The Civil Guard destroys more than 50,000 firearms during the past year
This action is framed on the one hand within the current regulations in Spain and on the other within the United Nations Program of Action to promote actions to eliminate firearms of illicit origin
The Civil Guard, as the competent body in the field of weapons and explosives, has destroyed more than 50,000 firearms during the past year. Also, it should be noted that as a result of these actions since 2013, more than 430,000 weapons have been destroyed in our country.
These actions are framed within the current regulations in Spain and is added to the United Nations Program of Action on the illicit trade in small arms and light weapons, which originated in the United Nations International Conference on the Illicit Trade in Small Arms. and Light, held in July 2001.
At that Conference, it was clear, among other issues, "the concern for the illicit manufacture, transfer and circulation of small arms and light weapons and their excessive accumulation and uncontrolled proliferation in many regions of the world, which has very diverse humanitarian and socio-economic consequences. It is a serious threat to peace, reconciliation, security, stability and sustainable development at the individual, local, national, regional and international levels. "
From there, the UN established that, on July 9, the International Day of the Destruction of Firearms would be celebrated, in order to promote actions for the elimination of firearms of illicit origin.
In Spain, since 1844 the Civil Guard has been in charge of arms control to prevent its proliferation and as a preventive measure to hinder the action of criminals. The Civil Guard Primer provided that "it will ensure that no one is armed with any part without the corresponding license to use them".
Comprehensive control of legal access to weapons
Currently, the competition in terms of weapons and explosives that the State has is materialized through the Interventions of Weapons and Explosives of the Civil Guard.
These Units exhaustively control legal access to weapons, for which the current Regulation establishes requirements, among which are the lack of criminal records, as well as the passing of theoretical and practical tests on the use and handling of the same.
Likewise, in order to prevent a weapon from being used improperly when the owner no longer has the right to own and use it, the regulation establishes that they are unused or destroyed.
The use of a weapon, from the year 2011, is regulated by a very strict regulation, in such a way that it is submitted to a process that affects all the fundamental pieces of it, being impossible to use it again with full operational capacity.
Likewise, the Civil Guard, periodically, carries out the destruction of firearms of various calibers, as well as prohibited weapons. Some of them are involved in illicit, criminal or administrative and after the corresponding procedure their destruction is determined; and others, that by ceasing their holders in the right to tenure and use and not having been awarded in auctions, have the same purpose. This allows the weapons to be reduced to scrap by a casting process or similar.
For more information about the press release, you can contact the Peripheral Communication Office of the Weapons, Explosives and Security Headquarters, telephone 682844368.
