International campaigners visited Colombia this week to support 1.4 million citizens who petitioned their Congress for tougher gun laws. IANSA Director Rebecca Peters, along with Antonio Rangel Bandeira of Viva Rio (Brazil) and Gabriel Conte of Fundación Espacios (Argentina) addressed members of the Congress in Bogotá, informing them about developments in small arms control around the world. The event was broadcast live on national tv.

Rebecca spoke about the UN Programme of Action on Small Arms, the ATT process and the worldwide trend toward stronger regulation. Antonio and Gabriel described the lessons learned from the successful experiences of disarmament in their countries.

Colombia has one of the highest homicide rates in the world – currently at 33 per 100,000 people, and the overwhelming majority of those killings are by firearms. Crime in the public and private spheres has surpassed the war as a cause of violent deaths.

Several municipalities have implemented programs to reduce gun violence, but there is no national plan. A growing number of mayors are joining victims’ groups, human rights organisations and researchers in calling for comprehensive national action to reduce the proliferation of small arms.

The citizens’ petition calls for a minimum age of 25 for gun possession and for compulsory insurance to be required with every gun license, as occurs with licenses to drive cars. In addition, the petitioners want local municipalities to be given the power to impose some restrictions within their boundaries.

In addition to the event at the Congress, the IANSA visitors addressed a large public meeting in the city of Medellín, where the Plan Desarme (disarmament plan) is proving successful in reducing armed violence. In nearby Marinilla, a town severely affected by armed conflict and armed crime, they met with schoolchildren and community leaders who spoke of their experiences with gun violence. Marinilla was mourning a local teenager who had been shot dead by a friend on the previous day.

In Bogotá Rebecca Peters was a guest speaker at the launch of a new research centre, the Observatory on small arms and explosives at Rosario University. The director of the Observatory is Ambassador Camilo Reyes, former Colombian Foreign Minister and the Chair of the first UN Small Arms Conference in 2001.

The guests were invited to Colombia by IANSA members CERAC, Redepaz and the Comisión Colombiana de Juristas, with support from the Mayors of Bogotá and Medellín and UNDP.