2 February 2006 - the Guatemalan Supreme Court of Justice held its first weapons destruction event.
Thousands of firearms seized through the penal system have been accumulating throughout the years, amongst which there are pistols, revolvers, and shotguns. Likewise, the National Civil Police seize on average around 3 000 new weapons each year.
After the completion of the legal process, these weapons become the property of the courts. The OAS Firearms Convention expressly prohibits the auctioning or selling of illicit firearms.
The Supreme Court of Justice chose to publicly destroy the firearms they had confiscated during criminal trials in an event that was carried out opposite the Metropolitan Cathedral at 9:30am, involving the Archbishopric and the Guatemalan National Commission on Small Arms.
The Instituto de Enseñanza para el Desarrollo Sostenible (IEPADES) has been working with the Supreme Court of Justice to initiate systematic weapons destruction processes, as well as to support the capacity of justice officials in terms of legislation on weapons and munitions and international instruments.
IEPADES, as part of the National Commission on Small Arms, has proposed that weapons destruction should be conducted as soon as possible after the trial. On this occasion, IEPADES congratulates the determined resolution of the Honourable Supreme Court of Justice to destroy the firearms, and urges the Court to continue with this effort systematically and permanently until they manage to diminish the deposits of seized weapons and confiscations from crime, in order to make Guatemala free of weapons and violence. |
