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Calvani, Sandro and Stefan Liller. 2006 ‘Legal Arms.’ Violence, Crime and Illegal Arms Trafficking in Colombia (Section 3.2), p. 48. Bogota: United Nations Office of Drugs and Crime (UNODC). 1 December

Relevant contents

Legal Arms

In Colombia there are 1,893,185 small arms and light weapons legally acquired, although not all of them have a valid permit. A proportion of these arms, exactly 1,283,996, are registered in the National Arms Registry (Registro Nacional de Armas - RNA) the remainder are weapons which remain in the hands of the Armed Forces (Army, Air Force, Navy, and Police). The Armed Forces have a total of 609,189 small arms and light weapons.

The National Arms Registry includes those weapons in the hands of natural and legal persons and government organizations other than the Military Forces and the Police. This register accounts for the weapons that were once registered in the Office for the Control of the Arms Trade, those that were duly acquired through the Colombian Military Industry, and those which were registered as a result of the amnesty in 1994. Of the total weapons registered in the National Arms Registry, only 336,764 currently have a valid permit. Of the 567,959 in the hands of natural persons, 230,563 had a valid permit as of May 2006; and of the 82,283 weapons in the hands of legal persons, mainly private security services, 55,016 have a valid permit.

Graph 18: Who holds firearms in Colombia?

Natural persons: 567,959
Armed Forces: 340,689
Private Security: 82,283
Government agencies: 23,708
Sports/Collection: 11,808

Source: Department for the Control of the Arms Trade – Military Forces General Command

ID: Q11628

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