaign, 2008.

19 Section 1 17 HUMAN DEVELOPMENT and citizen security: a framework for action More than 15 years ago, UNDP promoted the concept and approach of human development. Since then many things have changed. Considered a process of expanding the choices people have and strengthening their capacities to lead lives that they value, (UNDP, 2007) human development focuses on people and the improvement of their quality of life. Furthermore, it is evident that people find it difficult to improve their quality of life if they feel anguish and fear. Thus, a few years after defining the concept of human development, the United Nations conceived the term human security to refer to the risks faced by human beings. In a UN convention it was claimed that: human security is to safeguard the vital core of all human lives from critical pervasive threats, in a way that is consistent with long-term human fulfilment. (Alkire, 2003) But the concept of human security is a very broad one and needs to be defined when referring to insecurity and the fear to become victims of violence and common delinquency. Within this framework, considering people as the centre and goal of development was born the concept of citizen security. Unlike in previous times when concepts closer to territorial and national security were predominant, nowadays it seems there is agreement on the idea that talking about security is talking about people s security. Therefore, citizen security constitutes a specific and restricted part of human security which aims to protect people from violence and crime. In other words, as a public right, citizen security refers to: a democratic citizen order in which violence no longer threatens the population and which allows a pacifistic and secure coexistence. It essentially concerns an effective protection of a wide range of human rights, in particular, the right to life, to personal integrity and other rights inherent to the private sphere (i.e., the inviolability of the home,

20 18 freedom of transit, and others) as well as the enjoyment of patrimony. (PNUD et al., 2005). This definition goes beyond other conceptualisations that consider security (in this case, public security) in terms of crime and offence; it clearly reflects the duality between objective facts and perceived insecurity; it guarantees fundamental human rights and constitutes an essential component of citizenship and, therefore, a right that can be demanded to the government. Besides, it values freedom, which is the essence of human development. Although tensions and restrictions may be felt in the short term, the values of human development freedom, equity, legality, respect for human rights not only do not they exclude the value of citizen security but they do complement and enhance it in the long term 1. Therefore, a reduction of the insecurity rate means an improvement in human development. Moreover, broader citizen security contributes to improved social cohesion within a society and, on the other hand, less social cohesion threatens the security of people. along with some governments and even some summits of Ibero-American Presidents. Although it is a broad term, social cohesion aims not only at social policies, but also other measures that affect the well-being of the population and the subjective perception of belonging to common projects. These measures and policies cover a wide range of areas, namely, economic and commercial issues, territorial planning, decentralisation, tax systems and, of course, security (ECLAC, SEGIB, AECID; FIIAPP, 2008). But the lack of citizen security has often constituted an obstacle to achieve higher levels of democratic governability and the Millennium Development Goals (MDG) or, in other words, human development. Under this conceptual framework (human development-citizen security-social cohesion), lines for intervention and future actions were defined, many of them related to prevention and control of armed violence in El Salvador, as can be seen on the following pages. This concept of social cohesion was first considered in Europe, boosted by the European Union from its very creation. But it has acquired a growing relevance in the Latin American discourse on development and has been integrated into the agenda of different international organisations, UNDP among them, 1 For a broader definition of the concepts of human development, human security and citizen security and their relations, refer to Cuánto le cuesta la violencia a El Salvador? (Acevedo, C. et. al., 2005), and Regional Report on Human Development (UNDP, 2009).

21 19 Section 2 THE ROOTS A distinctive feature of El Salvador s contemporary history is, undoubtedly, the context of violence: first, the initial political violence broke out into a long and bloody armed conflict; and later, the social violence, as can be drawn from the high levels of delinquency and insecurity shown, year after year, by official statistics, and from the general feeling among the population. In El Salvador, insecurity is one the main obstacles to human development. Facing this situation, UNDP decided in 1998 to foster a process of participative analysis on this phenomenon. The objective was to identify the reasons for violence and to design strategies to reduce the rate of violence. This led to the creation of the Programme towards the Construction of a Society without Violence and the subsequent UNDP Citizen Security Programme. This initial process open, dialogist and participative allowed the identification of immediate motives and socio-economic and cultural causes behind the violence experienced by the country. Weak institutions, cultural patterns that contain and reproduce violence, family disintegration or marginalisation, and social exclusion were, among others, some of the main causes revealed in this process. Proliferation and lack of control of firearms were also identified as drivers for the country s situation of insecurity. A. Firearms and Violence in El Salvador Once finished the armed conflict ( ), United Nations Observer Mission in El Salvador (ONUSAL) supervised and recovered more than 10,000 weapons during the process of disarmament of the Farabundo Martí National Liberation Front (FMLN). The initiative of the United Nations In El Salvador, was followed by a eight out of 10 campaign to collect arms undertaken by homicides are the Patriotic Movement committed against Crime (MPCD) with firearms. which, in exchange for supplies, collected 9,527 arms, 3,157 magazines and 129,696 munitions in four years (UNDP,

22 b). These efforts, however, did not reduce significantly the high number of arms in circulation, mainly illegal, nor prevent that today most of the homicides are committed by firearms. At the beginning of 2009, the Ministry of National Defence kept a registry of 215,000 firearms belonging to individuals and private institutions personnel. There would be another 130,000 in illegal possession (Jovel, 2009). This uncontrolled proliferation certainly contributes to the fact that eight out of 10 homicides are committed with firearms. Graph 1. Rates of Homicides Committed with Firearms ( ) Firearm homicide Homicide rate rate Source: Own elaboration based on Institute of Legal Medicine (IML) data and 2007 Population and Housing Census. B. Prioritized Intervention Actions Issued from this context and from a multicausal approach, a number of inter-institutional workshops on strategic planning were developed and four priority areas for intervention were identified: a. Strengthening of national capacity to conceptualise the phenomenon of violence. b. Training for specialised human resources for the prevention and transformation of the phenomenon. c. Strengthening of national capacities for the design, implementation and evaluation of policies, programmes and projects on violence prevention and transformation. d. Awareness and citizen education on key issues (UNDP, 2003b). The following table shows the axes that ran parallel to the strategy of prevention and control of armed violence that was boosted at the local, national and regional levels. Youth demostration. More arms, less life campaign, 2008.

23 21 Projects on Prevention and Control of Armed Violence in El Salvador Name Organisation Date of Execution Intervention Strategy Geographical Scope Budget (in US$) Strengthening of the mechanisms for registration and control of firearms UNDP El Salvador, in coordination with CNSP, IUDOP, FESPAD and FLACSO Development of a study on firearms. Promotion of a legislative reform and institutional strengthening. Execution of a strategy of social awareness. National 300,000 Restriction of the carrying of arms in public spaces. Arms-Free Municipalities CNSP, in coordination with the City of San Martín and the City of Ilopango, PNC and MDN Increase of the police control. Spreading campaign and mass communication. Voluntary arms surrender. Study on the impact of the project. Local 360,000 Analysis of the municipal experiences on the control of arms. Support to the Prevention of Armed Violence in El Salvador UNDP El Salvador- PAHO Strengthening the national capacities for violence prevention and reduction. Create inputs to design holistic policies on citizen security. National 200,000 Systematization of best practices. National Strengthening of information systems and MDN, PNC and FGR analysis capacity. Communication and awareness campaign. Strengthening of Institutional Capacities for Armed Violence Prevention CNSP, in coordination with the City of Santa Ana, PNC and MDN Local (Santa Ana) Restriction on the carrying of arms in public places. Municipal regulation forbidding the carrying. National/Local 351,900 Increase of the control and supervision of firearms. Promotion and ownership of public places. Source: Own elaboration.

24 22 In consonance with the Programme s conceptual framework, its goals and the strategy for the prevention and control of firearms, the processes and initiatives developed to reduce armed violence rates follow four strategic lines: a. Strengthening of the mechanisms for registration and control of firearms by governmental institutions. b. Political effect, especially in the promotion of a more restrictive law of firearms. c. Information and knowledge management and sharing. d. Incentives to increase participation and awareness among civil society. The next sections gather the work carried out distributed in these four strategic lines. Angels for Peace Project, 2003.

25 Section 3 23 THE FOUNDATIONS: knowledge and information in public decision-making The Firearms and Violence study was a very valuable precedent because their results fed subsequent work on prevention and control of firearms to define public policy proposals. The importance of precise and quality information, good assessments and guidelines when undertaking public action and projects in prevention and control of violence was taken up again in later projects such as Arms-Free Municipalities and Strengthening of Institutional Capacities for Armed Violence Prevention. A. Firearms and Violence : A Quality Research with International Impact In 2002, in the scope of the Strengthening Arms Control Mechanisms Project, a major research was developed on the use and circulation of firearms in the country and its relation to the phenomenon of violence. This research was pioneering at the national and regional levels and was conceived as a tool that would facilitate access to quantitative and qualitative information on the actual situation of arms in the country. This information was expected to be useful for political decisionmaking or, at least, to capture the necessary facts for the formulation of a proposal to amend the Law on the Control and Regulation on Firearms, Munitions, Explosives and Similar Items. More information is provided in Section 5. In short, the study aimed to: (a) establish the impact of firearms on violence in El Salvador; (b) explore the attitudes, opinions, and norms of Salvadorans around the use of firearms as an instrument for security; (c) show how much the current regulatory framework contributes to citizens arming themselves; and (d) draw up policy recommendations on the issue of firearms. The research was designed by the project s technical panel and developed by the University Institute of Public Opinion (IUDOP) and the Foundation of Studies for the Application of Law (FESPAD), in close coordination with the Statistics Division of the PNC. A publication entitled Firearms and Violence gathers the results obtained a year later. Due

26 24 to the extensiveness of the study, it would be difficult to reflect all the findings collected in this report. However, the following are some of the findings that were especially relevant for their contribution of further work on prevention and control: a. Firearms constitute a destabilising element in Salvadoran society for two main reasons: insufficient official control on the amount of circulating arms, estimated at the time of 450,000 (60% illegal) and the frequent use in all kinds of criminal activities. People owning firearms were victimized 10% in any kind of criminal act more than those not owning firearms. b. Important gaps in the Law on the Control and Regulation on Firearms, Munitions, Explosives and Similar Items that were partially amended, as explained in Section 5. c. Coordination problems among the institutions with authority over the control and regulation of firearms. According to the study, most difficulties came from the lack of a shared information system, the poor analysis of this information and the lack of technological and human resources to optimize work. Five years later, the Strengthening of Institutional Capacities for Armed Violence Prevention Project tried to make up for these deficiencies, as explained in Section 4. d. Arms were considered by a wide range, though not the majority, of the population as the right instrument for personal defence. More than 40% of the population, mainly men and rural citizens, stated their wish to have firearms for protection and personal defence purposes. As it will be shown in Section 5, communications campaigns were boosted in an attempt to restrain this tendency. e. One of the most significant findings of the study was the fact that, inversely to what may be thought, the use of firearms increases the probability of death, whether the victim or victimizer s, during an episode of violence. In general terms, those people possessing a firearm were victimized 10% more than those not owning firearms. Non Defensive Arms People who utilized a firearm to defend themselves in an act of violence died in a proportion four times higher in comparison to those who did not try to defend themselves. Those who tried to use a firearm to defend themselves in mugging or robbery died in a proportion 48 times higher than those who did not try to defend themselves. Of all the times when firearms were utilized for self-defence, in more than 65% of the cases the victim was injured or killed. Source: Firearms and Violence (2003). The study concludes with a series of specific recommendations in three lines of action: reduction of the arms offer, diminution of arms demand and improvement of control and policing of arms. The diversity of the aspects dealt with, the level of depth of the study and the quality of the findings attracted national and international attention to the research. In the words of Edward

27 25 Laurance, professor of International Relations, at the Monterey Institute of International Studies, the study constituted one of the most serious and complete national diagnoses on the issue of arms in its multiple dimensions, at international level (UNDP, 2003b). of the sector; and subjective security, by measuring the perception of insecurity and victimisation. As a new innovation, the study also tried to estimate the cost of armed violence for development, for individuals as well as for companies. B. Building Knowledge on Armed Violence The study Firearms and Violence established not only an important precedent in the country but also highlighted the urgent need for accurate and quality information to facilitate decision making on public policy. From then on, the actions undertaken have incorporated an important component aimed at improvement of the quality of registries and a deeper comprehension of the context of action. Thus, from the very first moment of its formulation, the Arms-Free Municipalities Project foresaw an assessment research on its impact. For that purpose, a baseline was elaborated that allowed comparison once the intervention concluded. The sources for this baseline were: (a) data on victimisation registered by the police, the Institute of Legal Medicine (IML) and hospitals; (b) records on arms from the National Civilian Police (PNC) or from the Ministry of National Defence; and (c) data on victimisation and opinion from a survey of a representative sample of the inhabitants of the municipalities of San Martín and Ilopango, where the project was implemented. The study tried to capture the main spheres to measure citizen security, i.e., objective security, through hard data provided by the institutions This criterion was also applied in the Support to Armed Violence Prevention Project. The Association of Salvadoran Physicians for Social Responsibility (MESARES) carried out a research on the injuries and deaths caused by firearms in the hospitals of Sonsonate and Santa Ana. Among other findings, the research showed that 90% of the injured were men and more than 50% were young. The average cost per patient injured by firearm in both hospitals was $2,602. This means that the Salvadoran Healthcare System spent more than $800,000 on the services received by people injured by firearms. The results of this research were published in the Regional Forum for the Exchange of Experiences in the Prevention and Control of Armed Violence, sponsored by UNDP El Salvador in About two years later, the National Board for Public Security (CNSP) led again the implementation of an initiative on firearms control. The Strengthening of Institutional Capacities for Armed Violence Prevention Project was fostered by UNDP and implemented in collaboration with the City of Santa Ana, the PNC, the MDN, the Chamber of Commerce of Santa Ana, and the Ministry of Justice and Public Security (MJSP). Within the framework of this experience were designed a baseline and a system of indicators

28 26 in order to measure the impact of armed violence. As in Arms-Free Municipalities, it was intended to explore the attitudes, opinions and norms of the population on the use of firearms as an instrument for security; the performance of public security and justice institutions; acquire a better understanding of the objective situation of violence, crime and both legal and illegal firearms circulation in the municipality of Santa Ana. Data provided by different institutions (PNC, MDN, hospitals and others) and a citizen survey were considered to build the baseline, which, in short, showed that insecurity 21% of households or some of its members declared having been the victim of a criminal act and firearms constitute a serious security issue in this municipality, due to easy availability and lack of control. Furthermore, the research revealed that 88.3% of the people interviewed considered the possession of firearms as a threat for their families, while 86.1% conclude that the carrying of firearms represents a serious threat for citizens. At the same time, the project boosted the creation of the Local Observatory on Domestic Violence, Delinquency and Coexistence. Following the creation of an information system and the instruction received by the Corps of Metropolitan Agents (CAM), the PNC Departmental Delegation and the Prevention Department, the Observatory of Santa Ana could explore the different kinds of violence and crime affecting the municipality.

29 27 Section 4 THE STRUCTURE: more and better control of firearms As stated in Section 3, the Firearms and Violence study detected coordination problems among the different institutions with authority over the control and regulation of firearms, as well as in the system of data gathering and analysis. Furthermore, enhancing national capacities constituted, as explained in Section 2, one of the strategic lines of the Society without Violence Programme. The strengthening of institutions related to arms control and prevention focused two basic aspects: the supervision and control of firearms and data gathering and analysis. Thus, in the scope of the Firearms and Violence study, the participation of the police and the collaboration of a team integrated by 70 researchers and 35 supervisors made possible the systematisation of the PNC new data register for the years 2000 and A total of 80,000 crimes were examined to create a database on the Oracle platform enabling the Salvadoran police to move from one 15 variables register to the monitoring of 125 variables related to the victim, the criminal, the circumstances and the place of the criminal act, among other relevant aspects. Years later, different actions were undertaken to support together with the Pan American Health Organisation (PAHO) and within the Support to Armed Violence Prevention Project the creation of the Information System on Injuries from External Causes (SILEX) of the Ministry of Public Health and Social Assistance (MSPAS). In addition, training on data gathering, analysis and processing and geo-referencing procedures for violence and crime related data was provided to several officers from specialized units of the PNC, the General Attorney of the Republic (FGR) and the Institute of Legal Medicine (IML). In exchange with the Institute of Forensic Science from Colombia, training on violence and crime information processing was also provided to support the Arms-Free Municipalities Project. Since the objective of this project was to avoid the carrying of firearms in public places, most of the work aimed supervision and control

30 28 and it was focused on two areas: the creation and approval of regulations to ban firearms in public spaces in the two municipalities where the initiative was carried out (San Martín and Ilopango) and the work to be done by the police to make this regulation effective. Some Advances in Institutional Strengthening PNC has evolved from a 15 variables register to the monitoring of 125 variables related to the victim, the criminal, the circumstances and location of the criminal act, among other aspects. In some of the municipalities intervened, there have been improvements in data gathering and analysis by means of crime maps drawn using geo-referencing procedures, a monthly analysis of this information, and the computerization of forms. There has been an improvement of the agent s technical capacity in data gathering and processing related to firearms. The connectivity of PNC, FGR and MDN data systems in order to achieve a more efficient control during the arms useful life has been reinforced. Source: Own elaboration. A. The Municipal Regulations In El Salvador, public security is managed by national institutions. Municipalities have little control over citizen security. For this reason, one of the first steps of the Arms-Free Municipalities Project was to undertake a legal study on the feasibility and structure of the municipal regulation on the carrying of arms in public spaces. This legal study concluded that, although municipalities where competent to regulate the use of their own public spaces, including streets, a total ban on the carrying of arms will contradict the right to carry, included in the national regulations. Therefore, the report recommended, and thereby accepted for those responsible for the project, the adoption of a ban restricted to some particular local public spaces. On a more practical level, the regulations approved specified and added new places to those included in the Law on the Control and Regulation on Firearms, Munitions, Explosives and Similar Items (1 July 1999): public institutions, social and cultural centres, restaurants, hotels, guesthouses, package stores, billiard halls, natural parks and other protected areas (Article 62 of the law). Later on, a legislative order (Decree 621) included educational centres, bars and show halls, to the list of places where carrying arms is forbidden. However, unlike the national law, municipal regulations specified the particular places where it is forbidden to carry arms, and included some additional places not specified in the law such as municipal parks, markets and green zones. The regulation of San Martín, approved in August 2005 and published in the Official Gazette of October, mentions 31 places of the municipality where carrying arms is forbidden. On the other hand, the regulation of Ilopango was approved in December 2005 and published in the Official Gazette in January Both legal texts allow the Municipal Board to enlarge the list of places where the carrying of arms is banned.

31 29 Once the municipal regulations were approved, the project provided training on legal issues, procedures for the control and supervision of arms, and the definition of joint actions between PNC and CAM to 126 officers of the PCN and 51 members of the CAM from municipal sub-delegations. In addition to this initial training, the project held two specific seminars on crime information gathering and analysis and the development of strategic plans, as well as a course for patrol leaders on community policing, or policía de proximidad, given by Spanish experts. Living without Arms, the project evaluation document, highlighted: From a doctrinal point of view, these trainings are part of an implicit initiative to modernise the police, to promote the use of information in operative planning and in assessment, to emphasise prevention and develop the features required by a community police, as a process that must run parallel to the control and supervision of arms (Cano, 2007). The same publication points out that a visible improvement in data gathering and analysis can be seen in the AFMP results report, prepared by the police. Other improvements such as crime maps drawn using georeferencing procedures, a monthly analysis of this information, and the computerization of forms were the basis for a quantum leap in terms of data processing by the police (Cano, 2007). The plan for the control of arms of the project was completed by the strengthening of supervision and control of firearms licenses and PNC-CAM joint patrols in the places included in the regulation. In Santa Ana an attempt was made to repeat the experience of control and supervision developed by the Arms-Free Municipalities project, within the framework of the Strengthening of Institutional Capacities for Armed Violence Prevention Project, however effects and results were extremely different. Despite the regulation on public places approved by the board and the plan for control and supervision designed by PNC and CAM, recurrent changes in PNC leadership, police reorganisation, and the scarce involvement of the Municipal Board -local elections coincided with part of the project development- prevented the carry out of the plan. B. Improving the Arms Registration and Data System However, the Strengthening of Institutional Capacities for Armed Violence Prevention Project did achieve its goals regarding the strengthening of firearms data system of the FGR, the MDN and the PNC. The plan designed by the project s National Technical Commission foresaw the improvement of the agent s technical capacity in data gathering and processing, and the reinforcement of the connectivity among the different institutional data system in order to achieve a more efficient control during the arms useful life. Both goals were achieved and exceeded. The project accomplished improvements in inter-institutional connectivity and coordination even within organisations such as the PNC, enlarged the number of people and units able to access information, increased equipment resources and started the improvement of the available data analysis.

32 30 The project boosted a process of interinstitutional reflection, reaching the definition and implementation of a model to allow FGR, PNC and MDN to consult different registrations in order to improve the control of the circulation of arms in the country and strengthen the investigation and processing of crimes committed with firearms. This is the first inter-institutional experience of this kind in Central America to strengthen registration systems and the control of firearms and munitions, Main Areas of Intervention of the Strengthening of Institutional Capacities for Armed Violence Prevention Project IT Systems a. Setting up of computing equipment in the sections of the DAE and connexion of DRCSPS to PNC institutional network. b. Setting up of the IT application created by the Logistics Direction (DL) of the MDN for queries on the firearm register. c. Design of new IT applications adapted to each institution s needs in order to facilitate data gathering, reports and data sharing between PNC and MDN to update their registers. d. Increase of the number of users and updating of the registers related to the controls established by national regulations. e. Training given to 140 users from PNC and DL on data systems new applications. Information Analysis a. Training on the analysis of the data retrieved from the IT systems in order to go into the knowledge of legal aspects of import, trade, registers, etc., in depth. And improve PNC and DL controls in this area. b. Acquisition of bibliographical and electronic material on the identification of arms, and subscription to databases on firearms and munitions. and to provide strategy-design tools for joint intervention, which facilitates crime investigation. The first step to attain these achievements was an assessment carried out by PNC and MDN technicians. This situation analysis help identifying legal and administrative proceedings to be done by institutions, accessing the data created throughout the implementation of these proceedings and detecting data sharing needs in order to improve institutional work. Once the deficiencies were identified, representatives of the National Technical Commission 2 decided to implement two types of external consultation models: a. Administrative, which provides information on the identification, situation and location of the firearm to the three institutions. b. For research purposes, which provides the administrative information but also information about the people involved in the event (victim, defendants, owner of the weapon, legal representative of the private security companies, security agent, importer, and others). In addition, the project renewed computing equipment of the Arms and Explosives Division, the Technical and Scientific Division, the Central Records Division and the Security Private Services Division of the PNC, and the Computing Department of the MDN. Furthermore, the link between PNC and MDN servers was facilitated in order to connect divisions and units involved in the control of arms 2 The National Technical Commission was formed in July 2007 by the subscription of an agreement between the Ministry of Justice and Public Security, MDN, UNDP and CMSP. A year later, an additional agreement was signed to formally integrate FGR to the Commission thus facilitating the connection of its information system to the rest. Source: Own elaboration.

33 31 Graph 2. Current Operation of the Arms Registration Information System DL server: Information system with database and aplications on firearms and ammunition registration PNC Information Integration: - Results of the control of out-ofdate registrations and licenses - Irregularities in custodians - Faults and confiscations during inspections - Faults and confiscations in inspections to private security agencies DL National Registries: - Firearms carrying, possessing and collection registrations and licenses - Firing ranges - Firearms, ammunition, accesories import - Retailers - Gun shops - Ammunition reloaders - Destructions of firearms, ammunitions and machinery PNC Queries: - Registry of legal firearms confiscated for crimes or faults - Registry of robberies, thefts misplacement of registration and licenses - Control and tracking of illegal firearms IT Department: 3 users Confiscation Dept.: 15 users Import Dept.: 10 users SS Registration Dept.: 25 users SA Registration Dept.: 12 users SM: Registration Dept. 12 users DL SERVER Link Inquiries using aplications Central Record: PNC general information system, PNC CENTRAL RECORDS including DAE database on firearms, ammunition and explosives CENTRAL DAE 18 users DAE SECTIONS 20 users DRCSPS 4 users DPTC 2 users Central DAE National Registries: - Custodians - Inspections (sellers, gun shops, etc.) - Out-of-date lisences (verifications) - Firearms and ammunition confiscated for crimes and faults - Robberies, thefts, misplacement of firearms and firearms licenses - PNC firearms and ammunition - Firearms ballistics and tests - Control and tracking of illegal firearms Section Registries: - Custodians - Inspections (sellers, gun shops, et.) - Out-of-date registrations and licenses (verifications) - Firearms and ammunition confiscated for crimes and faults - Robberies, thefts, misplacement of firearms and firearms registrations and licenses - Firearms ballistics and tests DRCSPS National Registries: - Inspections to security agencies - Security Agencies (licenses, etc.) Queries and reports to DL: - Special permits, etc. of sellers registered in FAES for inspections - Licenses for reparation and modification of gun shops - Special permits to reload ammunition, import, etc. - Special permits for firing ranges, etc. - Out of date firearms registrations and licenses. - Firearms licenses - Destroyed firearms - Firearms sent to DL by the court - Temporary entry of firearms and ammunition - Private security agencies registrations and licenses and also to connect the different sections of the Arms and Explosives Division (DAE) from the different regions of the country to the PNC Network. Other IT applications were also developed for queries and reports adapted to FGR, PNC and MDN needs, which allow users to access the data required to make administrative procedures and crime investigation easier. Security private services registries were updated, and catalogues of private security companies and for the identification of firearms were developed in order to facilitate operators gathering and query tasks about firearms in the country. Other activities allowed the preparation of private security services standards catalogues, among others, allowing better information analysis on firearms in the country.

34 32 Better and More Coordinated Control and Registration of Firearms The implementation of the Strengthening of Institutional Capacities for Armed Violence Prevention Project constituted a significant step forward in the process of registration and control of firearms in the country. Some of its contributions have been: a. Five times more staff has access to information. More than 150 MDN and PNC officers have access to databases. FGR attorneys will soon be able to access these databases. b. PNC and MDN servers have been linked, allowing the connection of units and divisions involved in the control of arms, private security services, and others. c. Internal networks have been implemented to connect the different duty stations of the Security Private Services, the Technical and Scientific, and the Arms and Explosives Divisions, to PNC central network. d. The 14 DAE sections present in different regions of the country are now connected to PNC network. e. Query and report applications have been created adapted to the needs of FGR, PNC and MDN. These applications facilitate the access to the data required in administrative processes and crime investigation. f. Security private services registries have been updated from the data exchanged between PNC and MDN. g. Catalogues of private security companies and for the identification of firearms were developed in order to facilitate operators gathering and query tasks. Source: Own elaboration.

35 Section 5 33 ACCESSORIAL SUPPORT: civil society support and awareness to change culture The transformation of habits and social customs can be a hard task, a long-term process that requires, in this case, efforts aimed at creating citizens awareness on the risk of the carrying of arms and, at the same time, discouraging their use. This task must run parallel to a work of political advocacy. Being aware of this, the campaigns undertaken in the past few years have tried to reach people by means of communication and awareness campaigns or messages, using knowledge sharing and communication tools, resorting to media, fostering and supporting the creation of spaces and impact groups, boosting a better social cohesion and working from culture and leisure in public spaces. A. The Evolution of the Campaigns for Disarmament: Weapons, neither Real Ones nor Toys Within a complex political and social context, the team in charge of the first campaign decided to emphasise the right of children to live in peace, in a less violent and arms-free society. Under the eye-catching title Arms, not even as toys! the first national campaign on the risk of arms possession and carrying was launched in 2003 and spread its messages through social activities and the media. Focusing on childhood rights relieved the campaign of a certain amount of political pressure and brought together many diverse actors who participated with different degrees of leadership and prominence. More than 100 actors and institutions were involved in the campaign, including ministries, local governments, educational institutions, NGOs, the police, universities, theatre groups, private companies and the media. The campaign included different activities at the national and local levels in San Salvador, metropolitan municipalities and main capitals. The actions were divided in three groups according to the public targeted: (a) 7 to 13 year-old children, noting the participation of more than 3,500 children from more than 60 educational institutions in the main cities, who created Angels for Peace group of children who, within the framework of the project, were

36 34 of firearms by civilians. Using direct messages such as: You could be next, the campaign encouraged people to say no to arms, in order to coexist without violence. Concert for the world. More arms, less life campaign, involved in cultural and recreational activities against firearms; (b) young people, specially men, through sports events in different municipalities under the motto: Using arms nobody wins ; and (c) the general public, by means of a massive publicity campaign in the press, radio, television and public spaces. In 2004, the Secure and Arms-Free Sites campaign, more precise and less ambitious than the former one, tried to maintain the efforts made to raise social awareness and mobilisation on the risks involved in the proliferation of firearms among civil society. Festival, art competitions, sports events and the collection of signatures, 40,000 minors and 5,000 adults, to amend the current Law on the Control and Regulation on Firearms, Munitions, Explosives and Similar Items handed before the Legislative Assembly by a group of children representing Angels for Peace constitute the core activities of the campaign. The quantum leap in conceptual terms came with the next campaign. The Say no to Arms, for an El Salvador without Violence campaign was launched in April 2005, after the signature of a collaboration agreement between UNDP and UTEC. The communication actions included press, radio and television materials designed by the School of Communication of the UTEC, and aimed to provoke a reaction against the carrying Thus, after a stage in which messages targeted at children, as a means to reach the adult population, now messages aimed directly the group of the population who could actually exert pressure to change the habit of carrying arms, urging them to say: No to arms in public spaces. By the end of 2005 and within the Arms-Free Municipalities Project, it was implemented a fourth communication and awareness strategy. The assessment and the baseline developed within the framework of this project, and mentioned in Section 3, made the definition of a communication strategy possible aiming for a change in the population s behaviour and attitudes regarding firearms. The goal was to reduce the number of firearms in the municipalities of Ilopango and San Martín. The messages and actions of the communication strategy were directed towards four target groups: general population, youth, firearms owners and family men and women. The challenge was to pass on to the population a positive concept and an ideal of living armsfree, arming them with positive values for a better cohabitation. A global concept of communication was defined to be used as the basis for every action to undertake from then on to create an appropriate identity and connect the recipient of the message through emotions. The final concept was San Martín alive, arms-free and Ilopango alive, arms-free.

37 35 From this general concept, the campaign tried to raise the interest of the audience through suggestive questions such as: How to disarm the violence of a people? The answer was full of symbolic values: Arming itself with respect, courage, participation and life. These mottoes and messages expressed the idea that the absence of firearms implies life and called on a rational attitude to be alert. This call was, at the same time, an invitation to take part and participate of the collective effort. Through this proposal the ideal of living without weapons was spread throughout the municipality. Two years later, within the Strengthening of Institutional Capacities for Armed Violence Prevention Project, the fifth communication campaign on this issue was designed and set off. Conceived to be promoted at the local and national levels, the campaign tried to diminish the circulation of arms in public places, strengthen the population s favourable opinion against the carrying of firearms, and increase the use of meeting spaces through cultural and leisure activities. Less weapons, more life was the message in this occasion, in reference to the risks and, above all, benefits (more life) of living in a country with fewer firearms. The campaign was developed between June and December 2008 and was promoted through the media (press, television, radio, billboards and the web). Cultural, sports and other activities to foster coexistence were displayed in parallel in public spaces in Santa Ana: concerts, sports evenings, cinema, and open-air presentations, arts evenings, urban picnics, and others. The campaign was brought to a close on the 13 December 2008 in a shopping mall in the capital with a concert performed by the Youth Symphonic Orchestra which attracted more than 5,000 people. B. Spaces for Public Policy Impact Since the very beginning in 1998, the actions intended to be carried out as part of a participative and consultative process led to the creation of strategic alliances that were strengthened during the development of the Firearms and Violence study and, in particular, during the setting off of the Arms, not even as toys! campaign. Those alliances increased with time. New stakeholders and institutions have combined efforts and support for non-violence and disarmament and, as a result, the Citizen Group for a Society without Violence was formed in This varied group of people and institutions created with the purpose of investigating the roots of violence, creating awareness of the ways to mitigate it and doing lobby work to achieve the group s objective played a crucial role in the support of the awareness campaign. However, the most relevant efforts aimed the amendment to the Law on the Control and Regulation on Firearms, Munitions, Explosives and Similar Items. This led the group to bring up these legal amendments with the President of the Republic, who was required to forbid the carrying of firearms, particularly, in public spaces, to improve arms control and to substantially reduce the high rates of armed violence. This aspect will be dealt with in the next pages.

38 36 C. The National Commission for Citizen Security and Social Peace Appointed on 1 November in 2006 by the President of the Republic, Antonio Elías Saca, this Presidential Commission was integrated by representatives of all the political parties present in the Legislative Assembly (ARENA, CD, FMLN, PCN and PDC), private sector bodies (ANEP, Chamber of Commerce) and churches (Catholic and Evangelical). The mandate was clear: To articulate a series of proposals to develop them in the short, middle and long term; and the scope of the actions will overarch prevention, rehabilitation, reintegration in society and even coercion against crime (National Commission for Citizen Security and Social Peace, 2007). A few days after its constitution, the commission agreed, by general consensus, on a first proposal focused on firearms. Among other issues, the commission suggested the improvement of the control and supervision processes; the creation of an integrated data system of firearms; the development of data analysis and treatment capacities of competent institutions; the extension of the Arms-Free Municipalities Project experience to the 20 municipalities with the highest rates of violence and crime; the development of massive awareness campaigns; and the amendment to the Law on the Control and Regulation on Firearms, Munitions, Explosives and Similar Items. On 6 December 2006, the Commission Coordinator, Mauricio Loucel, handed to the Assembly a piece of correspondence that included the amendments to the Law on the Control and Regulation on Firearms, Munitions, Explosives and Similar Items. The proposal had two components: the revision of the Article 62 of the Law to broaden the prohibition on carrying arms to include parks, plazas and petrol stations, and a request to the Assembly to add the Article 62 A, to allow competent authorities to ban the carrying of arms in specific places or periods of time, following the opinion of the Municipal Board. The next day, the Assembly ratified an executive order to allow the extension of the ban on carrying arms to new public places. Despite the quick start, the way to the amendment was long and complex. It started in 2003, with the analysis and proposals of amendment to the Law on the Control and Regulation on Firearms, Munitions, Explosives and Similar Items, included in the Firearms and Violence study; then came the proposal submitted by the Society without Violence Group; later, it went through different communication campaigns on disarmament, and collected the work undertaken by some municipalities and projects, in particular the Arms-Free Municipalities Project. Finally, after eight months of work, the Commission accomplished the mandate given by the President of the Republic to articulate proposals to prevent and reduce high rates of violence, crime and insecurity experienced by the country. The Commission s final report sets out 75 recommendations adopted by consent and directed to improve security and cohabitation in the country. Some of them, as mentioned before, focused the control of firearms.

39 37 Recommendation 3. National Commission for Citizen Security and Social Peace Demand to the institutions responsible to watch over the implementation and performance of the legislation, to firmly obey and make obey the current Law on the Control and Regulation on Firearms, Munitions, Explosives and Similar Items. In this line, other actions are recommended, such as: a. Improve the Government capacity for registration and control of legal firearms and confiscation of illegal firearms. In this case, urge the institutions responsible to: proceed to the execution of systematic campaigns of confiscation of illegal arms; improve the controls on illicit trade of arms and munitions. b. According to UN recommendations, establish a National Commission on Control and Inspection of Firearms. On the 28th of November 2006, the National Commission on Citizen Security and Social Peace recommended the following actions to the President of the Republic: 1. Purchase of equipments and programmes to support the constitution of an integrated firearms information system among the Arms and Explosives Subdivision (DAE), the Operations and Services Centre, PNC Public Security Subdirection, and the Department of Registration and Confiscation of Arms (DRDA) of the Ministry of National Defence (MDN). 2. Improve the capacity in data analysis and processing of institutions responsible for the use of data and the registration of arms. 3. Strengthen PNC capacities for the research and tracking of illegal firearms, providing intensive training to specialized sections officers and general training to the National Academy of Public Security (ANSP) officers as a whole. 4. Include in the IBIS system the data referred to the firearms belonging to the Salvadoran Army (FAS), PNC, CAM, penitentiary system, and other national institutions, as well as private security companies. 5. Implement operational plans within the PNC, in coordination with the CAM, to verify licenses held by civilians. 6. Proceed to the symbolic destruction of weapons confiscated up to date, prior audit of the total of weapons seized, existing inventories and the destruction and losses, whose balance should be clarified prior to the destruction. 7. Establish the Technical Inspection of Firearms: Obligation to send the firearms to specialized units for revision, periodic taking of ballistic prints and verification in the police archives. 8. Broaden the experience of the Arms-Free Municipalities to the municipalities with higher rates of violence in the country. 9. Perform awareness campaigns about firearms. 10. Implement, at the national level, the Control of Small Arms in Central America Project, executed by the SICA General Secretariat. 11. More strict requirements to obtain a firearms license, imposing an exam to test the skills in arms use and psychological tests, more strict and serious. 12. Apply the withdrawal of firearms to defendants and accused of domestic violence, as precautionary measure, as well as the prohibition or annulations of licenses for convicted of intrafamiliar violence. 13. Establish the obligation of third party insurance for firearms owners. 14. Foster voluntary arms surrender campaigns in exchange of food or goods, in collaboration with the private sector. Source: National Commission for Citizen Security and Social Peace (2007), pp D. The Arms and Explosives Legislation Reform prior notification, according to the Inter-American Convention against the Illicit Manufacturing of and Trafficking in Firearms, Munitions, Explosives, and Other Related Materials (CIFTA). The law approved in 1999 increased the restrictions for arms possession in the country. The first reform to this law occurred in 2002 and increased the sentences for crimes committed with arms and the control on the possession and carrying of arms in certain public spaces. The reform also included categories for the reexportation of arms, munitions and explosives, imported from abroad, to third countries without A draft bill proposal came to complement those little advances. It was designed using the input of the Firearms and Violence study, and the main issues were: eliminating the carrying of arms by civilians in public spaces; restricting the number of arms and munitions a person or company can have access to; increasing the legal age for possessing arms; establishing the withdrawal of the arms to those people going through penal

40 38 trials with criminal records of domestic violence; fostering a better coordination between the PNC and MDN; and the improvement of data analysis and processing for institutions. The draft was presented before the corresponding commission at the National Assembly, and constituted the basis for subsequent actions. In 2005, the work of the Citizen Group for a Society without Violence helped the approval of new specific amendment to the Law on the Control and Regulation on Firearms, Munitions, Explosives and Similar Items. Among them was increasing the age to get an arms license to 21 (although the Group suggested 25), and limiting people to one short firearm and one long firearm as the number of arms allowed by abode or property. The scope of this last proposal was limited by the permission of buying a firearm every two years by a natural or artificial person. The Citizen Group also tried at that time, in line with the thought that firearms should not be in the streets, to eliminate the carrying licenses observed by the law. In practical terms, the aim was the complete prohibition of the carrying of arms in public spaces in El Salvador. Though the proposal has not yet been carried out, the number of public places where it is forbidden to carry firearms grows every day. E. Communication for Change Communication, knowledge management and working with the media have been some of the other cross-cutting axis of the initiatives developed during the last years. Some of the initiatives undertaken in the scope of the knowledge management strategy of UNDP Citizen Security Programme aimed at generating changes in public opinion and among decision-makers; fostering journalism for cohabitation and citizen security in the media and, at the same time, setting the Programme as a landmark in the area. To achieve these goals, a space for knowledge sharing, discussion and reflection was boosted during six years, in addition to the ordinary channels of information production and spreading web sites, press callings, interviews, reports and opinion articles in the media, etc. The Permanent Seminar on Citizen Security constituted a source of technical inputs for strategy and policy design directed to violence prevention and reduction. A number of conferences delivered by national and international specialists attracted policy designers, professors, professionals, journalists and opinion leaders. For six years, the seminar has dealt with different issues such as security local management, culture and violence, youth violence, gender, the media and, of course, firearms. Generating Discussion and Reflection Three international conferences and 42 forums on key issues have boosted the generation and spreading of knowledge on this national concern. National and international specialists of prominent and distinguished career have participated in these events. The contributions were collected in different publications (see org.sv/2007/sc/content/blogcategory/0/88/). These are some of the data collected from the surveys answered by the attendants: a. 82.7% of the participants stated to have a good or very good opinion of the seminars. b. 100% considered that the conferences help improve their work. c. 82.7% states that they facilitate the design of public policies. Source: Own elaboration.

41 39 In addition to this regular and permanent space for thematic presentations, other international conferences were developed, such as the Regional Forum for the Exchange of Experiences in the Prevention and Control of Armed Violence, celebrated in August The goal of this international meeting was the analysis of the situation of firearms in different countries of the region and their impact on human development. Those conferences and presentations were gathered in a publication entitled Regional Forum for the Exchange of Experiences in the Prevention and Control of Armed Violence, also translated into English. Following the same strategic line in knowledge management, a Directory of Institutions related to the development of initiatives on the prevention and reduction of violence was created. This publication gathers more than 140 programmes undertaken by 51 local, national and international institutions, including academic institutions, NGOs and private companies. After gathering all the information necessary to create the Directory, the programmes and projects were analysed in order to verify if they met the assessment requirements. Then, it was decided to systematize the experience of the Industrial Area of Don Bosco (PIDB) the only experience in the country focused on education and integrated professional training for low income and high social risk youth or youth in trouble with the law and to evaluate the impact of the Arms-Free Municipalities Project. Regarding the work done by the media, it is worth noting the collaboration agreement signed in 2005 with La Prensa Gráfica newspaper (LPG). This agreement allowed journalists and editors of this medium to get the technical support necessary to develop the innovative and pioneer Handbook of Violence Treatment. As part of its commitment with non-violence, LPG boosted a communication campaign including a black and white edition focused on the roots and consequences of violence in the country, which constituted its most valuable and symbolic output. The collaboration agreement between UNDP and LPG was renewed in This time, LPG Multimedia undertook the production of a documentary on firearms, among other initiatives. Following a specialized training given to the Multimedia Section of the newspaper, the documentary Our weapon of each day was filmed to increase social awareness and political pressure on the control of firearms. F. Culture and Places for Social Cohesion Public spaces are the places where urban life is primarily developed. Active policies to create quality public spaces contribute to social interaction and to the promotion of the responsible use of public spaces, helping social and functional interaction and cultural promotion, and effectively creating a context of security. The actions undertaken within the different projects have always taken into account the relevance of working in and for public spaces, especially with children and youth. Sports and cultural activities are considered as a means for social prevention directed to youth

42 40 in areas with high rates of violence. Cultural events such as plays, sculptural installations, shows and music festivals, and sports oriented to youth have been some of the permanent activities developed at the local level in the framework of the different communication and awareness campaigns. The Fewer weapons, more life campaign, e.g., supported several sports activities, commemorative parades, theatre festivals, open-air presentations, art evenings and urban picnics. Other leisure events, as well as reforestation, cleaning and coexistence activities were developed in municipal parks and community public spaces. Culture also played the leading role in the campaign s closing, by means of a mass concert performed by the Youth Symphonic Orchestra. Participants in the Secure and Arms-Free Sites campaign, 2004.

43 Section 6 41 UP TO NOW: some advances for hope After more than ten years of efforts and interventions to prevent and improve the control and registration of firearms in the country, it is evident that some advances have been made. In the difficult, complex and polarize context of a country where the legislation allows the carrying of arms by civilians, and hence accepts the presence of firearms in the streets, institutional and legislative changes, if they occur, are slow; and transformations, in particular cultural transformations, are longterm processes. Taking these facts into consideration, here are some of the advances and progresses that should encourage new processes to keep on improving citizen security and, in particular, the control of firearms. The Arms-Free Municipalities Project showed that it is possible to reduce armed violence. In San Martín, the data reflected a reduction of 49% in lethal violence and of 24% in the number of criminal acts. committed with firearms. A. San Martín: High Impact of a Promising Experience When starting a project, the question that always arises is: What impact, what results it is going to achieve? The Arms- Free Municipalities Project showed that, at least in San Martín, it was possible to reduce violence or, at least, to lessen some of the indicators. The project also succeeded in the promotion and approval of two pioneering regulations on firearms in public spaces, and in the increase of the seizure of firearms by the PNC (between 69% and 102%).

44 42 Another achievement took place in the area of citizen awareness. Campaigns, regulations and cultural and leisure activities contributed to the fact that 91% of the population considered the carrying of arms in public places as a threat. At the same time, the support to the possession of arms dropped by 3% in the two municipalities as a whole. Achievements of the Arms-Free Municipalities Project through the Main Impact Indicators Prohibition on the carrying Policing capacity Informing and building awareness in population Reduction in the measures for indicators of armed violence Source: Own elaboration according to Living without arms? Regulations passed by the municipalities. 25% of the population is informed of the regulation. According to PNC reports, the number of arms confiscated would have increased 102% in Ilopango and 69% in San Martín. Closer collaboration between the Ministry of National Defence and the PNC. Joint policing between PNC and CAM. Increase in the percentage of persons (91%) who consider that the carrying of arms in public places represents a threat for the people there. 3% decrease in support for arms possession. Close to 20% of respondents said they knew about the communications campaign. Of these, 51% rated it as good. 28% said they had changed their opinion about the possession and carrying of arms. Notable reduction (over 40%) in homicides, in general, and by firearms, in San Martín. Significant reduction (around 50%) in other crimes committed with firearms, in Ilopango. The reasons for the relative success of the project are six: a. The political will of at least one of the mayors. b. The diagnosis process carried out to identify the most dangerous areas and help the police improve data gathering and processing. c. The efforts of the PNC in tasks related to arms prevention and control. d. The conception of the project as an incipient strategy for the local management of citizen security. e. The resolved support of the National Board for Public Security and the inter-institutional coordination of CNSP, City Hall, PNC and CAM and other social institutions and organisations in the municipality. f. Social and institutional support. In addition, the initiative contributed to feed the national discussion on the prohibition of the carrying of arms, at least in public spaces, and encouraged other towns to carry out similar experiences, as it will be seen in the following pages. However, the most relevant impact was that it established the precedent for a new technical and policy approach to citizen insecurity in the country.

45 43 B. Significant Changes in Legislation: Reaching the Prohibition of Carrying of Arms As explained in Section 5, the Law on the Control and Regulation on Firearms, Munitions, Explosives and Similar Items has experienced successive reforms to limit not only the places where the carrying of arms is allowed but also other relevant aspects, such as the minimum age to obtain a license. In view of the expectations generated by the publication of Firearms and Violence and the work done by different local, national and international institutions or by the Citizen Group for a Society without Violence, who took up again the recommendations of that study and handed them to the President of the Republic, it could be thought that legislative improvement have not been satisfactory. The law still allows, among other things, the carrying of arms in public places, knowing full well the risk it entails. In five years, the percentage of people against firearms has increased by 30%. Nowadays, very few people argue that firearms should be carried on public spaces. (Segura, 2008). However, maybe now that society is becoming more aware of the risks of firearms, the moment has come to move closer towards a total prohibition on the carrying of firearms. C. A Growing Awareness and Citizen and Political Opposition to Firearms Different campaigns and other actions, such as messages supporting disarmament and a violence-free society through the media as La Prensa Gráfica, as well as projects and initiatives carried out by some municipalities, have generated a growing opposition to the carrying of firearms, at least in public places. Let data speak by themselves. In five years, the percentage of people against firearms has increased by 30%. Nowadays, very few people argue that firearms should be carried on public spaces (Segura, 2008). Less Ctizen Support to Frearms When the study Firearms and Violence was carried out, little more than 50% of the population stated to be against firearms. The same citizen polls show, years later, a very positive evolution. Thus, nowadays, more than 80% of the Salvadoran population is supposed to be against the carrying of arms in public spaces; and more than 60%, against the possession of arms. Source: Firearms and Violence and La Prensa Gráfica Apart from the civil population, the political environment in the country also seems to be against firearms to a greater extent. This evolution was proved in June 2009 when the 14 mayors who make up the Board of Mayors of the Metropolitan Area of San Salvador (COAMSS) agreed to propose to the Ministry of Justice

46 44 and Security a wide ban on weapons. It was doubtlessly an innovative advance to reduce violence in the country. D. Everything Counts: more Actions, more Actors, more Incidences Actions carried out in the area of arms control and prevention in El Salvador have proved the importance of alliances. Working to prevent violence can become hard and weary if undertaken only by one organisation or institution. Furthermore, it is very difficult to achieve satisfactory results when actions are not coordinated and promoted by several stakeholders. As in this effort, involving stakeholders such as local governments, educational institutions, the police and the media has contributed to widening the diffusion and impact of messages and actions and, at the same time, expanded the critical mass surrounding firearms. These dynamics progressively involved a growing number of people and leaked out other spheres and institutions, in particular local governments. Today many municipalities in El Salvador have hopped on the bandwagon of firearms control and prevention. Following the initiative of Santa Tecla, that resolutely included the topic, in its Security Policy and in its city plans and actions in 2006, San Salvador, the capital city, included a specific component in its coexistence and security policy. Both cities have also regulations ruling firearms in public spaces. Then came other towns from the West and Centre of the country, such as Sonsonate, Sonzacate and Acajutla, where the United Nations System through interagency programmes performed by UNICEF, PAHO, ILO and UNDP, the CNSP and municipalities have started the implementation of a project on human security, emphasizing prevention and control of firearms. Others, such as Colón or Sacacoyo, have also started to display similar experiences. The role developed by the National Board for Public Security must as well be highlighted in this short review of initiatives and actors. First, their proposals regarding public policy, then the monitoring and execution of projects such as Arms-Free Municipalities or the Strengthening of Institutional Capacities for Armed Violence Prevention. These projects have shown the strong commitment of this national institution towards the prevention and control of firearms as one of the key aspects to reduce insecurity in the country. E. Better and more coordinated control and registration of firearms Six years have been necessary to crystallise the recommendation of the Firearms and Violence study, taken up again by the Citizen Group for a Society without Violence and the National Commission for Citizen Security and Social Peace, to improve the data system on firearms control and registration. As indicated in Section 4, today, thanks to the Strengthening of Institutional Capacities for Armed Violence Prevention Project, all

47 45 the three institutions competent in this field -PNC, MDG and FGR- work in coordination, are better interconnected and share a technological platform to track and obtain information about most of the lifetime of a firearm. At the same time, the sectors where arm registration is required have been broadened and the control on the arms from private security companies has been facilitated. The National Technical Commission, made up by MJSP, FGR, MDN, PNC, CNSP and UNDP, has developed a strategy to strengthen data systems and has generated a space for dialogue and inter-institutional coordination. This space has promoted the interconnectivity among inter-institutional data systems in order to build a suitable response to armed violence. This is the first initiative in Central America to achieve inter-institutional coordination to strengthen the systems of firearms control and registration. However there are still some aspects to improve, such as the permanent updating of registers or the analysis of the information available, there is no doubt that the first step towards an integrated system of control and registration of firearm has already been taken.

48 Campaign Weapon not even as Toys, 2003

49 47 Tentative CONCLUSIONS A decade is quite a long time. In this period, significant advances have been performed in such a delicate issue, in social and political terms, as firearms in El Salvador. Not only have the mechanisms of registration and control of firearms improved, but also the Law on the Control and Regulation on Firearms, Munitions, Explosives and Similar Items was modified to become more restrictive. At the same time, there has been a significant increase in the number of people who do not think that arms do protect the population. Also it seems to be a growth in political awareness regarding insecurity and, in particular, armed violence. This led to the conviction that this problem needs to be tackled as a matter of state that requires answers and coordination from every institution involved, having municipalities the leading role. UNDP Citizen Security Programme has tried to contribute to this approach and to each and every one of these steps forward. There is still much to do, but yet many little but relevant achievements have been accomplished.

50 Concert for the world. More arms, less life campaign, 2008.