Paraguay
After the 35-year dictatorship of Alfredo Stroessner ended in 1989, military institutions in Paraguay were left discredited and obsolete. The country’s armed forces were not prepared to repel armed attacks, inside or outside the country. Paraguay also faces challenges related to violent crime and regional gun smuggling across the border with Argentina and Brazil.1
The country’s guiding gun control legislation includes the Act of 2010 on Firearms, Ammunitions and Explosives. Paraguay has signed and ratified the Arms Trade Treaty.2 The UN Regional Centre for Peace, Disarmament and Development in Latin America and the Caribbean (UNLIREC) provides support for weapons and ammunition destruction, as well as for stockpile management systems, firearms registration and licensing programmes.3
1 Aaron Karp, Surplus Arms in South America: A Survey (Geneva: Small Arms Survey, 2009), https://www.smallarmssurvey.org/sites/default/files/resources/SAS-WP7-Surplus-Arms-in-South-America.pdf.
2 Philip Alpers, Amélie Rossetti and Daniel Salinas, Paraguay – Gun Facts, Figures and the Law (GunPolicy.org, Sydney School of Public Health, University of Sydney, 2022), https://www.gunpolicy.org/firearms/region/paraguay.
3 “UN Peace Centre for Latin America and Caribbean Expands Mandate,” UNLIREC, August 15, 2005, https://news.un.org/en/story/2005/08/148732.
Launch the country dashboard
Further information
Accidental explosions
Since the Small Arms Survey began collecting data in 1979, one accidental explosion has been reported in Paraguay.
Table 1. Accidental explosions in Paraguay (1979–2021)
Year | Location | Owner/manager | Deaths | Injuries |
2004 | Asuncion | N/A | 0 | 0 |
Source: “Unplanned Explosions at Munitions Sites (UEMS) Database,” Small Arms Survey, updated December 15, 2021, https://smallarmssurvey.org/database/unplanned-explosions-munitions-sites-uems.
Cases of diversion
Some cases of diversion have been reported in Paraguay.
Table 2. Cases of diversion of arms, ammunition and explosives in Paraguay
Year | Location | Description |
2018 | Capiata | 130 guns, including 44 rifles, were stolen from the armoury. |
Source: “More than 130 Guns Have Been Stolen from a Police Station in Paraguay after Officials Realized They Were Replaced with Wooden and Toy Replicas,” Barstool Sports, August 28, 2018, https://www.barstoolsports.com/blog/1073208/more-than-130-guns-have-been-stolen-from-a-police-staton-in-paraguay-after-officials-realized-they-were-replaced-with-wooden-and-toy-replicas.
Disposal
In collaboration with UNLIREC, over 96 tonnes of ammunition and explosives were destroyed in Paraguay in 2005.1 In 2008, UNLIREC supported the destruction of 90,000 units of ammunition and 80 tonnes of explosives.2
1 "UN Peace Centre for Latin America and Caribbean Expands Mandate,” UNLIREC.
2 William Godnick, Heidi Ober and Charlotte Watson, United Nationa Regional Centre for Peace, Disarmament and Development in Latin America and the Caribbean: Sida Evaluation (Stockholm: Department for Cooperation with Non-Governmental Organisations, Humanitarian Assistance and Conflict Management, Sida, 2008), https://cdn.sida.se/publications/files/sida40938en-united-nations-regional-centre-for-peace-disarmament-and-development-in-latin-america-and-the-caribbean-un-lirec.pdf.
Needs
To further enhance safe and secure ammunition management, the following needs have been identified for Paraguay:
-
Development or refinement of standards and procedures on stockpile management, including:
- the establishment of effective administrative procedures regarding stockpile management; and
- the establishment of norms ensuring secure weapons storage and destruction.
-
Capacity development for the destruction of surplus stockpiles, including:
- the establishment of norms ensuring secure weapons storage and destruction; and
- the provision of machinery for the destruction of stocks.
Source: Paraguay, National Report on the Implementation of the Programme of Action on Small Arms and Light Weapons (PoA) and the International Tracing Instrument (ITI) (New York: Permanent Mission of Paraguay to the UN, 2018), https://unoda-poa.s3.amazonaws.com/reports/PRY-Spanish-773-SUBMITTED.pdf.
